Today’s announcement was no surprise. Many people have speculated that Alaska Airlines tie up with Singapore Airlines would drive Singapore Airlines to serve Seattle. In addition, with the close proximity to Vancouver, BC, Singapore airlines can draw people from the entire region to fly from Seattle. Seattle has lower taxes and immigration costs and even direct bus service from downtown Vancouver to SeaTac international airport.

Singapore Airlines Seattle Service

Singapore Airlines will begin service to Seattle on September 3, 2019 with thrice weekly service. This service will expand to 4x a week in October 2019.

New A350-900 aircrafts with 253 seats  will be utilized for Seattle service, offering a similar experience as the San Francisco to Singapore direct service. The A350 has 42 business, 24 premium economy, and 187 economy seats.

Subject to regulatory approvals, service beginning September 3, 2019 will be Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. As of October 2019, Sunday service will be added.

The total flight will cover 8,070 miles! This will be the longest flight from Seatac airport. Currently, Seattle to Dubai at 7,425 is the longest flight. Move over Emirates, Singapore is challenging you with Central Asia connections. The new Seattle service is also Singapore Airlines 4^th longest flight and a perfect destination for the three class A350-900.

The morning arrival times to Seattle are ideal for Alaska Airlines connections to the Midwest and East Coast. Whereas those connecting via Singapore can easily get to other South East Asia and Central Asia destinations on Singapore airlines or SilkAir.

Asia’s Growing Importance to Seattle.

Seattle-Tacoma International airport continues to grow with nonstop international flights to Seattle. In 2018, Seattle welcomed three new international airlines – Air France, Thomas Cook Airlines and Aer Lingus. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines partners will offer non-stop flights to several Asia hubs in 2019. 2019 will see new flights from Asia to Seattle including, Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong, Japan Airlines to Tokyo-Narita, and now Singapore Airlines to Singapore. Other partners include nonstop service to Seoul on Korean Air and Beijing and Shanghai on Hainan along with several key destinations in Europe.

Award travel on Singapore Airlines is still not available via Alaska Airlines Mileage plan, but I am slightly hopefully that this will change in the near future.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Singapore Airlines Announces 4th US Nonstop Destination.

For business class passengers, if your layover is:

• Between 1 and 24 hours, you will qualify for lounge access.
• Between 4 and 7 hours, you will qualify for a free day room in the business class lounge.
• Longer than 7 hours, you will qualify for a free hotel room at a local hotel.
• Between 6 and 24 hours, you will qualify for a free day tour of Istanbul.

For economy class passengers, if your layover is:

• Between 6 and 24 hours, you will qualify for a free day tour of Istanbul.
• Longer than 10 hours, you will qualify for a free hotel room at a local hotel.

NOTE* For free hotel rooms, both your arriving and departing flights must be on Turkish Airlines metal. Codeshare flights do not qualify. But for free day tours, you can have a combination of both Turkish Airlines operated and codeshare flights. Additionally, you are only permitted to receive a day tour or a free hotel room per layover, not both. In other words, you can get a free hotel room on your outbound and a free day tour on your return. Or vice versa.

Last week, I showed you how to get your free transit hotel through Turkish Airlines. Today, I’m gonna show you how to get a free day tour of Istanbul during your layover.

Like I stated earlier, the rules are quite simple. All you need is (1) your transit time must be between 6 and 24 hours long and (2) both your arriving and departing flights must be with Turkish Airlines (or codeshare operated flights). That’s it. No reservations or pre-booking is required. However, the most important thing is that you obtain a Turkey travel visa. You must get a visa prior to your arrival in Istanbul. Here’s how. 

Upon your arrival in Istanbul, proceed to the passport control desk with your travel visa in hand. Get your visa verified and passport stamped, and then make your way to baggage claim. Clear customs and walk out to the arrivals hall. Make a right-hand turn outside the door and walk all the way down to the Turkish Airlines Hotel Desk. It’s located adjacent to the Starbucks, across from the Turkish Airlines Arrivals Lounge.

Here, you can sign up for any of the tours departing the same day. Just sign up for the tour that you want at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the tour. For example, if you wish to sign up for a 9:00 AM tour, you must sign up by 8:30 AM. The agent will then take your boarding pass and hand it back to you prior to the start of your tour. Signups open at 7:30 AM.

There are different tours scheduled for different times and different days of the week, so depending on the day of your arrival, you may get a different tour than another person. But typically, your tour will explore the old quarters of Istanbul. On this trip, I did the Tuesday tour from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

I don’t know what the capacity limit is on each tour but it looks like they are pretty flexible. On the tour I did this morning, there were enough guests to fill up a standard tour bus, which is a lot of people. As for your luggage, you have two options. (1) you can leave it at the checked luggage counter located right next to the Hotel Desk, or (2) if you only have hand luggage, you can take it with you and store it at the tour operator’s office. I opted to check my luggage as it seemed like a more secure option than #2.

At the tour departure time, your tour guide will meet you in front of the hotel desk and escort you to the tour bus. You will then drive to the old quarters of Istanbul. All the tours are walking tours so you will not want to carry any bags; a small backpack at most with your valuables but I wouldn’t lug around electronics or anything like that. Your first stop is the Istanbul Walks tour office. You can store your bags here if you want.

You will then walk from the office to a local restaurant for a very modest breakfast. Breakfast consisted of a hard boiled egg, bread, side condiments, coffee and tea. As I said, it was very modest.

Your tour will begin at the Hagia Sophia. The admission fee for the Hagia Sophia is included and you will be allowed 30 minutes to explore on your own after a brief history lesson.

From the Hagia Sophia, you will then walk to the Blue Mosque, where you will be allowed an opportunity to explore on your own. There is no fee to enter the Blue Mosque.

You will then exit the Blue Mosque and explore the outside Hippodrome area.

You will then have lunch at a local restaurant. Unlike breakfast, this 3-course traditional Turkish meal was really tasty. Lunch started with a bean salad, bread and an Ayran drink. This was followed by the main dish, which was meatballs and rice, and dessert.

From here, you will walk back to the office, collect your bags and then drive back to the airport.

Turkish Airlines Free Day Tour Bottom Line

Overall, this was an enjoyable day and I was really happy I got to experience this free tour. It allowed me to leave the airport, kill some time in between flights, learn about Turkish history and explore a tiny piece of this amazing city. This was such a great experience and I loved how easy and convenient it was. If you qualify for a tour, I would highly recommend it over hanging out at the airport.

Note* The information provided above is for the current Istanbul Ataturk Airport. The main airport will transition to the new airport in a few months (allegedly) so the process for obtaining a free day tour stated above will no longer apply. However, I expect that Turkish Airlines will continue to provide this free service.

Have you guys taken advantage of Turkish Airlines’ free city tour? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!

