Round-the-world SAS EuroBonus challenge part 3: Taiwan to Dubai via China

Just before Christmas, I was about halfway through my SAS EuroBonus million-mile challenge that had me traveling for 25 days on 20 flights with 15 different SkyTeam airlines. Along the way, I visited 16 countries in order to earn the ultimate prize: 1 million SAS EuroBonus miles.My first week on the road took me from Portland, Oregon, to Seoul, South Korea, via Seattle and on to Bali, Indonesia, on a combination of carriers, including Delta Air Lines, Korean Air and Garuda Indonesia.Over the course of my second week, I visited Vietnam on Vietnam Airlines.My third week would include stops in Taiwan and mainland China, as well as Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. To reach these destinations, I’d fly with China Airlines, China Eastern, Xiamen Airlines, Kenya Airways and Saudia.After six incredible days in Vietnam, I was on my way to the airport to take to the skies again for the biggest, most complicated leg of my trip. Here’s how it went.Flight 6: China AirlinesI began the next leg of my journey at Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) in Hanoi, Vietnam. One thing I noticed throughout this trip so far was that many of the airports I was flying through were incredibly far from the city centers, as Hanoi itself was 25 miles away from its hub. That said, transportation was inexpensive, so I took a taxi and traffic was light; I got there in about 50 minutes.The China Airlines check-in staff were friendly and cheerful, quickly processing my information and noting that my SAS EuroBonus number was on my reservation (a necessity for successfully completing the challenge).CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYI then cleared customs and security and went to one of the airport’s Priority Pass lounges for a quick bite before my flight.CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYMy trip to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) would just be a short two-hour, 15-minute hop aboard one of China Airlines’ Airbus A330-300s.Daily NewsletterReward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletterJoin over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s expertsCHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYRight after we took off and we reached cruising altitude, we received a meal. There was a seafood and noodle option and a chicken option with rice, which I chose. The meal was fine but not really remarkable. My favorite part was the mixed fruit dessert.Previous slideNext slide1 of 2CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYThere was no Wi-Fi on the plane, so I took a little nap after my meal. Once I landed, I went through customs and immigration and explored Taipei, Taiwan, as soon as I dropped my bags at the hotel since I would be headed to Beijing in less than 48 hours.Taipei highlightsI stayed at the Courtyard Taipei Downtown, arguably the best Courtyard hotel I have seen in the world (though I’m always up for exploring more of them!). There was evening turndown service and an executive lounge, not something you typically see at a Courtyard in the U.S. Nightly rates were just $73.With only one full day in Taipei, I hit the ground running. I went to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, which houses the National Theater & Concert Hall, the Longshan Temple and Taipei 101. I also rode the Maokong Gondola high above the city and into the mountains before ending my day with dinner at Raohe Street Night Market.Previous slideNext slide1 of 3CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYAt the night market, I tried a mushroom dish popular on social media, German pork knuckle and various Taiwanese sausages and desserts. I’ll have to go back to try the famous black pepper buns.Flights 7 and 8: China EasternI headed back to TPE for what would be the smoothest check-in experience so far. I asked a representative how many people had been putting their SAS EuroBonus numbers on their reservations, and she said too many to count. Three other people on my flight to Ningbo Lishe International Airport (NGB) in China had also used theirs. I wonder if Scandinavian Airlines expected this kind of turnout.Security and immigration were a breeze and took less than five minutes. Before I knew it, I was in a Plaza Premium lounge. On the way to my gate, I had to walk by the Starlux Galactic Lounge and immediately envied anybody about to enter. It was so futuristic and fun-looking.CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYOnce on board my China Eastern Airbus A320, I had an entire row to myself for the one-hour, 45-minute hop to Ningbo. One thing I have been noticing is that many of the Asian airlines I was flying started their economy seating rows at number 31 instead of something lower, like five or seven, no matter how many rows were in first class. These were older planes, and the seats were quite comfortable, a far cry from the modern, hard, paper-thin seats we have now.For the first time on an inter-Asia flight this trip, I was not served a meal. Everyone was given a water bottle, and a beverage cart came around offering tea. There were no Wi-Fi and inflight entertainment.Once I arrived in Ningbo, I had to claim my bag and then recheck it, as they didn’t have a transfer desk for China Eastern. Shortly after, I was on board another A320 to take me to Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX).One thing I have noticed about most Asian airlines I have flown is that