Alaska Business Approved!

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Alaska Business Approved!

I ain’t gonna stop until I’m done (don’t stop it)I ain’t gonna quit until I’ve wonNow baby don’t you stop it, stop itNow baby don’t you stop it, stop itNow baby don’t you stop it, stop itYou can’t stop us now

It feels like the days of old. Thus, I will throw on an old school track to celebrate my approval of the Alaska business card. The card comes with 50k miles after 3k spend. How do you use 50k miles? Obviously, by going to Fiji en route to residency #2 in Melbourne (see 55K Alaskan to Fiji And My New Melbourne Residence). Don’t stop the party! a close up of a credit card  

Citi Does It Again: No Credit Limit, Can’t Pay Bill, Can’t Shift Credit

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Citi Does It Again: No Credit Limit, Can’t Pay Bill, Can’t Shift Credit

Citi you make no sense to me. Why approve me for the Citi AA Exec card (see Approved! AA Citi Exec 100k), require that I spend 10k in 3 months to earn 100k AA points, but make it impossible to do so? Just like the Citi Premier (see Approved! Citi Premier), I was approved for a petty amount. Here, it was only 5k. Just like the Citi Premier, it does not matter if I pay my bill in full. My payment is on hold for two more weeks. Just like the Citi Premier, they won’t let me transfer available credit from my Citi Plus card despite having a 30k credit line.

a screenshot of a credit card
They won’t let me spend my way to 100k points.
a close up of a date
But they have no problem charging me the $595 annual fee.
When I called to ask what could be done? They said nothing. The algorithm is in control. Conclusion: The machines have taken over. #judgementday #johnconnor

What the Pho? In Cabo Verde

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What the Pho? In Cabo Verde

Pho Cabo Verde is part of the Still The Best Trip Report.

I wrote how similar Cabo Verde is to Puerto Rico (see Cabo Verde: Puerto Rico’s Fraternal Twin). In that post, I wrote, “The food in Puerto Rico is a tragedy. Everything is fried. The food in CV is the opposite. It’s all fresh and it’s not overpriced.” Adding to the tragedy is the unavailability of pho in PR. This is not the case in CV where I found a delicious, authentic bowl of Hanoi pho. a restaurant with tables and chairs TPOL’s Tip: Pho Hanoi is located at 104 Rua Patrice Lumumba Santa Maria Sal CV, Santa Maria, Cape Verde. a glass and a cup on a table a plate of food on a table a bowl of soup with meat and chopsticks a bowl of soup with meat and noodles and chopsticks a bowl of soup with meat and vegetables a bowl of soup with a spoon a bowl with food on it a glass of brown liquid on a table Overall This was the perfect pho lunch.

Simply The Best: September 2023

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Simply The Best: September 2023

I was too busy on my Still The Best Trip to post in September. I was gone for so long that a reader wrote, “I am in TPOL withdrawal! Will he return?.” Well, I’m back, for now (see TPOL’s Back!). Here is the best from September:

  1. Playa de Las Americas, Tenerife: Well That Sucked
    a group of people outside of a building with neon signs
    I thought that Playa de Las Americas was going to be a unique party place. It was not.
  2. Michelin Sushi Tenerife: $375 Worth Spent?
    food on a plate
    The next morning I woke wondering if $375 for sushi was worth it.
  3. Iberia San Juan to Madrid: Una Vez Mas
    a screen on a wall
    Iberia is consistently great and convenient.
  4. Ritz Carlton Tenerife: We’ll Make It Better, The Second Time Around
    a large building with a pool and plants
    I will not be returning to Tenerife. If you do go, go to the Ritz Carlton and stay put.
  5. Stuck on a Deserted Island? TPOL’s Trouble in Cabo Verde
    a screenshot of a computer
    Upon checking in, I was told that inter-island flights fill up quickly and are unreliable when they are available. I was also told that the ferry is a nightmare, is unpredictable, uncomfortable, and can take a whole day. My heart sank.
  6. En Route: Iberia’s Domestic Lounge Madrid
    a sign on a glass wall
    This was a nice place to relax and refuel before my flight to Tenerife.
  7. Binter Canarias: The Official Tenerife to Cabo Verde Flight Review
    a large airplane with a group of people standing around
    Have you flown Binter Canarias? I am going to guess no.

Hilton Cabo Verde: Perfect, Peaceful Stay

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Hilton Cabo Verde: Perfect, Peaceful Stay

Hilton Cabo Verde Hotel Review is part of the Still The Best Trip Report.

