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Flying to New York for a few days sounds expensive, but it doesn’t have to be – especially if you earn enough Points from it for a different trip on the way!
As part of InsideFlyer’s partnership with Norwegian Reward, we took a joint trip to New York recently and thought it would be interesting to look at how it’s possible to earn enough Norwegian CashPoints from just one weekend in New York for another trip within Europe after you get back. We also thought it would be fun to share what we got up to while we were in New York.
In this article, we’ll give you a breakdown of our activities and let you know how to maximise your CashPoint earnings if you want to book anything similar.
Maximize your CashPoint earnings by booking via Norwegian.com
We had Premium Flex tickets – (which are particularly useful for business travellers) and stayed at the Yotel in New York. Booking your hotel via Norwegian’s website and then getting directed through Hotels.com, gives you 5% CashPoints in return (always check cashback sites as well to ensure you get the best possible rebate!).
When flying with Norwegian, you earn:
• 2-12% CashPoints on all LowFare tickets
• 10-20% CashPoints on all Flex tickets
An impression of the Yotel hotel room (NOTE: I did get an upgrade):
GetYourGuide
We booked any tourist trips such as Top of the Rock, Hard Rock Café lunch and the Harbour Lights Night Cruise through Norwegian Rewards’ partner GetYourGuide (an nice app to use), which means earning 5% in CashPoints on every booking. Add the Cashpoints you can earn on the flex tickets and you end up with 2,470 Cashpoints (= £230.00) to use for your next getaway. Here’s how:
Activities & CashPoint overview
| ACTIVITY | CASHPOINTS EARNED
(10 CP = £0.93p Approx) |
COMMENTS |
| Overnight at BLOC Hotel at Gatwick Airport South Terminal | (41 = £3.81) | |
| Flight – Norwegian Air | Economy (28 = £2.60) Economy Flex (2120 = £197) Premium (177 = £16.45) Premium Flex (2,470 = £229.60) | CashPoint earn based on return flights to New York |
| CarTrawler Transfer from JFK Airport to Hotel | (12 = £1.12) | |
| Top of the Rock Observation Deck via GetYourGuide | (14 = £1.30) | |
| Lunch at Hard Rock Café via GetYourGuide | (16 = £1.49) | |
| YOTEL New York | (76 = £7.06) | Based on x1 night stay |
| Harbour lights night cruise via GetYourGuide | (17 = £1.58) | |
| 9/11 Tour & All Access: 9/11 Memorial, Museum & Observatory via GetYourGuide | (46 = £4.28) | |
| Total CashPoint: | ||
| Based on Economy ticket: 238 = £22.12 | ||
| Based on Economy flex ticket: 2120 = £197.00
Based on Premium ticket: 387 = £36.00 |
||
| Based on PremiumFlex ticket: 2470 = £230.00 | ||
As you can see, we did have quite a busy schedule, but planning everything and getting the tickets beforehand through GetYourGuide made it all a bit easier. Of course, you can swap out any of these activities with other ones – there are plenty of incredible things to do in New York!
To the Big Apple…
Okay, so yes – the 6 am flight hurts. BUT, as it turned out, there were also some benefits to it.
A. You arrive at JFK in the early morning so you have a full day of New York ahead of you.
B. You sleep easily on the flight as it’s that early.
We decided to meet at M&S just around the corner from the Norwegian check-in desks at 4 am (yup). So we got in the day before and stayed at Bloc. Very convenient. Efficiency and space management is written all over this place -and it’s actually pretty good for early flights like these. Next time I’m heading out from LGW early, it’s certainly an option I’ll consider again. To be honest, I would not take my partner there for a romantic weekend, but for an early flight, it’s absolutely fine. Friendly staff as well.
With a Premium ticket, you get fast track through security and access to the lovely No1 Lounge at LGW, which is a nice place to relax before your flight. For a limited time only, you can now upgrade your lounge experience at Gatwick Airport to ‘Clubrooms’ for no additional fee, when booking lounge entry via the Norwegian Reward booking page.
Premium Cabin
Norwegian’s Premium Cabin is an excellent way to travel. Those who do not want to pay the top price for a business class ticket will find a good product with our Scandinavian friends. Premium offers good balance between comfort and (relative) affordability. Find our review of the Premium cabin here.
What to do in New York
Where to start?!
One of my favourite things to do in New York is simply walking around – try to go everywhere by foot as it really is great to see the city that way.
Out of the activities we did, I think my favourite was the Harbour Lights Night Cruise on the Hudson. The guide was excellent and it was amazing to see the city from that viewpoint. If you choose to take the tour, imagine there’s at least one person behind every lighted window and you’ll feel the buzz of the city.
Another thing I wouldn’t skip is the 9/11 memorial and museum. Hearing about the influence this horrible event has had on the city was emotional but very interesting. Also, the museum itself took my breath away at times – starting with a photo that was taken that morning of the towers from the Brooklyn Bridge at 8:30 AM. I do not have any photos of the museum as that was 1. not allowed everywhere and 2. did not feel respectful.
We had a great but VERY big lunch at the Hard Rock Café, one of those classic activities you just have to do. Visiting the Museum of Modern Art was a superb way to spend a rainy afternoon and we also went to One World Observatory, which gives you an amazing 360 degree view of the skyline.
Where will you go next?
After having a great time in New York and enjoying Norwegian’s Premium Flex, you could have earned 2,470 CashPoints. So where to next?
With your CashPoints, you can easily book a return flight to Amsterdam. Or Vienna, or Rome, Helsinki, or Alicante, or Nice, or Athens, or…maybe even Economy tickets to visit New York again!
Use the Low Fare Calendar option when searching, to find the best deals.
Great review!
They are the best airline!