This post may contain affiliate links from which Save My Cents receives compensation. In light of the ever-changing coronavirus situation, #wecanyolonow is inadvertently also a documentation of the Save My Cents being away from home for an extended and unexpected period of time.
When we got back from leg one of #wecanyolonow (if you’re new, this post explains the hashtag), we were confronting grim reality of increasing coronavirus cases around the world. My work conference in Singapore got canceled and moved to Los Angeles, and then got canceled again after we left Fiji. Mr. Savemycents and I really, really wanted to see my family in Australia and gosh darnit we would make our way to New Zealand. So in the spirit of #wecanyolonow, we understood that our costs were going to continue climbing while on paper our net worth declined, and that we are all just trying to do our best in a very confusing, and sometimes scary time. This is just as much a time when I see our emotions and how we relate to money at work in real time as anything else.
Sunk costs: $1,200 and climbing
We are not counting these towards the total, but it’s worth noting that we are experiencing unexpected losses due to coronavirus. We bought some plane tickets that were non-refundable. And while we booked with the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, which comes with a travel insurance policy, it does not cover events such as an epidemic. As the coronavirus situation further develops, Mr. Savemycents and I may continue to travel to avoid NYC.
But, travel insurance is free with the Chase Sapphire credit card and can be helpful (in non-pandemic situations)
When I developed placenta previa during pregnancy I was given doctor’s orders not to travel. Pregnancy is not a covered event under most travel insurance policies, but placenta previa which led to no air travel (which was not pre-existing at the time of booking) was. Both Mr. Savemycents and I are holders of Chase Sapphire cards, and bookings made with these cards can then be submitted for reimbursement of losses such as fees. We were able to cancel our October 2019 trip to Hawaii this way and incur no losses. Here’s my referral link to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card – this card is one step below the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, which with a new annual fee of $550, in my opinion, is NOT worth it for my audience. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is still a happy medium. If you use our referral link you get 60,000 bonus points (worth $750 of travel) after spending $4,000 in the first three months your account is open. This card has an annual fee of $95 and gives you 2x points on travel and restaurants.
Flight: USD $500 in taxes and fees, and 40,000 Alaska Airlines miles, $2,000 in free value realized
As Mr. Savemycents researched a new option to get to Australia, he found an incredible fare sale. We could book a one way trip, for the two of us, on Fiji Airways, using Alaska Airlines miles, from New York City all the way to Brisbane, with stops in Los Angeles and Fiji, for a grand total of 40,000 Alaska Airlines miles. On top of that we’d also owe about $500 in taxes and fees, which included $93 for lap child, about $150 for a bassinet on two of the legs so BB could sleep, and $257 in taxes.
We’d never been to Fiji. And it turns out that it was one of the best trips of my life. So we ended up hacking 5 days and 5 nights, which I’m sharing below.
Ground / ocean transportation: USD $427
We spent $31 taking the Long Island Railroad and the AirTrain to get to JFK.
While in Fiji, we stayed at 4 different places (3 resorts and one cheap airport hotel). One of the resorts was in the Mamanuca Islands group just west of Nadi. We took an airport taxi and once I found the driver to be very honest, I emailed him to book him for all our future legs. Here’s the breakdown, because I know that it’s sometimes difficult to find taxi cost estimates in Fiji as the articles I googled were often multiple years old. The below costs are in Fijian dollars which I converted back up to USD using the prevailing exchange rate in February 2020 of 0.45 FJD to 1 USD.
Nadi Airport to Port Denarau: 35 FJD. This is a very standard charge for about 15 km.
Port Denarau ferry transfer to Tokoriki Island: 640FJD for two adults round-trip. There is only really one ferry company – South Sea Cruises – that transfers you to the islands in Fiji. With that, comes monopoly prices. This is the most expensive leg in Fiji (and if you go to any further islands the price is higher). We chose the Mamanuca islands because they were closer and it was just a one hour transfer. Be aware – once you approach the island, you will have to transfer to a small boat. Wear grippy shoes and best to wear a baby in a carrier instead of a heavy stroller. We were lucky to be able to sit in the captain’s cabin on the way over so we had some privacy.
