How I utilized points and miles to secure business-class flights to Madagascar for our honeymoon

As my fiancé and I began planning our honeymoon, we envisioned an adventurous outdoor experience filled with hiking and wildlife, alongside some beach relaxation. We were determined to indulge in lie-flat seating, which was only possible if we could book our tickets with points and miles.

My fiancé had accumulated United MileagePlus miles through two United credit cards, so we kicked off our search with United Airlines. We were thrilled to discover business-class award seats on Ethiopian Airlines to Madagascar — a stunning, lemur-populated island off the east coast of Africa — for just 88,000 miles each way. With abundant hiking trails, wildlife encounters, and luxurious beaches and resorts, Madagascar was the ideal blend of adventure and leisure.

However, booking these tickets proved more challenging than we anticipated due to a unique aspect of Ethiopian Airlines' award seat system. It required some flexibility and determination, but here’s how we successfully booked our dream honeymoon using points and miles.

Booking flights on Ethiopian Airlines using United miles

Madagascar features two international airports: Ivato International Airport (TNR) in Antananarivo, the capital, and Fascene Airport (NOS) on the beautiful island of Nosy Be. We chose to arrive at TNR, tour to Nosy Be, and return from NOS.

As both United and Ethiopian Airlines are part of the Star Alliance, we were able to book Ethiopian award flights using United MileagePlus miles through United's website. Each ticket required 88,000 miles per person each way, plus taxes and fees of $14 for the outbound flight and $120 for the return. The flights were mixed-cabin; our shortest leg (a 2.5-hour flight to Chicago from Denver) was in economy, while the rest of our trip was in business class. We were content with this arrangement — our top priority was securing lie-flat seats for the 14-hour leg from Chicago to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

My fiancé had been accumulating United miles for an occasion like this. He’s been a holder of the United℠ Explorer Card for several years and recently boosted his mileage with a welcome bonus from his new United Quest℠ Card. Now we were all set to use those hard-earned miles for our honeymoon.

We began by reserving a one-way flight for both of us from Denver International Airport (DEN) to TNR. Booking one-way tickets separately can often be more economical than purchasing a round-trip and simplifies the search for available awards. Although I had some United miles, we ultimately decided that my fiancé would book both flights since his Explorer Card grants him Premier Silver status, two annual lounge passes, and a free checked bag for himself and a travel companion. By having him book our award tickets, we could take full advantage of these benefits.

The flights from Denver to Madagascar required 88,000 United miles plus $14 in taxes and fees for each person. They also included an overnight layover in Chicago, which is fairly typical for United's routes from Denver to Africa. Intent on keeping our honeymoon flights free, I booked a night at the Hyatt Place Chicago/Midway Airport using my World of Hyatt points. That Saturday night, rooms were available for either 8,000 points or $264 cash, providing a great value of 3.3 cents per point. (According to TPG's October 2024 valuations, World of Hyatt points are worth around 1.7 cents each.)

A dilemma for our return

This is where our well-crafted plans faced a hurdle. Our return flights were priced at 88,000 United miles plus $120 in taxes and fees per person — but when we went to book them, suddenly there was no award availability. The issue? We had been searching for one seat. Now that we were looking for two, all the award space had vanished.

We explored every potential flight route home and all possible dates in October. (Since we booked our flight to Madagascar using miles and United's award seats are fully refundable, we could easily modify our travel dates.) However, on every flight from Nosy Be to Denver, there were only business-class tickets available for one person, not two. What were the chances that exactly one seat remained on every flight?

After some further investigation, we uncovered the issue: On one leg of our return trip, specifically from NOS to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), Ethiopian Airlines permits only one partner award ticket per flight.

Consequently, my fiancé booked his flight from NOS to DEN, taking the single award seat on the NOS-ADD segment. We hoped that with that seat occupied, another would become available soon. We waited a couple of weeks, checking frequently, but unfortunately, had no success.

While Ethiopian Airlines limits partner awards to just one seat on that NOS to ADD flight, there were numerous award seats available directly on the airline’s site — and at a reasonable cost. I would only need 20,000 ShebaMiles to secure an economy ticket through Ethiopian. Unfortunately, there's almost no way to earn ShebaMiles without flying Ethiopian (which I’ve never done). None of the transferable credit card rewards can be converted to ShebaMiles, and there are no credit cards available to U.S. customers that offer ShebaMiles. So, my hopes were dashed once more.

We contemplated abandoning our Madagascar plans and starting over, but we weren’t ready to give up just yet. By this point, we were determined to see lemurs.

We proceeded to book my partial flight home from ADD to DEN, which cost the same 88,000 miles as my fiancé's longer journey from NOS to DEN, assuming I could purchase the NOS to ADD leg with cash. Then I saw the cash price: $1,100. That’s quite expensive for a 1,600-mile economy ticket and far beyond our honeymoon budget.

