It’s time once again for a marathon travel day with a long-haul flight. This time, we’re leaving Denver and flying back to the Philippines by way of Los Angeles and San Francisco. So, 2 short flights, followed by a 14-hour+ leg across the Pacific.

Our family has been part of United Airlines' MileagePlus program and held Premier 1K status for 3 years, but the airline has made some less-than-ideal changes over that time. In this episode, we give a complete look at the 2024 status experience, from miles upgrades for the United Premium Plus cabin, to complimentary upgrades for United First Class, to how often we get Plus Points upgrades for United Polaris Business Class.

We have another marathon travel day ahead of us as we jump from the Philippines paradise here in El Nido, back to Manila for the better part of the day, and then jet off to Malaysia to mark our 22nd country visited in our worldwide travels. Even if all our flights depart on time, this journey gets us into Kuala Lumpur at 1am.

We’ve just finished a phenomenal jaunt through the coast and jungles of Bali, but now we’re leaving Indonesia and heading back to our favorite destination of the Philippines to complete a few Cebu adventures that got caught in the chopping block last year. But it’s not a straight flight and we’re taking two days to get there, so we’re gonna find a way to spend the night in Hong Kong… without leaving the airport, without booking a hotel room, and without causing a kiddo meltdown.

We’ve flown into and out of Singapore’s legendary Changi Airport several times, but always during the wee hours when most of the magic of the Jewel complex was closed for the night. But that streak ends today because we’re spending the next 24 hours next to the best planet!