Mataveri International Airport, the most remote airport on Earth, located on Easter Island has only about a dozen scheduled flights per week. You only get about one shot per day at catching a big bird take off. I checked the schedule and drove up a mountain this afternoon to catch this LAN 767-300 take off…
About alex
Alex loves to travel and does so a lot. Logging 100,000 flight miles each year over the past 4 years, Alex uses points and miles to power his passion. Alex is continuously striving to experience the far reaches of the globe. In his day job, Alex is a Management Consultant frequently on the road advising Technology organizations. I love thinking about, reading about, and talking about all things travel. Feel free to reach me at pmmalex@gmail.com
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I am starting to like these SPG confirmed suite upgrades….
Click, click, click……Suite! They sure make this easy. The bottom line Marvelous!
SPG category 4 resort amenity: Private train station
In February, I wrote about how impressed I was to find that the (then) SPG category 4 Westin Miyako Kyoto had its own Category 4 helipad. For the SPG program, I find the best combination of aspirational properties and value in the category 5 range priced at 12000 to 16000 points per night. A large…
When award charts and routing rules take you to new places
Last October I planned a trip to Hong Kong because I always wanted to visit. I love city skylines and there is no match for Hong Kong. I took the non-stop to Chicago under the old British Airways partner award chart but because of their generous routing rules with stopovers, I also ended up in…
Yet another lucrative targeted offer – Southwest/AirTran
Here comes yet another targeted offer from the airlines. We have already seen targeted offers from United and US Airways over the last few days. This time Southwest/AirTran are getting in on the action with a lucrative bonus. The bottom line This offer earns approximately 90USD in Wanna Get Away fare value per round trip…
First experience using SPG Suite Night Awards
I’d like to report a positive first experience using SPG Suite Night Awards today. As I blogged before, I will be gallivanting through South America over the next few days. I chose the Tambo Del Inka resort in the Sacred Valley of Peru near Machu Picchu as my first test drive of the new Suite…
Weekend Reminder – Collect cash/points for every Starwood booking
This is a simple reminder to collect cash/points back for every Starwood booking. As entrenched as I am on a daily basis in earning points, I must admit I sometimes forget to collect these easy points when booking hotel stays. As I recommend, EVERY online purchase should begin with www.evreward.com. This website does a pretty…
Konnichiwa Japan – Park Hyatt Tokyo – Part II
Given its location and views, the Park Hyatt Tokyo could easily get away with selling you just a room. However, it becomes quickly apparent that this ‘hotel in the sky’ is more appropriately labeled a ‘full service resort in the sky’. As a bonus, I found the Park Hyatt treats Hyatt Diamond members to some…
Up to 25,000 Bonus Miles Offer from United
I received the following targeted email from United today. I logged into a website called United Map Your Dreams and received my offer. The deal basically offers bonus miles based on the number of round trips flown on United over the next couple months. In my case, 4 round trip flights earns 25,000 bonus miles…
Konnichiwa Japan – Park Hyatt Tokyo Part I
The Park Hyatt Tokyo is an absolute gem of a hotel. The combination of service quality, room design, city views, and resort-like amenities put the Park Hyatt Tokyo in a league of its own. Trip Report Introduction and Trip Planning Japan Airlines Economy From ORD to NRT Westin Miyako Kyoto Exploring Kyoto Day trips from…
Reluctant Luggage Change – From Briggs to Tumi
It is a bittersweet day for me. After 3 incredible years with my Briggs and Riley Baseline 22(?) inch carry-on, I finally need to retire her for domestic trips. While I absolutely LOVE this bag, it is too long for 95% of Southwest overhead bins and thus I have to turn it sideways on most…
My Next Trip: The Most Remote Airport on Earth
It’s been almost 6 full weeks since my last international (points-funded) trip and I am getting antsy. What better time for a ridiculous routing award through South America and into the middle of the Pacific Ocean! It was a sad day for me last year when British Airways transitioned to Avios. While there are some…
Konnichiwa Japan – Day trips from Kyoto
One could spend 30 days exploring Kyoto and never get bored. However, being this was our first trip to Japan, there were a few day trips from Kyoto we simply couldn’t pass up. The two that we decided would be most meaningful were Nara and Hiroshima. Both were incredible experiences and definitely worth the trip.…
Now this is my kind of Courtyard by Marriott!
I am not a Marriott guy. The Weekly Flyer makes good points about why his loyalty remains. However my experience after spending a (dark) year of my consulting career exclusively earning Marriott points was learning my loyalty earned me not much more than popcorn and a bottle of water at check-in. To his defense, statistics show…
Southwest and AirTran “Hurricane Season” Promotion
Attention adventure seekers, Southwest is currently offering 5000 extra points for flying AirTran into the Caribbean and their other international destinations during this upcoming hurricane season! As a Rapid Rewards Member, you can earn up to 5,000 Rapid Rewards Bonus Points on qualifying round trip AirTran flights between June 1 and August 31, 2012. Simply…
I have a surplus of hotel bath products (none of which are Portico)
I have a strange curiosity about the logic behind how bath products are selected by hotels. The most glaring question is what was Hyatt thinking when they selected Portico White Ginger products for a majority of their properties. It repulses just about everyone I know in the travel world. In fact, last weekend I was…
Konnichiwa Japan – Exploring Kyoto
I can confidently say Kyoto is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I would certainly include it in my top 5. For over 1000 years, Kyoto was the capital of Japan. As an American, that concept is extremely tough to grasp. Walking through today’s Kyoto you can’t help but appreciate the incredible…
Using Wikipedia to book flights
I have been spending a lot of time lately booking tickets for clients. In doing so, I collaborate often with the The Weekly Flyer discussing our techniques. This week we were discussing using Avios for short haul American Airlines flights and he pointed out that I have quite an unorthodox way of developing routings so…
Crowdsource vacation planning – Confirmed suite at any Hyatt property in the world
Last year, I applied for the Chase Hyatt Visa credit card as a Hyatt Diamond member and received two confirmed nights in a suite at any Hyatt in the world as the signup bonus. I used one of those suite nights at the Park Hyatt Tokyo and it was ridiculous. This leaves me with one…
Konnichiwa Japan – Westin Miyako Kyoto
The Westin Miyako Kyoto was our first stop in Japan after an outrageously long day of travel! (Downtown Chicago to Chicago O’Hare to Tokyo Narita to Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station to the Westin Kyoto) I had reserved 5 nights using 40K SPG points. I booked the Westin Kyoto before its deserved upgrade to category…