Every year, my husband Scott and I plan one grand international trip. And every year prior to that, I start my credit card strategy to fund the extravagant vacation.
Our most recent challenge? Three weeks in Asia. The ultimate goal? To fly there and back in business class on points.
Earning, burning, and earning some more
This year’s big trip checked a couple different boxes, including island-hopping in Thailand and achieving my dream of flying in Qatar Airways’ coveted Qsuite product for just the price of taxes. In order to make such a lofty plan happen, I had to be strategic with my credit card points accumulation. After all, Scott and I are both self-employed writers and not in a position to splash out on business class with our hard-earned cash.
I knew to land a pair of Qsuite flights with points, I needed to be ready to pull the trigger approximately 11 months prior to my departure date, meaning my points needed to be in my accounts well before that time. I always keep a steady bank of Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards for a rainy day, but I estimated I would need at least 400,000 points total to do a round-trip flight to Asia in business class. The cash price in a Qsuite for our route started at $6,000 per person, which for two of us would only be possible if paying in points.
The previous year, our big trip was to Namibia, so I had drained much of my points balance when booking those flights and accommodations. In order to build them back up, I offered to put both the deposit and balance of our seven-person safari — which the others in our travel group then paid me back for — to open new cards and meet signup bonuses.
The first card I opened was Chase’s Ink Business Preferred, which would earn me 100,000 points by spending $8,000 in three months; I achieved this by paying off half of our Namibia trip.
For the other half of the safari, I opened the Business Platinum Card from American Express, and I earned 175,000 Membership Rewards after spending $15,000 in the first three months (this card also pays 1.5x points on purchases over $5,000). I also took advantage of an AmEx sign-up bonus for a new Business Checking account for 60,000 points, which did not require me to spend any money but rather make ten small deposits and keep a minimum balance of $5,000 for 60 days. After that, I could transfer it back to my main bank account.
As small business owners, paying estimated quarterly taxes is always something Scott and I both dread — or at least did until we learned you can pay taxes on a credit card. Earning signup bonuses by paying taxes is one way to lessen the blow. (Note: Some data points suggest that taxes no longer count toward AmEx signup bonuses, so to play it safe, I put my tax spend on Chase cards instead.)
At this point, we’d amassed more than 370,000 points through SUBs and minimum spend. To gain the remaining points I needed for our Thailand trip, I referred Scott to the Ink Business Preferred, which got me 20,000 points and him a signup bonus of 100,000 by spending $8,000 in three months, which took a single quarterly tax payment.
We got another 20,000 points by connecting our Rakuten to our American Express account; in lieu of cash back, I get points deposited quarterly simply from household purchases I’m already making.
Booking one of the most coveted seats in the sky
Being based out of Nashville, we routinely reposition to a larger international airport for far-flung trips. Knowing I wanted to fly Qatar Airways, I looked up the airline’s main departure routes from the U.S. Atlanta was the closest, so I used 3,403 Southwest Rapid Rewards points to get me there; Scott flew for free on his Companion Pass.
Our flights on Qatar Airways from Atlanta to Doha and Doha to Bangkok totaled 190,000 points each; I transferred Membership Rewards from my American Express points to my British Airways Executive Club account during a period when AmEx was offering a 30% transfer bonus, which happens periodically. This meant I actually only had to part with 300,000 points — though the remainder of my points would come in handy when booking resorts in Thailand.
I then connected my BA account to my new Qatar Airways Privilege Club account, since the airline programs allow you to combine Avios between the two. One thing I learned through this process is to make sure both of your airline accounts are set up and linked far before you want to start the transfer, as it took several weeks for my Qatar Airways number to work.
Flying Qatar Airways internationally usually includes a connection in Doha, and the airline has a stopover program that allows you to stay up to four nights. It was my first time in Qatar and my husband’s first time ever in the Middle East, so we used 71,173 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to stay three nights in the stunning, design-forward Mondrian Doha.
But as much as I anticipated our trip and the actual experience of flying in a Qsuite, I don’t think I fully realized how epic (not to mention comfortable) a 14-hour flight could be until I was settled in with a glass of Krug, fumbling with the buttons that allowed my seat to recline in every direction.
For one, we were able to book a pair of middle seats with a divider, meaning it felt like we were in our own capsule for two in the air; families of four or friends traveling together can select seats in the center aisle that can be configured into a quad formation. Furthermore, each Qsuite has a door so you can close off access to the aisle for ultimate privacy and seclusion, something many business cabins on other airlines lack.
