schwallie

Hey guys,

I'm looking to plan out what points programs I want to use to accomplish my honeymoon trip. I'm hoping to spend <5k on the trip if possible!

So here's the details:

We're leaving Chicago next July or so to go on a hopefully 6-7 day trip to Bora Bora. We want an overwater bungalow.

I've got a companion pass and plenty of points on Southwest, so I figure I might use that to get us to an airport with a cheaper flight.

I've got 50k Chase points from my Ink, 50k Hilton Points from a Citi card, and 10k SPG points.

I've got a lot of Chase cards and am looking to diversify. My fiance can likely get 3-4 cards as well, but her credit likely isn't quite as high as mine(but it's definitely still above average). I've got the Amex SPG, both Southwest cards, Chase Ink Bold, Chase Freedom and the Citi Hilton HHonors. I don't think we would mind if we did 2 different hotels or something if we have to.


Any thoughts on what programs I should be trying to use to get to my destination??? I wouldn't really have any problems googling around to figure out what cards to get once I know the best programs for something like this!

Thanks guys!

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

AA miles can get you as far as PPT on TN. No airline's frequent-flyer miles can be redeemed for flights from PPT to BOB; for those flights, you either pay cash, or use credit-card points that can be used as cash for airline purchases.

I'll let others weigh in on lodging options.

farbster

I think that perhaps you're going too far for such a short amount of time. Have you thought of Hawaii? I'm guessing the flights are easier and there are plenty of islands to chose from...

I'd recommend the Four Seasons Hualalai and that's doable I believe for your amount of days in your budget. Use your points for flights...If your goal is totally free, there are lots of SPG, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott options.

KennyBSAT

Check out this blog post http://lenticulartravel.com/bora-bora-for-free/ Get AA miles for seats on TN via LAX or HA via HNL to PPT. HA seats will show up on AA.com. TN will not so plan to call in at 331 days. Keep some WN points for positioning if needed, in case there no seats to/from the West coast.

Thunderroad

Good advice. Sorry that my recall of some details for the advice and information I'm offering belowis sketchy, as it's been several years since my wife and I went to Bora Bora. In any event, I believe that the recent AA Citibank credit card offer that gets you 100k miles for 10k spending withing three (?) months is still valid. If you can both do sufficient spending, that's 200k miles.

Not sure what the reward redemption rates are on Air Tahiti Nui (which I believe is the name of the international carrier...it's either that or simply Air Tahiti, with one being the international and the other the domestic carrier that would actually get you to Bora Bora). But that should at least get you round trip economy awards, though try for business class if you can. The flights go from LAX. Find our how far in advance awards open up...it's usually about 330 days, though you can keep checking to see if seats that aren't available at first open up later.

Another flight option is if you can get enough DL miles to fly on partner Air France from LAX to Tahiti (and then the paid flight to Bora Bora). But I'm not sure how easy it is to accumulate or redeem DL miles for that route.

Be aware that the flight schedules are such that you might have to overnight in Tahiti at least one way. There are many hotel options there. We stayed at an Intercontinental a five-minute taxi ride away from the airport. Minimize your time in Tahiti, as Bora Bora is much nicer and more exotic.

I understand what the above poster said about this trip being too short to go all the way to Bora Bora, but over-the-water bungalows/villas (OWBs) are so special for a honeymoon that I'd say it would be worth it if your time in Bora Bora is at least four nights...though preferably longer. If for reason of cost (since the domestic flights will cost $1000 or more for the two of you) or timing Bora Bora seems to be a stretch, the island of Moorea is also very nice, has OWBs and is a very quick and cheap flight or ferry ride away from Tahiti.

As for hotels...you'll probably find that if you use points at any hotel you'll need to pay for an upgrade to an OWB. You'll want to secure that in advance, rather than waiting to negotiate upon arrival, as you'll be there during the high season and hotels could fill up. We stayed at the Hilton Bora Bora Nui several years ago and really liked it. Our upgrade to an OWB was $400/night, but it could be that other folks cut better deals. Speaking of Hiltons, there is a Hilton Citi Mastercard that gets you two free weekend nights, I believe at any Hilton property (but you'd want to check on that). It also comes with Gold status, which gets you free breakfasts...a very good value, since most BB or Moorea hotels will charge you something like $50/per person for breakfast. Weekends usually are Fri, Sat and Sun nights, so if you and your fiance both got that card you could at least get three free nights out of it without having to spend any points. That's assuming that Hilton opens up its properties in French Polynesia for award nights redemptions in the high season in July. Probably the further you book ahead, the better chance of securing that. We stayed at the Hiltons on Moorea and BB for four nights each. The BB OWBs were nicer; at Moorea, you have better access to the island and more to explore there. For a honeymoon, BB might be a better bet.

One other option I'm aware of is that I believe that there are two Intercontinentals at BB, with the nicer of the two being mostly OWBs. That Intercon also has better views than most Hilton BB rooms do of the majestic mountain that dominates BB. (For most BB hotels, you actually stay on small islands surrounding the main one.)

You might find that if award stays are available at the Hiltons and possibly other chains the points requirements are very high. In that case, see if there are cash plus points options available.

Hope this helps. And congratulations!

schwallie

Wow so much advice in one post. Thanks so much!!

We plan on being in BB for 6-7 nights, not the total trip being that many nights.

The mention of Moorea made me realize I didn't mention I'm necessarily stuck on BB. My main focus is we want an OWB with the same beautiful clear water. Are there other options I should be researching? There are other priorities but if there are other places we should look into I would love to hear them.

Any thoughts on this?

Also for the points it may be best for us to just focus on one aspect, as we have no problems paying for the whole thing if we absolutely have to. With that stipulation, does anyone have ideas for maybe focusing on one option first? If we have to pay 400/night for an upgrade is the point value of the hotel pretty crappy? That makes me think we should focus on flight points first and then try to start working towards getting some of the hotel paid for?

Thoughts?

Thanks so much so far guys!

JRV62

Get 2 IHG cards from Chase, currently 80k bonus w/ 1k spend in 3 months-- that will give you 2 nights at a OWB at the IC Thalasso on Bora Bora--their standard room is an OWB for 50k a night. Just get it soon so when there dates open up you have the points and can book it. Good luck!!

schwallie

Do you guys have any experience in how early I'll need to be looking to book these?

Also, how many Chase cards is too much? I've got 4, one a business card, and 3 of those have been opened in the last 6 months. I was hoping to go for some Citi/Barclay/etc cards if possible if the Chase cards are a problem

Thunderroad

The tougher thing to book way in advance is the award flights rather than the award hotel rooms. As I believe I'd mentioned, you want to try to grab these when they open up, usually 330 days in advance. Sometimes seats do open up later, however. How far in advance hotel rooms open up for award bookings varies a lot...sometimes more than a year, sometimes less. They don't tend to disappear quite as fast as award flights, but you of course want to secure them as fast as you can.

I'm afraid I don't know how many Chase cards you can have before you get turned down. It seems to vary a lot on a case by case basis.

Don't take my $400/night upgrade estimate as set in stone. It could be less than that...or perhaps more, depending on the property. The straightforward $$$ prices for OWBs during the July high season can be much more than that, really astronomical.

I didn't know that the IC Thalasso's standard room was an OWB. I was under the impression that a few standard rooms at the property are on the beach and not OWB. Not to doubt what JRV was saying, but if thinking of staying there you might want to confirm with Intercontinental Reservations that you can definitely secure an OWB as a standard room and don't run the risk of it being a beach room. If you do get the IC credit cards at 80K each, you might look into whether you could combine or transfer points between your two accounts, as the 160K total would then get you three free nights instead of two. If the Hilton Citi card you have is different from the Hilton Mastercard I mentioned that gets you Gold status and two free weekend nights, then as I mentioned you can get three free weekend nights to use at the Hilton Bora Bora.

One other thing to keep in mind in planning this special trip is that not all OWB locations in a given hotel are created equally. Some are much more nicely situated than others with respect to privacy, unobstructed views out to sea, being at the end of a row, etc. For tips on the better locations, and for more general information about the hotels, you might go to the Hilton, Intercon and Starwood forums here at FT and search for French Polynesia (FP), Moorea and Bora Bora in the title threads. That will provide lots of reviews and related information. Also, tripadvisor.com has reviews for various FP hotels.

As for Moorea versus Bora Bora, different people have different opinions. At least with respect to the two Hiltons several years ago when we were there, the Moorea property struck me as a bit more informal, easier and (almost $1000) cheaper to get to, better run and less expensive (though everything in FP is expensive!), plus you're right on the main island and can easily spend a day exploring it if you wish. The Bora Bora property and rooms are nicer overall, plus from certain spots (but few rooms) at the Hilton (and from many other hotels such as the IC) you have a view of BB's iconic peak...but that's not to say that Moorea is at all deficient by any means. Both of them provide nice, romantic OWBs. If you're talking six or seven nights, you might even be able to get to both if you're so inclined and don't mind moving about. Again, check out the relevant threads and tripadvisor for more info.

Hope this helps!

HMPS

I agree. You will be flying for 8 hrs from LAX. The hotels are very expensive. If you are set on Tahiti, look at some cruises that start end in Papeetee....much better value and it hits all the islands.

PHLisa

It used to be that way, but as of January of this year, you can book directly into an OWB with points. Million Mile Secrets did a post about it (yes, circles and arrows), because when he went he had done the pre-negotiating thing.

In fact, if the OP is interested MMS did a whole series about booking Bora Bora, because they spent their honeymoon there.