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Swim with whales in Tonga and tour Oceania in business class for 60000 United Miles, book before Nov 1st

ByTroy

Once in a while, airlines change their redemption chart. Some hidden gems are gone but some new ones are being added. On Nov 1st, United Airlines will use a new chart. The best part of the new chart is that it includes a short haul redemption for 8000 miles but the best hidden gem for people living in Asia is gone.

From North Asia/South Asia-Oceania/South Pacific, it is only 30,000 one way via business class and 60,000 with one stopover if routed correctly. There are free stopovers and I always wanted to take advantage of it. I tried to book a flight to Tonga to swim with whales last year but swim slot was fully booked, this year, I am able to secure one, and at the same time,  the last chance to enjoy this redemption.

A diver in a wetsuit and fins is underwater, holding a camera on a stick, facing a large humpback whale. The whale is swimming close to the surface of the water, and the diver is positioned near its head. The water is clear and blue, providing a vivid view of both the diver and the whale.

The interesting part here is, if booked on united.com to TBU, free exclusionist award will not apply and it is extra 10K to add the TBU segment in there (I have no time to book through the phone). Thus, I decided to break it into two bookings to tour the remaining part of NZ again.

1. United Miles – 60,000

SIN-SYD(stopover)-IVC//KKE-AKL-BKK-SIN

By the way, you can redeem SQ flight with United.com again!

Alt text: A screenshot of a trip itinerary review page. The itinerary includes flights from Singapore (SIN) to Sydney (SYD) on Friday, August 17, 2018, departing at 16:00 and arriving at 7:20 the next day, with one connection in Bangkok (BKK). The first leg is operated by Singapore Airlines (SQ 976, Airbus A330-300), and the second leg is operated by Thai Airways (TG 475, Boeing 747). The total travel time is 13 hours and 20 minutes, with a 1 hour and 55-minute connection in Bangkok. The right side of the page shows additional flights on Thursday, August 30, 2018, from Sydney (SYD) to Nadi (IVC), and on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, from KKE to SIN. The total fare is 60,000 miles plus ¥1,674.00. There are options to revise the flights.

The image shows a flight itinerary with details for two different trips. The first trip is from Sydney, NSW, AU (SYD) to Invercargill, NZ (IVC) with a total duration of 17 hours and 55 minutes. The itinerary includes: 1. Flight NZ 104 from SYD to Auckland, NZ (AKL) on a Boeing 777-200 operated by Air New Zealand. 2. A 2-hour and 5-minute connection in AKL. 3. Flight NZ 567 from AKL to Christchurch, NZ (CHC) on an Airbus A320 operated by Air New Zealand. 4. A 9-hour and 55-minute connection in CHC. 5. Flight NZ 5701 from CHC to IVC on an ATR 72 operated by MT COOK AIRLINES TRADING AS AIRNZ LINK. The second trip is from Kerikeri, NZ (KKE) to Singapore, SG (SIN) with a total duration of 18 hours and 35 minutes and 3 stops. The itinerary includes: 1. Flight NZ 8269 from KKE to AKL on a Bombardier Q300 operated by AIR NELSON TRADING AS AIRNZ LINK. 2. A 1-hour and 10-minute connection in AKL. 3. Flight NZ 445 from AKL to Wellington, NZ (WLG) on an Airbus A320 operated by Air New Zealand. 4. A 2-hour

2. Singapore KrisFlyer Miles – 25000 in Economy

IVC-AKL-TBU-AKL-KKE

A map showing flight routes in the Asia-Pacific region. The routes connect the following cities: Bangkok (BKK), Singapore (SIN), Sydney (SYD), Auckland (AKL), Kerikeri (KKE), Wellington (WLG), Christchurch (CHC), Invercargill (IVC), and Nuku'alofa (TBU). The routes are depicted with red lines connecting these cities.

For many years, United Miles always come up with some interesting redemption here and there, particularly in Asia, from 30K business within Asia to 11 segments on one way redemption to South Pacific from Asia. Even if it is gone this time, I won’t call it devaluation anymore because there is always a better way to use them.

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