When you have 20+ credit cards, you want to use them like a swiss army knife. Co-branded hotel credit cards can often provide lucrative spending bonuses so it makes sense to pay attention to which card you're using to pay for hotel stays and incidentals. Throw in an international stay and you've got an even more complicated situation due to foreign transaction fees (you'll want to avoid these at all costs).
If I'm working on minimum spend towards a credit card sign-up bonuses, I'll use the card for a hotel stay regardless of the return. Assume you're working towards a 50,000 point bonus (average these days) for $3,000 in spent. You're effectively receding a bonus of nearly 20 points per dollar so unless you have massive spending ability, it makes sense to knock the minimum spend out first.
Beyond that, I'll look to the co-branded card (assuming I have one) of the hotel chain I'm staying with. If it's an international stay, the card must also have no foreign transaction fees.
Showing posts with label Hyatt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hyatt. Show all posts
February 28, 2016
February 22, 2016
First Class Birthday: Planning & Booking II
Introduction
Planning & Booking
Planning & Booking II
United Airlines Global First Lounge IAD
United Airlines 777-200 Global First IAD to LHR
Andaz Liverpool
Etihad Airways Business Class Lounge London
Etihad A380 Business Class London (LHR) to Abu Dhabi
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways Premium Lounge Abu Dhabi
Etihad A380 First Class Apartments Abu Dhabi to New York (JFK)
The New York EDITION
Update: I was able to make a few changes (noted below) to our trip over the weekend. First, a single Etihad First Class Apartment award seat opened up between London and Abu Dhabi. Like a good husband, I promptly booked the seat and put Emily up front. I'm still hoping another seat opens up...if not, you'll get my review from the business class cabin and a few comments from Emily about her First Class Apartments experience. I was also able to change our routing to London. Two seats opened up in United Global First (777-200) from Washington Dulles to London. The change cost us 20,000 miles $150 in change fees which perfectly offset the cost for a hotel in Toronto. I've updated the post below with the changes. Stay tuned for the trip report segments coming in March!
________
I've been grounded since November when we returned from our round the world adventure. So I am really excited to get back in the air and travel somewhere. Once we had our Etihad First Class Apartment booked from Abu Dhabi to New York, we just needed to build a trip around it. We decided on London for a few days prior to Abu Dhabi and New York. It's been a few years since we were in London and it's one of our favorite cities in the world. So it was an easy choice. Here's how I booked everything.
Hotels:
In London, we decided to stay at the Andaz which cost 75,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, transferred in from Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
In Abu Dhabi, we settled on the Park Hyatt. We arrive early in the morning (1AMish) and depart early the next morning (3AMish) so I booked two nights to guarantee we can be in the room the entire team. Not the best use of points/cash but we'll be comfortable and given the overall cost of the trip, made sense. I booked one prepaid night at a rate of $220 USD. The second night cost 10,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and $125.
In New York, we'll be staying at the New York EDITION for a total of 80,000 Marriott Points.
In total, I used 85,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and 80,000 Marriott points. The cash outlay will be $345 for 7 total nights.
Flights:
The flight from Denver to London cost us 160,000 United miles and $11. London to Abu Dhabi in a combination of Etihad business/first class cost 70,000 American AAdantage miles and $520 in taxes thanks to the dreaded UK premium departure tax. We received 7,000 miles back for holding the AA Platinum Visa card.
The Etihad first class apartment flight cost us 170,000 AAdvantage miles after the 10,000 mile rebate. We also paid $73 in taxes.
To get home, we paid cash for a United flight from LGA to DEN. While the flight actually cost $410 for both of us, I paid with my Citi Prestige card which rebated $250. So the total cash outlay was $160.
In total, I redeemed 160,000 United miles and 233,000 American miles. We also paid $764 in taxes, fees, and airfare.
Summary:
Despite the heavy departure tax in London, I still put together a pretty sweet trip for less than $1,109. I redeemed a total of 558,000 points and miles for all of the flights and hotel nights. That compares favorably to our previous trip where we spent 654,000 points and miles and more than $2,100 in cash for a 9 night trip. Stay tuned for the individual trip report segments coming next month!
