By request (thanks Colleen), my predictions on what new credit card legislation will mean for earning miles and points. It seems a rather odd time for Congress to be pushing legislation to reign in “excesses” of the credit card industry, certainly the narrative isn’t that banks are taking advantage of poor people and earning too much profit. (If that were the case, they wouldn’t be on the TARP dole.) Certainly there are industry practices which strike many as ‘egregious’ with respect to changing fee and terms and conditions that customers may not understand. At the same time much of the alarmism is misplaced. It’s been a common refrain that if we take revenue away from the credit card companies in one dimension, they’re going to have to make up for it in others — spelling…
About Gary Leff
Common Bangkok Scam
Frugal Travel Guy experiences a common, annoying scam in Bangkok. He shows up at a tourist site, is told by a local that “it’s closed” and is offered an inexpensive tour that winds up at a jewelry shop. Relatively harmless as far as scams go, but can easily ruin a day of sightseeing. It’s one reason that, in an inexpensive destination, I like to hire a guide for the day on my first visit to a city. I’m basically paying one tout to fight off all the others for me, and give me a more seamless experience…
Le Meridien Chiang Rai – Part Four of Four
Here are just a few more photos to leave you with. Resort from the river Pool view from our room Various views around the resort
Le Meridien Chiang Rai – Part Three of Four
Having everything ready “just in case” seemed to be a major theme of the property. They seemed fully staffed, with more employees available at all times than guests anywhere you went. They have an activity schedule of such things as archery, Thai boxing, ball exercise, Batic Art (I admit, I had to look it up) and Yoga. Guests almost never showed up, but the staff members were prepared and in place – just in case anyone did. The same is true for the pool, and the gym. The fitness facility is lovely, with a large supply of bottled water and towels and a nice bathroom to accompany the brand new machines with built-in TV (I didn’t notice if there was internet, but don’t think there was) and weight machines as well as ample free weights.…
Le Meridien Chiang Rai – Part Two of Four
There weren’t enough towels in the room, just a couple of bath towels at a time, and the toiletries weren’t refreshed except for the shampoo on the fourth day. I had run out, and was about to ring up for some, when housekeeping appeared apologetically for having forgotten to replace the shampoo. (They didn’t bring other items, but none were needed, apparently they replace only those which are virtually used up.) For a brand new hotel, and a stylish one at that, I was disappointed that the bathroom had a standard shower head and not something more interesting. We ran into a couple of snags shortly after our arrival. First, a bug infestation in and around the sugar packets that accompany the in-room coffee. We rang the desk and the sugars were replaced while we…
Le Meridien Chiang Rai – Part One of Four
Hotel: Le Méridien Chiang Rai Resort, Thailand 221 / 2 Moo 20 Kwaewai Road, Tambon Robwieng, Amphur Muang Chiang Rai 57000 Thailand Phone: (66)(53) 603 333 Fax: (66)(53) 603 330 I had arranged hotel pickup at the Chiang Rai airport, they bill 600 baht one-way or 1000 baht roundtrip. A hotel concierge was waiting just past the arrivals hall, took us out to the waiting vehicle, assisted with luggage, and got in with us. Instead of acting as a dispatcher and sending us on our way, we were accompanied to the hotel both by the driver and concierge. In addition to being offered cold towels and waters, we were also offered an array of soft drinks. Wholly unnecessary for the very short (10 minute?) drive, but a nice touch. As we exited the car on…
Service Cuts at Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Related Brands
It’s tough times for the hotel industry, and unsurprisingly hotel brands are looking to cut back on expenses. Intercontinental Hotels Group has announced a series of changes delaying large expenses for their hotels (.pdf) and also lowering service and amenity standards (.pdf) for their varous brands. On the capital expense front, they’re delaying the date by which all hotels have to have flat screen TVs, and the date by which Crowne Plazas have to have more comfortable banquet chairs. They’re also pushing back the requirement for Holiday Inns to purchase new beds. On the service expense front, all brands can skip leaving newspapers at each room door and make them available in lobbies instead. Crowne Plazas won’t be required to have bellmen, can reduce restaurant hours and room service hours (eliminating lunch service), can offer…
Thai Airways Domestic Business Class, Bangkok to Chiang Rai
1:25 pm Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) to Chiang Rai, Thailand (CEI) Thai Airways Flight 134 Business Class Seat Assignment at Check-in Duration: 1h 20m Airbus A300-600R 414 miles traveled Our driver was right on time at 11:15 am for our return to Suvarnabhumi. A quick 20 minutes and we were there. This time it was dropoff at the domestic checkin, heading to the business class line. No one ahead of us, no line to speak of at security, and we headed down to the domestic business class lounge. Royal Silk Lounge Entrance Lounge Lounge restroom Lounge hallway (to vip area, there were a couple of soldiers there, so…) Lounge food After a quick check of email, and a too-sweet can of fruit juice, it was time to head over to the flight. Boarding was a zoo,…
Royal Orchid Sheraton, Bangkok
Royal Orchid Sheraton 2 Charoen Krung Road Soi 30 (Captain Bush Lane), Siphya, Bangrak Bangkok 10500 Thailand Phone: (66)(2) 266 0123 Fax: (66)(2) 236 8320 Rate: THB3000+tax We arrived at the Royal Orchid Sheraton after a 25 minute drive from the airport. I was torn about where to stay, since it was just a brief overnight. The river is quite far off the airport, but it’s almost all freeway, the only issue is traffic in and around the hotel itself. But we were arriving quite late and leaving the hotel at nearly noon, I figured traffic wouldn’t be much of an issue. And I really did fancy waking up to breakfast on the river. The hotel is somewhat disfavored, at least among Starwood properties. I know that many like the new Meridien, and the ROS…
A Quick New York Trip: Le Parker Meridien, Burger Joint, and Katz’s Pastrami
Took the US Airways Shuttle up to LaGuardia, and I had to lug a whole bunch of stuff along – actually wound up checking a bag. Now here’s the rub. With the new baggage fees, US Airways actually makes it difficult to credit miles to their program. My Dividend Miles number was in the reservation, and they couldn’t waive the baggage fees simply by my showing my Star Alliance Gold card. The agent insisted the elite number has to be in the reservation. “Ok, but I just thought I’d save US Airways the money buying miles from another program… I gave them another frequent flyer program, they waived the baggage fee, and then I changed the frequent flyer number back at the customer service counter by the gate (there was no time to visit the…
