I just booked a completely crazy trip to collect 1 million EuroBonus points, thanks to SAS’s new promotion. When I first read about it, I thought it was both insane and surely super difficult.

First of all, what would this cost if you paid for everything? One thing is certain: with my 1.90-meter height, I would never manage to travel in economy. In fact, I have never traveled in economy on a long haul outside of Europe, thanks to the points I’ve collected.

It was obvious to me to try to book as much as possible with points and make the trip as cheap as possible, while also opting for business class on the most important legs.

Who am I, the traveler?

My name is Amir Ammoura, I’m 36 years old, and I live in Norway. I was born and raised in Sweden but have spent my adult life in Norway. I’ve worked in the travel industry my whole life and have always had a great interest in credit cards, bonus points, and the benefits they offer.

What really sparked my interest was a trip to Tokyo where I flew with ANA First Class Suite. It was a completely surreal experience, and I paid barely 2,000 SEK for a round-trip ticket that would have otherwise cost several hundred thousand.

After that trip, I started my company FlyMedPoeng in May of last year. We help others book trips with their points and teach people how to save large sums on both flights and hotels through our video courses available in both Sweden and Norway.

One of the main reasons I’m doing this trip is to show how easy it can actually be to collect points—and that anyone can succeed!

I’ve also been using Awardfares for many years, which has been an invaluable tool for finding flights. It’s perfect for those who want to learn to book trips themselves, and in my opinion, it’s an absolute must. I’ve used several different tools, but nothing beats Awardfares and its constantly updated features.

Finding flights is one thing, but putting everything together and creating a whole trip can be both heavy and time-consuming—and that’s where FlyMedPoeng comes in.

Especially in these times, SAS has made it challenging to mix classes and search leg by leg. Still, SAS remains a really great loyalty program, and there’s nothing better when it comes to award flights.

Back to the trip and how I booked it

It all started with an existing trip to Miami. I could have made the route more efficient, but since the points on one of the flights were about to expire, I had to plan around that to make everything fit. I have now laid out a route with a total of 23 flights where I land in 17 different countries, with a pure flight time of 91 hours and 30 minutes (excluding layovers, etc.).

Here are all the airlines I’ve booked with:

  • SAS
  • Delta
  • AeroMexico
  • Virgin Atlantic
  • Kenya Airways
  • Saudi Arabian Airlines
  • Garuda Indonesia
  • Vietnam Airlines
  • China Airlines
  • Xiamen Airlines
  • China Eastern
  • Korean Air
  • KLM
  • Air France
  • Tarom

Total number of Eurobonus points used: 360,125 (Actually used 282,125 points since 78,000 of these were expiring from another EB account). Taxes and fees: 9.735 NOK + 212 USD. CT: 1

Amir Ammoura EuroBonus Millionaire Challenge Itinerary

How did I start?

Outbound

Paid with points during SAS’s campaign: 21,000 points + 826 SEK
(I have SAS Mastercard Premium and travel in SAS Business, but pay the price of SAS Go).

  • 15 NOV OSL-CPH – SAS Plus
  • 15 NOV CPH-JFK – SAS Business (A330-300)
  • 15 NOV JFK-MIA – Delta Eco (109 USD). (Tip: There’s no option to add SAS EuroBonus on Delta’s website yet, so you need to contact Delta directly to have it added.)

Return

  • 20 NOV MIA-LHR – Virgin Atlantic (A330-900NEO) 78,000 points
  • 21 NOV MIA-OSL – SAS Plus – (Canceled)

My first thought was to try to fit in AeroMexico or Aerolineas Argentinas. Unfortunately, they can’t yet be booked with points, so I had to use cash tickets for AeroMexico. It would have been fun to include Argentina as an extra continent on this trip, but it became too much of a stretch and a bit tight on time.
The nearest alternative was Cancun, but they don’t start direct routes until December, so the natural choice was Mexico City.

This is the only leg I’m not entirely convinced about among all the choices. I’d prefer to spend more time in Miami, so I considered a day trip instead of staying in Mexico City.

I had two options that I looked at:

  1. 19 NOV MIA-MEX 07.01-09.50 – AeroMexico Eco
  2. 19 NOV MEX-MIA 17.25-21.40 – AeroMexico Eco

Or should I book the outbound with American Airlines instead, which has a later departure at 11:20, arriving at 13:55. That way, I wouldn’t have to get up early and could spend a few hours in the lounge in Mexico City, as I have an American Express card that gives me access to the Centurion Lounge.

My concern is whether Aeromexico might cancel, there could be delays, etc., and suddenly I might get Delta instead, so I need to think about this. I also hope to get clarity on Air Europa, as it’s unclear if you can earn points with them if you buy cash tickets.

So the natural choice would be to choose Air Europa instead of AeroMexico, but strategically I think it’s smart to use both, as complications can arise in Asia, and it’s better to have an extra option.
The tickets I’ve seen for this leg are in economy, as it’s such a short trip, and the cost is 552 USD, which is also the most expensive of all the trips I’ve booked.

Update!

SAS has now made Aeromexico bookable with points, so I have booked a round-trip to Mexico City.

