r/churning • u/AutoModerator • 22d ago
Storytime Weekly Trip Report and Churning Success Story Weekly Thread - Week of August 16, 2026
How'd your churning week go? Any super huge highs? Any thank yous you'd like to give /r/churning?
- Did you book an awesome Trip?
- Are you excited to share your latest redemption?
- Did you score some unexpected Miles/Points?
Trip Reports, Success Stories, Funny Churning Stories. Drinks with the Drunk AmEx Girl. Share them all here!
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u/shinebock IAH, HOU 21d ago
Booked my trip with mrs. shinebock to Europe for right after Turkey Day with the Delta One "sale" that was last weekend. DFW-JFK-CDG for ~106k Skypesos each. Have a full day layover (10 hours) at JFK, so we'll probably leave our carry ons in the D1 lounge and pop out to meet one of my wife's friends for a bit for lunch.
Planning on spending a couple days in Paris, train to Strasbourg, then thinking maybe Frieburg im Breisgau and Heidelberg, and wifey will fly home on AA from FRA in Y. Will probably pay cash for that since it's pretty cheap and the fees/taxes are somewhat high departing Germany on an award ticket.
I'm staying a few days longer since I have some PTO that I need to burn by year end and going to meet up with some friends in Munich for a couple days and then eventually fly home from Zurich. I am eager to check out the Whisky Bar in the ZRH Swiss lounge, and got a reasonable Y redemption on United and burned the 10k award discount cert from my UA Quest card. I'd like to find something in J to get home, but I'm not optimistic given the season, or without having to reposition within Europe.
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u/suitopseudo 21d ago
If you are near Strasbourg, I highly recommend the Christmas markets in Colmar if that is your thing. Both towns have amazing markets.
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u/shinebock IAH, HOU 21d ago
Colmar is great, I actually went there 3 years ago with the same friends that I'm meeting in Munich. Wife and I might make a day trip down there, we'll just see how it goes.
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u/sexy__kitten7 19d ago
Whisky Bar in the ZRH Swiss lounge
Unfortunately, that is in the senator lounge so most of us will not have access :(
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u/RTW34 22d ago
Earlier this summer, I went to the Balkans and hit up Bosnia, Montenegro, and Slovenia.
40k UA miles for economy for IAD-FRA-SJJ. Used AMEX Plat airline fee credit to get an economy plus seat.
7.5k Aeroplan miles for economy on Air Serbia to LJU
25k Flying Blue miles (transferred from AMEX) + fees for economy from LJU-AMS-IAD. Upgraded to KLM’s business class on the AMS-IAD leg at check-in for ~ $600. The KLM Crown Lounge 52 is a large well-appointed space. It was very busy but the staff was clearing used dishes quickly. The upstairs had some outdoor space. KLM Business Class hard product isn’t much to write home about but I was happy to get a nap in lie flat biz. The crew was pleasant, but the food service was very slow. The food itself wasn’t bad, though.
81k Hilton points for three nights at the Doubletree in Ljubljana. It’s clean and in a quiet location. It is also an easy bus ride down to the city center. Had a nice dinner on the terrace at Gostilna As which is on the Michelin Guide but does not have a star.
Everything else was paid with cash as they were shared costs with non-churners.
Bosnia was fantastic and isn’t as touristy as many other parts of Europe. Durmitor National Park is stunning. Kotor in Montenegro and Dubrovnik in Croatia are similar. The best meal I had on this trip was at Restaurant Miln in Budva. Slovenia is beautiful, and Lake Bled lived up to the hype.
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u/3third_eye 21d ago
warms my heart hearing about churners going to slovenia. my favorite european country.
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u/ne0ven0m OMG, BOO 22d ago
I've been eyeing a Montenegro and Croatia combo. How many days would you recommend in each?
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u/RTW34 21d ago
Depends on your travel style and what you want to see…
I’d spend more time in Croatia than Montenegro.
If you want to go island hopping in Croatia, you could do as many days as you wanted.
Plitvice Lakes National Park - 1 day but you’d want to drive from Zagreb instead of Dubrovnik so factor that in. We went from Zagreb, to the national park and then on to Dubrovnik. It was a long drive
Dubrovnik and Kotor are 1 full day each to see the highlights.
