Step-by-step using Credit Card Points & Miles for Aspirational Travel! American Express & SkyTeam!

Step-by-step using Credit Card Points & Miles for Aspirational Travel! American Express & SkyTeam!

all right guys guess where I am if you guess Paradise 10,000 built points for you but no seriously guys I’m in paradise and in this video I’m going to show you how you too can get to Paradise dinner tonight is at Swahili Beach Resort on the east coast of Kenya I’m not kidding this place is like a palace let me show you how to get here using points and miles but first let’s dispel these concerns is it safe is it easy to get to are modern accommodations the answers are a resounding yes yes and yes let’s all put aside the old narratives regarding Africa and let’s embark on an amazing [Music] journey for those new to the channel I’m Richard Debs from RS squ travel rewards and I’m an avid traveler if you’re watching this you likely are too so go ahead and subscribe to see how I use credit cards to enable this travel habit of mine I love immersing my myself in local culture because I find that most interesting but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying luxury from start to finish let’s talk using points and miles to book our flights and hotel accommodations for a trip to the east coast of Kenya let’s start with flights first off let’s get our bearings deani Beach Kenya is located right here on the Indian Ocean Nairobi is its capital and Mombasa is its second largest city in this example we need to get from New York to Yani Beach Kenya Kenya Airways which is part of the sky team airline alliance is the only Airline Which flies non-stop from New York to Nairobi however I’m going to resist flying direct and will instead opt for a layover in Europe we’re selecting Flying Blue which is the partner program of Air France and km so our primary layover options are Amsterdam and Paris let’s quickly jump to the Air France website and see what’s available I’ve punched in some random dates and let’s look at the lowest points redemption all right it shows here that it’s on KLM which will result in a layover in Amsterdam nothing wrong with that but we want Air France for my use case so let’s try again this search gives me the desired results I’m seeking were the layovers in Paris where I’ll enjoy air France’s business class Lounge I’ve opted for economy because that’s all I need given my Flying Blue Gold status 3 days before takeoff I’d be presented with an opportunity to upgrade to premium economy or business class the big five credit card issuers all transfer to Flying Blue I to opt for a layover versus flying direct because I earn more Flying Blue experience points or XPS which help me maintain my Flying Blue Gold status if you don’t care about flying blue status or your flying business class then by all means select the Kenya Airways direct option when on the Air France website I flew economy Comfort a few weeks ago but because of my Flying Blue Gold status I was able to use the Air France business Lounge in Paris I try to save points whenever I can so that I may travel more all right we’re now in Nairobi how do we get to the coast you could have selected New York to Mombasa and Kenya Airways would transfer you to Mombasa once you land in Nairobi Mombasa on paper is 50 minutes from deani Beach but I’m going to give you a pro tip here book a separate flight from Nairobi to the Yuka airstrip indani with the local carrier jumbo jet the Yuka airstrip will put you within 10 minutes of this hotel once you land this will cost you another $100 to $150 for the round trip but it’s 100% worth it if you avoid my guidance and opt to land in Mombasa There’s a Nightmare Ferry which you’ll need to cross which can take you anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours you’ve been warned because we’re into points and Miles be sure to create a jumbo jet account to start earning points immediately and if you’re like me you’ll keep coming back and use Kenya as your hub for exploring the rest of Africa not too surprising but jumbo jet doesn’t accept American Express though the website displays the American Express logo so you want to book using another travel card there are many ways to travel to Kenya but I’m partial to Flying Blue because I enjoy the perks of status as always be sure you’re getting the best redemptions possible so do your homework I’ll likely be flying Delta when I eventually return or if I return now the hotels now that we have our flight taken care of let’s book this wahi beach resort right here in deani this hotel is not affiliated with any of the major hotel chains that we’re familiar with however you can book this hotel through all the major credit card portals I know that we don’t love that but sometimes that’s the only option if you want to book a free stay at other luxury hotel establishments let’s jump into the AMX travel portal to book our hotel we want to search for hotels in deani Beach let’s enter some travel dates here’s our hotel requiring 46,000 Mr points per night but I know we can do better than that because the next 3 months are still low season here Nomads is a super popular Beach hotel but I have my issues with them not quality related but just their silly rules I’ll be posting a video on my Travel Channel about that then there’s Bob which has been voted the best family resort in Africa I have a gym membership there which I seldom use let’s look for other dates to see if we can do better let’s go with July awesome here’s our same hotel but this time it’s 27,000 Mr points which in my book is a winner folks this is a five-star hotel on the beach I consider it the best hotel on the coast it even Rivals billionaire Resort in mlindi that’s where we are and just like that you’ve arrived wasn’t that easy and you walk straight through the path not on the water though turn around and resume and you should see this I said it was Paradise do you believe me now all right don’t get distracted by this restaurant walk down this way if you see this trash can you’re on the right path keep going and when you see the beach it means you’re almost there it’s been a short trip so far hasn’t it and the pool Ends by the ocean and just like that you’re in Paradise I mean if you want you can sit right here right there so it’s really not a big deal to travel here most Americans don’t have the exposure or know others who have traveled here however now you know me and I’m telling you it’s super cool and if you want all the lucks you can have it for a fraction of the cost you’d find elsewhere folks I’m living in a four-story private luxury Villa for the next 3 months outfitted with a private pool and a rooftop bar I hope that I’ve convinced you that getting here is easy and you can have as much luxury as you desire I happen to love mixing it up so I visit Villages and local markets but that’s how I grew up in Lebanon so it feels natural for me let me know who’s in and if you decide to come here hit me up and I’ll show you some awesome adventures what would it take for you to pull the trigger and give East Africa a try I’m heading to South Africa and Namibia at the end of this month I’ll see you there thank you for watching Until the End since you’ve gotten this far it only makes sense to like share and subscribe to help bring this channel some visibility as always take care and be good to each other [Music]

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