How did Greg’s 100K Vacay Benchmark trip set the bar?

Those who have been following the 100K Vacay challenge this week know that Greg’s been designing an excellent vacation in Malta to serve as the benchmark trip, which will set the bar for the rest of our annual challenge competitors.

Armed with 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points (arguably the most powerful transferable points program for a comfortable luxury vacation), Greg had some unique advantages the other competitors won’t have – most notably, an ability to transfer to Hyatt for luxury lodging at a reasonable price in points. This put him in a good position to set the bar for a vacation the others will have to try to match (or even beat!)

Since Greg’s trip is setting the standard, we’ll go through each metric in our scoring rubric and describe the bar Greg set for each. (There are some metrics where he set a higher bar than others so our competitors – Nick, Stephen, and Tim – will have a healthy but achievable challenge in front of them!)

How Greg set the benchmark

Destination WOW! (18 possible points)

• Location location location (3 possible points)
  As a destination, Malta had everything you might want in a vacation: beaches, rich historical sites, and an interesting cultural flavor. However, the hotel he selected in Malta (Hyatt Centric Malta) was not necessarily a prime location unless you’re interested in nightlife, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. There were some worthy attractions within walking distance of the hotel (like St. George’s Bay), but every day Greg and his crew took some form of transportation – bus or rideshare.)
• Adventure (3 possible points)
  Greg spent the better part of a day snorkeling in an off-the-beaten-path cove, then hiking along the rocky coast.
  
• Relaxation (3 possible points)
  What followers may not know is that Greg had a healthy amount of downtime each day. (The first day was the only day without a few hours of rest in the afternoon.) Otherwise, Greg had no specific activities dedicated to relaxation.
• Food (3 possible points)
  Greg had a food-focused activity almost every day of his trip (3 of the 4 days). First, he invited his old couch-surfing connection from 40K to Far Away to reprise the sunrise picnic he’d created in Johannesburg, South Africa, 6 years before, this time with a sunset beach picnic instead. The picnic focused on local dishes (curated by chef Bjarne). Next, he sampled the most famous Maltese pastry (pastizzi) at the pastizzi shop most recommended by the tour guide of the free walking tour he participated in. And finally, he splashed out on the final night with a (very affordable) 7-course tasting menu at a traditional restaurant selected by the same Culinary Concierge he’d traveled with a few years ago in 3 Cards 3 Continents. By the time he left, he had sampled many local dishes at very reasonable expense.
  
• Local exposure (3 possible points)
  Greg shuffled his original plans in part to forego a touristy kayak activity, which would have hit all the tourist hot spots. Instead, he opted for snorkeling at a local spot he’d learned of from a blog. True to its description, this spot had no crowds at all, and many of the other swimmers did indeed seem to be locals. In addition to this, Greg took not one, but two free tours with a local Maltese tour guide – one in Valletta and the other in Mdina. He also made use of a local bus, which gave him the opportunity to chat with a local who shared interesting insights about modern Maltese life. (This did not make it onto Instagram sadly, because, well, believe it or not, we don’t actually film everything.)
• Out-of-the-box ideas (3 possible points)
  One of Greg’s more out-of-the-box ideas was his least glamorous but perhaps most clever flight booking. To avoid the painfully high ($500) fees on a Virgin Atlantic flight home from LHR to JFK for 10.5K points, he instead booked an AMS > LHR > JFK flight for 14.5K and half the fees. (And because of a transfer bonus, he only needed 12K Chase Ultimate Rewards points for those 14.5K Virgin Atlantic miles.) His decision to create a local-food picnic was an out-of-the-box idea worth repeating as well.

