Category Archives: Awards

First Class to Hawaii by Way of Currency Devaluation

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Chris

I’m a bit late to the party, but Online Travel Review noted yesterday that Icelandair is having a 20% bonus on purchased points until September 28th.  30k Saga Club points (25k base + 5k bonus) can be purchased for 39,500ISK … Continue reading →

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Book First…

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Chris

One Mile at a Time reports that due to Singapore Airline’s computer system switchover, SQ award availability has suddenly opened up dramatically. I’ve tried ticketing three itineraries and obtained three different outcomes. A simple JFK-FRA-WAW-FRA-JFK trip in business class for … Continue reading →

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Asia, the Long Way: Luftansa Senator Lounge Berlin and United BusinessFirst Berlin to Newark

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Chris

I had about an hour before boarding started, so I visited the Senator lounge next to my gate to check up on my email as my hotel imposed somewhat outrageous prices for internet access. Traditionally, Continental operated the Newark-Berlin route … Continue reading →

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Asia, the Long Way: Turkish Airlines Business Class Istanbul to Berlin

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Chris

Since Turkish Airlines was only offering the extended city tour, I had to cut out of the city tour a bit early.  Despite my best efforts to arrive at the airport with minimal time to spare, I still had time … Continue reading →

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Asia, the Long Way: Turkish Business Class Tokyo to Istanbul

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Chris

I left the United lounge shortly before the revised, scheduled boarding time.  The flight status TVs throughout the lounge had out of order signs next to them (despite being on) that didn’t exactly inspire my confidence.  Our departure was a … Continue reading →

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Asia, the Long Way: Thai Business Class Bangkok to Tokyo

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Chris

For my hop to Tokyo, I selected the Thai-operated redeye. Having relaxed in the Thai business class lounge until 45 minutes before departure, I decided to head to my gate.  Boarding didn’t start until around 25 minutes before departure, leaving … Continue reading →

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Asia, the Long Way: Aloft Bangkok

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Chris

For my night in Bangkok, I chose the Aloft in Sukhumvit. Overall, my room felt like a cookie-cutter replica of my previous Aloft stay last summer.

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Asia, the Long Way: An Introduction

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Chris

As I alluded to earlier, I booked a second business class Star Alliance award with Aeroplan in December during the business class for the price of coach “glitch.”  Coupled with the Aeroplan transfer promotion, the award cost 50k Membership Rewards … Continue reading →

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Membership has its Rewards: United p.s. Business Class Los Angeles to New York

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Chris

I got to LAX a bit early (1 hour, 45 minutes or so before departure) and made my way to the premium check-in line.  Since the flight was showing F0J0Y0, I volunteered to be bumped to a rather surprised service … Continue reading →

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Membership has its Rewards: Air Canada Transborder Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Chris

For my stop in Vancouver, I was booked to have an approximately 5 hour long layover.  I went into Canada to visit the NEXUS office to finally complete my iris scan, obtain my properly branded Air Canada boarding pass (rather … Continue reading →

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