You may remember back in February I discussed putting together a “bucket list” first class trip this summer. That trip is now close to fully planned and I wanted to share my updated itinerary.

As I mentioned before, I have a flight from Chicago to Dubai in Emirates 777 GameChanger First Class to kick off the trip. I’ll position to Chicago on either American or Delta. I have flights booked using miles with both and will decide on the day which flight to take based on how on-time each one is looking. Either can be canceled for a full refund of the miles and taxes.

In Dubai, I had originally planned to spend the night and take a morning flight to Bangkok, but I am reconsidering that idea. I may just spend several hours in the Emirates First Class Lounge (including a nap room if needed) and take a 2:45am A380 First Class flight to Bangkok. My rationale for that is that I may end up sleeping quite a bit on the flight from Chicago as it’s long (13.5 hours) and I may not be that tired when I arrive in the evening in Dubai. The First Class Lounge also has a much better all-day dining menu than the breakfast menu (sushi!) so I’d like to check that out.

The Dubai-Bangkok flight does not currently have a first class award ticket available, but almost all the seats are unoccupied according to ExpertFlyer, so it’s likely I’ll be able to choose either the 2:45am or the 9:40am flight (the two A380 flights with First Class). I’ll obviously take what I can get, but I’m leaning towards the middle of the night departure. Once I have this booked, I’ll update this post with the total amount charged by Emirates for the whole itinerary.

That late night flight would get me into Bangkok around lunchtime where I now have a two night booking at the Grand Hyatt. I can check in early and check out late the last day to maximize my time at the hotel, which I booked with an expiring Hyatt Category 1-4 Free Night Certificate and 12,000 points for the second night. My itinerary in Bangkok will depend on my fatigue level, but maybe I’ll check out the malls since they are air-conditioned and near the Grand Hyatt and possibly take a day trip somewhere as well (as I’ve visited the city before).

From Bangkok, I have booked Qatar A380 First Class to Doha. I look forward to checking out the highly regarded Qatar Premium lounge in Bangkok before the flight. In Doha, I plan to spend the night at the Al-Safwa First Class Lounge. There are nap rooms that may be available, but it’s first come, first served, so it’s a bit of a risk. There’s also a jacuzzi in that lounge!

I will continue on from Doha to Abu Dhabi in Qatar Regional A320 First Class the next morning. My Qatar Airways itinerary cost 99,000 Avios which I already had in my account.

In Abu Dhabi, I have booked a night at the Andaz, although it’s not really a night. I will arrive around noon and leave around 11pm. Hopefully, I’ll be able to catch up on a little bit of sleep if I need it and relax in the air-conditioning. It’s only 9,000 Hyatt points and looks really nice.

The reason I have to leave the Andaz at 11pm is that I was able to book Etihad A380 Apartments for a long-haul flight from Abu Dhabi to Toronto. This A380 flight recently changed destinations from New York and a lot of award space became available. As part of the award ticket, I get a chauffeur service to the airport in Abu Dhabi. I’ll check out the Etihad First Lounge as well before the flight. At 200,000 Etihad miles, it’s pricy, but there was a Capital One 40% transfer bonus which helped a lot. I was offered an upgrade to The Residence for $4700 when I booked but that’s too much for me (and doesn’t seem all that big of an upgrade anyway when I’m traveling solo).

When I arrive in Toronto, I have a short layover before a flight on Delta back to Atlanta. That flight was booked through Flying Blue for 10k miles. This whole itinerary takes place from Sunday evening until Saturday afternoon. As you can see, only two of the nights have hotels booked (plus one for an afternoon and evening). Three nights will be on planes or in lounges.

Most non-points and miles aficionados think I’m crazy for this itinerary, but these are products I would love to fly and may not get another chance to fly them anytime soon. I’ll get two airplane showers, three amazing first class lounges (plus another nice one in Bangkok) and four long-haul or mid-haul first class flights on top airlines. It’s hard to book two award seats on these products and we don’t really plan to visit the Middle East anytime soon, so while my wife is away in Europe with our daughter, this is my chance!

If you have questions about this post, let me know in the comments or send me an email at emptynestermiles@gmail.com. If you are thinking about opening a new credit card, please use one of my links.