Our multi-course meal was served on white tablecloths, and while we had eaten in the lounge in Atlanta, I couldn’t help but try everything laid before me. Qatar Airways also has an a la carte menu available on demand should you be hungry in between meals. There’s little I won’t try, but my husband can’t have gluten or red meat, and the airline was able to cater to his dietary restrictions. And though — in theory — I know you should limit your alcohol consumption on a long flight, I couldn’t help but taste my way through the cocktail menu and wine list.
While we were each in the lavatory brushing our teeth and changing into our pajamas, a cabin attendant made up our beds for us. Though I was tempted to stay awake the entire time to enjoy every minute of this luxury flight, I did doze off for at least half. Flying Qsuites also meant that we arrived well-rested; I’ve never been able to sleep on a plane, but in a lie-flat bed, I napped like a baby. That extra rest really helped us combat jetlag and hit the ground running when we arrived. And the Qsuites experience continued when we returned to the Hamad International Airport a few days later for our flight from Doha to Bangkok and were whisked through a special private entrance for business and first-class passengers, one that had us bypass the throngs of people in the main security entrance.
How we enjoyed a $25,000 trip for less than $3,000
In the following days, we covered what seemed like every inch of the Pearl of the Persian Gulf: taking scooters for miles through the West Bay, gawking at the architecture of the National Museum of Qatar, seeing where the 2022 World Cup was played, watching the camels parade from the Amiri Diwan palace back to their stalls in Souq Waqif.
From Doha, we continued on to Thailand for just under two weeks. The flight was a mere six hours, and again, being in a Qsuite made the experience of flying actually enjoyable. Bangkok was a wild ride, and I was thankful we had friends living there to guide us through the narrow channels of the local neighborhoods brimming with people, colors, textures, and food. After four days in Bangkok, Scott and I headed to the regional airport and took a flight-transfer combo to Ko Lanta where we checked into the five-star Layana Resort and Spa for three nights using 118,581 Membership Rewards and rented a scooter for $5 a day to see the island.
From there, it was off on a speedboat packed shoulder-to-shoulder with sweaty travelers all headed to Ko Lipe, which turned out to be my favorite destination of the trip. For the final four nights of our vacation, we booked a villa with a pool and epic views of the Andaman Sea at Serendipity Beach Resort for 237,451 Membership Rewards points. We fell in love with this sleepy island where cars aren’t allowed, soaking up beach time, covering the island by foot many times over, and dipping below the water on a two-tank scuba dive off a longboat. Ko Lipe is the vision of Thailand that’s been ingrained in my head since I started traveling extensively 20 years ago.
We did not have enough AmEx points to fly Qatar Airways back home — currently, the airline’s transfer partners are American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Marriott Bonvoy — but we did have enough Chase points to transfer to Singapore Airlines and fly business class from Bangkok to Singapore to LAX. The cash price of these seats ran around $3,200 apiece but cost just 214,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for the two of us.
I transferred these points directly from Chase to my Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer account. While the overall experience in Qsuite won out in terms of food, drinks, and pure luxury, Singapore Air’s business class was equally comfortable.
After a five-hour layover at Singapore Changi Airport, during which we got to experience the airline’s signature lounge for a full meal and nap before our transpacific leg, we were back on a plane headed to California. Our flight landed in LAX around dinnertime, and since there are no connections to Nashville that late, I used 20,789 Ultimate Reward points to book a stay at LAX’s H Hotel Los Angeles through the Chase portal, then cashed in 7,107 Rapid Rewards points for an early morning Southwest flight home with my husband flying free thanks to our Companion Pass.
In all, this 17-day trip for two during high season — and Chinese New Year at that, which we didn’t anticipate when planning — cost us less than $3,000 out of pocket (airline taxes, dining, and activities like diving and temple entrance). Had we not used points for flights, hotels, and resorts, the trip would have cost upward of $25,000.
The only downside to flying Qsuites is it’s incredibly hard to go back to flying economy on long-haul flights. Lesson learned? I will be planning all my international trips this far out so I can make sure I’m able to fly in a business suite in the future.
In fact, we loved this strategy so much that we implemented it for an upcoming trip to Australia, flying Singapore Air business class from JFK to Melbourne, then flying back home in — you guessed it — Qsuites.
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