Kyle joins the show from the Park Hyatt Tokyo on this special Japan-themed episode. While the sun slowly rises behind him, Kyle first revisits his scorching hot take about the rise of SkyMiles before the guys dig into where to go in Japan, how to get there, and where to stay on your next trip. Plus, Gunnar gives his own hot take about jet lag, and Kyle gives advice on how to beat it.
Kyle joins the show from the Park Hyatt Tokyo on this special Japan-themed episode. While the sun slowly rises behind him, Kyle first revisits his scorching hot take about the rise of SkyMiles before the guys dig into where to go in Japan, how to get there, and where to stay on your next trip. Plus, Gunnar gives his own hot take about jet lag, and Kyle gives advice on how to beat it.
Download SAILY's app and use code THRIFTY at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details, go to https://saily.com/thrifty
Join the conversation! Sign up for the free Thrifty Traveler Podcast Slack community today.
00:00 - Kyle is live from the Park Hyatt Tokyo!
02:35 - Kyle and Matt give us a Japan-themed welcome back
03:25 - Kyle’s scorching hot Delta SkyMiles take
09:45 - Pushing back on Kyle’s take and the “clearance meat” story
13:20 - Chase cuts Priority Pass users out of its lounges
16:25 - Kyle’s grueling 10 hours of DFW lounge hopping
18:50 - A word from our sponsor Saily!
19:50 - The Extra Mile: Where to go in Japan
35:00 - How to fly to Japan: Haneda vs. Narita and flight deals
40:15 - Kyle’s review of the new JAL Biz Class on the A350
47:50 - Where to stay in Japan: Hyatt Regency, Conrad and more
55:20 - How to get around in Japan
57:37 - What points should Judy earn for biz class flights to Japan
01:01:00 - Kyle’s tips for beating jet lag
Produced and edited by Sylvia Thomas
Video editing by Kyle Thomas
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot
Yo, welcome to the show. I am Gunner Olson, lonely and afraid in the studio this week because my co-host is exactly 5,929 miles away from me. Coming to you live from the Park Hyatt Tokyo, it's Kyle Potter. Kyle, how's Japan? Is that n- nautical miles or statute miles? We need to be specific here. I, I believe it's nautical miles I didn't sail here, Gunner. I flew. Um, I know you flew. No, it, it's, it's good here. Um, I'm looking out over here. This view is of Yoyogi Park, um, to the south of the Park Hyatt. I'm going to be walking there soon. It is, however, according to the clock, 4:45 in the morning, uh, Tokyo time. According to my body, I think it's just time to party. I don't know. I- My body has no idea what's going on. Not a clue. I wish I was there to party with you, Kyle. I'm with you in spirit, uh, wearing my, my Shohei Ohtani team Japan World Baseball Classic jersey, but I really wish I was actually at the Park Hyatt Tokyo and not just cosplaying here back home. But today on the show, we are gonna talk about the Delta SkyMiles story that you wrote, Kyle, that had the internet raising some pitchforks last week, and then we're gonna dive into all things Japan, including where to go, how to get there, and where to stay. Um, one of those places we might recommend you stay is where you are right now, at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Your first impressions of the newly renovated hotel that has always captured Points and Miles people's attention, but maybe more so than ever, huh? Yeah, and it, rightfully so. Even after, you know, Hyatt's brutal devaluation over the summer, if you can get this place at the right rate, it's great. The location, I will admit, is not the best. I wouldn't say that this is the best place to stay for a first-timer's visit to Tokyo, 'cause it's just kinda out of the way of the main area of the, the busy Shinjuku neighborhood, um, where a lot of people like to stay, or Shibuya, or some other neighborhoods. But second, third time, you know, if you're c- if you're returning here, this place is, it's just a vibe. The renovation was amazing. The rooms are phenomenal. All of the public spaces are just incredible. Going up to the New York Bar last night for a Negroni was one of the highlights of my travels. It was just like a total pinch me moment, something I've been thinking about doing for the better part of a decade. Ah, that Negroni must have tasted amazing. Okay, today on the show, we are diving into Kyle's scorching hot SkyMiles take and talking all things Japan. All that and more. This is Kyle, coming to you from seat 2A on Japan Airlines in first class. My name's Matt. I'm staying at the Park Hyatt Tokyo with my wife. We're celebrating our 10-year anniversary. But don't let go of your headphones, folks, 'cause this is the Thrifty Traveler podcast. Welcome back to the Thrifty Traveler podcast. All right, welcoming us back this week were both Kyle, a different Kyle, from Japan Airlines first class, and we had Matt from the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Uh, Kyle, we are all very jealous of that airplane seat. That looks like an awesome ride across the Pacific. And Matt, happy anniversary. Well done with the Lost in Translation theme and framing of your shot there. A very, very funny video. Uh, let's get into something hot and something cold. Um, Kyle, give us the podcast version of your SkyMiles argument. You wrote us an essay on the site. I, I, I wouldn't- I don't wanna call it a, a story or a blog post, 'cause that really doesn't do it justice. This was a well-argued piece of journalism. Tell me what you said about Delta SkyMiles, uh, 'cause this is a pretty hot take. We're gonna go with essay, though. We're really, we're leaning into high school assignment vibes. Yeah. Yeah. My, my teacher assigned me this, and what I wrote was, uh, the title is Worse to First? Delta SkyMiles Are Quietly Becoming the Best in the US, and then in parentheses, Really And, you know, podcast listeners won't be surprised by this. This is something that I uncorked at our live show in Minneapolis in early June. And as the weeks passed, it became clear that this case was really only getting stronger, that, you know, it's, it's a two-part argument, and I would say maybe the most important part is the first part, which has nothing to do with Delta and has everything to do with virtually every other airline program in the world, which is getting worse. Award rates are going up, in some cases drastically. The same goes for taxes and fees where, you know, for many business class redemptions now, outside of the major US airline programs, you're paying as little as $300 one way, in some cases closer to $700 one way. And maybe most importantly, award availability is just getting tighter and tighter to use the kinds of workarounds where we like to use, you know, the likes of Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards or American Advantage Miles, United Miles, or many of the foreign airline programs that allow you to, in theory, book for a, you know, a fraction of the points. But in practice, that is becoming so hard because airlines have been getting so restrictive with actually releasing that award space. So that's the backdrop. And beneath all of this, at that time, at a time when flight prices are out of control and most points and miles are getting worse, Delta Sky Miles are getting better, where, you know, we have within the last, I don't know, two or three months seen s- not just some of, but definitively the best Delta Sky Miles deals in economy as well as, you know, shockingly in business class that we've seen since I've been doing this for eight-plus years now, maybe even longer. That is worth calling out because there is so much groupthink around Delta Sky Miles that people write it off as worthless, and people refer to this currency as Sky Pesos like they're in the know, and everybody's so clever for saying that Sky, Sky Pesos are worthless. And this isn't to say that Delta Sky Miles are the most valuable, period. We are not there yet. But the trend is absolutely undeniable right now, and it is worth people, A, paying attention to, and B, reformulating