Ok fine, I’ll admit it, the title to this post is a bit misleading. I absolutely did not spend $31,000 to fly to Hanoi Vietnam this weekend. However, I did fly between the United States and Hanoi this past weekend and I did so entirely in premium cabins. Had I paid cash for this entire trip I would have ended up spending just over $31,000.
For this trip though, I didn’t spend anywhere near $31,000. Instead, I ended up paying about $750. No, I’m not kidding.
Now before you start rolling your eyes I want to set the tone with a little disclaimer. This post is not meant to be a “traveling is free” type post like countless others I’ve seen littered over the internet in recent years. Instead, I intend for this post to quick reminder that with a little bit of work and a lot of patience you can fly halfway around the world, in First Class, at a fraction of the “normal” cost.
My Weekend Trip To Hanoi
Over the holiday weekend I ended up taking an extremely short trip to Hanoi. The inception of this trip was thanks to Cathay Pacific’s recent mistake fares from Hanoi back to the US. On New Year’s eve, thanks to a mistake fare, I ended up booking a trip in Cathay Pacific First Class from Hanoi to New York for just $1,460 round trip. The only problem with this fare is that I first had to get to Hanoi to begin the trip.
Getting to Hanoi proved a bit more complicated than I originally planned. At first, my plan was to fly from New York, to Chicago, to London, to Doha, and on to Hanoi. However, in the days leading up to that trip the thought of spending several days to get to Hanoi sounded awful. Instead, I looked for alternatives and eventually found a JAL First Class award ticket. That ticket ended up costing me 110,000 AAdvantage miles and $20. Not terrible for a trip that typically costs about $12,200
Once I got to Hanoi I spend the night at a suite in a hotel before heading back to the airport to catch my Cathay Pacific First Class flight, Again, had I booked the second leg of this trip under normal circumstances I would have paid about $18,800!
Sure, this is a pretty extreme example, but as of today when I’m writing this, had I booked the exact same itinerary, this is what I would have paid. In total, I would have paid just over $31,000 for this trip. If I had booked the trip as a round-trip the cost would have still been well over $20,000.
As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t spend anywhere near that.
My True Out-Of-Pocket Cost
Yes, it is true, I was extremely fortunate to have booked the Cathay Pacific mistake fare. That being said, it’s not like that fare fell into my lap. Instead, I’ve checked various deal websites several times a day, every day, for years to find a deal like that. So, the moment I saw that mistake fare pop up, I booked it. I didn’t think about dates or times or positioning flights, I simply booked it blindly on dates that were still available and figured the rest out as I went.
Because I so recklessly booked this mistake fare I was able to snag a round-trip in Cathay Pacific First Class for just $1,460 from Hanoi to New York. So, given that cost, I’d estimate the cost of my Hanoi to New York trip to cost about $730. Not bad for just under 15 hours in Cathay Pacific First Class.
To get on that first flight though I first had to get to Hanoi. Again, I got a bit lucky that I found JAL First Class award space, but again it didn’t just fall into my lap. In this case I checked British Airways’ award flight availability a few times a day every day, during the weeks leading up to my departure. Then, just 5 days prior to my departure date I found JAL First Class seats from New York to Hanoi for 110,000 AAdvantage Miles and $20.
But Wait… Miles Aren’t ‘Free’
I agree completely. This is something that continues to frustrate me whenever I read other travel blogs. Many of these travel gurus make it seem like everyone has access to 1,000,000s of Miles at all times. However, this is simply not the case. Sure, you can game the system, but the average person just doesn’t have that many miles.
However, 110,000 miles isn’t all that absurd an amount for a once a year type redemption. Let’s assume you sign up for the Citi or Barclays AAdvantage card. That would net you 60,000 miles. Assuming you fly fairly regularly with American or put some spend on the AAdvantage card, earning the remaining 50,000 AAdvantage miles isn’t all that unrealistic.
The key here is that you don’t “waste” your hard-earned miles on less than stellar redemptions. While it’s tempting to spend miles on domestic flights where you simply don’t want to pay cash. I find it significantly more valuable to make a single large redemption. In this case, I spent 110,000 AA miles for a ticket that would have cost $12,000+. In this case I got more than $0.10/mile of value from my AAdvantage miles which I consider a great deal.
The Trip In A Few Pictures
Don’t worry, full reviews of JAL First, JAL Business, Cathay Dragon Business, and Cathay Pacific First Class are all coming soon. For now though I want to share a few pictures I snapped along the way.
The trip began in JAL First Class on the 777-300ER. This was one of the more fun flights I took as it departed at noon local time which means I was able to enjoy almost the entire 14 hour flight with only a small nap in the middle of the flight.
Next, after staying up the most of the JAL First Class flight I transferred to JAL Business Class on the 787-9 where I slept for the entire 6 hour flight to Hanoi.
After arriving in Hanoi I spend the night sleeping in the hotel before venturing out and exploring the city on foot.
After a long day walking around Hanoi I took a quick flight back to Hong Kong where I spent the night in the terminal.
After a terrible night sleep in the Hong Kong International Terminal I went to The Wing lounge at 5:30AM where I was the first inside and the first in the incredible Cabana.
Finally, after a quick bath and hot meal I boarded my Cathay Pacific First Class flight back to New York.
All in all it was an incredible weekend that I could have never afforded prior to learning about the world of miles and points.
Final Thoughts
Really that is the whole point of this post. It’s not a post about how if you open a few Credit Cards (using affiliate links) you can somehow travel the world for free. Instead, it’s a post to remind you (and me) that with a bit of work, you can fly first class on a budget.
Yes, this mistake fare was a freak occurrence, but that’s not to say that they haven’t happened in the past and won’t happen in the future. So, if you really want to fly to far off countries in premium cabins, it’s nice to know that you can, even on a budget.
Also, this post also serves as a reminder that all of those points you think are worthless and are occasionally quite valuable with a little bit of patience. One of the biggest complaints I hear from people is that they can never use their miles. While there is some truth to that, my response is always, keep looking. If you search once and the seats aren’t there, that’s not to say the seats won’t be there a few days or even hours later. If you absolutely want to find an award seat I recommend checking often and even checking partner airlines’ award space as well.
In my wildest dreams I never thought I’d get to a point where I could take a trip that would normally cost tens of thousands of dollars at a fraction of the cost. The best part of it all is that I get to do it all in a few months when I go back to Vietnam on the return leg of my trip.
