The Trip That Cost Me 124,000 Points—Was It Worth the Spend?

Jazz bars in a futuristic city, Americans are leaving in record numbers, and a huge sign-up bonus.

May 07, 2026

This edition is sponsored by Sky Key, a product I personally use for every flight.

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Greetings, friends! It’s been a whirlwind week since I last wrote to you.

Originally, I thought the Trump Administration would step in to save Spirit Airlines, but the airline ultimately folded over the weekend, leaving thousands of passengers without transportation and 17,000 employees without work. As I shared on my Instagram: Say what you will with Spirit Airlines jokes, but it’s sad to see a low-cost carrier shut down when it allowed so many people to travel who otherwise couldn’t. ❤️‍🩹 I’ll be curious to see if the crowdfunding plan to bring Spirit Airlines back will work…

In happier news: It’s finally time to share part one of my travels to Asia—the first leg we covered in Shanghai. While many travelers are familiar with Hong Kong, Shanghai felt like a hidden gem, so I hope the guide below is helpful.

As always, if you have questions about our time here (or my upcoming guides to Hong Kong and Taipei, Taiwan) or suggestions of your own to add, feel free to chime in.

What to Know: Planning Your Visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC)

You usually need a visa to enter PRC, and getting one is notoriously time-consuming, as you have to head to the closest embassy or pay a courier to go through the process for you. My husband’s job took care of his visa since that was his primary reason for travel, but I took advantage of the new 240-hour visa-free transit policy which means you can stay in PRC for ten days. In order to be eligible, you have to arrive from one country and exit to a different region or country afterwards (both Hong Kong and Taiwan count as a different region and country). In our case, our journey went from the US → Shanghai → Hong Kong. The only time we ran into an issue was when we departed from the Atlanta airport, but because I had read about this happening online, I came prepared with printouts about the visa-free transit policy and our flight information going to and leaving PRC. After the staff rang their manager, they allowed me to check-in, and I had no issues upon arriving or leaving from PRC itself.
It was quite difficult to work remotely from a country with such a massive firewall, so I recommend either get a VPN and download everything you need before you leave (large files took forever to load), or just take the time off. After researching VPN options there, we used LetsVPN, which cost $13 for two people for a month.
Download apps like AliPay before you get there. Nearly everything is paid for through AliPay, and you can use ride-share app Didi directly through there as well. Other travelers also suggest downloading WeChat once you arrive (like WhatsApp but simultaneously a payment platform), but you need a local who’ll vouch for you in order to sign up.
If you download the Google Maps area of Shanghai before you arrive, you can use it to navigate around, but if not, locals recommend AMap as Google Maps doesn’t work with the firewall there. I also recommend downloading Google Translate for Mandarin/simplified Chinese before you arrive.
We primarily used Didi to get around because of my plantar fasciitis and limited time to sightsee, but the Shanghai and Hong Kong metro systems are very affordable and accessible.
Finally, it is exceptionally hard to be vegetarian in Shanghai. Hong Kong is slightly more vegetarian-friendly, but beware that some dishes may still use meat-based broths or fish sauce in your dishes. At one point, we walked to over 30 restaurants inside one mall, and the only one that had a veggie-friendly dish was Five Guys, so do with that information what you will (and maybe pack snacks).

Getting There & Back: What We Booked & Paid

My husband’s Delta flights into and out of Shanghai were booked via his work, as we headed there for a conference. As for me, the flights around that time of year were over $2,500 for premium economy on the same airline (preferred, since he agreed to give me his business class seat on the long haul there 😇), so I decided instead to opt for points.

Generally speaking, I would not call this a smart redemption: One way from Atlanta to Shanghai was a steep 96,000 points in premium economy. For reference, in years past, I’ve traveled to Paris for 25,000 roundtrip, so imagine my shock and horror. The good news was, by the time I left (thanks to the aforementioned Sky Key!), the cost dropped by 18,000 points, which was dutifully returned to me for the cost of $45.

I booked the return flight to Atlanta from Shanghai for 46,000 miles in regular economy, bringing the grand total of points spent on this trip to 124,000. I shudder at what this would have cost if my husband’s flights hadn’t been included. But I knew it was our biggest trip of the year, so nevertheless I persisted.

From Shanghai, we planned to head to Hong Kong, and from there, we ended our last leg in Taipei. Those legs—from Shanghai to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Taipei—for two people netted out to $730. My husband also needed to fly back to Shanghai for his business class flight home (I will play my tiny violin 🎻) so that was an additional $234.