they don’t allow you to use power banks or portable chargers at all during the flight for safety reasons, so be sure to charge up before you take off.On the flight to Beijing, the experience was the same as the prior flight, with no meal service, Wi-Fi or inflight entertainment.Beijing highlightsIn Beijing, I stayed at the JW Marriott Hotel Beijing, where I used my three remaining Nightly Upgrade Awards that I had selected as my Marriott Annual Choice Benefits and was upgraded to a beautiful corner Sky Garden Suite with wraparound, floor-to-ceiling windows providing views of the Beijing skyline. All this cost me just under $150 a night. The hotel had an excellent lounge that provided a daily happy hour with a full dinner buffet. The breakfast buffet was one of the most extensive I have seen, with both Western and Chinese options.Previous slideNext slide1 of 6CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYI missed one of my days exploring Beijing, as I caught some sort of stomach bug that had me out of action, but I didn’t mind having to take a rest day at the beautiful hotel.Once I returned to full strength, I booked a tour of the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China. The Forbidden City is truly awe-inspiring; I could have spent hours exploring it, but I had to go on to the Great Wall of China. One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Wall of China is an attraction I believe everyone should see at least once in their life.Previous slideNext slide1 of 4CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYI tried to squeeze in a visit to Tiananmen Square, but I couldn’t manage to get entry. Luckily, I drove by and saw most of it on my way to the Forbidden City. I also stopped by the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Temple of Heaven, but entry inside was closed that day.Previous slideNext slide1 of 2CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYI checked out at a local tea house, too. While there, I participated in a traditional tea ceremony where I tried five different types of tea. Besides the sites, I ate an array of local Chinese dishes, with my favorite being Peking duck.CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYFlight 9: Xiamen AirlinesAfter two days in Beijing, I headed back to PKX, the newer of the international airports in Beijing. It is a beautiful open-layout airport, though it is nowhere close to the center of Beijing.At Chinese airports, I found security to be very strict. You must remove anything with a battery from your bag. I left a small power bank in my backpack, and it got flagged and had to be prescreened three times before I had to empty my entire backpack. Given the extra precautions, you’ll want to plan to spend some additional time in line if you need to pass through security in China.This is where the daunting part of the journey began, as I would have a flight every day for the rest of the year at that point.This one would be aboard a Xiamen Airlines A321 for the three-hour journey to China’s Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN).Previous slideNext slide1 of 2CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYThere was a breakfast meal service with some sort of porridge, but I skipped it.Previous slideNext slide1 of 2CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYLike the prior flight, there were no inflight entertainment and Wi-Fi, but the journey was uneventful and went by quickly.Flight 10: Kenya AirwaysUnfortunately, this was where things took a turn. My flight from Guangzhou to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) in Bangkok was delayed by a full day, so instead of spending Christmas Eve in Bangkok roaming the Khao San Road, I spent my Christmas Eve at the Fairfield by Marriott Guangzhou Tianhe Park. It was very reasonably priced at $59 and was one of the best Fairfields I have ever seen. And luckily, this night would requalify me for Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite status.On Christmas Day, I arrived at the airport in Guangzhou again to check in, where I was met with my most concerning issue yet: My ticket had been changed to a different fare class that was ineligible for the SAS promotion, as it was a basic economy fare that would not earn mileage.I tried everything I could to change it or upgrade to business class so it would be a mileage-eligible fare, but nobody at the check-in counter or at Kenya Airways customer service could help me. I even tried upgrading at the gate, and they were going to let me, but I could only pay for the upgrade with Alipay, a digital wallet and payment platform that would not work for me when I needed it most.Luckily, I purposely avoided flying SAS in my original itinerary planning in case I had an issue with another airline along the route, as it would be easy to take a quick flight once I got to Europe. So, while settling in for my delayed flight, I set about making some alternate plans for later in my journey.CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYIn the meantime, I was surprised that such a big international airport would use remote gates like the one I departed from. I needed to take a bus to reach the Kenya Airways 787-8 Dreamliner that would take me to Bangkok.It’s so neat to fly fifth-freedom routes, especially this one, as I was flying an African airline I wouldn’t normally get to experience between two major Asian hubs. The point of booking this particular flight was that it would let me avoid having to fly to Africa as part