Would you pay 70,000 Hilton points a night or $150 a night? In the old days, the top-end Hiltons went for 50k points a night (see The Conrad Maldives: Heaven Can Wait). Stuck in the past and wanting to save my points for a better booking, I did the unthinkable and paid cash for my 4-night stay at the Hilton Sal.a building with a sign on the front All-Inclusive? There are many all-inclusive hotels in Sal including the Riu and Melia brand. Having learned my lesson from the Doubletree Zanzibar (see DoubleTree Zanzibar-Nungwi: Miss You Miss You Baby), I decided to pay for everything a la carte. That was a sound idea as I enjoyed eating and drinking in Santa Maria instead of the hotel (see Guns & Butter: Sal, Cabo Verde Travel Guide). a group of fish on a wall Hilton Gold Initially, I was given a room with no view. The next day I mentioned that I was Hilton gold and was given a room with a partial view.a view of a resort with palm trees and a pool Breakfast I only went to breakfast once. There’s a good selection of food including local flavor.a display of donuts on a tablea plate of food on a table Beach As I wrote, Puerto Rico is fraternal twins with Cabo Verde (see Cabo Verde: Puerto Rico’s Fraternal Twin). The beach reminded me of my beach in Rio Mar, Puerto Rico. a palm tree with flags in the windrope on a beach with a boat in the distance a glass of beer on a table Pool I prefer the pool to the ocean both at home and away. a pool with people swimming in it Happy Hour From 5-6pm was happy hour. All drinks were half off. That’s how happy hour is supposed to be. a glass of ice and lime on a table
a glass with a drink in it
PR coming into focus
Restaurant I ate at the hotel on the first day. I was impressed by the tuna steak.a wooden walkway leading to a building a plate of food on a table Entertainment There is a bar at the hotel with live music.  The football game was in stoppage time forcing the singer to wait. a man playing guitar in a room with a red sign Room This hotel is brand new.a room with a bed and a couch No Espresso The room only had instant coffee. That is unacceptable. That was my one complaint. Bath After a night of too much rum, I did something else unthinkable: I used the tub to recover.a bathtub in a bathroom a bathroom with a large mirror and a bathtub Shower There’s a rain shower for normal days. a shower with a light coming from the ceilinga group of soap dispensers on a wall Overall The Hilton CV is a good value but only if you’re not using points.

Stuck on a Deserted Island? TPOL’s Trouble in Cabo Verde

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Stuck on a Deserted Island? TPOL’s Trouble in Cabo Verde

Stuck is part of the Still The Best Trip Report.

Do you recall my Still The Best itinerary (see How to Book the Best Itinerary: AA, Avios, Aeroplan, Miles & Smiles, Flying Blue, LifeMiles, Capital One)? Here were the tentative flights. a green and yellow table with black text Following my Punxsutawney TPOL Trip, I no longer book open-ended itineraries (see Punxsutawney TPOL: Travel Lessons  “Don’t Book Open-Ended Itineraries: It is too stressful and too time-consuming to figure out where I am going next and how I am getting home.”). I also book all flights between countries in advance. Here, you may have noticed the open jaw segment between SID and RAI. The flight time from Sal, Cabo Verde (SID) and Praia, Cabo Verde (RAI) is 45 minutes. I didn’t book it in advance because 1) There wasn’t a points option. 2) I figured it would be easy to jump on an island hopper to catch my Royal Air Maroc flight to Nice by way of Casablanca. I was wrong. Lounging at the pool at the Ritz Carlton Tenerife (see Ritz Carlton Tenerife: We’ll Make It Better, The Second Time Around) on the day of my flight to Cabo Verde, I started looking for a flight to Praia. I kept receiving errors. Unconcerned, I decided to wait until I arrived in Sal to sort out this minor logistical challenge. I thought, worst case, I could take a ferry from Sal to Praia. I arrived at the Hilton Cabo Verde late Friday night, August 18th, 2023 (see Hilton Cabo Verde: Perfect, Peaceful Stay). Upon checking in, I was told that inter-island flights fill up quickly and are unreliable when they are available. I was also told that the ferry is a nightmare, is unpredictable, uncomfortable, and can take a whole day. My heart sank. Googling Bestfly Cabo Verde, the local airline, I found this: Due to operational limitations, one of our aircraft is currently inoperative. In this context, we are still completing flights scheduled for 18AUG , which suffered significant delays. These delays stem from the need to operate primarily at airports without lighting before sunset and the unforeseen event of an emergency evacuation that took place last night. As for the flights planned for 19AUG , they haven’t started yet and, unfortunately, we will have to cancel some connections to islands with restrictions related to sunset, such as Fogo and Maio. We ask that you check the exact time of your flight on our website before heading to the airport. Times for 19AUG are being updated. Checking the flight schedule, there were no flights available that would arrive in time to make my connection which was departing RAI at 3:55 AM on August 22nd. Instead of enjoying a festive Friday night, I went to sleep wondering what I would do next. The whole night I had dreams about ferries and flight connections. At 7 AM, I woke up restless and agitated. I went back to the front desk to see if they could give me more information. Their best recommendation was to go to the airport and see if I could fly on standby either on the 21st or the 22nd. I was annoyed that this inconvenience was interfering with my vacation. The next half of the day was not spent lounging on the beautiful Sal beach (see Cabo Verde: Puerto Rico’s Fraternal Twin). It was spent refreshing Bestfly Cabo Verde’s website, hoping for a flight to open. While eating lunch, I refreshed once again on my mobile phone. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a flight for Monday. Frantic, I loaded my saved cc info, put in my 3-digit security pin, and hit ‘submit.’ It said ‘processing’ and it continued to say ‘processing.’ Then it timed out. Shortly thereafter, I received a notification that the transaction was declined. I hit refresh and, of course, all the flights were sold out. TPOL’s Tip: Critical transactions should be done on a laptop, not on a phone. TPOL’s Tip: Even on US carriers, I have noticed that saved cc numbers tend to be declined. It is a best practice to input the digits manually. I was in Cabo Verde for 18 hours and was not having a good time. Instead of being held hostage by Bestfly Cabo Verde, I decided to take a different approach. I canceled my business class ticket on Royal Air Maroc and booked a flight direct from Sal to Lisbon, Portugal on Cabo Verde Airlines (see Rescued! Cabo Verde Airlines: Sal to Lisbon). Sure it was a four-hour flight in coach, but knowing I had a way off this beautiful island and only paying $260 provided me priceless peace of mind. I was finally able to enjoy wonderful Cabo Verbe (see Guns & Butter: Sal, Cabo Verde Travel Guide). On paper, my itinerary did not change drastically. Instead of two nights in Nice, I would spend one in Lisbon and one in Nice. My plan was to spend one night in Lisbon and see my friend from Shanghai whom I had not seen in 13 years. Then I would fly to Nice on Lufthansa business bright and early to meet my other friend for a day of champagne beach debauchery. All of this was possible thanks to 20,000 Lifemiles and $67. If everything went according to plan, I would be back on schedule with minimal financial impact and a de minimis schedule disruption. What could go wrong?
a screenshot of a computer
Confirmed!
     

