Following Up With Some Details

I recently posted an introduction to my upcoming trip to Southeast Asia. Since then, I've had more than a few people press me for more information about how, exactly, I managed to plan such an extensive trip for so little money. I promised that details would be forthcoming, and I'm fulfilling that promise with this post.

Let's start with the most important component of any vacation: getting there. As I mentioned previously, I booked my outbound and return flights using American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Most people use their frequent flier miles for domestic trips, or for an upgrade to the next class of service. This is a poor use of miles, especially once you become aware of the other things that your miles can be redeemed for. In addition to flights on American metal, AAdvantage miles can also be used for flights with AA's partner airlines. These include all of the OneWorld member airlines as well as a few others. AAdvantage uses a zone based chart for partner awards, which can be found here.

OneWorld Alliance members

My preferred destinations were either Singapore or Bangkok, both located in Asia Zone 2. Business Class awards to this zone go for 55,000 miles, while first class awards go for 67,500. If you've ever tried to book an award through AA.com, you might be thinking, "Howard, I've never seen Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines awards show up on the website," and you'd be correct. For some reason, only a selected few of American's AAdvantage award partners are bookable through AA's website. You'll need to search for availability on other partners some other way (I use British Airways' Executive Club website), and then call American Airlines to reserve seats over the phone. AA waives the $25 phone booking fee for itineraries that are not bookable online.

So now that you have the background on AAdvantage Partner bookings, let's go through how I found for my flights. When you're booking with miles, it's important to be flexible. Award availability is constantly changing, so if you see something you like, you ought to book it. Business and first class availability tends to open up more as the departure date approaches, so you can always upgrade later. Unlike revenue tickets, you can change the date and routing of award tickets without any charge as long as you keep the origin and destination the same. I originally found an economy award to Singapore, which I later upgraded to business and finally to first, changing to different flights numerous times.

What I ended up with was a seat in first class on Cathay Pacific 841 from JFK to Hong Kong, with a 12 hour stopover there before an onward connection to Singapore in business on Cathay 659. The long stopover was my choice; I wanted some time to explore HK and to enjoy the world-renowned Cathay Pacific first class lounges. The long stopover also saves me a few bucks on hotels, as the 659 is a redeye. These flights retail for $17,033.40. I paid 67,500 AAdvantage miles, plus $33.80 in taxes and fees. That's a redemption value of more than 25¢ per mile- about as good as it gets.

For the return flight, there wasn't much availability from anywhere near where I was going to be. So I decided to position to Osaka to catch a flight on Japan Airlines brand new KIX-LAX route, operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with a two-class cabin. Japan is in Asia Zone 1, from which a business class award to the U.S. is only 50,000 AAdvantage miles, plus $48.50 in taxes and fees. The Osaka to Los Angeles flight retails on its own for $4,389.23, and I'm continuing on to Miami from LA. That's a redemption value of 8.77¢ per mile.

So to get to Asia and back flying only in premium cabins cost me only 117,500 AAdvantage miles and $82.30 cash. Once there, hotels and flights between cities are inexpensive. Below is a spreadsheet detailing the expenses for my trip.

Have  I answered your questions? If  not, let me know in the comments!

Here's why you should sign up for Global Entry

If you fly frequently- or even semi frequently- and you haven't signed up for Global Entry, you're doing it wrong.

You've probably heard of TSA Precheck, the program that lets you skip the line at airport security. Precheck is like stepping back in time to September 10th. You get to keep your shoes and belt on, and you don't have to remove liquids or laptops from your bags. Membership in TSA Precheck costs $85 and lasts for five years. 

Sounds great, right? Maybe you're even considering signing up. But that would be a bad idea. Forget about TSA Precheck. Let me tell you about something that's even better. 

Global Entry is one of the trusted traveler programs offered by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Global Entry is aimed primarily at frequent international travelers. Global Entry allows its members to bypass the usual customs procedure for returning international travelers. Instead of being interviewed by a CBP agent upon arrival (and waiting in endless queues to do so), Global Entry participants head straight to an automated kiosk where their fingerprints are scanned and documents are processed. You don't even need to fill out those landing cards they hand out on your flight. For only $100, Global Entry could save you up to three hours each time you arrive into the United States for the next five years. 

