I'm always checking Google Flights and seats.aero for deals. Between signup bonuses and balances across airlines and hotels I probably have at least a million points and I'm always looking for opportunities.
2025 Flighty Passport
Looking back
2025 ended with many transatlantic trips and a pile of convoluted routings.
Europe over the new year 🇩🇰🇮🇪
The first one was almost an accident: I was in SoCal for Christmas 2024 with no flight booked back to Boston (direct flights were $300+). With hours of browsing, I found an itinerary using 47k Membership Rewards for SAS premium economy LA to Copenhagen and 45k Alaska miles for Shannon, Ireland, to Boston in lie-flat business, and about 10 days across both countries. The routing was a bit silly. I had zero winter coats or warm pants flying to snowy Denmark in winter, but the trip was amazing.
Tanzania (March) 🇹🇿
In March a friend pitched a Tanzania trip including Kilimanjaro, safari, and Zanzibar on KLM premium economy that earned ~2 Delta MQD per dollar. The mangos there go crazy.
Milan and Mexico (May) 🇮🇹🇲🇽
I spent United miles for Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende (a top-rated domestic tourist destination within Mexico) when $250 round trips to Milan popped up leaving within days. Had Milan and central Mexico back to back.
Dubai (September) 🇦🇪
Later in September, I flew to Dubai again in Premium Economy with long layovers in Amsterdam and Paris for climbing, food, and shopping before continuing to LA: roughly $1700 in fare for over 4k MQD, enough to qualify for Delta Gold Medallion.
Japan, China, and Korea (year-end) 🇯🇵🇨🇳🇰🇷
The year ended with Jodi’s wedding in Shanghai. I first flew home to LA, spent a few nights in Osaka, then crossed into China for the ceremony. I then stitched Korean Air business into Incheon for 15k Flying Blue miles, another 15k Delta miles in business to Fukuoka, then JAL from Tokyo to Boston for 40k to get home. 35 days, both US coasts, three cities in Japan, two in China, and three weeks in Korea because award availability worked out.
Thoughts
I'm grateful for the flexibility to travel like this. I'll save transit, meals, and climbing on real stone for another time; for now this is just how I got from A to B.
The travel map now has a toggle that draws the flight segments I've logged over the years, on top of the visited-country view.