Binter Canarias: The Official Tenerife to Cabo Verde Flight Review

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Binter Canarias: The Official Tenerife to Cabo Verde Flight Review

Binter Canarias Flight Review is part of the Still The Best Trip Report.

Have you flown Binter Canarias? I am going to guess no. Trying to get from Tenerife, Canary Islands to Sal, Cabo Verde, this was the most convenient way (see Can You Tell Me How to Get to Cabo Verde?).
a map of the ocean
Consider the alternative: Flying to Lisbon and then to SID.
Given the choice, I would prefer not to fly a prop plane (see TPOL’s Worst Flight Experiences). But the chances of something happening on this short flight from Tenerife to Gran Canaria were low. a plane on the tarmacan airplane with its doors open
an airplane with rows of seats
Welcome Aboard Binter, bwahahahah
After surviving that flight, I looked forward to the international Binter service from Gran Canaria to Sal. This flight was 2 hours and 35 minutes on a proper Embraer 195-E2.
a large airplane with a group of people standing around
Binter baby!
A snack was served along with dessert. a sandwich in a container a cup of coffee and a bag of cereal Overall If you are looking for a convenient flight from Tenerife to Sal, Cabo Verde, for $435 this is it.

Priority Pass Tenerife: A Lounge Is Better Than No Lounge

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Priority Pass Tenerife: A Lounge Is Better Than No Lounge

Tenerife Priority Pass Lounge Review is part of the Still The Best Trip Report.

a door with a picture on it
Super VIP
Any Priority Pass Lounge is better than no lounge. While I would not rate this lounge as gross (see Priority Pass Jakarta Lounge Review: Yuck), it’s not that much better than the one in Jakarta. Here’s the food:
a trays of food on a counter
The rice was edible, but the rest was suspect.
Focusing on the positives, there is an outdoor smokers’ lounge. a room with a view of the ocean and a beach a group of airplanes on a runway Off to Cabo Verde!

Guns & Butter: Tenerife Travel Guide (Disappointed Edition)

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Guns & Butter: Tenerife Travel Guide (Disappointed Edition)

Tenerife Travel Guide is part of the Still The Best Trip Report.