Planning & Booking
Planning & Booking II
United Airlines Global First Lounge IAD
United Airlines 777-200 Global First IAD to LHR
Andaz Liverpool
Etihad Airways Business Class Lounge London
Etihad A380 Business Class London (LHR) to Abu Dhabi
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways Premium Lounge Abu Dhabi
Etihad A380 First Class Apartments Abu Dhabi to New York (JFK)
The New York EDITION
Update: I was able to make a few changes (noted below) to our trip over the weekend. First, a single Etihad First Class Apartment award seat opened up between London and Abu Dhabi. Like a good husband, I promptly booked the seat and put Emily up front. I'm still hoping another seat opens up...if not, you'll get my review from the business class cabin and a few comments from Emily about her First Class Apartments experience. I was also able to change our routing to London. Two seats opened up in United Global First (777-200) from Washington Dulles to London. The change cost us 20,000 miles $150 in change fees which perfectly offset the cost for a hotel in Toronto. I've updated the post below with the changes. Stay tuned for the trip report segments coming in March!
________
I've been grounded since November when we returned from our round the world adventure. So I am really excited to get back in the air and travel somewhere. Once we had our Etihad First Class Apartment booked from Abu Dhabi to New York, we just needed to build a trip around it. We decided on London for a few days prior to Abu Dhabi and New York. It's been a few years since we were in London and it's one of our favorite cities in the world. So it was an easy choice. Here's how I booked everything.
Hotels:
In London, we decided to stay at the Andaz which cost 75,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, transferred in from Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
In Abu Dhabi, we settled on the Park Hyatt. We arrive early in the morning (1AMish) and depart early the next morning (3AMish) so I booked two nights to guarantee we can be in the room the entire team. Not the best use of points/cash but we'll be comfortable and given the overall cost of the trip, made sense. I booked one prepaid night at a rate of $220 USD. The second night cost 10,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and $125.
In New York, we'll be staying at the New York EDITION for a total of 80,000 Marriott Points.
In total, I used 85,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and 80,000 Marriott points. The cash outlay will be $345 for 7 total nights.
Flights:
The flight from Denver to London cost us 160,000 United miles and $11. London to Abu Dhabi in a combination of Etihad business/first class cost 70,000 American AAdantage miles and $520 in taxes thanks to the dreaded UK premium departure tax. We received 7,000 miles back for holding the AA Platinum Visa card.
The Etihad first class apartment flight cost us 170,000 AAdvantage miles after the 10,000 mile rebate. We also paid $73 in taxes.
To get home, we paid cash for a United flight from LGA to DEN. While the flight actually cost $410 for both of us, I paid with my Citi Prestige card which rebated $250. So the total cash outlay was $160.
In total, I redeemed 160,000 United miles and 233,000 American miles. We also paid $764 in taxes, fees, and airfare.
Summary:
Despite the heavy departure tax in London, I still put together a pretty sweet trip for less than $1,109. I redeemed a total of 558,000 points and miles for all of the flights and hotel nights. That compares favorably to our previous trip where we spent 654,000 points and miles and more than $2,100 in cash for a 9 night trip. Stay tuned for the individual trip report segments coming next month!
February 6, 2016
First Class Birthday: Planning & Booking
Introduction
Planning & Booking
Sheraton Gateway Hotel Toronto
Air Canada 767-300 Business Class Toronto To London (LHR)
Andaz Liverpool
Etihad Airways Business Class Lounge London
Etihad A380 Business Class London (LHR) to Abu Dhabi
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways Premium Lounge Abu Dhabi
Etihad A380 First Class Apartments Abu Dhabi to New York (JFK)
The New York EDITION
I've been grounded since November when we returned from our round the world adventure. So I am really excited to get back in the air and travel somewhere. Once we had our Etihad First Class Apartment booked from Abu Dhabi to New York, we just needed to build a trip around it. We decided on London for a few days prior to Abu Dhabi and New York. It's been a few years since we were in London and it's one of our favorite cities in the world. So it was an easy choice. Here's how I booked everything.
Hotels:
Given our day flight from Toronto, we needed to get there the night before. There's a Sheraton attached to Toronto's Pearson airport which couldn't be more convenient. I was able to book a AAA rate for $122 USD which seemed like a deal to me...thanks to the strong USD.
We'll see if we can make a change to Lufthansa first class within 15 days of departure. That would certainly be more fun the Air Canada business class. Either way, we'll be happy.
In London, we decided to stay at the Andaz which cost 75,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, transferred in from Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
In Abu Dhabi, we settled on the Park Hyatt. We arrive early in the morning (1AMish) and depart early the next morning (3AMish) so I booked two nights to guarantee we can be in the room the entire team. Not the best use of points/cash but we'll be comfortable and given the overall cost of the trip, made sense. I booked one prepaid night at a rate of $220 USD. The second night cost 10,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and $125.
