I always said I would not write an article about how
I effectively combine hotel and airlines points to create great trips. I
figured that if I did, the travel industry would change how they do things to
make it much more difficult. Well, they have started making things difficult
anyway, so I figured there is no time like the present to share with travelers how
I created the most exotic and wonderful Asian trip
to celebrate my 61st
birthday in the fall of 2014. I flew out of LAX on November 1, 2014 and
returned December 4, 2014. Everything went so successfully, my travel planning
will never be the same. I spent five magnificent weeks in Asia for about $6,
000, including air, hotels, tours, and accommodations. This included a total of
13 flights, and everything went smoothly. There were surprises in the planning,
and some great surprises on the trip. On some trips, the travel gods are just
on your side. The itinerary for this trip turned out to be Malaysia, Indonesia,
India and Taiwan, but the planning and reservations were not in that order at
all.
Surprises
In the planning
Of course all this planning began about 18 months
prior, when I was thinking of going to Africa. That’s right, Africa. I have
owned and exchanged timeshares for 25 years all over the world, and was looking
to find my next exchange in Africa using Interval International. Then Bali
jumped out at me online. That’s right, Bali. So I thought well, I have never
been there, and of course India was climbing to the top of my travel to-do
list. So I booked the week in a one bedroom unit in Seminyak at a resort owned
by the Astana Group from November 7-14. The cost for the
timeshare week maintenance fee and exchange fee was just under $1000.
I had been
hearing a lot about the Overseas Adventure Travel trip to northern India called Heart of India. I
picked up the phone and asked them if their 2014 dates were out yet, and sure
enough they were. So I told them about my Bali reservation, from November 7-14,
and asked if they had any departures around that time. They confirmed they had
a departure with solo availability (no single supplement, which is always
great) for November 14, and the group meets up on November 15-30 in New Deli.
So far so good. The trip cost was $2,825. It was originally $3200, but they
gave me $100 in travel credits, which brought the price down, and I paid early,
saving another 10%.
I started poking around at airfare, and even though
it was too early to book anything, Malaysian Air had great prices from LAX to
Kuala Lampur that were constant, and it never seemed to fluctuate in price no matter when you booked or what day
you flew. I could get one ticket that took me the entire way to all my
destinations beginning with LAX to Kuala Lampur, then onto Bali, then Deli, and
back again. That appeared in the planning to be $1800 for a single ticket with
all the stops I wanted.
In early 2014 it was time to start actually booking airfare
and hotels, since the requisite 11 months had passed and all my dates were now
on the reservation systems. (12 months for many hotels). I had noticed in the
intervening months that the Hilton Doubletree at the Intermark in Kuala Lampur
was centrally located, and the cost for each night using hotel points was a
little over 8,000 points. It had great reviews on Trip Advisor as well. Their
reservation system seems to work by giving the customer the lower rate in
either currency or points depending on the number of nights. The more nights,
the lower the nightly rate. I had 50,000 points to spend due to a credit card
promotion, so I was chomping at the bit to use those for such a great price. I
booked a six night stay for about 48,000 points at the Doubletree, from November 2 through 7. The hotel has a great view of the Petronas Towers,
is well located, and I was just thrilled to combine my timeshare week with hotel
points. The card was even free for the first year. I later applied a free night
certificate I receive each year from Hilton to the reservation, which brought
the amount of points I spent down even further to 40,000. That is often the
cost in points for a single night.
Also in the intervening time, a number of things had
happened. I was still committed to using
Malaysia airlines since I liked their routing, but noticed they had pulled out
of LAX and were only flying inter-Asia routes. There was no longer a non-stop
stop to KLIA as I had hoped. The new routing was American Airlines via Japan. I
adored Japan, but I was going to want to see more of it if I used the code
share flight with American, which would have extended my tip even longer. So I
called United Airlines and asked about my mileage balance. I noticed I could
not fly into KLIA very easily from what I saw online. However, if I purchased
about $400 in miles, I would have enough to fly to KLIA using EVA, the
Taiwanese carrier about whom I had heard great things, with only one stop in
Taipei. They had availability for November 1st to KLIA, with a
return from KLIA on December 1st. But then the reservation agent told me that
since this was a frequent flier ticket, I had the option for a free layover in
Taipei if I wanted it. Of course I wanted it! So I made my return from Taipei
to LAX on December 4th, the day after my birthday. So now my round trip to Asia was only costing
me $400 and mileage. Perfect.
