Introduction | I Feel Like a Crazy Rich Asian

This was one of my favorite redemption stories.

Singapore had always been a place I wanted to visit back in the college days, and I couldn’t justify nor find a way to pay my way to visit Singapore without points. Then, in the summer of 2018, having made a career switch, I found myself suddenly dreaming of a trip to Singapore, and it dawned on me? Why not leverage my points that I had during that time and try to make an amazing weekday trip out of it?

So here we go, with a trip down memory lane:

A $25,000 trip to Singapore. Paid for 180,000 AA miles, 120,000 hotel points and $241.91 in award fees. Let’s go.

FLIGHTS | Japan Airlines Galore!

San Francisco to Singapore

First, to maximize a trip like this, you have to understand how certain airlines utilize routing rules and award charts - for me, AA was a fantastic carrier for international flight redemptions, but only because it hosted a series of great airlines in OneWorld, but also the hubs that I was going to frequent were more part of that ecosystem. Thus, I had been accumulating a wealth of AA miles.

I wanted to stop by Japan for a day before heading to Singapore, and what better way than to indulge in the JAL first class across the Pacific Ocean? I was able to net a JAL First Class seat from SFO to HND (JL01) in Seat 1A, which if paid in cash, was a whopping $11,587.00 USD! Compared to my Singapore First Class redemptions, I really love maximizing the AA miles to Japan Airlines for these kind of outcomes! The flight departed at 4:20pm and arrived the next day at 7:15pm in Tokyo. You can check out my JAL first class review here!

This classic yet immensely huge first class cabin was well worth the redemption!

From Tokyo, it was off to Singapore! I couldn’t find a spot out of Haneda International Airport and thus resorted to Narita International Airport to get to my destination. Here, I booked a flight from NRT to SIN (JL711) in business class, which would have costed me a staggering $3,252.00 USD (flying to and out of Japan is never cheap, believe me). My departure time would be at 5:55pm and arriving in Singapore well into the night at 12:20am the next day.

I must say, this is one of the best, if NOT one of the VERY BEST redemption usage of AA miles. I utilized 110,000 AA miles + $29.10 award fee + 75.00 expedite fee for these two flights to Singapore. If paid in cash, this was going to be a ridiculous cost of $14,839.00 USD!

Singapore to San Francisco

From Singapore to Tokyo, I booked a flight from SIN to HND (JL38) in JAL business class, which in cash would have costed $1,781.00 USD. Time of departure was a super late 1:50am flight with an arrival time of 9:50am. This was one of the hardest layovers that I had because of the jet lag, and I found myself knocking out a couple times at the JAL Sakura Lounge to make sure I was ready for the flight back to San Francisco. You can check out my Business Class review here!

From Tokyo to San Francisco, I booked the flight from HND to SFO (JL02) in JAL business class , which in cash would have been around $6,410.00 USD. The flight back was uneventful and I basically slept my way to the duration of the flight, and consolidated my meals towards the end.

In total, I spent 70,000 AA Miles + 62.81 award fee + $75.00 Expedite Fee altogether for the returning flight back home, which was an extraordinary deal, considering that if paid in cash for both legs, I would be paying $8,191.00 USD for the two flights!

Can’t go wrong with the Japanese selection - it’s the best!

Hotels | Random as they Come

Hilton Tokyo | Executive King Room

I spent 60,000 Hilton points for a quick night in Tokyo - because it was a sold out hotel during the hot and humid summers of Tokyo, I wasn’t expecting much. However, my Diamond status granted an executive room on the highest floor (35th floor) and free breakfast at the executive lounge, so I can’t complain much there! Cash price during that stay was a whopping $600.00! USD for that particular room, so it was an incredibly great use of points there.

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport | King Bedroom Suite

I’ve always wanted to try out the famous transit hotel in Singapore - the Crowne Plaza Changi is seen as a fantastic 4 star hotel that even locals frequent for their staycations. Given at that time I was hoarding IHG points for an upcoming trip in the winter time, I spent 40,000 IHG points for what was supposed to be a premier room, but ended up with one of the biggest suites on the property. The king bed suite was incredibly immaculate and made me feel like I lived in an expensive apartment - and the price per night proved it, as I was happy to see my 40,000 IHG points cover a $650.00 a night room!

Grand Hyatt Singapore | Junior Suite

The Grand Hyatt Singapore has always been an old guard and a great hotel for those traveling into Singapore, as it sits on Orchard Road with all the dining and shopping places within reach of one another. I honestly wished I spent more time exploring the hotel back in 2018, but jet lag was some serious business on the 2nd day in Singapore.

As part of my Singapore experience, I ended up spending 20,000 Hyatt points for a King room. Interestingly enough, I ended up paying $60 USD for a junior suite as I checked in a bit early on that day. So for 20,000 Hyatt Points, I ended up with a $700 junior suite at the Grand Hyatt Singapore.

2018 was a great year for redeeming points and miles, and this travel report definitely proved the value of award travel. Since AA only charged 70,000 miles for first class and 40,000 for the leg, and this proved to be such a great use that I’ve continually leveraged this for most of my travels going into 2018-2020. I’m hoping this inspires people to be excited about the prospects of leveraging points to its maximum potential!