Introduction

1,427,131 points

That’s the number of points and miles combined to finalize our upcoming travel in 2024. Welcome to the my next travel report series, where unsurprisingly, I’m headed back to Japan again! If you haven’t seen my travel report for this year, you can check out the adventures with my family here! This time though, we’ll be visiting Taiwan, since I haven’t been back there in 5 years. A lot has happened over these years, and I’m incredibly excited to visit my birthplace once more.

We’ll be visiting Japan and Taiwan with our close friends, and look forward to finding all the hidden restaurants and matcha places in Kyoto - in Taiwan, I plan on eating all the night market food and burning it all off with the walks we’ll be doing in the mountain ranges of Taiwan!

So let’s get this going - we’ll start with the flights first, and then the hotels.

Flights | Flying Blue to the Rescue!

As of Fall 2023, flights heading into Japan and Taiwan are incredibly ludicrous to come by using points, never mind their insane cash rates. With devaluations hitting Delta, American Airlines and United, the usual strategy of booking with Delta or United was out of the question, and Alaska was sadly out of the frame this time around.

So what could I use to fly back to Asia? Here comes a friendly program!

China Airlines | SFO to TPE

(Update | 2.22.24) In a sudden twist of events, Alaska Airlines released a series of award space for Starlux Airlines for 75K and $18.10 in award fees, which I took advantage of and booked 2 business class tickets for my wife and I on the beloved Starlux Airlines. These business class seats are the incredibly sought after for those flying back to Taiwan.

Alaska Airlines continues to be an amazing award partner for various airlines, and is the reason why I continue to hoard these miles with vigor. I’m extremely excited to finally try out the new business class from Starlux Airlines, as it’s been on my bucket list for a while.

Flying Blue has quickly become one of my favorite airline loyalty programs in recent years - with their recent addition of a stopover and their awards being available consistently, I began my search for a route back to Taiwan, since flying direct to Japan is near to impossible at our given timeframe. Flying Blue is a partner of SkyTeam, I just had to look for flights with China Airlines to Taiwan.

A quick search for the month of April found a series of business class awards for 2+ passengers for 176,000 miles and $201.30 in award fees. Essentially, it was 88,000 Flying Blue miles per person, which was fantastic value for a cash price equivalent of $7,045.00 USD for both of us. We’ve flown with China Airlines before in business class, and look forward to flying with them again in 2024!

Eva Airlines | TPE to KIX

Now that we’ll be arriving in TPE first, I had to find a flight to Osaka, Japan the next day. One great advantage of having miles and points is that the burden of finding award flights on Asia to Asia business class are so much easier to find.

From TPE to KIX, I was able to find a series of Eva Airlines business class availability for the two of us. To take advantage of Star Alliance partners, I was able to redeem miles on both Singapore Airlines and United, since I had leftover points sitting in both accounts from my previous travels. From there, I booked:

29,000 KrisFlyer Miles + $33.62
33,000 United Miles + $16.20

With a cash price of $1,531.00 USD for the two of us, paying $50 USD and 62,000 miles for two business class flights to KIX was a superb deal - I got to maximize my remaining miles in two airline accounts while booking the ideal flights into Japan. I haven’t actually flown with Eva Airlines on business class before, so this will be a first for my wife and I, and we can’t be more excited!

Eva Airlines | KIX to TPE

After a fun week in Kyoto and Osaka, we’ll be heading back to Taiwan for the remaining leg of our trip. Here, I ran into a bit of difficulty finding availability for 2 business class tickets from KIX to TPE. Because we were flying together with our friends to Taiwan, we had to find an aircraft that wasn’t already booked up in business class. Finding one award ticket was fine - but the other one was slightly more tricky.

This actually became a good learning lesson for me in exploring LifeMiles and some of its superb redemption values. While not exactly a sweet spot as defined by maestro Frequent Miler, it’s still an open award space and I sought it immediately for the booking.