Now, if you don't travel internationally very often, you're probably wondering why you should forego TSA Precheck in favor of Global Entry. The answer is simple: Global Entry makes you eligible for TSA Precheck as well. So for the marginal cost of $15, you get the benefits from both of these incredible programs. If it's true that "time is money" then membership in Global Entry pays for itself many times over. 

Signing up for Global Entry is easy, but it's a bit of a process. First, you need to fill out the application form on the CBP website and submit it along with your $100 application fee. The fee is nonrefundable, so if you're not approved you won't get your money back. As you might expect with this kind of program, they do an extensive background check. If you're a convicted felon of have been found guilty of a customs violation, you won't be eligible. Once your application is conditionally approved, you'll be directed to make an appointment for an in person interview at a Global Entry enrollment center (most likely at your nearest airport).

As a member of Global Entry myself, I can tell you that the process is easy and doesn't take very long to complete. I had my Global Entry card in hand within about three weeks of the time I first submitted my application. I've already used TSA Precheck five times, saving me at least two hours of waiting in line at airport security. The longest I've waited at a TSA Precheck line was four minutes. Do yourself a favor and sign up for Global Entry so you can take advantage of these benefits too!

Review: American Airlines' New A319 is a #PaxEx Nightmare

On Monday, I got the chance to try out AA's new A319 on a short hop from Miami to Tampa for the bar exam. I generally enjoy flying with American, and I'm a loyal AA flyer (after all, it does pay to be loyal). But even on a 60 minute flight, the hard product offering on this aircraft type makes for a terrible passenger experience.

As American retires its fleet of MD-80s, the 737-800 is becoming the backbone of the carrier's short and medium haul operations. AA offers an ample (though not necessarily generous) 31" of seat pitch in the main cabin on their 737 fleet. Compare this with the 30" seat pitch offered on the A319. As you probably know from your own experience, every inch counts when you're sitting in the back of the plane. That one inch may not seem like a lot, but it makes a HUGE difference.

While I'm glad that American has invested in IFE- the A319 has individual screens and power outlets at each seat- every benefit has a drawback. In this case, the drawback comes in the form of a large power supply box underneath the seat, drastically reducing the amount of available foot room. Coupled with the reduced seat pitch, these under-seat IFE boxes make flying in the Main Cabin on American's A319 a cramped and uncomfortable experience.

But wait! There's more! Further adding to the discomfort is the new slimline seat that American decided to install on the A319. It. Is. Awful. As I wrote on Twitter, I'm not even sure why they bother putting a cushion on it. It feels like you're sitting on a wooden bench. Even for such a short flight, it was uncomfortable.

How bad is the hard product on this aircraft? I'm really not convinced there's any benefit to flying American over a low cost carrier such as Spirit if your American flight would be operated by an A319.

Bottom line, at least as far as AA main cabin is concerned: If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going.

If you have any thoughts on American's A319, or if you think I'm being too critical, feel free to leave a comment below.

Introduction: A Post Bar Getaway to Southeast Asia

Introduction

Amtrak Northeast Regional Baltimore to New York
British Airways First Lounge JFK

Cathay Pacific First Class 777-300ER New York to Hong Kong 

Cathay Pacific "The Arrival" Lounge

Stopover in Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific "The Wing" First Class Lounge

Cathay Pacific "The Pier" First Class Lounge

Cathay Pacific Business Class A330-300 Hong Kong to Singapore

Singapore

Malaysia Airlines Economy Class 737-800 Singapore to Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Malaysia Airlines Economy Class 777-200 Kuala Lumpur to Bali

Bali, Indonesia

Malaysia Airlines Economy Class 777-200 Bali to Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia Airlines Economy Class 737-800 Kuala Lumpur to Phuket

Phuket, Thailand

Thai Airways Economy Class 777-300 Phuket to Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

