Like any good frequent traveler, I have a lot of credit cards (although I just cancelled 2!) Here’s a list of what I have (and have cancelled) and some preliminary thoughts on what I should get next. Citi Forward (keep) This was my first “points” card that I ever got, and I got it while…
The Aspire Lounge by Servisair is accessible via Priority Pass and is located near Gates 27 and 28 in the Schengen region. If you’re flying to a non-Schengen destination, you can still access this lounge, but you’ll need to leave a little bit of time to clear immigration to get to your flight. The lounge…
My second and final day in Helsinki, I did something rather stupid and let myself fall asleep at 4pm. I was exhausted and jetlagged (I find it harder to travel east than west) and ended up sleeping for 8+ hours and thus woke up past midnight without having eaten dinner. There is not much to…
Eating out in Helsinki is generally expensive, and I hate spending money on mediocre food, so I figured that I might as well just splurge a little bit and get significantly nicer food. One of my new year’s resolutions was to eat 12 new Michelin stars this year, and Helsinki features 5 starred restaurants, so…
US Airways is selling miles for 1.135 cents each again. This has been one of the best/craziest miles deals around for the past couple of years. At only 90k for a business class ticket to North Asia (which generously includes Hong Kong and Taipei), you’re looking at paying around $1100 for a business class ticket…
The first redemption that I made with the Club Carlson points acquired from my credit card sign-up bonus (or rather, using my friend’s Club Carlson points since mine didn’t post quickly enough, but that’s another story) was at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in Helsinki. For 44k points, I got a 2-night redemption, since the…
In order to hit American Executive Platinum status, I did two mileage runs, one to Shanghai and one to Helsinki. For my trip to Helsinki, I flew American from SFO to JFK and then Finnair between JFK to HEL. Upon boarding the plane, the first thing that I noticed was that I was being pushed….
I am currently in Hong Kong for vacation. This is my first trip to Hong Kong, but I leave tomorrow so I can be back in the US to be with my family for Thanksgiving. Here are some random initial thoughts, and I will expound upon some of them in future posts. 1) The Conrad…
I know that I’m super late to the game with this post, but I’ve been traveling a lot recently and work has been hectic and you clearly shouldn’t be using my blog as your only source of frequent flyer news anyway. Over the past few weeks, multiple programs have announced devaluations: United’s was a bloodbath,…
Introduction Planning United Global First Lounge Washington Dulles (IAD) Lufthansa Business and Senator Lounge Washington Dulles (IAD) ANA First Square Class Washington Dulles to Tokyo Narita ANA Suite and Business Class Lounges Tokyo Narita (NRT) ANA Business Class Tokyo Narita to Beijing IBIS Beijing Capital Airport Hotel Air China First Class Lounge Beijing (PEK) BGS…
