When I first heard about the SAS 1 million miles challenge, I was extremely excited. A million miles? I could practically fly anywhere! But, as the travel junkie in me got carried away, I quickly realized that the most important part of this challenge wasn’t just booking flights—it was securing visas. We didn’t have a US visa, and honestly, it would’ve made things so much easier. But hey, where’s the fun without a challenge? 😄
The timeline was tight. From October 8 to December 31, I had to figure out if I could get all the necessary visas and actually travel to all these places. Countries like Schengen require a good 10+ days just for processing the visa, and on top of that, there was the challenge of balancing work, costs, and leaves for both me and Shruti.
I spent a few days mapping out a tentative plan, trying to figure out which countries these airlines were based in and where they flew. FlightConnections.com became my best friend for figuring out routes and understanding what was possible within the given timeframe. I also found tons of useful sample itineraries on FlyerTalk and WhatsApp groups like the Magnify one, which made a huge difference.
After all the research, I realized Schengen was a must-have. It was non-negotiable. Without a Schengen visa, I couldn’t even think about this challenge. More than five airlines were flying in Schengen territory, so if I missed this visa, I’d be missing out on a huge chunk of the challenge.
So, I decided to tackle the Schengen visa first. Little did I know, this was just the beginning of what would become an unexpected and, at times, chaotic journey through visa applications.
1. Schengen Visa 🇫🇷
The Schengen visa was a must-have for us, as more than five of the airlines in the challenge operated within Schengen territories. Without it, we couldn’t proceed, so we went for this first.
Here’s what we encountered:
- Appointment Date: Oct 15
- Processing Time:
- Appointment at VFS: Oct 22
- Call from the consulate: Oct 23 (Needed our actual marriage certificate, not just an affidavit)
- Submission of marriage certificate: Oct 30
- Passport with visa delivered: Oct 31
- Visa Validity: 45 days
- Type: Multi-entry
- Total Cost (per person): ₹11,119 (including French visa fee, VFS fee, and courier charges)
Schengen was a dealbreaker for us in the SAS challenge, and I booked our first flight at 1 AM on Nov 1 for the same day. I’d never booked an international flight on the same day before—crazy, but necessary!
For a detailed post on the Schengen visa, check out our experience here.
2. Australia Visa 🇦🇺
This visa was essential not only for Australia but also for our London Transit. The UK requires either a US, Canadian, Australian, or New Zealand visa just to transit airside, even on the same PNR. With Virgin Atlantic (a UK-based airline) being part of the challenge, we had to get this visa.
Priyesh, a friend with vast experience in travel, suggested we try the Australia visa instead of the UK transit visa. The process was simple—just an online submission of documents—and I was able to complete it in one sitting.
We submitted the application on Oct 20, and Shruti received her visa by Oct 30. I didn’t get mine until Nov 18, though we had submitted everything at the same time. The difference seemed to be just a few minutes in the payment process, but it delayed mine significantly.
- Visa Fee: ₹11,000
- Visa Validity: 3 years
- Visa Type: Multi-entry
- Processing Time: 15-16 days (but can vary, as I found out!)
3. Hong Kong PAR (Pre-arrival Registration) 🇭🇰
While waiting for our French visa, I started finding countries where the visa process was simpler. Hong Kong was one of them, thanks to its straightforward online process. The only challenge was entering my travel history, which I am not sure if fully required, but I filled it out anyway.
Once the form was completed on Oct 26, we got our Hong Kong PAR approval instantly. Valid for 6 months, it was free and came as a multi-entry visa, which was extremely helpful since, at this point, we hadn’t even booked a single flight yet!
- Visa Type: Multi-entry
- Cost: Free
- Processing Time: Instant (Received right after submission)
4. Taiwan ROC 🇹🇼
Taiwan was on our radar due to China Airlines, a SkyTeam member. Since both of us held Japan visas, we were eligible for the Taiwan ROC visa under the special condition for Japan visa holders. All we had to do was enter our Japan details, and it was generated instantly.
At immigration, we only needed to show our Japan entry stamp, which we had from last year. The process was smooth, and we got our Taiwan ROC visa without a hitch.
- Visa Type: Multi-entry
- Cost: Free
- Processing Time: Instant
You can check out the ROC application page for more details and requirements.
5. Malaysia - No Visa Required 🇲🇾
In a stroke of luck, Malaysia offers visa-free entry for Indians until Dec 31, 2026. No visa was required, just the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC). This was a quick, straightforward process, and I did it on Nov 1, getting approval instantly.
- Cost: Free
- Processing Time: Instant (Upon submission of MDAC)
6. Indonesia Visa On Arrival 🇮🇩
Indonesia is another easy one—eVisa or Visa on Arrival (VoA) are available for Indians. Since we had a connecting flight in Jakarta the next day, we initially planned to transit without entering the country. However, we couldn’t do that as our flight was scheduled for the next day, so we opted for the Visa on Arrival.
