Loophole - Guy took a $60,000 trip in a first-class suite on Emirates

[Froggy]

Interesting read



http://uk.businessinsider.com/man-g...ht-with-frequent-flyer-miles-loophole-2015-10

This guy used a frequent-flyer loophole to take a $60,000 trip in a first-class suite on Emirates — here's what it was like
Steven Tweedie and Nathan McAlone
Oct. 27, 2015, 4:14 PM

If you're looking to fly in style, it doesn’t get much better than a first-class suite aboard the iconic Emirates airline.

Travel blogger Sam Huang recently cashed in his Alaska Airlines frequent-flyer miles for a $60,000 trip around the world, and luckily he took plenty of pictures documenting what it was like.

"Unlimited Dom Perignon, wild caviar, and a shower spa while flying 40,000 feet in the air — it's no wonder the Emirates First Class Suite is consistently named one of the best airline seats in the world," Huang writes over at his travel blog, TopMiles.

Huang's trip spanned 11 cities, seven countries, and five continents, and he managed to pay only $300 for the journey — in addition to cashing in his frequent-flyer miles — by taking advantage of a clever loophole when booking the trip. Huang says the trick is complicated, but involves booking the journey as one long flight with multiple layovers. After checking with the airline, Business Insider can confirm that the booking was legitimate.

From getting to skip the boarding line and enter the plane through a private entrance, to fancy suites featuring automatic doors, shower access, and a seemingly endless supply of food and drinks, this is what it's like (in Huang's own words) to take a trip of a lifetime.

 

[eErotica69]

Jo, have you flown any A380 First Class?

 

[Froggy]

Jo, have you flown any A380 First Class?

Never flown on any 1st class before. Wifey lucky kenna upgraded from biz to 1st and you know why? She was in SQ biz one day flying from Shanghai to Singapore, a young farang passenger beside her starting digging his nose and being simply unhygienic. She asked stewardess to change seat as biz full they hastily put her in 1st. Lucky fella.

 

[winnipegjets]

Never flown on any 1st class before. Wifey lucky kenna upgraded from biz to 1st and you know why? She was in SQ biz one day flying from Shanghai to Singapore, a young farang passenger beside her starting digging his nose and being simply unhygienic. She asked stewardess to change seat as biz full they hastily put her in 1st. Lucky fella.

New trick to get a free upgrade!

 

[winnipegjets]

Would you pay $60k to do this trip? For $100k, one can cruise a year around the world. I would take the latter.

 

[winnipegjets]

Jo, have you flown any A380 First Class?

He has his own private A380!

 

[frenchbriefs]

how to get so many miles in the first place,i cant even afford budget class to melborne australia.is there a special credit card where u can collect miles for everyday shopping?

 

[eatshitndie]

there's another loophole which is legitimate. credit cards offer 50k miles if you sign up with it. sign up for 2 from different banks and you can get 100k miles. passengers in sf have been flying 1st class in a suite on a trans-pacific route by using up only 80k miles.

 

[Onitsuka]

how to get so many miles in the first place,i cant even afford budget class to melborne australia.is there a special credit card where u can collect miles for everyday shopping?

You think he will reveal the nitty-gritty so that everyone can fly First Class on Emirates?

It's the same with business people who have made it. The moment they start to dwell on hard work blah blah blah, you know they are withholding the important stuff. For example, they will tell you some sad stories about growing up in a kampong, father a coolee at Pasir Panjang port and mother a fishmonger at Tiong Bahru market. Then stories will inevitably involve some scholarships or bursaries blah blah blah and the meritocracy stuff. This one sure got template one.

Most stories end without telling you they are in fact some grassroots leaders with some super porlampar skills that win them lucrative government contracts.

 

[eErotica69]

there's another loophole which is legitimate. credit cards offer 50k miles if you sign up with it. sign up for 2 from different banks and you can get 100k miles. passengers in sf have been flying 1st class in a suite on a trans-pacific route by using up only 80k miles.

