I’ve written in the past about my credit card strategy, and I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to apply for during each round of applications, which I do every three months. But I’m really coming up empty this time around. I’m coming up on my annual fee for my Amex…
Warning: This post is entirely self-indulgent. 2013 was a great year for many reasons, and January 1, 2013 was the inception of this blog. In 2012, I flew around 75k miles (all but 192 for leisure), and in 2013, I just about doubled that to 145k miles (all for leisure). My travel was definitely heavier…
1. Heated toilet seats are amazing. Why don’t we have them in the US? 2. Same with soft-boiled eggs. Or the not-quite-hard-boiled-but-not-runny eggs that are prevalent in ramen shops here. 3. Before coming here, everyone told me that Japan is a nation of cash and very few places accept credit cards. But pretty much every…
I’m currently writing this from the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which is definitely the nicest and classiest hotel I’ve ever had the pleasure to stay at (granted, I haven’t stayed at that many hotels in my life). Here are some random things that are on my mind: 1. I feel so, so grateful to be able to…
My last post about traveling alone focused on the self-indulgent aspect of doing exactly what you want to do and nothing more. But an additional benefit of traveling by yourself is that it forces you to figure out what you actually like to do, since there’s no one else to appease. This can be surprisingly…
When people ask me about my travels, a frequent follow-up question is if I’m going with anyone or if I’m visiting someone. And people often seem surprised when I tell them that I’m going by myself or not meeting anyone. I travel alone relatively frequently, and I highly recommend that everyone try it at least…
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…
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…
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,…