their points strategy to make Sky Miles a piece of it, because if you're not, you're gonna be missing out on a lot Yeah. Okay, so you touched on this briefly, but I, I wanna come back to it. Um, this is a very, uh, sports talk radio argument. It's, uh, did the Seahawks win the Super Bowl or did the Patriots lose the Super Bowl, you know? But is- did SkyMiles really get that much better, or is everyone else just kinda sliding back? Do you know what I mean? Yes. The answer is yes. It's, it's both. It has to be both. You know, I, I just find it so funny that people are so resistant to putting SkyMiles underneath a microscope and giving it a real critical examination because this is what we do. We play in all of these different sandboxes and find the best deals wherever we can find them. And when we're telling you that some of the best deals right now are with Delta SkyMiles of all programs, you should be like, "Okay, great." You know? Th- these things do change over time. Um, as you so wisely pointed out with St. Peter last week, the only constant is change. This is a major change that is happening before our eyes. And look, we could have egg on our face, like, a couple of weeks from now if all of these deals completely evaporate and, you know, great deals and more award space pops up on the likes of American Advantage or Alaska Atmos. But the trend has been going on for months now, number one. And number two, that trend alone, to me, to all of us in the office, suggests that Delta has made a strategic change with how it views and treats SkyMiles, that after, you know, the better part of a decade of treating SkyMiles like a total afterthought, and in some cases pretty insultingly so, to the point where three years ago we called them out for the sad state of SkyMiles, that they have realized that they need to throw people a bone, and they need to throw people more bones to encourage people to continue spending on their, um, you know, Amex SkyMiles cards, to continue flying on Delta to earn these miles. Because if you don't have the deals there, if all of the rates that you see are disgusting, which are still out there, by the way, you're still gonna see 400,000 SkyMiles for a business class seat. You're still gonna see 100,000 SkyMiles or more for a round trip to Europe, and in some cases even Chicago. That's still gonna happen. But we can make the case more strongly than at any point, again, since I've been here for eight-plus years, that SkyMiles are worth earning right now Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I, I really agree with you on this, which doesn't make for amazing podcasting, but I know there's someone out there, I know, uh, uh, Patrick in Portland right now is driving home listening to this and is punching a hole in his steering wheel because he's saying, "Delta will never get me a 60,000-point redemption to fly business class to Japan like A- American A Advantage can." Or, you know, uh, "SkyMiles can never offer me a $4,500 domestic AA flight, uh, as a, on a flat rate like this." Um, I think the, the, you know, counter to Patrick, Patrick, calm down, just pull over, first of all. There's no need to be this angry in traffic. But I think the, the most important argument there is that SkyMiles do require a little more effort and patience than other, uh, you know, o- other currencies do. And I think, you know, unless you have someone like Thrifty Traveler Premium alerting you to whenever those rates go down, they're not, y- like you said, they're not gonna be there every single day for every single flight, and you're still gonna see those egregious, egregious 400,000 SkyMile rates that they're gonna ask you for on some flights. Uh, that's because if there's a available seat on the plane, they will allow you to book it with SkyMiles. These are, you know, very dynamically priced, but because they're dynamically priced, those rates can go so low, 25,000 SkyMiles round trip to Taipei or to Hong Kong. Um, I mean, we, we do see incredible rates all the time, but we are dealing with a more dynamic award chart, which is, I think, kind of what requires a little more effort and patience. What do you say to someone who says that maybe that effort and patience disqualifies SkyMiles in this conversation to begin with? Uh, first of all, be careful with your steering column. Those are really expensive to repair. Two, I mean, the message is not, and I made this point at, in Minneapolis at our show, the message is not SkyMiles is everything now. Make SkyMiles your entire points strategy. It's make them a part of your strategy because there are deals here. There have been more deals at better prices with SkyMiles than at any point within the last decade or so, and that merits your attention. But that doesn't mean give up on earning American Advantage miles or Alaska miles, or maybe most importantly, the transferable points from Amex or Chase or Capital One and other banks. Because there's still, at least for now, going to continue to be value in all of these other programs that we're talking about. But if you're just writing off as a reflex earning Delta SkyMiles through what other method you have, you know, the next time they come up with these, you know, big welcome bonuses of up to 125,000 SkyMiles, or even the prospect of transferring your Amex membership rewards points to Delta, you're gonna be missing out on a lot. And again, it's v- it's possible, I will admit, it is very possible that, you know, these deals that we found, like 97,000 SkyMiles to Europe in business class over peak summer, 25,000 SkyMiles round trip to Australia, that's there and back, not one way, in economy, 85,000, uh, to Hong Kong in business class, 80,000 to Tokyo. I mean, we could go on and on and on. That could be over now. I just really, really doubt it, and so I just want the message to be start paying attention to this stuff. Get over whatever your pre- preconceived notions about Delt- Delta SkyMiles are and start paying attention to it now Awesome. I love it. Do you have anything else on this? I think you've, you've, uh, laid out your points very nicely. A+ on your essay, Mr. Potter. I, I don't love this dynamic of you being my teacher. I told, I told everybody in the office after we wrote this story last week that I just have come to terms with the fact that I will never write a better headline of a story I wrote for the first time, like, almost two years ago now, which was How Delta Turned Sky Miles Into The Clearance Meat of Airline Miles. That's a... It's, it's never, I'm never getting that magic back. We caught lightning in a bottle on that one. Yeah, you did. That, that was your journalistic peak. Um, I- did you send that to any of your, uh, journalism professors? Yeah, they said, "Kyle who?" All right. On that note, let's pivot to something cold, or maybe something cold-ish. Um, Chase is cutting some people out of Chase Sapphire Lounges, and specifically, it's gonna be those people who have Priority Pass, which you could previously get into Chase Sapphire Lounges once per year. Is that correct? And now they are basically taking those people out of the equation, saving their best lounges for just their Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders. Um, this goes into effect August 15th. So Kyle, does this matter? Is this really going to, to make a big difference for most travelers? I don't think it's gonna make a, a big difference for basically anyone on either side of this equation, whether you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card or a Ritz Carlton card, which also gets you in, or you're, you've been using your Priority Pass membership from, you know, an Amex Platinum or Capital One card or some of the others that come with an annual Priority Pass membership. Because the reality is, is that these, in our experience anyway, these people just weren't getting into Chase Sapphire Lounges anyway. Uh, in every instance, for myself personally and many members of our team, as well as a lot of the people that we talk to, you try to get into some