In New York, we'll be staying at the New York EDITION for a total of 80,000 Marriott Points.
In total, I used 85,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and 80,000 Marriott points. The cash outlay will be $467 for 8 total nights.
Flights:
The flight from Denver to London cost us 140,000 United miles and $18. London to Abu Dhabi on Etihad business class cost 60,000 American AAdantage miles and $530 in taxes and the dreaded UK premium departure tax. We received 6,000 miles back for holding the AA Platinum Visa card.
The Etihad first class apartment flight cost us 170,000 AAdvantage miles after the 10,000 mile rebate. We also paid $73 in taxes.
To get home, we paid cash for a United flight from LGA to DEN. While the flight actually cost $410 for both of us, I paid with my Citi Prestige card which rebated $250. So the total cash outlay was $160.
In total, I redeemed 140,000 United miles and 226,000 American miles. We also paid $781 in taxes, fees, and airfare.
Summary:
Despite the heavy departure tax in London, I still put together a pretty sweet 8 night trip for less than $1,250. I redeemed a total of 531,000 points and miles for all of the flights and hotel nights. That compares favorably to our previous trip where we spent 654,000 points and miles and more than $2,100 in cash for a 9 night trip. Stay tuned for the individual trip report segments coming next month!
Planning & Booking
Sheraton Gateway Hotel Toronto
Air Canada 767-300 Business Class Toronto To London (LHR)
Andaz Liverpool
Etihad Airways Business Class Lounge London
Etihad A380 Business Class London (LHR) to Abu Dhabi
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways Premium Lounge Abu Dhabi
Etihad A380 First Class Apartments Abu Dhabi to New York (JFK)
The New York EDITION
I've been grounded since November when we returned from our round the world adventure. So I am really excited to get back in the air and travel somewhere. Once we had our Etihad First Class Apartment booked from Abu Dhabi to New York, we just needed to build a trip around it. We decided on London for a few days prior to Abu Dhabi and New York. It's been a few years since we were in London and it's one of our favorite cities in the world. So it was an easy choice. Here's how I booked everything.
Hotels:
Given our day flight from Toronto, we needed to get there the night before. There's a Sheraton attached to Toronto's Pearson airport which couldn't be more convenient. I was able to book a AAA rate for $122 USD which seemed like a deal to me...thanks to the strong USD.
We'll see if we can make a change to Lufthansa first class within 15 days of departure. That would certainly be more fun the Air Canada business class. Either way, we'll be happy.
In London, we decided to stay at the Andaz which cost 75,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, transferred in from Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
In Abu Dhabi, we settled on the Park Hyatt. We arrive early in the morning (1AMish) and depart early the next morning (3AMish) so I booked two nights to guarantee we can be in the room the entire team. Not the best use of points/cash but we'll be comfortable and given the overall cost of the trip, made sense. I booked one prepaid night at a rate of $220 USD. The second night cost 10,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and $125.
In New York, we'll be staying at the New York EDITION for a total of 80,000 Marriott Points.
In total, I used 85,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and 80,000 Marriott points. The cash outlay will be $467 for 8 total nights.
Flights:
The flight from Denver to London cost us 140,000 United miles and $18. London to Abu Dhabi on Etihad business class cost 60,000 American AAdantage miles and $530 in taxes and the dreaded UK premium departure tax. We received 6,000 miles back for holding the AA Platinum Visa card.
The Etihad first class apartment flight cost us 170,000 AAdvantage miles after the 10,000 mile rebate. We also paid $73 in taxes.
To get home, we paid cash for a United flight from LGA to DEN. While the flight actually cost $410 for both of us, I paid with my Citi Prestige card which rebated $250. So the total cash outlay was $160.
In total, I redeemed 140,000 United miles and 226,000 American miles. We also paid $781 in taxes, fees, and airfare.
Summary:
Despite the heavy departure tax in London, I still put together a pretty sweet 8 night trip for less than $1,250. I redeemed a total of 531,000 points and miles for all of the flights and hotel nights. That compares favorably to our previous trip where we spent 654,000 points and miles and more than $2,100 in cash for a 9 night trip. Stay tuned for the individual trip report segments coming next month!
