Introduction: Tokyo and Two 787s

I wrote this just before the trip, in late August 2013; the reviews in the box below came afterward.

Update, October 2026

US Airways’ Dividend Miles program was folded into American AAdvantage in the spring of 2015 (LoyaltyLobby), so the 90K US Airways award and its routing rules are history. ANA planned to move its San Jose flights to Tokyo Haneda but postponed that launch in 2021 (Traveling for Miles), so check ANA’s current schedule before planning around a San Jose departure.

I’ll soon be leaving for a quick 5 day trip to Tokyo, a city I’ve never visited before. It’s actually been a while since my last international vacation so I’ve really been looking forward to this one since I booked it a couple of months ago.

Tokyo is one of those destinations that are serviced by multiple 787s, including from ANA, JAL, and United. I used US Airways miles for this redemption at their amazing 90K miles round trip Business Class price to North Asia, so I needed to find Star Alliance flights. I also wanted to fly on some of the newest planes in the sky, so the 787 was what I was aiming for.

How I Booked It

Thankfully both ANA and United are Star Alliance members, so all I needed to do was find what routes they fly the 787 and search for availability. I’m in Orange County, CA, so the ANA flight from SJC-NRT was a logical choice, with a positioning flight to get from SNA-SJC. On the way back, I knew my options were either the same ANA flight or United from NRT-DEN or NRT-LAX. The Los Angeles flight would have been ideal, but availability on that flight is tough to come by in advance. I ended up booking NRT-DEN-SNA on United.

So my itinerary was SNA-SJC on Southwest sing Southwest points I earned from a credit card bonus, then SJC-NRT on ANA’s 787 in their new staggered Business Class. On the way back I’m flying United from NRT-DEN-SNA, with the Trans-Pacific flight on United’s 787 Business Class.

According to US Airways’ routing rules, you’re allowed either one stopover or one open jaw. I took advantage of the open jaw by returning to a different airport I flew out of. That meant I lost my stopover, but I was fine with making a quick trip to a single destination this time.

Where I Stayed

In Tokyo I’ll be spending 3 nights at the Hyatt Regency and one night at the Park Hyatt. My reasoning for not staying at the Park Hyatt the entire time is simple: when I’m vacationing in a big city, I’m spending minimal time at the hotel itself. I wanted to use the least amount of points I could while still being in a decent part of Tokyo, and the Hyatt Regency fit that bill. I booked the Park Hyatt, which happens to be a short walk from the Hyatt Regency, because I’ve been told it’s simply one of those that you need to experience. I booked both hotels with points I transferred from my Chase Ultimate Rewards account – 36K for the Hyatt Regency (12K a night) plus 22K for the Park Hyatt for a total of 58K Ultimate Rewards points.

So my total cost for airfare and hotels was 90K US Airways miles, about 6K Southwest points and 58K Ultimate Rewards points. I’ll also get to test out the benefits of my Hyatt Platinum membership courtesy of the Chase Hyatt card (which effectively is just free internet).

Next: The Club lounge, San Jose →