The other related trip reports in this series:

1. United Polaris Lounge, San Francisco
2. Turkish Airlines Business Class, San Francisco to Istanbul
3. Here’s How to Get a Free Day Tour in Istanbul
4. Here’s How to Get a Free Transit Hotel in Istanbul
5. Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Istanbul to Seychelles
6. DoubleTree Allamanda Resort and Spa, Seychelles
7. Hilton Seychelles Northlome
8. Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Seychelles to Istanbul
9. LOT Polish Airlines Business Class, Warsaw to Los Angeles

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Here’s How to Get a Free Day Tour in Istanbul.

This policy only applies to tourist and trade visas. If you are traveling to Turkey for work or study abroad purposes, you will still need to obtain a sticker visa from the Turkish Embassy or one of their Consulate Offices. If you have dual citizenship, you must apply as a citizen of the passport you intend to use. Applying for a Turkish e-visa is simple and cheap. It will only cost you $20 (for U.S. citizens) and will take less than 5 minutes of your time.

Here are some important details about Turkish e-visas:

• You can apply for an e-visa up to 3 months in advance of your intended arrival date into Turkey.
• It is advised that you apply for an e-visa at least 48 hours in advance but it looks possible to apply for an e-visa for the next day.
• Your e-visa will be valid for 180 days. However, you can only stay for a total of 90 days.
• E-visas are multiple-entry visas so you can enter/leave as many times as you want during the 180 days of validity.

So for example, if I intend to travel to Turkey on January 20, 2019, my e-visa will be valid from January 20, 2019, to July 18, 2019. I will be allowed multiple-entries into Turkey during that time-frame as long my stay does not last longer than 90 days.

To apply for a Turkish e-visa, go to this website here and enter in your personal details. If you are using a normal passport for citizens, select “ordinary passport.” Make sure the information entered matches your passport information exactly.

Once you make your payment, your e-visa will be emailed to your within a few minutes. The whole process is quick, easy and simple. The e-visa will be electronically attached to your passport but you should still print out a copy and carry it with you just in case.

And that’s it. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns. Thanks for reading!

Hat tip to the guys over at Australian Business Traveller for the info.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Turkey Stops Issuing Visas on Arrival. Here’s How to Get a Travel Visa Beforehand..

Opening up the ePassport queues to others besides EU citizens, for free

The UK recently announced that citizens of the “Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance” which includes the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand; plus Japan will be able to use ePassport kiosks at the UK Border. According to this article, this access will be granted by summer 2019.  We’ll see about timing, but for me, my Registered Traveller membership will be up for renewal in early 2019. To be determined if it is worth paying for the gap in coverage for a few months between the end of my membership and the proposed start dates of this program.

For non EU citizens, the queues at passport control at Heathrow (and elsewhere in the UK are often quite miserable. It was enough to make me sign up (and pay for) Registered Traveller. Fast Track can help, but it isn’t always available.  I’ve had flights arrive after Fast Track is closed, and I’ve flown Lufthansa into Heathrow several times, and even business class travelers don’t have access. That is likely due to the fact that EU citizens can access e-passport queues. Maybe that will change when (if?) UK leaves the EU.  Hopefully an influx of more travelers with access these ePassport gates won’t back things up too much. Beyond my experiences, statistics for processing times are pretty poor, as highlighted in this article from the Mirror.

From the Bloomberg article linked above, the information below refers to the budget announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond:

Showing the political pressure Hammond is under, some measures were obviously directed at the Brexiteers, including a plan to allow citizens of the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan to use the e-passport gates at U.K. ports by next summer — a boon to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox — and a new 50-pence coin to commemorate Brexit.

Another quote directly from Hammond (via AUSBT):

“We’ll open the use of ePassport gates at Heathrow and other airports … currently only available to EEA nationals … to include visitors from the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan.”

In my experience, there is rarely much of a wait for the ePassport kiosks. I have often looked longingly as those lines as I snake around long queue waiting to speak to a UK Border officer.

Final Thoughts

To me, this change is a win. I’m all for easier customs clearance. We’ll see when this new process is actually implemented. Even though I paid for this access via Registered Traveller, free is obviously better. Hopefully ePassport gates will remain a fast and easy option when entering the UK.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at UK To Open ePassport Lanes to Citizens of US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan.

Unlike our last big cross-country road trip, I won’t do a play-by-play of the drive, and will instead focus on the highlights of our trip.  Wanting to take it long and slow with Ashok, we planned some sightseeing on the way up and back.  This included stops at a couple of National Parks, and a couple of points and miles hotels.  And of course, trying to hit up as many states as possible.  We want to give Ashok bragging rights on his first day of school in a few years, you know.  I’m currently planning the following posts in this series:

• A Photo Tour of Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park
• A Kid Friendly 4-Day Itinerary in New York City
• Review: Westgate New York Resort
• Reflections on a Visit to the Flight 93 Memorial
• Review: Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Monroeville Convention Center
• Hidden Gems: Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park

The Trip Plan

When I road trip, I plan around two objectives.  First, I try to make the route a complete circle.  Second, I try to hit as many states as I can, within reason.  On this trip, we wanted to visit friends and family in Atlanta and Raleigh.  Also, in my quest to visit all 59 National Parks, I saw an easy way to knock two more off the list – Shenandoah and Cuyahoga Valley. The trip to Ohio from New York gave us the chance to visit the Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania.  And so, our full route took shape like this, clocking in at a little over 3,500 miles.

With a toddler in tow, we deliberately took it slow, taking 5 1/2 days to reach New York.  After 3 1/2 days in the city itself, we then took 5 more to drive home.  That made this trip a full two weeks from start to finish – June 3rd through the 16th.

The Hotel Plan

Originally, I booked four nights at the Hilton New York Midtown East.  The hotel offered roomy junior suites for a decent ~$240/night, and I could get my fourth night free through the Citi Prestige card.  A few weeks before our trip, though, I discovered something strange.  My mom asked about moving one night to our hotel, but Hilton showed no availability.  For months.  I then discovered the hotel planned to re-flag literally the day before our arrival.

So…that left me with a dilemma.  Keep the spacious room, but then forego a ton of Hilton points.  Or move to keep the points, but risk ending up with a smaller room.  Ultimately, though it pained me to forego so many points, I decided to keep my booking at the re-flagged hotel.  The Westgate New York City turned out to be a fine hotel, and the extra space came in handy.  Even with all of our toddler-related clutter, we still had plenty of space to stretch out.

Other than that, long road trips come in handy for racking up hotel points, especially with summer promotions.  But let’s face it, roadside Hampton Inns in Meridian, Mississippi don’t make for much of a review.  We did spend one night in Pittsburgh, though, a large market with many full-service hotels.  We stayed at the Doubletree Pittsburgh – Monroeville Convention Center, a decent hotel, if a little far away from town.