TPOL’s Guns & Butter Travel Guide is the best way to see as much as you can in as little time as possible. Here’s how it works: A trip is composed of two factors: Labor And Lazy. The opportunity cost (what is given up) for relaxing and being Lazy is gained by being adventurous in the form of Labor and vice versa. The guide includes inefficient activities i.e., tourist traps that should be avoided and aspirational activities that are worth doing but may be impossible to see given the constraints of time and resources.
TPOL’s rule is to stay a maximum of 3 nights but preferably two nights in any city. Four nights in Tenerife is an eternity. Here’s what I did and did not do. Tenerife North I didn’t go to the north and would recommend that you fly into the south as that is where the action is (see Not My Fault: Tenerife Airport, North Or South?).
a screenshot of a computer
Be careful when you book as the airport code only shows TCI for Tenerife
Transport Take a local taxi over Uber. It’s cheaper (see Tenerife: Take a Taxi Over Uber).
a person using a phone to check the driver's information
32 euros versus 60 in Uber.
Golf The Abama golf course at the Ritz Carlton was beautiful. Still, I had no interest in paying 200 euros for a round, not including rentals. My idea of fun isn’t to overspend on golf under the hot sun while shooting over 100 alone.
a glass of orange juice on a golf course
Drink or golf?
All Inclusive I am against all-inclusive resorts (see DoubleTree Zanzibar-Nungwi: Miss You Miss You Baby), but this is a popular option in Tenerife. Playa de Las Americas I guess this is the party area but I found it to be underwhelming and stale* (see Playa de Las Americas, Tenerife: Well That Sucked).
a group of people outside of a building with neon signs
Same damn setup in every tourist destination.
*Kebab: the kebab was not stale.
a man cooking in a kitchen
Same damn setup in every tourist destination. Worth repeating again.
Ritz Carlton Originally, I was supposed to stay at the Ritz for one night and then spend the rest of my time at Playa de Las Americas. After two nights with no AC and no quality of life, I returned to the Ritz. You should too (see Ritz Carlton Tenerife: We’ll Make It Better, The Second Time Around).
a large building with a pool and plants
The view would have been the same with a 35k.
Sushi Go to the Abama Kabuki, a Michelin restaurant adjacent to the Ritz (see Michelin Sushi Tenerife: $375 Worth Spent?).a tray of different plates Beach Neither the beach at the Ritz or Playa de Las Americas had impressive beaches. I assume the rest of the island does. Coming from Puerto Rico, I can’t be bothered to go chasing after clear waters.
a beach with palm trees and people on the beach
Playa de las Americas
a group of people on a beach
Ritz Beach: Come on guys! Enough of the IG shit.
Overall I came to the Canary Islands because they have a pretty name and to add another ‘country’ to my list (see Is Hawaii a Country?). It was a decent way to start my Still The Best Trip but I do not see myself returning

Michelin Sushi Tenerife: $375 Worth Spent?

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Michelin Sushi Tenerife: $375 Worth Spent?

Michelin Sushi Tenerife is part of the Still The Best Trip Report.

The party scene in Tenerife was a flop (see Playa de Las Americas, Tenerife: Well That Sucked). Looking to return to luxury, I went back to the Ritz Carlton (see Ritz Carlton Tenerife: We’ll Make It Better, The Second Time Around). After a day of doing nothing at the pool, I had a decision to make: Go to sleep early and spend a few hundred on golf to play in the morning or find pleasure in food. Since it was too hot and since I do not find golfing alone particularly enjoyable, I went with option 2. At 8:57 PM, I called Abama Kabuki to see if they could still seat me for the tasting menu. They said yes so long as I could be ready in five minutes. At 9:02 PM I took the Mercedes shuttle bus to the restaurant.a sign on a wall This was my second time doing a full-course food and drink tasting at a Michelin restaurant. The first, as you will recall, was in Copenhagen, Denmark (see Punk Royale Copenhagen: Michelin Restaurant on Acid). a paper with text on it As far as the food goes, I will let the photos do the talking. As far as the experience, I have to say that it is a memorable experience that I cherish. It’s like flying first on Emirates without leaving the ground. For a few hours, I feel like the chef is personally cooking for me. No detail is overlooked and each moment is to be savored. Talking to the waiters and the sommelier is as much a part of the experience as the food itself. I give my feedback and my assessment and it seems like the staff actually cares about my opinion. If I am being duped in the same way an exotic dancer makes her clients feel special, I appreciate the show nonetheless.a glass of wine next to a vase of flowers a group of bowls with food on them a dumpling on a plate a piece of meat on a plate a bowl with a spoon on it a bowl and bowl on a table a tray of different plates and bowls a plate of sushi on a table a spoon and bowl on a table a plate of food with shrimp a glass of white wine on a table a close up of food food on a plate a small wooden objects with different foods on them a bowl of food on a table a table with food and winea plate of raw meat a bowl of soup with vegetables Unfortunately, the sampling and savoring had to come to an end. Fortunately, the sampling and savoring had to come to an end. All that was left was the bill and the ride home. a receipt on a table The next morning I woke wondering if $375 for sushi was worth it. Putting it that way, the answer is no. But when someone asks what did you do in Tenerife, I will say Michelin sushi at Abama Kabuki. Retelling that story makes it worth it. TPOL’ Tip: Abama Kabuki is adjacent to the Ritz Carlton and is located at Calle María Zambrano, Carretera General, TF-47, 2, Km 9, 38687, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
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