The Qantas Business Lounge & Flight Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
Find the nerdy planning here. Find the picture preview here.
As I discussed, I don’t think it’s worth 40k Avios for a round trip to New Zealand from Australia. It is better to pay cash for coach and save your points. Still, it was interesting to see what flying Qantas business is like. As a company, Qantas has had a rough time competing with Virgin, the ever expanding number of competitors flying into Australia, and discount carriers. Qantas’s prices are usually higher than their competitors despite nothing too special about their domestic product. I’m including SYD-MEL and MEL-WLG-SYD in this analysis.
Overall, this government subsidized airline needs to make serious changes in its operations if it’s going to remain a player in the future. It can’t just rely on its rich history and its past dominance to get it through the turbulent times. Qantas is a symbol of pride throughout the country though the people recognize how mismanaged the airline has become. In many ways it reminds me General Motors in the United States.
Here is the happier photo review:
The gloomy future of QantasThe Lounge in WellingtonSkippy! Ricies, wtfNice smoothiesA little Aussie breakfastCare for some cloudy apple juice?And bad champagne
The Wellington New Zealand Travel Guide is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
Find the nerdy planning here. Find the picture preview here.
Here is the Wellington, New Zealand Travel Guide using the Guns & Butter methodology:
A trip is composed of two factors: Labor And Lazy
Anything on the line (Production Possibilities Frontier for my fellow economists) is an efficient use of your time depending on your tastes and preferences.
Anything inside the line is inefficient as should be avoided.
Anything outside is aspirational but may be impossible to do given the constraints of time and resources.
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.
Windy Wellington! Do you know that Wellington is the capital of New Zealand? Seriously, it isn’t Auckland. I’ve traveled near and far and have to say that Wellington is far. Just look at the Great Circle Mapper to see how far it is from the hometown of Flint.
FNT-WLG on a380
I felt isolated and somewhat abandoned in New Zealand. The remoteness was unlike anything I’ve experienced. Even the Maldives felt more accessible. Not to belabor the point but Australians don’t go to New Zealand with great frequency.
Having said that, I had a great time in Wellington. While other cities like Queenstown and Christchurch are more scenic, there was still plenty to do for the three days that I was there.
Drink
Wellington is a party city. There is drinking along Cuba Street and clubs in the party area of Courtenay Place. By day there are pub crawls and by night there are more pub crawls. Saturday night was just as lively as Sunday night.
Irish BarLocal BeerDrinking at the waterfrontBotanic Garden
Take the cable car up to the Wellington Botanic Garden for great views of the city and the beauty of New Zealand. After a night out, it’s nice to enjoy an organic buzz.
Virtually straight up!View from the topWellingtonFrom aboveThe MapWellington Botanic GardenSmell the flowersMore flowersAnd more flowersNice place for a picnicCity Tour
Walk through the botanic garden down to the city to observe the capitol and other weird buildings.
This was happeningThe Beehive which is the Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament BuildingsOriental Bay
Looking to go to the beach? Wellington is not the city for that. Oriental Bay is a small strip of sand right on the harbor suitable for a day of relaxing.
Oriental BayThe beachR&RSleep
I have regrets about my time in Wellington because I spent too much time asleep as a result of certain activities outlined above. I would have liked to have gone wine tasting like I did in Melbourne and lost less money sports gambling at TAB. Coming all the way from the United States to New Zealand and getting sidetracked by partying isn’t what a world traveler should do. Alas, it happens.
I love TAB!A must photo-op
Earlier today I wrote about how SPG’s Best Rate Guarantee didn’t work. To demonstrate the tediousness of the process, I took screenshots of what I submitted and the ultimate outcome. Since I had gone through the trouble of showing what I did, I figured I might as well submit the claim again to see if it would work. I am happy to say that SPG did confirm the rate and provided a 20% discount. The room went from the SPG rate of $64 a night to $39 a night.
Many readers commented that it is worth submitting the claim over and over until it is approved. Since res judicata doesn’t apply for SPG claims, I highly recommend heeding this advice and repeating the process until justice is served.
$39 a night for a Sheraton? How can you beat that? You can’t thanks to SPG’s Best Rate Guarantee.
Update: A reader pointed out my stupidity. In the BRG, SPG always matches the rate. From there the option is 20% off of that rate OR 2k points. I inexplicably read it as no rate match, just 2k points which would hardly ever be a good value. After an emotional plea to SPG Platinum, they graciously gave me 1500 points despite my mistake.
Aló Presidente,
I was hoping to visit Venezuela’s Margarita Island so I could add it to my New Year’s Party Destination List when I read the bad news: a tourist visa is required to visit Venezuela. Once again, my travel plans have been thwarted by visa restrictions. (see Sudan, see China, see Myanmar.) The cost of obtaining a visa to enter Venezuela is only $30 but the Embassy of the United States for Venezuela advises that as of March 2015 visitors should apply for a visa 3 months before their intended arrival.