In addition, we did stay at one notable historic hotel outside Shenandoah National Park.  The Village Inn in Harrisonburg dates to 1936, and mimics Virginia colonial-style cottages.  I may decide to add a review of this property for its uniqueness.

The Sightseeing Plan

Before reaching New York, we planned to spend part of two days exploring Skyline Drive.  The northern extension of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the scenic byway hugs the ridgetops through Shenandoah.  It’s one of America’s most popular drives, and it didn’t disappoint.

As for crowds, despite the parkway’s reputation, I found the road rather subdued.  Perhaps that’s a benefit of visiting in early June, when the summer crush hasn’t quite hit yet.

Then it was on to New York City.  We picked a variety of toddler-friendly activities for our 3 1/2 days, mostly usual NYC suspects.  Saturday began with a visit to the Central Park Zoo.  We chose it over the Bronx Zoo as it’s a little more “bite sized” for little ones.  Plus they have a snow leopard, which is a way cool big cat.

Later that evening, we took a Circle Line “Sunset Harbor” cruise around Manhattan.  While certainly touristy, it’s a good, easy activity, and the boat ride keeps the kids entertained.  And if you’re a photographer, enjoy some fantastic shots of Manhattan throughout.

Most of Sunday involved a trek to see the Statue of Liberty.  I must say – they make visiting Lady Liberty a total beating these days, especially to visit the pedestal.  Getting barked at by TSA-style security while trying to get baby stuff put away in lockers – ugh.  But after driving 1,500 miles to get here, we figured, might as well.

We probably enjoyed Monday the most, with a leisurely trip out to Coney Island.  Though a little chilly, Ashok really enjoyed the boardwalk and the beach.

After leaving New York, our drive through Pennsylvania took us close to the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville.  That, of course, was the site where United Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001.  We didn’t have the chance to visit Ground Zero in NYC, so my mother and I wanted to stop here.  It’s perhaps the most difficult monument I’ve ever visited, but I’m glad we did.

Our final stop came in Ohio, at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  This rates as one of the oddest National Parks I’ve visited.  It’s a disjointed mass of park lands through the Cuyahoga River valley interspersed with the Akron and Cleveland suburbs.  Yet it also features some of the most bucolic natural beauty I’ve seen anywhere.  Among the highlights – a covered bridge on the southern end of the park.

And the fabulous Brandywine Falls in the central portion of the park.

And of course, the beauty of road tripping are the random moments of magic along the way.  Like grandma and grandson at a rest area at the North Carolina-South Carolina border.

Foodie Moments

Naturally, most of our food moments came in New York City.  Besides the usual hot dogs, pizza, and bagels, I enjoyed a variety of goodies.  Among the highlights: midnight shwarma, delicious pasta, chocolate soft serve, and a very tasty Reuben sandwich from a traditional deli.

Meanwhile, in Akron, I stumbled upon Swenson’s Drive-In, home of the Galley Boy.  It claims the title of “America’s Best Cheeseburger”.  I don’t know about that, but it was a decent burger.  (The drive back to the hotel harmed its appearance, but it was tasty. They also have a fantastic grape soda called “The California”.)

Look for the first installments of this series sometime next week.  Thanks for following along!

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Introduction: A Great American Road Trip to New York.

Note: this post is part of my trip report series about my quick weekend trip to Belgium.  Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.

Delta SkyClubs – Detroit Metro Airport Concourse A

Locations

Three clubs in Concourse A – the main club near Gate A40, one near Gate A15, and one near Gate A65.  To access the clubs at A15 and A65, take the escalator up to the second level, for the intra-terminal tram.  You can access the A40 club from the main level of the concourse.

Access

Delta provides SkyClub access to the following passengers:

• Delta One and SkyTeam international and transcontinental passengers
• SkyTeam Elite Plus members traveling on any SkyTeam flight in any class of service
• Delta Reserve cardmembers on Delta coded or operated flights
• Amex Platinum and Centurion cardholders traveling on a same-day Delta flight
• Virgin Australia Club members

In addition, Delta sells day passes for $59.  Those with Gold and Platinum Delta Amex cards can also access the lounge for a discounted $29 fee.

Review – Concourse A Main Club (Gate A40)

As I entered the main club, I found a few people waiting in line.  However, an employee with a handheld check-in device quickly greeted me and checked me in.  I do appreciate this initiative, as it really speeds up the process.  The handheld reader rejected my boarding pass, though, so she walked me to the main desk to try again.  Both of the employees I interacted with were kind and helpful.  That was a common theme on all of my SkyClub visits on this day.  From the check-in desk, head up the elevator to the lounge on the second floor.

This lounge consists of one large rectangular room divided into several sections.  One thing became clear upon entering, though.  This place was an absolute zoo.  I apologize in advance for the small number of photos.  The lounge simply had way too many people around to effectively photograph it.  Anyway, once you reach the second floor, you’ll find a ticketing/help desk, with the lounge to the left.  It opens up into a large central room, with nearly every seat taken.

The seating continues quite a ways to the left, with even more seating behind the coffee machines.  The right side features large windows, though the shades were closed during my visit.  (They face an office building in any event.) You’ll find a variety of seating, from single seats, to 2×2 chairs with tables, to 4×4 sofas and tables.  Some of the combinations did seem mismatched, though the decor itself looked nice enough.  And sheesh…more crowds!

Continue back, and there’s a somewhat less congested seating area towards the restrooms.  However, the table configuration seems – odd.  You have 4×4 seating with a table large enough for maybe one person to use.  There is also some interesting bicycle wall art here (the club in general seemed sparse in this regard).

I found a few seats with views overlooking the terminal concourse, and Delta’s intra-terminal tram.

One thing I appreciated about this lounge – Delta provides power outlets everywhere.  As long as you can find a seat, you’ll have access to power.  WiFi was pretty fast, sufficient to handle a Skype or FaceTime call.  Impressive given the number of people using the lounge, I thought.

Meanwhile, head right from the entrance for the dining area.  This consists of a decently-sized buffet, with both standing and sitting tables.  The sitting tables surround a large TV screen and “ticker tape”, for those who want to take in the news while eating.

Due to crowding, I couldn’t get many photos of the food and drink selection.  However, it consisted of a salad bar, cookies, and a couple of hot options.

The hot options included mac and cheese and soup, both of which I found pretty tasty.  They sure beat the snack towers of sadness at Admirals Clubs, anyway.  However, don’t expect to receive a full meal substitute in a SkyClub.

There are also a few beers on tap, along with a decent selection of self-serve wine and liquor (pardon the poor photo).

