Travel Guide - ThePointsOfLife

The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World

thepointsoflife

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November 17, 2014

Care for a Trip Report? I have one.

It is my bold contention that this is the greatest award redemption of all time. I raise the challenge to any blogger, frequent flyer, or foe to prove otherwise.

How did I do it? A ton of points, 1,163,214 to be exact. The feature of which was the American Airlines Explorer Award.

American Airlines used to have a round the world ticket called the Explorer Award which allowed you to fly 50,000 miles on 16 segments so long as the trip was completed in a year all for 230,000 AAdvantage Miles and $275 in taxes. In October of 2013, I spent weeks planning, calling, and booking this lifetime achievement which started in Phoenix and included stops in:

San Diego, California
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
Tel Aviv, Israel (Was unable to go to Israel.)
Moscow, Russia (Rescheduled for February 2015.)
St. Petersburg, Russia (Rescheduled for February 2015.)
Berlin, Germany (Unable to go due to move to Mongolia.)
Toronto, Ontario (Unable to go due to move to Mongolia.)
Los Angeles, California (Unable to go due to move to Mongolia.)
Phoenix, Arizona

*Note that the American Airlines round the world ticket took me from North America to Asia, Australia, and Africa then back to North America only to return months later to Europe; around the world and back again.

Flight highlights include:

JAL 787 Dreamliner from San Diego to Tokyo
Cathay Business Class over and over again
Maldives Seaplane
Qatar Business Class (overrated)
Lufthansa First-Class Lounge and First-Class flight prior to United devaluation (Unable to go due to move to Mongolia)

Hotel highlights include:

Park Hyatt Sydney
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
St. Regis Mauritius
W Doha
Park Hyatt Moscow
W St. Petersburg

But that’s only a small portion of the itinerary. I spent hours color coding an Excel spreadsheet that showed when I was going, where I was going, how I was getting there, and the costs in points versus the cost out-of-pocket.

I flew most of the 63,000 miles in business class and stayed at some of the world’s best hotels. Retail, this trip goes for over $77,000 but it cost me roughly $5500.

Here’s the complete breakdown:

Now that I’ve thrown down the gauntlet for the best awards redemption of all time, who’s up for the challenge of showing me I’m wrong?

Onto the Picture Preview==>

It Almost Happened to Me: A $1200 Wi-Fi Bill on Singapore Airlines

thepointsoflife

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November 16, 2014

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It Almost Happened to Me: A $1200 Wi-Fi Bill on Singapore Airlines

Southwest Airlines gives you free Dish television on your own device. Internet is only $8 all day so if you have to make a connection you don’t have to pay again.

Lufthansa which had the best Wi-Fi for my experience (though I did get scolded by the flight attendant for using Skype) charges the following:

HotSpot Pass Sky 1h: €9 or 3,000 miles
HotSpot Pass Sky 4h: €14 or 4,500 miles
HotSpot Pass Sky 24h: €17 or 5.500 miles

As a matter of principle, I refuse to use Boingo, electing to surf the world of my own thoughts since Boingo has commandeered free Wi-Fi at many airports.

Then there’s Singapore Airlines which charges US$9.99 for 10 MB.

When I flew Singapore Airlines A380 from NRT-LAX (Tokyo-Los Angeles), I was so thrilled with the experience I rationalized paying for this overpriced Wi-Fi. I signed up and logged in. Within minutes due to Facebook notifications, emails, and opening web pages, I had reached my quota. Nevertheless, I had to finish this post: It’s Thanksgiving…Without the Annoying Relatives feeling that I owed it to everyone to show how great Singapore Airlines Suite Class is.

When I heard that a passenger was charged $1200 for Wi-Fi on a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore, I definitely wasn’t shocked. The passenger said he wasn’t streaming content, only opened a few pages, but admitted that he fell asleep while keeping the Wi-Fi active.

Besides providing the T&C’s that none of us read, Singapore Airlines also has an option to cut off your service when the purchased threshold has been reached. Why this passenger didn’t think to check that box is beyond me.

The real question will be how Singapore Airlines responds to this PR situation. This story reminds me of a guy I met last year in South Africa who received a notification from his US cellular carrier that his roaming bill was $1000. Puzzled, he explained that he had purchased an international data plan. The carrier acknowledged this purchase but directed the man to check the Country Count List where he would find that Lesotho, though landlocked, is its own country. His ignorance of this fact was not rewarded.

Will this passenger’s fate be the same? Should it be?

The Press in Seoul

thepointsoflife

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November 15, 2014

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The press in Seoul is Americano. The duality of being in a foreign country and state side at the same time pegs South Korea. The familiarity of Western life is more than the identifiable storefronts. Indeed, everything apart from the Korean characters looks like home. What’s more striking is the assimilation of its people to Western ways. While I’m no expert in Korean history, it is safe to say that lattes and iMacs aren’t indigenous to this country.

