Travel Guide - ThePointsOfLife

All in business, all for $200 and 30,000 US Air Miles

thepointsoflife

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October 20, 2014

Last week I wrote about the impossible task of leaving Mongolia. I almost settled for a paid ticket that would’ve cost hundreds of dollars just to go to Hong Kong and Bangkok, places I’ve visited many times before. That experience, much like a heat check jump shot beyond the three point arc, made me question if I was as good a points redeemer as I have claimed to be.

Yesterday night, out of neurotic habit, I found myself searching for award availability on United, then LifeMiles, then turning to Kayak while trying to rationalize that a $718 roundtrip ticket from Ulaanbaatar to Thailand is not that bad.

Capture — Kayak presents it with a straight face making it appear reasonable that a flight within Asia in coach should cost this much.

The choices were get robbed of cash or get robbed on cash and points. The greatest points deal I could find was burning 7500 Avios, 20,000 LifeMiles, and 20,000 United Miles. The points bill, based on MileValue’s Leaderboard came out to:

$127 for Avios (7500*1.97 cents)
$300 for LifeMiles (20,000 * 1.5 cents, using pre-devaluation amount)
$360 worth of United (20,000 * 1.81 cents)

Total Points Value out of Pocket: $787

The cash component for the points redemptions that include taxes and close in booking fee was:

$39 for Avios
$64 for LifeMiles
$111.20 for United

Total Cash out of Pocket: $214.2

Total Spent: $1001.2

That’s over $1000 to fly coach! Because we all know that there are better redemptions for those mileage programs than simple routes throughout SE Asia, this is nothing short of a ripoff.

Not wanting to choose either option, I was ready to quit. Then suddenly, amazingly, everything became clear to me.

Honestly, I don’t remember why but I went to US Airways’ website grumbling about how they never should’ve left Star Alliance for American and Oneworld. Angry clicking here and there, I stumbled upon their codeshare partners page. And wouldn’t you know it, Air China, essentially the only airline out of Mongolia was on the list! Not only that, but somehow, magically, the redemption amount from Mongolia to Hong Kong was 25,000 roundtrip compared to United’s 40,000.

Wait, but that’s not all:

The redemption in business class was 30,000 roundtrip compared to United’s 80 [effing] thousand.

Wait, but that’s not all:

US Air allows a stopover on its rewards meaning I could swing by my favorite city, Shanghai, China without the hassle of applying for a visa, on Halloween weekend!

Excited, I did a quit dash around my apartment then went back to read more of the terms and conditions of this partnership.

And wouldn’t you know it? That’s not all:

By looking at Air China’s route map, I noticed they fly direct to Osaka Japan meaning that I could visit both Osaka and Kyoto for the first time in life instead of occupying Hong Kong for another weekend.

Could this be too good to be true?

For a brief moment, it appeared that it was. Checking the return flights from Osaka to Beijing en route to Ulaanbaatar, I was dismayed to learn that the flight from Japan landed at 11:20AM while the flight to Mongolia departed at 11:55Am.

Adrenaline flowing, I knew I could rectify this easily and found a flight that would arrive in Beijing the day before but leave early enough the next day to satisfy the 24 hour layover rule and, once again, comply with China’s visa regulations.

Moment of truth: I called US Air on the phone, gave the kind lady each of my flights one by one and was more than happy to pay the $75 close in fee and $50 call in fee.

In the end, my itinerary reads:

ULN-PVG(3 nights)
PVG-KIX (4 nights)
KIX-PEK (1 night)
PEK-ULN (till frozen)

All in business, all for $200 and 30,000 US Air Miles.

Boomshakalaka!

Vegas Knockout: The Hangover

thepointsoflife

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October 19, 2014

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It’s all over minus the hangover.

Six weeks ago, I began the Knockout Tourney: The Winner’s Bracket of Where to Stay in Las Vegas. And much like a trip to Las Vegas, I’m oh so glad that the journey is over and I can back to my normal day-to-day routine.

