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Mark is taking his son to Japan on points, so we walk through exactly how he booked it, snagging American Airlines business class from Detroit through Dallas to Tokyo for 100,000 miles a person, why he locked it in even though it is not the rock bottom price, and his plan to fly Delta One home from Seoul nonstop for 140,000 SkyMiles. It turns into a bigger conversation about how the burn side of miles and points has gotten harder and less fun, and why getting the trip you want now can beat holding out for the perfect saver award. On the news side, there is an excellent Audible deal with three free months plus a $20 credit for Prime members, another two Hyatt hotels dropping suite upgrade awards, and Hyatt dressing up an old 13 month booking window as a shiny new elite benefit. Then we react to a great Benji article full of points assumptions worth rethinking, from not needing to be a credit card travel protection expert, to skipping mediocre free breakfast, to whether tracking every tiny bonus is actually worth your time, and the classic debate of booking flights first versus hotels first. Let us know in the comments whether you are team flights or team hotels, and drop any Japan tips for Mark.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 What's Coming Up
• 1:35 Why Japan? A 16th Birthday Bucket List Trip
• 2:59 How We Booked 100K Business Class to Tokyo
• 6:02 Flying Delta One Home From Seoul
• 8:58 A Great Audible Deal (3 Free Months + $20)
• 9:59 Hyatt Drops More Suite Upgrade Hotels
• 11:41 Hyatt's "New" 13-Month Booking Benefit
• 14:07 Do You Need to Master Card Travel Protections?
• 16:53 Skip the Free Breakfast?
• 19:27 Are You Wasting Time Tracking Points?
• 23:41 Book Flights First or Hotels First?
• 29:30 Final Thoughts

Links

• Sign-up for Rakuten! (referral) - http://milestomemories.com/go/rakuten
• Hyatt upgrade certs - https://milestomemories.com/hyatt-expands-list-of-hotels-that-dont-accept-suite-upgrade-awards/
• Hyatt 13 month benefit - https://milestomemories.com/hyatt-early-award-access-for-elites-and-cardholders/
• Points assumptions - https://milestomemories.com/travel-and-points-assumptions/

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