I’m in Asia for a month, as I shared in my post about my flights in luxurious business class (75,000 Aeroplan points instead of $3700+). I again was in the mood for a very peculiar trip, after having done 3 kind of complicated mileage runs in just over a year. This time, it’s a mattress run that will make me explore 20+ Marriott Bonvoy hotel brands. I love it!
Marriott Bonvoy is the best hotel rewards program for Canadians. You really CAN’T miss the record-high deal on both Marriott Bonvoy cards that gives you ≈ $1173 in free hotels or even a lot more; it’s literally the best deal of the year, and it ends April 7.
My trip is for an elite status shortcut, which gives a more enjoyable hotel experience (as you can see in my personal Instagram stories live during this trip). Flytrippers aims to help you travel for less through our 3 types of content, namely flight deals, travel rewards, and tips/inspiration/news.
Here’s the intro to my trip to Asia, specifically the reason and the itinerary. The tips and booking logistics, reviews, and experiences will follow soon.
Reason for my trip to Asia
I’m sharing why I’m doing this trip, to get straight to the point right at the beginning (as in all our posts).
Here are the 2 main reasons:
- To take advantage of the Marriott Bonvoy elite status promotion
- To do a more relaxing trip (by my recent standards)
To take advantage of the Marriott Bonvoy elite status promotion
Hotel elite status is very addictive. It’s a must for all those who travel often and love hotels (I certainly fit that bill).
Every year (for the past few years), the winter Marriott Bonvoy promotion offers an excellent shortcut to elite status.
Since I’m gonna travel anyway, I’m savvy, so I always time a trip with this winter promotion to get plenty of benefits like free suite upgrades, free access to VIP hotel lounges, etc.
Asia is the best continent to save money, so last year I timed my Asia trip with this promotion. I decided to do the same this year.
Asia is also soooo amazing. I also love the long flights to get there in luxurious lie-flat business class seats!!!
However, Marriott played a little trick on us this year. Instead of simply giving a bonus of 1 Elite Night Credit (ENC; the qualification instrument for elite status) every night… the bonus is only offered for each new different hotel brand.
That’s definitely more complicated to maximize. Since I thrive on travel challenges, this has strangely made me even more eager to do it. I love the idea of trying out a variety of brands, the gamification aspect of it.
Also, I was drawn to the puzzle of maximizing this promotion at the lowest cost and in the most efficient way, even though the bonuses are nowhere near as huge as the ones I’ve earned from flight challenges in recent months.
The logistical aspect was one of the most appealing parts when I had to fly with 15 different airlines (SAS challenge for a 1M-point bonus), visit 6 different continents (Turkish challenge for a 1M-point bonus), and fly to 25 different airports (jetBlue challenge for a 0.5M-point bonus).
So I’ve planned a nearly optimal itinerary that lets me explore at least 21 different Marriott hotel brands (42 elite night credits) at a very low price, while also visiting cities that interest me and minimizing travel time.
(It might end up being 1 or 2 more, depending on where I need to position myself to possibly fly back to Canada in a luxurious business class lie-flat seat as well!)
In short, I’ll be spending almost the entire month in China, an underrated country that I loved (now visa-free for Canadians since February)… and where Marriott hotels are so affordable. Including (and especially) nice full-service hotel brands!!!
I’ll be sharing a more detailed post about my hotels and my strategy for this promotion soon (along with a guide to the 30+ Marriott brands).
I also want to mention that the points bonus also offered by the Marriott Bonvoy promotion is decent if you maximize it. It’s 2,500 points per stay, or ≈ $23 at our conservative Flytrippers Valuation (but there are some nice hotels in Bali that cost just 5,000 points per night).
This is in addition to the regular earn rate (17.5 points per US$ thanks to my elite status) and in addition to rewards from credit cards.
Keep in mind that I booked a Fairfield hotel for C$59, taxes included!!! I’m earning C$35 in rewards, so that’s 59% back!!! Pretty darn better than the pathetic 1% or 2% back that many people settle for, right?
To do a more relaxing trip (by my recent standards)
I have so many things to do for Flytrippers, so I wanted my winter trip to be more work retreat focused than usual.
Not as much moving around once there.
I know that changing hotels every day isn’t relaxing for a lot of people, but I’ve always loved trying different hotels, staying in different neighborhoods, and saving money.
Now I’m taking that to the extreme because of the Marriott promotion.