The globalization of brands isn’t exclusive to Korea. There’s an Apple store in every corner of the world. The difference in Korea is how the Western lifestyle has been incorporated to such a degree that it is no longer Western, it is Korean.

This metamorphosis is punctuated by Korea’s emerging role in the global economy. Take brands like LG, Samsung, and to some degree Hyundai. Once regarded as inferior to their international counterparts, they are now household names.

Where does this cross cultural phenomenon leave me? Lost in the streets of Seoul. For as much as everything feels like home, it is still all in Korean.

ThePointsOfDeadLinks: Expect Delays

Uncategorized

thepointsoflife

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November 14, 2014

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Cosmetically the move to the BoardingArea server is complete; the menus are easy to use, the ads are doing their job by bating you in, and the overall site is a thing of beauty.

But much like a Scottsdale bottle popping bimbo, looks can be deceiving. Many of the beautiful links go no where, some of the content isn’t up to date, and sometimes the site reverts to the old server.

This is to be expected and will be fixed at once- almost at once. I’m headed to Korea for the weekend and know if I start fixing anything there I’ll never leave my aLoft room.

I ask for your patience as I strive to develop the greatest points and travel guide website the world has ever seen. If Apple gets a pass for their iPhone glitches then I hope I do too.

Till then, it’s orange cone season at ThePointsOfDeadlinks.

Gangnam Style: President Obama and Psy

thepointsoflife

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November 14, 2014

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Gangnam style! It will never go away especially if you’re traveling through SE Asia.

Today, I’m on my way to Gangnam for a couple of days at the Aloft Seoul Gangnam, another hotel I’ll be reviewing in the Hotel Reviews section. Clearly that overplayed song has influenced where I will be staying in Korea.

To honor the occasion, here’s a pick of President Obama and Psy all made possible by his song about the neighborhood of the newly rich.

Apparently it’s Gangnam not Gangman. Should I feel more silly not knowing the words or for perfecting the dance?

See you in Korea.

Breaking News: My New Home!

Miserable Mongolia

thepointsoflife

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November 13, 2014

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Yesterday I posted the breaking news that I was moving. Here were the responses:

Jokester Friend
- And right as you approach the peak tourist season in UB.
Concerned Friend
- What happened!
Normal Friends
- I’m not surprised at all.
- You got fired again?!??
Mom
- Come home, we are used to it.

Quite the referendum of whom people think I am judging by these visceral reactions.

In fact, I’m not leaving Mongolia at all.The move was in reference to ThePointsOfLife’s migration to the Prior2Boarding.com server and redesign of the site. Sorry to disappoint the naysayers. (I’m looking at you Mr. World Traveler Lee Abbamonte and Mr. Keller.)

You will notice that the site is much more organized with a top menu bar providing crisp, clean access to:

These pages come together nicely in one overall directory called The Country Count List which is a one-stop shop providing readers everything they need to know about how to travel for free and what to do when they get there. Nowhere else on the web is there such a well organized, extensive list.

Besides that, you will notice that the featured images are a lot bigger and the beautiful new ads posted on the right hand side.

So no I’m not leaving Mongolia (yet) but it was amusing that the subject of my move fooled every once again.

Seriously who’d want to leave this behind?

Breaking News: I’m Moving Again!

Miserable Mongolia

thepointsoflife

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November 12, 2014

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It’s been a strange three months here in Mongolia and now it’s time to move again. As a result of this move ThePointsOfLife may experience a service interruption.

More details to follow in the coming hours.

Alex’s Hip New Year’s Travels: Emporio Acapulco 2005

thepointsoflife

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November 11, 2014

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Every New Years dating back to 2001, it has been a tradition for me to be out of the country when the clock struck midnight.

Years before ThePointsOfLife was traveling for free, I used to do something ridiculous; I used to pay for hotel rooms. In December 2004, my best friends and I paid a reasonable $1000 per person for a week at the all-inclusive Emporio Acapulco including airfare. I had to dig into the archives to find one for the cost conscious Emporio Acapulco:

I do hope my writing has improved since then.

“New Years 2004!!”

