9 trips TPG staff members have booked with points and miles for travel in 2023

The quest to maximize points and miles has inspired thousands of TPG posts. That you are new to points, miles and credit cards or want improve your miles redemption strategieswe probably have plenty of items for you.

Like many TPG readers, some TPG staff members spend their free time researching high-value hotel rewards and the availability of flight rewards for their own travel. Here’s a look at the nine reward trips TPG staff members have booked for travel in 2023.

Hola, Buenos Aires

Aeromexico business class seat on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. ANDREW KUNESH/THE DOT GUY

Buenos Aires is one of my favorite cities. However, it is known to have limited business class award flight options.

Luckily, this year I’m taking advantage of LifeMiles’ lesser-known partnership with Aeromexico to travel on one of the few daytime flights to Argentina in business class from Mexico City International Airport (MEX) to Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport (EZE).

The one-way flight costs 52,500 miles and $95 in taxes and fees. Avianca LifeMiles regularly sells its miles with a generous bonusso I bought 52,800 LifeMiles for $726. This nine-hour business class flight will cost me a total of $821, while cash fares for the same seat are $3,587 on Aeromexico’s website.

Kyle Olsen, Points and Miles Reporter

Related: ¡Long live Mexico! A review of Aeromexico’s business class on the 787-9 from Mexico City to Buenos Aires

Use points and miles for the best places in the sky

Suites on the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380. ZACH GRIFF/THE DOT GUY

The news of Singapore Airlines swaps its Airbus A380 for a Boeing 777-330ER on the route from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) – and thus eliminating its Luxury Suites product from the US – gave me some serious FOMO (fear of missing out).

I sought Singapore KrisFlyer and was happy to find Advantage space on the 143,500-mile Frankfurt-New York route before Singapore withdrew its A380 from the route in May. I transfered Amex Membership Rewards Loyalty Points to KrisFlyer for this booking.

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To go to Europe, I found Emirates Business Class award space on Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Athens International Airport (ATH) fifth freedom flight for 70,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points.

With Aeroplan, you can add a stopover for an additional 5,000 points, so I decided to make Athens my stopover. I will continue to Malta on Aegean Airlines after spending a few days in Athens.

I transferred 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to Aeroplan for this reservation. I will probably redeem miles or find a cheap one way cash ticket from Malta to Frankfurt for the Singapore Airlines flight to the US.

Also, since I live in Texas, I’ll probably redeem miles for my positioning flights to and from the New York area.

Senitra Horbrook, Credit Card Editor

Related: Have your credit card points just gone up in value? Air Canada and Emirates expand their partnership

Austrian charm

JORG GREUEL/GETTY IMAGES

My family is planning a reunion in Austria, so I spent time over the holidays arranging award flights. I was worried about finding availability since we are locked into a specific week in August due to everyone’s schedules.

I was happy to use United MileageMore miles and British Airways Avios to provide timely flight connections for my nieces flying out of Washington, D.C. They will be flying Austrian airlines economy class at Vienna Airport (VIE) for 33,000 miles and $41.30 each. Aer Lingus will take them home for 27,500 Avios plus $211.55.

My husband and I chose to fly business class, and I was happy to score one-way flights (United and Austrian Airlines one way and Austrian and Lufthansa the other) for 66,000 MileagePlus miles plus about $100 per person and per trip.

Now I have to add my nieces like authorized users to The Platinum Card® from American Express so that they can access the lounge during this trip. After all, it only costs $175 to add up to three authorized users on this card (see rates and fees).

Andrea Rotondo, Content Director

Related: Why Add Authorized Users to Your Amex Platinum

Southeast Asian Luxury

EVA’s newest business class product on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. KYLE OLSEN/THE DOT GUY

In the New Year, I booked a two-week trip to Japan and Vietnam, my first trip to Asia in over three years. I redeemed 65,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles for a one-way ticket Japanese Airlines business class flight to Hanoi Noi Bai International Airport (HAN).

I use the Free Stopover Mileage Plan in Tokyo to visit Disneyland. I also used my $200 Credit for Fine Hotels & Resorts/The Hotel Collection from The Platinum Card® from American Express to book a three-night stay at a luxury hotel in Hanoi.

On the way home, I will take a business class EVA flight from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). I booked this using my preferred frequent flyer currency, 75,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points.