of these lounges in Boston and Philadelphia and San Diego and Phoenix and Las Vegas, and they turn you away and they say, "I'm sorry. Space is limited right now to our Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders." And that's the end of the conversation, which means this probably isn't going to meaningfully reduce crowding. And for those people who liked being able to do this once a year or a couple of times a year if they had multiple Priority Pass memberships, it's not changing much for you either for the worse, because you weren't getting in those lounges anyway, unless if you were extremely lucky or timed your lounge visits extremely well. Yeah, I got into the JFK Chase Sapphire Lounge with Priority Pass, what was... It's almost two years ago now. Um, that was before I took that longest flight in the world, and, uh, I got in at about 9:30 PM. Uh, so I think any other time of the day and I probably would've been turned away, like most people's experience. But, um, were you able to use Priority Pass to get into any of these? You know, with the clock ticking at basically just a week and change before the ban hammer comes down, I, uh, on making my way here, I went to the basically brand-new lounge in Dallas and was able to get in and use my Priority Pass visit before that expires next week. It's... They're really nice. Um, they are not in enough airports that I visit on top of, you know, just the absurd lengths to which Chase has gone to, um, add so many, 100-plus coupons to its Chase Sapphire Reserve card for me to justify getting that card at its nearly $800 annual fee. If I lived in Dallas or was flying through that airport frequently or, you know, some of the other airports that have one of these, I'd probably reconsider because they are definitely up there Nice. Okay. Um, just for the record, just so all the podcast listeners know, how many hours did you spend at DFW yesterday? Uh, what, what is time, first of all? We're gonna need to pin down when exactly was yesterday, because I have no idea. I was in the Dallas airport for about 10 hours because what was supposed to be a 12, uh, what was supposed to be about, uh, yeah, a noon-ish departure from, um, Dallas to Tokyo flying Japan Airlines actually ended up taking off shortly after 7:00 PM. So not my favorite day in the airport, but man, if there's, if there's one airport terminal to be stuck in for that long, Terminal D at Dallas Fort Worth is one of the best because there are so many great lounges there. It's a n- brand new nice concourse. Uh, so I, I don't, don't feel for me too much. I'm okay. What, uh, what was your lounge-hopping itinerary? Uh, spent a lot of time in the American Airlines flagship lounge by virtue of flying Japan Airlines business class here. That got me in. That's a, that's a great one. Uh, like I said, the Chase Sapphire Lounge also, uh, really, really good. Um, the, uh, Capital One Lounge, popped back in there. Still surprised at how good the food is given how busy those lounges have gotten within the last few years. I mean, that lounge has been open for now five-ish years, almost five years it will be this fall, and it's still, you know, some of the best food you're gonna get in a lounge, as well as their cocktail program is really, really good. Um, poked my head into the Centurion Lounge, which is maybe the poster child of, uh, lounge overcrowding. That hasn't changed. They ran out of forks for a while, which it was a new one for me. Uh, it took a good 10 minutes to find a fork. And then just very briefly checked out the Plaza Premium Lounge, uh, the last in this, uh, world tour of Dallas Fort Worth, uh, Concourse D lounges. Actually really nice. Uh, that would be the place if you just wanted a place to sit because it's definitely the least crowded of those however many lounges I just rattled off. Nice. I, I have visions of you taking place in the utensils hunger games at the Centurion Lounge, Dallas, and, uh, I can't imagine you went very long without making a stink, knowing you. Wait, who do you ... I don't like this reputation you're giving me as both your student and somebody who's gonna complain about forks. All right. That's enough, uh, Dallas lounge hopping adventures. We need to talk about Japan, all the best ways to book Japan and how to get there, but first we're gonna take a quick break. Okay, we're back and it's time for The Extra Mile where we dig a little deeper on an important travel topic, and it's inspired as always by our awesome Extra Mile newsletter. It hits your inboxes every weekday morning, gives you the latest travel news, some fun deep dives, my favorite, uh, Gettin' Booksy section where we celebrate the best bookings that our readers make every week, and of course my beloved On Our Radar section where I get to nerd out about new routes and airline strategy. Sign up today for The Extra Mile at thriftytraveler.com/extramile. And this week on The Extra Mile segment, we're talking about booking Japan travel using points and miles because obviously Kyle just did, and I am in the process of planning yet another return to Japan this winter. So let's start, Kyle, on where to go in Japan with the obvious caveat that we don't know the whole country. We can only touch on what we do know. But where have you been in, in Japan, Kyle? Have you heard of a place called Tokyo? Oh. See- Up and coming ... you can see it over my, over my right shoulder here. Yeah, you know, I, I will say I generally speaking have an aversion to big capital cities, you know, the big metropolises of every country just because I don't, that's just not my vibe. Everybody has their own speed, but there is something about Tokyo. There's something about this city that is just, like, absolutely intoxicating to me. It is electrifying being here, and it's just the coolest feeling, and I got it first thing when I got here last night, to look at this skyline and see how m- truly massive this city is. And then you get down on the ground, and it just feels like you're in your own little world. Um, th- it just has these bubbles of different neighborhoods that makes it one of the coolest cities in the world to me to explore, especially on foot, honestly. Uh, but to be able to pop into easily, I would say, the world's best transit system that runs to the second exactly on the schedule as published and get anywhere you need to go in basically 15 minutes or less. There's really no place like Tokyo. Yeah, I, I'm sure people who know the city very well will, uh, expound a lot more and say there's so much more to do, but m- it's, it is so big that you really cannot see it all, even if you tried. Um, Shinjuku is... Shinjuku and Shibuya I would say are two kind of popular areas where people like to stay near and focus on. Um, Shinjuku is of course home to Shinjuku Station, the busiest train station on Earth, and you can get almost anywhere in the country or in the city from that station, um, which makes it a good place to stay near as well. Uh, it's also right near where Golden Gai is, uh, which is those narrow alleys and, like, really tight restaurants and bars with just a couple of seats. You've probably seen photos and videos of this area of Tokyo too, which is also really cool. It is definitely very busy, especially at night. Have you been to Golden Gai? I have. I'm probably gonna be going there, not at, um, you know, 5:00 a.m. local time. Well, maybe... You know what? Never say never. Um, I have been. I'll be back at some point during this stay. It's a really fun place to, to kind of pop around and just find whichever bar or restaurant you can work your way into and sit down and enjoy yourself. It's a really fun, um, vibey atmosphere down there. Anything else you like in Shinjuku area? You know, just south of Shinjuku is Yoyogi Park and Meiji Jingu Shrine, both of which, I mean, set aside at least a couple of hours to walk through those. Um, you can basically walk from Shinjuku through Yoyogi Park and then make your way down to Shibuya, probably the second-biggest area of the city, home of Shibuya