Travel Guide - ThePointsOfLife

The Fine Print: My Guest Blog on The Frequent Miler

thepointsoflife

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August 9, 2016

A few weeks ago I started writing as a guest blogger for The Frequent Miler. Greg and his team which includes fellow BA blogger, Miles to Memories, do a great job of keeping everyone apprised of the latest points earning techniques. The title of my guest blog series is The Fine Print. Here’s the Premise:

In our hobby, there is huge potential for rewards. We work hard to earn these perks but sometimes they are randomly taken away. Banks shut down cards without explanation, businesses freeze accounts for no discernible reason, and points, miles, or rebates are not honored based on the whim of corporate conspirators. ‎Is this end of the road for the pointspreneur? Hardly. This is a series of guest posts which shows that the words used by a company can and will be used against them.

As always, I have to include the disclaimer that the posts do not constitute legal advice. Contact an attorney or me directly (alex@bachuwalaw.com) should you have questions.

Thus far I’ve written two articles:

1. Consumer Arbitration — an unfamiliar weapon for battling corporate mischief: If you’re having problems with your cell phone company, cable or dish provider, streaming provider, auction house, rental car company, credit card institution, among many others, there is a way to get off of hold and get results. It’s not through small claims, it’s not through class action. It’s called arbitration. The process is efficient, affordable, and binding. Contrary to popular belief, these claims are worth pursuing through this medium because awards can be significant for the consumer.

2. Should You Record Your Calls for Quality Assurance?: Here, I ask the question if one should record calls for quality assurance. I had an ugly incident with British airways whereby they said I could cancel my Avios + revenue ticket for a $50 penalty and a cash + points refund. Per their instructions, I did so. Seeing no instant refund as promised, I called back and was told that I was misinformed and that I would receive nothing. Two weeks ago, I filed a case in small claims court in Queens, NY. Today I found out that the court date will be April 2017! Good grief.

3. My next article will be published on Friday. While the first article focused on consumer arbitration and the second on small claims, this one will be devoted to a class action claim that impacts many international travelers.

I hope you enjoy reading the The Fine Print.

The Fine Print: Now Playing on The Frequent Miler

IC Le Moana Bora Bora: Pointless Stay

thepointsoflife

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August 8, 2016

16

The Intercontinental Le Moana Bora Bora Hotel Review is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:

See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.

Getting There: Upon arriving in Bora Bora, don’t be tricked by the hotel boats. Take the free ferry which is included in your Air Tahiti fare. From there, the taxi is 200 CFP or around $20 差不多.

Prepare your angry comments, TPOL is about to complain. This hotel sucks. There I said it. It was pointless to stay here for two reasons: First, I didn’t use any points; I redeemed my annual Chase IHG free night here. Second, there’s nothing special about the property itself. Before I get into berating the hotel, I do have to say that staying here is not the worst thing in the world if you want to explore the island. If you stay at the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort Thalasso Spa, you have to take a ferry back to IC Le Moana, so get your exploration done ahead of time. Now back to the criticisms. The Staff Could they be any less friendly, less inviting? Apart from the gentlemen from Mauritius that showed us around, the staff could not be bothered to smile.

The Weather It rained the day I arrived. I blame this on the hotel.

The Property The property isn’t very big. The pool was small and pretty cold considering the warm weather. Stick to the ocean, that’s why you go to Tahiti anyway.

2016-05-07 13.20.06 — Out you go 11AM prompt

The Prices I was prepared for the steep prices because I was on a remote island. Paying more than home, even if that home is New York, is expected. Still, it’s the small things that bother me. For example, why it $5 for a Coke or $3 for an espresso capsule in the room? Looking back, I may have overdone it with my beef jerky rations but if I’m guilty of being frugal than the hotel is guilty of price gouging. Meet me halfway island hotels.

The Room If you manage to get upgraded to a bungalow for free then I commend you. If not then it’s still fine. Our room was right on the water. It was private and comfortable.

The Bathroom I like my showers enclosed bringing me back to the safety I once enjoyed in the womb. This one was open and airy.

Overall I don’t think I was too harsh in this review. My criticism is primarily directed at the staff. I don’t care if I spent nothing on the room. I still flew all the way out here to enjoy my time. Being friendlier would not have been that difficult.

Air Tahiti Island Hopper Review: Cheaper Than Maldives

thepointsoflife

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August 8, 2016

5

The Air Tahiti Flight Review is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:

See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.

