Sorry Citi Prestige, even at the discounted $350 from a Citi Gold Checking Account, you are not worth the annual fee. I’ve burned the TY points associated with this account on my coach flight to Naples. And now that you’ve taken away the golf perk after this year, I have no reason to hold onto you.
With 3 free rounds left, I booked three tee times on the same day for TPC Stadium Course in Scottsdale, Arizona. Each round goes for $243.50 which justifies the $100 I spent ($250 was used on travel) holding onto this card last year.
I still consider Scottsdale my home and believe it’s the best place to live in the United States. It will be fun to go back for a week and see the sun.
Any other golf lover burning their Prestige card after this year? Where are you playing? My most expensive use was at Trump’s Great Wall Course in Doral.
Canceling Citi Prestige: But First, We Golf!
No Worries: Shenzhen to Hong Kong Via Transfer Van
The Shenzen to Hong Kong Van Transfer Transport Review is part of The Year of the Monkey Trip Report which covers the following places:
- New York, New York
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
- Guangzhou, China
- Hong Kong
- Shenzhen, China
- Sanya, China
I needed a direct way to get to the airport from the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen. The train would have been inconvenient so I booked a transfer from my hotel for only 200 RMB. I thought it was going to be a bus which takes passengers to the border, requires them to disembark at the border, go through immigration, and hop back on. Instead, it was a van with three other passengers which was headed straight to the airport. Crossing borders in a car is not very common for me. Besides Canada and Mexico, my only experience crossing into a foreign country via private transfer was from Bulgaria to Romania. When we arrived at the Chinese border, the driver presented our passports to the agent. I am always nervous crossing by car because of the countless times that I have been randomly stopped. Once on my way into Windsor, Canada, I was stopped by an American military member who pointed his gun at my vehicle. That was interesting. When does an American get stopped by an American when he is leaving the United Sates? Not often. Actually, it happened another time on my way to Canada via the Sarnia border. There, I was given the royal treatment which included a massaging of my testicles by the border agent. And now you can understand why I did not appreciate that one of the passengers was on the phone when we were at the China-Hong Kong border. After years of being searched, I have established the following protocol at border crossings:
- Never joke near the border. (Call me paranoid but I think they have bugs everywhere.)
- Turn off the phone
- Turn off the music
- Roll down all the windows.
- Keep the car in drive. Putting the car in park means you have reason to be stopped.
- Maintain eye contact with the officer.
- Try not to stutter when answering the simplest questions.
- Use sir or ma’am when addressing the officer.
Grand Hyatt Shenzhen: Food, Food, Food!
The Grand Hyatt Shenzhen Hotel Review is part of The Year of the Monkey Trip Report which covers the following places:
- New York, New York
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
- Guangzhou, China
- Hong Kong
- Shenzhen, China
- Sanya, China
Getting There: See my guide on how to get from Hong Kong to Shenzhen by train.
Reviewing the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen after staying at the St. Regis Shenzhen is unfair. Although it’s not as extreme, it’s like the time I stayed at the Sheraton New York Times Square after staying at my favorite hotel of all time, the St. Regis New York. To be clear, the Grand Hyatt is a beautiful property and the suite was great, but I made a mistake booking it in this order. Having said that, there’s plenty to love about the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen, namely the food.
The Bedroom
The Bathroom
The Gym
The hotel gym is making a comeback in my life. I stopped by to run a few miles before happy hour. They had TRX Ropes, TPOL’s go to workout on the road.
The Happy Hour
Nothing makes TPOL happier than happy hour. It was not as good as the Grand Hyatt Guangzhou but the sample of foods from the hotel’s restaurants was a unique touch.
Overall
I liked the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen. It’s not as nice as the one in Guangzhou or Jakarta but there’s nothing bad about it. Still, if you’re in Shenzhen, you should stay at the St. Regis the whole time.
