THE cheapest way to get from the US to Japan using cash and miles

Hey, blogopals! It's been a while.

I was just thinking about when my next trip to Japan will be (as usual), and I thought up what MUST be the cheapest possible way to get to Japan from the East Coast US. It combines the joy that is credit card points with the joy that is not paying extra fees and taxes.




Step 1: Fly domestic to Hawaii using points (shouldn't be any pesky high fees since it's domestic, just the $11.20 tax. And price will be low even for first class, because, again, domestic.) You can check out this blog for details about how to do that, or just ask me. Expect to pay around 25,000-30,000 points return if you're coming from the East Coast in Economy, or more like 45,000-80,000 points for First Class.

Step 2: Using cash, book AirAsia direct from HNL to Osaka (conveniently also my current favorite Japanese city). Currently, you can do it round-trip for $334 this fall, or around $460 in the summer. (Sales are frequent, but I wouldn't ever expect it to drop below $300 return.)

AirAsia is really pretty nice to fly (pay extra for a carry-on and food if you want it) and their in-flight magazine is the best I've ever read, because you can read about all the amazing cities in Asia you can fly to for $15.

This would bring your total trip to as low as 25,000 miles plus $345 (domestic taxes + AirAsia fare) ROUND TRIP in economy, or maybe 45,000-80,000 points if you want to fly first class domestic. *Brushes chalk dust off hands* Can anyone beat that - or even better, try it out?