Crossing, the world's busiest intersection, which it, it is a tourist magnet and it is worth it. You have to be in that crowd once. You have to go up a couple of floors in one of the buildings on the in- in the intersection up to the Starbucks and watch it from above. There's just nothing to encapsulate just how busy Tokyo is quite like seeing that in person. When my wife and I were there a few years ago now, we had booked a sake tasting beforehand at some mall. Uh, I thought it was gonna be a little more fancy than it was. It was just, like, this bar, and they, they s- they set a little clock in front of us at the bar, and it started a one-hour timer. And they pointed to a fridge, and they told us the colors of the bottles that we were allowed to access, and that was it. There was no, like, guided tasting or anything. It was just, "Here you go. You get full access to the fridge for one full hour." And, uh, we m- by the end of it, we couldn't, we couldn't have our last sips of it. We went a little too hard, and then by the time we got to Shibuya Crossing, it... I was, I was already a little dazed. And, uh, that was a, a very funny, funny evening, though. Finding a one-hour all-you-can-drink sake tasting, uh, unguided. So that was a good one. Um, find yourself something maybe a little more elevated than that if you're looking to actually learn about the sake. But Shibuya Crossing is cool. It is, it is worth going to see, and that area is, is pretty fun. Um, one other thing I'll, I'll touch on from Tokyo. Uh, I have, we have a very good friend who lives there, and he showed us this day trip to Kamakura, which we went to. Um, it was, you know, a quick, I think it was like 40 minutes by train. Uh, just beautiful shrines and temples all over. It's right on the water as well. Uh, so it's just, just kinda like beautiful coastal town. Definitely a lower speed than Tokyo. A nice, uh, place to get away. Kamakura was what it was called. Um, where else have you been in Japan, Kyle? You know, most of the time that we've spent in Japan over the years, my wife and I, and, and then myself, has either been in Tokyo or in Kyoto. We haven't spent a whole lot of time in Osaka. I think that's a mistake on our part to not spend time in what is, you know, probably and arguably the food capital of not just j- Japan, but certainly one of the top in the world. But there's, there's, is definitely something about Kyoto. The, the shrines there are just on another level to soak that in. Uh, Kinkaku-ji is my personal favorite. It's like this gold-plated shrine built on a small lake. It's absolutely beautiful. Fushimi Inari, all of the red gates, I think everybody knows and loves that. And Kiyomizudera, uh, up on the hill with maybe the best view in all of the city, looking down with, if, if you're lucky, uh, based on the weather, some mountains in the background. There is just really something magical about anywhere you go in Kyoto. I would say this is the perfect thing to add in for at least a couple of days, and take the Shinkansen, the bullet train, from Tokyo down to Kyoto or vice versa, and work it into part of your trip, because that alone is just such a cool experien- experience. To be hurtling, like, 200 miles per hour down a railroad track is just a testament to how amazingly advanced, uh, Japanese society is compared to what we have in the United States. Not a lot. Nothing like that certainly. And, you know, I will also just say, Kyoto is the site of maybe my single greatest travel regret, which is while we were walking down the street in Kyoto after going out to dinner or something, and I spotted this, like, five-seat whiskey bar off the road with nobody in it, just a guy sitting there polishing glasses, and I said out loud, "We should check this out." And then I heard myself say, "No, we shouldn't." And, like, don't do that. Just go. Just go in. I, I think about that a lot, and I've never been able to find that five-seat whiskey bar again. So somebody's gotta find it for me and report back. Well, maybe I'll hunt it down. Kyoto's definitely on my radar for when we go back in, uh, March. Um, can I talk briefly about Hokkaido? I, I, I have to. Uh- You've been- The northern- This is the reason why we're doing this episode. It has nothing to be with, to do with me being here. The, of course, the northern island of Japan, Hokkaido, one of the snowiest places on Earth. Um, it is a, a very quick, cheap flight to Sapporo. Um, it's, uh, the airport code CTS. Um, it's one of the most frequent routes on Earth. Uh, they run this flight between Narita or Haneda to, to Sapporo, uh, sometimes, like 30-plus times a day, especially in the peak winter season. Uh, Sapporo itself, the city, um, the snow festival in February, we were there for that. It is so cool. The whole downtown is covered in snow sculptures, and it's like a, a world-renowned snow sculpture contest, and it's just this, just amazing experience. The whole downtown kinda closes under, uh, this kinda big spire right in the middle of downtown. It's amazing. Um, the Sapporo Brewery is there, which was also really cool to go visit. Uh, it is not your typical, uh, American brewery in an industrial park. This is like an ancient, cool brick building. The snow was falling while we were there. It was, it was absolutely stunning. And then, of course, the skiing there is, is unbelievable. Um, I think I caught the five best ski days of my life while I was there. It just never stopped snowing. We woke up to a foot of snow every single day. Uh, we skied in Niseko. At the time, I had an Icon pass, so it was free to ski there, but ski days there are not expensive. You're looking at less than 100 bucks per ski day. Usually it's closer to, like, 60, 70 bucks a day. Um, Niseko is a very cool place. It is big, and it is popular, and, uh, it's a little more Australian than- ... uh, Japanese at times. It is definitely, uh, a place for foreigners to come visit and ski, but if you're looking for just, like, so much snow, everything on Hokkaido. I can't wait to go visit some other places up there, too, that are a little less, uh, a little less American and Australian than Niseko, for sure. But Hokkaido is magical, uh, especially if you're looking for something really snowy in the winter. That is a very, very special place. Um- Okay, so with the- Any other places? Yeah ... with the caveat that if you're, if you're going up to Hokkaido and that area of Japan in order to ski, you should set aside more time. If somebody just wants to go up there for the snow festival, how would you, like, parcel out an itinerary that includes Tokyo, Hokkaido, and Sapporo, maybe Kyoto or, or another place? Interesting. I think if, if you're not going to ski, I think you could, you could do the, uh, kinda Sapporo area in a weekend. I think you can go up there, experience the snow festival. You know, take some time for the brewery. If you wanna get out into the mountains a little bit and just go see them, um, these mountain towns are not just ski towns. Like, a lot of them are, you know, just- they're just, like, cool places to go recreate. Go cross-country ski, go snowshoe, things like that. Um, what- Did you really just use the verb recreate? I did. I did. Did it work? Did I use it correctly? No. I- you used it correctly. It did not work. Uh, but I would say if you're not gonna ski a, a long weekend, and even if you are ski- I mean, we, we were there for four nights. I skied four days, uh, in Niseko when we were there, and that was great. By the end of it, I couldn't feel my legs. So, uh, it was, i- you know, it's y- you can take just a long weekend and be there just fine, and then you're making enough time to go do some Tokyo and some Kyoto. Again, don't expect to go see everything in Japan. It's just... I- it's not gonna happen. So I, I think that's a probably a good amount of time. Um, what else is on your radar in Japan, Kyle? Anything else that you've thought of that, that places you wanna go see? You know, like I mentioned, I, I really do wanna spend a good amount of