Category: <span>Budget Travel</span>

There is a good chance that the limited award availability listed in this post will be gone by the time you read it, but it should provide you with a way to consistently find this award on your own, without my help.

Hi! Ren here. 

In this “points strategy” session we’re going to cover getting from Houston (IAH) to Tokyo (HND) on ANA by transferring 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points into Air Canada Aeroplan via the Chase portal. If you don’t currently have Chase or Aeroplan points, I’ll also go over some basic point earning strategies later in this post. The taxes and fees for the redemption is $76 Canadian, which is about $55 USD.

We know that ANA flies both “Houston – Haneda” and “Houston – Narita” flights. We will be concentrating on Haneda because it is closer to Tokyo and you can avoid the extra transit costs incurred getting from Narita to Tokyo. 

Click for more details and booking links Points Strategy: One-way Business Class Nonstop Houston to Tokyo Haneda on ANA (75,000 points + $55 tax/fees) [Mar 2023, Feb 2024] – Chase Ultimate Rewards® / Air Canada Aeroplan / ANA

Airfare Deals Budget Travel Miles and Points

Airfare Deals Budget Travel Miles and Points

Airfare Deals Budget Travel Los Angeles Miles and Points Star Alliance United

Airfare Deals Budget Travel Miles and Points Star Alliance United

Japan has announced that it will allow visa-free entry to independent tourists, removing the daily cap on arrivals from October 11 onwards [per Skift]. Inbound arrivals would need to be vaccinated and boosted to avoid needing a pre-arrival negative result from a Covid-19 test, according to [per Kyodo News].

The Yen is currently at its weakest level in 24 years, trading below 141 yen per dollar [via ft.com]. In some cases, goods and services in Japan may be about 40% cheaper if you’re converting USD to Yen.

Booking flights with miles/points is worthwhile when the cost of airfare is high. In this case, the cash cost of flights between Houston and Tokyo is still relatively high, about $1100-$1500, with stops.

United has round-trip flights from Houston (IAH) to Tokyo (NRT/HND) for 70,000 miles/points, NONSTOP. 35,000 miles/points each way. Regular economy, not basic. Fare allows for carry-on bag and seat selection

Click for more details and booking links United MileagePlus Nonstop: Houston to/from Tokyo [70,000 points +$48 tax] round-trip (Including Hanami Season)

Airfare Deals Budget Travel Los Angeles Miles and Points Star Alliance United

Airfare Deals Budget Travel Honolulu Miles and Points United

Airfare Deals Budget Travel Hyatt Miles and Points

Southwest has a promo that will give you companion pass privileges between the Jan 06 – Feb 28, 2021. Your companion can fly free (+$5.60 tax) with you on any flights between those dates.

Note that this companion pass only covers Jan and Feb of next year. A regular companion pass usually requires about 75 flights/100,000 points, but covers the whole year. Being able to get a temporary companion pass with just one flight seems like a pretty good deal to us though.

To get the promotion, you must register [on Southwest Airlines’s website], book a flight between now and September 24th, and complete their flight before November 15th. I’ve included a list below of all flights on Southwest Airlines that are below (or near) their 9-month moving average that currently have flights that work within the promo qualification window. The lowest price that we’re seeing that will trigger a companion pass is about $90 round-trip, but one-way trips will trigger the requirement as well, so it is possible to do this for about $45.

Click for more details and booking links Book on Southwest before Sep 24 and get a companion pass for Jan-Feb of next year.

Airfare Deals Budget Travel Miles and Points Southwest Airlines

Airfare Deals Budget Travel Delta Miles and Points SkyTeam Tokyo