r/churning • u/AutoModerator • 7d ago
Storytime Weekly Trip Report and Churning Success Story Weekly Thread - Week of March 30, 2025
How'd your churning week go? Any super huge highs? Any thank yous you'd like to give /r/churning?
- Did you book an awesome Trip?
- Are you excited to share your latest redemption?
- Did you score some unexpected Miles/Points?
Trip Reports, Success Stories, Funny Churning Stories. Drinks with the Drunk AmEx Girl. Share them all here!
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u/sexy__kitten7 6d ago
Did NYC last weekend for 2 FT Dos. Airfare was crazy expensive, at least for my preferred airline (AA). They wanted over 300 on the outbound and 450-880 for the return! These were connecting itineraries too. I managed to book AA going down (via CLT mind you) for 184. The fares coming back on Sunday never dropped (I waited til Sunday AM to book) so I just did JFK-PWM on B6.
Found a deal on AAhotels for a hotel under 200 a/i but unfortunately it errored out at the last step! So many glitches with that site. Searched a while longer, used rooms.aero and also capitalone. Cap1 had some rates that undercut booking direct so worth checking. Ended up using my ihg free night! At first on the map view it looked like none of the manhattan hotels participated but once I zoomed in I found the Crowne plaza. It was 35k or 265. Better value than I got last year - so hard to use. Great recognition of elite benefits - got a snack and water and wine and points.
Saw harry potter which was amazing of course. Watch out for dynamic pricing - the ticket cost fell after I bought it and it did not sell out! Walked around the reservoir - which was new to me. And got to take several buses, the shuttle train from Grand central to Times sq, and the A line all the way out to JFK (the back way). Flight was delayed and then taxi took forever so landed at 1AM :(
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u/sexy__kitten7 6d ago
Did Hilton Head 2 weeks ago to visit Mommy. One night. Nothing too exciting. PWM-DCA-HHH/HHH-CLT-PWM. Found some great fares on AA (164 outbound and 208 return). Love that you can rebook from regular economy now - altho you risk losing credit card protections when using only voucher.
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u/jennerality BTR, CRM 6d ago
Not a very sexy redemption, but helped save some money. A family member is moving out of state for a job which gave him less than a couple weeks to move... booked a week at a local Fairfield Inn & Suites for less than 70k while we get things set up for him at the new apartment. Can't remember the last time I've averaged less than 10k/night at any Marriott property, ha.
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u/virginiarph 6d ago
snagged 2 JFK to HND business class tickets for cherry blossom season next year! š. booked direct for 50k JAL $225 fees each!
also recently snagged 2x MCO -MAD round trip J for 36k avios $150 pp!
this is my first year actually planning a year out for award travel and itās so much easier than the close in crap iāve been doing
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u/3third_eye 7d ago edited 7d ago
Whistler week long ski/snowboard trip via vacasa and wyndham 8x gas/utilities.
Ok inspired by the below post about anything OTHER than Japan, last month we used wyndham to book vacasa at a ski-in rental along the blackcomb gondola 5 nights for family of 4, 67500 Wyndham points (10% off via earner biz card). This is our 3rd year in a row in the same vacasa and, per tradition, I booked next year on the day we got back. The wyndham earner biz p1/p2 are the only non SUB cards we use, specifically for the 8x gas/utilities. Unfortunately due to my commute and with a rental property where we pay utilities, our gas/utilities spend alone is enough to fund this trip annually.
The lodge itself isn't anything fancy but just perfect for a ski trip: free parking, ski lockers, cozy, kitchenette for bringing our own groceries, direct ski-in access after a 60 second walk, hot tub for end of the day relaxing.
It is driving distance from our home in SEA. Stopped for a night on the way back at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver for some cheap shopping and dining (excellent exchange rate right now from usd). Used global entry (need PHYSICAL cards at the border) to cruise past the multi-hour border line on the way back in the states.
Tough to churn an epic pass but we did a 4 day edge pass for P1/P2 and kids get free epics if booked in advance via epic school pass. Their cards were able to get us 20% off lessons and food on the mountain, and with the exchange rate whistler suddenly becomes the best bargain skiing/riding in the PNW for premier terrain. Goes to show the sad state of affairs of skiing in North America.
Snow was fresh when we got there with bluebird the whole week and bitter cold temps at the alpine lifts, but no new powder. We'll take it for late Feb.
