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1 week left on my mom’s Around the World Surprise Birthday Trip.
This is by far the biggest, most planned, and epic trip I’ve ever executed. By the end of it I will have escorted my parents around the world and secured them 5 different First Class products all booked with points over 24 days. The only reason they won’t be in first on certain routes is because it isn’t available and they’ll be in business. We’ll also use points for all but 3 nights – all in 4 and 5 star hotels. It’s been absolutely amazing seeing their reaction, impression, shock, surprise and most of all…creating the lifelong memories. This trip is EXACTLY why I’m so obsessed with making sure I squeeze value out of my spend, credit cards, and point redemptions. It’s hard to believe we’re on the trip as it’s been planned for so long, but more surreal we have only 1 week left. My mom has had more surprise birthday cakes on this trip than I think maybe ever in her life. WOOT WOOT! Here’s a quick look at a few things we’ve done thus far on points and a couple highlights we’ve been able to splurge on because of all the savings 🙂
Cathay First Class from Boston to Beijing via Hong Kong. Alaska 70k plus ~$50
JW Marriott Beijing 1 Bedroom Executive Suite with Club Access…12k points per night + $70.
Great Wall of China.
Singapore Suites Beijing to Singapore and First Class from Singapore to Dubai. 97,500 Krisflyer + $119 ( including $100 stopover fee)
Suites
First Class
A splurge on Mandapa, A Ritz Carlton Reserve property in Ubud, Bali
Conrad Bali – 60k plus $150 for an Ocean Front King Suite
Intercontinental Singapore – 6ok points per night.
JW Marriott Dubai – One Bedroom Suite 35k Marriott Rewards + $75 per night with club access
Afternoon Tea at The Burj Khalifa
There is a lot more to come and I will go through a thorough explanation of how I booked and planned this epic trip, but thought a little update might be fun 😉
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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