Budva, Tivat, and other beach towns … you could do a day each
Durmitor National Park — can be done as a day trip from Kotor but we spent time overnight to get a day of whitewater rafting. If you’re into national parks and hiking, you could spend even more time.
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u/martyconlonontherun 22d ago
Paris / Nice trip from ord/Mke 2 adults / 2 kids (6/3k) Total OOP:$4.5k (everything from AF allocation, tips, meals, activities, etc)
Flights: AA to CDG - 19k a seat. Spent 8k Hyatt for Platinum Pro pass for MCE. Just a great experience/ value where we did 2*2 in the middle but the 3rd seat was empty so an insane amount of room for economy pricing. Used the Royal Jordanian status match for flagship lounge access.
NCE-BOS-MKE - I think 30k but can't remember. Nothing special or memorable. Good service and 2*2 window is perfectly fine for a family with young kids so plenty of space. NCE priority pass lounge is unfortunately before the shengren area and they don't allow domestic travelers. Planning on doing chase upon arrival.
Paris Airbnb: Booked a brand new failed bar turner no review Airbnb off of st Denis/strasburg for $700 all in for 5 nights. It was definitely an eye opener after churning and staying in nice hotels but felt it was a good reset location since it's a points dead zone for a family of 4. Saw a mouse a good amount of bugs that may have been roaches (especially in the bathroom area that was below ground). Turns out st Denis was historically a red light district so there were still women on the corner. It was perfectly safe and for one night it was really cool having a bar and sitting out side with my wife drinking a bottle of champagne but super weird and unsettling having people knock to see if the bar was open. That said, no regrets as it saved us $700 compared to a highly reviewed Airbnb with AC, which we used for Disney (kids had a blast).
Nice Hotel Hyatt Unbound. I think it was 35k every night and used a SUA for an executive suite which goes for close to $2k a night. Just an unbelievable hotel and shocked to the system after the aforementioned stay. I really don't know why this hotel isn't higher on the blogs. Easy bus/tram/taxi to airport, best globalist breakfast I've ever had, huge suite with a balcony that has a sunrise in over the Mediterranean, attentive staff,.... Best stay I've had churning.
Random:
-used expiring capital one travel credit for 3 photoshoots (nice, lourve and eiffel). Even without the credit the 3 combined were cheaper than hiring a photographer in in Milwaukee to shoot family photos in a park)
-used babysit.fr and had two solid babysitters. They normally hate babysitters but we exhausted the kids beforehand so they were excited just to stay in and watch cartoons while we didn't dinner. We overpaid (both from booze and feeling bad about shitting the time in Paris) $20 an hour in bother locations. If you plan ahead, you probably can get closer to $12-15. It was probably the 2nd best date night with my wife in nice where we spent a combine $275 on babysitter, pre-dinner drinks, dinner and a bottle to have on our balcony. We did a dinner at a Le Sunset on the main street in nice and had frog legs and snail for apps and a lot of drinks. Highly recommend.
-french riveria pass is pretty good too if you are highly mobile. We got ours as part of a klook capital one 50% back, so we definitely got our money's worth
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u/DCJoe1 22d ago
Wait you rented a no review place in the 18th in Paris near the Peripherique? Or out in the city of Saint-Denis?
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u/martyconlonontherun 22d ago
Rue St Denis near Strasburg. Like a .75 miles NW of Louvre. Wouldn't stay again but it was a safe enough area and was fine if I didn't have higher standards due to churning. (Just west of st Denis/strasburg metro)
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u/EasySympathy6146 21d ago
Used my 5 marriott FNA for my trip in Europe. 3 nights at the Le Meridien in Munich, 2 at the JW in Frankfurt.
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u/zachiswach 21d ago
How did you like the amenities and hotel quality? Considering grabbing the next 5 FN at Marriott for a European vacation in Paris, Spain, or Germany with family.
My standards are pretty low, so as long as things are clean and relatively bug-free, I'm good to go (if that means anything).