19 Nov MIA-MEX 12:33-15:40 – Aeromexico Economy 19 Nov MEX-MIA 17:25-21:40 – Aeromexico Economy

1883 NOK + 25,000 points.

Return from Miami

Return from Miami on November 20th with a departure time of 17:05 and arrival at 06:45+1 (the next day) at London Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic. Here, I will be flying on their A330-900Neo in business class, or Upper Class as they call it. If you are traveling as a couple, you can secure the Retreat Suite located in seats 1D & 1G. The cost is approximately 3000 NOK per person to book these, and I would say the comfort and space are equivalent to first class! Sometimes, these seats are released at a lower price a few weeks before departure.

The choice began with whether I should travel home with luggage and carry only hand luggage for the rest of the trip, or possibly leave the bag at LHR, where you can pay 35 pounds for the first three days, then 10 pounds per day after that.
But since I booked MIA-LHR and LHR-OSL separately, I thought it was better to save 24,000 points and travel onward from LHR, still considering whether I should leave the bag there. The downside of starting in London is that you have to pay significantly higher taxes (APD) than if the trip started in Oslo.

Had I started in Oslo, I would have saved about 2,500 SEK on just that booking.
I arrive in London on November 21 at 06:45, and my next flight departs at 17:25 with Kenya Airways in business class on their 787-8.

This is how the route looks with a continuous ticket, which I paid with bonus points. (I also have a return to report later on the same ticket): 88,125 points + 1 CT. So far, I’ve paid 5,200 SEK in taxes and fees with 2 changes.

Outbound

  • 21 NOV LHR-NBO 17.25-05.00+1 – Kenya Airways Business
  • 22 NOV NBO-JED 07.20-11.10 – Saudi Business

Return

  • 27 NOV ICN-PEK 07.55-09.25 – Korean Air Business
  • 27 NOV PEK-AMS 11.50-17.20 – KLM Business – 787-9
  • 27 NOV AMS-LHR 18.50-19.15 – KLM Business

Then I added these flights to the same booking:

Outbound

  • 23 NOV JED-SIN 01.35-15.30 – Saudi Arabian Business – 787-9
  • 23 NOV SIN-CGK 19.00-20.00 – Garuda Business – A330-300

So, I get a long day trip in Jeddah, followed by an overnight stay in Jakarta.

Now comes the next booking I made with points in business class: 108,000 points + 705 SEK in taxes and fees. Unfortunately, Vietnam costs double the points price.

  • 24 NOV CGK-SIN 08.35-11.20 – Garuda Business A330-300 (Very fun to get this aircraft type on such a short trip, 1h 45m)
  • SIN-HAN 13.25-15.50 – Vietnam Airlines Business – A321-100/200
  • HAN-TPE 17.35-21.15 – China Airlines Business – 737-800

Here, I overnight in Taipei. The next flight is also booked with points: 15,000 points + 616 SEK.

  • 25 Nov TPE-XMN 11.00-12.45 – Xiamen Airlines – Eco 737-800

The next flight is paid with cash and is with China Eastern, which cost me 103.9 USD.

  • 25 NOV XMN-PVG 14.50-16.50 – China Eastern

This segment worries me a bit. I could have booked from XMN to ICN with China Eastern via PVG for just 10 dollars extra, but it was too tempting to find a flight between PVG and ICN with Korean Air, where they operate a 777-300.
Even though it’s an older cabin, I got the opportunity to add it to my existing booking.

The most important thing is that I get my luggage checked all the way through to Shanghai, which shouldn’t be an issue considering both airlines are part of SkyTeam. However, many check-in agents might not be aware of this since I have two separate bookings. I am a bit concerned that it looks like I may need to switch terminals and check in again, so I might have to travel with just hand luggage from London. We’ll see!

I have made a backup plan in case any issues arise; there are flights with Xiamen Airlines later in the evening, and I also have time to travel to Shanghai the next morning, as the flight from Shanghai to Seoul departs at 14:00 with Korean Air.
I will stay overnight in Shanghai, which I found more exciting than Xiamen.

The next flight I mentioned, which I added to my existing booking, is:

  • 26 NOV PVG-ICN 14.00-17.05 – Korean Air Business – 777-300

Overnight in Seoul.

Return, which I have booked as part of the same continuous ticket:

  • 27 NOV ICN-PEK 07.55-09.25 – Korean Air Business
  • 27 NOV PEK-AMS 11.50-17.20 – KLM Business – 787-9
  • 27 NOV AMS-LHR 18.50-19.15 – KLM Business

Overnight in London.

Now I have two more airlines left to complete all 15 SkyTeam carriers: Air France and Tarom.

I booked this segment in two rounds because the Tarom flight caused some issues. The SAS agent couldn’t get it done, so I booked it myself online: 40,000 points + 1,773 SEK.

  • 28 NOV CDG-OTP 16.20-20.10 – Tarom Eco

Then I added:

  • 28 NOV LHR-CDG 09.00-11.25 – Air France Eco
  • 29 NOV OTP-AMS 13.55-15.55 – KLM Eco
  • 29 NOV AMS-OSL 19.05-20.50 – KLM Eco

Now I have completed all 15 different SkyTeam airlines to earn 1 million points!
I have Air Europa as a backup in case something goes wrong, which will be my 16th airline if needed. Ideally, I would prefer to avoid MIA-MEX, but I’m unsure if I dare to skip it.
There will definitely be a few changes as time goes on.

I’m still thinking about whether I should have booked China Eastern all the way to Seoul, and I hope I can eventually fly with Air France home from Seoul instead of KLM. Right now, I’ve set a flight alert with Awardfares, so I’m hoping something opens up!

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