Clearly, that means I won’t be able to make it before New Years. This puts my travel to Venezuela on hold indefinitely as there are plenty of other places to visit with less hassle. Visas are a burden on travelers but the process of obtaining this one seems particularly cumbersome and confusing. Travelers can’t use a visa agency and have to apply at their local consulate. Furthermore, I’m not sure how long I would be required to surrender my passport during the application.
Like Brazil and Paraguay, Venezuela’s visa requirement is in response to the US imposing restrictions on foreigners looking to visit the United States. I understand the argument of fairness but there is more harm done to the tourist industry by keeping travelers out than the externality of promoting national pride i.e., you don’t want us, then we don’t need you.
To Venezuela I say keep the visa requirement if you must but let’s relax with the 90 day application period because I want a margarita.
No money, no honey
Nothing is worse than paying for a room only to find out that it was available for cheaper. Major hotel chains have a Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) program that seeks to assure guests that booking directly with them will never result in a room that is more expensive than what is available from a competitor. If a lower rate is found and the hotel chain confirms this rate after the booking is made on the chain’s site, it will match the rate and provide an incentive such as an additional 20% off.
Bloggers have boasted about receiving cheap rooms, free rooms, and points as a result of utilizing the BRG. While it sounds simple, I have yet to get it to work. I checked 2 nights at the Sheraton Luxor on SPG.com and on alltherooms.com. Alltherooms.com links to Expedia among other sites and offers a room for $49 a night. SPG offers the same room for $64. Using my MBA skills, I have calculated that $64>$49 meaning this should qualify for SPG BRG right?
Since it’s Saturday morning, it is fitting to invoke the catch phrase of Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend.” In order for the SPG Best Rate Guarantee to be enforced there are 2,324 things that have to happen:
The hotel room has to be exactly the same. No accessible room to junior suite, no single when double etc.
The currency has to be the same. US dollars to US dollars, not dollars to Mongolian tugrik.
The rate plan has to be the same: Flexible cancellation to flexible, not flexible to pre-pay discount.
The room must be booked on SPG’s website and then a claim submitted.
alltherooms.comI changed this to 1 adult just in case! Final booking page inclusive of all fees.SPG websiteSPG Booking
I had all of those things. So why didn’t it work?
Here’s the bogus explanation I received:
Clearly, I’m missing some detail in this process. But since I just went through the pain of putting this post together in real time, I decided to resubmit my claim and see what Akshat would say this time. Maybe I’ll add in this blog post to supplement my claim.
Update! Successful on round 2: Find out how here.
I’ve been doing a bad job of training for the Athens Marathon. Instead of running around the track, I went on a mattress run to meet the Hyatt Diamond Challenge. With only 5 weeks left, I’m ready for the training to be over and the race to begin.
A fellow blogger, Running with Miles, took points and running to another level by running 6 marathons in 6 continents in under 5 days. That’s insane, absurd, and obscene. How can the human body take such torture? I haven’t spoken to him personally but I’m wondering if he’s going to be featured on the cover of Runner’s World or some other publication. If you think that is impressive, check out the points redemptions he used to get from one race to another including Etihad’s First Apartment, a flight I have yet to take.
The post is worth reading in its entirety so I’ll save the details. Congrats to Charlie on this remarkable achievement.
Meanwhile I’m here lamenting today’s 8 mile run.
Round and round the track
Keeping abreast of global events is essential for a traveler venturing out beyond his backyard both for safety reasons and because of the interconnectedness of the world.Next month I am going to Egypt, the iconic home of the Arab Spring. Though the movement began in Tunisia, the scenes of the uprising in Tahrir Square defines a time of hope in the Arab world, a time when antiquated ideologies were supposed to be replaced by modern, free thinking.
Years later, next to nothing has changed. My parents’ home country of Iraq is a country if only by name. The debate of what to do with Iran and its potential for nuclear weapons has no ideal solution; either negotiate with the ayatollah or leave him to his own devices to do as he pleases. This again, brings the discussion to Syria, a country that has become the litmus test of what should be done in the Middle East.
In 2011, Obama famously said that Assad must go. Putin said no. Any use of force to get rid of him then were halted. Today the villains of ISIS have crippled the region and somehow the world is accepting of Russia’s airstrikes in Syria as a countermeasure to stop the ISIS advancement. Make no mistake, Putin’s actions are in direct opposition to the United States’s directive four years ago. Essentially, Putin, who has no true allegiance to Assad, is flexing his might much like he did in Crimea knowing full well that the United States will not directly challenge him. Hard line politics and tough talk end when the use of force begins.
Despite the good intentions of keeping the US out of another foreign conflict, Obama has been out flanked, out maneuvered by Putin who recognizes that the US is hard-pressed to respond. If the US supports the Russian led airstrikes, then it is going against its red line that a Syria of tomorrow is a Syria without Assad. If it seeks to undermine the Assad regime not only is there no suitable successor in place but also it openly challenges Russia.