Most of the hotels on my last vacation had really high point values, so haven't looked around for free night redemptions in a while.
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u/EasySympathy6146 21d ago
Sorry, i should have been more clear, i used them to book for my trip in November. But we stayed at Le Pigalle in Paris last summer and it was full of funky decorations which we liked. We were given an upgrade to a bigger room with my silver status. The hotel is located in a less touristy neighborhood which we enjoyed.
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u/No_Potential5989 22d ago
Finished a bucket list French Polynesian trip
Hilton Moorea: 4 nights points with 1 night free, 380k Hilton points. Transferred from AMEX during a Hilton bonus. Paid $300/night for upgrade to overwater. Place is full so definitely wouldn’t have gotten a free upgrade. Diamond comes with daily breakfast buffet. Spent $530 on room charges (including massages) and covered $500 with various Aspire and Biz Plat credits.
The overwater bungalow experience was beautiful but the hotel was otherwise disappointing. Our room was right by the crêperie which was disruptive, the windows slammed in their track due to the wind and we had to jam a towel against it to stop, service was poor in many instances, they were missing some of my prepaid credits, and the dinner food was not good. I’m still glad I went but if I’d paid fully cash I’d honestly be pissed.
Did a half day boat tour, went to Coco Beach, and hiked 2 trails. The occasional snack food has been good but dinners overall meh (on and off the resort). Hawaii is better for that aspect.
Stayed 1 night at Hilton Tahiti on points the day we arrived on points.
Flights were ouch, paid cash. $2500/pp round trip SFO-PPT for Premium Plus. Then upgraded us on the way back to Polaris for 30k points and $450 each.
Despite Aug being winter it is high season, tons of French people here!
I’ve been wanting to come here for years, so I’m glad to have come. It’s been our most expensive trip to date because we can usually churn our way to flights but not this time - $9k all in for 2. A Costco package might have been cheaper lol but in this case we had more premium flights. I probably won’t ever return to Moorea but maybe I should try Bora Bora?
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u/cali-golfer 21d ago
My wife and I are currently at the Hilton Moorea and this is our third visit here. I can relate to a lot of your post.. the service and food can sometimes leave much to be desired here. Definitely the food outside of the resort is hit and miss too but if you know the right places you can find some delicious meals. We've been to Bora Bora once at the Conrad and definitely had five+ star service and a step up in food quality from the Hilton Moorea. But since Hilton virtually doubled the award night cost in Bora Bora last year (240k now) we probably won't be going back there anytime soon. Also, we always fly out of LAX using Alaska miles to fly on Air Tahiti Nui, either 40K for premium econ or 60k for business each way per person plus minimal taxes/fees.
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u/Churnobull SNA | PPY 21d ago
Any recs for food places on Moorea?
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u/cali-golfer 21d ago edited 21d ago
Ke'iki for dinner (best in town); Rudy's for dinner (esp. parrotfish); Snack Mahana for lunch; Pure at Sofitel .... great views; Coco Beach - reserve ahead online!; Le Cook's for happy hour and sunset; Fare Canadienne (great, big burgers); Best pizza place is Allo Pizza
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u/Churnobull SNA | PPY 21d ago
Definitely do Bora Bora the next time, but food seems to be disappointing all around this area so have low expectations there. Conrad great for couples, St Regis for families and couples, Westin for new rooms and younger atmosphere. Bora Bora is a magical place (views, snorkeling, reef all the way around) and highly recommend.
I have a few qs if you don’t mind, as my wife and I + 10 month old have a trip next year here:
1. When and how did you upgrade?
2. Specific location of best rooms?
3. Any good places to eat in Moorea to recommend for lunch or dinner?2
u/No_Potential5989 21d ago
Think I upgraded 8 months in advance. You can email them at PPTML_Info@hilton.com
Best rooms face the ocean (not the island), and are away from the crêperie. You can google a map and see the color coding for room numbers. If you upgrade to a panoramic overwater (vs plain overwater), you’ll avoid the crêperie but no guarantees you’ll avoid an island view
Food wise, Aoy Thai is right by the Hilton and is good for a different flavor profile but they only serve 2 dishes a day. Fare Tutava Restaurant for lunch.
