ATHLLC8827444827
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:01.920 | - Hello, and welcome to another episode of All The Hacks,
00:00:05.120 | a show about upgrading your life, money, and travel.
00:00:08.200 | I'm Chris Hutchins, and last week,
00:00:09.800 | I had an amazing conversation with Brandon Presser
00:00:12.480 | about everything Japan.
00:00:14.400 | Where to go, what to see, planning your trip,
00:00:17.040 | the culture, and so much more.
00:00:19.000 | But I didn't have the time to cover one more thing
00:00:21.320 | I really wanted to get to,
00:00:22.940 | how to use your points and miles to fly there,
00:00:25.280 | and for hotels when you get there,
00:00:26.920 | and also some ways to increase those points balances,
00:00:30.120 | and a few other ways to save on a trip
00:00:31.920 | even if you're not using points.
00:00:33.760 | So I wanted to do an entire follow-up episode on that.
00:00:36.780 | But even if you're not planning a trip to Japan,
00:00:39.200 | a lot of what I'm gonna talk about today
00:00:40.880 | will hopefully help you think about any trip you're taking,
00:00:43.700 | or boosting miles and points
00:00:45.160 | that you might not know what you wanna do with yet.
00:00:47.680 | But if you haven't heard that episode yet,
00:00:49.480 | go back and have a listen,
00:00:50.720 | because you might actually end up wanting to plan a trip
00:00:52.960 | to Japan sooner than you thought.
00:00:54.800 | In fact, I know a lot of you
00:00:56.200 | have already started planning your trip
00:00:58.000 | because I got so many amazing emails and DMs from you
00:01:01.280 | about the Japan episode.
00:01:03.040 | Haven't gotten to respond to everyone yet,
00:01:04.840 | but I'm so happy you all enjoyed the episode.
00:01:07.140 | I'm excited for your trips to Japan,
00:01:09.160 | and I think I'll keep experimenting
00:01:10.840 | with having these country episodes every month or two,
00:01:14.200 | with Italy coming next.
00:01:16.000 | So let's jump in and help you all start planning a trip
00:01:19.500 | right after this.
00:01:20.880 | (upbeat music)
00:01:22.920 | Okay, let's start with flights.
00:01:25.200 | One of the best carriers you can fly to Japan is A&A.
00:01:28.600 | Their product, everything from economy
00:01:30.800 | to first-class is amazing.
00:01:33.280 | One of the best ways to book it is on Virgin Atlantic,
00:01:36.400 | at least right now, and I'll explain in a bit.
00:01:38.920 | And you can do round trip from the West Coast
00:01:42.000 | for 60,000 miles in coach,
00:01:44.920 | 90,000 in business, and 110,000 in first.
00:01:48.520 | Again, that's round trip, so this is a really amazing deal.
00:01:51.960 | You can only book it round trip,
00:01:54.680 | but the taxes, unlike using Virgin Atlantic miles
00:01:57.880 | to fly across the ocean to Europe,
00:01:59.920 | are much more reasonable, about $300.
00:02:03.000 | So a couple caveats here.
00:02:04.800 | You can't search for these flights on Virgin Atlantic.
00:02:07.860 | So search on United or point.me
00:02:10.480 | or whatever other site you want within Star Alliance,
00:02:13.700 | and you find the flights,
00:02:15.360 | and then you need to call and book through Virgin Atlantic.
00:02:18.920 | But you can transfer to Virgin Atlantic from Amex,
00:02:21.840 | Cap One, Chase, Citi, and Built,
00:02:24.120 | so it's a really great option.
00:02:26.480 | The only catch here, though,
00:02:28.040 | is I don't know what'll happen after March,
00:02:30.600 | because Virgin Atlantic has announced
00:02:32.400 | that they're joining the SkyTeam Alliance,
00:02:34.680 | and ANA is in Star Alliance,
00:02:36.680 | so it's unclear whether they will continue partnering
00:02:39.920 | with some of these Star Alliance carriers.
00:02:41.940 | So if you're booking before March, it's an amazing option.
00:02:45.960 | If you're booking after March
00:02:47.080 | or you don't wanna use Virgin Atlantic points
00:02:49.240 | for whatever reason,
00:02:50.220 | you can book direct through ANA.
00:02:52.960 | It's actually a little cheaper,
00:02:54.200 | but a little more complicated.
00:02:55.600 | So you could do economy from the US
00:02:58.160 | for anywhere from 40,000 to 50,000 miles round trip.
00:03:01.660 | You could do business from 75,000 to 90,000,
00:03:04.740 | and then you could do first class
00:03:06.560 | at around 150,000 points round trip.
00:03:09.200 | So on the economy side and even the business side,
00:03:11.300 | it could be even cheaper.
00:03:13.020 | Similar to Virgin Atlantic, you can only book round trip.
00:03:15.460 | Taxes are about $300,
00:03:17.440 | but you can only transfer to ANA from Amex,
00:03:21.500 | and those transfers take a few days,
00:03:24.580 | and you can very rarely get the agent from ANA
00:03:27.780 | on the phone to put something on hold,
00:03:29.900 | so it's a little bit of a risky proposition.
00:03:32.240 | So if you're really flexible on dates
00:03:34.540 | and you have Amex points,
00:03:35.740 | you could probably transfer them,
00:03:37.300 | and if in the couple days the transfer takes,
00:03:39.820 | those flights disappear and there's no more availability,
00:03:42.180 | well, you can always keep looking,
00:03:44.060 | but if you're really set on a specific set of dates
00:03:46.780 | and there isn't a lot of availability,
00:03:48.460 | it can be a little risky.
00:03:49.980 | Obviously, if you could call and get them to put it on hold,
00:03:52.340 | I've heard some people have success doing that.
00:03:54.420 | I would certainly try before you transfer,
00:03:57.060 | but it's not something that they advertise as doing.
00:03:59.700 | Another great option is flying on JAL, Japan Airlines,
00:04:02.660 | another really great high quality product.
00:04:05.020 | Notice that the products from non-US carriers
00:04:08.400 | tend to always be a little bit better
00:04:10.060 | than the US carriers products.
00:04:11.580 | Because JAL is not a transfer partner
00:04:13.620 | of any of the credit card points programs,
00:04:15.500 | I'll focus on booking it from other airlines.
00:04:18.280 | So you could book it from Alaska
00:04:19.900 | at 35,000 miles each way in coach,
00:04:22.780 | 60,000 each way in business,
00:04:24.900 | and 70 to 80,000 each way in first.
00:04:28.140 | And the taxes are pretty reasonable.
00:04:29.500 | They can be as low as $100 round trip,
00:04:31.900 | but Alaska is not a transfer partner
00:04:33.660 | of any of the major credit card programs.
00:04:36.180 | So unless you have a lot of Alaska points
00:04:38.140 | or you sign up for the Alaska card,
00:04:39.740 | which currently has a 70,000 mile bonus,
00:04:42.820 | unfortunately, I don't have a link,
00:04:43.960 | but if you can find one online,
00:04:45.820 | you can also use those Alaska miles
00:04:47.500 | for a similar price to fly on American,
00:04:49.780 | who also flies to Japan.
00:04:51.220 | But if you can find availability on JAL,
00:04:52.780 | it's gonna be a better experience.
00:04:54.840 | Now, if you have American miles,
00:04:56.380 | you can also book JAL or American
00:04:58.580 | for about the same number of points
00:05:00.620 | and about the same number of taxes.
00:05:02.860 | AA is a transfer partner of BILT, but that's it.
00:05:05.760 | So if you have BILT points or American points, that's great.
00:05:08.580 | There is an American card with a 65,000 point signup bonus.
00:05:12.740 | I don't have a link for it,
00:05:13.740 | but you're welcome to search for it online.
00:05:15.580 | So the signup bonuses from the cards,
00:05:17.780 | if you don't already have points,
00:05:18.840 | there might be enough to get you
00:05:20.020 | one round trip ticket and economy.
00:05:22.020 | But if you don't already have points in those programs,
00:05:23.940 | it's gonna be tough.
00:05:25.140 | British Airways, however, is a transfer partner
00:05:27.420 | of a lot of different credit card companies,
00:05:29.020 | and you can use their points to book on American or JAL,
00:05:32.580 | but the taxes and fuel SAR charges can be high.
00:05:35.860 | So I'd say take a look, see what they are,
00:05:38.460 | and see if it's worth doing, but a lot of times it's not.
00:05:41.800 | Now, another interesting option is on Singapore,
00:05:45.000 | which happens to fly what's called a fifth freedom flight,
00:05:48.020 | which is where a carrier flies between two countries
00:05:51.020 | that aren't actually where it's predominantly based.
00:05:53.520 | So they have a flight from LAX to Singapore,
00:05:56.660 | and you can book it direct from Singapore with miles
00:05:59.740 | that you can transfer to from Chase, Amex, Citi, and Cap One.
00:06:03.480 | It's not cheap.
00:06:05.120 | It can be about 120,000 points in first.
00:06:07.720 | However, the Singapore product is hands down
00:06:11.040 | one of the best out there.
00:06:12.320 | So, you know, I would even put it above ANA or JAL.
00:06:15.320 | So if you're looking for a flight from LAX,
00:06:17.080 | it could be a really great opportunity.
00:06:19.480 | And sometimes those flights in business
00:06:21.360 | can actually be really, really reasonable,
00:06:23.420 | especially if you're booking last minute.
00:06:25.880 | Last, I'll cover an option
00:06:26.880 | that's a little bit more accessible,
00:06:28.080 | which is booking on United.
00:06:29.480 | You can use United points or Air Canada points,
00:06:32.320 | and it's actually not totally unreasonable.
00:06:35.340 | I just looked for the next month,
00:06:36.960 | and you can book flights at about 35,000 points each way
00:06:40.120 | in coach, 75,000 points each way in business,
00:06:43.520 | a little bit more than all the previous options,
00:06:46.080 | but you can transfer points to Air Canada or United
00:06:49.200 | from almost every single program.
00:06:51.440 | So it's much easier for you to find availability,
00:06:54.360 | and the taxes can be as low as $50 round trip.
00:06:57.440 | So you're really just spending points.
00:06:59.400 | Also, depending on where you have points,
00:07:01.680 | let's say it's a Cap One,
00:07:03.040 | you could actually get a better deal
00:07:04.680 | on some of these flights if you're booking through Avianca.
00:07:07.700 | So consider that as another option as well.
00:07:10.540 | I will say that a lot of the availability
00:07:12.400 | that United has shows up last minute.
00:07:15.900 | So these are really great options
00:07:17.540 | if you're booking really last minute.
00:07:19.300 | I'm looking right now,
00:07:20.540 | and if you book these flights in February,
00:07:22.940 | or maybe even early March, there's a ton of availability,
00:07:25.620 | but if you push out and look May, June, July, August,
00:07:28.820 | it's really hard to find good dates.
00:07:31.760 | You can on United go and search, say, use miles,
00:07:34.740 | flexible dates, and you can get a calendar view.
00:07:37.480 | You can choose whether you wanna be searching
00:07:39.760 | for economy or business,
00:07:41.300 | and then search on the calendar view, and you can look.
00:07:43.540 | But I just found a handful of dates where you can go,
00:07:46.860 | especially in economy, much easier,
00:07:49.700 | for as low as 35,000 points each way.
00:07:52.060 | And it's really easy to get points
00:07:53.900 | into Star Alliance carrier like Air Canada or United,
00:07:57.340 | where you can book those United flights.
00:07:59.380 | And I think that's really accessible.
00:08:01.580 | And right now, while there's not a great signup bonus
00:08:04.620 | on any United cards, 50, 60,000 points,
00:08:07.680 | it's been a lot better in the past.
00:08:09.360 | There is a huge signup bonus on the Aeroplan card,
00:08:12.600 | which is 100,000 points right now.
00:08:14.800 | It does require a pretty high minimum spend of $20,000,
00:08:19.520 | but 100,000 point signup bonus is huge.
00:08:22.000 | I do have a link to that at allthehacks.com/cards
00:08:24.920 | if you're interested.
00:08:25.960 | So just to recap, the best option if it's available for you
00:08:29.320 | is gonna be to book through Virgin Atlantic.
00:08:31.880 | You can transfer from every single program,
00:08:34.200 | and you can put those reservations on hold on the phone.
00:08:37.380 | So first, go to a site like United or point.me
00:08:40.160 | and start searching to see if you can find
00:08:42.280 | good availability on ANA, call up Virgin.
00:08:45.680 | And by the way, if you're using point.me,
00:08:47.480 | they will walk you through every single step of this,
00:08:50.000 | and then call up Virgin, ask them to put it on hold.
00:08:53.240 | Obviously, you'll need to create a Virgin Atlantic account
00:08:55.480 | before this and get a number,
00:08:57.280 | but then you can put it on hold, transfer the points.
00:08:59.640 | Depending on where your points are,
00:09:01.520 | it can take anywhere from instant at Chase or Built.
00:09:04.560 | It could take a couple days on Amex or Citi,
00:09:07.000 | but you should be able to get the points there
00:09:08.280 | in less time than it takes to transfer.
00:09:10.200 | So I think that's a really great option.
00:09:12.100 | Aside from that, if you have a lot of Chase points,
00:09:14.940 | you're probably gonna get the best transferring
00:09:16.760 | to United or Air Canada and booking there.
00:09:19.400 | But I would look at British Airways
00:09:21.760 | and see if it's worth booking something there
00:09:23.840 | on JAL or American, just keep an eye out
00:09:26.920 | for what the fuel surcharges and the fees are gonna be.
00:09:29.840 | If you've got Amex, I would say take a look
00:09:31.960 | at Air Canada also, but also look at ANA,
00:09:34.720 | especially if you have some flexibility or even Singapore,
00:09:37.680 | if you're flying out of LA or you can change planes there.
00:09:40.280 | There are a bunch of signup bonuses.
00:09:42.440 | I will say the links I have at allthehacks.com/cards
00:09:45.760 | on the personal cards aren't the best right now.
00:09:48.640 | And I always say get the most points you can.
00:09:51.120 | I'll put a link to where you can find some referral bonuses.
00:09:54.440 | They're not my referrals, but they're someone else's.
00:09:56.920 | And that's 150,000 for platinum and 90,000 for gold.
00:10:01.080 | On the business side though,
00:10:02.840 | the business platinum card will get you 120,000 points.
00:10:06.420 | That link on allthehacks.com/cards is the best I could find.
00:10:10.440 | But on the business gold card,
00:10:12.560 | there's a huge 130,000 point signup bonus right now
00:10:15.920 | that's through referrals.
00:10:16.960 | And actually you can get the best one from calling Amex.
00:10:19.840 | So I'll put a phone number in there.
00:10:21.360 | I just called and asked and I got an offer
00:10:23.420 | for 130,000 point signup bonus plus 10,000
00:10:26.720 | if I add an authorized card holder.
00:10:28.680 | So those are some options on the business side.
00:10:31.480 | If you're on cap one,
00:10:32.900 | your best options are gonna be to transfer to Air Canada,
00:10:35.000 | British Airways, or Singapore.
00:10:36.880 | And if you need some extra points to boost that balance,
00:10:39.400 | the Venture and the VentureX cards are at 75,000 right now.
00:10:43.400 | The Spark Miles card is at 50,000, that's a business card.
00:10:47.520 | And then the Spark Cash is at 100,000.
00:10:50.300 | However, I'll just caveat that
00:10:52.640 | when you have a Capital One card that earns cash back,
00:10:55.560 | you can't actually transfer that cash back to Miles
00:10:58.600 | unless you also have a card with Miles.
00:11:00.680 | So if you've got a Venture or VentureX
00:11:02.200 | and you get the Spark Cash Plus card,
00:11:04.000 | you can get that $1,000 signup bonus
00:11:06.660 | and transfer it in to be 100,000 points.
00:11:09.640 | Or if you go to a Capital One branch
00:11:12.480 | and you can find someone, there is an unlisted card.
00:11:16.460 | You can't sign up for it online.
00:11:18.220 | It's called the VentureX Business.
00:11:19.960 | It used to be the Spark Travel Elite
00:11:22.000 | and it has a crazy 250,000 point signup bonus
00:11:25.260 | after spending $50,000.
00:11:28.040 | Yes, that's a lot of spend, but it's also a huge bonus.
00:11:31.200 | So if you have a business and you have a lot of spend,
00:11:33.960 | it might be worth trying to find a Capital One rep
00:11:36.840 | at a branch or even calling around,
00:11:38.680 | or I've heard people pinging people on LinkedIn
00:11:40.840 | 'cause that's a huge signup bonus.
00:11:42.360 | If you've got Built Points, you are in luck
00:11:44.760 | because American has some really great redemption options
00:11:47.960 | and you can transfer Built to American,
00:11:50.000 | but you can also go to United, Air Canada, or Virgin.
00:11:53.640 | However, there is no bonus on Built,
00:11:55.820 | so you won't get a signup bonus when you sign up,
00:11:58.140 | but you are welcome to use my referral link.
00:12:00.340 | It's just allthehacks.com/built, B-I-L-T.
00:12:03.580 | Finally, if you're in the city ecosystem,
00:12:05.740 | Virgin's gonna be a great option,
00:12:07.700 | but I'd also take a look at Avios or Singapore.
00:12:10.900 | And the city premier bonus dropped down from 80 to 60,000,
00:12:14.640 | but that's really your best bet right now
00:12:16.400 | if you need to boost that balance is a city premier card.
00:12:19.460 | So if you need any of those cards,
00:12:20.840 | you can obviously get most of the links
00:12:22.580 | at allthehacks.com/cards.
00:12:24.020 | I'll put some links in the show notes, and that's great.
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00:15:15.300 | Another option for flights
00:15:16.480 | which has nothing to do with points and miles
00:15:18.600 | is a new airline called Zip Air.
00:15:20.720 | My understanding is they're a subsidiary of JAL.
00:15:22.960 | I've talked to one listener
00:15:24.180 | who said they had a good experience flying them,
00:15:26.640 | and the reason why it's interesting
00:15:27.800 | is because it's incredibly affordable.
00:15:30.060 | However, there's a couple caveats.
00:15:31.880 | First, they only fly out of San Jose and LAX,
00:15:35.000 | and that San Jose flight is so brand new,
00:15:36.980 | I didn't even realize it was out
00:15:38.600 | until I just started doing the research this morning,
00:15:41.160 | but it's awesome news because I found flights in coach
00:15:43.780 | for under $600 round trip,
00:15:46.720 | and then in business, paid business,
00:15:49.180 | found flights for around $2,000 round trip.
00:15:52.120 | Now, yes, that's a lot more expensive,
00:15:53.880 | and you could probably fly three people for that cost,
00:15:56.760 | but I've never seen any other carrier
00:15:58.560 | come close to that price for international business.
00:16:01.680 | A couple other caveats, the biggest being
00:16:04.320 | they have no ability to change your plans.
00:16:07.720 | So I actually called customer service just to confirm,
00:16:10.400 | and they said, "There are no change fees.
00:16:12.520 | "If you can't take the flight, you just lose the money,"
00:16:15.360 | and I think that's crazy,
00:16:16.720 | but that's just the way this airline operates.
00:16:19.160 | So I would, if you're booking on that,
00:16:21.120 | definitely consider whether it makes sense
00:16:23.040 | to buy cancel-for-any-reason flight insurance.
00:16:25.800 | You could search CFAR
00:16:27.080 | is what it's often labeled as on the internet.
00:16:29.060 | There's a policy that I looked at
00:16:30.720 | when we were thinking about going to Japan
00:16:32.440 | from Trawick International,
00:16:34.120 | which is the only place I bought travel insurance
00:16:35.920 | from recently that covers cancel-for-any-reason.
00:16:38.880 | So that's one major, major, major caveat.
00:16:41.880 | And by the way, those insurance policies
00:16:43.440 | don't cover 100% of your cost.
00:16:46.440 | They usually give you back 75%,
00:16:48.400 | so there's still some risk there.
00:16:50.240 | And a few other caveats.
00:16:51.640 | One, you can't fly with kids under six in business,
00:16:54.560 | so that's just not an option,
00:16:55.860 | unlike almost every other airline
00:16:57.520 | that doesn't have a problem with that.
00:16:59.240 | And then nothing is included other than your seat.
00:17:02.140 | So even if you're spending a few thousand dollars
00:17:04.240 | for business class,
00:17:05.360 | you still have to pay 50 to $70 to check your bag.
00:17:08.820 | That's economy also.
00:17:10.620 | You have to pay an extra $50
00:17:12.160 | if you wanna have a carry-on
00:17:13.560 | that's a little heavier than the limit they give you.
00:17:16.040 | And then you have to pay another $11 or $12 per meal
00:17:19.480 | per flight to be able to eat on the plane
00:17:21.920 | if you don't wanna bring your own food.
00:17:23.320 | So yes, there's a bunch of little add-ons.
00:17:25.340 | Yes, there's a bunch of restrictions.
00:17:27.240 | But if you can commit to dates and make it work,
00:17:30.120 | a flight round trip and coach for under 600
00:17:32.400 | or business for about 2,000 is incredible.
00:17:35.720 | You have to find your own way to San Jose or LA
00:17:37.960 | if you don't already live there,
00:17:39.000 | 'cause obviously they don't fly anywhere else in the US.
00:17:41.340 | But I think it could be a really great option
00:17:43.560 | if you're looking to save money
00:17:44.640 | and you wanna get to Japan.
00:17:46.040 | So next, I wanna quickly talk about hotels
00:17:48.440 | and I'll cover the four major programs
00:17:50.720 | that you can book through points.
00:17:52.440 | I'll start with Hyatt.
00:17:54.040 | Hyatt has 33 hotels in Japan.
00:17:56.220 | They range from category two at 6,500 points a night
00:17:59.760 | all the way up to category eight,
00:18:01.080 | which is 35,000 points a night.
00:18:03.000 | And there are a bunch of amazing options.
00:18:05.080 | So you've got the Park Hyatt in Tokyo,
00:18:07.320 | which was famous in the movie "Lost in Translation."
00:18:10.640 | The Park Hyatt Kyoto opened recently.
00:18:12.940 | We just talked about it with Brandon.
00:18:14.820 | It is incredible.
00:18:16.280 | We stayed there on our last trip and it was really amazing.
00:18:19.360 | Highly, highly, highly recommend.
00:18:21.600 | There's a couple of great options.
00:18:22.660 | The Grand Hyatt and the Andaz in Tokyo look great.
00:18:26.060 | I haven't stayed there.
00:18:27.260 | The Kasara and the Park Hyatt in Niseko look amazing
00:18:30.600 | if you're heading there.
00:18:32.020 | And then there's a Sawaka Hotel in Kyoto,
00:18:34.780 | which also looks amazing.
00:18:35.840 | There's a bunch of other hotels.
00:18:37.040 | Those are the ones that caught my eyes.
00:18:39.040 | And as many of you know,
00:18:40.880 | Hyatt's a transfer partner of Chase and Bilt.
00:18:43.100 | So if you don't have Hyatt points,
00:18:44.440 | but you do have points in Chase or Bilt,
00:18:46.040 | you can get them there.
00:18:47.200 | And if you don't and you really need some Hyatt points,
00:18:49.920 | you got a few options.
00:18:51.040 | You can open up any of the Chase Ultimate Rewards cards.
00:18:53.980 | So either the Chase Sapphire cards,
00:18:55.800 | which have a 60,000 point bonus now,
00:18:58.120 | or if you're eligible for a business card,
00:19:00.340 | the Inc Unlimited and Cash cards.
00:19:02.680 | Similar to how I just described earlier,
00:19:05.200 | the cashback cards at Capital One work.
00:19:08.680 | Same thing is true at Chase.
00:19:11.080 | So if you get an Inc Unlimited or an Inc Cash,
00:19:13.200 | you can take the cash back
00:19:15.200 | and you can convert those to points
00:19:17.120 | if you have a transferable points card
00:19:20.080 | like the Chase Sapphire or the Inc Business Preferred.
00:19:22.440 | The Inc Business Preferred, by the way,
00:19:23.700 | has a 100,000 point signup bonus right now.
00:19:26.240 | Obviously you do need to have a business,
00:19:28.840 | but keep in mind that a business
00:19:30.440 | can include sole proprietorship stuff.
00:19:33.200 | So if you sell stuff on eBay, if you drive for Lyft,
00:19:35.820 | if you've done any of those things,
00:19:37.280 | you do some consulting on the side, that can all count.
00:19:40.080 | And I know I've had business cards
00:19:41.760 | for long before I had an LLC registered business.
00:19:45.300 | You can also get a Hyatt card.
00:19:46.880 | The personal card only has a 30,000 point signup bonus,
00:19:49.680 | and it's been at as high as 60 in the past,
00:19:52.320 | but the business card does have
00:19:53.540 | a 60,000 point signup bonus right now.
00:19:55.640 | All the links to those, allthehacks.com/cards.
00:19:58.600 | Really great options in Hyatt.
00:20:00.320 | One of my favorite ways to use points to book hotels,
00:20:03.360 | especially 'cause I have a lot of Chase points.
00:20:05.460 | Next, I'll talk about Bonvoy.
00:20:06.840 | So Marriott has a great option,
00:20:08.880 | which is they do fifth night free.
00:20:10.640 | So when you're looking at hotels,
00:20:12.440 | they have 85 hotels in Japan
00:20:14.320 | that range from 15 to 120,000 points a night,
00:20:17.520 | at least for some sample dates I searched.
00:20:20.120 | But like I said, with fifth night free,
00:20:22.480 | that 120,000 points can actually go down
00:20:25.160 | to about 96,000 points.
00:20:26.760 | And that's true at every stop along the spectrum.
00:20:29.440 | The only one I've stayed at personally
00:20:31.360 | is the St. Regis in Osaka, and it was a great experience.
00:20:35.520 | But as I browsed through and thought about
00:20:37.200 | where I would stay in the future,
00:20:38.880 | in Tokyo, the Prince Gallery and the Addition look fantastic.
00:20:43.000 | The Mitsui in Kyoto looks fantastic.
00:20:45.960 | And all of the Ritz-Carlton's,
00:20:47.680 | Tokyo, Kyoto, Okinawa, Nikko, all look really incredible.
00:20:50.960 | So if you're looking for some luxury hotels,
00:20:53.760 | they look really, really great.
00:20:55.040 | And there's Suiron Hotel, also looks really great.
00:20:57.640 | It's in the luxury collection of Marriott.
00:21:00.240 | But they also have a bunch of really affordable options.
00:21:02.880 | There's a courtyard right at Tokyo Station.
00:21:05.280 | So I think that there's a really great options here.
00:21:07.840 | And as an example, I know I often say
00:21:10.520 | that some of these hotel points
00:21:12.320 | are hard to get a good value at,
00:21:14.040 | but I just did a quick search at the Ritz-Carlton in Kyoto.
00:21:18.040 | And for five nights, you could book for 360,000 points.
00:21:22.760 | So 72,000 points a night.
00:21:24.920 | But the room was $1,300 a night.
00:21:28.320 | So you're getting about 1.85 cents per point,
00:21:31.400 | which is an amazing value.
00:21:32.800 | I think almost everyone online kind of says Marriott points
00:21:35.880 | are worth half to 0.7 cents.
00:21:38.360 | So you can really actually get some outsized value here,
00:21:40.720 | which could even make it worth
00:21:42.400 | transferring points to Marriott.
00:21:44.160 | I know it's a one-to-one exchange,
00:21:46.320 | but there are some redemptions like the one
00:21:48.720 | I just described that might make that worth it,
00:21:50.840 | especially if there's a transfer bonus.
00:21:53.480 | Or just yesterday,
00:21:54.760 | Marriott really bumped up their signup bonuses.
00:21:57.560 | The Bonvoy Bold, which is a no annual fee card,
00:21:59.960 | now has a 60,000 point signup bonus up from 30,000
00:22:03.480 | and lets you earn an extra three points per dollar.
00:22:05.480 | So 14 total at Marriott hotels.
00:22:08.120 | But the Bonvoy Boundless, which has a $95 annual fee,
00:22:12.120 | just added a 100,000 point signup bonus
00:22:14.960 | and gives you an extra six points per dollar at Marriott.
00:22:17.280 | So 17 total, as well as an annual free night certificate
00:22:21.240 | and three Bonvoy points per dollar
00:22:22.880 | on gas, groceries, and dining.
00:22:24.480 | So those are some great options
00:22:26.280 | for boosting your Marriott balance.
00:22:28.000 | And you can find all those at allthehacks.com/cards.
00:22:31.480 | Did you know that someone new gets impacted
00:22:34.640 | by identity theft every two seconds?
00:22:37.400 | It makes sense when there's so much
00:22:39.200 | of our personal information getting shared online
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00:22:43.360 | I found a listing for my dad on a site called Family Tree Now
00:22:47.300 | that had his name, age, address, phone number, email,
00:22:51.260 | past addresses, and the names of his relatives.
00:22:54.120 | And that was just one of the 69 listings that had his info.
00:22:58.700 | Fortunately, instead of spending hours
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00:25:06.240 | I just wanna thank you quick for listening to
00:25:09.860 | and supporting the show.
00:25:11.340 | Your support is what keeps this show going.
00:25:14.180 | To get all of the URLs, codes, deals,
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00:25:18.660 | you can go to allthehacks.com/deals.
00:25:22.180 | So please consider supporting those who support us.
00:25:25.440 | For Hilton, Hilton has 26 hotels in Japan.
00:25:28.420 | They also have that same fifth night free program,
00:25:31.020 | which is awesome.
00:25:32.340 | All the hotels range from 25 to 95,000 points a night.
00:25:36.460 | With one exception,
00:25:37.380 | there's this hotel called the Roku Kyoto,
00:25:39.380 | which looks ridiculous and it's 110,000 points a night.
00:25:42.760 | In Tokyo, I've actually stayed at the Hilton twice
00:25:46.060 | and I can confirm a couple of things.
00:25:47.460 | One, great hotel.
00:25:48.900 | It's not gonna blow your mind in any way.
00:25:51.160 | It's just very, very solid.
00:25:53.020 | They actually have a really cool little like mini onsen,
00:25:56.080 | hot spring bath in the hotel, just randomly near the gym.
00:26:00.100 | But the concierge is awesome.
00:26:01.520 | So one of the great things
00:26:02.980 | about having a high-end hotel in Tokyo
00:26:04.920 | is if you wanna go to any of the higher end restaurants
00:26:07.480 | in Japan, you need to make reservations.
00:26:09.460 | And many of them only accept reservations being made
00:26:13.060 | by an agency or a company or a hotel
00:26:16.420 | that they have a relationship with.
00:26:17.980 | It's still very relationship driven
00:26:19.700 | and the concierge at the Hilton is great.
00:26:21.620 | You don't necessarily need to be staying
00:26:23.500 | at the hotel the whole time.
00:26:25.440 | So if you do need help with reservations,
00:26:27.500 | you could maybe stay a couple nights at a hotel
00:26:29.420 | that can help you and then change to another option.
00:26:31.920 | While I haven't stayed at either,
00:26:33.460 | the Conrad Tokyo in Osaka, I've heard great things about,
00:26:37.060 | as well as the Odawara Resort.
00:26:39.860 | And if you need some Hilton points,
00:26:41.060 | they also just increased their signup bonuses
00:26:43.440 | on their credit cards yesterday.
00:26:45.060 | So I think right now must be prime season
00:26:47.100 | for hotel offers given what Marriott also did.
00:26:50.220 | You've got the basic Hilton card, it has no annual fee,
00:26:53.500 | but it now has a 100,000 point signup bonus
00:26:56.240 | and you get seven X points at Hilton
00:26:58.060 | and five X on gas, groceries, and dining.
00:27:00.940 | Then you've got the Hilton Surpass
00:27:02.640 | with a huge 150,000 point signup bonus.
00:27:06.220 | It has a $95 annual fee, but you get 12 X points on Hilton,
00:27:10.540 | six X on gas, groceries, and dining,
00:27:12.940 | but you also get Hilton gold status
00:27:14.660 | and an annual free night certificate,
00:27:16.580 | but you have to spend 15,000 per year
00:27:19.020 | to get that certificate.
00:27:20.100 | So not sure if it'll be worth it.
00:27:21.780 | Then finally, there's the Hilton Aspire,
00:27:24.220 | which we just got a few months ago.
00:27:26.140 | It also has 150,000 points signup bonus,
00:27:29.060 | but a much higher annual fee at $450.
00:27:33.100 | That said, it earns 14 points at Hilton
00:27:35.600 | and seven X points on flights and dining.
00:27:38.380 | But what really sets it apart are the perks
00:27:41.080 | that I think can more than make up for that annual fee.
00:27:44.260 | Every year, you get a free night
00:27:45.900 | at almost any Hilton property.
00:27:47.740 | And that includes things like the Waldorf in Park City,
00:27:50.900 | that includes the Conrad in Bora Bora,
00:27:53.300 | some of the properties in the Maldives.
00:27:55.460 | So, I mean, it's very valuable.
00:27:57.520 | It's the same thing you get with the Surpass,
00:27:59.300 | but this time you don't have to spend 15,000 to get it.
00:28:02.180 | You also get a $250 airline credit
00:28:04.700 | towards any airline fees like seats,
00:28:06.860 | bags, upgrades, food, et cetera.
00:28:09.540 | You get priority pass lounge access
00:28:11.400 | and free Hilton Diamond status,
00:28:13.260 | which is their top tier of status.
00:28:15.120 | And it gives you the best chance of an upgrade
00:28:17.360 | and you get a daily food and beverage credit.
00:28:20.040 | They also give you $100 property credit
00:28:22.080 | if you book a two night stay at a Conrad or a Waldorf,
00:28:25.120 | but it seems like that's gonna be harder to use.
00:28:27.480 | So I don't really factor that in.
00:28:29.040 | So in short, some really big bonuses
00:28:31.280 | if you're looking for Hilton points.
00:28:33.000 | The first two offers are on allthehacks.com/cards
00:28:36.680 | and obviously it really helps support the show
00:28:38.760 | when you use the links there,
00:28:40.460 | but you won't find the last card,
00:28:42.220 | the Hilton Aspire on that page
00:28:43.940 | because there just isn't an offer there.
00:28:46.060 | However, my wife Amy does have her referral link set up.
00:28:50.140 | So if you wanna use that to get the Hilton Aspire,
00:28:52.660 | she would appreciate it.
00:28:54.100 | And you can find it at allthehacks.com/hilton.
00:28:57.540 | And then finally with IHG hotels,
00:28:59.780 | they've got 45 hotels in Japan.
00:29:02.260 | And I know it's kind of often,
00:29:04.320 | I think of IHG as having a bunch of holiday inns
00:29:06.980 | and that kind of stuff,
00:29:07.800 | but there are a couple of really nice intercons
00:29:09.900 | in Tokyo, Osaka, and a few other cities,
00:29:12.780 | including one called the Intercontinental Beppu,
00:29:15.780 | which is a hot springs resort and looks really awesome.
00:29:19.060 | And if you have an IHG Premier or Traveler card,
00:29:22.240 | the Premier card by the way right now
00:29:23.500 | has 175,000 points signup bonus.
00:29:26.120 | It's on my cards page also.
00:29:27.740 | You get fourth night free,
00:29:29.220 | even better than fifth night free.
00:29:31.020 | So definitely if you're gonna book a couple of stays
00:29:34.100 | for four nights or more in Japan
00:29:36.260 | or anywhere in the world actually,
00:29:37.980 | it's probably worth having that IHG card
00:29:40.100 | 'cause you'll get every fourth night you book
00:29:42.160 | at the same property free.
00:29:43.680 | I do caveat that transferring points
00:29:46.120 | to a lot of these programs,
00:29:47.460 | whether it's from Chase or Built to IHG
00:29:50.300 | or Amex or Chase to Marriott,
00:29:52.700 | I will say make sure it's a good deal
00:29:55.380 | because oftentimes the value of those points,
00:29:58.700 | I gave you an example where you could get
00:30:00.260 | almost two cents from Marriott,
00:30:01.780 | but that's really hard.
00:30:02.820 | Oftentimes you might only be getting half a cent.
