Benjamin Din
Appearances
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
That's a whopping redemption value of more than 11 cents per point.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
Definitely. Air Canada miles are super accessible. But let me just talk a little bit more about what it's like to fly in first class, because it is such a cool experience. I flew to Boston from Frankfurt, where Lufthansa has an entire terminal just for first class passengers.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
Yeah, there was a private check-in area, sleeping rooms, sit-down dining. And when it was time to board, there was even a car to drive me to the plane.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
First class definitely blows business class out of the water. The food is tastier and the bed is so much bigger. Now this is a little silly, but my favorite part about flying Lufthansa first class is getting a rubber duck from the lounge as a souvenir.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
Yeah, it's a really fun thing that Lufthansa does. And some people will actually time their trips during certain holidays or events like the Olympics to get a limited edition duck.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
You know, Megan, I've actually heard that on the bottom of those salt and pepper shakers, it says nicked from Virgin Atlantic. Did you see that?
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
But I think next time, if you're on that flight, I think they do that to encourage you to take them because it's so fun.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
And those would be economy flights, right, Sally?
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
For sure. This is getting very Europe-centric. So let me throw in an Asia redemption that you can book with Chase Points. Last year, I flew ANA first class to Tokyo, which was an incredible experience.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
The food was amazing, and there were so many courses. Plus, the service was really great. And actually, the best way to book those flights is through Virgin Atlantic again, which partners with ANA. One-way flights from the West Coast will cost 72,500 points. and East Coast flights are 85,000 points each.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
You could also fly business class for 52,500 points from the West Coast or 60,000 points from the East Coast. Honestly, for Redemptions, it really doesn't get much better than that.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
Okay, so for ultimate rewards, I'd say don't sleep on Iberia, which is Spain's flagship airline. For routes under 4,000 miles, which includes flying from the East Coast to Madrid, you could fly in business class for as little as 34,000 points each way. That's an excellent redemption.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
And also, if you need British Airways points, you can also get them by transferring from Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
So my hot takeoff is that Southwest's decision to allow third-party sites like Google Flights and Expedia to show their prices might backfire on them.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
So those platforms make it really easy to compare prices across airlines. But personally, I found that Southwest isn't the cheapest option. So why would I fly Southwest?
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
Yeah, but on the one hand, it was a smart move on Southwest's part because those platforms give Southwest access to a broader audience. But on the flip side, it's really a curse because now you can easily see how much Southwest prices cost compared to other airlines.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
So I flew Southwest a few weeks ago, going from New York to Las Vegas, and I actually didn't have that great of an experience. There's no in-sea power. They don't give you the full can of drink. I feel like I was wanting a lot. But one thing that I will say, that I enjoyed but probably Southwest doesn't enjoy is that the planes were super empty.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
So it was actually really spacious because I often found that I either had an empty middle seat or the whole road to myself.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
No problem. See you all next time.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
Hey, everyone. Excited to be here.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
So I like traveling to places I've never been. And last year, I flew over 100 flights across six continents.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
So that means I spend a ton of time on planes and in airport lounges. So I really try to maximize my air travel experience whenever I can, whether that's using points to book a premium cabin or using points to upgrade my flight. I'm also a United Premier 1K, so I really love chasing a weed status. And I'm also on my way to becoming a million miler with United.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
And I'm doing Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
So when I redeem my points, I really like to spend them on hotels because I feel like that's where people can get the most value. While it's really fun to fly in business class, you're actually probably going to spend more time in your hotel room than on the plane. Also, I often find that whether I love my hotel room or hate it can also really play a huge role in determining the vibe of the trip.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
Plus, hotels are expensive, especially if you're staying for multiple nights. So really, if you use points on hotels, you could be saving a lot of money.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
I want to start off with Chase. They have a really great transfer partner in Hyatt Hotels.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
You know what, Sally? I did hear that and I wasn't surprised by it at all. Yes, thank you. I love Hyatt as a transfer partner because they're one of the few programs that still have an award chart. And plus, their rates are very reasonable.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
So even if you're looking to book the highest hotel category, which is Category 8, the most points you'll ever need to book a standard room is 45,000 points per night. Contrast that with Marriott Bonvoy, where I've seen hotel rooms go for more than 200,000 points a night.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
Wow.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
Well, I'm super excited to hear about your trip, Megan, because that's a very in-demand property with only 54 rooms and suites. Plus, they're not all available on points every day. So it's really not surprising to me that the availability is so low. But Hyatt actually has a ton of all-inclusive options.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
They've got Ziva, Zalara, Zoetree Wellness and Spa Resorts, Secrets Resorts and Spas, and also Miraval. So if I had 100,000 points, I'd definitely start looking there.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
There are a lot of options here if you have chase points. One that I've done is fly Lufthansa First Class. You can actually book that by transferring your credit card points to Air Canada's Aeroplan program. So you would book your flights through Aeroplan because Air Canada and Lufthansa are partners.
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Where 100,000 Points Can Take You: First Class Seats, Five-Star Suites and VIP Upgrades
In terms of pricing, a one-way flight from the East Coast to Europe would cost you 90,000 points, and a West Coast flight would be 100,000. This is definitely an aspirational redemption. Keep in mind that one-way international flights are often more expensive than round trips, but a one-way from San Francisco to Frankfurt can cost more than $11,000 in first class.