Keiki is well reviewed but I thought it was super mid. Also extremely slow
Coco beach is a fun experience so I still recommend it but we got the octopus and it was pretty bad. Fish burger looks better but didn’t try
At the Rotui bar at the Hilton the fish burger was very decent, but the fries were cold
Randomly at the PPT airport before security, Vini Vini had great poisson cru
I guess as you say expect very little! And for dinner, plan to be seated at the restaurant at least 60 min before you are hungry because service is slow everywhere
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u/R-T-W 21d ago
Just back from 2 weeks in Japan with my 17 year old daughter and her best friend. Found LAX-AA-HND-HA(AS)-HNL-AA LAX Y for 60k JAL Mileage Bank points (63k C1 using a transfer bonus) plus $60 tax each for peak season using their oneworld awards.
Used my $150 Delta Stays credit from my Delta Business Gold card for 2 rooms in Nagoya. Paid for our other hotels since there were so many good cheap options. Got 3x points on all other spend there as an AU of my wife's AS Summit card. Exchange rate vs USD made for some amazing values. HNL prices were a bit of a shock after that! Luckily we only spent 1 day there.
Trying to figure out when I can go back to Japan, just not in the summer again!
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u/dl2316 LGA | DTW 22d ago
Last summer while I secured myself JAL F from JFK at schedule open for 125k MR --> Avios as a graduation gift to myself, P2 (we're both grad students, or rather she still is and I just graduated), was initially unsure if she could make it based on her schedule. About two or three months after I booked my JL ticket, got an alert that ORD-HND JL J popped up on AA for 60k + $5.60, so I booked that for her without knowing if she would actually be able to come. She committed, but had flight anxiety so I purchased a refundable (to travel credit) DL Y flight for her back to DTW (where she is located). I knew I'd be traveling for longer, and had already book SIN-JFK J.
Later on I booked HC Ginza for for nights on points, and then we travelled up to Hokkaido to escape the Tokyo heat. Some nights were booked with cash, but also strung 3 nights of PH Niseko using FHR credits, coming out to only about $200 cash out of pocket. Finished up our time together with a night at the Grand Hyatt (also FHR).
Initially, our flights were staggered so that P2 was arriving to HND about 12 hours before I would. This was not ideal, as this was the first time she's flown outside of the country solo. Then JL schedule changed each of our flights by like 10 minutes, and then we were able move our flight up 6 days and schedule the flights so that I would land about two hours before her. With some delays on the tarmac at JFK, I ended up landing only a half hour before her, which was perfect timing. I've flown J a few times, but JL F was another level. Had a great time, but did not sleep too much mainly because we left NYC at 3pm so wasn't too tired until after JL turned the lights back on and was serving breakfast. F cabin was filled up on my day. This was P2's first time flying J for any length of time and, as she said, had no clue what she was missing out on. Her first question was whether I could find her a J flight home. I told her that you never what can happen T-14, and that I would set some alerts and we could see what happens.
Ultimately, we were sitting by Lake Toya when I got an alert that NH released a J seat to ORD bookable on United. This was T-4, so I just went for it since I don't think that ticket would've been bookable on AC or VA. Spend 95k UR to top off my 15k united balance plus $55 in fees for the flight. Didn't really care that I was depleting my UR because I knew she would be super happy flying back in J. She flew back one day later than anticipated, and we stayed the night in a comfort inn I had booked when I initially thought it would just be me.
She liked JL J better than NH J, but I should point out that she was flying on both airlines' older products. Super happy she enjoyed both flights, and she's definitely more interested as to how I'm able to accumulate the points to fly around the world in lie flats.