time in Osaka next time I have that time to set aside. I do think it's worth at least a couple of days. You know, that, that's the perfect thing to bolt into a, a trip that also loops into Kyoto 'cause they're so close to each other. You can, again, ride the train between them. I would just plug in general get outside of these big cities. You know, we've talked about probably the four biggest tourist destinations in Japan so far, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hokkaido, Sapporo at large, right? One of... Some of my favorite experiences in, in Japan were in rural Japan. Um, so my brother-in-law, the first time we visited at the time, was an English tutor in a, a prefecture just north of the J- uh, the Tokyo area called Tochigi, and he was in a small town called Kanuma. I'm not saying you have to go to Kanuma. You probably shouldn't. But, you know, Utsunomiya just to the east of that was a really cool town. We had an amazing dinner there. Met some of the strangest people I've ever met in my life, including a guy from Australia who was also a tutor there who insisted that I was Paul Rudd's lookalike. Which if you know me, I, I love Paul Rudd. I would love nothing more than to take the comp. That guy is just insane. There's nothing there. I don't know what he was looking at. I'm giving Paul a run. No, no, no. Come on, Gunner. Let's be real. Uh, yeah, not Paul Rudd. Don't do that. Go out to dinner with Australians, I guess. What else? Um- Going up to Nikko, up in the mountains of that area north of Tokyo was just so cool. There's this amazing lake called Lake Chuzenji that we walked around in, like, late March. So it wasn't the best weather for this, uh, at least just to kind of recreate, as one would say. But man, just a d- a totally different side of life, and I think a really important way to dig a little bit deeper here, which I think is what we want ourselves and what we want everybody to do. Yeah, for sure. Um, a couple more places that are on my radar. Skiing ones, of course, on Hokkaido. Asahikawa, I believe is how you say it. It's just a little more north in Hokkaido. They have several, uh, independent ski areas up there. And then this Nagano, Hakuba area. They call it the Japanese Alps. Um, it looks amazing too. You can just take the train quick from J- quick from Tokyo. Lots of snow monkeys up there, and skiing, and onsen. People-- I've had many people recommend specifically the town of Nozawa Onsen, uh, which I've looked into, and it is hard to get a room in that town. So apparently secret's out about Nozawa Onsen, but that has been on my radar too. And then some other ones around Tokyo, the f- Mount Fuji, the Five Lakes area. Um, my friends who live in Tokyo rave about that, as well as the Izu Peninsula. And then down south, uh, Okinawa and the islands, um, Ishigaki and Yakushima both seem really cool and beautiful places. Uh, so there's lots that I need to go see in Japan, which makes my, uh, March trip that much more tantalizing. I'm trying to piece it all together right now. Did I miss anything, Kyle? One last shout that I've gotten from both friends and I think Katie on our team, Hakone. Uh, it's not too far south. It's probably could be a day trip, but from everything I've heard from friends, it's worth at least a couple of days there. Um, it's kind of right on that pathway to go actually visit Mount Fuji, if that's on your list. So if you're trying to do that, spending at least a, a night in Hakone I think is a good call too. Sweet. Okay. Let's, let's get into logistics, nuts and bolts here. Um, you wanna go to Japan. How should you get there? I guess the first question, the, the simplest question, Kyle, Haneda or Narita? Between Tokyo's two biggest airports, what should people know about each? Uh, Haneda 999 times out of 1,000 and then some. I mean, un- award spaces if you're trying to redeem miles, book the flights you can book, but if you have a choice, Haneda is so much closer. I mean, I landed at 10:00 PM last night in Tokyo Haneda Airport, and I made it to my hotel before 11, uh, taking a cab. But you can... If you're, if you're on the right train line, if your hotel is on the right train line, you can get there within 30 minutes from the airport. To get to Narita and back, it's, it starts at about an hour typically, unless if you're staying further north in Tokyo. So it's just so much more centrally located. Uh, it's, it's an, also just an amazing, easy-to-reach airport too Yeah, definitely. Um, important to shout that there are some nonstop flights from North America to both Osaka and Sapporo. Uh, the ones that come to mind, the Osaka flight, you can fly there from LAX on Japan Airlines. Is that correct? And then you can also get to Sapporo from San Francisco, a new United route, and also from Vancouver, a new Air Canada route, both launching this winter. Did I miss any? Those are the, those are the immediate ones that come to mind. Yeah, like I said, I mean, I think if, if you're trying to redeem miles, which we're gonna get into, awards space should dictate everything. So even if, you know, you can book that LA to Osaka route, then that means, you know, if you're trying to do Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo, you fly into Osaka because you make that awards space work, then you start making your way north and maybe fly home from Tokyo or vice versa. Uh, there's really no wrong way to go about this, and the fact that we have seen some major US and foreign airlines add service into some of these other cities or at least maintain that service in the case of Osaka is really great. Yeah, for sure. Okay, so when you're booking flights, if you're booking with cash, um, I would say anything in the 600s to 800s, depending on if you're in, on the West Coast or East Coast, uh, 600s to 800s round trip I think is a good deal. Uh, we had last year, or sorry, earlier this year we had Philippine Airlines run a sale with round trip fares in the 300s and 400s. Uh, Hawaiian did the same thing last year. Uh, don't count on fare sales like those. If you see a fare in the 300s to Japan, book it right away and ask questions later. But anything under kinda $899 round trip I would consider a good deal with cash. But everyone's here for their points and miles, Cal. What, give me, uh, give me one economy and then one maybe premium cabin deal, uh, that you like for using your points and miles to get to Japan. You know, to, to beat this horse fully dead, I don't think any airline can top what Delta does with its SkyMiles flash sales. We've seen this get as low as, I think the record low is somewhere in the neighborhood of 32,000 SkyMiles round trip, which is what most other major airline programs charge each way. Most of them charge 35,000-ish miles each way. So to be able to do that round trip with Delta from all of their major hubs that fly nonstop, uh, to To Tokyo, a- aside from Boston and JFK, they don't operate those non-stops, but Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis. I guess they don't fly from Salt Lake either, I don't think. Um, Seattle, LA. So lots of options, which also means lots of connections, so when we see those kinds of sales for, you know, in the neighborhood of, you know, typically 40-ish thousand, I think, is where those sales tend to land, to land. Y- you can connect from basically every airport in the country through one of those bigger hubs on the way to Tokyo. It's just, it's the best way to get here in economy for cheap to me Yeah. Some of the other good economy deals if you're not a, a SkyMiles farmer, uh, as we call them. Uh, if you have AA miles, sometimes they run sales for 50,000 AA miles round trip, which is also a great deal. Um, you can also book ANA flights with Air Canada Aeroplan for 70,000 points round trip. That is not a bad redemption either. And then, uh, back to Delta, you can book those Delta non-stops with Air France KLM Flying Blue or Virgin as well for s- fewer points sometimes. So, uh, you can get as low as, like, 62,000 Flying Blue miles round trip from