It cost $500/pax to take the Maldives Seaplane from the airport to the Conrad Rangali Island. That’s a steep price for a thirty minute flight but it was quite the experience. In Tahiti, inter-island flights are operated by Air Tahiti which is separate from Air Tahiti Nui, the international carrier. Points are not redeemable on Air Tahiti but the price of the island hopper was reasonable. For $400 I flew from Papeete to Bora Bora to Moorea and back to Papeete. If you’re looking to cut costs it may be better to book from Papeete to Bora Bora to Moorea. From there, you can take the ferry back to PPT. If you elect this option, you’ll miss out on one of the shortest flights in the world. The airplane goes up and seven minutes later it goes back down. The best part for all of the flights is the view of the sea and the islands as you make your approach. Note: There is a weight restriction for bags depending on which ticket you book. I only had carry-on luggage and used this trick to bypass the 10kg limit.

2016-05-15 13.13.21 — The plane, the plane

Delta SkyClub SFO: The Best Pho Real

thepointsoflife

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August 7, 2016

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The Delta SkyClub SFO Lounge Review was the first of my tour of Delta SkyClubs conducted in one day. My great routing for 12,500 Delta kyats took me from JFK-SFO-SLC. Along the way I laughed, I cried, I drank, and I slept.

After sitting in the last row of a Delta flight from SFO-JFK, I needed to eat, drink, and shower. The next stop on the tour of all things Delta was the SFO lounge. I’ll get to the typical pictures of the seating and the bar in a moment. Right now, I’d like to focus on what is the greatest food offering ever for an airport lounge. That’s right my friends, I’m talking about a little bowl of soup called pho.

The Pho I grabbed a craft beer from the bar and walked around the lounge to commence the most awkward part of this blogging profession, photographing lounges. As I blockaded the food buffet until I captured the perfect, artistic pic of carrots, my eyes were drawn to a display that looked very familiar: sriracha, jalapenos, limes, and chopsticks. Next to it was a huge pot full of broth. Next to that was small bowls of noodles. Finally, next to that was a sign providing directions on what could be done if these ingredients were mixed together. Overjoyed, I broke from blogger decorum and decided to eat the food instead of taking snapshots of it. Three bowls later, I went back to document what I have just described.

Food Here’s pics of other food should you be foolish enough to bypass on this phopportunity.

Back up people, I'm trying to take pics of my carrots — Back up people, I’m trying to take pics of my carrots

Drinks You’re not going to get top shelf alcohol here but they provide two craft beers that were refreshing. I recommend the mango one should you come during the summer.

The Shower Lounge showers are interesting to me. If I was paranoid of germs, I do not think that I would set foot in one. At the same time, I’m the one in need of a shower so that reasoning is flawed. The shower at this lounge was great. The best part was the soft Westin towels that I was tempted to keep.

The Lounge The Delta SkyClub at SFO was very crowded. It’s partly due to the pho and it’s partly due to the small size. If you’re lucky, try to snag a seat by the window to enjoy the views of the planes coming and going.

Overall I enjoyed my time in SFO. The next stop was SLC, a Delta lounge that I have already reviewed when I went there for breakfast. Here’s a pic of their craft beer.

Delta SkyClub JFK: Waiting for First Call

thepointsoflife

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August 6, 2016

8

The Delta SkyClub JFK Lounge Review was the first of my tour of Delta SkyClubs conducted in one day. My great routing for 12,500 Delta kyats took me from JFK-SFO-SLC. Along the way I laughed, I cried, I drank, and I slept.

Me: One beer, one Bloody Mary please. Bartender: Sir, it’s not 8AM yet. Before you slander me for a nonexistent drinking problem, realize that I was one of many thirsty patrons at the Delta SkyClub bar waiting for first call. What’s life without music? What’s a lounge without alcohol? When the clock finally struck midnight, all of us made a mad rush for the bar, flipped over bar stools, and demanded drinks. Calm was restored after a few sips. I rather enjoyed the JFK Lounge even if the food wasn’t anything special. Of note was the obscene size of the bagels and the tubs of cream cheese. My wish in life is to wake up to a bagel with a perfect amount of cream cheese and a fresh glass of pineapple juice. On this occasion, it was self-serve but I made due. Like the Delta Lounge in Salt Lake, this one had peeled egg whites, another one of life’s little pleasures (take note AA Lounge JFK). Fed, full, fat, and appropriately tipsy, I left the lounge for my flight. The next stop was the Delta SkyClub SFO.