Matt Moffitt, Credit Card Editor

Related: 7 Reasons Why EVA Air Is The Most Overlooked Transpacific Business Class Option

heavenly honeymoon

Room at the Hyatt Regency Bali in Indonesia. Hyatt

My wife and I are heading to our honeymoon in 2023 in Hanoi, Bali and Singapore.

We transferred Amex points to Singapore KrisFlyer to book flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Hanoi via Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), flights from Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) to Singapore, then flights from return from Singapore to New York.

Even better, our flights should all be in business class reclining seats.

Ben Glidden, Director of Integrated Marketing

Related: Comparison of the 2 longest flights in the world in business class in Singapore

Barbados did well

BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

I have planned a week-long trip to Barbados with my husband for the summer of 2023 using the points and miles I collected during the pandemic. This will be our first international trip since 2019.

I booked our Even more spacious seats to JetBlue flights between JFK and Bridgetown Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) with a combination of True Blue Points I had won by stealing and Citi Thank You Points I won with my Citi Premier® Card.

We will take Amtrak between New York and Washington, DC before and after our flights. However, to give us enough time, I booked one night stays at a Marriott by JFK and a Kimpton by Penn Station using Marriott Bonvoy and IHG One Awards points.

While we are in Barbados, we will be staying at Fairmont. I plan to book this stay soon Capital One Travel. To help pay for this stay, I will buy back Capital One miles I have accumulated over the years a card with no annual fee and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card I added to my portfolio late last year.

Depending on how many extra Capital One miles I earn over the next few months, I might also use some to reimburse myself for our Amtrak tickets.

Christine Gallipeau, editor-in-chief

Related: Ouch: It’s not just you, Marriott stays now cost more points

New Zealand with stopover in Fiji

View from a Fiji Airways aircraft. RYAN SMITH / THE DOT GUY

My schedule is packed with a wide variety of trips this year. A trip that particularly fascinates me is New Zealand with a stopover at Fiji.

My husband and I redeemed 60,000 United miles plus $46.20 per person to fly from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in United Domestic First, from Houston at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) in United Polaris Enterprise and Sydney to Wellington International Airport (WLG) in the Air New Zealand economy.

We are keeping our time in New Zealand flexible as we hope to land a cheap motorhome rental to explore the country. However, we have booked freely cancellable hotels as a backup if we cannot find a good motorhome rental.

For our return to the US, we redeemed 55,000 Alaska miles and $108.87 per person to fly from Auckland Airport (AKL) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on business with Fiji Airways with a stopover in Fiji.

During our stay in Fiji, we’ll be staying in basic accommodation booked through Airbnb on either side of a two-night stay at Hyatt’s Nanuku Resort (where we redeemed 30,000 Hyatt points plus a Category 1 free night certificate to 7).

Katie Genter, Senior Points and Miles Writer

Related: Sweet Spot Sunday: Fly from the US to Australia with a stopover in Fiji

Did someone say “hockey?”

United Airlines Economy Class on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. KYLE OLSEN/THE DOT GUY

Although it is a simpler journey than many of the others discussed in this story, I United miles redeemed for a flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to see the NHL Stadium Series game at Carter Finley Stadium.

Taylor Stephenson, Technical Project Manager

Related: Redeem for sporting events, concerts and more with Marriott Bonvoy Moments

Dedicated to the Northern Lights

Northern lights above a hotel. SMALL LUXURY HOTELS

My wife is still trying to see the northern lights for the first time. I’ve seen it twice but pulled back on previous trips to Alaska and northern sweden.

We had a Alaska Airlines Companion Fare recently expiring, so we used it to book another trip to Fairbanks, Alaska in mid-March 2023, which we read was peak time for the aurora.

We World of Hyatt points redeemed for five nights at a Hyatt Place, which only cost us 6,500 points per night.

Ryan Smith, Credit Card Author

Related: 4 lessons learned from searching for the Northern Lights above the Arctic Circle

At the end of the line

Points and miles inspire the journeys of many travelers, including many TPG staff.

Whether it’s a complicated booking leveraging the best transferable point currencies to book premium cabin seats on a partner airline with a free stopover or just a simple trip to a sports match, each of us uses points and miles for what is important to us.

With frequent devaluations, points and miles have historically been a bad long term investment. We recommend sticking to an “earn it and burn it” philosophy. In other words, may 2023 be the year you have a lot of fun with your points and miles.

For Amex Platinum Card rates and fees, click here.

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