Preview: RTA Booked! Caribbean, Europe, Africa
First, I got questioned by an annoyed reader who was upset with the title of my post 80k United to Africa on Turkish. He said, “It would be nice if you would refer to the actual country you are flying to in your headline rather than simply “Africa” it’s insulting and treats the continent as a monolith. It’s massive continent with dozens of countries. Come on man, you wouldn’t do that if you were going to an Asian or South American or European country.”
Two points: 1) It has been proven that more than 6 words in a headline leads to less views, so a title with every country that i am visiting would be a bit wordy. 2) I do say Asia or South America in a title as I did in my Africa & SA Preview when I’m headed to those regions.
Next, I got critiqued for calling the Africa & SA a round the world trip despite not going to Asia. Technically, my title comes under #alternatefacts.
Finally, I was chastised for gloating since I displayed the map and the routing and have yet to write out my memoirs which will be titled Adventures in Imaginary Trip Planning.
In this preview, I am rectifying most of those mistakes: My trip to Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, France, Corsica and Spain are called Europe even though they are six different countries. The Caribbean is also incorrectly characterized as being a homogeneous region but there’s no room in the title to spell out Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados. RTA stands for round the Atlantic so as to not offend Ferdinand Magellan. And finally, I’m going to Morocco which is in Africa so I’m using the name of the continent in the title.
As for the gloating, what can I say, living doesn’t have to suck!
Preview: RTW Ticket Booked SA & Africa!
My dear friends, I am too tired to write how I booked this absurd reservation to South America, onward to Africa, and back to the US via London for 105k United Airline points and 95k Delta SkyKyat + $200. I have spent days on hold and online piecing it all together. I would like to thank my friend in Poland for inspiring me to fly higher, my BA brethren for the support, and my phone for not dropping the call when the moment of truth arrived.
Here is the Great Circle Map which showcases this glorious trip. And to think, I originally had booked US-Mt. Kilimanjaro for 80k on United.
Update: I failed to mention the most important part, the overwhelming majority of the flights including the long haul segments are in business.
Call Center Roulette: The Award Ticketing Game
I get why people believe that the system is rigged. And I’m not speaking of politics. I’m talking about booking award flights. (see 5 Myths About Earning Points) The propaganda commercials that blast airlines for blackout dates have an element of truth to them. When United Killed Points Travel, I thought that my round trip ticket from Shanghai to Tahiti in business for 60k would be the last great redemption. Without the ability to piece together itineraries manually, United had ruined the fun. That is why I went soft and booked the tame route on Turkish to Africa. I promptly cancelled that ticket after a reader scolded me for my lack of creativity.
For the last week, I have been fighting with United trying to book what is my best redemption since the $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World. I got the ticket to price out on United, a miracle in itself, but not the route that I wanted. I booked it and called United to make some minor tweaks.
Luckily, I spoke to the friendliest agent. She made the changes and told me that my confirmation email would arrive within 24 hours. 24 hours later, nothing happened. I knew I should not have celebrated so quickly (see Booking an Award Ticket: An Anxious Ordeal) and that I should have insisted on seeing the changes on United.com while I had her on the phone. That night, I called back and, of course, there was no record of any changes. After being transferred and put on hold, I spoke to another agent who put me on an indefinite hold. By indefinite I mean I heard the United hold music for a few minutes and then the sound the Samsung makes when a call ends.
I called again. An agent answered right away. I explained the situation and she promptly said, “I’m going to have to put you on hold while I speak to my rate desk.” That was not a good sign. Predictably, she came back and told me that my whole ticket was illegal and that it really should be double the miles. She said she could not make any changes except if I wanted to cancel it. Since I was outside of the 24 hour free cancellation window, I took her up on that offer.
Deep in the night, I searched United’s site for routes. My goal was to find the perfect route online and avoid having to call in to make changes. Obsessed, I checked the dates and airports and routes hoping that the system would award me for my efforts. It did not. Instead, I booked the same route from before (which the agent swore was illegal) and am currently on hold with United praying that I win this game of call center roulette.