Where We Stayed

Again, because we were there for work purposes, our stay in Shanghai was fully covered. We stayed at the InterContinental Shanghai Ruijin, which looks to be about $200–$225 USD a night if paying out of pocket (or you could use IHG points). The only additional fee we paid was for my breakfast buffet at $24/day, but because of its location, you could easily walk around and grab a local breakfast for much cheaper.

Our stay here was largely positive: The rooms are spacious, the grounds are stunning and accessible to nearby neighborhoods, and the breakfast buffet was filling. I do have two caveats that feel specifically American, but are worth mentioning: The AC was extremely weak, so each night would be between 75–78 degrees in the room. In a desperate attempt to cool off enough to sleep, we had to open the door to the balcony and sleep exposed to the outside world (both people and mosquitos). We were bitten up by the end of our week here, sadly, but if it’s a nicer time of year or their HVAC is improved, I would absolutely stay again.

What We Did

Before the food poisoning kicked in (lol), we spent our Sunday at Wukang Road and Anfu Road, walking around to look at boutiques and taking in the architecture. I highly recommend checking this area out if you can; it’s much more for locals than it is tourists.
As always, I indulged in my travel ritual of getting a massage. I went to Yuting Profession Massage, and while at first I wasn’t sure if it was a real spa (if you get my drift), the massage ended up completely legit and it was wonderful.
One notable restaurant we ate at was Yan Gege, a vegetarian hot pot restaurant based in the 800 Show complex in Jing’an. I am a huge fan of mushrooms, but even I felt like the wild mushroom hot pot was overkill, so I would maybe try a few other dishes along with the hot pot. Very delicious with timely service, though.
Outside of our hotel, I stumbled into the cutest antique and vintage shop, Old Park Shanghai. Set aside 30 minutes to walk around this tiny store and check out all the hidden treasures in every nook and cranny. I bought some antique birthday cards here. Along the same road, I found CoolCam, which has a signature wall of vintage cameras, and anyone can take a guest Polaroid.
Once my food poisoning subsided, I made my way to Yu Garden and Yuyuan Old Market by myself while my husband was working. (I felt safe using Didi, the ride-share app, and walking around by myself for hours at a time.) I tried some cheap street food, looked at all the vendor stalls in the market, and perused the garden’s grounds, though it gets extremely busy—I often felt like we were crammed in there. I would suggest going very early in the morning, if possible. I stopped by Shanghainese eatery Lu Bo Lang, as recommended by the New York Times guide, and tried their delicate and delicious rose cookies.
We did walk through the Bund (Shanghai’s waterfront), and if we’d had time, we would’ve checked out the various art museums in the area. The Bund intersects with Nanjing Road, which strikes me as the Times Square of Shanghai, but it can be fun to amble around. You can also take a ferry across the way for very cheap (just 2 RMB or $0.29 USD!)—don’t waste your time or money on the sightseeing tunnel.

If you want the best views of the city, you can skip the Oriental Pearl Tower and head to People’s Cafe instead for 360-degree panoramas.
If you have the time, try taking a bullet train from Shanghai’s railway station. My husband did a day trip to the tea farms as part of his work, and he said it was a worthwhile experience given how speedy they are.
Another good half-day sightseeing trip would be to Shanghai Film Park, which showcases the city’s cinematic history and transports you back to the 1930s.
Due to jet lag (just a small 12-hour time difference), we had a hard time staying awake late enough to check out the jazz bars in Shanghai, but if we could’ve, we would’ve went to the Fairmont Peace Hotel (expensive and not that exciting, but a mainstay of the Bund), the Blue Note Shanghai (more international), Heyday Wine and Jazz (in the French Concession, more intimate), or Root Down (a vinyl jazz bar with inspired cocktails).
If you’re not vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free, you must do a dumpling crawl. You could essentially pick any neighborhood and you’d find three or four places worth stopping at.
Finally, if you happen to be there on a weekend, head to People’s Park to see the Marriage Market, where parents try to set up their children with one another.

According to my budget tracking app, we spent approximately $363 on excursions, food (besides breakfasts), and shopping across a week here, which is a timely reminder that Shanghai is exorbitantly cheap compared to Hong Kong.

Frankly, since we spent the week there working (or with jet lag or food poisoning), it feels like we barely scraped the surface of what Shanghai had to offer: We didn’t venture far into Pudong, had limited time to visit museums given their hours, and skipped many of the well-known temples and mansions.

Still, it was insightful to see how China’s second-largest city has expanded, and to see how locals live in a country we so rarely get to hear about. Plus, between the mild weather, the efficient transportation, and the affordable pricing, it’s a worthwhile pitstop in my opinion if you’re ever in the region.

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