I knew Malaysian Airlines had the inter- Asian
flights I wanted, I just wanted some web specials to bring the price down
further. The reservation agent I called told me she did not know when the web
specials would be out, but she informed me that there were some very good
prices for booking over the phone that were better than online. So I went over
my itinerary with her and she booked me two sets of tickets. From KLIA to Bali
(DPS) and back, on November 7th
and 14 respectively, then from KLIA to Deli (DEL) and back on November
15th and 30th . I already had the December 1st
flight to Taipei secured on my EVA flight, as was my fight back to LAX from
Taipei on December 4th. The cost of the Malaysia Airlines flight prior to the
two problems later in the year had been $648. This brought the total for my entire all my
airfare to under $1100, less than the $1800 I was originally prepared to pay. I
later learned during the trip that I could have sold the Malaysian airiness
flights back at no penalty after the two air disasters, and re-purchased them
for an even better price.
I had a few holes to fill which were easy to plug. For
my three night stay in Taipei, I used the last of some leftover American
Express points, at wonderful Hotel Rido in downtown Taipei. This is a charming Chinese
boutique hotel with a great Chinese buffet breakfast each morning included in
the rate. I also had two nights to fill in Kula Lampur since I was routing
myself in and out of KLIA. The Sama-Sama Hotel is
attached to the airport, and the price per night is about $130. There aren’t a
lot of options close to the airport, and it is a 4 star property. Another hotel
I strongly recommend.
I used day tours in Malaysia and Taiwan pre
purchased from either Viator or City Discovery.
City Discovery tends to be more affordable for solo travelers, but there is no
customer service if you need it. For the
OAT trip of course, all that was included. I did however, want to go to Java
for the day and see Barbadour and the temple complexes in Yogakarta. Prices for that ranged from the absurd to the
astronomical and often included an overnight stay. I did however, find a local
company, Bali Trips,
who provided the service for me for $250 each. It was a long day, but it
included airport transportation, flights on Lion Air, and a full schedule with lunch,
a guide and driver in Java for the day.. Using this combination of resources, and
not just depending on an escorted tour, I got to see some amazing highlights in
each destination. In Malaysia it was the elephant orphanage; in Bali it was the
fire dances at night; in Java, the temple complexes in and around Yogyakarta; in
India, the Taj Mahal and experiencing the Ganges on Thanksgiving night; and in
Taipei it was the National Palace Museum.
Surprises
on the trip
This had already shaped up very nicely to be a
wonderful trip using all my travel resources, but more surprises awaited me on
the trip. When I got to Kuala Lampur and checked into the Doubletree, they told
me they had upgraded me to Diamond level, and for my entire 6 night stay I
would have full use of their Executive lounge for breakfast and dinner for
free, as well as snacks in the afternoon.
In addition, they gave me a voucher to try several of their retaurants
for free. Since this was a 5 week trip, I decided to take advantage of this
every day, even though it was a typical chain hotel experience. I had great
views of the Petronas Towers each for breakfast and dinner, and met some great
people in the lounge from all over the world. I was eating out each day during my day tours,
so this worked out well. Such a treat!
In the months
between booking and my trip, my timeshare unit in Bali was upgraded for free to
a three bedroom villa with a private pool, and the location changed to one of
their properties in Sanur due to changes in management. I ended up at the
Astana Pengembak in Sanur, which quite frankly, I do not recommend. Although I
was not happy with the accommodations and the mix up that had occurred between
the resort and the timeshare company, my airport transfers were unexpectedly free,
as were all my breakfasts. I also ended
up inviting a Facebook Scrabble friend to join me since I had been upgraded to
a three bedroom villa (we actually met for the first time at the Doubletree in
Kuala Lampur the day she flew in from Oregon).
In Taipei, at the Rido Hotel in the last leg of this
great trip, they noticed when I was checking in that I was going to be there on
my birthday, so they even presented me with a birthday cake in the last night!
It was a magical, if not perfect ending to an absolutely perfect and very
affordable 5 week trip.
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