Booked: Pre-Honeymoon in the Pacific

Greetings from French Polynesia!

As I write this, I find myself a long way from anywhere, on a tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. This part of the world has been a destination that I’ve long aspired to visit, and I must say it’s quite surreal to finally be here.

While my return journey is still open-ended, I’ve managed to score some great aspirational flights and stays on this very special trip, and here’s how it all came together.

The Trip

As some of you may know, 2023 is set to mark a major milestone in my life. I’ll be getting married this summer, and my partner Jessy and I have been busy making all the necessary arrangements and preparing for the momentous occasion. 

The months leading up to the wedding will be very busy, and we’ve opted to front-load our travels to earlier on in the year, especially to some of the more far-flung destinations on our list.

Indeed, the unique natural beauty of Bora Bora makes it a poster child for aspirational travel, and a place that has long intrigued both of us.

With azure-blue water, coral reefs, and the ever-present Mount Otemanu towering in the background, there are many reasons why this place is known as a world-class romantic destination.

After getting engaged in the Maldives three years ago, it also seemed fitting that we’d come here to Bora Bora for a “pre-honeymoon” as we get set to embark on a bigger journey together later on this year.

As we spend time quality time together in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, it’s another stark reminder of the gift of travel, as well as the power of Miles & Points in unlocking some truly unforgettable travel experiences.

The Flights

As you can imagine, there isn’t a lot of choice when it comes to direct flights from North America to French Polynesia. To further complicate matters, finding multiple seats in a premium cabin on points makes it even more difficult, but not impossible.

To get here, we redeemed 80,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles per person to fly from Los Angeles to Papeete with Air Tahiti Nui in business class. Availability on this particular route can be hard to come by, but I booked this trip almost a year out and managed to lock in the seats.

For Jessy’s return journey to Vancouver, I booked her on an outstanding, though perhaps lesser-known, Aeroplan sweet spot that…