It’s that time again! Time to plan out my annual December vacation. This year, unlike other years, I’m spending a little bit more money on hotels and flights than I typically do. In the past, I’ve picked one or two countries and two or three hotels to maximize points redemption. I love taking advantage of the 5th night free whenever possible. This year, it just didn’t work out that way.
In December, I’ll be spending two weeks on my own and two weeks with colleagues. I have 29 nights and a very full itinerary. I’d love some suggestions of places to eat and things to do in Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam! I’ve pretty much got Thailand and Singapore down.
Here’s my itinerary:
- Day 1 & 2 – Los Angeles, hopefully spending a day or two with my favorite cousins.
- Airline – US Airways First class from Charleston
- Hotel – I haven’t confirmed a hotel yet, but I’m hoping to book the SLS
- Day 3 & 4 – LA to Singapore
- Airline – Air China First Class from LAX to PEK and Singapore Airlines Business class PEK to SIN- it’s only a two cabin plane.
- Day 5 – 7 – Singapore
- Hotel – Sheraton Towers Singapore. I am hoping to switch to the brand new W hotel if a Cash & Points rate becomes available. Otherwise, I’ll stick with the Sheraton.
- Day 8 – 10 – Langkawi, Malaysia
- Airline – AirAsia from SIN to LGK, coach
- Hotel – The Andaman, A Luxury Collection hotel
- Day 11 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Airline – AirAsia from LGK to KUL, coach
- Hotel – Ritz Carlton KL
- Day 12 – 14 – Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Airline – Malaysia Airlines from KUL to REP coach
- Hotel – Le Meridien Angkor
- Day 15 – Singapore
- Airline – Singapore Airlines from REP – SIN Business Class
- Hotel – St Regis Singapore (I wish I could have found this rate for the first part of my trip in Singapore!)
- Day 16 – 20 – Bangkok
- Airline – Singapore Airlines from SIN to BKK Business Class
- Hotel – Split between Plaza Athenee and St Regis Bangkok. If a good rate becomes available at the new W Bangkok, I may switch from the Plaza Athenee.
- Day 21 – 23 – Vietnam
- Airline – Turkish Airlines from BKK to SGN, coach
- Hotel – Sheraton Saigon Towers
- Day 24 – Bangkok
- Airline – Turkish Airlines from SGN to BKK, coach
- Hotel – Novotel at the airport (quick overnight)
- Day 25 – 27- Krabi, Thailand
- Airline – Thai Airways from BKK to Krabi, coach
- Hotel – Sheraton Krabi
- Day 28 – Bangkok
- Airline – Thai Airways from Krabi to BKK, coach
- Hotel – TBD – if I don’t stay at the W Bangkok earlier in the trip, then I will definitely make this night at the W
- Day 29 – Bangkok to LA
- Airline – Thai Airways from BKK to PEK First class and Air China from PEK to LAX First Class, US Airways from LAX to CHS first class.
The costs:
As I said earlier, I typically like to spend as little money as possible on my vacations. I usually spend all my points/miles earned in a year on one massive year-end vacation. This year is a little different because there are so many countries, so many flights and so many hotel involved.
Airfare:
- Frequent Flyer ticket 160,000 US Air miles and $92 in taxes for first class (thanks to Gary at View From The Wing and his award booking service for helping me book this beyond complex ticket! Flying from Charleston is not easy!)
- Charleston, SC to Charlotte, NC – US Airways
- Charlotte, NC to Los Angeles, CA – US Airways
- Los Angeles, CA to Beijing China – Air China
- Beijing to Singapore – Singapore Airline
- Singapore to Bangkok – Singapore Airlines
- Bangkok to Beijing – Thai Airways
- Beijing to LA – Air China
- LA to Charlotte – US Airways
- Charlotte to Charleston, SC (home!) – US Airways
- Air Asia
- Singapore to Langkawi – $7.59 plus taxes and fees = $79
- Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur – $14 plus taxes and fees = $66
- Malaysia Airlines
- Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap – $128
- Singapore Airlines
- Siem Reap to Singapore – $231
- Turkish Airways
- Bangkok to Ho Chi Mien City round trip – $225
- Thai Airways
- Bangkok to Krabi round trip – $195
Total Airfare = $1016
Hotels:
- Sheraton Towers Singapore – 14,000 points and $270
- Andaman, A Luxury Collection Hotel – 14,000 points and $270
- Le Meridien Angkor – 6,400 points and $120
- St Regis Singapore – 8,000 points and $150
- Plaza Athenee – 5,600 points and $90
- St Regis Bangkok – 24,000 + $265
- Sheraton Saigon – 9,000 points and $180
- Sheraton Krabi – 8,400 points and $135
- Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur – 30,000 points
Total Hotel = $1375 – my goal is to reduce the costs of the hotels by $800 or more so I end up spending around $500 out of pocket! I currently have 20,000 SPG points left and 75,000 Marriott points. So, I may switch some of the more expensive stays over to points or look for better Cash & Points deals.
All in all, it’s really not a ton of out-of-pocket for an amazing 29 night vacation! Even if I do spend $2300 out of pocket for airfare and hotels, it’s a fraction of what this vacation would cost without the benefits of points/miles!
For a simple comparison, I did a basic pricing of a similar itinerary without using points/miles
Charleston to Singapore, first class – $16,499
Southeast Asia Airfare – $1016 (that would remain the same as on my current itinerary)
Hotels – here’s what my hotel choices would cost w/out the use of points (I used the lowest flexible rate as opposed to a pre-paid rate for comparison as I would never book a pre-paid rate)
- Sheraton Towers Singapore – $346/night or $1038 for 3 nights
- Andaman, A Luxury Collection Hotel – $315/night or $945 for 3 nights
- Le Meridien Angkor – $176/night or $704 for 4 nights
- St Regis Singapore – $378 for 1 night
- Plaza Athenee – $140/night or $420 for 3 nights
- St Regis Bangkok – $243/night or $487 for two nights
- Sheraton Saigon – $134/night or $402 for 3 nights
- Sheraton Krabi – $330/night or $1320 for 4 nights (This is over New Years Eve, hence the more expensive price)
- Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur – $154/night for 1 night
Total for hotels w/out points = $5848
So all in all, this vacation would cost $23,363 without the use of points! I think a $23,000 vacation for $2,300 is not a bad deal at all! I certainly would not be taking this vacation if I had to shell out $23,000!
Please share you ideas for Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam!