The Complete Points & Miles Breakdown of our Japan Trip 2024
How to book a 2024 Japan trip using Points & Miles.
Scott Kobayashi • June 5, 2024
Our originally projected expense for our Japan journey totaled $16,357.34. However, we managed to cover the entire cost using points and miles, with just a $408 expenditure on taxes. Intrigued? Allow me to unravel the process in three phases:
Flight from Honolulu (HNL) to Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Accommodation at The Prince Park Tower Tokyo
Return flight from Tokyo Haneda (HND) to Honolulu (HNL)
I'll dive into both our point redemption strategy and the methods we employed to accumulate these points at an accelerated pace."
1. Flying Business Class on Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu, Hawaii to Narita, Japan - 65,000 Hawaiian Miles + 52,500 American Airlines Miles
Hawaiian Airlines Business class product to Japan
On our first flight, we booked two business class tickets on Hawaiian Airlines (H821) from Honolulu to Narita, Japan. This flight was on Hawaiian’s A330 aircraft and left Honolulu at 12:40pm on May 20 and arrived in Narita at 4:00pm on May 21st.
I booked my ticket using 52,500 American Airlines miles to book a Hawaiian Airlines award flight through my American American account. You can use America Airlines miles to book Hawaiian Airlines and Japan Airlines flights when available. Those flight awards are hard to come by these days, but I was able to find one on the dates I was looking at.
The only way to earn these miles from credit cards is by applying for Citi American Airlines branded credit cards that earn American Airlines Miles.
Hawaiian Airlines Business class flight for 52,500 AA Miles.
For my wife, I transferred 65,000 BILT Rewards points to her Hawaiian airlines account to book her business class ticket for 65,000 Hawaiian miles which are 50% the regular price of 130,000 Hawaiian miles.
At the time of booking, a one-way business class ticket on Hawaiian Airlines costed $2439.15. Discovering dates with a 50% discount for business class flights on Hawaiian Airlines equates to a redemption value of 2.8 cents per Hawaiian mile, which is exceptionally favorable! I regularly share these 50% off deals on my Instagram page @thecredithacker.
2. A 4 Night Stay at the The Prince Park Tower Tokyo - 146,869 Chase Ultimate Reward Points
ザ・プリンス パークタワー東京 4 Chome-8-1 Shibakoen, Minato City, Tokyo 105-8563, Japan
Our view from our room on floor 31
Our stay at this luxurious 5-star hotel marked the most significant expense of our entire trip. I had meticulously researched this property months in advance, and it was a must-stay for me. Without a doubt, it ranks as my favorite hotel experience to date. Room prices are decent, but I paid for a special room with a tower view and Premium club floor access.
Japanese Style breakfast at SHIBAZAKURA
Some extra perks that came with our stay were:
Access to the Premium Club, floor 32 which had appetizers, snacks and drinks all throughout the day
Daily Breakfast credit ($38 USD each)
Access to private driver for one drive a day up to 10km from the hotel (only if you stay at least 3 nights)
Free Access to the Hotel Onsen, Spa, & Gym
24/7 Concierge service for floors 29-31 (premium club floors)
I paid a total of 146,869 Chase Ultimate Reward Points through Chase’s Travel portal. I currently hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve card so I get a 50% bonus value on my points when I redeem through the portal. The costs of our hotel stay would have been $2,203.04.
3. Flying Business Class on All Nippon Airways (ANA) from Haneda, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii - 70,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
As of 23rd May 2024, VIRGIN has raised prices to 75,000 miles round trip, it previously was 70,000 miles.
I was eagerly anticipating this flight, primarily because we secured business class seats for just 35,000 points each, but also because we could finally enjoy some much-needed rest on lie-flat seats as we headed back home to Honolulu.
Securing these seats wasn't simple, as most award seats had already been claimed. However, ANA releases four seats daily, ten days prior to departure. Admittedly, it's a risky endeavor, but the payoff is substantial considering the retail cost of each seat exceeded $4,000! Utilizing Seats.aero, I managed to locate two business class seats for May 25th. Having already transferred my Chase points to Virgin Airlines miles, I promptly used them to book the ANA seats. For a step-by-step guide on using Chase points to book ANA flights through Virgin Atlantic, check out "HOW TO FLY TO JAPAN."
After confirming the availability of award seats, I immediately contacted Virgin Atlantic to secure our booking on May 16th, just nine days prior to departure. Throughout the year, I've closely monitored this flight on Seats.aero and observed that ANA typically releases 4 Business class seats every nine out of ten days leading up to departure. Hence, I estimate there's about a 90% chance of securing a seat. If you're apprehensive about the risk involved, I recommend:
Booking a refundable flight using cash. If award flights become available, simply cancel your cash booking and switch to the rewards flight.
Maintaining flexibility and ensuring you have a two-day window prior to departure to increase your chances of finding business class availability.
Leveraging Chase points to book a last-minute economy flight through the portal if business class seats don't open up on your preferred date.
High risk, High Reward! Retail value of each seat was $4,638.00 x 2 = $9,276.00, bring our cost per point to an astonishing 13.2 cents!
Final Costs Breakdown
Hawaiian Airlines Business class from HNL -> NRT
Dollar Cost Total: $4,878.30
What we paid in Points: 52,500 AA Miles + 65,000 HA Miles = 117,500 miles
Hotel stay at the The Prince Park Tower Tokyo
Dollar Cost Total: $2,203.04.
What we paid in Points: 146,869 Chase Ultimate Reward Points
All Nippon Airways Business class from HND -> HNL
Dollar Cost Total:$9,276.00
What we paid in Points: 70,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points + $408 tax
Total cost of the trip = $16,357.34
We paid = 334,369 Points + Miles + $408 in taxes
Points Breakdown: 52,500 AA Miles + 65,000 HA miles + 216,869 Chase Points
