Welcome to my next trip report series, covering a trip that I just wrapped up. Usually when I travel, I write “live” updates, and then I publish a trip report two to three months later (just to space things out, and look at an experience from a couples of angles).
However, this time around I wrote almost nothing about the trip while I was on it (aside from a couple of rants about Royal Jordanian), while now I can share the full trip report shortly after returning home. This actually ended up being a two-part trip, with the first part being with Ford, and the second part being with my dad, as I sort of planned this trip as it evolved. Let me explain.
Why I took this trip
Ford and I try to plan a trip around each of our birthdays every year, not because we actually care about out birthdays, but just because it’s an opportunity to plan something in advance that we might not otherwise do.
This year we decided to go to Thailand for my birthday. Ford hadn’t been in Southeast Asia since before the pandemic (though we have visited Japan several times), and had also never visited Thailand. So we figured this was as good of a time as any to plan such a trip, especially with the hotel market constantly reaching new heights (and it still represents a relatively good value).
While we left our sons with family, we didn’t both want to be gone from home for too long, so I flew out first so I could check out a couple of hotels that have been on my radar, and then Ford joined me for our visit to Bangkok and Chiang Rai.
After that, Ford returned straight home (to be with our kids), while at the very last minute I decided to route through Germany, so I could also spend a little quality time with my dad. That’s kind of just how award availability worked out at the last minute. So my dad was (pleasantly) surprised when I called him and asked if he wanted to meet me in Germany the following day.
You can find the routing that I flew in the end below, as it covered eight segments and 22,928 miles.
The airlines I flew on this trip
Let me share the exact itinerary that I booked, including sharing how much I paid. I’ll be sharing it in the chronological order in which I traveled, which roughly lines up with the order in which I booked things.
To kick off the trip, I flew flew Qatar Airways’ Airbus A350-1000 Qsuites business class from Miami (MIA) to Doha (DOH), and then Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER Qsuites business class to Bangkok (BKK). I booked the following for 95,000 Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios plus $298.10 in taxes & fees:
4/14 QR778 Miami to Doha departing 7:40PM arriving 5:50PM (+1 day)
4/16 QR836 Doha to Bangkok departing 3:30AM arriving 2:15PM
You of course can’t beat that value, and while some might say “great, another Qatar Airways review,” I actually hadn’t reviewed Qatar Airways Qsuites on the A350 since 2019, and a lot has changed since then, including the rollout of Starlink, so I thought it was time for an updated review.
Then we had to travel roundtrip between Bangkok (BKK) and Chiang Rai (CEI), and we ended up flying Thai Airways’ brand new Airbus A321neo business class in one direction, and the carrier’s recently retrofitted Airbus A320 in the other direction. We booked the following in business class for $330.24 in business class (that was about $50 more each direction than economy, at the time we were booking):
4/21 TG132 Bangkok to Chiang Rai departing 11:35AM arriving 1:10PM
4/25 TG131 Chiang Rai to Bangkok departing 10:10AM arriving 11:40AM
Next up, I decided to fly to Germany, so I flew Royal Jordanian’s Boeing 787-8 business class from Bangkok (BKK) to Amman (AMM), and Royal Jordanian’s E190-E2 business class to Frankfurt (FRA). I booked the following for 75,000 American AAdvantage miles plus $80.40 in taxes & fees:
4/26 RJ183 Bangkok to Amman departing 11:00PM arriving 4:40AM (+1 day)
4/26 RJ125 Amman to Frankfurt departing 10:25AM arriving 2:45PM
Lastly, to finish off the trip, I flew Lufthansa’s Airbus A340-600 first class from Frankfurt (FRA) to New York (JFK). I booked the following for 90,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points plus $219.35 in taxes & fees:
5/02 LH400 Frankfurt to New York departing 10:55AM arriving 1:35PM
While my goal was to fly SWISS Senses first class, that didn’t work out. The good news about flying Lufthansa first class is that I could experience the carrier’s brand new “FOX” soft product, which only recently launched. That ended up being a good experience.
In addition to flight reviews, you can expect reviews of the following lounges:
- American Flagship Lounge Miami (MIA)
- British Airways Lounge Miami (MIA)
- Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman (AMM)
- Plaza Premium Lounge Amman (AMM)
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Frankfurt (FRA)
- Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt (FRA)
I know some people may have questions or be skeptical of my decision to travel through the Middle East on this itinerary. I’m happy to write a separate post about how I thought through that decision, but it’s not something I did without thought (though I realize some people may arrive at a different conclusion than I did). And for what it’s worth, Ford and I flew separately, because in the event one of us did get stuck, we didn’t want it to happen to both of us.
The hotels I stayed at on this trip
This trip included quite a few hotel stays, in both Thailand and in Germany. In Thailand, we stayed at five different hotels, while in Germany, we stayed at two hotels.
Bangkok is known for being one of the most competitive and best value luxury hotel markets out there, and in particular, the bar has been raised a lot in recent times. Over the years, I’ve only reviewed the points properties in Bangkok, ranging from the Park Hyatt, to the Ritz-Carlton, to the Waldorf Astoria.
This time around, I decided to check out the top end of the market, while getting a value that I think many will appreciate:
- I first spent a night at the Rosewood Bangkok, which only cost around $300 (and I booked using my Amex Platinum $300 hotel credit, so I paid almost nothing out of pocket for my stay, plus received all kinds of FHR perks)
- I then spent a night at the Capella Bangkok; after my recent stay at the Capella Taipei, I became a huge fan of the brand, and couldn’t help but check out this hotel, especially given that on The World’s 50 Best Hotels list, it took the number one spot in 2024, and the number three spot in 2025
- Then I met up with Ford and we spent a few nights at the Four Seasons Bangkok, which is actually in the same complex as the Capella; this hotel took the number two spot on The World’s 50 Best Hotels list for 2025
- Then on the return we had one more night in Bangkok, and decided to stay at the Aman Bangkok, the newest addition to the city’s luxury hotel portfolio, as I was curious how it compared to the existing top options
Our other destination in Thailand was the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle. This was my first time in the Chiang Rai area, and we had an incredible time.
I also can’t wait to share the story of what’s possibly the most interesting and unexpected day trip I’ve ever taken from a hotel in my life. We couldn’t help but be fascinated the second we saw a certain something from the Mekong River, and eventually we talked the hotel into taking us there, even though apparently nobody has made such a request in years. Bonus points to anyone who can guess what it is. 😉
In Germany, my dad and I were initially going to get more creative with where we’d go, but the Frankfurt area just had the most uncharacteristically beautiful late April weather imaginable, which is such a rare treat, so we decided to just stay in the area.
Specifically, we checked out two relatively new Hyatt properties in the area, which have been on my radar. First we stayed at Kennedy 89 Frankfurt, Hyatt Unbound Collection, a new Hyatt property that I’ve been particularly excited about.
Then we also spent a couple of night at Brunfels Hotel Mainz, Hyatt Unbound Collection, another Hyatt property that opened within the past couple of years (it was previously a Hilton, but underwent a full refresh).
I can’t wait to report back on all these experiences, as we had some really lovely hotel stays.
Bottom line
I recently wrapped up a great trip to Thailand and Germany. This included flights on Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, and Lufthansa, with products both old and new. Beyond that, I stayed at some pretty cool hotels, especially in Thailand, but also Hyatt affiliated ones in Germany.
Stay tuned and thanks for reading, as I’ll be publishing this trip report over the coming weeks!
