News and notes from around the interweb:
- Luxury Concierge Service Was an Illegal Private Bank Aurae Lifestyle and Club Swann marketed a bespoke concierge and “a MasterCard made from 14-karat or 18-karat solid gold that could be embedded with as many as 164 precious stones” but mostly were just providing “the ability to engage in financial transactions without immediate scrutiny or detection by US financial regulators and provided customers with access to the US financial system when they otherwise would be barred from obtaining a US bank account” – presumably an end-run around Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering rules. (HT: @crucker)
- 7 night Virgin Voyages cruises in June and July for 80,000 Virgin miles and Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One and Bilt all transfer to Virgin.
- United’s first class fries were crispy but under-salted. I suspect that perfectly-cooked fries and overcooked burgers are related (and that when the burger isn’t overdone the fries will be underdone) – a consequence of not heating items separately!
- Seems like you see a lot more Delta planes in disrepair than you used to (and their operation, while still good compared to many competitors, isn’t as reliable as it once was either).
Now, @Delta you all need to let this plane go! AND my seat cushion keeps sliding off the chair the FA told me to just keep my seat belt tight so I won't go sliding out the exit row. 🫠 I need some help pic.twitter.com/yUUS8dKdWV
— Robyn (@robynbriaadams) May 25, 2023
- Don’t change baby diapers on the tray table at your seat
- Don’t use the coffee machine in your hotel room
@melly_creations Replying to @sodickstracted As a former hotel manager here are additional items I won't use. #hotels #hotelstay #dontuse #advice ♬ Cupid – Twin Ver. (FIFTY FIFTY) – Sped Up Version – sped up 8282
I don’t use the coffee machine in my hotel room. Here is why:
https://www.coffeechemistry.com/hotel-coffee-pots-mini-meth-lab
https://ineedcoffee.com/coffee-meth-myth/
https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/meth-makers-leave-behind-a-toxic-trail-at-motels-10-25-2015-085908323
https://whyy.org/articles/impromptu-meth-labs-in-hotels-becoming-common-and-risky/
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cooking-meth-in-hotel-coffee-pot/
I had the United hamburger and fries meal last Tuesday. The fries were a little underdone. The interesting part was that the flight attendant asked how they were, and I said they were a little limp. She said they probably needed to be cooked in an air fryer, but all they had was a convection oven. I wasn’t fast enough to let her know that an air fryer is really just a convection oven. I did preorder the meal, as it wasn’t one of the choices on-board. The cookie/pie was provided to the entire first class cabin, but as a separate course. Yesterday (Sunday), I got the cheese enchiladas, and they tasted good, even if not as visually appealing as the linked article’s author may have wanted.
The biggest problem I have had is that preordering email notifications seems to be hit-or-miss. I was able to preorder by going to united.com/preordermeals when I wasn’t notified, even though the app didn’t show the option. It only worked the second time I visited the link. I think it was still confused by the short Tuesday-Sunday trip, as it originally said it was too late to order food for a flight five days away. Also, the flight attendants were confused by the preorders in the back of the cabin, which anyone can request. People without 1K/GS will be charged, but only once the food/drink has been delivered.
One possible side effect is to encourage people to pay for first instead of planning for an upgrade, as by the time one gets upgraded at the gate, it’s too late to make a meal selection. It’s an interesting way of trying different options, and to avoid getting the second choice meal.
@Ken A: Did you read the Snopes article? No one is being exposed to meth from hotel coffee machines.