First time in business class…or when I really got hooked on points.
As you can imagine, most people will probably remember the first time they actually flew up front on an airplane. That special feeling when you walk through the door and turn left instead of right and see big, comfy seats waiting for you.
For me, it was on a special trip to Hawaii back in 2016. My then-girlfriend Elli and I had planned a lovely 10 day vacation on Oahu and Maui. Little did she know, I had something bigger planned for this trip and wanted to make sure it all happened in style!
It has just something special about sitting down, knowing you are heading to paradise and, within seconds, a flight attendant stops by to introduce themselves and offer you a drink. The bustle of the airport, the boarding area and overall boarding madness going on behind you fades away. While the flight attendant disappeared to grab some champagne for us, we checked out the seat and all that comes with it: seat controls, amenities, over-ear headphones and large storage compartments.
We also looked at the food menu that we could enjoy on this nearly 11 hour journey. It’s crazy to think about losing half a day on a domestic flight. In comparison when we did this trip back in May 2016, United didn’t offer any kind of complimentary meal in Economy.
I don’t remember exactly what was on that menu or what I ate, but thanks to a couple of glasses of champagne and a full belly, I was able to take a nice nap in the middle of the flight. What I do remember however is; that I felt relaxed and well rested once we got to Hawaii.
A flight even of 11 hours can fly by if you have a few drinks, full meal service, nap time and some movies. We spent the next 10 days on Oahu and Maui staying in hotels paid for with points and I can/will go into more detail for those in a different post.
The exciting special piece that I had mentioned in the beginning was that this was the trip were I would propose to my now wife, which made this trip even better and probably set a bad precedence, as whenever we are talking about a bigger trip now she asks what class we are flying. Needless to say, since then, we have flown other airlines in business and first class that were nicer then these United flights. However, it was still such a special feeling to sit in those seats and convert them in a lie-flat bed for the first time.
How did I book the flights?
I booked the flights through Singapore Airlines Krisflyer program at 60,000 miles per person for round trip direct flights from Newark (EWR) to Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL) plus $5.60 per person for taxes and fees. The easiest way to find those flights is to use the United website to look for Award flights. If they are showing availability under the Saver Awards column Krisflyer will also have access to that inventory and can be booked at that cheaper rate.
Since the actual flights were operated by United, airline alliance will be your best friend. Understanding the rules and airlines that you are able to book tickets with. This is not just limited to the normal airline you might fly domestically, but goes beyond that. That’s how I booked United flights with a program that is located across the globe and with a airline I have never flown before.
As mentioned before this award also could have been booked through United’s own program (Mileage Plus), but that would have cost 80,000 miles per person at the saver level and provided a lesser value for me.
Cash Cost of flights:
When I booked the flights I did a quick search on United to see how much cash I would have had to pay to enjoy the same privilege.
At the time of booking United would have asked for $7,000 total for two tickets!
How did I accrue the miles?
In 2015 I signed up for the American Express Platinum credit card which had a signup bonus of 100,000 Membership reward points at the time. I also signed up for a Citi Thank You Premier card which had a sign up bonus of 60,000 Thank You points (they had offered this for a 12-hour window one day and I was a lucky one who got it. Afterwards, it went down to 50,000 TY points). In the end, I transferred around 63k TY points and topped it off with the Amex points. That still left me with a nice stash of points Amex points.
Summary:
Would I pay cash outright for these flight? Absolutely not.
Was it great to fly in business class, not dread the flight and get off the plane and be ready to explore and enjoy my vacation? Absolutely.
Through points and miles, we are experiencing things that would normally be out of reach. It truly has changed the way we travel and how much we look forward to our next flights and vacations across the globe.
