The first goal of traveling cheaply is to cut down your biggest cost. My biggest cost is flying to Nashville. It’s not home, but its airport is. I’m there probably 10–12 times a year, so I had to figure out how to do it on a budget.

British Airways has a sweet spot of 9000 point roundtrip award tickets on direct flights to destinations fewer than 649 miles away via it or any of its partners. I’ve lucked out that the DCA to BNA route meets those four criteria: award ticket availability, fewer than 649 miles away, BA partner, American Airlines, flies the route and it’s direct. It means with one credit card application, I’m able to do five and half roundtrip tickets home.

I’ll post a full review of the Bourbon Trail when I get back, but I’ve already had a change to my travel plans: the Cardinals are playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles next week and I need to be there.