On the ferry to Tokoriki island
Port Denarau to Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa: 85FJD, 53km
Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa to Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay: 75FJD, 30km
Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay to airport hotel: 70FJD, 30km
Airport hotel to airport: 14FJD using the hotel’s shuttle
Tips: 30FJD
I want to highly recommend our taxi driver, Neal Kumar. He is friendly, arrives early, and communicates very quickly via email. He can also arrange day tours for you. His prices are much more reasonable than transfers provided by the luxury resorts, and he gave me permission to publish his email here if you’d like to get in touch. Just tell him that Shang sent you. nealkumar1883 [at] gmail [dot] com
Hotels and lodging: 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, 1 IHG free night, 4,885 Ultimate Rewards points, and $163 in cash. $2,623 in free value realized
The biggest hack on this trip was the lodging. We picked three luxury resorts and one airport hotel for our 5 nights stay. And while the coronavirus situation was unfortunate, and we were in Fiji during what is considered their low season, this meant that we received incredible complimentary room upgrades far better than what we could have hoped for. My husband has Platinum status with both the Marriott and IHG loyalty programs – having status is key to receiving complimentary upgrades. I hope to share my experiences more in detail on a later post. In the meantime please enjoy these photos from each resort
Sheraton Tokoriki: 30,000 Bonvoy points for TWO nights. We were upgraded to the largest room available – a family suite with its own private plunge pool and outdoor hammock. The room is worth about $600 USD a night.
A walkway lined by rooms at the Sheraton Tokoriki
The private plunge pool
InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa was possibly my favorite stay. We used the 1 free night that came with the IHG credit card. We were upgraded to an incredible beachfront view room that had its own private terrace and outdoor bathtub. The value of this night alone was $1,000 USD!
How often do I get to have an outdoor bathtub? Not often enough ha!
Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay was booked using the friends and family Explore Rate code, which can only be shared with you using a custom invitation from a Marriott employee.We happen to have a friend who is one, so that helped us save on Marriott properties on this trip. We paid 362 FJD for a room that was valued at 777 FJD. It was a lagoon view duplex bure (meaning one half of a two-room bure) that opened right up to the lagoon beach with a private outdoor terrace where Mr. Savemycents and I star gazed.
Looking out to the lagoon at Marriott Momi Bay
Our final night in Fiji we stayed at a no name airport by the hotel. We used 4885 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a night that was valued at $73 USD.
Food and beverage: $261, with $245 in free value realized
Fiji was unusually expensive for food if you eat on the resorts. This is a given, and while Mr. Savemycents and I are not ordinarily resort people, we can see why people enjoy resort living. We did a couple of things to help with the costs. We purchased groceries from a grocery mart at Port Denarau (it’s not the cheapest. Ask your taxi driver to take you to a local grocery mart if you want truly cheap groceries). I loaded up on a lot of canned salmon and crackers and Mr. Savemycents got a bag of granola (he’d use the coffee milk in the resorts to make a parfait). Fiji tap water is clean and safe to drink. And as Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members, breakfast can be free. Here are some of the highlights
At LAX, we dined at the Point the Way Cafe with my Priority Pass (available via the Chase Sapphire Reserve card) and had two delicious fish entrees valued at $55
We had 3 rounds of free breakfast buffets courtesy of Mr. Savemycents Platinum status with Marriott – two at Sheraton Tokoriki, one at Fiji Marriott Momi Bay. I valued each of these at $50 for the two of us
While staying at Sheraton Tokoriki we really did not enjoy their lunch / dinner options. One of the day I walked over to the other resort – the Tokoriki Resort, a luxurious 5-star hotel, that had similar food prices, and had a delicious 2-course meal for 77FJD.
At Port Denarau there are several reasonable options to grab a meal. We had a great Indian lunch at Indigo – a garlic naan and two entrees for 72 FJD.
We got enough groceries to cover about 4 meals for the two of us. Total spent approximately 60FJD
We also grabbed free breakfasts at the Alaska Airlines lounge in JFK and the Fiji Airways lounge in Nadi airport, courtesy of my Priority Pass. I valued each of these at $20, so $40 USD total.
Fiji Totals (does not count the sunk costs): $1,351 in cash spent, $4,868 in free value realized. Total retail value of the trip if you were to replicate it without travel hacking: $5,719 and does not include flight back to the U.S.