I left the lounge shortly before scheduled boarding for my flight to Dallas.  However, just as boarding began, the captain announced a significant delay due to a ground stop at DFW.  Rather than sit around at the gate, I decided to check out the other two Concourse A SkyClubs, hoping for a quieter experience.

Review – Satellite Sky Club at Gate A65

Just as in the main club, a friendly Delta employee greeted me to the lounge; she also offered to check on the status of my delay, a nice touch.  Both this lounge, and the other SkyClub at Gate A15, are basically mirror images of each other.  These are small lounges, with one long corridor flanked by seating areas on both sides.  And just as crowded as the main lounge (in fact, this one had the sign up temporarily suspending day pass sales). Amusingly, when the next passenger came in and complained about the crowding, the agent suggested he try the bigger lounge by A40.  If only he knew…

The decor looks very similar to the main lounge.

Each “room” features a similar layout, with a few chairs/tables along the windows, and a couple more along the front and back walls.  There are additional sections across from the windowed rooms, with perhaps a half dozen loungers and small sofas.  I couldn’t get a good photo of one of those areas due to crowding.  Unlike the main SkyClub, these satellite clubs do provide nice views of the ramp area.

At the very back is a food and beverage area, providing basically the same selection as the larger club.

With more time to kill, I then decided to check out the SkyClub near Gate A15, at the opposite end of the concourse.  It was just as crowded.  I also didn’t take any photos of that lounge, as it’s identical to the A65 satellite lounge.

Final Thoughts

Delta SkyClubs certainly aren’t bad for domestic lounges, with friendly staff and a better (if still meh) food selection than what American or United provide.  But geez, the overcrowding sure was a buzzkill.  Perhaps I found the crowds surprising, given the presence of three lounges in the same concourse.  I don’t know if this was just bad luck on the day I visited, or a common occurrence.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Review: Delta SkyClubbing in Detroit.

Essentially Points + Cash awards allowed you to “buy” the other half of the points you needed with the co-pay. They would count as qualifying nights, and they could be upgraded with a suite upgrade award. Before Hyatt made all award nights count toward elite status this was a big deal.

Expect to Pay Half Price

Now One Mile at a Time reports that Hyatt is adopting a formula much more similar to Hilton Honors. The cash portion of a Points + Cash award will be 50% of the current Standard Rate. This is often a higher, refundable rate than other discounted rates like AAA that you may be eligible for. The points portion will continue to be 50% of the regular points-only award rate. Changes will take effect for awards booked on or after November 1, 2018, providing a narrow window to book under current pricing.

Old Points + Cash Award Chart

* Cost per point saved is essentially a measure of what you are paying for the other 50% of the points with your cash co-pay.

New Points + Cash Award Chart

This is not going to be a significant change for all hotels. There are some where the standard rate is quite reasonable. But the most expensive hotels will see the cash portion balloon. For example, the Points + Cash award chart used to top out at 15,000 points + $300 for a Category 7 property (instead of 30,000 points). If the standard rate at that hotel is $1,000 you can now expect to pay 15,000 points + $500.

You do not need to be staying at a Category 7 property. Even cheaper hotels can be hit like this. I was searching for a place to stay in Maui next year and found rates were often $900+ at the Hyatt Regency Maui, a Category 5 property that goes for 20,000 points. Previously the Points + Cash award would have been fixed at 10,000 points + $125. Now it could be as high as 10,000 points + $450 (or more).

No Better than All Points

There is now no good reason to book a Points + Cash award over a points-only award. The points-only award will always offer equal value. Let’s look at the math to see why.

As a general rule you should try to find redemption values above a certain threshold. It doesn’t matter what that threshold is as long as you consider it fair, but let’s imagine it’s 1.5 cents per point. If you find a hotel that you can book for $900 or 20,000 points, then you’re getting a good deal with points. The redemption value is $900 / 20,000 = 4.5 cents per point, or about 3X greater than your threshold.

Points + Cash awards used to be good because you could boost that redemption value even higher. Imagine you only had to redeem 10,000 points but paid $125. Now you’re getting ($900 – $125) / 10,000 = 7.75 cents per point.

Under the new model, you still have to pay 50% of $900, or $450, so you’re getting ($900 – $450) / 10,000 = 4.5 cents per point. It’s exactly the same redemption value as if you redeemed all points. If you consider that the standard rate is probably higher than the discounted rate you would have booked — imagine 50% of $950 — then you’re actually getting a worse redemption value with Points + Cash.

I can still see an argument for using Points + Cash awards to stretch your points further when you may not have enough for a full-priced award, but my verdict stands: The unique value that these Points + Cash awards used to offer has been dramatically diminished.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Hyatt Guts the Value of Points + Cash Awards.

Qualifying stays must include four nights or more at a Hyatt House property, making this ideally suited for business travelers who tend to fly in Monday and fly out Friday. Or, if you have a shorter trip planned, consider extending it into the weekend and explore a new city.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands when compared to the limited-service brands of other chains. My wife and I had the opportunity to stay at a couple during our cross-country trek from Seattle to Austin this summer. It was great being able to stretch out in a separate living room with a mini-kitchen after six hours of driving.

Registration opens today and will remain open through November 30. You must register before your stay. Qualifying stays must take place between October 23 and December 31, 2018. All Hyatt House properties worldwide are eligible, but you must check out by December 31, 2018.

Hyatt House Promotion Terms & Conditions

You must be a member of World of Hyatt and register for the promotion between October 23, 2018 and November 30, 2018 to participate. To join World of Hyatt, visit worldofhyatt.com. All Eligible Nights under this promotion must be completed November 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 (“Promotion Period”). You will receive 2,000 Bonus Points for every stay of four (4) or more consecutive Eligible Nights at a Hyatt House property during the Promotion Period. A maximum of 30,000 Bonus Points may be earned, regardless of the number of Eligible Nights completed during Promotion Period.  All points awarded under this promotion are Bonus Points. For the purpose of this promotion, an “Eligible Night” is defined as any night where a member is paying an Eligible Rate or redeems a free night award for at least one night of their stay. Two or more consecutive Nights at the same hotel will be considered the same stay. Only the room occupied by the Member will count toward this promotion. You must provide your World of Hyatt membership number at the time of check-in for each stay. Please allow two to three weeks after your qualifying stay for Bonus Points to be posted to your World of Hyatt account. Hyatt reserves the right to alter or withdraw this promotion with a suitable substitute promotion of equal value (if legally required) at any time due to actual circumstances. This promotion is subject to the terms and conditions of the World of Hyatt program available at worldofhyatt.com/terms. Hyatt®, Hyatt House®, World of Hyatt®, and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation or its affiliates. © 2018 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Hyatt House Promotion for 2,000 Bonus Points on 4-Night Stays.

