Steve Belkin (beaubo on Flyertalk) — one of the most creative and original thinkers about miles and points out there — sent me a note about his new service offering a real life “amazing race,” Competitours.
Now, I’m not the first to write about it, it’s been widely covered (e.g. on Gadling). They offer a European trip where you compete against other teams in daily dasks towards a cash prize.
Here’s how he describes it:
Challenges will be held in a variety of must-see bustling big cities, under-the-radar cool spots and off-the-grid rural villages. The challenges will absorb teams in the diverse and fascinating cultures, peoples and places of four surprise European countries.
There are no auditions, extreme stunts or need for physical fitness or speed. Mastering the challenges is based on teams being savvy, resourceful, outgoing, even a bit zany at times, so ANYONE can play. Past teams have ranged from parent/child to best friends to honeymooners to retirees.
Each day, all 17 teams will receive a virtual mission packet with their following day’s surprise destination(s) and 8-10 challenge options. Each team will choose the 3-4 challenges that best meet their touring preferences and route their daily itinerary using only public transport. Teams will enjoy the thrill of making snap decisions about the unfamiliar.
Could be a lot of fun. For $2675 per person (based on 2 people) they provide travel to, around, and back from Europe, hotel for 7 nights, and the challenges/activities throughout. So pretty reasonable on the whole.
I’d wonder if they would offer a discount to folks who want to use their miles for flights and hotels, but the problem might be that then you’d need to know where you’re traveling to — it couldn’t be a surprise!
Not for folks like me who prefer guided tours and beach time, to be sure, but this would have been the ultimate team-up back in my 20’s for sure.
INDEED, if you have FF miles and allow us to make the booking, we shave $750 off the price.
If you don;t have miles and still want to try and save $775, we’ll coach you on applying for credit cards that generate enough sign up bonus miles to earn an award ticket to Europe.
Don’t mind the teams knowing the first surprise city, because they still don’t know the challenges until the day before the actual trip. And sometimes, the location of the airport might not necessarily be the first surprise destination anyway!! 😉
….also, at stake on each trip, $9000 in cash or 360,000 SPG Starpoints!
This is a great idea. I am a runner and have been looking for vacation where they incorporate something like this. I am really going to have to look in to it to see how it works. I would love to hear from someone who has done it already.