The hangover of having to write one Hotel Review after another on Sin City was worth the effort as readers will not only have a guide of where to stay in Vegas but also a timeline documenting the transformation of this iconic American city.

Unlike many bloggers that issue the same review e.g., the check-in process was very smooth, I liked the soft toilet paper, I tried to give unique insight on each property useful for someone looking for a great time in Vegas.

28 hotels were more or less reviewed and in the end, unlike March Madness, the overall number one seed, Caesar’s Palace, carried the day.

So for one last time, I’m posting the recap of the entire tournament with the perfect bracket for all to see.

Viva Las Vegas!

Vegas Knockout: All Hail Caesar’s Palace

thepointsoflife

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October 18, 2014

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Vegas Knockout: All Hail Caesar’s Palace

(3) Encore vs (1) Caesar’s Palace

The official winner of the Vegas Knockout is Caesar’s Palace!

All hail Caesar’s Palace who beat out the number three seed Encore for the distinction of the best place to stay in Vegas. Overall, Caesar’s won out because unlike newcomers (see Cosmopolitan post), Caesar’s has proven time and time again it can withstand the test of time by adapting with the times.

Why is Caesar’s the best? First, and foremost, Caesar’s is right in the center of the Strip next to the Forum Shops and Bellagio, making it convenient for eating, drinking, and if you hit the jackpot, shopping. Next, Caesar’s is the birthplace of Vegas nightlife. Caesar’s had the first mega nightclub on the Strip called Pure to Vegas goers and Home Sweet Home to me and my friends. Although Pure is now closed, I am sure that Caesar’s will launch the next place to be tomorrow, thereby making it king of Vegas nightlife once again. While Caesar’s doesn’t have the greatest pool party, it does provide a relaxing, upscale atmosphere for a timeout after an evening spent blacked out. Most of all Caesar’s provides something that the new guys can never provide, timeless memories. My best trips to Vegas were spent with my best friends living like VIP by enjoying comped suites, food, drink, and eventful nights out, long before anyone made a movie about it.

Vegas 031 — Let’s start with the room, a 2 bedroom suite I could call home.

Followed by the perks of being a diamond member VIP

two men standing in front of a white wall — Red carpet access to Pure during NBA All Star Weekend (yes that’s an ipod shuffle)

Even while underwater from excess gambling

Vegas 036 — Skipping the lines that wrapped around the hotel

Vegas 042 — For bottle service comped by Big Al

Opportunities to yell Detroit Basketball at Shaq falling the Lakers epic collapse the year before

Vegas 055 — Remember when they were cool?

Vegas Knockout: It’s Cosmopolitan to Be Broke

thepointsoflife

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October 17, 2014

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(4) Cosmopolitan vs (1) Caesars Palace

The American way has gone from saving for a better tomorrow to kicking the can down the road for enjoying today. The deficit, the debt ceiling, and purposeless spending characterizes the US economy. No other country uses credit cards as much as the US and no other debt, besides student loan debt, is more attributable to the portfolio of the American citizen. Today, Americans buy the fast car, splurge for the nice watch, and opt for the swanky loafers in an effort to fool the world into believing that we are prospering.

Enter the Cosmopolitan hotel. From the outside, it along with the buildings within the CityCenter development are a stunning display of architectural might. Conceived during the real estate boom, the CityCenter and Cosmopolitan were the only projects to survive the real estate bust. By survive, I mean construction was completed and doors open for business. I do not mean turn a profit, something the Cosmo has failed to do.

But who cares? People come to Vegas to lose their own small fortune not worry about the misfortune of others. Why worry about the cost of the elaborate suite when you can have overpriced Hennessy at the Chandelier Bar? Why fret about dropping a few grand at the blackjack table when you’re living it up at Marquee by day and by night?

And for me, that’s what makes staying at the Cosmo special. Even if it is for only a few days, and even if the bank account is damn near empty, guests feel and are treated like celebrities. Bottles are popped, smiles are exchanged, and everyone is happy.