We had a hoard of Amex points and while this isn’t exactly a great use of points, I figured we could at least supplement the majority of the points and pay the $137.19 in taxes for the flight. In total, the cash booking for the two of us would have been $1,481.17 USD - so it’s not a bad redemption, but not a great one.

22,500 LifeMiles + $53.70
46,631 Amex Points + $137..19

To fly back home, I took a similar approach and chose Flying Blue once more as my option of flying business class via China Airlines. We paid 176,000 Flying Blue miles and $202.30 in taxes and fees, which would average out to $6,000 for the two of us. For the flight back, we chose the window seats on the opposite side of our initial flight coming in, so we can get to try both sides of the business class.

The lie-flat seats on China Airlines is fantastic for a good 5-6 hours of shut-eye, though I’d say the Japan Airlines Sky Suites and Singapore Airlines business class is on par with them. Either way, it’s gonna be a nice flight back home to reality.

Conclusion | Flights

To recap:

352,000 Flying Blue Miles (converted from Amex Membership Points)
29,000 Krisflyer Miles
33,000 United Miles
22,500 LifeMiles
46,631 Amex Membership Points
$644.31 in fees and taxes

The net cash price for all these flights would be around $17,000+ USD.

Minus the award fees and taxes, I saved close to $16,609.69 USD for a complete business class overhaul to Taiwan and Japan during peak Cherry Blossom season. Given the complex nature of airline award availability during spring season, I’m glad I finally got to maximize a ton of my miles and points. I’d say this was not a bad redemption for flights - onwards to hotels then!

Hotels | The Return of Familiar Faces

I’m super thrilled about our hotel list for this upcoming trip.

Of the four hotels booked, three of them will be returning bookings, with just one being a brand new hotel that we’ve never stayed before. Since this trip will be a collaborative effort with our close friends, we thought it might be nice to share some of the best hotels together with them, both in Japan and in Taiwan. So what did I end up booking?

Hotel the Mitsui Kyoto, A Luxury Collection Hotel & Spa

Our first night in Japan will be at the famed Hotel the Mitsui Kyoto, a recent 5-star hotel addition to the luxury Kyoto hotel portfolio. This fantastic property is located very close to the UNESCO Nijo Castle, and its incorporation of its past will be immediately felt upon arrival, which I’m excited to see in-person. The hotel is the only luxury hotel with its own thermal spring onsen and offers an oasis for those looking to enjoy the natural springs of Kyoto. We’ve thrilled to sign up for the CHAKYO tea ceremony, which is overseen by the heir of one of the most profound influence on chanoyu, the Japanese Way of Tea.

This hotel has been one of the most sought after property in the Marriott Bonvoy collection, and rightfully so: cash rate for our room at the time was over $2000 USD a night! That’s peak Kyoto hotel pricing for you. Mind you, we’re probably checking-in at hopefully what I assume is peak cherry blossom season in Kyoto, though the many times we’ve visited, it’s been all over the place, haha. Instead of paying cash, I used 94,000 bonvoy points to book a Deluxe Room, City View, which is superb value for the points redeemed.

ROKU Kyoto, a LXR Hotels & Resorts

Our friends will be joining us the following day and onwards, so I decided to choose a place that would embody the natural environment of Kyoto. And what better hotel and resort than the ROKU Kyoto, a LXR Hotels & Resorts set in the mountainside of Kyoto?

This contemporary resort meshes unrivaled craftsmanship with unparalleled Japanese design, gastronomy and a serene natural environment. I’ve raved about the Japanese garden and its various restaurants sprung across the Shozan resort, but the ROKU Kyoto differentiates itself above its competitors through its ability to blend so cohesively with their surroundings - the closest arrival would probably the Aman Kyoto, which is next door.

To book this resort for myself and our friends, I decided to go all-in on Hilton points - I essentially used over 660,000 Hilton points along with a special request from the concierge team to help build our stay into a memorable one. For the two rooms, it would have been over $8,500 USD, which is hilariously steep and a bit over the top!

