A couple of weeks back, I wrote about the trip that Ford and I had booked to Taipei & Hong Kong, and that’s a journey we’re currently on. As I explained at the time, I hadn’t yet booked return flights, beyond Hong Kong. Ford needed to get back (we can only both be away from home for so long!), but I could delay things by a few days, and squeeze some fun airline and hotel content out of the return.
Well, I’ve now booked the entire return journey, so would like to share what I’ve planned, so y’all have a sense of what’s coming up (in addition to some more initial thoughts on Hong Kong hotels). I probably need my head checked based on the way that I plan to get from Hong Kong back to Miami, but here we go…
I’m flying Hong Kong Airlines’ A330 business class
I’ll be leaving Hong Kong in Hong Kong Airlines’ A330 business class, flying to Tokyo Narita (NRT). Hong Kong Airlines is the lesser known Hong Kong-based airline, and I’m curious to experience the carrier’s A330 business class, and also seeing how its flagship lounge is nowadays.
Sadly Hong Kong Airlines doesn’t belong to any alliance, so there aren’t many practical ways to directly redeem points toward the experience. However, since I have Chase points that I can still redeem for 1.5 cents each toward flights (for a limited time), I booked that way. Thanks to the reasonable business class fare, I’m actually paying fewer points than if there had been saver level award availability on most other airlines.
Then I’m staying at the Park Hyatt Tokyo!
This probably won’t come as much of a surprise, but the reason I’m headed to Tokyo is to briefly check out the Park Hyatt Tokyo. It’s a hotel that I adore, and it just underwent its biggest renovation in history, so I look forward to seeing how it’s holding up. I managed to redeem World of Hyatt points for my stay, so I got quite a good deal as well.
Then I’m flying Malaysia Airlines’ A330neo & 737 business class
From Tokyo, I’ll be flying to Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in Malaysia Airlines’ new A330-900neo business class, and then to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) in Malaysia Airlines’ 737 business class.
I’m looking forward to checking out Malaysia Airlines’ latest business class product. On top of that, though, I’m excited to review the Japan Airlines First Lounge Tokyo Narita (which I can access on account of my oneworld Emerald status), as well as the Malaysia Airlines First & Business Lounge Kuala Lumpur, which I haven’t visited in years.
Here’s a question — I intentionally planned a quick overnight in Kuala Lumpur. Staying at the airside Sama-Sama Express Terminal 1 is the obvious choice. However, I’ve heard that the Capsule Transit MAX Terminal 2 is kind of epic for a terminal hotel. Is it worth it, or how much am I going to regret schlepping between terminals (especially since it would be nice to go to the Malaysia First Lounge for both dinner and breakfast, based on the timing of flights)?
I’m also flying Emirates’ A350 & 777 business class
Why am I flying to Ho Chi Minh City? Well, as I’ve written about in the past, I’d like to review Emirates’ A350 business class and Emirates’ new 777 business class, given that they set the new standard at the airline. The catch is that Emirates redemption rates are sort of high, both in terms of the number of miles requires, and in terms of surcharges.
I found a roughly $1,500 business class fare from Ho Chi Minh City to Dubai (DXB) to Frankfurt (FRA), and best of all, Ho Chi Minh City to Dubai is one of the only Southeast Asia routes to get the A350. So I redeemed Chase points at 1.5 cents each, meaning I paid a total of 100,000 points, including taxes & fees, and I’ll even earn Emirates Skywards miles for my ticket.
If I had booked this flight with Skywards miles (with saver level award availability), the ticket would’ve cost me 120,000 Skywards miles plus $845 in taxes & fees. So I think I got the better deal. 😉
I’m flying SAS’ A320neo & A321LR business class
From Frankfurt, I need to get back to North America. I always try to review new products when possible, and quite frankly, I was running out of new and interesting products across the Atlantic to review. But after looking at what was available, I found one interesting option.
Specifically, SAS has a few A321LRs, which are the carrier’s only long haul, narrow body planes. I found availability from Copenhagen (CPH) to Toronto (YYZ). Then I had to position from Frankfurt, so I booked SAS’ A320neo business class, which the airline only recently reintroduced (previously it was simply marketed as SAS Plus, and there weren’t blocked middled). I booked this using Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles.
I’m also staying at the Nimb Hotel Copenhagen
I actually have an overnight in Copenhagen, and I was able to book a hotel that has been on my bucket list for eons. Specifically, Nimb Hotel, part of SLH, is a unique property located within Tivoli Gardens. Best of all, it’s part of Hilton Honors’ partnership with SLH, so I was able to redeem a Hilton Honors free night award to stay here… score, given that the rate was around $1,000!
I realize February isn’t exactly peak season, so I’m curious, has anyone stayed, and what should I expect?
I’m finishing with Air Canada’s A321 business class
To get back home from Toronto, I’ll be flying Air Canada’s A321 business class, as there was award availability. Admittedly flights within North America aren’t usually much to get excited about, but I find Air Canada to be a bit better than most airlines in the US. I’m also excited to fly on one of the carrier’s retrofitted A321s, which even have tail cameras!
Bottom line
I needed to get from Hong Kong to Miami, and as one does, my journey will cover eight segments on five airlines, taking me via Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Dubai, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, and Toronto. I’ll also be staying at the Park Hyatt Tokyo and Nimb Hotel Copenhagen, both of which I look forward to checking out.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned (in the meantime, I have some Hong Kong hotel impressions to share, and I’m also going to keep chipping away at my Iceland and Cambodia trip report).