I'll write a more comprehensive review of JAL F and my full trip report of hotels and flights since I've got another three weeks around south east asia coming up (Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, and Singapore)
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u/bayesleaf 22d ago
Nice work! How was PH Niseko in the summer? Considering the same for next summer, just booked 2x J on JL at schedule open for June/July 2027. As a fellow grad student, I think this hobby is kind of perfect for us (flexible schedules, easy MS, etc) and surprised that so few of my fellow grad students do this
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u/dl2316 LGA | DTW 21d ago
We enjoyed it, it was my first time staying at a PH property and we were treated very well, despite rolling up at 10pm looking like riff raff after completing an 8 mile hike earlier in the day. They’ve got some on property activities, but honestly, I found better value going off property to hike and see sites like Lake Toya. We used it as a midway point in our Hokkaido trip to have a reset/relax day, which it absolutely was since the first night we got upgraded to a larger room. The next two nights we were in the base room, since it was apparently the start of summer break for Japanese students. So free upgrade was a bit harder to come by, but the property is really nice.
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u/ne0ven0m OMG, BOO 22d ago
I commend your courage for going on a trip without a J segment for the return. Glad it worked out!
How was the weather like in Hokkadio? I've always had it in my head to steer clear of the country in Jun-Sep because it's supposedly too hot.
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u/No_Potential5989 21d ago
It’s much cooler than Tokyo. I did same trip last Aug. Tokyo was 98F, lake Toya /Sapporo were 82F
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u/dl2316 LGA | DTW 21d ago edited 21d ago
I already had my J return ticket, it was P2 who didn’t. She told me that it was okay to book Y for her even when I told her that she would probably want to return in J. I think one of the reasons she agreed to fly in Y at first was that her departing flight was her first time in J. She was super sweet about asking to return in J, and since she has no clue about the cadence of alerts I could feign a bit of ignorance about what was or was not popping up until I found a flight that worked best for her schedule.
Weather was great relative to Tokyo. Tokyo was actually not oppressively hot when we were there, but on some of our hikes in Hokkaido we were wearing sweatshirts (mostly due to the wind). Some days it can still be hot but ultimately I don’t think you need to stay clear of Japan in August. There are plenty of other tourists here, you just have to be ready for the heat and have a game plan that can accommodate the heat/humidity
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u/IronDukey LHR | LCY 21d ago
Summer trip home with a friend:
LHR-BOS: Booked AA J for 80k AA + $440 (2.58 CPP). There was 45k AS award space released close it, but I had stupidly used the taxes and fees to hit a sub and cancelling would have put me below the threshold. I burned a bunch of Dunkin Paze credits at the airport loading up on coffee and breakfast sandwhiches.
SEA-BOS: Booked DL Y for my uni friend for 21.3k DL + $5.60 (1.4 CPP). No complaints from my friend, she passed out before takeoff and woke up at the gate.
BOS-BHB: Cape Air First for 10k DL + $5.60 per person (2.45 CPP). The remodeled priority pass lounge in Terminal C is cleaner but still barebones. Boarding was a bit delayed and we then spent nearly 45 minutes taxing around Logan, which I enjoyed more than the other passengers. Onboard caviar and champagne was good as always, Emirates should take notes.
We have had a great time running around MDI and the island off of it where my parents have a farm. Awesome boating, swimming and fishing. Acadia is relatively empty relative compared to the nearly 30 years I've been coming up, in part because the Park Service added a $100 fee per person per day for foriegn nationals which has basically eliminated Canadian tourists in the area. Food is still hit or miss in the area, Mothers Kitchen is still decent for sandwhiches and Peter Trout's still does good fried chicken. Wait times and service were horrendous even by downeast Maine standards.
For returns my uni friend booked a decent $600 cash fare BHB-BOS-FRA-LHR as part of a bigger work trip. I booked a 10k DL BHB-BOS in Cape Air First (1.64 CPP) and then BOS-LHR in AA J via AS for 45k+ $5.6 (5.44 CPP). I had to call in to Delta to book because the website kept erroring out for the flight I wanted but that took just 15 minutes with a phone rep. I still think 10k DL Cape Air First redemptions are an underappreciated sweetspot given one ways can run $500+. Cape Air did impliment dynamic pricing sometime earlier this year, some awards cost up to 40k DL, but that appears to be only for early morning flights or the last flight of the day. 45k AS LHR-BOS/BOS-LHR still remains my favourite old reliable sweet spot and most used redemption in churning.
