A good rule of thumb in the points game is to always have enough Avios to get you to Bangkok from Hong Kong and back four times. Incidentally, that rule was developed today as the final countdown for the British deval ratio from Amex draws near.
I read case study after case study trying to figure out if I should transfer MRs, how many I should transfer, and on and on. In the end, I moved 34,000 which brings my balance to 60k. I will eventually get another 120k from Chase but till that happens I didn’t want to remain in violation of the aforementioned rule.
Many bloggers write of transferring either URs or SPG points to top off their Avios accounts. URs are far too valuable given Chase’s anti-churning measure that passed through Congress. And SPG points? Where are these bloggers getting all these SPG points? Amex enacted the anti-churning measure awhile ago so the sign up bonus is no longer a viable way of rebooting the account. I’m platinum with SPG and my account isn’t bursting at the seams with disposable points, certainly not with any that are worth more as airline currency instead of award nights.
With that, I did what I had to do. Maybe there will be a MR to Avios transfer bonus later but given what’s at stake, I couldn’t risk the wait.
Membership Rewards to Avios? Transfer 4 RTs from HKG-BKK
Pablo Pimsleur: Your Guide to Foreign Languages
Call him 保罗, Pablo, or Bulus. Anyway it’s written it translates to Paul, my Rosetta Stone for foreign languages. The importance of learning the local languages for international travel goes without saying. It can be helpful when you’re stuck in no man’s land in Sudan, in dealing with shady taxi drivers in Shanghai, or when buying bottles of Malbec at wineries in Argentina.
But how are you supposed to brush up on your español or practice your putonghua when you don’t have a moment to spare? My tried and true method is the Pimsleur Approach. Pimsleur is an American linguist who theorized that the easiest way to learn language was by listening and repeating. His courses are broken down into three units. Each unit has 30 lessons and each lesson is 30 minutes long.
Using 保罗Pimsleur, I taught myself enough Mandarin in 90 days to run around China for the summer. Before heading to Latin America, I put Pablo Pimsleur on chipmunk speed and zip through the Spanish courses. This time around, I’m tackling my parent’s native tongue and using Bulus Pimsleur for Arabic before heading to Egypt.
Pimsleur gives me the confidence to at least attempt to speak the language when I arrive in a new country and the brashness to believe that I am a native speaker after I’ve had a couple. These conversations indubitably enhance my travel experience and allow me to get into/get out of situations I would not normally encounter but for my purported language skills.
So the next time you are deciding if you should go to Australia or Azerbaijan, opt for the latter and pick up a copy of Pavel Pimsleur and opt for adventure.
*Note: The courses are expensive to purchase but your local library may have them available for free.
Radisson Melbourne: The Business Class Room
The Radisson Melbourne Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
Getting There: If you take the bus & train from the airport it only costs $4-$14AUD and takes 30 minutes to an hour. Uber is $24-$33AUD and takes 15 minutes.
As a Club Carlson Gold Member, I was upgraded to a Business Class Room at the Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens Melbourne. Business Class aboard Finnair and business at Radisson are slightly different with the former providing much more amenities. According to Radisson.com, Business Class features service and upgraded amenities specifically designed with the business traveler in mind. Business Class at Radisson offers:
- Upgraded room & amenities
- 1,000 bonus Gold Points® per night
- Turndown service
- Weekly newspaper delivered to your room
- The best amenity was the rooftop hot tub and patio.
- The rooftop gym was strange. It was barely big enough for two people but had a personal trainer instructing guests on weird routines.
- The hotel was walking distance to the city center and had a friendly front desk that tracked down our tour company when they went MIA.
<==Back to Park Hyatt Melbourne – Onto Melbourne Travel Guide==>
The Park Hyatt Melbourne: Not the Same ‘Park’
The Park Hyatt Melbourne Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
Getting There: If you take the bus & train from the airport it only costs $4-$14AUD and takes 30 minutes to an hour. Uber is $26-$35AUD and takes 17 minutes.
What’s your favorite hotel brand? If you’re not a points participant and have some disposable income, then I’m sure it is the Four Seasons. If not then I’m guessing it’s either the St. Regis, Conrad, or Park Hyatt. Hyatt has some great brands including Andaz and the Hyatt House but none compare to the Park Hyatt. A reason to maintain Diamond Status is for the benefits at Park Hyatts including the much blogged about free breakfast. I have stayed at Park Hyatts across the globe including:
- Park Hyatt Saigon
- Park Hyatt Shanghai
- Park Hyatt Sydney
- Park Hyatt Buenos Aires
- Park Hyatt Mendoza
- Park Hyatt Istanbul
- Park Hyatt New York (Cancelled because the pool was closed)
- Park Hyatt Moscow: Booked
The Staff
The staff was friendly and helpful. They recommended places for dinner but couldn’t come up with any picks for where to go out. I find it interesting when young people work at the front desk in a big city and can’t provide names of a few ‘go to’ spots. No matter where in the world I have lived I can always tell visitors what is good every day of the week.