Unfortunately next year will be our last as this has slowly gotten nerfed. Year 1 was 54k pts for huge "sleeps 8" 1 bdrm property with friends. Year 2 67500 for same. Year 3 67500 for "sleeps 4" tighter room in the same lodge. And next year this property is now "tier 2" so cost doubled to 135k wyndham points -- I booked it anyway and still feels like a good deal but we could probably do better. Our stash is depleted.
Pour another one out for Wyndham/vacasa. Has served us well over here.
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u/URtheoneforme 6d ago
At this point, I assume that ski trips are cash trips that help hit SUBs. Being able to find lodging with points is a win itself!
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u/Elrondel 7d ago
I don't suppose you'd share that Vacasa? We had a great 8 person trip to Whistler this year and I'd love to go back. Can't believe I only hit Crystal and Harmony on the last day.
Edit: Never mind, just read your last paragraph. That deval sucks... We did an AirBNB cash and it came out to about $360/pp for 4 nights.
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u/No_Potential5989 7d ago edited 7d ago
Trip report from Spain (Seville, Granada, Barcelona)
Flights booked on Flying Blue when there was a saver drop last year. 2 travelers
SFO-CDG Air France J, 50k + $200/pp
CDG-SVQ Air France J, 37k + $60 / pp (ouch) after Amex transfer bonus. But cheaper to book separately, had I tried to do SFO-CDG-SVQ flights were over 100k points.
BCN-CDG-SFO Air France J, 50k + $300/pp
Cash Vueling GRX-BCN
Rental thru Hertz to drive between Seville and Granada. Amex code really isnāt that helpful, I used an employer code and got a really cheap rental.
Flights were standard Air France, not bad at all but nothing special. Food was decent and service was friendly. Only had time for CDG lounge on the return and it was pretty small and crowded.Ā
Hotels booked a mix of MMS thru Hyatt and SLH thru Hilton
Seville: Corral Del Rey, 26k/night thru Hyatt. Well-located and great staff, but tiny rooms. Not great for coming back to relax. Free continental breakfast (no Hyatt status not that it matters at MMS)
Granada: Palacio Gran Via, 34k/night thru Hyatt. Well-located and amazing hotel. Super nice 5 star hotel (and truly seemed like 5 stars). Free buffet + order hot dishes breakfast (no Hyatt status not that it matters at MMS)
Barcelona: Hotel Bagues, 65k/night thru Hilton. Right next to Le Boqueria so it was fun getting a snack there in afternoons. Also 5 star hotel but less nice than the prior hotel, but it was not bad. Free buffet + order hot dish for being Hilton GoldĀ
Overall not super high dollar to point value, but free is free! Happy to save a few hundred bucks a night on hotel so that I can spwns on activities and food. The free breakfasts were a huge plus. I tried to look on the MMS website ahead of time to see if the hotel I booked offered free breakfast, but it was not super clear if it would until I got there.
Had a private tour in Seville (cathedral/Alcazar), did our own touring in Granada (Alhambra), and did some Gaudi in Barcelona (Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell). You must book ahead for all of these, sometimes far ahead depending on the attraction. Alhambra was amazing!
Food-wise had many tapas, a lot of seafood, Moroccan food in Granada, paella, and Cocina Hermanos Torres (3 stars) which was so good. I think because these cities are touristy and their food is high protein the food was much more expensive than what I experienced in Italy and French countryside. Overall a great trip but I prefer Italy and France!
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u/namhee69 6d ago
I absolutely loved Sevilla but I was there in early September when it was absolutely blasted out. Over 40c most days. Such an underrated city though.
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u/tanman170 6d ago
About to go on this exact trip minus Seville next week. I wanted to book the MMS hotels in Granada, but I must have been looking too late because they were also around 1 cpp with very high cash rates. It just wasnāt worth it. We ended up going cash (minus VX and Delta biz gold credits) for both cities. We considered the Hyatts in Barcelona but they are pretty far away from the center of the city.
Any other specific food recs in Granada? Also do you speak any Spanish and how did you fare there language wise?
Great report!
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u/No_Potential5989 6d ago
Restaurante Palacio Andaluz Almona for Moroccan food, we loved it. Nice break from Spanish food. Easy to walk inĀ
Betula Nana for home cooked spanish-ish food. Just a wife and husband team. Vibe was so cute and the food was great (it kind of felt like the husband just cooked what he felt would be fun). Find their WhatsApp on FB for reservationĀ
My husband has hs-level Spanish skills, which helped, but English is super prevalent. You shouldnāt have an issueĀ
Agree MMS seems pegged to cost so not super worth it. Enjoy your trip!Ā
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u/tanman170 5d ago
Thank you! Hoping my Duolingo comes in handy haha. Betula Nana was on my list, they told me they are only open for lunch the entire week we are there. But I think Iāll grab a lunch res for sure.