Are these ever n'sync? — As the old saying goes, it’s 8AM somewhere

Bagels shouldn't be this big? Croissants, a TPOL favorite were turrible — Bagels shouldn’t be this big? Croissants, a TPOL favorite were turrible

2016-07-28 08.49.18 — 2 more for the air

Etihad Cancels My Apartment, AA Doesn’t Care

thepointsoflife

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August 6, 2016

15

Two days ago my friend messaged me to say that Emirates had changed his flight and he would no longer be flying Shower Class. They changed the equipment to a 777. Since he had two legs booked in first, it wasn’t that big of a deal. I flew JFK-DXB then DXB-PVG. During the second flight, I skipped the shower and didn’t go back to the bar which are the two major differences between the A380 and 777. Yesterday, I told my same friend that it wouldn’t shock me if the same thing happened to my Etihad Apartments reservation. Today, I woke up to the email saying there was a schedule change. Half asleep, I checked the app and at first couldn’t tell what the change was. Often times airlines change a flight by five minutes and send out a notification. I looked again and saw that the equipment had changed from the greatest product in the sky today, the Etihad Apartment, to a 777-200. Wide awake, I called AA’s service number in Australia. Here’s how the call went: Agent: Sir you made this booking the 15th of Jan. You’ll have to fly before then. Me: What is Jan? As in January? What happened to the ticket? Agent: That flight was cancelled. Me: I’ll call you back. Then I called AA’s service number in Singapore: Me: What happened to my ticket? I checked Etihad’s site and they are still flying the A380 that day. They didn’t cancel the flight. Agent: Actually what happened is that your flight changed by five minutes and the system automatically cancelled your ticket. Now there’s no availability on that flight. Me: You’re joking. Agent: Sorry sir. We can issue you a refund if you wish. I hung up the phone and paced around the room. What is happening today? Are gringos falling from the sky? First British does me dirty now I’m getting the royal treatment from American or Etihad or both. These strange events happen so frequently that I am no longer surprised. When I book award flights I never get excited until I receive an email that says the reservation has been ticketed. When I received that email, I still cannot rejoice as flight reservations mysteriously disappear. At the airport, I still can’t rest because I make unremarkable mistakes like I did in Iceland or am put through visa hell even when it isn’t my fault. This year of travel has been so erratic that I question whether I should hold off blogging about trips until they’ve been completed. It all started with the trip report That Champagne Lifestyle from LAX-NCE then MXP-LAX which isn’t happening. Then the trip report, The Next Episode, which was supposed to make up for the Nice trip was destroyed by today’s news. So what to do now? Cry? Sue? Give up? There’s no consumer arbitration claims for situations like this and feeling sorry for one’s self won’t make the booking return. The only thing to do is get back online and neurotically start searching availability. That can do attitude quickly disappears as week after week Etihad shows that all A380 flights are sold out. First Voice in My Head: What if I called AA in the US? Maybe they would credit me the difference in miles and I could book for next March which is the only time I’m finding availability. Second Voice in My Head: Sure buddy and the Lions are going to the Super Bowl this year. With a steel in my spine Harbaugh attitude, I continued to search backwards and forwards until I found two apartment tickets. Then I called AA Australia. Agent: Sorry our systems our down. Please call back later. So I called AA Singapore. Agent: Sorry sir that flight is not showing availability. Me: Yes it is. Agent: No it is not. Me: Yes it is. Agent: No sir, I only see one seat. Me: You are mistaken. Agent: Oh, here we go. I see them now. That will be an additional 19 Singapore dollars. The tickets currently show on request. I’m not going to celebrate or feel good because they still have to ticket them. If that happens then I won’t get any rest between now and the date of departure as I stare at my phone waiting for this to happen once again. No trip report title for this one. I can’t take another letdown.

It was only just a dream... — It was only just a dream…

Hyatt Regency O’Hare: The Best Airport Hotel

thepointsoflife

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August 5, 2016

12

The Hyatt Regency Ohare Hotel Review is another post regarding all things Chicago.

Getting There: From O’Hare a shuttle bus runs to the hotel every fifteen minutes.

Chicago is an amazing city. First I detailed where to go for Sunday Funday. Then I wrote about the delicious Chicago deep dish. From there I recommended two excellent hotels, the Radisson Blu Aqua, and the Waldorf Astoria Chicago. Now I’m going to tell you where to end your trip. It just so happens that it is at the best airport hotel that I have visited. I have to qualify that statement by saying that the perks of Hyatt Diamond membership are integral in making this assessment. The Architecture Where to start? My first recommendation is to ignore the outside of the hotel. It is not elegant like the Waldorf and it is not marvelous like the Aqua. The exterior of the hotel looks like an old hotel in the Middle East.

The Lobby Walking into the lobby, it hit me that this is not an ordinary airport hotel. It is massive and it is fancy. From the sculpture that rises from the lower floor to the main, to the restaurant, to the Friday night style bar, the Hyatt Regency has it all. If it wasn’t for the Regency Club or my relaxing room, I would’ve been out socializing like the rest of the guests.

The Guests This hotel doubles as a conference venue and the pit stop for flight crew. There were plenty of Emirates crew on hand leaving me disappointed that I was flying back to NYC instead of DXB in Shower Class. The Room I was given a room in the executive wing of the hotel. The room was standard but the TV was ridiculous. Traveling on the road, I rely on my laptop to watch TV. I rationalize that there’s no difference between a 70 inch LED and my 12 inch ThinkPad. I am wrong.

