Thailand w/ Seoul stopover.... UA on Asiana+Thai, or UR/MR to Korean?

[Craig]

1. What route are you looking for? Seattle>Seoul (stopover)>Bangkok/Phukett/Chiang Mai (arrive into one and open jaw out of one of these cities)>Seattle
2. What dates do you want to travel (mention how flexible you are)? Over Thanksgiving (~Nov 18 to Dec 3)
3. Do you want to fly first, business, or coach? (maybe also "are you willing to fly coach for a positioning flight") Business
4. How many passengers? 2
5. How many points do you have, in which programs? 340k UA, 290k MR, 120k UR, 70k SPG, 110k TYP , 600k AA, 300k AS (all between SO and myself)


Originally I was looking to use AK miles on Hainan to get to Thailand with a stopover in Beijing, but with fuel surcharges it was going to be 100k miles + $560 each. Since we have a glut of other miles, I'd rather save the cash.

I can book UA on Asiana (or a mix of Asiana/Thai) for 160k each RT and about $75 in surcharges, and get a stopover in Seoul and then openjaw out of either Phukett or Bangkok, saving us money on one domestic flight in Thailand. Alternatively, I could transfer MR and UR to Korean and include the stopover in Seoul for 155k in business/200k in first. I'd rather save the UR for Hyatt stays and topping off United miles, but am open.

The SEA>ICN flight is on Asiana's 777, which I have heard good but not great things about. I've also heard some relatively bad things about Thai Air, but that could be individual bad experiences that shouldn't tarnish the airline itself.

Any input or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[thepaul500]

Not very helpful...but, I found first class on Korean to be awesome last year. After seeing the 2-3-2 in business, I was very happy with the couple extra miles to sit all the way up front. However, their IFE was utterly abysmal. Seoul is a great stopover city as well.

 

[Craig]

Not very helpful...but, I found first class on Korean to be awesome last year. After seeing the 2-3-2 in business, I was very happy with the couple extra miles to sit all the way up front. However, their IFE was utterly abysmal. Seoul is a great stopover city as well.

Where did you stay in Seoul?

Next dilemma is whether to do Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Conrad, Sheraton D Cube, or Hilton Millennium. We will only have 2 or 3 days there. I am SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, and Hyatt Plat, but do have the SPG business card so lounge access would be included at the Sheraton.

 

[dukerau]

Delta non-stop SEA-ICN is available on 11/18. Of course with DL miles you don't get a stopover, but you might prefer the product to Asiana.

Another option, though not non-stop, is SQ. SEA-SFO-ICN on SQ connecting to ICN-BKK/HKT on Asiana or Thai. If you want to optimize products, this could get you J/F on SQ as well as a premium class layover in BKK (if you fly ICN-BKK-HKT as part of that itinerary) to go to the Thai lounge. That'd be 80k SQ miles one way, and you would get a stopover in ICN if you book as a round trip, or you can pay $100 on a one-way to get a stopover IIRC. You would have to pay some fuel surcharges though. UA is going to be pretty tough to beat on price.