The Gaslamp district of San Diego is great, lots of things to do, it can be fun. But though there are tons of restaurants, the point of those restaurants is something to do (and of course, like the Checkers commercials say, ‘Ya Gotta Eat!’). On the one hand it means there’s competition – but it’s mostly competition for fun and a scene. So if you want to eat well, you need to choose carefully. I much enjoyed Taka for sushi. Online reviews were good, and it turned out to be better than expected though not at all inexpensive (you’ll pay extra for something to be good in the Gaslamp area, I think, the rents are relatively high). There’s a menu of specials and their list of sushi and sashimi I decided to add their live…
New York State Assembly Speaker Under Fire for Turning His Commute into Mileage Runs
@pcpontificates tweets, Sheldon Silver should talk to @garyleff about racking up airline miles. No need to do this kind of nonsense How would you like New York State taxpayers to fund your mileage runs? The Speaker of the New York State Assembly needs to retain US Airways Chairmans Preferred status and takes circuitous routings between New York City and Albany. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver spent $20,219 in taxpayer money over the past three years jetting from New York City to Albany — but the top-flight pol turned easy 150-mile, one-hour jaunts into epic 500-mile, five-hour odysseys in a greedy quest to rack up frequent-flier miles, according to sources and expense records. …“He brags about his ability to build up mileage,” said one Albany insider. “Taxpayers are footing the bill to allow Shelly to fly halfway…
You Really Don’t Have an American Express Bluebird Yet?
There was a tremendous frenzy last year when you could buy reloadable money cards at office supply stores, earn huge bonuses, load the money onto the Bluebird by American Express. It was an almost free way to generate large numbers of points. That opportunity didn’t last forever, they never do. But Bluebird remains a very useful, valuable tool in the arsenal. There are plenty of times you’ll say, “gosh, I’m reading about all these things I can do with Bluebird and I don’t have one.” Since it gets sent in the mail it can take time to get, so it’s better to have it now and use it later than not to have it when you want to use it. And it’s free to get. That’s why I genuinely don’t understand folks who don’t get…
Why Does Coffee Taste So Much Better in Asia?
There are coffee shops strewn about all around Singapore serving specialty coffees. I see more (non-Starbucks) chain shops in Kuala Lumpur — there’s an Old Town White Coffee everywhere — but more craft coffee purveyors in Singapore than anywhere else I’ve been. (Disclosure: I live in Arlington, Virginia and — as memorialized by GoRemy in the Arlington Rap we mostly have Starbucks.) A few months ago I had a fantastic cup of coffee at Oriole Cafe & Bar at the Pan Pacific off Orchard Road. Singapore is one of the heaviest coffee drinking countries per-capita. But the phenomenon of really good coffee in Southeast Asia is hardly limited to Singapore. I’ve only tried Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee in the air (on Singapore, Asiana, and ANA in first class). It’s good but not my favorite and…
The Best View from Any Airline Lounge, Anywhere: Review of the Premier Lounge – Denpesar, Bali
The best planespotting is probably from the fence off the beach at the end of the runway at Princess Juliana International Airport, Saint Martin. Close behind would be sitting down at the outside tables at the In ‘n Out Burger at the edge of LAX. The best view from any terminal has to be the airport in Bora Bora. Like many of the airports in the Maldives you approach by boat. But instead of sailing to the island which houses an airport, the Bora Bora airport is simply its own small island (motu). And the waters are indeed stunning. But here I’m interested in the very best view from an actual airline lounge. And I’d venture to say that honor may go to the Premier Lounge at the Denpasar Bali airport. It won’t be around…
How to Properly Dispose of a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Chase has done a whole lot with credit card design over the past 2-3 years. No longer just a piece of plastic with raised numbers, several of their cards are now made of metal or contain various interesting metals to give them a more substantial feel. The most common is probably Chase Sapphire Preferred. It’s probably the best introductory, all-around points-earning credit card. It’s popular with the points and miles set. Two even more substantial cards are the Ritz-Carlton Rewards and >JP Morgan Palladium products. I held a Ritz-Carlton Rewards Visa for the first time a few weeks ago and wow that was an impressive-feeling card, it made Sapphire Preferred feel positively pedestrian. But since these cards aren’t just plastic, an interesting problem arises. You can’t shred them. They don’t just cut up with scissors.…
El Al Will Give You Lifetime Gold Status — If They Don’t Think You’ll Use it Much
El Al has introduced lifetime gold status. You have to have been a Gold elite member or higher for each of the past ten years. And you must currently be at least 67 years old Lifetime status is for use primarily in retirement years, it would seem. And oddly 20-year Top Platinum who skips a year in the 10 years leading up to their 67th birthday is ineligible. In other news, I hear they’re considering awarding Top Platinum status posthumously. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. Don’t miss out!
Win a Rimowa 21″ Spinner Bag … or a Seat on Star MegaDO 5!
Milepoint is running two big MegaDO related giveaways. Win a seat on the Star MegaDO 5. You just need to post in this Milepoint thread to be entered to win. Win a new custom Rimowa Salsa Deluxe 21″ Cabin Multiwheel (spinner) which retails for $595. You post one of two things in the thread in order to be entered to win. Full details in those two Milepoint threads. The upcoming European MegaDO (September) is completely sold out. There are a few seats left for Star MegaDO 5 (October) and indeed a few people who were going had work and personal commitments come up and had to cancel, so there are even a few “Tommy Class” seats available and not just regular coach. As I noted last week when sharing that September MegaDO participants could receive…
Bits ‘n Pieces for August 9, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Best and Worst of Skymall Outstanding award availability New York – Buenos Aires, even over Christmas, on new Aerolineas Argentinas route. Great use of Delta Skymiles, though not the most modern business class product. Kip Hawley talks sense on airport security. Don’t you kind of wish he’d have said these things – and done these things – when he was director of the TSA?? Russian man writes his own credit card terms and conditions fine print. And successfully sues the card issuer for violating them. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the live online chat with the heads of the Hyatt Gold Passport and MGM M Life hotel loyalty programs. Chase has allowed the purchase of their Ultimate Rewards points at 2.5 cents per point, up to…
Book Award Travel For Your Whole Family to the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent.. Using Skypesos!
Here are some propositions that are true: Getting several business class award seats on the same flight is hard, much harder than two (which is much harder than one). It’s often tough to find award space during major holidays. Using Delta Skymiles for premium cabin award travel at the low level is highly frustrating. And yet I’ve written in the past that if you want to fly non-stop from the US to Australia, Delta Skymiles are actually your best bet — not that you’ll find much ‘low’ level award space on Delta’s Los Angeles – Sydney flight. Instead, Delta partners with Virgin Australia which has by far the best award space on the route, even multiple seats during high season on their Los Angeles – Sydney, Los – Angeles – Melbourne, and especially Los Angeles…