Applicability (18 possible points)

• Replicability (9 possible points)
  Greg was very intentional about using his true home airport as his starting point (Detroit), even though we are technically allowing our competitors to pick their starting point. He did this specifically to ensure his trip would realistically represent what a reader might be able to do (even our readers who don’t live in major hubs like NYC.) Greg also used Air Canada Aeroplan miles for his flight from JFK to Malta because, even though there are programs he could have used to get better value on business-class flights to Europe, they’re far more difficult to find.
• Applicability (9 possible points)
  Greg’s flights and hotels could all have been booked by anyone with 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards, making it extremely applicable. He did, however, use the professional (paid) version of Award Tool to find his award flight and applied a Hyatt Suite Upgrade award (which not everyone would necessarily have). He also took advantage of his Globalist status for free breakfast and lounge access (which he used as his dinner for at least one meal). His applicability was very good, but not perfect – our competitors should be able to beat him at this metric if they want to.

Value (18 possible points)

• Dollar value (6 possible points)
  This vacation would have cost $4,341 to replicate without miles and points. (This includes everything.)
• Frugality (6 possible points)
  Greg’s net cost was $968.
• Pro behavior (6 possible points)
  Again, Greg’s Virgin Atlantic flight home was positioned from Amsterdam specifically to minimize high fees from London (despite transiting through London). This could be considered a pro tactic.

Extras (28 possible points)

• Budget (0 possible points)
  Yes, Greg stayed within budget! He had 3K points and $32 left in his budget.
• Proper lodging for 3 nights (15 possible points)
  Greg spent 4 nights in a real bed. Our competitors can potentially earn more points if they spend more nights in a real bed than he did, though they’re only required to spend 3.
• Check-in attendance (3 possible points)
  This metric does not apply to Greg since he did not have any live check-ins throughout his trip.
• Daily journal updates (6 possible points)
  Greg managed to publish a journal update every day of his trip.
• Secret destination points (4 possible points)
  Greg did end up in one of the pre-established secret destinations. (How these secret destinations are established won’t be revealed until the end.)

Style (18 possible points)

• Luxury flights (6 possible points)
  Greg’s longest international flight (Air Serbia Business class) offered a lie-flat bed, a pre-selected meal, and most other standard business-class amenities. He noted that not all seats seemed equivalent, but he selected one with the optimum amount of space, storage options, and aisle access. Greg’s second-longest flight (Virgin Atlantic premium economy) offered plenty of legroom, good seat recline, footrests, and excellent food and service. Greg also had 4 short economy segments.
• Luxury accommodations (6 possible points)
  The Hyatt Centric Malta is a Category 2 Hyatt. Greg used a suite upgrade for a balcony suite, and he also had club lounge access and free breakfast in the restaurant.
• Other points-driven luxury (6 possible points)
  Greg visited 5 airport lounges. On his outbound flights, he used Priority Pass to access the Lufthansa Star Alliance lounge in Detroit and the VIP One Lounge at JFK. Additionally, his Air Serbia business-class ticket gave him access to the Premiere Class lounge at JFK. On the return journey, Greg’s Delta Elite status gave him access to the KLM lounge in Amsterdam and the Virgin Atlantic clubhouse in London. Additionally, he was able to guest me into the VIP One Lounge at JFK with his Priority Pass, and to the KLM and Virgin Atlantic lounges with his status.

Wed, October 1st at 9pm ET: Challenge kick-off live stream

This Wednesday, October 1st, at 9 pm ET, instead of our usual Ask Us Anything Live, we’ll have our challenge kick-off, where we’ll make sure our contestants (and followers) are up to speed on how Greg’s trip set the benchmark. We’ll also check in to see where our travelers are, mentally and physically. Are they feeling confident? Did elements of Greg’s trip make them rethink their own? And have any of them already hit the road? Tune in to find out!

View on YouTube here

And of course, the best way to make sure you don’t miss these live episodes is to subscribe to our YouTube channel here and click the bell icon next to the “subscribe” button to enable notifications from our channel.

Don’t forget to follow our Instagram channel and read our contestants’ daily journals for the most current status of the ongoing 100K Vacay challenge!

Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.