But lucky for us, Turkish Airlines does a good job of taking care of their long-haul passengers. In addition to their massive two-story business class lounge, complete with day rooms and shower suites, Turkish Airlines also provides free hotel accommodations for passengers with extended layovers. That’s right, Turkish Airlines will provide you with a free hotel room if you have an extended layover in Istanbul. And it’s not just for business class passengers. Economy class passengers can get in on the deal too.

Turkish Airlines Free Transit Hotel Rules

You must meet the following two criteria to qualify for a free Turkish Airlines transit hotel accommodation:

• For Economy Class passengers, your transit time between your arriving flight and your connecting flight must be longer than 10 hours.
• For Business Class passengers, your transit time must be longer than 7 hours.
• Both your arriving AND connecting flights must be on Turkish Airlines metal.

That’s it. There are only two simple rules. But the key is that the transit time must be a naturally occurring transit time and not a FORCED transit time; meaning, if you intentionally take an earlier flight or book a later flight in Istanbul or at your point of origin to force a longer layover, your extended travel time will not qualify for a free transit hotel.

They are very strict about this so don’t try to game the system. I tried a couple of years ago and failed miserably. You can read more which connections qualify and which ones do not by clicking here.  But on this trip, I was able to score a free hotel room and wanted to share some practical tips about the whole process.

If you’re not sure if you will qualify for a free hotel room, you can always email them ahead of time to inquire. If you didn’t check ahead of time, you can always check upon arrival. Just follow the signs for international transfers and make your way to the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge. There, you can ask a lounge attendant to check for you before heading down to the Hotel Desk.

If you already know you qualify for a hotel room, just walk down to the Hotel Desk located outside the arrivals hall to process your request. But let’s look at some practicalities first.

First and foremost, you need to get a travel visa for Turkey. All of Turkish Airlines’ contracted hotels are located outside the airport so, in order for you to leave the airport, you will need a travel visa.  You can obtain a visa on arrival at the airport for $30 in CASH. Turkey no longer issues visas on arrival. You must get a travel visa beforehand. Here’s how. 

With your visa in hand, you can head towards the immigration checkpoint upon arrival. If you are traveling in business class, there is a dedicated business class priority lane just past the regular immigration lanes. Just keep walking about 100 feet for the expedited lanes on your left-hand side.

From here, exit out the baggage claim area to the arrivals hall. Make a right outside the door and walk down about 150 feet. The Hotel Desk will be on your right-hand side, next to the Starbucks, and across from the Turkish Airlines Arrivals Lounge.

The Hotel Desk also handles Turkish Airlines’ complimentary day tours. But note, you can only receive a free hotel stay or a free day tour per direction, not both.

Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel

On this trip, I was provided a room at the Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel. After my information was verified, the driver escorted me from the hotel desk to the shuttle and drove me to the hotel located approximately 8 minutes away. He provided my documentation to the hotel staff and provided me with a pickup time. Everything was handled for me and I didn’t have to do anything. Note: For the Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel, you can give them your Marriott Rewards number for stay credits but you will not earn any Rewards Points.

My room at the Renaissance was very nice. It had a great sea view, two very comfortable double beds and a work desk.

The enclosed bathroom was spacious and perfect for washing away the long-haul travel grime.

The hotel also featured an outdoor pool.

In addition to the room, Turkish Airlines also provided me with a voucher for a free meal at the hotel restaurant. The voucher can be used for lunch or dinner, depending on the time of your stay. The meal was a fixed menu and it wasn’t bad. My dinnertime meal consisted of lentil soup, Mediterranean salad and chicken with rice.

At your pre-arranged pickup time, just head downstairs and your driver will be waiting for you in the front. If you are traveling in business class, inform the driver and he will drop you off at the business class entrance of the international terminal.

Once you clear through the initial security check, make a left-hand turn and head all the way down. There is a secret entrance to the lounge reserved specifically for business class passengers. You can clear immigration and security here and walk right into the lounge. You can also take this business class priority lane for expedited passport control and security clearance.

Turkish Airlines Free Transit Hotel bottom line:

Overall, this was a fantastic experience. The whole process was easy and convenient. From the moment I was picked up from the hotel, I was back at the airport, processed through two security checkpoints (one at the airport entrance and one post-immigration), cleared immigration, and was in the lounge within 23 minutes. I was well-rested and it was amazing as I didn’t have to coordinate anything. Good job Turkish Airlines!

Have you guys taken advantage of Turkish Airlines’ free transit hotel? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!

The other related trip reports in this series:

1. United Polaris Lounge, San Francisco
2. Turkish Airlines Business Class, San Francisco to Istanbul
3. Here’s How to Get a Free Day Tour in Istanbul
4. Here’s How to Get a Free Transit Hotel in Istanbul
5. Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Istanbul to Seychelles
6. DoubleTree Allamanda Resort and Spa, Seychelles
7. Hilton Seychelles Northlome
8. Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Seychelles to Istanbul
9. LOT Polish Airlines Business Class, Warsaw to Los Angeles

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at How to Get Your Free Transit Hotel with Turkish Airlines.

Sriram recently posted about his full day in Barcelona. Scott has also written about his travels to Barcelona. My review will be a little different, just covering the highlights of our time there. We spent a long weekend in town, and got to see quite a bit at a more relaxed pace.

Barcelona worked well for us as it is just a short hop from Mallorca, with frequent flights. We opted for Vueling. Not usually a fan of low cost carriers, but the price was right, and we paid a small amount extra to confirm seats together, and for our checked bags, and it was perfectly fine.  Flight was on time, which was our main concern. I booked a car in advance that would take us to our hotel. The driver wasn’t waiting, but it only took a few minutes to coordinate.

I’ve been to Barcelona before, but this was the first time for my wife and daughter.  It has been several years, so while I have seen some of the sights, I was glad to have another opportunity to visit. I knew I wanted to stay at the iconic W hotel out on the beach. There were cash and points availability, so we spent one night there, and I confirmed an upgrade using a Suite Night Award.

Our stay at the W Barcelona/Hotel Vela

This hotel is an iconic sight along the Barceloneta district, near the port. It isn’t particularly convenient to most tourist sites in town. I’m glad we stayed here, but one night was sufficient for us. This hotel is really an architectural marvel. A large sail (hence the local nickname, Hotel Vela) shape, overlooking the sea and very modern design typical of W hotels.

Our assigned room was a Studio Suite on a lower floor.  2 rooms, with a king sized bed, and a living room with a sofa bed. One large bathroom and a small powder room near the entrance. Very flashy design, with lots of lights. The throw pillow on the bed had an image that looked like a female Dali impersonator getting felt up.  I enjoyed the very modern room, a little more flashy than me, but nice for our needs.    

I’m too old or not cool enough to fit in very well at most W hotels, and this one is definitely for the trendy crowd. This hotel is fine, and worth a stay if in Barcelona, but my favorite W is still the W Hong Kong.