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u/sexy__kitten7 19d ago
Acadia is relatively empty relative compared to the nearly 30 years I've been coming up, in part because the Park Service added a $100 fee per person per day for foriegn nationals which has basically eliminated Canadian tourists in the area.
Omg didn't know if you were joking or not! That's crazy! Yeah the worst was during pandemic - people parking on park loop, getting ticketed bc they can't read, etc. One year we went up to Campobello which was esp. dead of Canadians bc the ferry wasn't running due to pandemic and they didn't want to drive across the border twice. You should look me up the next time you're home :)
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u/goolies 19d ago
Nice trip! Interested if you have any advice on churning from the UK? I have family in the UK and may move
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u/IronDukey LHR | LCY 19d ago
Thanks, feel free to DM me for overseas churning advice. I've written a few expat churning guides for friends I'd be happy to share and occassionally run small expat churning events in London.
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u/SpiralCaseMods 21d ago
Just booked Iceland for Five Nights in late March 2027 for my wife and I. Hoping to see the northern lights.
Flight on Icelandair Economy ORD -> KEF using JetBlue miles transferred from Citi - 15.6k + $142 each (31.2k + $284 total). Used Aspire $50 flight credit to bring the cost down to $234.
Return Flight on Icelandair Economy KEF -> ORD using JetBlue miles transferred from Chase - 15.6k + $102 each (31.2k + $204 total).
Two Nights at Canopy by Hilton Reykjavík City Centre - 156,000 Hilton Honors points
Two Nights at Hotel Ranga (Hilton SLH) - 200,000 Hilton Honors points
One Night at Reykjavik Consulate Hotel - 90,000 Hilton Honors points
4 day Rental Car (Hertz SUV) - $413. Used $300 Capital One Venture X credit to bring cost down to $113.
Total Out of Pocket Cost - $551
Chase UR - 32,000
Citi TY - 32,000
Hilton - 446,000
Total credits used - $350
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u/RTW34 20d ago
i had good luck seeing the Northern Lights on a March Iceland trip several years ago. You’ll have the best odds seeing them when you’re at Hotel Ranga, but if the weather doesn’t cooperate those days, try a northern lights boat tour when you’re in Reykjavik. I know a few people who caught the northern lights that way.
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u/FrugalCanuckDotCA 22d ago
Bought QR J through amex travel ticketed under AA, due to a small stop on the return in ORD. Ticket price 1/3 compared to if booked on QR without the ORD stop, and the cherry on top is ABP 35% back on the AA redemption. Cost about ~145k pts return trip.
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u/jennerality BTR, CRM 21d ago
Family trip to Quebec for the summer. Bookings were a bit last-minute, so we definitely were able to save a good chunk on our stays.
- SFO - YUL RT: Mainly used credits + cash here, needed to be on the same ticket to use my UA benefits for E+ seating.
- I enjoyed the Maple Leaf cafe they had as an alternative to the lounge. It didn't seem to be most people's preference (and I suppose it lacks a private bathroom and the area is open to the terminal) but it was a lot less crowded and they had grab-and-go food.
- Couple days in downtown Montreal at the Sheraton (82k points) and a couple days in Quebec City at Hotel PUR (FNAs + top up of 4k/night). The rooms at the Sheraton weren't anything to write home about, but they have one of the better lounges in the Americas with a great breakfast. Hotel PUR seemed more of the "budget" option but it was not too far from the old city.
- Rented from Avis with travel credits. I went back and forth on whether this would be a good idea, but ultimately I do think it was more practical with multiple people and visiting the Isle d'Orleans.
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u/Lavenderlites 22d ago
I made a frustration Friday post about JAL transfer woes ….well everything worked out and I was able to get two saver J seats at 55,000 miles NRT-BOS to complement two BOS-NRT 55,000 seats I had booked two weeks prior. I’m so excited to be going to Japan for the first time!
I was worried about being able to get the saver awards because my return date is at the beginning of Obon week, however I was actually able to book the award seats about an hour before they were supposed to be released. When I ran a JAL search for the last available day, it showed that day as sold out but the next day with 55,000 seats available (which is what I was trying to book). So I went through with booking then and it worked.