Hey guys. I'm planning a first trip to Asia with my cousins and sister (we're mid- to late 20s from east coast USA) and wanted some advice on a few things.
Tentative plan
~2.5 weeks (~17 days) between December 15th and January 15th. Visit 2-4 cities and surrounding areas (I'd say anything within a 3h drive or rail ride counts as one city). We're still deciding on the cities to select. Obviously it will be a bit cold in Seoul/Beijing during this time.
I think we're interested in anything from seeing temples, riding elephants, engaging in spiritual journeys, checking out the nightlife, and hiking mountains to eating delicious food, seeing all kinds of sights, relaxing on beautiful beaches, seeing muay tai matches, and trying to get on game shows. So "the standard first Asia trip," I guess. We don't speak any non-English language that would be useful in Asia. I'm an attorney and can afford a nice trip, but the other folks are going to try to get by with much less spending.
1) Any suggestions on which cities to see, how long to allocate to each city (or the total number we should target), or any logistics suggestions?
Points strategy
I have the following amounts of points: USAirways (70K), AA (44K), Delta (14K), UR (75K), AMEX (~52K), Marriott (10k).
My sister has 50K AMEX points.
Nobody else has points. Everyone (except maybe the two of us) is interested in applying for 1 credit card.
2) Any suggestion on which credit cards to consider or other point accumulation suggestions?
3) Any suggestions on a good point strategy for effectively using the points we have (e.g., which transfer partners to use, whether to book partner awards or direct, whether to try a multi-route or one-way trip, etc.)? I don't really care about flying business/first or taking a premium airline, except for the fact that I'm 6'4 and don't sleep all that easily. I'm not sure if economy comfort is a good idea for me or if I need business class. Nobody else minds economy. We'd prefer to fly together, but it's not a deal-breaker. We're in Atlanta / Wilmington NC / DC.
4) How much should I budget for food/entertainment/attractions per day? Food-wise, if I were traveling to a city like Chicago/Atlanta in the US, I would probably spend ~$50/day. I guess sometimes we might find that the best food is a bit off the beaten path and pretty cheap?
5) How much should I budget for traveling between each new city and for taking rails/taxis, etc?
6) Am I right in that a typical 3* hotel is ~$60/n and a 4* is ~$95 in most of the major cities (less in Bangkok and areas like that)?
Thanks so much for any feedback.
Tentative plan
~2.5 weeks (~17 days) between December 15th and January 15th. Visit 2-4 cities and surrounding areas (I'd say anything within a 3h drive or rail ride counts as one city). We're still deciding on the cities to select. Obviously it will be a bit cold in Seoul/Beijing during this time.
I think we're interested in anything from seeing temples, riding elephants, engaging in spiritual journeys, checking out the nightlife, and hiking mountains to eating delicious food, seeing all kinds of sights, relaxing on beautiful beaches, seeing muay tai matches, and trying to get on game shows. So "the standard first Asia trip," I guess. We don't speak any non-English language that would be useful in Asia. I'm an attorney and can afford a nice trip, but the other folks are going to try to get by with much less spending.
1) Any suggestions on which cities to see, how long to allocate to each city (or the total number we should target), or any logistics suggestions?
Points strategy
I have the following amounts of points: USAirways (70K), AA (44K), Delta (14K), UR (75K), AMEX (~52K), Marriott (10k).
My sister has 50K AMEX points.
Nobody else has points. Everyone (except maybe the two of us) is interested in applying for 1 credit card.
2) Any suggestion on which credit cards to consider or other point accumulation suggestions?
3) Any suggestions on a good point strategy for effectively using the points we have (e.g., which transfer partners to use, whether to book partner awards or direct, whether to try a multi-route or one-way trip, etc.)? I don't really care about flying business/first or taking a premium airline, except for the fact that I'm 6'4 and don't sleep all that easily. I'm not sure if economy comfort is a good idea for me or if I need business class. Nobody else minds economy. We'd prefer to fly together, but it's not a deal-breaker. We're in Atlanta / Wilmington NC / DC.
4) How much should I budget for food/entertainment/attractions per day? Food-wise, if I were traveling to a city like Chicago/Atlanta in the US, I would probably spend ~$50/day. I guess sometimes we might find that the best food is a bit off the beaten path and pretty cheap?
5) How much should I budget for traveling between each new city and for taking rails/taxis, etc?
6) Am I right in that a typical 3* hotel is ~$60/n and a 4* is ~$95 in most of the major cities (less in Bangkok and areas like that)?
Thanks so much for any feedback.