To help compensate the sting from spending the points and $, we’re leveraging both my wife and my Hilton Aspire Credit Card, which is probably the strongest hotel credit card in the current market. Why you ask:

Complimentary Diamond Status
$250 Hilton Resort Statement Credit
$250 Annual Airline Free Credit
Complimentary Priority Pass
Annual Free Night Award Certificate
and much more, which I can explain on a blog post!

Our $250 Hilton statement credits, plus the hotel’s own resort credit will be pivotal in how we maximize our stay at the ROKU Kyoto. If you haven’t read my review of the ROKU Kyoto, you check it out here on our garden deluxe room. Hopefully, we’ll be able to share that same 1st time experience with our friends there.

Conrad Osaka

We’re raved about it in 2019, and I’m going to rave about it again in 2024.

Over the last few years, I’ve persuaded and sent a lot of prospective clients and friends to the Conrad Osaka and all of them have been raving about the hotel and its 5-star service. From celebrating their wedding anniversary to family dinners to vacations, the Conrad Osaka has done nothing short of wonders for everyone. I’m excited to head back in 2024 with my friends and once again enjoy the fantastic services of the Conrad Osaka.

My wife and I are both Diamond members - I do believe Hilton Diamond status should net us an upgrade, but I what I can’t wait is the breakfast and lounge access at the Conrad Osaka. They have some of the best spreads and their lounge on the weekends has live music and special happy hour items. The views are quite beautiful during sunset. Also, they have one of the best luxury teppanyaki, even though this time we’ll probably skip it. You can check it out below!

The Conrad Osaka remains a fantastic Hilton Honors point redemption option. For our two nights, we simply used 190,000 Hilton points (95,000 standard points per night) for a Standard King Bed, though I do expect an upgrade to the King Premier Room as the dates approaches. Cash rate for the two nights are around $2,000, so it’s a great redemption value.

Grand Hyatt Taipei

On our last leg of the trip, we will be staying in Taipei for the remaining duration. There is an abundant amount of hotels to choose from, such as the W Taipei, the Mandarin Oriental and Regent Taipei. However, The Grand Hyatt Taipei continues to impress me with its location, its property and its outstanding breakfast spread that I’ll always sacrifice a food coma for.

Ill be using both cash and free night certificates to book our 5 nights at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, since cash rate at the time was $172 at time of booking. I plan on leveraging two of my free award night certificates and then attaching a suite upgrade award to it, allowing me to secure a Grand Suite King or hopefully a Grand Executive Suite down the line. I’ve been keen on reviewing the suites at this hotel and look forward to checking it out in 2024!

Conclusion | Hotels

To recap:

94,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points
660,000 Hilton Honors Points
190,000 Hilton Honor Points
2x Hyatt Category 1-4 Free Night Certificates
$510.00 in cash

The net cash for all our hotel nights would have been close to $14,500.00+ USD.

Minus the award fees and taxes, I saved close to $14,000.00 USD for one hell of a luxury hotel experience with our friends in Japan and Tokyo. While I’ve liquidated all that I got with Hilton, it just shows how certain redemptions are incredibly worth it when leveraged correctly. Since I know I’ll be getting a guaranteed suite upgrade with the Grand Hyatt Taipei, paying $510 in cash for 5 nights was something I’ll be more than happy to shell out. Overall, this was a great redemption in terms of lodging for this upcoming trip.

Closing | Some Thoughts

Just some fun numbers from this overall booking:

436,500 miles
990,631 points
2x Free Night Certificates
$1,154.00 USD
$32,000 cash price

While some of these numbers are staggering to believe, it’s all possible with a bit of research, timing and a good understanding of award partners and hotel openings. If you’re interested or need help planning your next trip, it’s something that I’ll be looking forward to opening up down the road on Little Boy from Taiwan!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!