January 16, 2016
Review: Grand Hyatt Singapore
Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
The cab from Singapore's Changi Airport took around 20 minutes with just light traffic. We arrived at the Grand Hyatt just before 8AM. We've previously been to Singapore a couple of times staying at the Conrad near Marina Bay both times. We were eager to check out a different part of the city and the Grand Hyatt fit the bill. Located on Orchard Road, there's amazing shopping right out the front door. And the Singapore Botanical Gardens are about a 20 minute walk from the hotel so the location is ideal.
I had booked the room using Hyatt Gold Passport points and booked us into a club room for some added comfort. At 8AM, I figured we'd be dropping our bags and head out to get some fresh air and food until our room was ready. We were both pleasantly surprised to learn that we had been upgraded to a club level suite and our room was ready! We've had good luck checking in extremely early to Grand Hyatt's in Asia.
We made our way up to the 30th floor and entered the room. While the hotel is in need of a renovation, the room was extremely spacious and nicely appointed.
Upon entering the main room, there was a weird wet bar type setup on the right, a working desk, couch, and television.
The bedroom was pretty standard.
The bathroom was decked out in green stone which we both thought was pretty unique. There was both a bathtub and a standup shower.
After unpacking and cleaning up from the redeye, we headed up to the club (on the 31st floor) for some breakfast.
While there were some decent food on offer in the mornings and evenings, bar service was only available between 6 and 8pm and the lounge essentially closed after that. In addition, the club tended to get a bit crowded at peak times so go early if you want a quieter experience. So the extra 7,000 points per night likely wasn't worth it although we did get upgraded to a suite...which likely wouldn't have happened had we not upgraded.
We didn't spend a ton of time in the hotel in places other than our room or the club lounge. I hear there's a nice outdoor pool and that the hotel's restaurant (Straits Kitchen) is actually very good. We spent our days walking around the city, shopping, and of course eating. We had an excellent Thanksgiving dinner at FOC (Spanish tapas) which I would highly recommend.
The two days flew by and soon enough, it was time to head home. We checked out of the hotel early Sunday morning with no charges on our bill. One of the perks of the miles and points game. We grabbed a cab to Changi and arrived at the First Class check-in facility well before our flight. I'm going to add a bonus trip report segment on Changi since there is so much fun stuff to see/do. I'll cover that after the Private Room segment.
Final Thoughts:
Singapore is a somewhat tricky hotel market. Many of the upper upscale brands (i.e. Grand Hyatt, Conrad) are tired and in need of renovation. We both enjoyed the location of the Grand Hyatt and would definitely return if the price (either cash or points) was right.
We walked by the St. Regis which I would like to check out as it's in a bit quieter location still close to Orchard Road. The Grand Hyatt's location is spot on though - right on Orchard Road and a 3 minute walk from the MRT.
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
The cab from Singapore's Changi Airport took around 20 minutes with just light traffic. We arrived at the Grand Hyatt just before 8AM. We've previously been to Singapore a couple of times staying at the Conrad near Marina Bay both times. We were eager to check out a different part of the city and the Grand Hyatt fit the bill. Located on Orchard Road, there's amazing shopping right out the front door. And the Singapore Botanical Gardens are about a 20 minute walk from the hotel so the location is ideal.
 |
| Grand Hyatt Singapore |
I had booked the room using Hyatt Gold Passport points and booked us into a club room for some added comfort. At 8AM, I figured we'd be dropping our bags and head out to get some fresh air and food until our room was ready. We were both pleasantly surprised to learn that we had been upgraded to a club level suite and our room was ready! We've had good luck checking in extremely early to Grand Hyatt's in Asia.
 |
| Grand Hyatt Singapore in the spirit |
We made our way up to the 30th floor and entered the room. While the hotel is in need of a renovation, the room was extremely spacious and nicely appointed.
 |
| Entrance to Grand Hyatt Singapore |
 |
| Grand Hyatt Singapore Suite |
The bedroom was pretty standard.
 |
| Bedroom |
The bathroom was decked out in green stone which we both thought was pretty unique. There was both a bathtub and a standup shower.
After unpacking and cleaning up from the redeye, we headed up to the club (on the 31st floor) for some breakfast.
While there were some decent food on offer in the mornings and evenings, bar service was only available between 6 and 8pm and the lounge essentially closed after that. In addition, the club tended to get a bit crowded at peak times so go early if you want a quieter experience. So the extra 7,000 points per night likely wasn't worth it although we did get upgraded to a suite...which likely wouldn't have happened had we not upgraded.
