{"id":1405,"date":"2012-08-12T10:39:57","date_gmt":"2012-08-12T14:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/boardingarea.com\/blogs\/verygoodpoints\/?p=1405"},"modified":"2013-04-23T13:36:41","modified_gmt":"2013-04-23T17:36:41","slug":"28days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/2012\/08\/12\/28days\/","title":{"rendered":"29 Days, 18 flights, 12 hotels &amp; 5 countries using @USAirways &amp; @StarwoodBuzz points\/miles!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s that time again! Time to plan out my annual December vacation. \u00a0 This year, unlike other years, I&#8217;m spending a little bit more money on hotels and flights than I typically do. \u00a0 In the past, I&#8217;ve picked one or two countries and two or three hotels to maximize points redemption. \u00a0I love taking advantage of the 5th night free whenever possible. \u00a0 This year, it just didn&#8217;t work out that way.<\/p>\n<p>In December, I&#8217;ll be spending two weeks on my own and two weeks with colleagues. \u00a0I have 29 nights and a very full\u00a0itinerary. \u00a0I&#8217;d love some suggestions of places to eat and things to do in Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam! I&#8217;ve pretty much got Thailand and Singapore down.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s my itinerary:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Day 1 &amp; 2 &#8211; Los\u00a0Angeles, hopefully spending a day or two with my favorite cousins.<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; \u00a0US Airways First class from Charleston<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; I haven&#8217;t confirmed a hotel yet, but I&#8217;m hoping to book the SLS<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 3 &amp; 4 &#8211; LA to Singapore<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; \u00a0Air China First Class from LAX to PEK and Singapore Airlines Business class \u00a0PEK to SIN- it&#8217;s only a two cabin plane.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 5 &#8211; 7 &#8211; Singapore<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; Sheraton Towers Singapore. \u00a0I am hoping to switch to the brand new W hotel if a Cash &amp; Points rate becomes available. Otherwise, I&#8217;ll stick with the Sheraton.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 8 &#8211; 10 &#8211; Langkawi, Malaysia<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; \u00a0AirAsia from SIN to LGK, coach<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; The Andaman, A Luxury Collection hotel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 11 \u00a0&#8211; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; AirAsia from LGK to KUL, coach<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; Ritz Carlton KL<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 12 &#8211; 14 &#8211; Siem Reap, Cambodia<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; Malaysia Airlines from KUL to REP coach<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; Le Meridien Angkor<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 15 \u00a0&#8211; Singapore<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; Singapore Airlines from REP &#8211; SIN \u00a0Business Class<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; St Regis Singapore (I wish I could have found this rate for the first part of my trip in Singapore!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 16 &#8211; 20 &#8211; Bangkok<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; Singapore Airlines from SIN to BKK \u00a0Business Class<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; \u00a0Split between Plaza Athenee and St Regis Bangkok. \u00a0If a good rate becomes available at the new W Bangkok, I may switch from the Plaza Athenee.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 21 &#8211; 23 \u00a0&#8211; Vietnam<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; Turkish Airlines from BKK to SGN, coach<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; Sheraton Saigon Towers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 24 &#8211; Bangkok<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; Turkish Airlines from SGN to BKK, coach<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; Novotel at the airport (quick overnight)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 25 &#8211; 27- Krabi, Thailand<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; Thai Airways from BKK to Krabi, coach<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; Sheraton Krabi<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 28 &#8211; Bangkok<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; Thai Airways from Krabi to BKK, coach<\/li>\n<li>Hotel &#8211; TBD &#8211; if I don&#8217;t stay at the W Bangkok earlier in the trip, then I will\u00a0definitely\u00a0make this night at the W<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Day 29 &#8211; Bangkok to LA<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Airline &#8211; Thai Airways from BKK to PEK First class and Air China from PEK to LAX \u00a0First Class, US Airways from LAX to CHS first class.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The costs:<\/h2>\n<p>As I said earlier, I typically like to spend as little money as possible on my vacations. \u00a0I usually spend all my points\/miles earned in a year on one massive year-end vacation. \u00a0This year is a little different because there are so many countries, so many flights and so many hotel involved.<\/p>\n<p>Airfare:<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Frequent Flyer ticket 160,000 US Air miles and $92 in taxes for first class (thanks to Gary at <a href=\"http:\/\/boardingarea.com\/blogs\/viewfromthewing\/\" target=\"_blank\">View From The Wing <\/a>and his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bookyouraward.