Please help plan our Miles Honeymoon!
 

Hey gang. I fell deep into the Points game (deeper than others, more shallow than some) when I was trying to figure out how to get the most Credit Card points from my impending engagement ring purchase. I researched and went with the Sapphire Preferred and haven't looked back since!

In six months I've racked up 750k miles and points across several programs. We're planning on traveling to Southeast Asia over New Years 2014. Singapore Air (sorry, i don't know the call signs yet) would be amazing. But maybe Cathay, Lufthansa/Thai, etc. Good problems to have!

I think I can figure out the flight situation (however, any and all suggestions would be much appreciated :D), but i'm a little stuck on how to best use my points for HOTEL redemptions. We'll be flying from NYC and doing a night or two in Hong Kong or Singapore, and then off to Thailand (we think). 3 weeks total is the plan.

I'll post our status and points total below. Thanks so much for all the awesome help you guys provide! -Ruus

Our total Points
AA: 230k
United: 65k
Chase: 350k
Amex: 225k
Avios: Soon we'll have 100k
Starwood: 100k
Lufthansa: 50k
Barclays: 45k
Delta: 20k
Hyatt: 20k
(status: AA Gold, Hilton, and SPG Gold, Hyatt Diamond)
**considering getting Chase Hyatt and/or Citi Hilton in order to get free stays**

Welcome to FT and congratulations! But are you talking about starting your honeymoon next month or a year from then? If the former, best to bag the flights ASAP, if you can still find availability.

Regardless of whether this year or next, using 1) Amex for Singapore (SQ) flights and 2) AA and/or BA Avios for Cathay Pacific (CX) flights would get you the best airlines in terms of either business or first class.

Thanks so much, Thunderroad. Not this New Years but the NEXT. Thanks!

Ok, good to know. You might want to provide more information for folks here on whether you've traveled outside the USA and especially to Asia before, as well as what kinds of things you like to do on vacation. (E.g., laze around beach, be very active, explore cultural sites, etc.) That could guide the feedback you get.

Anyway, Thailand is a great choice, not least because there are so many fine hotels in that part of the world. I'm not an expert on most of them, though, so just a few scattered observations:

1. Between Hong Kong and Singapore, I'd take the former as parts of it are far more scenic and culturally interesting.
2. Wherever you go, email the hotels a week or two in advance to make sure they know you are on your honeymoon. Include your status and very politely request an upgrade if possible, but don't get your hopes up by expecting one necessarily. It can't hurt to try this and it could help with an upgrade or other perks. (Of course, your Hyatt Diamond status might get you an upgrade regardless.)
3. Hong Kong Conrad Hilton is a very nice property with a good location and a good lounge that has great views. I believe but am not certain that your Hilton Gold status would get you free lounge access for breakfast and drinks, but you might want to check on this.
4. You could easily spend all of your time in Thailand, but if you want to branch out a bit the small cities of Luang Prabang in Laos and Siem Reap in Cambodia are both worth a visit. LP is a pleasant, pretty and culturally interesting town to walk around. SR is where Angkor Wat and other ancient temples are location. SR will be jammed with tourists, but if you visit the temples early morning and late afternoon it's not bad. I don't think any major hotel chains have properties in LP, but Starwood and perhaps others have nice ones in SR.
5. Be aware of the cash plus points option that Starwood has for many hotels certain times of year. Hilton has a similar option though to a lesser extent and Hyatt is introducing it starting January 2014. If a hotel is really expensive in terms of a straight points redemption, the cash plus points option can prove useful.
6. The Conrad Koh Samui is a spectacular property with all units being private suites with their own pools and wonderful sunset views. Very little to speak of in terms of a beach, but the rooms, pool and other aspects of the hotel more than make up for that. Very expensive points-wise, but perhaps it will have cash plus points available for when you might be there. Plus if you both got the Hilton Reserve card you'd be able to get at least Fri, Sat and Sun nights free while there. As with most Hiltons, I believe you'd get breakfast included...but again, check on this to be sure.
7. Given your Hyatt Diamond status, it might well make sense for both of you to get the Hyatt credit card, which would get you a total of four free nights plus the great perks that go with Hyatt Diamond status. The only reason to hold off is that there are a few truly spectacular Hyatts outside the region that you might want to save those nights for (e.g., Paris, Maldives, Park Hyatt Tokyo)...assuming the offer is still good down the line, which is a gamble. Given that this is your honeymoon, I guess I'd advise going with the bird in hand and using the card for this trip.
8. If your award flights don't get you completely around the region, Bangkok Air is a pretty good airline for doing so.
9. If you're literally going to be in the region New Year's Eve, be aware that many resorts charge mandatory fees of $150 or more per head for NYE meals that are not worth it.
10. While Flyer Talk is a great resource for finding hotels and so much more other information, Tripadvisor.com can also be useful if you take some hotel reviews with a big grain of salt.

Happy trails!

That was amazing. Ha! Thanks so much for the great advice. I've only travelled to Europe and the Caribbean, but my fiance has been to Asia several times. We're both noobs in Southeast Asia as well as flying international F! Thanks again

Bump for advice. Thanks!

Sorry no one else has weighed in yet, as you surely shouldn't rely on me for the only FT advice! :D You might change your thread title to include Southeast Asia, using the Go Advanced feature under edit. Also, lots of great advice can be found or sought be searching titles like Thailand and Southeast Asia in the various hotel forums.

Having said that, I'd expand on my previous advice in a few ways:

1. CX F non-stop NYC-HKG is likely your best option in terms of the combination of ease of travel, award availability and being one of the very best commercial F experiences you can have. You would each be in a semi-private suite of a seat. But you could sit across from each other within that suite for bubbly (including pre-departure) and meals...very romantic, like the Orient Express 35,000 feet in the air. You would best book two one-way award tix for the two of you about 330 days out. And then do the same thing 330 days in advance of your return. As you might know, either one or both of those could include connections to/from Bangkok or possibly other Thailand destinations (such as Phuket??) that CX or its subsidiary Dragon Air fly to.
2. I believe you have enough AA miles for three such tix, as they are something like 62.5 or 67.5K each. You could either try to accumulate AA miles for the fourth quickly, or use your BA Avios points, topping up your Avios account with Chase Ultimate Reward point transfers if your 100K Avios is not enough. AA is preferable in that it will cost you very little for an award ticket, whereas BA could cost at least a few hundred $$...but even then it is well worth it.
3. While there is no guarantee that the CX F flights will open up at 330 days, availability is often good. You could find the thread at the AA forum about CX F awards, which discusses this in greater detail. As for finding availability you could call AA but another way to check is awardnexus.com, which provides limited free initial service to FT members and which for an additional fee will send you email alerts if something that isn't initially available opens up later.

Happy trails!

Thunderroad, you are beginning to be my Mr. Myagi of Asian Points knowledge! Thanks so much.