Which ones are those? Must pay membership fee?

 

[eatshitndie]

Which ones are those? Must pay membership fee?

available in u.s. not sg. shittybank and chase visa cards. no fees, but high interest rates. must make about usd3000 of purchases to validate new miles. easy to spend usd3000 on new appliances and holiday gifts before the new year.

 

[frenchbriefs]

there's another loophole which is legitimate. credit cards offer 50k miles if you sign up with it. sign up for 2 from different banks and you can get 100k miles. passengers in sf have been flying 1st class in a suite on a trans-pacific route by using up only 80k miles.

do miles represent actual miles or fake miles?like u actually need 10 points for every flight mile or something.singapore to australia is roughly 4500 miles,how many flyer miles do i need?

 

[eatshitndie]

do miles represent actual miles or fake miles?like u actually need 10 points for every flight mile or something.singapore to australia is roughly 4500 miles,how many flyer miles do i need?

once validated, miles offered on credit cards are interchangeable with points which translate to credit ($) and can be used as cashless currency for air travel purchases. the bank using the credit card brand ends up paying for the short term but it hopes to milk you for the long term on interest payments. and you need to fly a lot to accrue 50k miles. for me, i need to fly 3 round trips between sfo and sin to accrue 50k miles. in business class, the accrued miles go up higher.

 

[frenchbriefs]

once validated, miles offered on credit cards are interchangeable with points which translate to credit ($) and can be used as cashless currency for air travel purchases. the bank using the credit card brand ends up paying for the short term but it hopes to milk you for the long term on interest payments.

so how much credit do i get for say 5000 miles for opening a card.

 

[eErotica69]

available in u.s. not sg. shittybank and chase visa cards. no fees, but high interest rates. must make about usd3000 of purchases to validate new miles. easy to spend usd3000 on new appliances and holiday gifts before the new year.

So is US and not Singapore! Any good deals in Singapore?

USD 3000 of purchases is not alot!

 

[eErotica69]

do miles represent actual miles or fake miles?like u actually need 10 points for every flight mile or something.singapore to australia is roughly 4500 miles,how many flyer miles do i need?

Depending on card. For most Travel Credit card for local spending of S$1 spend, it can be converted to 1.2 to 1.6 miles. These miles can be converted 1 to 1 to your Frequent Flyer Miles.

http://www.moneysmart.sg/credit-cards/air-miles

 

[eatshitndie]

so how much credit do i get for say 5000 miles for opening a card.

you need to look for cards that offer you 50k miles upon sign up. otherwise, it's not worth it. where i am, banks track our fica score and credit history. if it is over 800 with multiple properties paid in full and mucho mullah spare cash to boot, we get multiple offers. they look for us, we don't need to look for them. banks are desperate to attract credit-worthy customers. they are the best customers, and once they open up accounts, banks will go to every extent to keep them. it's like managing wealthy clients, that top 5% of the population.

 

[Froggy]

Would you pay $60k to do this trip? For $100k, one can cruise a year around the world. I would take the latter.

I will definitely not pay

how to get so many miles in the first place,i cant even afford budget class to melborne australia.is there a special credit card where u can collect miles for everyday shopping?

Can get many miles if your work requires yo to travel and if you use certain credit cards to pay like I use my TG Amex to book for my TG flights I get extra miles.

 

[winnipegjets]

once validated, miles offered on credit cards are interchangeable with points which translate to credit ($) and can be used as cashless currency for air travel purchases. the bank using the credit card brand ends up paying for the short term but it hopes to milk you for the long term on interest payments. and you need to fly a lot to accrue 50k miles. for me, i need to fly 3 round trips between sfo and sin to accrue 50k miles. in business class, the accrued miles go up higher.

Two trips if you do SFO-LAX-JFK-MIA-LAX-DFW-PVG return twice.

 

[eatshitndie]

Two trips if you do SFO-LAX-JFK-MIA-LAX-DFW-PVG return twice.

any trip with over 1 transit stop is no-no for me.