The Bathroom The bathroom was dated but they can’t all be winners, can they?

The Regency Club If I’m in a lounge or flying first, I’m happy. This Regency Club lounge was second only to the Hyatt Regency Mexico City. The food and drink spread gets this fat man at a lounge three plates at a single time award. Note that the food and drinks come out at 5PM.

Regency Club

I didn't keep track — I didn’t keep track

Overall I loved the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. It’s a category 2 hotel which is ridiculous for all the perks I received. For the same price in cash + points, the Hyatt Place Chicago O’Hare is available, a significant downgrade.

Waldorf Astoria Chicago: One of the Best

thepointsoflife

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August 3, 2016

0

The Waldorf Astoria Chicago Hotel Review is another post regarding all things Chicago. I used a Hilton Weekend Certificate which ended up being one my best redemptions.

Getting There: From O’Hare take the Blue Line into the city. Taxis are too slow and inefficient.

I’ve been a guest at three Waldorf Hotels including the mediocre Waldorf Dubai and the classic Waldorf Shanghai on the Bund. Besides the St. Regis New York, I have to boldly say that the second best hotel in the United States that I have stayed at is the Waldorf Astoria Chicago. The hotel is pristine, the service is impeccable, and the location is right in the middle of the action while simultaneously hidden in plain sight. Staying at the Waldorf Chicago is more like going home, if the home happens to be an upscale apartment in the heart of a bustling metropolis. The staff treats guests like longtime residents and fellow guests feel like neighbors instead of strangers. The Exterior The courtyard entrance of the hotel provided isolation from the busy Chicago streets. It had a Park Hyatt Buenos Aires feel.

The Lobby The lobby is extravagant.

The Room I wish my NYC apartment was as nice as this hotel room.

The Bathroom Ferragamo soap is among my favorite for hotels making this shower experience wonderful.

The View The view wasn’t the greatest but at least I got to see blue sky.

Overall It’s a shame I was only here for one night. This hotel sets the standard for quality not only in the United States but throughout the world.

Pho Saigon NYC: Only for the Spring Rolls

thepointsoflife

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August 2, 2016

7

Pho Saigon NYC: Only for the Spring Rolls

For my frequent readers, my modus operandi is clear: Have a couple of drinks, chat with the bartender, then ‘OK Google’ the terms ‘pho near me’. The reviews are meaningless as the highest rated pho spots still turn out to be a disappointment. This time Google told me to head Pho Saigon which is located at 987 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10022. Since it was only two blocks away from my current location, I followed Google’s orders. The Decor The place looked too nice from the outside and the inside which is inversely related to how good the bowl will be i.e., nice place=bad pho.

2016-06-08 18.56.37 — Champagne with pho?

The Chips

The waiter brought over some Chinese style chips to hold me over until the spring rolls arrived. This is another red flag as Vietnamese restaurants typically do not do this. The Spring Rolls

The spring rolls came and they were fantastically fresh. I’ve always maintained that there is no causal relationship between great spring rolls and great pho. The Pho Looking at the pictures right now, I am confused as to why I didn’t think too much of the bowl. The meat was perfectly rare, the broth was reasonably clear, and the sprouts, jalapenos, cilantro, and onions were in abundant supply. What the pictures do not reveal is how bland the taste was. The noodles had no personality and the broth had no spark.

2016-06-08 19.06.49 — But how would it taste?

2016-06-08 19.36.34 — Good enough to finish but not to return

The search for decent pho in NYC continues. Or perhaps I should give up.

SQ Reclaims KrisFlyer Miles

thepointsoflife

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August 2, 2016

4

I was attempting to book a first class flight from Houston to Moscow on Singapore Airlines. Unfortunately, SQ flies a 777 from Houston and not the A380 but I think I can tolerate that. I kept receiving error messages when I attempted to make the reservation. First I assumed it was Barclays fraud department so I tried my Amex. That also was declined. The message I received said that my account was under review and someone would contact me within 3-5 days. I called to figure out what was going on and was given the same message. Yesterday the call came. Apparently, I had received 5k SQ miles from a promotion two years ago. I have no recollection of this promotion but apparently it was only open to Australian residents. The agent asked me to accept a 5k deduction from my account to bring it back into good standing. Now I’m waiting for my ThankYou points to once again transfer over (it took two days last time) in order to confirm the ticket that they’ve kindly placed on hold. Who knew SQ would be such a stickler over 5k miles 2 years later? I can honestly admit that I don’t even remember the promo or the terms. I guess they could’ve been a lot tougher with me if they wanted to be.