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My YouTube Channel is forging ahead!
If you missed it, earlier this year my family went on an EPIC!!!!!!! trip to celebrate my Mom’s Birthday. It wasn’t just any birthday, it was her 75th, and that meant we couldn’t just take any old trip. My dad and I schemed around and decided we would take her a crazy trip around the world hitting up the places she’s always wanted to go. Check out the video highlights, and below for the collection of reviews I published earlier in the year. IT WAS AMAZING!!!
Flights:
- Boston to Beijing
- Beijing to Singapore
- Singapore to Bali Roundtrip
- Singapore to Dubai
- Abu Dhabi to Cannes, France
- Cannes, France to Dallas
Hotels:
- Boston
- Beijing
- JW Marriott Beijing, 1 Bedroom Suite ($450 for 5 nights)
- Club King ($250)
- Singapore
- Bali
- Singapore
- Dubai
- Abu Dhabi
- Cannes, France
- Dallas
- JW Marriott Beijing, 1 Bedroom Suite ($450 for 5 nights)
Lounges
- Boston
- Hong Kong
- Beijing
- Singapore
- Bali
- Singapore
- Abu Dhabi
- London
- Nice
- Frankfurt
Afternoon Tea
TIPS:
- When to look for Cathay award space
- How we booked 3 Singapore Suites
- 5 things we loved doing in Singapore that avoided the heat
- Never trust the concierge
Total value: $125-130k+ Paid: $4500-$5000 +/-
Total value of Flights = Roughly $110-115k
- Mom and Dad
- $42,500k each
- Paid $1000 +/-
- Zach + Miles
- $27-30k
- $1000
Total value of hotels: Roughly $13-14k
- Paid – roughly $2700
Points used ( for everyone):
In total:
- IHG = 670K
- Marriott Rewards: 310K
- Alaska = 190k
- Singapore Air = 278k
- Hilton = 60k
- AA = 160k
The Flights:
- Cathay Pacific First Class from Boston to Hong Kong and on to Beijing
- 70k Alaska + $50
- Cathay Pacific Business Class from Boston to Hong Kong and on to Beijing
- 50k Alaska Mileage Plan +$50
- Singapore Suites from Beijing to Singapore + Singapore First Class from Singapore to Dubai
- 97,500 + $19 ( My mom’s was 15% off the points as it was booked pre-deval)
- $100 stopover fee in Singapore
- KLM Businesss Class from Singapore to Bali roundtrip
- $400
- Abu Dhabi To London in Etihad First Class Apartments + BA Club world from London to Nice, France
- 62,000 American Airlines + $93
- Abu Dhabi to London in Etihad Business Studio + BA Club World from London to Nice
- 40k AA + $93
- Lufthansa First Class from Frankfurt to Dallas + Nice to Frankfurt in Business
- 80k Singapore + $300
The Hotels
- Boston
- Intercontinental Boston
- 50k IHG
- Intercontinental Boston
- Beijing
- JW Marriott Beijing – Used Marriott Rewards
- Room 1
- 5 nights for 60k points
- Room 2
- 5 nights for 60k, 3 nights with suite upgrade of $70
- Room 1
- JW Marriott Beijing – Used Marriott Rewards
- Singapore
- Crowne Plaza Singapore
- 40k IHG per room
- Crowne Plaza Singapore
- Bali
- Mandapa,
- paid rate with Virtuoso and Ritz STARS benefits
- Conrad Bali
- 60k HHonors + $135
- Mandapa,
- Singapore
- Intercontinental Singapore
- 60k per night, per room
- Intercontinental Singapore
- Dubai
- JW Marriott Marquis Dubai
- 35k + $70 per night
- JW Marriott Marquis Dubai
- Abu Dhabi
- Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi
- 30k per night, per room
- Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi
- Cannes, France
- Intercontinental Carlton
- 2 free credit cards nights
- 5 nights at 50k points
- 1 night at 60k points
- Intercontinental Carlton
We were gone a total of 24 days and stayed in luxury hotels all the way through. We flew the best the world has to offer, and all it took was planning and understanding exactly how to utilize points to their potential.
Bonus Reviews:
Did you know that there was a lounge inside a lounge inside a lounge reserved exclusively for First Class passengers departing Singapore called THE PRIVATE ROOM? It was a great surprise for both of my parents that I wanted to make sure we visited. It features a la carte dining options like lobster and champagne and has a fine dining feel to it. Yes, this is in an airport. This is one of the amazing BONUS treats you get when you max your points out. MORE LUX, LESS BUCKS. Take look at all of the luxurious lounges we were able to visit because we were flying in such great cabins.
Lounges
- Boston
- Hong Kong
- Beijing
- Singapore
- Bali
- Singapore
- Abu Dhabi
- London
- Nice
- Frankfurt
We have been so blessed to be able to experience something like this and create these memories of a lifetime. I’m excited to share with all of you, and teach you how to do it too!
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
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.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 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 Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
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.
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