A few months ago, I wrote about Le Meridien Chiang Rai, then a category 2 SPG redemption (now cat 3) for a luxurious 5-star resort tucked away from the bustle. Now I'd like to tell you about a different kind of low category luxury - one that's very much in the center of bustle, in one of the world's up-and-coming cities. Chengdu is on many people's radar … [Read more...]
PSA: Iberia.com hates Google Chrome. Use Internet Explorer
I am writing this in hope of saving you a few hours of your life in frustration. At least for me, Iberia.com is very buggy in Chrome and Firefox. It wouldn't let me login 95% of the time. All of their pin reset functions also conveniently errored out. After I called Iberia Plus call center, they were able to reset my pin, but a few minutes later it was … [Read more...]
Aeroplan Blocking LOT Polish Awards
Aeroplan is notorious for blocking useful partner award space, from Swiss to Avianca to EVA at various times. The latest victim (from our perspective) is LOT Polish Airlines. I'm looking at a couple of flights for myself, both within Europe and to North America. They're shown on the websites of Lifemiles, Singapore, and United, but not Aeroplan. The phone … [Read more...]
IHG and Radisson Won’t Honor Award Booking If Hotel Leaves Chain
Update - Called IHG customer service. Spent one hour on the phone. 3rd agent offered the same points rate for the inferior alternative property 15 miles away. Couldn't get a better offer after 2 more supervisors. Basically, I'm paying the same rate for a worse alternative. You booked a stay using hotel loyalty points, and that hotel leaves the … [Read more...]
Example of Improved AA Award Availability
This is a quick example of what I've observed for a while - that since last year, AA award availability has improved from the pathetically lacking state of a few years ago. It's still not always great, but it's much more plentiful than during the said terrible state. Doctor of Credit reminded us this week of the AA Reduced Mileage Awards. If you have the … [Read more...]
Marriott Makes it Harder to Find Hotels in Reward Categories
I haven't looked at the Marriott reward category composition for a while, but I have looked at it extensively in the past to find sweet spots, and there was definitely a link in the reward chart to the hotels in each category. Now there isn't. Now, the reward category info is just a popup with no link inside. The chart still lists the points requirement, but now … [Read more...]
Discomfort matters little when you’re happy
When I tell people I took a 9 hour train across Sri Lanka, half of the time standing on the jam-packed car without air conditioning, almost unable to move an inch, the reactions from people are natural: "are you crazy?" and "why would you do this?" To be honest, I did it because I couldn't get a reserved seat in any class - something hard for a non-resident to do. So I … [Read more...]
My 10 Favorite SPG Low Category Redemptions
SPG is my favorite program for low category hotel redemptions. They have the most such properties that are interesting throughout the world - even in Western Europe, as you'll see below. Here I list my top 10 - all in category 1 or 2 (2,000 - 4,000 points per night). For reference, here's the SPG award chart: The only difference between weekday and … [Read more...]