How I Accumulated Miles and Points for 6 Award Flights to Japan and China

Last week, I shared that we added one extra person to my family’s Japan/China trip next summer, bringing the total passengers up to 6 people. A reader asked me how I was able to accumulate that many miles and points for this big trip.

Most of my miles and points stash comes from opening new credit cards with high welcome bonuses. But, I also take advantage of other special offers along the way to add to my miles balances.

How many miles did we spend?

It’s a bit complicated due to schedule conflicts and the late addition of an extra person. We’re actually flying TO Japan in 3 groups of 2. I booked flights on Japan Airlines using British Airways Avios.

2 people in Premium Economy DFW to HND: 124,000 Avios

2 people in Premium Economy LAX to HND: 103.000 Avios

2 people in regular economy SFO to HND: 51,500 Avios

Total for getting TO Japan: 278,500 BA Avios

Our flights home area also a bit convoluted due to 4 of us returning to USA on different flights and 2 of us continuing on to Shanghai, China. I used Alaska Airlines miles, American Airlines miles and BA Avios to book flights home.

2 people on JAL in Premium Economy HND to ORD: 100,000 Alaska Airlines miles

2 people on JAL in regular economy HND to SFO: 37,500 Alaska miles and 25,750 BA Avios

2 people on JAL in Business Class from Osaka to Shanghai: 30,000 Alaska miles

2 people on AA in Premium Economy from Shanghai to DFW: 182,000 AA miles

Total for getting home FROM Japan/China: 375,250 miles

The grand total for 6 people flying in a combination of Business, Premium Economy and regular economy is 653,750 miles. I still need to book some positioning flights within the USA. Also, each award tickets had taxes and fees of $30-$264.

How We Accumulated Those Miles and Points

My husband and I didn’t get those 650k miles overnight. We accumulated them over the span of 3 years.

We opened some new credit cards, including:

BofA Alaska Airlines personal cards: 50k and 65k bonus miles

BofA Alaska Airlines business card: 70k bonus miles

Barclays AA Aviator cards: 60k and 70k bonus miles

Citi Business AA card: 65k miles

Chase Ink Business Preferred: 100k points

Bilt: 50k bonus points from targeted spending offer

Capital One Spark Cash Select: 75k bonus miles

Amex Gold Card: 90k points

Chase Iberia card: 75k miles

Total bonus miles from credit card signups: 770k miles and points (Note: this amount does not include a few additional credit cards that I did not use to book this trip).

In addition, we accumulated chunks of miles and points through bank promotions (which were only available for a limited time):

• Bask Bank Mileage Savings Account (miles vary)
• Citi Miles Ahead Savings Accounts (40k bonus miles total)
• Ames Business Checking Account (50k bonus points)

And finally, we took advantage of the Bilt to Alaska Airlines transfer bonus on July Rent Day (37.5k bonus miles).

The cash cost of these flights would be at least $15,000. Even after factoring in the price of taxes/fees and a few credit card annual fees, this process is still worth the effort for my family.

Overall Thoughts

Accumulating miles and points for a large family isn’t a quick and easy task. My husband and I continue to sign up for a few new credit cards each year for the big welcome bonuses and take advantage of other opportunities to increase our stash. When spending miles and points, I prioritize these big, expensive flights over shorter domestic flights that I can book with cash if necessary.

Just remember, this hobby is only worthwhile if you pay off your credit card balances in full every month. See Beginner’s Guide: 7 Steps to Free Travel with Miles and Points.