Don’t worry about going home empty handed, you and everyone else, including the hotel owners are doing the same. After all, it’s cosmopolitan to be broke so long as you dare not show it.

1482776_10103467355708261_139313930_n — Yes I’ve seen the Bellagio fountains…from my 2 bedroom suite

A standard room? No, I need space to work.

Wine and cheese snack? Just sign it to the room

Day or night is a great time to spend money you don’t have at one of Vegas’ best club, Marquee

Las Vegas-20130622-00362 — Champagne poolside please

IMAG0428 — How am I going to pay for it all?

Buyer’s Remorse: A Case for Hoarding Points

thepointsoflife

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October 16, 2014

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Yesterday I told the tale of the points guru, yours truly, coming up with an innovative way of getting out of the points prison known as Mongolia.

The plan was brilliant, the Excel documented fully outlined with flight numbers, dates, and destinations. Then I did something that I never do; I told everyone that I had unlocked a great redemption. This was a fatal mistake.

This morning I woke up, ready to book after checking and rechecking all the parameters. First, I decided to take down the easy reservation: HKG to BKK using Avios for 7500 points and $15 cash. That went off without a hitch .

The next booking was the ace up my sleeve against the United devaluation, Lifemiles points. I inputted the dates and locations, ULN to HKG and noticed that the points required had gone up. I did it again and again and in incognito mode, it still was higher. I googled Lifemiles devaluation as I had heard some rumblings about it coming up.

Stupid me, its effective date was October 15th. Annoyed, I rationalized that the extra miles weren’t that big of a deal because the ticket would still be free. Actually, I hit refresh and cleared my browser again then contemplated if I could call and make up some excuse. Then I realized that Avianca customer service is the worst and bit the bullet.

Booking time came and guess what? Barclays put a freeze, like they always do when I book flights on my account. I confirmed via email that the Avios booking was legitimate and went back to the Lifemiles page. Surprise number two, the flights were gone! Refresh, clear cache, clear my head. Flights still gone.

Hours later having gone through the same process, I still couldn’t find the flights.

I turned my attention to the return flights where I used 20,000 United miles to fly from BKK back to ULN. Same thing, the flight I wanted disappeared forcing me to book a day earlier and incur the close in booking fee of $75. On tilt, I paid $350 for a flight from ULN to HKG to complete my itinerary.

All set ready to go! No. I wasn’t excited at all.

Here’s what I wanted and here’s what I ended up with.

Wanted
Lifemiles 17.5k to Hong Kong (1 Night)
7500 + $35 British Avios to BKK (3 Nights)
$50 Air Asia to Phuket (3 Nights)
20,000 United Miles back to ULN
Total: $100 in taxes

Received
$350 Hunnu Air (don’t ask) to Hong Kong (1 night)
20,000 + $111 in taxes on United to ULN (skipping Phuket for Pattaya because I’m boycotting aviation as much as possible in reaction to Lifemiles devaluation). (3 Nights in each)

Undoubtedly one of my worst redemptions ever.

I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t that bad, that they all can’t be winners. Moments later, I found myself on the phone cancelling all the flights. I agree that churn n burn is the best strategy for points but this would’ve tarnished my resume and ruined any chance I had at a promising career as an awards booker.

Sometimes it’s better to give up and stay home…till tomorrow when I’m back at it again.

Churn wisely my friends.

The Award Booking Service Debut: Get Me Out of Mongolia!

thepointsoflife

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October 15, 2014

11

Okay, contestants, your client comes to you today from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He needs a change of temperature yesterday. He has provided you with the following tools per his AwardWallet account. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to get him out of Mongolia before the end of October and back for the least amount of points and cash out-of-pocket. He wants to visit the following cities:

Hong Kong
Bangkok
Phuket

American Airlines: 235,000

Avianca: 23,000

British Airways: 54,000

United: 30,000 (manually entered)

US Airways: 158,000

Membership Rewards: 30,000

Ultimate Rewards: 137,000

Cash: $250

What do you do?