We didn't spend a ton of time in the hotel in places other than our room or the club lounge. I hear there's a nice outdoor pool and that the hotel's restaurant (Straits Kitchen) is actually very good. We spent our days walking around the city, shopping, and of course eating. We had an excellent Thanksgiving dinner at FOC (Spanish tapas) which I would highly recommend.
 |
| Almost December - ready for Christmas! |
The two days flew by and soon enough, it was time to head home. We checked out of the hotel early Sunday morning with no charges on our bill. One of the perks of the miles and points game. We grabbed a cab to Changi and arrived at the First Class check-in facility well before our flight. I'm going to add a bonus trip report segment on Changi since there is so much fun stuff to see/do. I'll cover that after the Private Room segment.
Final Thoughts:
Singapore is a somewhat tricky hotel market. Many of the upper upscale brands (i.e. Grand Hyatt, Conrad) are tired and in need of renovation. We both enjoyed the location of the Grand Hyatt and would definitely return if the price (either cash or points) was right.
 |
| St. Regis Singapore |
We walked by the St. Regis which I would like to check out as it's in a bit quieter location still close to Orchard Road. The Grand Hyatt's location is spot on though - right on Orchard Road and a 3 minute walk from the MRT.
January 2, 2016
2015 Year in Review: Hotels
I recently posted about my 2015 year in flight. You can also read about my hotel stays in 2014 (45 nights) and 2013 (55 nights) for comparison purposes.
In 2015, We stayed in really great hotels although didn't receive as many "upgrades" as in prior years. I ended the year with 46 total nights. Virtually identical to 2014. Starwood (15 nights) and Hyatt (11 nights) brands made up the bulk of my stays. Interesting to note that 15 of the 46 nights were related to business travel...vs. 0 in 2014. 5 of the nights were at independent properties where we were unable to earn/burn points.
None of the nights were business travel although 10 of the "nights" were credit from the Starwood American Express cards and two additional nights were "mistakes" credits. So I actually stayed in hotels 45 nights during 2014. I will be dropping from Starwood Platinum to Gold (lifetime) which I'm okay with.
Here's the full breakdown:
In 2015, We stayed in really great hotels although didn't receive as many "upgrades" as in prior years. I ended the year with 46 total nights. Virtually identical to 2014. Starwood (15 nights) and Hyatt (11 nights) brands made up the bulk of my stays. Interesting to note that 15 of the 46 nights were related to business travel...vs. 0 in 2014. 5 of the nights were at independent properties where we were unable to earn/burn points.
None of the nights were business travel although 10 of the "nights" were credit from the Starwood American Express cards and two additional nights were "mistakes" credits. So I actually stayed in hotels 45 nights during 2014. I will be dropping from Starwood Platinum to Gold (lifetime) which I'm okay with.
Here's the full breakdown:
- 15 Starwood nights across 8 properties and 5 brands
- 11 Hyatt nights across 4 properties and 3 brands
- 7 Marriott nights across 3 properties and 3 brands
- 5 Hilton nights across 2 properties and 2 brands
- 5 Independent nights across 3 properties and 3 brands
- 2 Fairmont nights
- 1 Shangri-La night
I think 2016 will look pretty similar - large concentration on both Starwood and Hyatt with Marriott/Hilton as backups. I don't expect the Starwood/Marriott merger to impact my stay habits at this point but we'll see how the merger/loyalty program integration goes. That said, both of us are becoming very fond of Hyatt - especially the Park Hyatt and Andaz brands. For the most part, Park Hyatt blows St. Regis out of the water and Andaz beats W hotels in terms of substance so I think we'll continue to ramp Hyatt stays when possible.
We had some amazing stays across the year. My favorite by far was the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. Close second (same trip) would be Al Maha outside of Dubai. Third would be the Waldorf Astoria in Amsterdam.
It was another great year in travel - we're both excited for a new year exploring new places!
We had some amazing stays across the year. My favorite by far was the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. Close second (same trip) would be Al Maha outside of Dubai. Third would be the Waldorf Astoria in Amsterdam.
It was another great year in travel - we're both excited for a new year exploring new places!
December 31, 2015
Review: Park Hyatt Maldives Water Villa
Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
We made our way through the interior of the island to the jetty that contains the overwater villas. The further the villa, the better the view. So I just smiled and crossed my fingers that we'd keep on driving. We eventually pulled over at villa 43 which is about half way down the curving jetty (6th of 14 to be exact).