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u/txtravelr 7d ago
SVQ not SVG. I also stayed in the Palacio Gran Via last month, really enjoyed it. I'm surprised you paid that much more, I think my most expensive night was about 26k (and one as low as 19k I think). I'm a bit surprised you found the food pricy, I thought it was dirt cheap compared to the US (particularly a large city on the west coast).
MMS seems to be inconsistent. Palacio Gran Via did include reakfast, but a MMS in Seville (Gravina 51) didn't.
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u/No_Potential5989 7d ago
Oops corrected. Maybe late Mar vs Feb is a significant increase in pricing. And we didnāt eat for less than $70 a dinner (for 2). Cheap compared to SF, esp the wine, but much more expensive than our other trips in recent yearsĀ
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u/txtravelr 6d ago
Yeah, I think the difference is being off season.
I feel like we had a number of dinners around 40-50 for 2, and not because we went to super cheap places.
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u/Upstairs_Film8721 7d ago
Was in PHL area this week for business/personal reasons and decided to check out the Sapphire lounge using Priority Pass.
Space is massive. Wasn't very crowded midday on a Sunday (maybe because it's after a lot of Spring Break travel?). They had a good variety of small plate meals at the buffet station, pretty tasty. Also ordered off the QR menu: Cheeseburger and fries and a signature cocktail. Both food and drink came out pretty quick and all were tasty. Appreciated that it was easy to request the cocktail could be made non-alcoholic by checking the box on the menu. Bathroom was clean.
Didn't have time to enjoy the Arcade, Beer garden, or wellness sections. I think it's worth coming here over the PHL centurion lounge; will keep coming until I use up all my random Priority pass cards for the year. Then will switch back to centurion lounge.
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u/cali-golfer 7d ago
I just booked a Moorea and Bora Bora trip for late December to early January with my wife. We're flying LAX-PPT roundtrip.on Air Tahiti Nui in PE using 160K AS miles plus $150 taxes total for both. We will stay 8 nights in Moorea in a beachfront Airbnb for $1,900 and then use Air Tahiti to fly to Bora Bora, where we are staying 6 nights using 480K HH pts and 1 FNC. It's our favorite tropical destination, and it will be our 5th trip to FP since Covid... can't wait!!
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u/Flayum SFO 7d ago
In case you weren't aware (probably not your first rodeo, but just in case), check the thread on FT for hints and details on the Conrad. Highly recommend doing the boat rental for a half or full day!
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u/cali-golfer 6d ago
Thanks! We were going to do the half day La Plage boat rental last time, but the weather was too windy.... hoping to do it this trip!
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u/BleedBlue__ 7d ago
Challenge: someone in this sub go on a trip and DONāT go to Japan
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u/jojokikikween 6d ago
Iām going to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest in mid-late November so I can enjoy a bunch of opera and thermal baths without the crowds. Maybe someday Iāll feel excited about Japan? Idk, thereās so much to see in this hemisphere and so many other worthwhile destinations in that one.
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u/terpdeterp EWR, JFK 6d ago
If you're traveling in late November, make sure to also check out the Christmas markets especially in Vienna. There's nothing more festive than drinking glĆ¼hwein in commemorative cups while indulging in Christmas specialties.
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u/jojokikikween 5d ago
Any idea exactly when they open the Christmas markets? My Vienna dates are Wednesday 11/19 to Saturday 11/22. Then on to Budapest for the last few days of my trip before hurrying home for Thanksgiving. I didn't plan this trip specifically to see Europe's Christmas markets, but if the timing works out, I'll be very happy for the chance
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u/terpdeterp EWR, JFK 5d ago
Most of them are open by mid-November. This site has the 2024 opening dates for Vienna Christmas markets. Budapest's Christmas markets also open around mid-November, whereas Prague's Christmas markets open at the end of November.
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u/jojokikikween 5d ago
Thank you! Looks like my timing will be right on for what I want to do and see
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u/namhee69 6d ago
I went to Japan last year for the 6th or 7th time since 2002, but went to Australia in January, going to the DR in April and South Africa in October.
Oh and Austin for the F1 race.
Soā¦ mission accomplished.
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u/becauseimnew 6d ago
Going to Belize this summer. SW points for flights and URs for hotels. Nothing fancy, just some jungle tours and scuba diving.
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u/EatMoreSleepMore 7d ago
Donāt forget expensive instagramable islands in the middle of nowhere. If youāre not spending 30 hours each way getting to the Maldives are you even traveling?