Today, there are so many award booking services provided by so many bloggers. Their fees range from $100 on up with more being charged for complex bookings. As I wrote in ThePointsOfLife Thank You, I appreciate the lessons learned from fellow bloggers about how they not only obtained the points but also how they redeemed them.

After all, it’s pointless to have one without the other.

I consider myself an expert in points bookings and boast the following resume:

Booked a first class flight to Shanghai on Emirates and a return flight on Singapore Airlines A380 with a stopover in Bali.
Booked a round the world ticket on American Airlines in business that was 16 segments, totaling 50,000 miles to Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America for $275.
Booked a flight to the Final 4 for next to nothing when tickets were going for over $1000.
Booked a free flight to Costa Rica on a moment’s notice.

Why am I so good at award bookings? Because I maintain a diverse portfolio of points and because I refuse, absolutely refuse, to let the airlines win.

This award challenge is being featured because contrary to what bloggers say in regards to the difficulty of booking a flight to Tahiti, New Zealand, and the Moon, the hardest redemption of my life (accounting for devaluations) is simply to get out of Mongolia on a reasonable points ticket.

So get creative, get clicking, and let’s see if you can come up with a more clever solution than I.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you what I booked, convincing me that I too should start an award redemption service.

Keep churning my friends,

ThePointsOfLife

Vegas Knockout: The Encore Wynns in Overtime

thepointsoflife

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October 14, 2014

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Vegas Knockout: The Encore Wynns in Overtime

(3) Encore vs (2) Wynn

The Encore vs the Wynn is analogous to 1 divided by zero, the answer is undefined. It’s really a matter of personal preference. They are essentially the same hotel with the Encore, as the name implies, the newer version of the Wynn.

1. The Room

Wynn: The standard room at the Wynn looks like any ordinary hotel room. For the steep price, I was expecting a little more flare.
Encore: I stayed at a suite at the Encore and much like the Wynn, it was pretty ordinary.

Result: Draw

2. The Location

Both the Encore and the Wynn are located at the end of the strip but still within walking distance to the Fashion Show Mall. Since the Wynn is right across the street from the Palazzo and Venetian, the nod for better location goes to it.

Result: Wynn

3. The Nightlife

Wynn: Way back when Tryst nightclub was impossible to access. Today, Tryst is one of the few places that plays the same Top 40 that we all know and love. It also has an impressive waterfall and outdoor patio.
Encore: Encore is home to XS, by far my favorite club in Las Vegas in terms of layout. Not only is there plenty of space to maneuver inside but there is an expansive patio if you want to get away from it all. Encore also has Surrender, a mini version of Tryst and XS that is worth checking out. However, for me, XS and Surrender play too much house music. I’m all about that bass, that bass, no techno.

Result: Draw

4. The Pool

Wynn: The Wynn pool has two characteristics that make it interesting: 1) It is a topless pool. 2) It has poolside gambling.
Encore: Encore Beach Club is the best pool party in Las Vegas. It edges out Tao Beach due to its size and is classier (if that’s the right adjective) than Wet Republic at the MGM. If you don’t want to wade in the filth of a pool party, the Encore also has a regular pool where the music isn’t too loud and the atmosphere is more laid back.

Result: Encore

Using the four factor analysis of room, location, nightlife, and pool, the Encore comes out ahead simply because day drinking poolside or at a pool party is, and forever will be, my favorite extracurricular activity.

Overall Result: Encore wins by a Piña Colada

A view of the Wynn from the winning Encore

That’s right, that’s the infamous Trump you see (click pic for that story)

Las Vegas-20130622-00359 — Camera or me? Which one is out of focus?

Las Vegas-20130623-00364 — Encore’s relaxing pool still going on

Vegas 006 — Golf is always an option if you aren’t satisfied with 1-4

Banks Are Lending Again But Churner Beware

Points

thepointsoflife

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October 13, 2014

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Mr. Churner,

We regret to inform you that we could not approve you for your 9th card in 9 months.

Sound familiar?

