SE Asia 2026 — Points Travel Pro Goes on the Road

£5,000 on a holiday. You could spend it on a week in Turkey with Jet2. Or you could spend 19 nights in Asia flying business class. It depends on how you do it. This is how we booked it — and this page documents every redemption, every earning opportunity, and exactly what the cash equivalent would have been. Come with us. We'll be updating as we go — the flights, the lounges, the hotels, the pandas, and whatever else Asia throws at us along the way.

One important caveat before we start: a trip like this doesn't happen on a whim. The points and vouchers take time to earn, and flights like VS208 in Upper Class need to be secured at release — high-demand routes in peak season disappear fast. The planning window for this trip was the better part of a year. If this is the kind of travel you want to do, the time to start building towards it is now — here's where to begin.

The Travellers

A mother and daughter. Two passengers on every flight, one room throughout, one set of points across two programmes. The status held going into this trip matters — it shapes which benefits are available and which aren't, and explains some of the decisions made along the way.

The Route

It's Easter, the cherry blossom is out across Japan and South Korea, and we're making the most of both. Nineteen nights working east through South Korea, Japan, China and Malaysia — Upper Class outbound, Club World home, with the Great Wall, the pandas, the Li River and the Petronas Towers somewhere in between.

Days 1–2 · 31 Mar

Seoul

South Korea

Fraser Place Namdaemun Seoul. Night tour of Myeongdong and a full-day DMZ and Time Leap Boat tour.

Virgin Upper Class inbound · 2-4-1 voucher · 2 nights

Days 3–4 · 3 Apr

Kyoto

Japan

Henn na Hotel Premier. Private city tour, dinner at Niyama, Fushimi Inari Shrine, tea ceremony and samurai experience.

Shinkansen from Tokyo · Party of three from here · 2 nights

Days 5–6 · 5 Apr

Tokyo

Japan

Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi, Sapia Tower 27F. Guided city tour, Harajuku, and the new Centurion Lounge at Haneda on Amex Platinum before departure.

JAL inbound on Avios · JAL economy to Beijing · 2 nights

Days 7–9 · 7 Apr

Beijing

China

DoubleTree by Hilton Beijing. Great Wall mini-group tour, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

JAL HND→PEK economy on Avios · Depart for Chengdu from Daxing PKX · Cash hotel · Gold breakfast · 3 nights

Days 10–12 · 10 Apr

Chengdu

China

Hilton Chengdu Chenghua. Panda Base, Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan.

China Eastern · Cash hotel · Gold breakfast · 3 nights

Days 13–15 · 13 Apr

Guilin & Li River

China

Secret Courtyard Resort in Guilin, then Li River Resort Yangshuo — 270° Riverview Family Suite. Li River cruise, Yulong River bamboo rafting and the evening river show.

Train from Chengdu · 3 nights

Days 16–18 · 16 Apr

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Ascott Star KLCC, breakfast included. Fireflies and dinner tour, Petronas Towers and Batu Caves. BA034 home to Heathrow on BA Amex companion voucher — 2 passengers.

Air Asia from Guilin · 2 nights · BA companion voucher home

How the Flights Were Booked

The outbound — Virgin Atlantic VS208, Heathrow to Seoul in Upper Class on 31 March — was redeemed on a Virgin Flying Club 2-4-1 companion voucher. That means both seats cost the same points as one: 67,500 Virgin Points plus £561.72 in taxes per passenger. The base fare? Zero. Virgin uses dynamic pricing so the points cost varies by date, but the voucher halves it. You earn one by hitting the qualifying spend threshold on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card. It also gets you into the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Heathrow Terminal 3 before departure.

The return — BA034, Kuala Lumpur to Heathrow in Club World on 18 April — was booked on a British Airways American Express Premium Plus companion voucher. Same principle: two seats, one lot of Avios. 110,000 Avios plus £362.60 in taxes covered both. The Tokyo to Beijing sector is worth a separate note: the original cash flights were cancelled at short notice, replacement fares had reached around £800 for two passengers by the time Avios stepped in — saving the difference entirely. The budget hops (Seoul to Tokyo on Tway Air, Guilin to KL on Air Asia) were cash, because sometimes cash is the right answer.

The Flights

Lounges on This Trip

Hotels on This Trip

What the Trip Will Earn

This trip consumes far more points than it earns back — and that's how it should be. Points are for spending. But managed properly, a 19-night trip still generates a meaningful return. Two outcomes are already confirmed before departure.

Beyond those two outcomes, Avios and Hilton Honors points stack up across every booking channel. Our initial estimate — based on confirmed spend across credit card, portals and loyalty schemes — is that this trip will earn back between 50,000 and 60,000 Avios, plus Hilton Honors points on the two China hotel stays. The full verified total will be published here once every portal has tracked and every balance has settled — typically several weeks after travel.

What This Would Have Cost in Cash

Both key flights were checked two days before departure. VS208 Upper Class LHR–Seoul is confirmed at £6,177.58 for two adults booked in advance — around £3,089 per person one-way. Two days before departure the same seats are selling for £6,900 each; the advance price is the fair comparison. BA034 Club World KUL–LHR costs approximately £3,250 per person one-way booked 50 weeks ahead. Tours are excluded — what you do when you get there varies entirely by traveller.

The Bigger Picture

The points that funded this trip came from managing two programmes deliberately — the right spend on the right card, hotels through the right portals, and knowing when cash beats points. Sign-up bonuses can accelerate the process significantly. Everything else that could earn, did earn. If you want to understand how either programme works, start with our guides to Virgin Flying Club and British Airways Executive Club.

The points consumed on this trip far exceed what it earns back. That is how it should be. A 19-night trip in Upper Class and Club World is supposed to cost points. What matters is that it still generates two outcomes that make the next trip equally good value: a Virgin Silver requalification and a fresh BA companion voucher. The full Avios earning total will be posted here once everything has tracked and settled. Reviews of every flight, lounge and hotel will follow.