- Visa Type: Visa on Arrival (VoA)
- Fee: 35 USD (~3000 INR)
- Processing Time: Immediate upon arrival
7. China 24-Hour Transit Visa 🇨🇳
China’s transit visa rules are different from most countries. Even for transit passengers, you are required to cross immigration. Thankfully, they offer a 24-hour transit visa free of cost, which lets you leave the airport. We didn’t take advantage of this, as our connection time was too short to explore the city. With China Eastern & Xiamen Air being China based airlines, this transit visa helped us a lot. However, to be on safer side, we did ‘Country A – China – Country B’ both the times.
- Visa Type: 24-Hour Transit Visa
- Cost: Free
- Processing Time: Instant upon arrival
8. South Korea - Jeju Island (Visa-Free) 🇰🇷
We absolutely didn’t have time for a South Korea visa, and since Korean Air is based out of South Korea, I didn’t want to complicate things with a City A – Seoul – City B connection, which would add unnecessary flight costs.
Thanks to FlightConnections, I found a Korean Air flight from Jeju to Tokyo. Jeju Island is a visa-free destination for all nationalities, so we took advantage of that. The only important thing to remember is not to have any transit stop anywhere else in South Korea, as that could invalidate the visa-free status.
It was a straightforward process, and we spent a few hours on Jeju Island before continuing our journey.
- Visa Type: Visa-free (for Jeju Island)
- Cost: Free
- Processing Time: No additional process needed (visa-free)
- Note: Ensure no stopovers in South Korea outside Jeju
9. Japan Visa - 5-Year Multi-Entry 🇯🇵
We already had a Japan visa, which is a 5-year multi-entry visa, and it turned out to be an absolute lifesaver. Not only did it serve as a great exit point, but it also helped us secure Taiwan and Mexico visas. Having this visa in hand was a major time-saver and made our travel logistics a lot easier.
You can read the full details of how we used the Japan visa to get these other visas and the costs involved in our full post here.
- Visa Type: 5-year multi-entry
- Cost: Free (already obtained before trip)
- Processing Time: Already obtained
10. Vietnam - eVisa 🇻🇳
Having been to Vietnam back in 2022, we were familiar with the eVisa process. Back then, it took us about 5 days to receive it, so we weren’t too worried. Vietnam Airlines was one of the SkyTeam airlines in the challenge, so we needed to get this visa sorted.
While I had checked online and confirmed that we could stay in the international transit area, I didn’t want to risk it. I’d heard some extremely frustrating stories from 2022 about passengers being denied boarding to Vietnam from Mumbai due to a port of entry change. So, we decided to process the eVisa just to be on the safe side.
- Visa Validity: Single Entry
- Cost: 2,200 INR
- Processing Time: 4 days (submitted on 3rd Nov, received on 7th Nov)
- Date of Issue: 7th November
- Note: We exited the airport as we had the visa, even though there was a Vietnam Airlines desk in the transit area.
11. Mexico - Visa-Free Entry with Japan Visa 🇲🇽
Mexico offers visa-free entry for Indians who hold certain visas, and Japan visa is one of them. While there’s a chaotic Emirates story behind this, I’ll share the details later. For now, it’s worth mentioning that we got our Mexico entry free of charge at the airport on 7th December, all thanks to our Japan visa.
- Visa Type: Visa-free entry (with Japan visa)
- Cost: Free
- Processing Time: On arrival
- Note: Entry was granted at the airport based on Japan visa
12. Saudi Arabia - Visa on Arrival 🇸🇦
Saudi Arabia visa was never on our radar initially. However, when one of our Turkish Airlines flights was cancelled, we couldn’t make it to the next Jeddah to Mumbai flight via Saudia, a SkyTeam partner for the challenge. So, we had to enter Saudi Arabia.
Thankfully, Saudia offers a visa on arrival policy for Indians under certain conditions, one of which was having a Schengen visa with a Schengen entry stamp. Since we had both, we were eligible for a visa on arrival.
- Visa Type: Visa on Arrival
- Visa Validity: 1 year, multi-entry
- Cost: 8,885 INR
- Processing Time: On arrival
- Date of Issue: 13th December
Summary of SAS Challenge Visa
Total Cost: ₹36,085
- 1 Transit Visa
- 5 Visa-Free Entries
- 2 Visas on Arrival (VoA)
- 4 full Visas
Securing 12 different visas for the SAS challenge and planning the entire itinerary in such a short span was an unforgettable experience. It pushed my limits and enriched my travel journey, adding invaluable lessons along the way.
Congratulations on putting in all this effort to do the SAS million points challenge.
Of the 15-17 SkyTeam carriers you flew, how many of those airlines currently show up as credited to your SAS account?
Most promo runners seem to have had 2-3 airlines that should post but haven’t yet and will likely require missing credit requests and maybe even more follow-up.
Hi GUWonder,
All points credited for both of us. Here is a route tracker along with details like when points were credited & whether I had to retro credit etc.
https://thoracic-meter-717.notion.site/29e5e15ef1ba47d0be5c1e270c74fc6f?v=e5885d2282bd4e3d901c6cd037ea6f22