Coco Park: A Night Out in Shenzhen
The Where to Party Shenzhen Travel Guide is part of The Year of the Monkey Trip Report which covers the following places:
- New York, New York
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
- Guangzhou, China
- Hong Kong
- Shenzhen, China
- Sanya, China
Though it was difficult, I managed to get out of the St. Regis tub and head out for a night on the town. Hong Kong has Lan Kwai Fong. Shenzhen has Coco Park, a bar district with something for everyone. Like Guangzhou and Shanghai, there are people out every night of the week, leading me to wonder if anyone goes to work. The Area Coco Park is in an upscale area of Shenzhen, home to the tallest building in Shenzhen, the Ping An Finance Centre.
Training for the Tropics: My New Workout Program
St. Regis Shenzhen: The Best Hotel in Asia And Beyond
The St. Regis Shenzhen Hotel Review is part of The Year of the Monkey Trip Report which covers the following places:
- New York, New York
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
- Guangzhou, China
- Hong Kong
- Shenzhen, China
- Sanya, China
Getting There: I came from Hong Kong via train. From there, I took the metro for 2 RMB. Here are the directions from the hotel’s website: The city subway runs directly from Luohu Railway Station to Grand Theatre Metro Station, near the hotel. Once guests disembark at Grand Theatre, they should take Exit B. The hotel is located on the right side of the Kingkey 100 Building.
Get out-of-the-way Hyatt Hong Kong. Get out-of-the-way Hong Kong. Shenzhen is not the New Jersey equivalent to New York. It is a bustling metropolis with sights, sounds, and skyscrapers. The KK100 skyscraper, the second tallest building in Shenzhen and the 14th tallest in the world, is home to the spectacular St. Regis.
The Room
My room was not the fabled two-floor duplex but it was incredible.
The Bathroom
I’m not one to take baths but with this view, I was tempted to request one from the butler like I did at the St. Regis New York.
The View
From the bathroom or the bedroom, the view had me like Brandy, Top of the World. #throwback #mase #harlemworld
The Greatest Happy Hour in the World
It’s no surprise that I missed breakfast which if it was anything like the platinum happy hour was a mistake. The happy hour bar is on the 100th floor and it’s features more than drinks. I was the only there with a food spread meant for a king.
Overall
I’m guessing that I’m one of few people who visited Shenzhen for vacation. I’m glad I did and the St. Regis has a lot to do with it.
Booked! 80k United to Africa on Turkish
It’s been quite a week at tpol.com. The points gods are certainly smiling on me. I thought the first good deal was booking Detroit to Napoli on Air France for 18k (in coach). Then the deal of a lifetime happened when I booked Madrid to Chicago for 25k on Iberia. That took care of my spring Euro trip.
Now I needed a ride to Africa where I plan on climbing Mt. Kili in record time, much like I did when I ran the marathon in Athens. The flight back, Virgin Atlantic from JNB-LHR-SFO is already on the books.
I began my search by looking for flights on Qatar. I quickly gave up because I could not find business to Doha and there was zero availability from Doha (DOH) to Kilimanjaro (JRO). I also want to save my AA miles for a future trip. This led me to United which used to be the best value for points flights until it killed points travel. Last year, I flew from Shanghai to Tahiti via New Zealand in (mostly) business for 60k round trip. That was an incredible value that would be next to impossible to replicate.
Here’s what I found instead:
Business class to JRO via Ethiopian Airlines for 80k miles. I’ve read that the Cloud Nine service was decent but not spectacular. I kept searching and eventually found the winner. The flight is SFO-IST on Turkish then IST-JRO also on Turkish with a three-hour layover in Istanbul. I flew Turkish when I had the great idea to move to Mongolia and really enjoyed it. (Turkish, not Mongolia) I wish I had more time in the Turkish lounge, the Costco of airline lounges, but this was the best that I could find.
While this booking isn’t the tremendous value of the Tahiti trip, it is a great redemption in the post deval world of points travel.
