broncophil

I've been saving up my points and have over 800k points.

We never had a real honeymoon so I want to surprise her

I am a Hyatt platinum member so xfer to Hyatt is a real possibility.

What about airfare? I am not a frequent flier with any airline so I don't have a preference.

Thinking about Japan and Hong Kong.

How do I stretch my points

The last time I booked a trip through the UR portal but I have a feeling I'm doing it all wrong.

Thanks. I'm new to this.

Do I need an airline credit card to xfer there?

Cause I do have a Hyatt credit card, so I have been xferrring there

chongl

Transfer to SQ and redeem for 2 F tickets from LAX to Singapore with a stopover in Tokyo. Then just a short hop from Singapore to HK.

No need for an airline credit card to transfer. Just open up a frequent flyer account with the airline of your choice and have the account number to plug in.

dukerau

Agree with above. SQ F. Or TG F with United miles if SQ availability doesn't work out. Both SQ and UA miles allow a stopover on a round trip itinerary, and SQ allows additional stopovers for $100. So you can easily visit Singapore, HK, and more if you want.

Transferring UR points to miles will be unbelievably cheaper than booking through the UR portal if you're looking at premium cabins. You are just subject to award availability.

unclemax

Do you have a time of year that you need to travel around, such as your anniversary? That will affect what areas of the world you'll want to visit, and possibly the recommendations from this board.

rev

Just like everything said before, utilizing stopovers will get you tremendous value here, and between Tokyo and Hong Kong it won't be too difficult. You're going to need to explore award availability between to two for your dates though.

If you go through United, booking a stopover is as simple as just putting a 'hub' destination inbetween your departure and arrival location, and in your case, Tokyo is a hub for United. However you may need to just view one ways between your destinations as their site crashes constantly. They'll waive the call-in fee if you can't book it online and tried. Singapore provides a discount of points for booking online so make sure you do it like that. They also allow more than one stopover for a price.

You should try Singapore first since they have a great reputation for first class. If you do go with them, trying to get the first class suite is something you might want to consider as well. Availability is usually slim (there's often a waitlist) and it's not on many routes, but they have flights with the suites from LAX - NRT, SIN - NRT, and SIN to HKG. If you just try to the get the airbus A380 on one of these legs; you're golden. Also, if you get two suites in the middle of the cabin, you can connect the beds to each other. Talk about serious honeymooning. Easier said than done to book though, and depending on your departure locations, it may not even be possible, so don't lose too much sleep over it. Regular first class is still a treat. I just thought I'd mention the option.

United is still a good choice, since they'll probably have decent availability as long as you plan ahead and can deal with their questionably functioning online search engine.

No need for an airline credit card to transfer. Just make sure you know exactly how many points you need before you transfer them - they only transfer one way if you didn't know.

Sounds like it'll be an epic honeymoon.

broncophil

Thanks for the replies so far

Let me do some more research

I want to go during summer next year.

I know I need to book that far ahead to get seats..

I surely want to do both Hong Kong and Japan.

I was born in HK but never been back since 1 year old. And Japan is bucket list kinda thing.

I was wondering if that many points can get me first class tickets and have enough for hotels?

rev

Hyatts in Tokyo can be had for between 12,000 - 30,000 points a night
Hyatts in Hong Kong can be had for 12,000 - 25,000 points a night

You're plane ticket cost will depend on who you use and where you're coming from. Here's two useful resources. Keep in mind Singapore doesn't factor in the 15% online booking discount into theirs.

https://www.singaporeair.com/pdf/pps...wardCharts.pdf
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps...ardTravel.aspx

op487062

I completely agree with SQ recommendations--especially if you can get suites. Forget UA unless flight times are the main concern.

UR transfers to RC, Hyatt, and SPG. I believe you get more value out of Hyatt vs. RC and SPG has little presence in Tokyo.

Andaz Tokyo suites go for 40,000 points. I haven't stayed at this hotel, but many in the Hyatt forum rave about it. Some say it's the best in the Hyatt portfolio
Park Hyatt suites go for 48,000 points. It's about a 15 minute walk to the train station, but otherwise a great hotel if you like a little separation from the busy city.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"UR transfers to RC, Hyatt, and SPG."

UR transfers to SPG? Is that new?

SanDiego1K

Korean is also a partner for UR. It is often overlooked. Perhaps because of it, it has decent award availability. You can actually book an award without the points in your account and then transfer them. I found it a bit painful to set up a family account, but from then on, the Korean agents were a pleasure with which to work. I moved my points within a day of setting up the award, but the award was actually set up to be on hold for a month. That's unheard of in this day when airlines want near immediate ticketing.

antonius66

Give them to me . That will surprise her...it'll downright shock the hell out of her!

On a serious note, KE or SQ premium cabin plus some posh hotels would be my plan.

txflyer77

Just don't transfer points to an airline until you've confirmed they have award availability. UR transfers can't be reversed.

djtsukasa

Very nice... 800K points? RT in SQ Suites to Japan (LAX-NRT), (maybe onward to singapore if you want), and use some more points to stay in either of the 3 premium Hyatts in Tokyo. That's what I'd do what that much!

flyer121

32 nights @ Hyatt Ziva/Zilara all-inclusive

op487062

Oops, my bad. Sorry for the misinformation