Barry’s SAS million point challenge – can he make his ticket for Airline 13 (Xiamen) qualify?

Rob writes: In October, SAS announced the million points challenge – here’s our article. If you can fly 15 of the SkyTeam alliance carriers by the end of 2024, you will receive 1 million bonus SAS EuroBonus points.

It’s not a competition – everyone who hits the target will get the points.

A number of HfP readers took up the challenge. One of them was Barry Collins, who you may have seen discussing the challenge in The Times – click here (paywall, or click here for a non-paywall version).

Barry is sharing his trip with HfP readers. Part 1 and Part 2 looked at ‘why’ and ‘how’ (click to read). Airline 1 was Air Europa. Airline 2 was Air France. Airline 3 was TAROM. Airline 4 was KLM. Airline 5 was SAS. Airline 6 was Virgin Atlantic. Airline 7 was Delta. Airline 8 was Aeromexico. Airline 9 was Saudia. Airline 10 was Garuda Indonesia. Airline 11 was Vietnam Airlines. Airline 12 was China Airlines.

We rejoin Barry in Taipei. He has just found out that not only is his Delta Air Lines flight non-qualifying, his upcoming Xiamen Airlines flights will not count either. In both cases the tickets he bought were too cheap to earn miles. Without getting at least one of these two airlines to post, it’s impossible to complete the challenge.

Over to Barry ….

Taipei to Xiamen, Xiamen Airlines

My flight out of Taipei is at 11am. At 8am sharp I am standing at the front of the check in line. When the staff finish their prep work, I get to speak to someone at about 8.30. I ask if I can pay extra to change the fare code for my flight(s) with Xiamen Airlines today.

After about 15 minutes or so of going back and forth with the supervisor, I am given a piece of paper with the customer service telephone number on it and asked to step aside.

I stay put at the desk. With the airline website open on my phone, I press ‘complete’ to book the exact same flights, but with more flexible rules, that I already booked and paid for weeks ago.

The lady checks me in to my new booking. We go over the fare class code on her screen and she confirms it is points earning. Having now booked direct with Xiamen Airlines, I know that it does not give any indication of the fare class code until after payment.

A spot check of ten random flights with Xiamen Airlines on the Expedia website showed half of them would not earn points. To say I am angry is an understatement. I am furious.

The lounge option for SkyTeam Elite Plus members in Taipei not travelling on China Airlines is Plaza Premium. Perhaps because of my mood, or perhaps because it smelt faintly of an old people’s home (I had a Saturday job in one in the 90’s) I couldn’t help think ‘Premium’ was overselling it a bit.

The biggest plus point was private lockable nap rooms if you had a long lay over. My cappuccino was particularly sorry looking.

The fun had now been sucked right out of this trip. What started out as a mid-life crisis manifesting in a silly challenge that would make good dinner party fodder for years to come had turned into a war of attrition. It didn’t matter how much extra I had to spend, losing was now simply not an option.

I was phenomenally tired and on the cusp of making a mistake. It was after midnight back home, but my wife had texted to say not to return until I have completed the challenge. I am fully aware of how lucky I am!

My current itinerary has me flying Xiamen Airlines to Shanghai and then Korean Air to Seoul. The original plan then had me flying home to Gatwick from Seoul on China Eastern via a stop in Shanghai.

Going incredibly slowly and triple checking every detail, I book a new flight out of Seoul to Guangzhou tomorrow lunchtime (on China Southern, non-SkyTeam) and a new flight home from Bangkok with China Eastern in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

All I need to do now is to get onto the Kenya Airways flight tomorrow evening from Guangzhou to Bangkok with a fare class code that will earn me points. This will get me the additional SkyTeam airline I need to replace my ineligible Delta ticket.

The only economy flights showing on Expedia are the wrong codes. Kenya Airways is like Xiamen as it does not show the fare class before booking. One way or another, though, I need to get on that plane to get my connection home.

Xiamen to Shanghai, Xiamen Airlines

When leaving the plane in Xiamen, I came to a T junction where you can go left towards arrivals or right towards 24hr transit zone. You’d think I would have turned right. You’d be wrong. Even my nifty little sticker from Xiamen Airlines wasn’t enough to discourage the staff from herding me towards arrivals and the impending queue.

A transfer time of just over two hours should be plenty for a connecting flight. It was close call in Xiamen though. No time for the lounge (couldn’t see it anyway?) and it would have been lovely to get a cold drink, as this airport is seriously lacking in air conditioning. I was able to pass through the first two or three security checks with my stashed drinks, but the final one before the departure gates made me throw them away.

I am now concerned for my quick stop in Shanghai as that is less than two hours, and I have just had a text to say that my flight is delayed ….

I had sailed right past my seat on the previous plane, as it would seem Xiamen (or all Chinese airlines?!) have row numbers which start at 41 instead of 1. Once bitten twice shy, I immediately found my second free upgrade of the challenge with the extra leg room front row. Result. Lucky for some, I guess.

Both Xiamen planes had a standard 3-3 configuration in economy, and a teeny tiny business class section of just two rows of nice big 2-2 seats up front.

Try as I might, I couldn’t get the WiFi to work in the airport (the first time on any of my trips) so I wasn’t able to check on my Kenya Airways flight. A job for as soon as I land in Shanghai, I guess. Probably while standing in a queue. Let’s hope I can get the WiFi to work in Shanghai, or God only knows what my phone bill will be like next month!

The adrenaline from earlier, and the caffeine from my two crappuccinos, is wearing off. I almost wish it were a longer flight so I might have some chance to sleep. At home I average a sleep score of about 90/100 on my Fitbit. The past four nights have been 0, 0, 79 & 39. I think I may be missing my bed more than my family at this precise moment ….

Thirteen airlines down, two (or now possibly three) to go.

Click here for the next article in this series.

The full itinerary

As a reminder, here is Barry’s original itinerary with the amendments made along the way:

Trip 1 – Gatwick to Barcelona (easyjet), Madrid to Gatwick (Air Europa) booked as part of a family holiday

Trip 2 – Heathrow to Paris (Air France) – Paris to Bucharest (TAROM) – Bucharest to Amsterdam (KLM) – Amsterdam to Stockholm (SAS) – Stockholm to Heathrow (SAS) 

Trip 3 – Heathrow to Atlanta (Virgin Atlantic) – Atlanta to Mexico City (Delta) – Mexico City to Paris (Aeromexico) – Paris to Heathrow (Air France) 

Trip 4 – Stansted to Istanbul (Pegasus) – Istanbul to Riyadh (Pegasus) – Riyadh to Jeddah (Saudia) Heathrow to Jeddah (British Airways) – Jeddah to Jakarta (Saudia) – Jakarta to Singapore (Garuda) – Singapore to Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) – Ho Chi Minh to Taipei (China Airlines) – Taipei to Xiamen (Xiamen Airlines) – Xiamen to Shanghai (Xiamen Airlines) – Shanghai to Seoul (Korean) – Seoul to Shanghai (China Eastern) Seoul to Guangzhou (China Southern) – Guangzhou to Bangkok (Kenya Airways) – Bangkok to Shanghai (China Eastern) – Shanghai to Gatwick (China Eastern)