Seattle. Uh, that's 77,000 round trip from MSP right now, and 88,000 round trip on that non-stop from Atlanta. So if the SkyMiles prices do look high and you don't wanna wait around for the flash sale, you can use some of your transferable points there as well. Um, let's talk about the front of the plane, Cal. What's the-- what are some of your best ways to get there flying maybe premium economy, business, or first? Can we talk about what I just did? Should we start there? Yeah. Yeah, let's do it. All right, so I've flown Japan Airlines business class over here or back a couple of times, but flying their new A350 has been on my list since the moment that that cabin was first unveiled, like almost three years ago. Finally made it happen thanks to, you know, what we've been talking about ad nauseam on the show for, you know, like a year now, which is you can now transfer points from Bilt, um, Capital One, as well as Rove Miles to Japan Airlines', uh, Mileage Bank program. And y- it's gotten a little bit harder within the past few months, but if you time it right, you can still book business class for as low as 55,000 miles each way using JAL's own miles. You can also book for, uh, 60,000 American miles. I will say, while we still tend to see those Japan Airlines business class deals bookable through American every once in a while, a couple of times a year, let's call it, I don't -- It's been a long time since we've seen these new business class cabins bookable on the A350 from Dallas, New York, and now, uh, Los Angeles as well. So turning to a program like Japan Airlines, being really flexible with your departure dates, and most importantly, to be able to book for 55,000 miles at the lowest, but also they have more award space bookable at 70,000 or 75,000 or 80,000, which is still a pretty solid deal for what you're getting, and you're just not going to see those flights bookable through American or Alaska or any of the other OneWorld airlines that, in theory, would be able to book these Japan Airlines-operated flights. Yeah. So it lived up to the hype? How was it? Tell, take us, uh, beat by beat through this flight. It's ... Uh, I love Japan Airlines. I think that their service is some of the best. I love that ... I love the flight or the airports that they operate from to be, to have your choice of never Chicago O'Hare hopefully, though I've done it a couple of times, but Dallas and, you know, up and down the West Coast as well as a growing amount of East Coast hubs as well. This new A350 business class is phenomenal. It is easily one of the best in the world with some of the best technology that you're gonna find, period, inside of a plane, like these just amazingly crisp 4K screens that are, like, 24 inches across. Amazing to watch a couple of movies on before you recline back and fall asleep. The service and the food is still just absolutely top tier. But the best thing is just the space and the privacy inside of these business class suites. They, they really nailed it. I would say the only knock that I have against it is that before you recline into bed mode, the seats are pretty hard, which is fairly typical of, of Japanese airlines. They just, uh, they don't pad their seats the same way that we do in the United States or many other foreign carriers. But they also have these mattress pads that they put on when it's time to go to bed, and I slept like a baby for six hours, which is about as good as it gets for me on any plane Oh, that's amazing. What was, uh, best bite maybe? Best sip? What did you like? Ooh. Best bite. You know, I, I think if you're not ordering the Japanese set meal flying Japan Airlines or ANA for that matter, you're doing it wrong. It's, it sets the tone for coming here. There might be a couple of bites depending on your palate that are just not your thing, and that's okay, but I think that's part of the experience. You gotta try it. Uh, I loved absolutely everything I ate. I've, I have had some of the best meals of my life, period, flying Japan Airlines, so just give it a whirl. Yeah, you wouldn't believe the look that they gave you when you ordered a Miller Lite. Um, all right, I got a few other, uh- You are just, you are just doing me dirty on this pod, Gunnar It's 4:30 in the morning for you. I'm trying to, trying to slip some jokes by you. Uh, a few other redemptions that I love in the front of the plane heading over to Japan, um, American or Japan Airlines premium economy if you don't have the points to get all the way up front, 40,000 each way if you book with Japan Airlines or 50,000 AA or Alaska miles. Uh, this is actually what I booked for my way home. I am, uh, going out of Narita back to Seattle, and it actually included the connection on Alaska back to MSP, too, all for 50K Alaska, uh, miles for each ticket. So that's a pretty good redemption there, too. Um, Hawaiian Alas- Alaska Hawaiian business class, I still don't know what to call this anymore. It's an Ala- I guess it's an Alaskan plane now. So Alaska business class, you can get it from 60,000 AA miles, which is what I got it at, or 95,000 Alaska Atmos. Uh, you can also fly Singapore business class from LAX to, uh, Narita, 114,000 Singapo- Singapore KrisFlyer miles each way. Not the lowest price there, but really good if you want a really comfy seat. Um, ANA The Room business class is just never available anymore. Um, you can book it from the 50K-ish each way with Virgin Atlantic miles, but it's, the award space hasn't been there in a very long time. I, I can't remember the last time we sent this one. Yeah, it, I'm glad you called that out because it's a great deal except it just doesn't exist anymore, and there's little signs of that changing. I get so Irritated, annoyed, angry, whatever, pick your word, seeing people on social media talk about how to fly ANA business class to Tokyo for, you know, 52,500 miles. It's like, okay, show us then. Show us you in that seat because you can't, because the video that you have is from five years ago when this was still a thing. ANA just does not release this awards space, period, and increasingly doesn't even release it to its own members, you know, to ANA Mileage Club, which you can transfer from American Express. You would think that this would be easier. It's just that awards space isn't there either, and it's really strange because ANA has a policy that you can't book, uh, an award ticket within 96 hours of departure, which if my math is mathing correctly, that's like four days, which is the, the final sweet spot to be able to book any kind of business or first class seats. So that just removes basically your last chance to, to lock this in using miles. You don't see that stuff with Virgin Atlantic or any of the other Star Alliance carriers like Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles really at all anymore. It is a total needle in a haystack. If you can make it work on the one single date where there's two seats available in the next 360 days, great, but I would just caution anyone against building a plan of getting to Japan around that kind of a redemption. It's just not really possible anymore. Yeah, it's not. That's like my hipster booking, you know? I booked that one. It's kinda, like, shows my points and miles bona fides. It's like when I- I'm gonna tell my daughter Emery someday that, one, I booked ANA using Virgin miles, and two, that I worked at something called a newspaper. Uh, she's gonna get a kick out of both of those things. Um, a few more. Cool dad. Can I go outside and play? Exactly. Uh, two more Delta One suites, of course. Uh, we've seen it as low as 79,000 SkyMiles each way, an awesome redemption. And then if you wanna go all the way to the front of the plane, Japan Airlines first class, we've seen it bookable in the last few months even for 137,000 British Airways Avios each way. So stack up some Avios or some transferable points to book something all the way in the front. Um, can we pivot and talk quickly about where to stay in Japan? Uh, I guess we can start with where you