PointsHound will give you 1000 bonus miles with your first hotel booking when you use my referral link. (Their standard referral bonus is just 250 miles.) New or existing customers who book a 3-night stay by April 1 can earn an additional bonus 1000 miles for letting them know your room preferences. Seriously. PointsHound wants you to know about their ‘premium concierge service’. The day before your arrival at the hotel, our Concierge Team will send you an email asking for your specific room preferences..Respond to the email and we’ll contact the hotel on your behalf, get your room assignment, and make sure you’re all checked in when you arrive! By taking advantage of this, they’ll give you 1000 bonus miles in the program you’ve chosen to earn miles with. PointsHound (like Rocketmiles) lets you…
US Airways Won’t Adopt American’s Award Rules on March 31, and Other Answers!
As a followup to my questions about how US Airways Dividend Miles awards will work starting March 31 when the airline joins the oneworld alliance, I asked some additional questions. We already know that US Airways is keeping its own separate award chart rather than adopting American’s. And we know that US Airways Dividend Miles will add fuel surcharges to British Airways and Iberia awards as American does today. But I still had outstanding questions about US Airways routing rules. The initial answers I was getting weren’t on point, so here’s what I asked hoping to get a clearer answer (and not to have American have to explain much). I asked whether US Airways systems were going to be updated to auto-price awards and auto-validate routings using the American’s rules? I assumed that they would…
More Answers On How US Airways Award Tickets Will Work Starting March 31
US Airways departs Star Alliance on March 30th, and enters the oneworld alliance on March 31. A communication from Dividend Miles made it sound like award travel using US Airways miles would be booked not based on its own existing award chart but would be starting to charge prices that match those charged by the American AAdvantage program. That’s of interest because many awards are more expensive, and others less expensive, under the American program. Especially of note is the US Airways business class award to ‘North Asia’ for just 90,000 miles roundtrip compared to 110,000 under the American program. I don’t know anyone who thinks that an award ticket to Hong Kong is going to cost 90,000 miles in the future but the hope is that the US Airways award chart pricing will stay…
The Most Special, Aspirational Hotels That Are a Great Value on Points
Ted commented on a recent trip report post, Gary I share your passion for aspirational travel in Asia. I followed your lead and went to the Conrad Koh Samui, Maldives and Hong Kong. Have you found anything else that compares? I am looking to book my next trip. This reminds me a little bit of a classic line from a classic 1980s movie, and a more philosophical take on the same problem — the problem of actually doing everything you set out to do. In the movie Die Hard, the villain Hans Gruber (played by Alan Rickman) declares, And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer. Benefits of a classical education. This turns out to be a misquote, perhaps of Plutarch, and Alexander the…
The Venetian, Fernando’s, and the Ferry to Hong Kong: Vietnam, Cambodia, Macau and Hong Kong Trip Report
Things to Do in Macau — Index: Introduction, Positioning Flight to New York, and the Hilton JFK British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York JFK – Hong Kong The Pier First Class Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Ho Chi Minh City Park Hyatt Saigon Lunch at Pho Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Airlines Business Class, Ho Chi Minh City – Danang Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa Vietnam Airlines Economy, Danang – Siem Reap Park Hyatt Siem Reap Angkor Wat and Other Temples Dragonair Business Class, Siem Reap – Hong Kong Turbojet, Hong Kong Airport – Macau and the Sheraton Macao Hotel The Venetian, Fernando’s, and the Ferry to Hong Kong Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Harbor View Suite Bo Innovation, Hong Kong Amber…
What’s Your Biggest Hotel Pet Peeve?
When writing about the Charleston Place Hotel, I could nearly feel the month-old aching of my shin. My biggest hotel pet peeve is a bed frame that extends out significantly past the mattress. It’s one thing to have this at home, you know it’s there, you’re used to it. But when you’re not expecting it? Well, I walked into it. I bled. And.. I walked into it again hours later. No hotel should have bedframes like this. Oh, there are plenty of things that irk me in a hotel, I have a whole list of hotel must-haves. But this is my biggest pet peeve. What is your biggest hotel pet peeve? You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one…
Vietnam, Cambodia, Macau and Hong Kong Trip Report: TurboJet from Hong Kong Airport to Macau and the Sheraton Macao Hotel
Hong Kong airport to Macau Ferry — Index: Introduction, Positioning Flight to New York, and the Hilton JFK British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York JFK – Hong Kong The Pier First Class Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Ho Chi Minh City Park Hyatt Saigon Lunch at Pho Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Airlines Business Class, Ho Chi Minh City – Danang Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa Vietnam Airlines Economy, Danang – Siem Reap Park Hyatt Siem Reap Angkor Wat and Other Temples Dragonair Business Class, Siem Reap – Hong Kong Turbojet, Hong Kong Airport – Macau and the Sheraton Macao Hotel The Venetian, Fernando’s, and the Ferry to Hong Kong Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Harbor View Suite Bo Innovation, Hong Kong…
The Charleston Place Hotel: Or How I Know I Don’t Get Better Treatment As a Blogger…
A month ago I stayed at the Charleston Place Hotel for Conde’ Nast Traveler‘s annual summit for their named Top Travel Specialists, a group I’ve been honored to be a part of since the beginning of 2010 (for my award booking service). It was, oddly enough, my very first time in Charleston. And Conde’ Nast had some fantastic events planned in what I found to be an utterly charming city. The hotel, though lovely in many ways, was an interesting experience. I was paying a conference rate of $199++. I flew in after the Austin Frequent Flyer DO, while many of my fellow specialists had come in earlier for meetings. I turned up at the hotel though right after the lot of them. The hotel knew when everyone would be arriving, but they weren’t quite…
American Express Preparing to Open Their San Francisco Airport Centurion Lounge
Regular readers know that I consider the American Express Centurion lounge in Dallas to be among the best lounges in the United States. There’s a Centurion Lounge in Las Vegas, and two more have been announced — San Francisco and New York LaGuardia — with more expected to come as well. The San Francisco location has been reported to have an expected opening sometime this summer (although construction projects often fall behind). It will be located on on the mezzanine level above security in the United terminal 3. The lounge must be close because they’re hiring. konoyaro on Milepoint flags a job posting for Member Services Desk Team Leader at the San Francisco airport Centurion lounge. A successful Team Leader in the American Express Centurion Lounge has a passion for delivering extraordinary service and demonstrated…
Mistake Rate on a Suite With Club Access at the Intercontinental Madrid
The Intercontinental Madrid has an interesting rate, a club access suite for the price of a base room. (HT: Reader Ralf who points to this Flyertalk thread) A King Bed Business Suite which comes with club lounge access is ~ €595 when searching the IHG Rewards website with country set to U.S. and language English. Change the setting to Germany and German, and the rate drops to €185. This is available across a huge variety of dates. Fortunately Google Chrome has built-in translation. The room is also available on points. 40,000 points per night 35,000 points + € 40 . 00 EUR per night 30,000 points + € 70 . 00 EUR per night Other lesser room types are more expensive. A double bed Executive Deluxe room is €185 on the date I searched. A…
