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My family spent $5k on a $125k SURPRISE Trip Around the World for my Mom’s 75th!
My Dad and I couldn’t love my mom more, and we wanted her to have a truly ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE for such a momentous birthday. I mean she was turning 75!!! So…nearly a year and a half before the big day, starting in 2015, we brainstormed. A Party? Nah… What else do you do besides a big party? Then it hit us. A BIG TRIP. My mom has always wanted to visit the factory that makes her perfume, a perfume that she has worn for over 50 years! How cool is that? It’s called Habanita and it’s made by Molinard whose factory is in Grasse, France. She’s also wanted to go to Bali…So which place would we go to? How about both? How about more than both? WHAT IF WE MADE THE WHOLE THING A SURPRISE?! YES! So what started as an idea that became a trip turned into a great big, mega, all first-class, 5 star, SURPRISE TRIP Around The World. In total…the retail cost would have been more than $125k for the flights and hotels. We paid roughly $5k…not including the food.
How we earned the points?
It took us between 12 and 18 months to not only earn enough points, but make sure that we could find the award availability to make every destination fit together like a jigsaw. In the end we used far less than we earned, but most of the cards that we used are listed on my top credit card page. This entire website is geared towards educating you on how I continue to take dream trips that are largely offset with points and miles earned from credit cards and every day purchases. We did not spend a single dime that we wouldn’t have otherwise spent, we just optimized every single dollar to earn as many points as we could.
If you’re interested in the cards that we think are the best, and some tips to get started, I would highly recommend checking out our Top Credit Card page. This trip was mainly achieved by combining an assorted of points earned from Chase, Amex, Citi, Marriott, IHG, and Alaska Miles. Since taking trip Capital One has created a program that could effectively achieve many of the same results we had. While this trip was an absolutely dream, I can’t stress enough that you should pay your bills on time, in full, and not go into debt and pay the high financing charges associated with carrying debt. It’s been 4 years since we took this trip and most of the cards I added to my wallet are still in it – they have continued to provide immense value for my everyday purchases and ability to continue to take dream trips.
Check out our Top Credit Card page to learn more
Below you’ll find reviews of every flight, hotel, and lounge we visited. Within those reviews you’ll get tutorials on the points I used, how I found award availability, and tips on how you can book it yourself.
My goal with documenting the trip is that you are inspired to take your own dream trips. Points and miles has created not only a business for me, but the opportunity to share experiences with the most important people in my life that I will never forget.
A quick sizzle on the trip
Here’s a little ditty my mom wrote…
Christmas, 2016 was the first I had heard of a 3 week round the world trip for my 75th Birthday!! My son and my husband had been working on this trip for over a year prior!!! I was so excited, but no information was given on exact destinations – only temperatures for each destination for the time period we would be there, and 5 countries and 6 cities!!! I only learned of each of the destinations as we were at the airport ready to depart!!! What fun!!!!! How exciting!!!
Here is a glimpse of our trip! We went through Beijing, Singapore, Bali, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the South of France.
Everything was a surprise for my mom. She had a feeling about different places that she might visit…but she didn’t know 100% until she got a boarding pass. SO MUCH FUN!
Visiting the Molinard Factory was icing on the cake. A lifelong dream of my mom’s. She’s worn their perfume for 50 years!
- Boston to Beijing
- Beijing to Singapore
- Singapore to Bali Roundtrip
- Singapore to Dubai
- Abu Dhabi to Cannes, France
- Cannes, France to Dallas
- 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)
- 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
How much did this all cost in dollars and points?
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
Full break down of the points used:
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.
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!
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
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 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)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
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® Card is great 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: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.