are, Kyle, at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Is this bookable? How did you book this? I booked this before Hyatt brought down the hammer earlier this summer at 35,000 points per night, which is the lowest of the low rates here. Um, you know, they now have this five-tier structure for award night stays, which means that it ranges from 35,000 points per night to as much as 75,000 points per night. It's a little too early for me to say whether I would fork over 150,000 points for a two-night stay here. I might need a little bit more time with it. 35,000, I'll take it every single day. I think this gets to the point that we made as we started talking about Hyatt and what they did with their program, which is I think increasingly you need to kind of bend if not break the flight first rule, and instead of booking flights first, book your Hyatt hotel first. Plan your travel around that. If you're looking to get the best deal with your Hyatt points or your transferable Chase or build points, which you can both send to Hyatt because, you know, the difference between booking this at 35,000 points and 75,000 is astronomical. Um, you can book it-- You can book two nights for the price of one if you time it right. This is... Like I said before, it's not the best location. I wouldn't stay here your first time in Tokyo until you're really familiar and comfortable with the subway system here. Once you've got that, then I think it makes a lot of sense. It's a great place to come back to. It's a great place if you like walking around a city because again, to be able to walk, you know, look- that's looking to me like somewhere in the neighborhood of a mile to the north end of Yoyogi Park, and then make your way down into Shibuya and wherever else you wanna go. I'm gonna be doing that basically as soon as I close my laptop here. But the property itself, absolutely stunning. Rooms are great. Even their base rooms, which what I'm in, a king city view room W- again, with this view of the Tokyo skyline and the park, and the old Olympic Village here is really, really special. I'm so happy to be here. Okay, and up the road from the Park Hyatt Tokyo is something a little more affordable if you have World of Hyatt points. That's the Hyatt Regency Tokyo, which you can book from 15,000 to 35,000 World of Hyatt points per night. Much cheaper, uh, a totally reasonable World of Hyatt redemption. The hotel is a little weathered if-- unless they've updated it in the last two years, um, but a totally adequate home base to explore Tokyo. Um, they had some cool restaurants in there too, including a nice, uh, whiskey bar. Um, but it's, it-- if you're looking for something, uh, a little more understated than the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which is definitely overstated, uh, I think the Hyatt Regency Tokyo is a good use of Hyatt points as well. Have you stayed there? I have not. Peter on our team has stayed there as well, and I said basically the same thing. I-it's also just in a better location, literally basically right next to a subway station as well. If you're looking to stretch your points further, this is probably the one to pick. I would also just give a last shout-out to the Caption by Hyatt Kabutocho Tokyo, uh, which same rates from 15,000 to 35, depending on when you're there, in kinda closer to Ginza, which is, you know, traditionally kinda the heart of Tokyo or the shopping area of Tokyo, but also just a great home base for your time there. I was-- I would maybe lean towards that one for your first visit to Tokyo, just based on the location alone. Nice. Awesome. Um, tell me about the Andaz Tokyo. You stayed there, right? I have not, but, uh- Oh ... Nick and Jared on our team have s- stayed here years ago, and some friends of, of ours stayed here just a couple of years ago for their honeymoon and said, "This is the nicest hotel I've ever been in." And they stayed at the Park Hyatt earlier in that trip. Granted, that was before this renovation, um, when the hotel just reopened in late December of 2025. But, uh, I-- just nothing but good things that I hear about the Andaz. I would say, you know, depending on how the awards space cooperates, I might pick the Andaz over the Park Hyatt. Again, you know, location being everything, especially for a first-timer's visit. I would much rather stay there than in this particular area of Shinjuku. The award rates are the same, as low as 35,000, as much as 75,000 during the busiest peak times. I, I really wanna get here. I was actually hoping to make this trip a little bit longer and book a stay there. Just the cards just didn't work out. They didn't fall in my favor there. Uh, if you're not into Hyatt, any other ideas of places that, uh, people can and should stay in in Tokyo or beyond? You know, Tokyo is just a hard market for some of those other hotel programs where the award rates are even more dynamic. It's hard to feel like you're getting good bang for your buck. I would say, if nothing else, Tokyo is a great city for boutique hotels because you're going to be taken care of. You're gonna be taken care of no matter where you stay here in Tokyo. But to be able to spend $200 or less a night instead of, you know, 150,000 Hilton points, in some cases more, sometimes less if you're lucky, for a similar-ish property, this is an instance where I would just probably lean towards spending some money, using some hotel credits on your credit cards if you've got them, to burn those up for, you know, a very nice, serviceable boutique hotel where you've got a place to stay. Look, I, I'm inside of one of the most well-regarded hotels in the world. I don't have a leg to stand on when I say that Tokyo is not a place to spend your time indoors at a hotel. You gotta get out in the streets and walk around and explore. All of that to me says save your money for something else if you're trying to splurge, or even your points, and just book a, a more basic traditional stay to save that money for food and drink and getting around. Yeah. Good shout. Anything on your radar as far as places in Japan that you would like to stay? I will, of course, shout out the Park Hyatt Niseko on Hokkaido, which is, uh, category one million, um, is just unbookable. Uh, but it is, looks like one of the coolest places ever. You can see it from the slopes of Niseko and, uh, I was dying to go even just go take a look inside. They've got, like, a ski butler. Oh, gosh, it looks unbelievable. A place that I honestly, I, I don't deserve, so I don't know why I'm wasting my energy. What's your ski butler's name at home? I don't have a ski butler at home, but man, would that change everything for me. You should've said Gunner Olson. Anything on your radar? You know, I, people really do like the Conrad here in Tokyo. I've not been myself. It is in a good area. Um, one of our former coworkers stayed and gave it a good review on our website, which we can link in the show notes. I think if you're here for a relatively short time, that's a great spot to use one of those Hilton free night certificates because otherwise the award rates, if you're actually just using Hilton Honors points, are just really steep. So I, I d- Yeah ... I just personally wouldn't use my Hilton points for a stay like that. Yeah, I would agree. Um, okay, quickly to close this Japan discussion, just how to get around a little bit. There is, of course, the bullet train and all of the subway and transit options. It's all so easy to use. Google Maps is dialed in in Japan. Every single turn, every single everything you should look for, every sign is all right there. Google Maps is really, really good. It's the easiest way to use the transit systems in Japan. Any notes on, uh, on the bullet train or transit in and around Tokyo? If you're not using public transit here in, especially in Tokyo, but really all around Japan, I think you're missing a piece of the country. It is incredible. It is just like a marvel of engineering and logistics that literally to the second everything runs completely on time. And as you