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
We made our way through the interior of the island to the jetty that contains the overwater villas. The further the villa, the better the view. So I just smiled and crossed my fingers that we'd keep on driving. We eventually pulled over at villa 43 which is about half way down the curving jetty (6th of 14 to be exact).
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| Villa 43 |
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| Villa 43 ladder to reef |
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| Ladder shot |
December 19, 2015
Review: Park Hyatt Maldives
Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
Let me start off by saying the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa is absolutely paradise. Getting there isn't easy (but can be a lot of fun) but it is/was absolutely worth it. We will 100% be back.
I'm going to break the trip report up into a couple of parts. We stayed in the base park villa for the first three nights and then moved to a water villa for our last night. In this post, I'll cover the resort the park villa. Next up will be a bit more about the resort and my water villa review. Here we go...
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
Let me start off by saying the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa is absolutely paradise. Getting there isn't easy (but can be a lot of fun) but it is/was absolutely worth it. We will 100% be back.
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| Welcome to Hadahaa! |
I'm going to break the trip report up into a couple of parts. We stayed in the base park villa for the first three nights and then moved to a water villa for our last night. In this post, I'll cover the resort the park villa. Next up will be a bit more about the resort and my water villa review. Here we go...
 |
| The Dhoni during the day |
December 13, 2015
Review: Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
We cleared immigration and waited around 20 minutes for our bags. Maldives is a dry country and you can be fined/arrested for bringing in liquor (hotels are exempted). There was a Dutch couple on our flight that had a few bottles of wine with the. Not sure if they were unaware or if they were seasoned Maldives vets. Either way, it was entertaining to watch them first try and hide the wine then approach the customs desk and ask them what they should do. We didn't wait around long enough to see the outcome but moral of the story is - don't try this at home. It's not worth getting arrested.
After a fairly long wait, our bags came out and we were on our way out of the international terminal. We met the Park Hyatt's representative in the arrivals hall (no sign but he somehow spotted us) where he grabbed our trolley and helped us make the walk to the domestic terminal. We were thankful we did this during the day as we would make the transfer (without assistance) at night on the way back with limited time to make our connecting flight to Singapore.
T
he Park Hyatt's representative took our passports as we approached the Maldivian check-in desk. He handled everything (the Park Hyatt books these tickets for each guest) while we stood around looking like tourists. After maybe 5 minutes, boarding passes spit out of the machine and our bags were tagged to Kooddoo which is pretty fun to say. We were escorted up the stairs to the domestic lounge where we had about 90 minutes to kill before our flight.
The lounge was insanely crowded and I didn't take any pictures. The internet worked, there was water and serviceable restrooms. 20 minutes before our scheduled departure, we were picked up from the lounge and escorted through security to our gate.
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
We cleared immigration and waited around 20 minutes for our bags. Maldives is a dry country and you can be fined/arrested for bringing in liquor (hotels are exempted). There was a Dutch couple on our flight that had a few bottles of wine with the. Not sure if they were unaware or if they were seasoned Maldives vets. Either way, it was entertaining to watch them first try and hide the wine then approach the customs desk and ask them what they should do. We didn't wait around long enough to see the outcome but moral of the story is - don't try this at home. It's not worth getting arrested.
After a fairly long wait, our bags came out and we were on our way out of the international terminal. We met the Park Hyatt's representative in the arrivals hall (no sign but he somehow spotted us) where he grabbed our trolley and helped us make the walk to the domestic terminal. We were thankful we did this during the day as we would make the transfer (without assistance) at night on the way back with limited time to make our connecting flight to Singapore.
 |
| Maldivian Check-In |
he Park Hyatt's representative took our passports as we approached the Maldivian check-in desk. He handled everything (the Park Hyatt books these tickets for each guest) while we stood around looking like tourists. After maybe 5 minutes, boarding passes spit out of the machine and our bags were tagged to Kooddoo which is pretty fun to say. We were escorted up the stairs to the domestic lounge where we had about 90 minutes to kill before our flight.
