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Trip Report: 5 cabins 5 stars Miles traces his roots in S.E. Asia
The world is getting smaller and smaller, we’re more connected, and utilizing POINTS provides opportunities to reach parts of the world that used to be just a dream. Miles wanted to investigate the possibility that he was potentially from SouthEast Asia. I really wanted to make use of AA miles on a flight back from Asia in First Class because they were devaluing the charts. Dave was down to do that too and after consulting with Miles we determined Vietnam could be his homeland. So we booked flights back from Hanoi, Vietnam on random dates knowing we’d change them to suit our needs. Ultimately the trip got changed many times, but here’s the really cool thing. He and I were able to meet up with two of our best friends who also happened to be utilizing points on trips through Asia.
Dave and I flew in 5 different first/business cabins worth nearly $17k…it cost us $60.
We met up with our buddy, Fritz, in Taipei.
He then jetted back on EVA biz utilizing his Ultimate Rewards
And then Shane was visiting some family in Thailand and he flew over to hit up Cambodia and Ha Long Bay.
Dave, Shane, and I have been best buds for nearly 20 years. We’re all from small towns in the midwest and here we were meeting up all across the world. Thanks, Miles!
We also used points to stay in some incredible hotels:
Here’s a link to the very in depth tutorial on how I planned and booked the entire points part of the trip.
Below are all the individual reviews.
- 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
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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