We chose breakfast for the platinum amenity, and it was served in the lobby restaurant. A pretty good buffet, with a diverse mix of options. Jamón Iberico is one of those things I eat entirely too much of when in Spain, and I was happy to have some toast  with jamón as part of my breakfast.

Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, which was annoying, but we just explored the beach area. Nudity on beaches in Europe is more common than here in the US, and as we walked along the beach, we were grateful that our daughter didn’t comment on the man ‘hanging out’ by himself on the beach. It is a long walk from the W back into the city, but we enjoyed exploring from here for our first day.  The aquarium isn’t too far away, and it was a nice spot to spend some time. We returned to the W to check out in the afternoon, but not before someone needed a nap.  Busy day already:

After checking out of the W, we got a taxi and headed to our hotel for the rest of our time in Barcelona, the more centrally located Le Meridien, on Las Ramblas.

Le Meridien Barcelona

We were able to confirm an upgrade to a Corner Suite, which was another nice use of Suite Night Awards. I’ve had better luck using these this year. Mostly using them for family trips. We again had a separate bedroom, and a sofa bed in the living room for our daughter. Scott also visited this hotel, and has a more thorough review. While I enjoyed the W, the Le Meridien is a much better option for those interested in seeing the highlights of Barcelona. I’ve always enjoyed my stays at the Le Meridien brand, and this property was no exception. A great location, and a nice enough space. I felt more at home than at the W.

The Le Meridien is a more typical European hotel, with smaller rooms, but most public spaces are modern. As with all Le Meridien hotels, there is a lot of local art all over. Breakfast here was nice enough, in the ground floor restaurant. And there are churros con chocolate, so that’s a win.

Best of all, the Le Meridien is right on Las Ramblas, with lots of great restaurants and other sites nearby. La Boqueria Market is a few blocks away, and there are a few metro stops slightly further.  It was a great base for our time getting out and about.

Exploring Barcelona

As mentioned, we visited the Aquarium, which was good for kids of all ages. I didn’t get to do as much Gaudi touring as I was hoping to, on this tripbut I don’t think my kid would have appreciated to too much. We did make it up to La Sagrada Familia, which is a must stop. My kid was more interested in a hot dog we bought in a stand nearby and the FC Barcelona store/museum across the street, oh well.

Another spot we visited is Montjuïc Castle. From here, there are excellent views of the city and the sea. To get here, we took public transit. A combination of metro then a funicular and a gondola got us up to the top of the mountain where the castle is located.  The journey to the castle is part of the adventure, but the result is well worth it. Interesting history there, plus great views.

Barcelona food and drink

Just steps from the Le Meridien is the Boqueria market, which is a must stop for all kinds of tasty treats. Meat, fresh vegetables, and more.

While Barcelona isn’t really a beer town, I usually seek out what I can, and we found a few beer bars that I’d recommend.  Garage Beer Company  is a  nice little craft brewery, and the decor was fun too. Besides their beers, they have some snacks and light meals available.

We also visited Kælderkold which is a beer bar with a nice selection of craft beers, cocktails, and bar snacks.

Both of these places were an easy walk from Le Meridien. Another fun dining spot we found was La Bombeta. This was a little closer to the W, on some narrow streets, and it took some effort to find it. No credit cards, and minimal English spoken, but the bombas were so good. Stuffed mashed potato balls, with a spicy sauce.  Amazing..

Final thoughts on Barcelona

I really enjoy visiting here. Happy to have stayed in the fancy W hotel, but the Le Meridien was a superior choice for most tourist activities. A better location, and much less pretentious. Barcelona is easy to get around, with good transport options, and usually lots of space to walk.

Do you like Barcelona as much as we did?

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at A Long Weekend Exploring Barcelona, Including the W and Le Meridien Hotels.

Note: this post is part of my trip report series about my quick weekend trip to Belgium.  Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.

KLM Royal Crown Lounge 52

Location

Concourse F of the Main Terminal.  As a point of reference, most Delta flights depart from Concourse E.  Follow the signs for Lounge 52 after passport control, then head up one level as you reach Concourse F.  Note: if continuing to the US on Delta, the airline offers a passport/document check outside the lounge entrance.  Or, you can complete the check at “gate” E1.  The check outside the lounge didn’t seem to save any time.  However, that’s perhaps the fault of an exceptionally verbose security officer.  Also note, if you receive the dreaded “SSSS” on your boarding past, you will need to report to your gate at least one hour prior to departure.  It took less than five minutes to reach the E gates, but still, make sure to allow enough time.

Access

KLM and SkyTeam business class passengers can access the lounge.  KLM also provides access to Flying Blue Platinum, Gold, and SkyTeam Elite members flying any class of service plus one guest.  Gold and Platinum members may also use the lounge when flying on a KLM codeshare flight.  Any passenger can access the lounge for a fee, I believe €49.  Note that because of the renovation, KLM prohibits guests between 7:30 am and 11 am daily.

This lounge specifically caters to passengers on non-Schengen flights.  Passengers on Schengen flights can use the Crown Lounge 25 instead, located in the D gates.

Review

From the central check-in area, the lounge apparently used to split into two long wings.  However, it seemed like the one to the left was mostly closed due to the renovation.  Near the check-in area is a MASSIVE central seating area, with a few red loungers.  Mostly, though, you’ll find the typical 2×2 lounge seating.  Despite the large number of seats, finding an empty one proved difficult.  A common theme throughout the lounge, unfortunately.

This also gives you a pretty good idea of the decor, which is consistent throughout the lounge.  I found it modern, while avoiding the cold minimalist tones becoming prevalent in airline lounges these days.  The furniture does show its age a bit, though, and could use a refresh.

I mentioned the left side of the lounge, which was only partially open.  This area did have some nice ramp views, but  I couldn’t find a window seat due to the crowding.  This side mostly features your typical 2×2 seating.

Anyway, off to the side is some cool artwork featuring the famous Delft houses.  Unfortunately, it appears that the collection of KLM mini-houses is no longer there.  Perhaps these will return once the renovation is complete.

Straight ahead is the lounge’s main dining area.  The breakfast selection wasn’t fancy, featuring meats, cheeses, breads, hard-boiled eggs, and fruits.  Honestly, I found this a little underwhelming.  I’d expect a hot option or two in an airline’s flagship lounge at its primary hub.

The Crown Lounge also has a good selection of beer, wine, and spirits.  Too bad it was 8 am, as I really wanted to try a couple of the Bols products.

Finally, there is a decent espresso machine.

Just past the food station is a ramp/stairs to the second level.  From here, you can see just how large – and crowded – the lounge is.  This view also shows the bi-level dining room, if you prefer to sit and eat at a proper table.  Here you can also see a cool mural of KLM aircraft flying over a tulip field.

