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Review: EVA Business Class Royal Laurel TPE-SGN
Last year I’d written about Singapore Air Krisflyer having an Intra-Asia sweet spot. I stumbled upon it while searching for ways to route Dave and I through Asia. As luck would have it, a good buddy of ours was going to be in Taipei at the same exact time as us, and this was the excuse we needed to stopover in Taipei for a couple days. We had a fantastic flight over on China Airlines Business Class for $5.60, and two amazing ( and free) nights at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, but we wanted a great ride down to Saigon. What we ultimately found was a perfectly timed EVA Business Class Royal Laurel TPE-SGN flight that could be had for just 27,500 Krisflyer and roughly $24.
Passion for points
This means, all in, Dave and I flew from Indianapolis to Saigon in Business Class, with a 2 night stopover in Taipei at a 5 star hotel, AND THEN to Saigon in EVA Royal Laurel for ~$30 out of pocket and points. On top of that, we caught up with our buddy Fritz halfway around the world. This is the kind of stuff you tell your grandkids about it, and why I’m obsessed with points. It’s the memories and shared experience that drive this passion, and all 3 of us left Taipei on EVA’s Royal Laurel. Dave and I to Saigon, with a Singapore Air Krisflyer redemption, and Fritz used his Ultimate Rewards to transfer to United, and redeem 80k of them to fly back home to the states.
The Deets on EVA Business Class Royal Laurel 777-300ER TPE-SGN
- When: December 31st, 2016
- Airline: EVA
- Route: TPE-SGN
- Flight: BR 391
- Plane: 777-300ER
- Duration: 3 hours 25 mins
- Class: Business Class “Royal Laurel”
- Seat: 3D
- Program: Singapore Krisflyer
- Status: None
- Cost: 27,500 + $23.72
I used United to find the avail:
I then Called Singapore to book the flight. You can use Singapore Krisflyer by transferring from:
It was a perfect first date. 3.5 hours was simply not enough. Is it too soon to call? Text? Can I Retweet? How bout a like or favorite…I’m so confused, all I want to do is spend more time with EVA…like on a long haul in pjs, sipping Dom, and enjoying a luxuries of a Rimowa amenity kit.
Out of all the legs on this trip, this was the most surprising. I thought Royal Laurel would be very nice, but the service was ridics. The cabin was nearly empty, so I’m sure we got more attention, but the staff COULD NOT do enough for us. They made us feel as though they were anticipating our needs, wants, hopes, desires, aspirations, goals, wishes, concerns, balanced our check books, steadied our blood alcohol levels, lowered our body fat, increased our libidos and hair line, and kept us modest. I’m only partially exaggerating…they tried, but couldn’t keep Miles modest. I’m pretty sure they would have even proofread a blog post if I’d asked…which I often times should do more than once. I digress. The point is…it far EXCEEDED expectation.
It’s an amazing feeling to board a plane, see genuine smiles coming from people who made us feel as though we were truly their honored guests. I can’t believe 27,500 Krisflyer and $24 did this.
The cabin was so empty I toured. Started at the window.
Window
2 windows, noise canceling headphones, pillow, blanket, reverse herringbone, and yes – lie-flat
Ample storage
Controls and outlets:
Wifi:
Sleepy? After come Veuve Le Grande Dame you might need to rest the peepers.
Speaking of Le Grande Dame:
moved to the middle after take off
3 things that will set the tone for the meal: Champagne. Menu. Table setting. EVA impressed across the board. Look at the detail in the menus and table setting.
The Detail…
Even the wrapper on the silverware was detailed. The table cloth was out of a restaurant and the china they used drew it all together. Even the sugar for the espresso was styled. Brush your shoulders off EVA…
The food was very good. I had the fish, tiramisu, and an espresso
I absolutely loved the cabin, the seat, and ESPECIALLY the service. EVA was thoroughly impressive.
Overall:
This was a great way to fly from Taipei to Saigon. EVA will melt all of your worries and frets away. It’s really an immersion into high end service and an effortless goal to make the passenger feel as if their needs are met before they knew they had them. That’s beyond rare. It’s really a split between first and business class. Walking off the plane I was left with the feeling that I needed to book another trip to Asia to fly Royal Laurel on a long-haul.
Flying in these cabins is always such an experience. What’s even cooler is doing it with friends and fam. Dave and I were so fortunate to go around the world last year and dip our toes in some amazing cabins, hotels, and bucket list adventures. This just adds another to the list that we’ve been able to do together. Our other best friend, Shane, is meeting up with us in Cambodia – the 3 of us have known eachother for 20 years…he’s getting into points as well and will surely be mentioned on more trips to come, but it’s pretty cool to do these things with lifelong friends.
This review is a part of the Trip Report: Miles Traces his roots in Southeast Asia
- Delta SkyClub Indianapolis IND
- Delta First Class IND-LAX
- Amex Centurion Pop-UP TBIT
- China Air Business Class 777-300ER LAX-TPE
- Grand Hyatt Taipei
- Grand Hyatt Taipei Club Lounge Review
- Taipei 101 Tour
- EVA Air Infinity lounge TPE
- Plaza Premium Lounge TPE Zone A1
- Plaza Premium Lounge TPE Zone A
- EVA Royal Laurel Business Class TPE – SGN
- Vietnamese Visa on Arrival Experience
- Park Hyatt Saigon
- Park Hyatt Saigon Breakfast
- Cu Chi Tunnels Tour Ho Chi Minh City
- Orchid Lounge SGN
- Cambodian Visa on Arrival Experience
- Park Hyatt Siem Reap
- Viator Ankor Wat Private Tour
- Afternoon Tea Park Hyatt Siem Reap
- Plaza Premium Lounge Siem Reap
- Intercontinental Hanoi
- Dragon Legend Ha Long Bay Cruise
- Hanoi Hilton
- ACV Business Lounge Hanoi
- Qatar Airways Business Class 777-300ER HAN-BKK
- Louis Tavern CIPFirst Class Lounge Bangkok BKK
- Louis Tavern CIP Business Class Lounge Bangkok BKK
- Japan Airlines Business Class 787-8 BKK-NRT
- American Airlines Admirals Club Tokyo NRT
- Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo NRT
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Tokyo NRT
- Japan Airlines First Class 777-300ER NRT-ORD
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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