Over the last four years, a series of missteps, miscalculations, and miscues has neutralized America’s influence in the Middle East. While the United States tried not to get involved in the region following its withdrawal from Iraq and draw down in Afghanistan, the lack of decisiveness has left the future of the Middle East in the hands of an even more erratic, more unpredictable character than those that came before him. His name, Vladmir Putin.
Like Ukraine, he’s playing for more than pride. He’s playing for keeps.
The Novotel Wellington Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
Find the nerdy planning here. Find the picture preview here.
Getting There: Per TripAdvisor: From the Airport, take the Airport Link Bus to Lambton Quay Stop. (And here is where the confusion starts) —> I am looking for an arcade (I’m from the US – so I am assuming a shop??) and take an elevator to the Terrace? Please help me out here… What arcade?, What lift?, What floor?, What’s the easiest way I can get into the Novotel.
I wish someone answered these queries before I climbed hill after hill. The arcade is an entrance to a mall and from within that entrance there is an elevator that is linked to the hotel. It says Novotel in the window of the entrance. If you are walking forever after the bus drops you off, you’ve gone too far! Turn around!
We Thought You Were Cool tells the story of how my platinum status expired after signing up on a Polish website for instant top-tier status. I didn’t get a lot of use out of being a platinum except for my trip to Windy Wellington. The Novotel there was reasonably priced at around $139 NZD a night and offered a $30/day hotel credit that I used on bottles of Sauvignon Blanc.
It is worth repeating that this Trip Heard Round the World came about before TPOL came into existence so my apologies for the lack of traditional review photos including my favorite, the soaps and shampoos.
The Room
The room was standard, typical of what you would find at a Club Carlson.
The Hotel Restaurant
Hotel food certainly tastes better when it is ‘free’. The prices were reasonable. A burger and bottle of wine along with a couple of beers didn’t break the daily stipend bank.
Come to NZ for the wineThe Location
Stay at this hotel if you want to be in the heart of the clubs and bars. It’s walking distance to the beach and provides easy access to all of Wellington.
Where isn’t there an Irish bar?The Staff
Housekeeping is very friendly and understanding of incidents that take place on weekends following a night out in the party capital of New Zealand.
Overall
The Novotel isn’t the Park Hyatt nor does it pretend to be. It’s perfectly nice for the price and the added benefit of being platinum provided a room upgrade to a higher floor.
Novotel Melbourne
September was TPOL’s greatest month ever. Here are the top posts:
1. How I Qualified for Hyatt DiamondIt’s been said that diamonds are a pointsman’s best friend. That is correct. I just returned from Arizona, California, and Mexico with Diamond Status in my pocket and a bunch of hotels, flights, lounges and golf courses to review.
2. JAL 787 Dreamliner: An American Marvel SAN-NRTIt has been claimed that food tastes better on the Dreamliner because of the way the cabin is pressurized. Whether this is true, I have no idea but the Japanese entrée certainly did not disappoint.
3. Etihad First Booked! Cairo to LA via Abu DhabiThat’s 16.5 hours of first class! Next, I found availability from Cairo to Abu Dhabi on Etihad also on first.
4. Election 2016: Where Have All the MS Jobs Gone?If TPOL is elected points president, I promise to build a wall, a great wall, the greatest firewall the world has ever seen to prevent these secrets from being shared to a million people.
5. Don’t Pay $30 for Tacos How the bleep did I get robbed so badly? I must still be drunk.
6. Guns & Butter: Mexico City Travel Guide Bienvenido a la Ciudad de México. I hope you brushed up on your Spanish and are ready to get after it.7. My Travel Technology hough I’ve already published a comprehensive What to Pack guide I thought I’d share a separate list for technology. Here’s what I’m packin’ and my two cents on each:
Paying Cash Saves $ Travel Advice is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
Find the nerdy planning here. Find the picture preview here.
Fixated with constructing the best points itinerary beheld by all of mankind, I forgot common sense in making my booking from Melbourne to Wellington. I elected to use Avios to fly business on Qantas. The fare should’ve been 40,000 points and a nominal amount in tax. Instead, after hours arguing with terrible British Airways customer service, I ended up paying $260 which included improper fuel surcharges. Upon arriving in Australia, the agent confirmed that British had incorrectly charged me but could only offer me his business card as a point of reference for my complaint. Had I paid cash for the ticket, the round trip flight from AU to NZ was $400 in economy.
The lessons I have learned are as follows:
Never book business class with Avios. Avios are great for short-haul economy tickets to get you out of Yangon when flights are $800, for bailing you out when you mix up the visa rules in China, or when you need a ticket to see the University of Michigan in the Final Four.
Qantas Australia and Qantas New Zealand are the same company but different. This tax loophole maneuver played a big part in my fuel surcharge issue.
Refunds for improperly assessed fuel surcharges aren’t coming. British Airways didn’t care about Qantas’s assessment of the situation.
40,000 Avios is an obscene amount of points for two 3.5 hour flights.
Business Class from Australia to New Zealand aboard a dated 737 is marginally better than coach. This is evidenced by the fact there is no flight review on this leg of the trip.
Paying for tickets isn’t the worst thing in the world. Using points carelessly is.