Overall
The hotel was very good. It wasn’t on par with the other Park Hyatts whose luxury and glamour become one of the highlights of trip. The Park Hyatt Melbourne was just another nice hotel to rest until I moved on to the next city.
The World’s Best Travel Jacket: Shipping Soon!
Like a kid bringing in a new toy for show and tell, I am excited that I am weeks away from getting the coolest invention known to nomadic man. I previously wrote about the Kickstarter campaign for the World’s Best Travel Jacket and today they emailed me to confirm my size, style, and color.
Here’s what I chose:
Cathay Pacific HKG-SYD Business A330
The Cathay Pacific HKG-SYD Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
It’s all about the Dreamliner and the 777 vs. A380, if not the A350 these days. Back then TPOL was just happy to fly business and get free champagne and ice cream. The flight from Hong Kong to Sydney was aboard an A330 and looking back I couldn’t tell you what the difference was between it and my next Cathay 777 flight from HKG-JNB. This may be due to TPOL’s lack of aviation expertise at the time, or it may be a result of the quality of Cathay Pacific. In the five times I flew Cathay as part of this RTW itinerary, I was never disappointed. In fact, the business class was so good, it rivals my Cathay first class experience from HKG-ORD. During the good old days when RTW tickets were available, the type of plane was secondary compared to finding business class availability. Since the trip consisted of a dozen segments, slumming it on a 737 for a few hours wasn’t such a big deal since the next flight was on a 777. Now that 120,000 AA miles only gets you a RT ticket instead of halfway to a 50,000 Mile Explorer Award, making sure you fly the best business class product is just as important as availability. Look no further than Thai Airways 777-200 BKK-AKL for an example of when flying business isn’t as attractive even when it’s free. I’m lucky that I was able to redeem the Explorer Award and am even more lucky that so many of the flights were on Cathay, regardless of the type of plane.
<==Back to Cathay Arrival Lounge – Onto Park Hyatt Melbourne==>
Cathay Pacific The Arrival Lounge Hong Kong
The Cathay Pacific The Arrival Lounge Hong Kong Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
After a smooth business class flight aboard Cathay from NRT, I had three hours in Hong Kong before my first lie-flat experience. Cathay has more lounge varieties than Chevy trucks. As a transit passenger, I was given access to The Arrival Lounge, a quiet sanctuary in the middle of the bustling HKG airport. With a few hours to relax, I setup my own mobile work station, asked for a glass of champagne, and feasted on wieners and onion rings.
<==Back to Tokyo Travel Guide – Onto Cathay Business HKG-SYD==>
The Office of the President Calls…for US Bank
A ceasefire has been declared. The Club Carlson drama is over. This morning I received a call from a restricted number. Some people are adamant about not taking calls from numbers they do not know but I get a rush out of answering such calls. This is mostly due to my curiosity of how the agent is going to botch my last name. Today that call came from none other than US Bank ‘in regards to your multiple emails and phone calls.’
The call was very tame. I was informed that my e-cert would be put into my account and that the sun would come out tomorrow. So for anyone who is waiting for correspondence from the Office of the President, be sure to pick up the phone when it rings.
Now, where to burn these two free nights?
Week 11: Marathon Update
Eleven weeks of training is done for the Athens marathon and in order to keep myself honest and motivated, here’s my weekly diary of all things marathon. Here’s what happened this week:
- Coming off a week of panic, I finally ran and ran and ran.
- Today was distance day and I hit 10.02 miles in 1:35:52 at a pace of 9:34/mi which gives me hope.
Citi HHonors Won’t Honor Offer
Citi is usually very good about matching current credit card offers as is Chase. So when I saw that the 50k HHonors after 1k spend was increased to 75k after 2k spend I thought a quick call would yield 25k more points.
It did not. The friendly agent confirmed that Citi can adjust offers if there is a better one except when it involves Hilton. He is reviewing the call to see if any promises were made to match the offer and will get back to me this week.
Even though this card is churnable, it would be quite a shame to see 25k points go to waste because I prematurely applied for a card with a bonus that went from 40 to 50 to 75.
Anyone have the better HHonor offer honored?
