IAD-ORD-HKG-CGK-SIN-BKK-MNL-BKK-KUL-BKK-NRT-IAD: 2 Weeks and 25,692 miles later…

No, this was not a crazy mileage-run, nor did I lose a bet. I just did this crazy business trip to South-East Asia, covering 5 countries in 2 weeks. It did add over 33k RDM to my mileage balance and almost 28k EQM towards Elite status! The flights were all Star Alliance (yay!), except for one leg on Cathay Pacific. 25,692 was the actual BIS (butt-in-seat) miles flown. All but the Chicago – Hong Kong flights were in non-lie-flat seats (yes, my back hurts just thinking about it).

It was a series of firsts for me – first trip to South-East Asia, first trip South of the equator (Jakarta), first trip on a Asian airline that was not from India (Cathay Pacific), first 15 hour plus flight (ORD-HKG), First Trans-Pacific flight (ORD-HKG) and first time crossing the international date line. And of course, first time earning what would be Silver status in just two weeks.

Here is a list of my flights:

Leg 1: Washington Dulles (IAD) to Jakarta (CGK) – IAD-ORD-HKG-CGK:

Washington Dulles – Chicago O’Hare: IAD-ORD: United – 589 Miles flown – 1030 RDM – 883 EQM (B fare – CPU upgraded)

Chicago O’Hare – Hong Kong: ORD-HKG: United – 7787 Miles flown – 13,626 RDM – 11,680 EQM (B fare – GPU upgraded)

Hong Kong – Jakarta: HKG – CGK: Cathay Pacific – 2015 Miles flown/RDM/EQM (Earned on British Airways)

Leg 2: Jakarta (CGK) to Singapore (SIN) – CGK-SIN:

Jakarta – Singapore: CGK – SIN: Singapore Airlines – 555 Miles flown/RDM/EQM (Earned on United)

Leg 3: Singapore (SIN) to Bangkok (BKK) – SIN-BKK:

Singapore – Bangkok: SIN-BKK: Singapore Airlines – 898 Miles flown/RDM/EQM (Earned on United)

Leg 4: Bangkok (BKK) to Manila (MNL) – BKK-MNL:

Bangkok – Manila: BKK-MNL: THAI International – 1369 Miles flown/RDM/EQM (Earned on United)

Leg 5: Manila (MNL) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – MNL-BKK-KUL:

Manila – Bangkok: MNL-BKK: THAI International – 1369 Miles flown/RDM/EQM (Earned on United)

Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur: BKK-KUL: THAI International – 771 Miles flown/RDM/EQM (Earned on United)

Leg 6: Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Washington Dulles (IAD) – KUL-BKK-NRT-IAD:

Kuala Lumpur – Bangkok: KUL-BKK: THAI International – 771 Miles flown/RDM/EQM (Earned on United)

Bangkok – Tokyo Narita: BKK-NRT: THAI International – 2887 Miles flown/RDM/EQM (Earned on United)

Tokyo Narita – Washington Dulles: NRT-IAD: ANA – 6753 Miles flown – 11,817 RDM – 6753 EQM (Earned on United)

Whew! I am getting tired just typing that up. The flights were across two weeks with a nights spent in Jakarta (2 nights), Singapore (1 night), Bangkok (3 nights), Manila (2 nights) and Kuala Lumpur (3 nights).

The trip got me to Platinum Elite on United and to over 84k EQM for the year, setting me up for 1K. This will be the first time I will hit 1K in a non-DEQM (Double Elite Qualifying Mile) promotion year! I will review some of these flights and hotel stays in future posts. I have already posted pictures of planes I took at Hong Kong airport during my stop-over there. Enjoy!

Have you taken a crazy trip like this? What has been your most complex trip? Share by leaving a comment.

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