Monthly Archives: March 2014

Europe for the Holidays: Swiss Senator Lounge Zürich

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Chris

This trip was originally built around a segment starting from Zürich back to the United States.  During my trip, though, I kicked around dropping my United-ticketed return leg in favor of an American Airlines award.  As I had some domestic … Continue reading →

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Europe for the Holidays: Zürich

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Chris

After leaving the Park Hyatt Zürich, I wandered around the surrounding neighborhood and the northern end of the lake.

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A Bit of a Reprieve for the American Express Platinum Card

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Chris

With the impending loss of American Airlines Admirals Club access for my Platinum card, I’ve been wondering what to do with it lately.  Previously, I had waived my hands and justified the $450 annual fee with its $200/yr airline fee … Continue reading →

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Europe for the Holidays: The Park Hyatt Zürich

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Chris

In early 2013, I had signed up for the Chase Hyatt Visa card on the eve of losing Hyatt Diamond status. As a result, I had two free suite award nights for any Hyatt worldwide.  While I had managed to … Continue reading →

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Europe for the Holidays: British Airways Galleries First Lounge London Heathrow and British Airways Club Europe London to Zürich

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Chris

For my flight to London, I booked an Avios award in Club Europe for 9k Avios points.  While coach would have been good enough, this decision–similar to my flight from Berlin–was driven by award availability rather than personal preference. After … Continue reading →

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Europe for the Holidays: The May Fair Hotel London

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Chris

For my two nights in London, I booked a category 6 award with Club Carlson for The May Fair Hotel for 50k points per night.  As part of the 2014 Club Carlson devaluation, this hotel is now 70k points per … Continue reading →

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Europe for the Holidays: British Airways Terraces Lounge and Club Europe Berlin to London

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Chris

For my flight to London, I booked a ticket in Club Europe with 9k Avios points.  This choice wound up being driven by award availability (or the lack thereof in coach), rather than any particular desire to fly intra-European business … Continue reading →

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Europe for the Holidays: Park Inn Berlin Alexanderplatz

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Chris

For my two nights in Berlin, I booked two nights at the Park Inn Berlin Alexanderplatz.  As this is a category 4 hotel, awards cost 38k points per night.  Coupled with my Club Carlson Visa which saw a lot of … Continue reading →

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Europe for the Holidays: Berlin

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Chris

For those readers just tuning in, I actually wandered around Berlin on my trip to Europe this past winter.

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Tomorrow’s Club Carlson Devaluation

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Chris

Club Carlson is finally devaluing, after running their points printing presses for the last few years.  Most significantly, 9 category 6 hotels are being moved into a newly created category 7 tier, priced at 70k rather than 50k points per … Continue reading →

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