I started looking for alternative options, thinking I might catch an earlier flight from NOS to ADD on Ethiopian Airlines or another airline. Again, no luck. To my dismay, there’s only one flight operating from NOS to ADD. It’s run by Ethiopian Airlines and operates every other day. Therefore, the only way this option could work is if one of us stayed an extra two days in Madagascar, flying home separately — not exactly the ending we envisioned for our honeymoon.

We thought about taking a regional flight from Nosy Be back to Antananarivo, from which we could fly home together (it seems Ethiopian Airlines allows more than one award seat on nearly all flights except NOS to ADD). However, factoring in the regional flight to Antananarivo and an additional night in a hotel near the airport, the total cost would be nearly as much as the $1,100 cash ticket.

It appeared Ethiopian Airlines was intent on keeping me in Madagascar. Dark thoughts began to swirl in my mind: me stranded on the island, running out of hotel funds, and eventually living wild among the lemurs. But I resolved to explore one last option.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points to the rescue

As a holder of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, I have access to the Chase Travel℠ and Capital One Travel portals — and the NOS to ADD flight was available on both. The price was around the same as on Ethiopian's site ($1,100). Using Capital One Travel would cost me 110,000 miles at a flat rate of 1 cent per mile, but I could get a better value of 1.25 cents per point on the Chase portal, reducing the cost to about 88,000 points.

While it was more points than I initially wanted to spend, it would allow me to fly home with my partner while still using points and miles for our flights. However, unlike the award tickets booked through United, this flight reserved through Chase Travel would be nonrefundable. Before committing 88,000 points, I did one final search on United to see if any new award seats had become available.

Unfortunately, they hadn't — in economy. But now, there was one business-class seat open for only 65,000 MileagePlus miles.

I had around 35,000 miles in my account, accumulated through flying, booking United hotels, and utilizing the MileagePlus Shopping portal. I transferred 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my United account to book that ticket — saving 13,000 points in the process and upgrading myself to business class.

Technically, I won’t be able to sit next to my soon-to-be-husband on the flight from NOS to ADD, and I do feel a bit guilty leaving him to languish in economy while I enjoy cocktails and hot towels in business class. However, it's only a five-hour flight. We’re excited to sit together for the rest of the journey home from Ethiopia to Denver. More importantly, I no longer have to imagine life as a feral lemur girl.

My only concern is the fate of my checked bag. Since my flight from NOS to ADD isn’t on the same ticket as my flight from ADD to DEN, I’ll need to collect my bag at ADD and re-check it during my two-hour layover, which might be tight. Since my fiancé's United Quest℠ Card offers him two free checked bags, we’ll likely check my bag under his name to make sure it has the smoothest trip home.

With the addition of my NOS to ADD flight, our total expenditure amounted to 417,000 Chase points and United miles, plus $268 for two round-trip flights to Madagascar. For a mixed-cabin itinerary valued at around $18,400 per person, that equates to 8.7 cents per point — an exceptional value for either United miles or Chase points (which TPG currently values at 1.35 cents and 2.05 cents, respectively, as of October 2024).

Credit cards we used to book our honeymoon

My fiancé covered the taxes and fees for our flights using his United Quest℠ Card, which earns 3 miles for every dollar spent on United purchases.

Our stay at the Hyatt is completely free, but if we decide to dine at the hotel restaurant that evening or grab breakfast the next morning, I'll use my World of Hyatt Credit Card, which earns 4 points per dollar spent on Hyatt purchases.

We arranged the rest of our Madagascar adventure through a tour agency. After all, it was our honeymoon, and we wanted to minimize the planning. We used our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for most of the tour expenses since it earns 2 points per dollar spent on travel, includes trip insurance, and has no foreign transaction fees.

My fiancé also recently acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. He used it to cover part of our tours, quickly earning the welcome bonus after fulfilling the spending requirement.

I was just approved for the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which I plan to use for souvenirs and other non-bonus purchases in Madagascar. This card earns 2 points per dollar on all purchases and has no foreign transaction fees.

In summary

Fortunately, we discovered a solution that allowed us to fulfill our lemur dreams and fly to Africa in lie-flat seats using points and miles. Along the way, we learned a crucial lesson: Always check for award space based on the total number of tickets you need, even if it's just two. You might be surprised by the limited availability, which can vary based on the airline's policies and how many seats are booked on specific flights.

Additionally, keep your search flexible across all fare classes — you never know when an affordable business-class option might become available. It's also essential to understand your cancellation policies. If you can secure a fully refundable award flight, go for it — you can always cancel and rebook if a better option arises later.