Reviewed January 28, 2005

Ok, here is the real deal with this hotel. I went for New Years with a couple of my buddies (22 years old). We went the economical way and got all inclusive for a bargain. At first i was apprehensive of the quality of the hotel till I arrived there. The lobby is beautiful, the sushi bar is gorgeous, and the rooms provide a great view of the ocean and the pool. The buffet food is horrible but the grill during the day is amazing, the best hamburgers, and chicken tenders not to mention they will make the drinks as strong as you like. As for the service, they wait on you all day long in the hot sun for basically tips. Our guy came and went and came and went all day long with pina coladas and hamburgers. The Adult pool is awesome and very clean. The only draw back to the hotel is the lawn chairs which have metal handles so you tend to burn yourself a lot when the sun hits (get an extra towel to cover the metal). Next, many of the lawn chairs are broken which is annoying.
Overall, not even because it was inexpensie but because it truly was a great hotel and this is my comparison to the 5 Star Horrible Riu Cancun that i went to last new years. I recommend this hotel 2 thumbs up with a clean modern hotel, fantastic service, and beautiful pools. As for the cleanliness of the ocean, they cleaned it up nicely after the Mexican Holiday week when it did get polluted. If you want an ocean, go to Cancun.

What else, ahh Palladium, see the devil of course, and Mandara where the music is 90’s hiphop for most of the night which got annoying cuz its 2005 now.

And the security at the hotel is great and very friendly.

Acapulco 003a (72) — Before the Umich program drown

Acapulco 003a (18) — Another athletic grab

Acapulco 003a (12) — Artistic in Acapulco

Alex’s Hip New Year’s Travels: Hotel Riu Cancun 2004

thepointsoflife

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November 10, 2014

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Every New Years dating back to 2001, it has been a tradition for me to be out of the country when the clock strikes midnight.

Years before ThePointsOfLife was traveling for free, I used to do something ridiculous; I used to pay for hotel rooms. In December 2003, my best friends and I paid an exorbitant $2000 per person for a week at the all-inclusive Riu Cancun including airfare. I had to dig into the archives to find one for the awful Hotel Riu Cancun.

I do hope my writing has improved since then.

“I wanted a Beach and Sun!”

Reviewed October 21, 2004

Dont waste your money going to this hotel. I will tell you one thing. the hotel iteslf is beautiful but its too big for the land it is situated on. Furthermore, the sun disappears by 4pm. the pool is freezing. the beach is nonexistent. literally, its all rocks and fake sand. they were actually pumping sand into the other riu next door when we got there. fake sand i tell you! fake beach! the food wasnt the worst i must say but it wasnt delicious either. the drinks werent bad just dont piss off the capitain or else he’ll stop serving you as he did us. horrible hotel. go check out the sheraton for a nice beach at a much better price.

Cancun (169) — The impressive tower blocks out the sun.

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA — Giving you a freezing cold, empty pool.

Cancun (29) — What time is it? No one can tell because the sun is blocked out. Oh, and the beach? There is no beach, just rocks.

Invalid request error occurred. — This pic not only shows my stellar ability to go up and make the catch but also how shaded the pool really is.

Alex’s Hip New Year’s Travels: Ringing in the Hotel Reviews Section

thepointsoflife

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November 9, 2014

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Like Michael Corleone, in 5 years ThePointsOfLIfe will be completely legitimate. I will have affiliate link ads bating readers to apply for twenty cards a day, pop ups for those who are lonely, and the same repetitive content that can be found everywhere- “Southwest Airlines 50,000 Offer Still Available!”

To aid in this transition, I have added the Hotel Reviews page where I review hotels in the only way I can- brutally honest. A great starting place is all the hotels that I have stayed at for New Year’s. It also allows me to shamefully plug my book, Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . . Including Mine, by providing more content from Step 1 of Part II: Enjoy #ThePointsOfLife.

Happy New Year!

Since my freshman year in college, I have made it my mission to be out of the country when the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. The trips started off tamely enough, as Mikey, George, and I hit the usual tourist spots in Mexico. Having visited Coco Bongo one too many times, we decided to mix things up and follow George’s suggestion of going to Tokyo, Japan. The year after, we were supposed to go to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but yours truly was unaware of the visa entry requirement, forcing us to cancel the trip two days before departing. The Bahamas was our consolation destination. My head is still pounding from the insane Junkanoo parade. No worries, Mikey and I made up for my oversight by heading to Brazil for Carnaval the February after. (George can sing along to the fun by reading Part I: “Lesson 3: Like the NFL Draft, You’re on the Clock.”)

I maintained the New Year’s streak for eleven years, only pausing in 2012 so George and I could go to New Orleans (a foreign country in its own right) to see the University of Michigan play Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

Final Score: Michigan 23–Virginia Tech 20.

After that anomaly, the New Year’s pilgrimage resumed the following year. Please find the complete list of New Year’s destinations marked Exhibit E below:

Exhibit E: Alex’s Hip New Year’s Travels

2001: Cancún, Mexico

2002: Toronto, Canada

2003: Montreal, Canada

2004: Cancún, Mexico

2005: Acapulco, Mexico

2006: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

2007: Tokyo, Japan

2008: Paradise Island, Bahamas

2009: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2010: Bali, Indonesia

2011: Panama City, Panama

2012: New Orleans, Louisiana

2013: Goa, India

2014: Cape Town, South Africa