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u/jojokikikween 6d ago
30 hours will get you to the Philippines where you can do and eat about 1000 things for the cost of 1/2 of a cocktail in the Maldives. No brainer for me
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u/shinebock IAH, HOU 7d ago
I haven't been since BC (before Covid) but before the Hyatt deval this past week I booked a weeks worth of rooms to hopefully go next year with mrs. shinebock since she's never been.
Sucks that ANA availability has been such shit post covid.
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u/martyconlonontherun 7d ago
I honestly get it after going over there. If you are on the west coast, it's great value for both single people and families. shocked at how cheap stuff was. hell the last thing I did at the airport past security was grab two beers and two sushi triangles at the seven eleven next to the lounge that had a wait-list and it was $5 total.
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u/quiteCryptic 6d ago
I've been traveling full time last 2 years and Japan is still my favorite general destination. Depends what you are after tho.
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u/girardinl 7d ago
I went to Japan before it was cool.
(October 2016 was hot and raining most of the time.)
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u/Parts_Unknown- 7d ago
If you're ever in lovely Ridgecrest, CA then I recommend the HIE. New build, free parking & very clean.
DONE
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u/jojokikikween 6d ago
I lived in Ridgecrest for a year and a half, and no joke, I would go back for the wildflowers next time thereās a superbloom. And for the double rainbows.
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u/Parts_Unknown- 6d ago
Just outside is the town of Inyokern where the sign advertised the motto as '100 Miles From Anywhere' and that was more or less accurate.
I went out to do some photography of the Trona Pinnacles. 5/10, were kinda cool but probably not worth it unless you're passing though.
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u/Mundane_Sherbet_9924 7d ago
P2 and I went to Japan and Australia in January. We flew JAL from SFO-NRT, it had the sky suites, P2 likes being next to each other when we fly so I didnāt get the private window seats but we had a couple of middles. The room in these seats in amazing, my feet often feel squished in the footwell but not in these, they do lack some privacy, it would be great if they had a door, but overall it was a great seat for a daytime flight. We stayed 2 nights at the Andaz Tokyo and this hotel was fantastic. We ate here for one of our nights and the Wagyu steak was incredible and very reasonably priced, around $40. The views are incredible and while it is a little out of the way, you can walk directly from the hotel to the subway without ever going outside. We then spent a couple days at Tokyo Disney and stayed at the Hotel Miracosta. We finished our time here at the Conrad Tokyo using the FHR credit that pretty much covered the whole night. In comparing the 2 hotels, the Conrad had almost all Americans while the Andaz seemed to have quite a few locals staying there. The service was more polished at the Andaz but our check in experience at the Conrad was fantastic and they walked us through everything. We did get an upgrade at the Conrad to a deluxe room I believe, with the Andaz was just a view upgrade. We then flew HND-HAN-SYD on Vietnam airlines. These flights were pretty good. The first was a standard reverse herringbone seat and the second flight was their staggered seats with one seat being closer to the middle and one more exposed to the aisle. These were good flights, nothing too remarkable, the pho was pretty good. We then spent some days in Cairns, stayed in an Airbnb here and did a Great Barrier Reef tour. We then flew back to Sydney and stayed in an Airbnb here. Our Airbnb was incredible, directly across from the Opera House on the water in Kirribilli, honestly, if you are looking for lodging in Sydney, while I know the Park Hyatt is attractive, I would recommend an Airbnb in Kirribilli. You are guaranteed a great view! Though you do have to either plan out a ferry to Circular Quay, taxi/uber or walk across the Harbour bridge, so it isnāt quite as accessible. We then headed to Melbourne for the main purpose of the trip to see the Australian Open. We stayed at the Park Hyatt Melbourne and were upgraded to a deluxe room as a Globalist. We walked from the hotel to the AO each day and saw some fantastic tennis. The hotel actually had a tennis court on the 14th floor(not actually 14 floors up, I think the second floor is labeled the 9th floor) but it was fun to play a little with Rod Laver arena in the background. We spent a couple days exploring Melbourne and went to a sanctuary where we pet Koalas and Kangaroos. We then flew to Brisbane just to reposition for our flight home. We flew Delta One Suites BNE-LAX and this was the best business class I have flown in. We did have a slight issue boarding the flight, my wifeās passport couldnāt be read by their smartphones at the gate, she had the new passport with the hard plastic ID page, but it seemed to be scanning others. Very weird situation where they wouldnāt let us on, but it was an American passport on a flight back to America and we had Fly Ready on our boarding passes, and have flown internationally with Delta several times. Eventually he tried scanning a picture on her passport on my phone and that went through, weird experience which had us board quite late. Nevertheless, the seat here is phenomenal, super private with the door, the seat has lots of space, I enjoy that the seats lay straight instead of crooked like in reverse harringbone. Also with the doors, the seats closer to the aisle still feel very private. We had the beef short rib which was the best airplane food Iāve had. Overall, service was exceptional and very prompt and this flight was great. The timing of these flights isnāt great, we left BNE around 11am and landed in LAX before 6 am when immigration opens, so we had to sit on the plane for about 20 mins before they could open the door. Then there was a stampede of people embarking from probably 10+ aircraft to get to immigration. This was by far the longest global entry line weāve see and what really held it up was people not knowing how to use the scanners. They had the new facial recognition kiosks that scan about 10 feet away, but everyone would get to close and it wouldnāt recognize. We did stop by the Delta One lounge which was fantastic. Unfortunately we only got to try breakfast but it was very nice and the GIF was made to order. We snagged this flight for 86k Skypesos per person, when these flights first dropped since it was a new route. Overall a great trip!