The lounge was insanely crowded and I didn't take any pictures. The internet worked, there was water and serviceable restrooms. 20 minutes before our scheduled departure, we were picked up from the lounge and escorted through security to our gate.
 |
| Maldivian Q-300 |
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| Time to fly |
November 18, 2015
Points and Miles on Sale
It seems like every major loyalty program is selling miles at a discount this month.
 |
| SPG points up to 25% off |
- American is offering a monster bonus on purchased mils through 11/30/15
- Starwood is offering SPG points at (up to) a 25% discount through 12/31/15
- Hyatt is offering a 30% bonus on Gold Passport points through 11/30/15
While I wouldn't speculatively purchase miles/points here (especially given the recent rash of mergers/devaluations) it's worth a look if you are a few miles (or a few thousand) short of an award. Availability is often tight and buying miles in a pinch can help you lock in an airline or hotel award without waiting as most purchased points post instantly.
October 28, 2015
Round the World in 11 Days: Planning & Booking
Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300 First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200 Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
They say the best part about a vacation is the anticipation. This trip is no exception. Emily and I have had The Maldives on our bucket list for years. For us flying halfway around the world to get to a beach is part of the fun. When the opportunity to spend time in The Maldives and Al Maha, (outside Dubai) I started to work on flights. Here's an overview of the booking process and what everything cost.
Hotels:
We've already covered our first couple of nights in Dubai at Al Maha. This cost me 78,000 SPG points (normally 120,000) thanks to Starwood's recent promotion. Given the fact that the resort is all inclusive (3 meals per day and 2 activities) and room rates go for more than $1,500 USD/night, I consider this a great deal.
All in, I'm getting about 5 cents worth of value from my SPG points. Not that I would ever pay $2K for a night in a hotel but this regardless, this is one of the best redemptions of my life.
We'll then head to the Park Hyatt Maldives for 4 nights using Hyatt Gold Passport points. The hotel used to be a category 6 then went to 7 and now is back to 6. So 25,000 points per night for a total of 100,000 for our stay. I used a combination of Hyatt points earned from stays and transferred in the rest from my Chase Ultimate Rewards account. I did pay cash to upgrade us to an overwater bungalow for the last night of our but I'll leave that out of the booking process since that was totally optional.
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300 First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200 Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
They say the best part about a vacation is the anticipation. This trip is no exception. Emily and I have had The Maldives on our bucket list for years. For us flying halfway around the world to get to a beach is part of the fun. When the opportunity to spend time in The Maldives and Al Maha, (outside Dubai) I started to work on flights. Here's an overview of the booking process and what everything cost.
Hotels:
We've already covered our first couple of nights in Dubai at Al Maha. This cost me 78,000 SPG points (normally 120,000) thanks to Starwood's recent promotion. Given the fact that the resort is all inclusive (3 meals per day and 2 activities) and room rates go for more than $1,500 USD/night, I consider this a great deal.
 |
| Cash rates at Al Maha Dubai |
All in, I'm getting about 5 cents worth of value from my SPG points. Not that I would ever pay $2K for a night in a hotel but this regardless, this is one of the best redemptions of my life.
We'll then head to the Park Hyatt Maldives for 4 nights using Hyatt Gold Passport points. The hotel used to be a category 6 then went to 7 and now is back to 6. So 25,000 points per night for a total of 100,000 for our stay. I used a combination of Hyatt points earned from stays and transferred in the rest from my Chase Ultimate Rewards account. I did pay cash to upgrade us to an overwater bungalow for the last night of our but I'll leave that out of the booking process since that was totally optional.
 |
| Park Hyatt Maldives beach |
October 17, 2015
Round the World in 11 Days: Introduction
Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300 First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200 Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
After a summer break due to our new family member, Emily and I are 30 days away from our most anticipated trip yet. Both of us have had the Maldives at the top of our bucket list and we actually had a trip booked in late 2014. Life got in the way and we ended up canceling the trip...and I'm glad we did because a year later, our itinerary is even better.
The Maldives is far. Really far. Almost 11,000 miles far. For those keeping score, that is nearly halfway around the world. So we decided to break up the trip on both ends with stops in Dubai and Singapore. Flying through Singapore on the way home enabled us to make this a true round the world trip (RTW) which has been another bucket list item of ours. In total, we'll fly nearly 23,000 miles as we make our way around the world.
After an early morning flight from Denver to Dallas, we'll spend a few hours in the American Express Centurion lounge relaxing before the 14+ hour Emirates A380 flight to Dubai. This will be our first time flying Emirates and we're both pretty excited for the onboard bar, shower, and overall experience. We were in Dubai a couple of years ago and enjoyed our time in the city. For this trip, we're headed to the Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa thanks to Starwood's generous 35% off promotion. Al Maha is supposed to be an incredible resort and at nearly $2,000 a night would be completely unattainable without a large stash of SPG points.