of this promotion, which would have taken me far out of my way.Previous slideNext slide1 of 2CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYOn board the Kenyan Airways flight, I had an entire row to myself. The seats were comfortable, and there was an inflight entertainment system with lots of titles. For breakfast, we had a choice of a chicken or vegetarian sandwich served with strawberry cake. The sandwich was surprisingly tasty and made a nice morning snack.Unfortunately, there was no Wi-Fi on this flight.Flights 11 and 12: SaudiaFor the first time this trip, I would be turning left when boarding as I finally splurged and upgraded to business class on my flight from BKK to Dubai International Airport (DXB) via King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.It only cost me $324 to upgrade on the nine-hour flight, an exceptional price that I thought was well worth it. I would have normally used my Business Platinum Card® from American Express to pay for this purchase to earn 5 points per dollar spent on airfare, but Saudia required I have the physical card and not Apple Pay, so I used my American Express® Gold Card to earn 3 points per dollar spent on airfare instead. This upgrade also earned me around 8,000 bonus SAS points, which helped me get closer to earning SkyTeam elite status.The Boeing 787 that took me to Saudi Arabia featured 24 Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration. I’m 6 feet, 4 inches, and the seat was comfortable and provided me with more than enough room when fully flat.Previous slideNext slide1 of 3CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYThe chef on board came by and introduced himself. He told me that business-class service included on-demand dining and explained the menu to me. He even recommended some items that were not on the menu.Previous slideNext slide1 of 2CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYI was curious to see how Saudia compared to the Middle East’s “Big Three” carriers — Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways — and so far, it was off to a great start. For lunch, I had a beef sandwich and a pad thai dish that were both excellent, and I ended with a croissant bread pudding for dessert.Previous slideNext slide1 of 6CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYAfter this, I caught up on some recent movies, but in reality, I probably watched about 20 minutes of each film before falling asleep. The inflight entertainment system had a large catalog of content to view. I wish I could have enjoyed more of it, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get some valuable sleep in the air.When I woke up, I ordered another meal consisting of a chicken salad that didn’t have any salad, a beef sandwich and a fruit plate.Previous slideNext slide1 of 2CHRIS NELSON/THE POINTS GUYAlthough Saudia is a dry airline, meaning it does not serve alcohol, it has an extensive nonalcoholic drink menu. The service throughout the flight was excellent, and based on my experience, the soft product on board was as good as Qatar Airways Qsuite.This was the one flight I wished lasted longer. My only gripe was that there was Wi-Fi that didn’t work.Once I arrived in Jeddah, I headed for the transfer counter, as I had a two-hour layover before a short hop over to Dubai. Transiting in Jeddah was the smoothest experience I had so far on my journey.My next flight was supposed to be on a 787-10 Dreamliner, but there was a last-minute aircraft swap to an A321. Soon, I was on board another Saudia aircraft, this time in economy. Yet again, the Wi-Fi did work.There was a dinner service with a choice of chicken and rice or a mushroom pizza, but I skipped it as I was still full from all the food I had indulged in earlier on my business-class flight.Soon, I landed in Dubai, where I stayed overnight at the Element Dubai Airport, which cost me $73 for the night. Then, the next day, I caught a Virgin Atlantic flight to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) that I had to scramble to rebook so I could squeeze in some more flights while in Europe to meet the conditions of the SAS EuroBonus challenge.Bottom lineAlthough I encountered some issues on this portion of my trip, luckily, I was able to get back on track even after experiencing some delays and an unplanned flight change that will keep it from counting toward my EuroBonus tally.To remedy the issue, I moved my flight from DXB to LHR a day earlier. Then, I would take a quick round-trip flight from LHR to Oslo Airport (OSL) in Norway on SAS and keep the rest of my original itinerary intact.That would increase my total trip time to 25 days, taking 21 flights and visiting 16 countries.Another thing I was starting to be mindful of was my passport visa pages. After this whirlwind, I only had less than three pages available, and some countries require at least two blank pages. When this trip is done, I won’t have any visa slots left, so I will have to renew my passport.The journey was starting to get tough, as I had to fly every day for the remainder of the year with no break at all, but I was in the home stretch and much closer to those million points. Throughout my travels in China, I did meet a handful of people also participating in the challenge, so it was fun to share a sense of camaraderie with them and bemoan the grueling nature of the challenge.Stay tuned for the last part of my trip, which involved taking nearly 10 flights, including a major transatlantic leg to Mexico City.
Source: thepointsguy.com