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u/motivation_vacation 7d ago
I stayed in that exact same Airbnb last March! I agree about the views being worth staying in Kirribilli.
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u/kawnipi 7d ago
Got a link for the airbnb?
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u/riceownz 7d ago
Just got back from a Japan trip with P2 last week.
Flights:
Delta D1 ATL - ICN 94k skypesos x 2.
Red eye flight leaving from home airport and had a bunch of skypesos to burn. Food was fine for J but Korean menu could use some improvements compared with Asiana. Wifi cutoff mid flight unfortunately due to delta satellites not having coverage over Pacific.
JAL J GMP - HND 15k Alaska miles x2.
Had to take the subway to go to GMP but 3 hours layover was enough. JAL flies SS3 from GMP to HND in the morning so lie flat seat for 1hourish flight was a nice experience.
ANA domestic flights HND - NGS and FUK - HND 8.8k yen per flight.
Domestic 787 so not much here but cheaper than redeeming miles for.
JAL F FUK - HND - LAX 80k AA miles.
P2 flew back 1 day earlier with JAL F. Old seats but full experience with Salon and Hibiki 100th anniversary available at 60k yen.
ANA F HND - ORD 85k Virgin miles + 260~ taxes.
Rebooked from ANA J when I got an alert for open seat. Calling VS to change my flight was a pretty easy experience. Got a full refund + paid new fare and taxes. ANA F was great on the new suites. FA set up your bed on the seat across from you if it's empty so you get 2x as much space. 50k yen for Hibiki 100th anniversary edition so slightly cheaper than JAL.
Flights back to ATL both on delta due to timing.
Hotels:
IHG Tokyo Hotel Indigo Shibuya 60k IHG FNC x 2.
Great location, 10min walk to Shibuya station and plenty of shopping + restaurants nearby. Rooms were decent size and with Platinum we got 2 drink vouchers + higher floor/king bed upgrade.
IHG Yokohama Pier 8. 60k IHG FNC x 1.
Location is not great but decent if you want to explore Yokohama area. Room however is huge with an amazing view. We were upgraded to minatomirai view and originally only given 1 drink voucher. However when asked more at checked in they give 2 drink vouchers as a courtesy due to first stay. Their cruise ship cost 2k yen but seems to have ended service so we decided to skip it. Mini fridge soft drinks were all included which was a nice surprise.
Choice Kanda/Hakata/Higashi Nihonbashi 8k choice points x 6.
Standard business hotel but with Platinum status there is no early check in, only late check out at noon. Location for Hakata hotel was great but their WiFi had the most issue. Free breakfast included in all 3 and is pretty much the same rotating menu so you'll get tired of it eventually. Great price though since choice points are on sale regularly around .6 cents per point.
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u/sunnyhillz 7d ago
im flying TYO-NGS and FUK-TYO next month too. where you stay in kyushu?
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u/namhee69 6d ago
I did a road trip through Kyushu last October.
Fukuoka I stayed at the Grand Hyatt. Wasnāt awful but def wasnāt great.
In Beppu I stayed at an APA hotel near the train station.
Near Mr Aso I stayed at a Fairfield Inn which was practically new and a decent use of Marriott Pesos.
Nagasaki I stayed at the Marriott also on points/certs. The problem with it is that itās attached to the JR station and a big shopping mall. The parking situation is very confusing. Took a lot of memorization to find my car. Lounge was nice and a lot of smaller affordable izikayas nearby.
