If you’re a nerd like me then you are enjoying the posts about booking a flight to and from Asia before the AA devaluation. If you aren’t enjoying these posts, then there’s a strong possibility that you don’t read my blog anyway. Still, I thought I would insert that sentence in your honor.

The Trip Report appropriately called The Year of the Monkey hasn’t even got off the ground and already I have four posts on the flight planning including this one. They include:

• Cathay First Booked: Dates TBD, Imagination Required
• Cathay First Booked: Date Determined, Persistence Required
• The Marginal Return of Booking An Added Segment

I left my last post wondering if I was reaching the marginal return on my reservation given the opportunity to add more segments. Just asking that question meant that I had not. Here is what I came up with and I believe, but cannot guarantee, that it will be final. Unless there is a dramatic change, this will be the last post regarding flights on what has become another great #tpolonem booking.

I wanted to go to Jakarta to add it to my Country Count and found it more convenient to do it in the beginning of the trip. From Jakarta I will pay for a ticket to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and make my way back to Bangkok and Hong Kong. I am also paying for the flight from Kota Kinabalu to Bangkok but am using Avios to go from BKK to HKG. The price for that flight is $150 but I used 7500 Avios + $20 instead. After that, I am adding a wildcard country by going to Sanya, China. That flight retails for $300 but I used 4500 Avios + $15.46 to make the booking. Finally, I will be flying Dragonair Business from Sanya to Hong Kong en route back to NYC on Cathay Business. The DragonAir segment would cost $509 if someone was foolish enough to pay for business class on a flight that short.

There you have it. TPOL is tired now. Goodnight.

I’m on hold with AA today for the fourth time. I’m talking to a nice agent and I’m at peace from the hold music because it is barely audible. The reason I’m calling AA again is because I want to improve my reservation. The first rule in making an awards reservation is to lock up the long-haul portion. That was done. I have JFK-YVR-HKG-BKK all in Cathay first. This includes the flight from HKG-BKK meaning I will get to enjoy the Champagne Bar after all. For the return segment, I originally had HKG-EWR in business class.

More impressed by my departing segment than my return, I decided to search for additional segments for my flight back from Hong Kong. The reason is two-fold: First, why not stretch the value of your precious miles to the limit? Second, TPOL is a man of adventure. Besides playing the Country Count Game in order to reach the century mark, there is a separate thrill that comes from visiting new places.

Here are the countries within Asia Region 2 that could be added to my return segment while still preserving the 55k mile requirement.

The only ones I have not visited are Guam, Java (since Bali is a separate territory from Indonesia according to the TCC), Saipan, and Borneo. (I’ve been to Brunei (Borne) and Malaysia proper (Kuala Lumpur) but Indonesia Borneo and Myanmar Borneo are also considered separate countries.)

I tried to book Guam or Saipan but of course there was no availability. In order to maximize miles and memories, I elected to fly from Kota Kinabalu (Borneo in Malaysia) to Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong. I will also find a way to get to Jakarta (Java, Indonesia) in between arriving in Bangkok and departing Asia so I can check that off of the list. Remaining true to TPOL’s Travel philosophy, I will spend the required 3-4 days in each new destination.

With the return secured, I can’t help but take a second look at the JFK-YVR-HKG-BKK routing and ask if I should terminate my itinerary in Bangkok.

Should I add another segment? Maybe I should add a flight that leaves the day after which departs before 6:10PM in order to maximize more first class time and more lounge time. But where would I go? I love Bangkok so what could be better than staying there for a few days? At some point there is a marginal return from the additional lounge, the additional flight.

The question is have I reached it or should I keep going.

It may be Saturday night in NYC but all I can think about is an evening in December when TPOL will actually take flight. This morning I booked an imaginary flight from JFK to HKG via Vancouver with service to BKK to get one more round of luxury before the much ado about something, AA devaluation. I also booked a separate business class ticket from HKG back to America. The problem with the reservation was that the departing ticket came a month after the return ticket.

My plan was to change the departing flight later this year when the flight became available while preserving the glorious rate of 67,500 AAdvantage miles + $34.50 for 21 hours of Cathay First. Not fond of uncertainty and obviously obsessed, I kept searching for a flight that I actually would take. Dealing with British Airways slow search can drive a sane man insane. Well my friends, I can happily say that this Saturday night was not wasted as I found that ticket and it is now mine, all mine.

The best part of the phone call was the AA representative telling me that I would have  an hour on the ground in Vancouver which would allow me the chance to get off the plane, should I so desire.

I will most certainly waive that option.

The criticism I receive for points travel is that I could not afford to perpetuate the lifestyle if I had to pay for my flights. I do not have to tell my points brethren why this hotels.com, captain obvious, analysis is stupid. I will add that even when TPOL makes it big, I’m not going to spend $12,000 to fly to Hong Kong and feel good about it. With Devaluation Day quickly approaching, the opportunity to go to my favorite continent in class is going to be taken away from me.

Therefore, like everyone who went through the same ordeal with Hyatt DSUs, TPOL searched British Airways forwards and backwards with flights origination from Chicago, New York, Newark, Los Angeles, and San Francisco for a pre New Year departure in first class. There was absolutely nothing available for the entire month of December. The next step was to check the month of January. I didn’t want to search for anything before December because Cathay opens up first class close to the departure date making a booking in November or a prior month a solution for now but a headache later.

Again, there was nothing. That is until I clicked on a certain magical date and found the following:

The problem I may have is finding this routing in December which could complicate trying to preserve my 67.5 price point. My argument is that any JFK-HKG flight should be able to be substituted because this itinerary is one flight number. Therefore, if the direct JFK-HKG opened up and this one didn’t I should be allowed to book it as well. I will continue to check for a route that doesn’t stop in Vancouver between now and ticketing. If this is all there is then I think it will still work.

As for the return, I locked in a comfortable business class journey home. Since I’ve already flown Cathay first from Hong Kong and in the interest to preserve AA miles for a more meaningful flight in the future, I am satisfied with the business class option apart from having to miss out on the champagne bar in the Cathay Lounge. It’s just Moet anyway.