00:30:05.580 | And I just think you're gonna get a lot better value
00:30:08.080 | transferring those points and using them with airlines.
00:30:10.860 | The exception being Chase to Hyatt
00:30:12.940 | is often a pretty good deal.
00:30:14.180 | So definitely worth considering there.
00:30:16.020 | But I'm not saying it's not possible to find a good deal.
00:30:18.980 | I just say do the math first to make sure
00:30:20.900 | that those points wouldn't be better spent on flights
00:30:23.300 | than they would on hotels.
00:30:24.580 | Finally, if you don't have any hotel points,
00:30:26.980 | obviously you can do some searching online.
00:30:28.980 | I talked in the London episode
00:30:30.500 | about some of my experiences booking with Airbnb.
00:30:33.300 | I've never booked an Airbnb in Japan,
00:30:35.940 | but I will remind everyone that we do have a partnership
00:30:38.660 | that gets you at four and five star hotels,
00:30:41.740 | perks like upgrades, free breakfast, resort credits,
00:30:45.140 | early check-in, late checkout, and that kind of stuff.
00:30:47.900 | So if you are trying to book a high-end property,
00:30:50.300 | definitely shoot an email to upgrade@allthehacks.com
00:30:54.100 | and I'll see if we can help you out
00:30:55.580 | and get you all those perks.
00:30:57.040 | They're very similar to the perks you get
00:30:58.860 | from booking through Amex at fine hotels and resorts
00:31:01.380 | or a lot of the hotel collections.
00:31:03.260 | With your card companies and their portals,
00:31:05.540 | except two things.
00:31:06.980 | One, I think we have about 4,000 hotels
00:31:09.560 | that we can do this with,
00:31:10.620 | and most of them are limited to hundreds or maybe 1,000.
00:31:13.940 | And then separately,
00:31:15.140 | we tend to work directly with the hotels.
00:31:17.020 | So you're actually getting a reservation from Hyatt,
00:31:19.860 | not from Chase, which, you know,
00:31:21.660 | I always prefer booking direct.
00:31:22.900 | So I think that could be helpful.
00:31:24.020 | So that's an option.
00:31:25.420 | And then two other things outside of luxury,
00:31:27.660 | outside of points on the hotel side
00:31:30.040 | that I thought about sharing.
00:31:31.820 | One, not a great option, either of them, by the way,
00:31:34.980 | if you're traveling as a family or with kids,
00:31:37.520 | but I will say I've heard a handful of people
00:31:39.860 | who've done some solo traveling
00:31:41.740 | or even like early 20s traveling
00:31:44.420 | and stayed at hostels or capsule hotels
00:31:48.060 | or like little pod hotels in Japan.
00:31:50.300 | And you'll notice Japan is a very clean place.
00:31:53.780 | And so it's a very different experience.
00:31:55.700 | And a lot of the reason these capsule hotels might exist
00:31:58.060 | is 'cause people are in Tokyo for business,
00:32:00.220 | they stay out late and they just wanna get some sleep
00:32:03.180 | and a shower before the next day so they can go to work
00:32:05.580 | and they don't have to commute all the way home.
00:32:07.540 | So they're very functional and very clean places.
00:32:09.980 | So I would definitely check that out
00:32:11.300 | if that meets the kind of travel you're doing,
00:32:13.660 | you might be able to save.
00:32:15.020 | And then when you're talking about taking those trips
00:32:17.140 | from Tokyo to Kyoto or Osaka,
00:32:20.060 | another option other than the train,
00:32:22.260 | which can be expensive,
00:32:23.860 | if you're looking to do it on a budget,
00:32:25.460 | is to take an overnight bus.
00:32:27.300 | And the reason I say this is because
00:32:29.620 | you save having to stay one night in a hotel.
00:32:32.140 | Now, maybe a hostel's cheaper,
00:32:34.500 | but some of these buses are really, really nice.
00:32:37.500 | I'll link in the show notes to this company, Willer,
00:32:40.020 | who has named the chairs on their bus.
00:32:42.620 | The Reborn is what they're actually called.
00:32:44.540 | Willer's Reborn Seating.
00:32:46.220 | And it looks very nice.
00:32:48.260 | It's like 155 degree pitch.
00:32:50.940 | So you're almost lie flat
00:32:52.900 | with walls on the side of your little seat cubby.
00:32:56.020 | So definitely a good option
00:32:57.620 | if you can sleep in an environment like that
00:32:59.620 | and wanna save some money on a hotel
00:33:01.420 | when you're traveling between cities in Japan.
00:33:03.700 | That's hotels.
00:33:06.140 | I think that covers all of the ways
00:33:08.460 | to use points and miles to get there, to stay there.
00:33:11.180 | If you have any tips that I missed, let me know,
00:33:13.020 | and I'll pass them on to others.
00:33:14.940 | I love Japan so much.
00:33:16.620 | I'm already thinking, how do we take our next trip there,
00:33:19.060 | which will be trip five for us.
00:33:21.220 | And I'm just so excited.
00:33:22.780 | So if you end up taking a trip,
00:33:24.700 | if any of this is helpful, let me know.
00:33:26.740 | I'd love to share some wins
00:33:28.020 | and I'd love to hear how your experience is.
00:33:30.740 | But I'm gonna leave it at that,
00:33:31.860 | and I'll see you next week.
00:33:33.220 | (crickets chirping)