If you are a card churner or manufactured spender I’m sure you’ve received this notification before and despite calling the reconsideration line 9 times, your Herman Cain 9 9 9 plan did not yield you yet another points card leaving you a few points short of a second dream vacation to the Maldives.

Can anything be done?

According to my takeaway from the Reuter’s article, U.S. banks ramp up credit card lending but margins may suffer, the answer is yes.

The article states that, “JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc and other big banks are making more credit card loans, after years of focusing mainly on customers who paid off their balances each month.”

“‘A lot of companies are getting back to marketing their products aggressively,’ said Eileen Serra, chief executive for cards at JPMorgan.'”

“Banks cut back on advertising, mailings, and rewards programs during the financial crisis, when losses jumped. But the market is now increasing again.”

The ramifications of this development is three fold:

1. The points game is far from dead. Companies are fighting harder than ever to attract new customers and retain old ones. The article reports, “Almost all of the most creditworthy customers already hold cards that pay rewards. At this point banks are in . . . an ‘arms race’ to make their rewards programs attractive enough to lure customers from other banks and to keep the ones who have already signed on.”

Can you say 100k mega offer?

2. For those that follow the 30 Steps to Maldives: Step 1, you will likely have more leeway in applying for that 10th Alaskan Airlines card to fly Emirates since you pay your balance off in full every month. Per the article, “In the years after the financial crisis, banks focused on credit card customers who were big spenders, charging upwards of $15,000 a year on their cards, but who also generally pay down their balances in full every month.”

3. For those newbies or for those hooked to churning, it’s time to break out that Excel spreadsheet and forecast if you really can afford to apply for another round of cards. Referencing the article, “Banks are all looking for the holy grail: consumers who spend a lot, and will carry a balance from time to time, including all the interest rate charges that often run to a rate of 15 percent or more.”

While we all love the free travel perks from using our credit cards, we must be extra vigil of the financial prison of high interest rates, the false hope of balance transfer offers, and the crippling minimum payments of 0% promotions that make another $500 charge for a seaplane to the Conrad Maldives a bad idea, regardless of any cashback promotion.

Churn safely my friends.

Vegas Knockout: A Recap of Week 5

The Deal Ticker

thepointsoflife

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October 12, 2014

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The Vegas Knockout journey of the best hotel in Las Vegas is entering its sixth and final week. This past week four amazing hotels were knocked out due to the stiff competition.

At the Four Seasons, I learned that the $20 trick may not be appropriate. At the Venetian, I learned that clothing is optional. At the Mirage, I learned that old hotels still hold character. At the Skylofts, I learned that I want to be richer.

So how can it get better than those four? This week the Final Four of hotels pits the Encore vs the Wynn, the Cosmo vs Caesar’s unarguably the best hotels in all of Las Vegas.

Who will be the grand prize winner? Find out this week as I leave Las Vegas forever.

Vegas Knockout: The Butler at MGM’s Skylofts

thepointsoflife

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October 12, 2014

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Vegas Knockout: The Butler at MGM’s Skylofts

(8) Skylofts at MGM vs (1) Caesars Palace

Have you ever been to the MGM Grand Casino? It is one of the largest hotels in the world, making it easy to get lost simply trying to find the bathroom. Amid all the chaos of boxing matches, UFC events, and sports gambling, there is a secret doorway that leads to the Skylofts experience.

Take the elevator to your private Vegas hideaway then wait for your own butler to bring you the luggage and take you on a tour of what unfortunately is your home for a mere couple of days.

High above the Vegas skyline you find yourself in a Manhattan style loft with vaulted ceilings, ample living space, and bathing amenities reserved for the rich and famous. At the Skylofts, you’ll want for nothing as your butler, day or night, is only a phone call away.

Vegas Spring Break (1) — I’d like one of these in my house

Vegas Spring Break (3) — A shower for ten?

Of course, if you do get bored of the nonstop pampering, the Skylofts unlike the Signature is located within the great MGM Casino so everything from food to pool to nightlife only requires a ride down the private elevator.