If youāre heading to Nagasaki I highly recommend the day trip to Hashima Island. Drove there for that tour and didnāt disappoint. Some days donāt have English language tours but I think itās every other day.
One of the weirdest things Iāve ever visited but also a very lovely cruise through the harbor.
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u/riceownz 7d ago
Hilton Nagasaki for 1 night around $140~ covered by delta gold credit. The location was great as it's right next to Nagasaki station. Room was big and there's a bathhouse available to use as well. Restaurants have 25% off for gold/diamond members so it's pretty good use for ABP credits.
Fukoka we stayed at Comfort Hakata as mentioned earlier.
Kumamoto we stayed at Airbnb near the station for parking.3
u/sunnyhillz 7d ago
cool. im doing andaz tokyo, nagasaki marriott, ic beppu, gh fukuoka, and some other cash stays
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u/dummonger JFK, LGA 7d ago
Iāll try to make this one short.
Just got back from a fun Asia Trip with P2, 3/9-19.
All amounts listed below are per person/per night.
We took separate flights since P2 was late confirming avail for the trip.
Flights
- JFK-HND ANA F: 85k Virgin + $250
- JFK-HND ANA J: 100k UA + $6
- 2x NRT-TPE JL J: 15k AS + idk
- 2x TPE-BKK TG J: 30k AP + idk
- 2x BKK-DOH-JFK QR J: 95k QR + 250
Hotels
- 2x HH Tokyo Shibuya: 2x 1-4 FNC
- 4x GH Taipei: 12k Hyatt/nt
- 3x PH Bangkok: 240/nt + SUA (corp rate)
Comments
- Planned about a year in advance when I first saw the ANA F space JFK-HND open up.
- Everything else was planned from there based on where in Asia we wanted to go and where there was 2x J to come back from.
- Taipei was amazing. Never been and really shone as a destination. Bar hopping, hot springs, nature, art! All in easy to access fashion, plus a lot of LGBTQ representation which I liked.
- Bangkok was too crazy and too hot for me but still interesting. Food was great obv. Recommend āA Chefs Tourā if looking for a good tour, which was great.
- HH Tokyo is now more expensive on points sadly but was very convenient. Breakfast exists but is nothing special.
- GH Taipei was not as nice as GH HK or Singapore but was very well located and had lots of nice amenities and a good (crowded) breakfast.
- PH Bangkok was affected by the earthquake after we went! Super nice property though and incredible service.
- TG J is nothing special at least on short haul. Food was good and seat was old but comfy. Much better than my most-hated JAL Flat Shell Neo I keep getting stuck with.
- First time on QSuites and it didnāt disappoint. Caviar, tons of movies, PJs, incredible lounges. Not as nice as ANA F but the nicest experience Iāve had otherwise.
As always, thanks to all here and hope to hear your adventures too!
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u/martyconlonontherun 7d ago
ORD to LA/Osaka/Kyoto/Tokyo - Family of 4 - 16 days (56k BA, 2 Marriott FNC, 340k LM, 15k IHG, 175k Hyatt, $5.6k out of pocket including everything from Amex allocations, to gas to tips). We set our expectations low and viewed this more as a family trip (Disney, Legoland, etc) than a true Japan vacation. overall great time. The affordability of stuff was such a mental relief where we did basically what we wanted when we wanted. Only thing that would've been expensive were taxis, but we avoided them
LA - Westin Marriott DTLA (2 FNCs) - Just a massive hotel, cool rooftop, Takes on the LA marathon so was able to get wristbands for the shuttle bus despite not booking through the marathon. Side story - Wife picked a breakfast location and we started walking out of the hotel, and having only been to DTLA once I thought we were walking in a direction opposite of where I would expect for Figueroa, but she was touchy from nerves of the trip so I just was like whatever and the area became more and more sketchy. Ended up the burrito place and got some looks like "you aren't from around here". Food was fantastic with some breakfast burritos. I looked up afterwards where we were and it was middle of skid row. Ran the marathon, met some friends at Edwards AF base before late flight out.
