Last week, I embarked on an extraordinary journey to Singapore, all made possible through strategic points and miles accumulated over months of careful planning and dedication to reward programs. This adventure was not just a vacation; it was a testament to the power of leveraging rewards for a luxurious travel experience.
As I reflect on the incredible journey I had in Singapore, I can't help but marvel at how the power of points and miles transformed this trip into an extraordinary experience.
My quest for the perfect destination to maximize my accrued points and miles led me to Singapore. The Magnus devaluation posed a challenge where like many of us, I too have to take the decision of transferring the ER points quickly with an aim of fetching maximum returns from them.
Thanks to the invaluable advice from our TF community which guided me to swiftly transfer my points across Krisflyer, United Mileage Plus, Accor & ITC programs.
For this I booked 3 economy class tickets to Vistara by redeeming 12000 CV points. I was lucky enough to get the redemption tickets available on DEL-AMD flight. If it would have been some other busy sector then, redemption itself would have become an impossible task.
I got a room for 32k points per night ,so did a double dip by transferring 1lac MR points to Marriott Bonvoy account which effectively gave me 1.30L MB points ( using 30% promotional offer).
Also as utilized the MB 5th night free redemption offer making a total of 1.28L MB points for 5 nights.
Also courtesy Gold Elite status, I was able to secure a premium category room and with the stunning views of decorated Orchard Street.
In addition, I also utilized couple of shopping & dining offers that I received with my AMEX Plat Charge card.
I could have used the AMEX travel portal also and put that 81K on plat metal card + some other travel expense to bring the total to 1lac (which would have fetched me 15K Taj vouchers) but I preferred to make this trip more of a miles oriented and less cash involved . I still am not sure if AMEX travel would have been a better approach (something for you guys to guide me on this ..).
But coming back to the point, I booked an 3 economy tickets out of which for 1 ticket , I was able to use my CV points and do an upgrade to Premium Eco as I didn't had enough point for upgrading 3 seats.
For remaining 2 , I did an upgrade via plusgrade which costed me 15K(7.5k per seat) and I accepted the offer happily.
On reaching Delhi airport terminal 3, I had availed the AXIS meet and Greet arrival facility which I want to mention was really good. My plane landed but the de-boarding was taking time followed by long immigration queue. I called the meet and greet team to help. In no time, there came a lady with a placard mentioning my name and she helped me get the immigration quickly via a VIP queue followed by 2 of her team members who quickly picked my bags from the belt and helped them placing in the cab (which ofcourse was a OLA cab with a minimal fare courtesy INR250 voucher received via DCB)
As I reflect on the incredible journey I had in Singapore, I can't help but marvel at how the power of points and miles transformed this trip into an extraordinary experience.
My quest for the perfect destination to maximize my accrued points and miles led me to Singapore. The Magnus devaluation posed a challenge where like many of us, I too have to take the decision of transferring the ER points quickly with an aim of fetching maximum returns from them.
Thanks to the invaluable advice from our TF community which guided me to swiftly transfer my points across Krisflyer, United Mileage Plus, Accor & ITC programs.
Strategizing for the Adventure
While planning, I realized that Singapore airlines was running a promotion redemption fares from India and I started searching for a date on which I could do the booking. So same day, I applied for the visa (for myself , my wife & my kid) which I received in 4 working days. Despite the effort, I was unable to get 3 seats from Delhi, so I started looking for alternatives. Luckily while searching , I was able to find a promo fare costing me 30400 Krisflyer miles for a AHD-SIN business class ticket. I instantaneously booked 3 seats and started my planning to reach Ahmedabad from Delhi.For this I booked 3 economy class tickets to Vistara by redeeming 12000 CV points. I was lucky enough to get the redemption tickets available on DEL-AMD flight. If it would have been some other busy sector then, redemption itself would have become an impossible task.
Seamless Pre-Flight Experience
Embarking on this adventure commenced with a near-free cab ride courtesy of an INR 250 OLA voucher from my DCB card which I secured as part of a monthly milestone. In addition, I availed the Magnus - Meet & Greet service on the airport (both departure & arrivals) which facilitated hassle-free check-in.Basking in Business Class Luxury
The pinnacle of comfort awaited us aboard the renowned Singapore Airlines Business class, costing total of 90K Krisflyer miles + 5K taxes.
A Lavish Stay at Marriott Tang Plaza
Being a gold elite member of Marriott Bonvoy program ( which came to me along with my AMEX Plat Charge card), I opted to stay at Marriott property only. I had an option to book Accor property too but being Christmas season, I thought it would be a good idea to stay at Singapore's most happening street i.e. Orchard road and on researching a bit I found a Marriott property - Marriott Tang Plaza which is bang on Orchard street facing the famous ION mall and right on top of Orchard Road metro station, making my commute within the city very easy . Overall it was a decision fueled by the Christmas spirit and the allure of convenience.I got a room for 32k points per night ,so did a double dip by transferring 1lac MR points to Marriott Bonvoy account which effectively gave me 1.30L MB points ( using 30% promotional offer).
Also as utilized the MB 5th night free redemption offer making a total of 1.28L MB points for 5 nights.
Also courtesy Gold Elite status, I was able to secure a premium category room and with the stunning views of decorated Orchard Street.
Exploring Singapore's Gems
I used a mix of Klook & Pellago app to book my attractions during the visit. All expenses done on Klook was crediting my Accor account and all Pellago ones were crediting back to my Krisflyer account , making sure no penny gets wasted 😛In addition, I also utilized couple of shopping & dining offers that I received with my AMEX Plat Charge card.
Homeward Bound with Strategic Redemptions
Since there was no good redemption available considering it was year end and all flights were near to full, I decided to do a direct redemption of my HDFC points on SMARTBUY travel portal. I got a SIN-DEL vistara economy ticket for 81K (for 3 people) and redeemed 56700 points to do the 70% pay by points and remaining by my DCB card.I could have used the AMEX travel portal also and put that 81K on plat metal card + some other travel expense to bring the total to 1lac (which would have fetched me 15K Taj vouchers) but I preferred to make this trip more of a miles oriented and less cash involved . I still am not sure if AMEX travel would have been a better approach (something for you guys to guide me on this ..).
But coming back to the point, I booked an 3 economy tickets out of which for 1 ticket , I was able to use my CV points and do an upgrade to Premium Eco as I didn't had enough point for upgrading 3 seats.
For remaining 2 , I did an upgrade via plusgrade which costed me 15K(7.5k per seat) and I accepted the offer happily.
On reaching Delhi airport terminal 3, I had availed the AXIS meet and Greet arrival facility which I want to mention was really good. My plane landed but the de-boarding was taking time followed by long immigration queue. I called the meet and greet team to help. In no time, there came a lady with a placard mentioning my name and she helped me get the immigration quickly via a VIP queue followed by 2 of her team members who quickly picked my bags from the belt and helped them placing in the cab (which ofcourse was a OLA cab with a minimal fare courtesy INR250 voucher received via DCB)