Thai AirAsia X Economy Class A330-300 Bangkok to Osaka

Osaka, Japan

Japan Airlines "Sakura Lounge" Kansai Airport

Japan Airlines Business Class 787-8 Osaka to Los Angeles

OneWorld Business Class Lounge LAX

Admirals Club LAX

American Airlines First Class 737-800 Los Angeles to Boston

American Airlines First Class 737-800 Boston to Miami

I booked it on a whim at 3am this past May, but, in many ways, this trip was years in the making. When I returned from my summer abroad in 2013, I knew I had to start planning my next big trip. Unfortunately, I also knew that I was too broke to afford it even if I could somehow find the time to go somewhere. So, having already racked up roughly 30,000 AAdvantage miles, I figured that award flights would be the fastest way to obtain the kind of trip I was looking for. I signed up for an American Airlines Gold Mastercard, which at the time offered a 40,000 mile sign up bonus. My original plan was to redeem the miles for an economy ticket to Spain, since I hadn't been able to make it there during my previous trip. Things at home kept me busy though, and I realized that I might be better off waiting until law school was over and I had more time on my hands. At some point I decided that I wanted to go to Asia instead of Spain; it probably had something to do with the relative costs of each destination. The problem, or so I thought, was that American only flies to a few destinations in Asia, and award availability on those flights is limited.

When I discovered Ben Schlappig's blog One Mile At A Time about a year and a half ago, my plans changed drastically. Ben's first class trip reports looked a lot better than the economy trip I was planning. I'd always dreamed of flying in Cathay Pacific first class, but to me it was just a dream; I saw no feasible way for that to ever happen. I certainly had no idea that a first class seat on Cathay can be obtained with AAdvantage miles before I became a OMAAT reader. Since that time, I've spent most of my free time learning about what's known as The Hobby, which involves accruing airline loyalty points as quickly as possible, and then redeeming them for premium cabin travel on some of the world's most lavish airlines. It sounds too good to be true, but I assure you it's not. Which brings me to my upcoming Southeast Asia trip.

Cathay Pacific First Class (credit: Ben Schlappig)

Next Tuesday I'll be embarking on a 16-day journey to Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Phuket, Bangkok, and Osaka. I'm flying there in first class. I'm returning in business class. The entire trip- all flights and accommodations included- cost me $964.37. No, that's not a typo. Yes, I'm talking about American dollars. Let me say it again just in case you don't believe me: My entire trip cost a total of $964.37 (and only 117,500 AAdvantage miles). I'm not flying crappy airlines either; of the eleven segments I'll be flying, only one is with a low cost carrier. If you're wondering how I did it, and how you can do it too, watch this space for the forthcoming posts about my trip. The trip segments you see at the top of this page will become active links when the corresponding entries go live.



Correction: An earlier version of this post stated that the trip cost 122,500 AAdvantage miles. It actually cost 117,500 miles. I regret the error.

Welcome!

Hi! I'm Howard. Thanks for stopping by my new blog, "Howard Goes Places And Does Things."

To start, here's a little bit about me: I recently graduated with a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law. I also hold a B.A. in political science from San Diego State University, and I occasionally (read: very infrequently) write about political stuff here. During the summer between my first and second years of law school, I studied abroad in Europe, and was able to travel extensively during that time. I've always been interested in traveling but that summer was a life changing experience; I knew I had discovered my passion.

And that''s what led me to create this blog. I've been meaning to do it for a while, but law school and bar prep have delayed the project- until now. I just completed day 1 of the Florida Bar Exam (day 2 is tomorrow), and I finally find myself with a few free moments to get HGPADT started. As you can probably imagine, the bar exam is stressful. I won't even attempt to quantify how stressful it is because it's just not possible.

The one thing that has kept me going throughout this whole experience is the knowledge that, on the other side of the bar exam, a 16-day trip to Southeast Asia awaits me. Naturally, I want to share that experience (and others like it) with you- my family, friends, and anyone else who somehow stumbles across this blog. So thanks for reading, and stay tuned for my upcoming posts which will describe my Asia trip in much more detail.