LAX->ICM->KIX (170k LM +$280) NRT->ORD (170k LM+380) Not much to much to say for an economy flight but man LM is stressful. I couldn't see the reservation in Asiana to check seats and other flight info. I call and they said it was never ticketed. started to worry and called lifemiles and they verified it was all good. 24 hrs before flight it wouldn't let me check in (probably because of the 20 month old). All was fine at check in and had four seats together. similar experiences on the way back. Not for the faint of heart where I spent the whole time wondering if we would be separated on the way home. (I didn't care but knew my wife would)
Osaka (two rooms Garner 7.5k IHG each) I think this was more of a Japanese business hotel than a gamer hotel you would stay at in the US, but absolutely loved it for what it was. None of the major players allowed four in a room, so booked two of these mini rooms and it was awesome for the first night of adjusting to the time zone. I took the four year old and wife took the 20mo and we definitely slept better separated and not waking each other up. Only spent 36 hours in Osaka, where we did the Dontouri river area and did a 20 min cruise, started out 7-11 experience, did Legoland and the mall. With the two kids we couldn't set a time on the aquarium and had trouble booking online so we skipped it as reserved entry lines continuously got pushed back.
Kyoto - Hyatt Place (C2) Decent size 2 queen room. Really good breakfast but only for globalist. it's on the Northside of the city not far from a major castle and the imperial palace and literally dont have to go outside from the subway stop below it. We did two days at the monkey park and there was local massive playground by the Kyoto convention center we hit up. Also did Nara with the deer (it was....interesting...don't regret doing it but the deer can get aggressive if they think you have food). Kyoto acquiriun was pretty solid and just crazy how much cheaper than going to Shedd in the US.
Tokyo - Hyatt House Suite (135k) Just a crazy location. took us 3-4 days days to get comfortable with the location and having a stroller made it incredibly confusing since Google would have you go in a direction with stairs. Breakfast again only for globalist but was pretty meh. view is incredible though as it's on the 16th floor. Really liked the hotel and definitely had an incredible entrance in the heart of Shibuya, but it's weird being at such a congested area but still not close to a lot of attractions. felt we still needed to hop on a subway for 30-45 min to get where we wanted to go but I guess that is just Tokyo compared to NY or Chicago where you leave downtown hotel and be twenty min walk to main tourist attractions.
Tokyo Disney ($184 entrance / $70 for food and souvenirs) I got to imagine the set up and general experience is similar to Florida, but with more respectful pretty and insanely cheap. It was fine for one day, but I just don't get Disney. It was a beautiful day, but you spend half of it waiting in line for rides. My 20mo absolutely loved it but he loves everything. My 4 yo was impatient and didn't think waiting in line for rides was worth it. we were planning on going 3 days but said f-it and did Legoland for a second time instead. I couldn't believe how cheap the food was. they had vending machines everywhere with $1 waters and $1.50 cokes. pizza, milk and dessert was $9 at the restaurant. My wife got shirts for like $15. So I definitely don't regret it and had some good memories, but the same experience in Florida probably would've been $1k and a lot more stressful / frustrating when my kid wasnr having that great of a time.
Babysitters - $10-14/hr via carefinder Absolutely great experience with 3 different babysitters in Kyoto and Tokyo. Only picked ones with 50+ sittings and 10+ 5 star reviews. There was a lot of friction during the trip of trying to keep the kids entertained and us wanting to see boring stuff (restaurants, temples, etc) so for the first time my kids were actually relieved to have a babysitter so they could do crafts at the hotel. They liked all 3. the second one (shuna) made our suite spotless by the time we go back. unfortunately she had Bible study so couldn't do a second babysit with us. Having the kids 2 weeks straight was exhausting and it was worth the money just to get away from the kids. One night we just went to the hotel bar and regrouped before going to get massages where we laid silently for 60 min in the dark.
Regrets Reservations - definitely a place where planning ahead and booking stuff helps. it wasn't in the cards for us so missed out on stuff like restaurants, acquiriuns, kart tour, etc. We just didn't know how our kids were going to adjust to the timezones or where we would be.
Cancellation mistakes - Lost $250 on forgetting to cancel a backup Airbnb, $50 not realizing Alaskan booking fee is non refundable, $20 on la parking because I screwed up a spot here booking, $50 on esim we didn't get to work.
Luggage Transfer - I would see if they can set up multiple legs. we just did airport to hotel and then it was kind of a pain figuring out the transfers the rest of the way (Kyoto we carried our luggage 1/2 mile to the yamota office, Tokyo we got lucky and booked klook last minute but it was stressful wondering if they would make it in time)
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u/sccjnthn 7d ago
Inspirational write up for me as I'm stuck in the newborn phase fantasizing about travel. How did the kids handle the flights and time zone change? Your write up makes it sound like it was pretty smooth.
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u/mjjjduh 7d ago
Newborn phase is a fantastic time to travel! First six months are easy and all they want to do is sleep and eat. Took my first born to Japan at 3 months and my second born to Maui (3 months) and MDX (6 months). Do it now before they hit the 1.5 year mark which is really tricky - too old to just sleep all the time, but too young to distract with unlimited screen time.Ā
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u/martyconlonontherun 7d ago
it's all YMMV with kids and they change constantly where you think something works on a trip and they out grow it by the next one.
Honestly jet lag wasn't bad. Repositioning to LA for two nights moved us two hours ahead and then we booked a 11pm flight and kept them up as much as possible leading up to the flight. they slept about half each way and were surprisingly good. We get the 20mo old his own seat as he's wiggly and decent size. so having four seats with two young kids gives us plenty of room to stretch our vs sitting next to an adult stranger.
We got in at like 9 am and were pretty much on the move all day the first day in Asia. They were exhausted and slept until like 430am the first day and got better from there. our 4 year old normally wakes us up in the middle of the night at home, but the last two nights he slept the whole night next to his brother (I think he liked sleeping in a bed next to him the whole night)
There was a time basically every other day where the 4 year old would have an epic melt down and I would be wondering if he is a bad kid or if we were horrible parents for how we raised him but then immediately pass out on my lap on the bus ride. lol so he was just really, really tired. the 20 mo on the other hand just loved everything. called him "mo mo" because no matter what we did he would always do the hand signal for more more.
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u/IronDukey 7d ago edited 7d ago
BOS-LHR: British Airways Rant
Last minute change BOS-LHR. I was originally scheduled to fly BOS-JFK-LHR on AA J via AS for 55k miles but wanted to stay an extra few days to hang with P2 before heading to a conference. Only availability direct from the east coast was on BA. Booked BA J on the 787-9 for 80k+ $375 (3.17 CPP) by transfering some MR to Qatar and some UR directly to BA. I was actually somewhat excited to book this as my dad, a million miler with BA, used to rave about BA as a kid and practically lived on this route in J when I was in secondary school.
Transfers and booking took over an hour to make because the BA website is horrendous and kept erroring out. I did not pay to select seats ($175 lmao) at booking and was unable to even login to my reservation after making the booking due to the BA website being so horrendous. The gall to charge for seat selection with this product.
BA checkin at the airport was odd, the checkin agent wouldn't let me select my seat saying that it was randomly assigned and they could not change it. I luckily got an aisle seat facing forward and avoided a middle facing backwards E seat on the 787-8/9 but its horrendous that you cannot easily select seats online or at the airport. The BA lounge at Logan was horrendous, very limited food and drink options, the AA lounge in terminal B is way way better with much friendlier and attentive staff. Boarding from the lounge was neat but a rather clunky process.
My expectations for the old BA J product and BA in general were low given recent reviews but not low enough. The seat itself is soft and comfortable but very very narrow; my shoulders hit the sides. I liked the softness of the bed, but at 6'2'' I had to jam myself in at a weird angle to fit in. If you're on the shorter side this would be a rather comfy, albiet public, sitting and sleeping experience. Dinner was served 30 minutes after takeoff and was middle of the road, the classic BA prawns were tasty but everything else was rather bland in that special home counties way. The IFE was a nice throwback to the early 2000s but considering this was a redeye it didn't make much of a difference to the experience
Service overall was mixed, the FA on my side of the cabin was absolutely lovely and attentive throughout the flight. However, the purser and other other FA's on the aisle next to me were exceedingly rude, to the point that other passengers talked about the chavish behaviour as we deplanned. For instance, many people on that aisle asked to be woken up for breakfast and coffee, but the FAs neglected to wake any of them up prior to landing.
Its only a 6 hour redeye across the pond and I was grateful for a lieflat, but its really striking how bad and uncompetitive BA J is these days. I would go out of my way to avoid this in the future and certainly wouldn't consider taking this on longer trips. The only reedeming feature seems to be the wide open saver availability on their 4x flights a day in and out of Boston. BA's overall experience, from the buggy website to inconsistent service to a horrendously outdated hard product just leaves a bad taste in one's mouth.
This trip has also given me a newfound appreciation for AA's old J product, which despite its flaws is leaps and bounds ahead of this rubbish in both hard and soft product.
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u/planeserf 7d ago
If you think those seats suck, try the coffins on Virgin's 787's.
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u/IronDukey 6d ago
Iām flying them round trip to India this fall assuming no equipment swap. I know theyāre horrendous but for 42k miles + $400 round trip hard to beat
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u/yonghokim LAX, BUR 4d ago
Major SUCCESS fueled by Shiti's IT systems
Phew! SAVED by SHITI. Thank you Toby!