I figure someone here will have advice! I am planning a trip to the Winterguard International Championships in Dayton, OH in April.
I will have to rent a car, and the venue is the University of Dayton, which is where I will want to stay just to be close I imagine I will be near the campus most of the day on all the days of the event. I think I have enough IHG points to almost cover a hotel not terribly far from the University.
I have some Avios, and I found flights on American in business class that I could book on points, through British Airways. I don't love the times but FREE is good.
Both the outbound and the return connect in O'Hare, which is an airport I've never been to. The Chicago- Dayton and the Dayton-Chicago are "Air Wisconsin as American Eagle on Behalf of American Airlines".
It does say that the booking is cancelable, minus a service fee of $55 (I don't usually worry about cancelling a flight as I don't fly often, but this one is sort of iffy).
The PHX to Chicago leg unfortunately leaves at midnight but it's the only flight available on points.
Is there anything in particular that you feel I need to think about or know before I make these plane reservations?