There is another food station behind the upper dining area.  The selection is exactly the same as the one downstairs, however.

Upstairs is a rather long row of seats that stretches all the way back to the smoking room.  I ended up picking a seat in this section.  The downstairs section was far too noisy due to the crowding.  I found the upstairs area noticeably quieter, though crowding was about the same.

And of course, more of the odd-looking red Ikea chairs.

In front of the smoking room is a business center of sorts.  I say of sorts, because while there are ample workspaces, I found only one copier/printer, and no desktop computers to use.  Nevertheless, this is probably your best bet to find a seat, especially if you want some quiet.

I also found a real throwback to the past – pay phones.

I found plugs plentiful throughout the lounge, but don’t forget to bring an adapter if your devices use non-Euro plugs.  The lounge offers free WiFi, which I found adequate, if not particularly fast.

Final Thoughts

I wanted to like the Crown Lounge 52, but it’s simply too overcrowded, making it hard to enjoy.  I also found the food selection mediocre, especially since KLM bills this as its flagship lounge.  It’s certainly better than most domestic lounges, but I wouldn’t arrive early for it, at least until the renovation is completed.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Review: KLM Royal Crown Lounge 52, Amsterdam.

The Hilton Seychelles Northlome Resort and Spa is located on the northwest coast of the island, approximately 25 minutes from Seychelles International Airport. To get from the airport to the hotel, you can take a taxi, hire a shuttle or pre-arrange private transport through the hotel. But in my opinion, the best way is to rent a car and drive to the hotel. If you’re up for it, the drive from the airport is easy to navigate and will pass you through the main town of Victoria and beautiful Eden Island along the way. Hotel parking is provided free of charge.

Known as the “smallest Hilton in the world,” the Hilton Seychelles Northlome offers private villas set among the hillside or along the oceanfront; each with incredible views of the Indian Ocean. If you’re looking for a private getaway with beautiful ocean views, direct access to a private beach and amazing sunsets every night, then the Hilton Seychelles Northlome is for you. However, the resort is adults only (age 13 and older) so leave the little ones at home.

With only 56 private villas, the Hilton Seychelles Northlome Resort and Spa is unlike any other mega-resort. There is one main building where the hotel reception and restaurants are located at but everything else is spread out throughout the resort grounds. Instead of multiple rooms connected within a single building, each villa is built like a private tree house, set into the hillside or on stilts along the oceanfront.

Upon our arrival to the hotel, we were immediately greeted and escorted to the arrival pavilion. We were welcomed with a cold towel and a glass of sparkling wine as our reservation details were confirmed. Our passports and hand luggage were collected and we then were driven down to the main reception desk to be checked in. Cars are not allowed on the hillside property so guests are driven around by golf cart.

Hilton Seychelles Northlome King Hillside Villa

On this trip, I booked a “standard room” award using a combination of my Citi and AmEx Hilton Weekend Night Certificates and Honors points for a 4-night stay to celebrate my 40^thbirthday. The Hilton Seychelles Northlome requires 95,000 points for a standard room award (King Hillside Villa). This may sound like a lot but trust me; it’s worth it. The average cost for a standard room during peak season is about $600 per night.

Each villa is designed in colonial Seychellois architecture with rich wood paneling, soft ambient lighting and bright pops of colors. And they are huge. At almost 1000 square feet, each villa is larger than most New York City apartments. Our King Hillside Villa (room 223) featured a king-size bed, spacious seating area, desk and entertainment center.

The king-size bed was soft and comfortable and the mosquito netting allowed us to keep the balcony door open without fear of being bitten at night.

For me, the en-suite bathroom was the highlight of the room. The bathroom was bright and spacious with an incredible open shower, whirlpool tub, dual sinks and a private toilet area.

I mean, just look at this view from the tub!

And from the shower.

Bathroom amenities included Peter Thomas Roth branded shampoo, conditioner, body wash and after-sun gel, along with dental and shaving kits.

The large balcony featured a daybed, sitting area and two sun loungers. We hung out here every day with a cup of coffee in the morning and a glass of wine to cap off the night. It was the most amazing experience and it made us feel as if we were in a private tree house, set high above the tropical forest, overlooking the ocean.

Room amenities included an in-room safe, Nespresso machine and mini-fridge.

Our welcome amenities included a fruit plate, bottle of red wine, souvenir bar of coco de mer soap, and vouchers for two free drinks at the bar

This room was fantastic and we absolutely loved it. If you can check-in online or pick your room in advance, I would recommend this room. The room was spacious and could easily accommodate a full-size, roll-away bed if needed. It had a great view of the ocean and a killer view of the sunset over Shilouette Island each night.

Hilton Seychelles Northlome Resort and Spa Grounds

Resort amenities included a fitness center, spa, infinity pool and a private beach with complimentary use of water sports equipment (kayaks, paddle boards and snorkel gear). The fitness center was decent and had all the necessary equipment to work off all those extra vacation calories including cardio equipment, resistance machines and free weights.

The pool itself was small but the pool deck had plenty of lounge chairs and cabanas to relax and soak up the sun.

The private beach was also small but the white sand was super soft. The water was crystal clear and the free equipment rental allowed us to hang out in the water. We took out the kayaks and paddle boards a couple of times during our stay and it was awesome. The water was totally calm and the protected bay was the perfect setting for stand-up paddle boarding.

If you need a place to stay after checking-out (but before departure to the airport), you can use the library located in the main building. This comfortable space offers guests a place to lounge about and kill some time before leaving for the airport. This is especially useful considering many flights departing Mahe are timed later in the evening. The library offers free snacks and beverages, WiFi, computers and sofas/chairs to lounge about. Shower facilities are also available if you decide to spend your last day at the beach or lounging at the pool.

This totally worked out for us as our late check-out was at 4:00 PM but our flight wasn’t until 9:00 PM. Waiting here was much more ideal than waiting at the airport.

Hilton Seychelles Northlome Dining

There are three restaurants located on-site, including the Hilltop Restaurant where breakfast is served each day. There is no Executive Lounge here so all Hilton Diamond and Gold members will enjoy breakfast at the restaurant. Fun fact, the Hilltop Restaurant is where Ian Flemming’s former house was located at and it is said that this setting inspired his book, For Your Eyes Only.

The breakfast buffet spread was impressive with traditional hot and cold items, an omelet station and a “make your own” juice bar.

There were also “make your own” Bellini and Bloody Mary stations. You are on vacation, after all.

Beau Vallon Beach

Beau Vallon Beach is a quick 5-minute drive from the hotel (15 minutes walk). There is a bustling scene with restaurants, shops and vendors and a beautiful beach popular with both locals and tourists.

