Trip Intro: Around The World on Frequent Flyer Miles

by Goffe de Boer0

As I explained and as many of you already know, my first trip in 2020 will be a trip around the world on frequent flyer miles. During this trip I will fly a total of 12 segments of which 9 are booked in business class. I will fly some of the best business class products in the world like Qatar Airways QSuites and EVA Air Royal Laural Class. For this trip, I redeemed a total of 175,500 miles. In this article, I will give a short introduction about this trip, what places I will visit, which airlines I fly, at what hotels I will stay and how I booked them.

Update: You can now read all reviews on my blog.

Miles and points redemptions

For this trip I redeemed the following miles and points:

  • 40,000 AAdvantage miles for a fly Qatar Airways QSuites from the Middle East to southeastern Asia
  • 29,000 Flying Blue miles for an intra-Asia business class award to fly Vietnam Airlines on their A350
  • 80,000 United MileagePlus miles to cover my transpacific flight with EVA Air in the Royal Laurel Class
  • 26,500 Flying Blue miles for a Promo Reward to fly KLM World Business Class on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner
  • 45,000 Hilton Honors points for 2 hotels that require only 5,000 or 10,000 points per night.

Apart from these miles and point redemptions, I paid less around $ 1000 to cover taxes and fees, other hotels and positioning flights for a trip around the world that is largely booked in business class.

Jordan – My 80th country

My trip around the world on frequent flyer miles will actually start in Jordan – my 80th country. This is because I redeemed a total of 40.000 AAdvantage miles between the Middle East and Asia Zone 2. Of course, I also could start in another country like Egypt but since Qatar Airways is not flying anymore from there, I had to look for other options. I’ve never been to Jordan before and found award space on a Royal Air Jordanian flight from Amman to Doha.

Of course, I still needed a positioning flight from Amsterdam to Jordan. I was considering to redeem Flying Blue miles to fly Air France Premium Economy (booked as Promo Reward). However, after doing some research, I noticed that just $ 75 for a one way ticket for a direct flight on Transavia was moe interesting than paying a higher price in taxes and fees. In Jordan, I will stay at the Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa. This will be my first stay to earn 20,000 bonus points from the Points Unlimited promo.

Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa
Photo: Hilton

Qatar Airways A350 QSuites

After my visit to Jordan, I will fly the Royal Jordanian Business Class on their A320 to Doha, Qatar. Here I will stay for about 22 hours so I have the possibility again to leave the airport for some layover sightseeing in Doha like I did a few years ago. The next morning, I will fly one of the world’s best business class products: the Qatar Airways QSuites on the Airbus A350-900. Update: this was Qatar Airways QSuites on a A350-1000. I booked these flights using 40.000 AAdvantage miles which I mainly earned through air travel on premium cabins in 2017 and 2018. Check the video from Qatar Airways below for an impression.

With Malaysia Airlines to Bali

After spending the night in Singapore, I will fly Malaysia Airlines to Bali. This gives me the possibility to stay in Kuala Lumpur during my layover. I have visited KL a couple of times before and was impressed by the beautiful Skyline, especially the Petronas Twin Towers. This time, I’m planning to visit the Batu Caves.

The next morning, I will fly to Bali with Malaysia Airlines in business class on an Airbus A330. Both of the Malaysia Airlines flights are part of my award ticket on AAdvantage miles, still a great deal for just 40,000 miles and about $ 100 in taxes and fees. I have stayed in Bali many times before and really enjoyed the island, especially my visit to Lembongan and Ceningan Island. This time I will stay at Conrad Bali which I booked during the Hilton Asia Pacific Sale.

Flying Blue Intra Asia award

The next two business class flights are with Garuda Indonesia on the Boeing 777 and Vietnam Airlines on the A350 via Tokyo. I really enjoyed my previous experience with Garuda on the Boeing 777 and decided to fly them again this time. However, I would have preferred to also try the A330 but award space was hard to find on my date of travel.