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">award booking service<\/a> for helping me book this beyond complex ticket! Flying from Charleston is not easy!)<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Charleston, SC to Charlotte, NC \u00a0&#8211; US Airways<\/li>\n<li>Charlotte, NC to Los Angeles, CA \u00a0&#8211; US Airways<\/li>\n<li>Los Angeles, CA to Beijing China &#8211; Air China<\/li>\n<li>Beijing to Singapore &#8211; Singapore Airline<\/li>\n<li>Singapore to Bangkok &#8211; Singapore Airlines<\/li>\n<li>Bangkok to Beijing &#8211; Thai Airways<\/li>\n<li>Beijing to LA &#8211; Air China<\/li>\n<li>LA to Charlotte &#8211; US Airways<\/li>\n<li>Charlotte to Charleston, SC (home!) &#8211; US Airways<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Air Asia<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Singapore to Langkawi &#8211; $7.59 plus taxes and fees = $79<\/li>\n<li>Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur &#8211; \u00a0$14 plus taxes and fees = $66<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Malaysia Airlines<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap &#8211; $128<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>\u00a0Singapore Airlines<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Siem Reap to Singapore &#8211; $231<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Turkish Airways<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Bangkok to Ho Chi Mien City round trip &#8211; $225<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Thai Airways<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Bangkok to Krabi round trip &#8211; $195<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<div>Total Airfare = $1016<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>Hotels:<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Sheraton Towers Singapore &#8211; 14,000 points and $270<\/li>\n<li>Andaman, A Luxury Collection Hotel &#8211; 14,000 points and $270<\/li>\n<li>Le Meridien Angkor &#8211; 6,400 points and $120<\/li>\n<li>St Regis Singapore &#8211; 8,000 points and $150<\/li>\n<li>Plaza Athenee &#8211; 5,600 points and $90<\/li>\n<li>St Regis Bangkok &#8211; 24,000 + $265<\/li>\n<li>Sheraton Saigon &#8211; 9,000 points and $180<\/li>\n<li>Sheraton Krabi &#8211; 8,400 points and $135<\/li>\n<li>Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur &#8211; 30,000 points<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>Total Hotel = $1375 &#8211; my goal is to reduce the costs of the hotels by $800 or more so I end up spending around $500 out of pocket! \u00a0I currently have 20,000 SPG points left and 75,000 Marriott points. \u00a0 So, I may switch some of the more expensive stays over to points or look for better Cash &amp; Points deals.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>All in all, it&#8217;s really not a ton of out-of-pocket for an amazing 29 night vacation! \u00a0Even if I do spend $2300 out of pocket for airfare and hotels, it&#8217;s a fraction of what this vacation would cost without the benefits of points\/miles!<\/div>\n<div>For a simple comparison, I did a basic pricing of a similar itinerary without using points\/miles<\/div>\n<div>Charleston to Singapore, first class &#8211; $16,499<\/div>\n<div>Southeast Asia Airfare &#8211; $1016 (that would remain the same as on my current itinerary)<\/div>\n<div>Hotels &#8211; here&#8217;s what my hotel choices would cost w\/out the use of points \u00a0(I used the lowest flexible rate as opposed to a pre-paid rate for comparison as I would never book a pre-paid rate)<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Sheraton Towers Singapore &#8211; $346\/night or $1038 for 3 nights<\/li>\n<li>Andaman, A Luxury Collection Hotel &#8211; $315\/night \u00a0or $945 for 3 nights<\/li>\n<li>Le Meridien Angkor &#8211; $176\/night or $704 for 4 nights<\/li>\n<li>St Regis Singapore &#8211; $378 for 1 night<\/li>\n<li>Plaza Athenee &#8211; $140\/night or $420 for 3 nights<\/li>\n<li>St Regis Bangkok &#8211; $243\/night or $487 for two nights<\/li>\n<li>Sheraton Saigon &#8211; $134\/night or $402 for 3 nights<\/li>\n<li>Sheraton Krabi &#8211; $330\/night or $1320 for 4 nights (This is over New Years Eve, hence the more expensive price)<\/li>\n<li>Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur &#8211; $154\/night for 1 night<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>Total for hotels w\/out points = $5848<\/div>\n<div>So all in all, this vacation would cost $23,363 without the use of points! \u00a0 I think a $23,000 vacation for $2,300 is not a bad deal at all! I\u00a0certainly\u00a0would not be taking this vacation if I had to shell out $23,000!<\/div>\n<div>Please share you ideas for Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s that time again! Time to plan out my annual December vacation. \u00a0 This year, unlike other years, I&#8217;m spending a little bit more money on hotels and flights than I typically do. \u00a0 In the past, I&#8217;ve picked one&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[10,742,22],"tags":[754],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.13 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>29 Days, 18 flights, 12 hotels &amp; 5 countries using @USAirways &amp; @StarwoodBuzz points\/miles! - VeryGoodPoints<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/2012\/08\/12\/28days\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"29 Days, 18 flights, 12 hotels &amp; 5 countries using @USAirways &amp; @StarwoodBuzz points\/miles! - VeryGoodPoints\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"It&#8217;s that time again! 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