Going on a ridiculous honeymoon is a rite of passage for points and miles enthusiasts. I’ll admit, I’ve been stockpiling points and miles for the year BEFORE we even got engaged! Now that we’re over a year out, I can start thinking about actually booking my dream honeymoon since hotel and airline award space for next year will soon be available.
Here are some preliminary plans for our honeymoon. I’m having an internal debate over which hotels to choose so any insight would be much appreciated. Comment if you have any suggestions!
Part 1 – Japan
I plan on redeeming 130,000 Alaska Airline miles to fly direct Boston to Tokyo on Japan Airlines business class. This itinerary will include a 10-day stopover and then we will continue onto Singapore (also on JAL business class).
For hotels, we have 5 free Ritz Carlton nights to spend at either the Ritz in Tokyo or Kyoto. Since we are getting married at a Ritz Carlton, this was a free perk they added in! Right now I’m leaning towards using them in Tokyo then doing 3 nights in Kyoto (possibly at the Ritz using Marriott points) and a night in Osaka (St. Regis maybe?).
Part 2 – Singapore
Next, we’re planning on two nights in Singapore. Top hotel choice right now is the InterContinental since I have a stockpile of IHG points to use. Hotel suggestions welcome!
Part 3 – Maldives
I figure while we are in this neck of the woods, we might as well tack on a few nights in the Maldives. I’ll probably transfer Amex or Chase points to Singapore Airlines for this flight. Since it’s only 4 hours, I may choose economy.
For hotels, I’m torn between Park Hyatt and the Conrad. I definitely can get more value as a Hilton Honors Gold member, but I’m intrigued by the remoteness of the Park Hyatt Maldives. The Park Hyatt seems more like a honeymoon destination while the Conrad has more activities and is less secluded. If I choose Conrad, I have a free weekend night certificate that I can use, then I’ll have to shell out 95,000 Hilton points per night for the other three nights.
The flight back from the Maldives will be a full 24 hours of travel as we will most likely be flying Male to New Delhi to Zurich to Boston on a combo of Air India and Swiss Air. I plan on transferring 150,000 Amex points to Aeroplan to book this business class itinerary.
Final Thoughts
While there’s still a lot TBD, I have the basic structure of what our honeymoon will look like. I’m still sorting out hotels and our itinerary for Japan, but I’ll begin booking flights as soon as the dates become available. If you have any suggestions for hotels (using points in any program) or things to do, please comment below!