I see it simply: every day, when I go out to eat and sightsee, I take the opportunity to switch hotels to make the most of the promotion. It’s not really that complicated. I found hotels that aren’t far from each other.
I always travel light and I’m a pro at packing my backpacks efficiently. It’s not very hard to just switch hotels.
It’s still much more relaxing than my recent mileage runs (taking flights for rewards), which involved a lot of traveling. This is a somewhat intense mattress run (staying in hotels for rewards), but at least I’m staying close by.
I honestly would have planned my month very differently if the promotion had been like those in previous years.
I probably would have spent 2 weeks in China and 2 weeks in Indonesia, where hotels are also affordable… but there aren’t as many hotels from different brands in close proximity. So I had to adjust my plan.
And since I have ADHD, honestly, my idea of relaxing isn’t sitting on a beach or being in a place where not much is happening. So I genuinely love urban destinations.
And relaxing in a nice urban hotel that has a sauna and a hot tub, while still being able to go explore a city, is really more relaxing and cool for me. I also think it’s really cool to be able to stay at 21 different hotel brands; it feels a bit more like an adventure.
Itinerary of my trip to Asia
I’m sharing the general itinerary of my trip, so you can follow me (in my Instagram stories).
Here’s my itinerary on a map.
I’ll be gone for just under 1 month.
Here are the cities I’ll visit during my trip:
- Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷
- 2 nights
- Qingdao, China 🇨🇳
- 4 nights
- Hangzhou, China 🇨🇳
- 4 nights
- Nanjing, China 🇨🇳
- 3 nights
- Suzhou, China 🇨🇳
- 3 nights
- Shanghai, China 🇨🇳
- 3 nights
- To be determined ❓
- To fly back to Canada 🇨🇦
Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷
I was only in Seoul because I was able to add a free business class flight on the A380 double-decker plane to my transpacific business class booking.
But I loved this dynamic city both times I visited briefly in a 4-month span last year, so I was happy to stay a little bit again.
Qingdao, China 🇨🇳
The former German city in China has long been on my bucket list; it’s unique to see German architecture, a bit like the Portuguese influence in Macau. It was formerly called Tsingtao, which is the name of China’s top beer export (Germans and beer, you know).
And the coastal city of 7 million in the Shandong province happens to have incredible full-service hotel options for really low prices, so it was perfect.
Hangzhou, China 🇨🇳
I’ll take my only domestic flight of the trip to get here (short and cheap). I had visited back during my very first trip to China, and I had enjoyed my time in this city of 11 million.
I’ve found that the Chinese cities I have revisited since then have changed so much, so I’m curious to go back. I’ll also spend a few nights in a separate suburb a bit farther away, for a more focused work retreat segment (and cheaper full-service hotels).
Nanjing, China 🇨🇳
Nanjing is a city of 9 million that’s one of the 4 Great Ancient Capitals of China. I just visited barely a year ago, but I only had 1 day (although I stayed the night in a free hotel thanks to a flight delay, like the one I just shared my experience with).
The city seemed very nice, so I want to go back. It’s also just a 1-hour high-speed train ride away. Here too, I’ll spend some time in the suburbs to go off the beaten path a bit more.
Suzhou, China 🇨🇳
Another new city I wanted to visit. Suzhou is often called “The Venice of the East” and looks very pretty. It’s a city of 7 million that was historically very important in China and has a few nice UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
It’s just a short train ride away too, so it was a very convenient choice, including for 2 specific hotel brands that were much better here.
Shanghai, China 🇨🇳
I had also visited Shanghai on my first trip to China, and I’m very curious to go back to the country’s metropolis of 25 million inhabitants (4 times Toronto). The train ride from Suzhou is just a few minutes.
And since I haven’t yet booked my return flight to Canada, it’s best to end in a major city that has many cheap flights to wherever I might need to position to for my flight.
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Summary
I planned a trip to Asia to take advantage of the Marriott Bonvoy promotion, like last year. The unique rules this year meant I pivoted to mostly staying in China, to do a work retreat in nice affordable urban hotels. More specifically, in at least 21 different Marriott hotel brands, for a pretty peculiar trip.
What would you like to know about my Asia trip? Tell us in the comments below.
See the flight deals we spot: Cheap flights
Discover free travel with rewards: Travel rewards
Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration
Learn pro tricks: Travel tips
Featured image: Canal in Suzhou and my EVA AIR business class seat (photo credit: 一只猫的橘 & Andrew D’Amours, edited by Flytrippers)