After a four hour flight on Emirates first class to Male, we'll transfer via domestic prop plane and speed boat to the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. While there are dozens of reviews of the property online, we're both super excited to experience it for ourselves. With just 50 villas (14 overwater and 36 on land) and a staff to guest ratio of nearly 2:1, it is supposed to be a very special place. We'll spend three nights in the standard park villa and our last night in an overwater bungalow/villa. Another bucket list item checked off.
We'll spend four nights at the Park Hyatt before transferring back to Male for a five hour redeye on Singapore Airlines. Not looking forward to that but we'll be tired and use the flight to rest up for Thanksgiving in Singapore.
We've been to Singapore a couple of times and stayed at the same property (Conrad) during both trips. We decided to check something new out and stay at the Grand Hyatt near Orchard Road. It will be cool to stay in a different neighborhood and spend more time in a different part of the city.
While I would have loved to fly Singapore Suites again, availability was challenging post Thanksgiving. So I "settled" for Singapore's 777-300ER first class which isn't fully enclosed but still an excellent way to fly. We'll be flying Singapore to Hong Kong to San Francisco and then overnighting at SFO before catching an early flight back to Denver.
This is the best itinerary I've put together thus far. We were able to cover all of the flights (with the exception of the connecting flights to Dallas and from SFO) and hotels with miles and points. The Maldives is expensive and the fact that we were able to do so leaves us with a bit more cash to splurge on activities. I'll cover the booking specifics in costs more in the next installment. Stay tuned!
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300 First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200 Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco
After a summer break due to our new family member, Emily and I are 30 days away from our most anticipated trip yet. Both of us have had the Maldives at the top of our bucket list and we actually had a trip booked in late 2014. Life got in the way and we ended up canceling the trip...and I'm glad we did because a year later, our itinerary is even better.
The Maldives is far. Really far. Almost 11,000 miles far. For those keeping score, that is nearly halfway around the world. So we decided to break up the trip on both ends with stops in Dubai and Singapore. Flying through Singapore on the way home enabled us to make this a true round the world trip (RTW) which has been another bucket list item of ours. In total, we'll fly nearly 23,000 miles as we make our way around the world.
 |
| Round the World in 11 Days: ~23,000 miles of flying |
After an early morning flight from Denver to Dallas, we'll spend a few hours in the American Express Centurion lounge relaxing before the 14+ hour Emirates A380 flight to Dubai. This will be our first time flying Emirates and we're both pretty excited for the onboard bar, shower, and overall experience. We were in Dubai a couple of years ago and enjoyed our time in the city. For this trip, we're headed to the Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa thanks to Starwood's generous 35% off promotion. Al Maha is supposed to be an incredible resort and at nearly $2,000 a night would be completely unattainable without a large stash of SPG points.
After a four hour flight on Emirates first class to Male, we'll transfer via domestic prop plane and speed boat to the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. While there are dozens of reviews of the property online, we're both super excited to experience it for ourselves. With just 50 villas (14 overwater and 36 on land) and a staff to guest ratio of nearly 2:1, it is supposed to be a very special place. We'll spend three nights in the standard park villa and our last night in an overwater bungalow/villa. Another bucket list item checked off.
We'll spend four nights at the Park Hyatt before transferring back to Male for a five hour redeye on Singapore Airlines. Not looking forward to that but we'll be tired and use the flight to rest up for Thanksgiving in Singapore.
We've been to Singapore a couple of times and stayed at the same property (Conrad) during both trips. We decided to check something new out and stay at the Grand Hyatt near Orchard Road. It will be cool to stay in a different neighborhood and spend more time in a different part of the city.
 |
| Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class |
While I would have loved to fly Singapore Suites again, availability was challenging post Thanksgiving. So I "settled" for Singapore's 777-300ER first class which isn't fully enclosed but still an excellent way to fly. We'll be flying Singapore to Hong Kong to San Francisco and then overnighting at SFO before catching an early flight back to Denver.
This is the best itinerary I've put together thus far. We were able to cover all of the flights (with the exception of the connecting flights to Dallas and from SFO) and hotels with miles and points. The Maldives is expensive and the fact that we were able to do so leaves us with a bit more cash to splurge on activities. I'll cover the booking specifics in costs more in the next installment. Stay tuned!
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