After a 10 hour layover in Tokyo, I will fly Vietnam Airlines in business class on the A350 to Hanoi. This aircraft is already on my list for a while but award space was hard to find 2 years ago. I booked these 2 business class flights for just 29,000 Flying Blue miles and paid about $ 110 in taxes and fees, certainly not bad for 2 long haul flights in business class and a layover in Tokyo. Read more about these Flying Blue Intra Asia Awards in this article which I wrote a few weeks ago.

garuda indonesia, business class, review, boeing 777
Garuda Indonesia Boeing 777 Business Class.

Another visit to Vietnam

My Vietnam Airlines A350 flight in business class will bring me to Hanoi. I visited Vietnam once before and really enjoyed my time there. This time, I will stay again at the Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi which I booked for only 10,000 points per night. Although the hotel isn’t that special, I got a great value out of my points as rates are around $ 70 per night. I’m looking forward to visit Hanoi again and to explore other parts as well like Ninh Binh.

Layover in Hong Kong

My next award will start in Taipei so I had to book a positioning flight. Direct flights were more expensive and I didn’t mind to fly via Hong Kong as I love layover sightseeing in that city. Although, now I have a different feeling due to the spread of the Coronavirus.. Due to the current political situation, the Hong Kong dollar is low in value and therefore hotels are very affordable. I booked one night at the Garden Inn Hong Kong Mongkok for around $ 65, not bad knowing that this hotel is quite centrally located. My flights are with Jetstar Pacific and China Airline on a Boeing 747, both in economy class.

EVA Air Boeing 777 Royal Laurel Class

This is one of the most extraordinary flights of this trip: EVA Air’s Royal Laurel Business Class. While their hard product isn’t that special, the in-flight service is rather first class with Rimova amenity kits and Veuve Clicquot champagne. I redeemed 80,000 United MileagePlus miles and paid about $ 35 in taxes and fees to cover this transpacific flight to Los Angeles. This also includes my connecting flight with United Airlines in First Class to Chicago on a Boeing 757. I earned these miles through air travel in previous years. I would have preferred ro redeem them for First Class to be honest but I think EVA Air will surprise me a lot with their Royal Laurel Class.

Eva air, royal laurel class
EVA Air Royal Laurel Class (Photo: Onemileatatime)

KLM Boeing 787 Dreamliner World Business Class

My last flight of this trip will be on KLM on their Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in World Business Class. Unlike KLM’s Boeing 747 which I flew before, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner features business class seats in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration. I booked this flight for just 26,500 Flying Blue miles during the Flying Blue Promo Rewards November 2019. By choosing Brussels (BRU) as my final destination, I even saved more miles.

KLM, Boeing 787-9, Dreamliner, World Business Class
KLM Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner World Business Class Cabin (Photo: KLM)

Bottom Line

Well, this is how my next trip around the world on frequent flyer miles looks like. No first class flights this time but overall I’m quite satisfied with my redemptions. I’m looking forward to fly the Qatar Airways QSuites, EVA Air Royal Laurel Class and KLM WBC on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Let’s hope my trip will not be too much impacted by the spread of the Coronavirus.

Of course, I will post reviews of these flights and hotels on this blog really soon so stay tuned! Apart from all these flights, I’m also looking forward to visit Jordan, my 80th country. Although I have already visited Doha, Tokyo, Hanoi and Hong Kong before, I always love it to come back. Wanna follow me during this trip? Then make sure to follow me on Instagram as I will post pics and videos daily.

Reviews

The following reviews have now been published on this blog:

What do you think of my trip around the world? Which airlines above are you most excited about? Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or recommendations.

Goffe de Boer

Goffe is the founder and owner of uponboarding.com. He found his passion for travel at a young age and can proudly say that he has explored 85 countries so far. He now shares his knowledge and stories here at uponboarding.com!

View all posts by Goffe de Boer →

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