said, Google Maps has this completely dialed in. I vividly remember some of the first times that I was here doubting Google and the directions it was giving me, and that is just a colossal mistake. In Google we trust when it comes to getting you to the right door to get into the subway station, to limit the amount of additional walking you need to get to the right platform to get to where you need to go at exactly the time that you need to be there, not a second before or after. It's absolutely incredible. Take the train in Tokyo, please. You have to. Absolutely. And then finally, to get around Japan, um, if you're going a little further, the short haul flights from both Haneda and Narita flying Japan Airlines or ANA, uh, are usually pretty inexpensive. Um, you can book them with partners as well, so United will charge 5,500 miles each way for those short hop ANA flights within Japan. American will charge 7,500 miles each way for Japan Airlines flights. Um, similar rates you can find in their programs themselves, ANA and Japan Airlines. Um, and then you can also look at, uh, Aeroplan for ANA and British Airways for Japan Airlines flights, like Kyle said in our, uh, our airline partners episodes. Look through all of your options, but, uh, those are also really good redemptions and, uh, cheap ways to get in and around the country. Are you ready to help a listener? Let's do it. Okay. We have Judy, who asked us a Japan question. Judy says, "I'm a true points and miles sicko, and I'm trying to plan which points to earn for a trip to Japan spring break 2028." So Judy is all over it. Uh, "My husband and I are in our 40s. We have kids who will be five and seven years old at the time. I would prefer to fly business class so I don't hate my body or my kids when we land in Japan." Uh, quick aside, Kyle, how much are you hating your body right now? I've been on better terms with my body before, I'll tell you that. All right, back to Judy. "I'm curious on your take as to whether business class would be possible for a family of four. I had started hoarding AA miles, but now with the Citi transfer to AA and more availability to transfer to Japan Airlines, it seems like booking Japan Airlines through AA isn't the opportunity that it used to be. Do you think all the Bilt and Capital One transfers to Japan Airlines will snatch up award availability? Should I instead try the complicated process of booking with EVA? Maybe just focus on Citi and see which program is best when it comes time to book? I'm guessing it's too early to really know, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on the best way to get a family of four to Japan in business class booking outright. I'm okay with complicated and/or obscure," is how she li- signs off her email, which is awesome. What are your thoughts for Judy? Judy, I'm, I'm glad Judy recognizes maybe the most important thing is that it's a little bit too early. I don't think we're gonna know what the world of award travel is gonna look like in spring of 2027, let alone 2028. So giving concrete advice for what to do and which points to earn, it's gonna be moot in probably a couple of months. All of which says to me, if you have to do one thing, focus on earning transferable points that you can send to JAL maybe, or to another airline that's going to make something work. I would not If a, let me put it this way, if a great deal on American Airlines comes up sometime in the next year for a different trip, I would book it because I wouldn't want Given the way that all things in award availability, especial- especially partner award availability to fly Japan Airlines using Advantage miles, given the way that that's trending, looking out as far as, you know, w- basically summer 2027 when Judy could actually book, I wouldn't wanna bank on something like that unless if you're extremely flexible, not just on when you would actually take the trip within spring of 2028, but maybe most importantly which airport you would depart from. So if you're willing to get to, get yourself to Vancouver in order to fly into Tokyo instead of, you know, Dallas or Chicago, then maybe I would be okay with that. I would say the best answer is do a little bit of both, and keep it, keep tabs on this. Start running your searches, you know, basically in spring of 2027 to see where the award space is looking best, and then really start to finalize those plans. Yeah, exactly. I think you nailed it. I would say if you were booking for next spring right now, I, I would say AA miles are still king, but y- like you said, you never know, so keep tabs on things. Just start stacking points wherever you can, especially those flexible points. If you want us to answer your question on the podcast or if you have any feedback for us, hit us up at podcast@thriftytraveler.com. We might feature your question on next week's show. To close the show, as always, we go On the Spot, and it's my turn to put Kyle on the spot. So Kyle, um, I think jet lag is overblown. Uh, I think people spend so much time wrapped up in worrying about jet lag that they talk themselves into more and worse jet lag symptoms. I think it's a mental game, and I think that people who have their trips ruined by jet lag are just soft, frankly. What are your top tips for avoiding jet lag, Kyle Potter? Oh, everybody listening to the pod catching strays for being a little tired after a, you know, 12-hour flight. That's right. I thi- I, I do agree that a lot of it is a mind game, so I, I think the, the two most important things that I do is I always set my watch to the time of my final destination when I get on the flight. You can go to an extreme with this, like there are some apps, like an app called Time Shifter, I think, where you s- steadily start to adjust your day, um, you know, in as long as a week before. I, that seems like overkill to me. I, that seems more disruptive to your normal time than your vacation time. Um, but by setting your watch and then living by the time on that watch of, you know, doing your best to sleep when it's time to sleep in your final destination, for example, that just speeds up the process of adjusting. Uh, hydrating as best as you can. Uh, w- we know that dehydration is probably the single biggest component of actually feeling jet lagged. Uh, being inside of a metal tube at 38,000 feet is not great for your body. The more you can drink water, uh, the better you're going to feel once you get there. And then the last thing that I always try to do is I... You know, if you're landing somewhere at, say, 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM or, you know, going over to Europe, if you're landing somewhere at 6:00 AM, the worst thing that you can do is tell yourself, "I'm gonna take a 90-minute nap, and I'm gonna wake up at 2:00 PM, and then I'm gonna be good to go." We all know you're gonna sleep until 10:00 and then the rest of that day, and probably your trip is shot. So what you do is you plan something for, like, 5:00 or 6:00 PM. Maybe you book a good dinner reservation, or you book a food tour or whatever. Whatever's gonna force you to stay up to get to that respectable hour where you can actually go to bed at a normal-ish time, and then the adjustment process the following day is just that much easier. That is good, sober analysis and advice, and I think we'll leave it at that for the people. They're not gonna wanna hear what I have to say. Um, all right. Thank you so much for listening to Thrifty Traveler podcast. Rate us five stars on your podcast platform of choice. Like and subscribe to the show on YouTube, and send this episode to someone you know who needs a vacation. If you have feedback for us, send me a note at podcast@thriftytraveler.com. We would love to hear from you there. Kyle, tell us about the team and then go on your walk. This episode was produced by your favorite host, who is his own ski butler, Gunner Olsen. It was produced and edited by Sylvia Thomas and edited by Kyle Thomas. Our theme music is by Benjamin Tissot. I'm gonna go on a walk now. Bye-bye. Bye.