If you want to try some local cuisine, I would recommend the Boathouse restaurant. For dinner, the restaurant offers a Creole buffet for 450 SCR per person.

Or if you want something more affordable, the Boboa Pizzaria offers pizzas and other casual food items right on the beach at a more affordable pricepoint.

Hilton Seychelles Northlome Resort and Spa bottom line

Overall, we had a fantastic stay and we were very impressed with the Hilton Seychelles Northlome Resort and Spa. It was the most luxurious and beautiful resort I have ever stayed at and the “standard room” would rival some premium rooms at other ultra-luxury resorts. The service was impeccable, yet friendly and personable. Each employee made a genuine effort to remember our names, offer travel advice and attend to our every needs. This resort was incredible and I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

Have you stayed at the Hilton Seychelles Northlome? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!

The other related trip reports in this series:

1. United Polaris Lounge, San Francisco
2. Turkish Airlines Business Class, San Francisco to Istanbul
3. Here’s How to Get a Free Day Tour in Istanbul
4. Here’s How to Get a Free Transit Hotel in Istanbul
5. Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Istanbul to Seychelles
6. DoubleTree Allamanda Resort and Spa, Seychelles
7. Hilton Seychelles Northlome
8. Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Seychelles to Istanbul
9. LOT Polish Airlines Business Class, Warsaw to Los Angeles

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Review: Hilton Seychelles Northlome.

We flew from Chicago (and enjoyed the United Polaris Lounge) in Lufthansa Business Class connecting from Frankfurt to Palma. From there we rented a car, and drove across the island to the resort. The drive was easy, with light traffic and motorways for most of the ~75km journey. It was mostly dark by the time we arrived, and the always cheerful valets greeted us. They seemed to set the stage for the wonderful staff who really seem to take pride in the property.

We checked in, and a golf cart drove us up the hill to our suite. There are golf carts available for staff to drive guests around the property. Other than arrival and departure with baggage, we walked up/down the stairs from our room to other places during our stay. The property is built from stone from the adjacent mountain, and has beautiful landscaping all around.

Grounds of the Park Hyatt Mallorca

Entering the property, there is a traffic circle, with a small garden in the middle and an odd statue. There is a security gate, but it was not used during our stay. Parking is free on property, and there are valets that bring your car up to the front when needed. If we were going to a beach, there would be towels and water waiting for us in the car.

There is a kids club, although at age 3, our daughter was too young to be left there without us. We did go check it out, and she played there a few times. There were a fair number of children at the hotel, but even with this being a relatively large property for a Park Hyatt, there is decent separation with an adults only pool, etc. Maybe I’m biased as a parent, But I don’t mind seeing and even hearing well-behaved children when I’m on vacation. It seems that a fair number of Europeans do weekend stays here, and guests of all ages were there. The property was never busy, but on weekends, there were noticeably more people during our stay. Our daughter made friends with a few kids around the same age on the grounds, especially at the pool.

Park Hyatt Mallorca pools

There are four pools, an adult pool and whirlpool on an upper level, plus a large lagoon pool for all guests and a shallow pool for kids. The lagoon pool is not heated, so it was rather chilly during our early June visit. I jumped in there a few times, mostly to cool off, but it was too brisk for me to spend much time in there.

Next door to the kids club is a nice gym.  I rarely saw anyone there. For working out I usually opted to run around the area more than spending time in the gym, but this is well equipped for most basic needs. There is also free access to a larger fitness center a short distance away, and this includes a 25 meter lap pool for those interested.

Dining options at the Park Hyatt Mallorca

There are several restaurants in the grounds. We ate in most of them during our stay, but usually ate off site other than for breakfast. Breakfast is in Balearic, and there is an extensive buffet, plus a menu of made to order items. Typical of most high-end properties, especially in Europe, breakfast is very expensive. Thankfully for us, my Hyatt status meant no breakfast charges on our bill, which was great.

Food here was tasty, and service was wonderful. My daughter loved seeing her “mermaid friend” each morning. She asked my daughter about the pool, there was some mention of mermaids, and from then on the nickname stuck. There were a lot of nice interactions with staff during our stay, but this one person in particular at breakfast made an extra effort to make our daughter feel welcomed.

We ate in the tapas bar (called Tapas Bar) on our first night and occasionally had snacks around the pool. There is also a market type place open most of the day (Café sa Plaça, pictured below), and an option for grab and go meals. Finally, there is an Asian restaurant on property as well, with the creative name “Asia”. We love Asian food, but Spanish food is one of our favorites, so we stuck with more local options. The food we had on property was good, even though the restaurant names are unimaginative. We had most dinners and lunches elsewhere while we were out and about.

Park Suite at the Park Hyatt Mallorca

The suite we were assigned is large and perfect for our needs. Lots of space, and nicely furnished. This is among the better suite upgrades I’ve received. Better yet, as I later found out, even though I requested one of the four suite upgrades I get thanks to my Hyatt status, the upgrade was confirmed in this suite for free. Our room was on the ground level, and we had large porches where we could enjoy sitting outside, and there are also lounge chairs in the adjacent grass.

The door to our room opened into the living room, with a couch, table , and what looks like a fireplace. There is also a dining table, and a large L-shaped desk. Our daughters roll-away bed was placed behind the couch, which meant she had her own room for sleeping, and it was mostly out-of-the-way the rest of the time.

Also in the living room was a mini-bar and coffee station, with a tea kettle and an espresso machine. The small fridge in the cabinet has some mini bar items, but there is a little room for us to keep some snacks.

There is also a separate bedroom, with a king sized bed and a day bed. There are lots of windows throughout the suite, and several have exterior access. Behind the bed is a stylized map of Mallorca. Oddly, someone marked some location on the north of the island in marker on the glass. Odd. Being a new property, it is pretty high tech, and there are both AC and USB power points on each night stand.

The bathroom was large, with double sinks, a large shower and separate bathtub. Oddly, I apparently only have a photo of the toilet and nothing else in the bathroom. Sorry for the oversight, but this is somewhat of a tradition. According to my wife, I take too many toilet photos. As usual, she’s correct.

At least my daughter has traveled enough to not ask about the “drinking fountain” next to the toilet anymore…

This room was a great oasis for this part of the trip. We didn’t spend a lot of time here other than to sleep, and occasionally relax between activities. I feel like we got great value out of the points redemption and the free upgrade was excellent.

Exploring Canyamel, Capdepera and beyond

While the hotel is great, we didn’t go all this way to sit at a hotel, as nice as it is. The Park Hyatt Mallorca is located on the eastern side of the island of Mallorca. It is not on a beach. I usually prefer pools to beaches anyway, but we did do a few trips to nearby beaches.

The hotel is around a mile from a small town called Canyamel, and there is a nice beach there. We also ate dinner there most evenings. Prices in town are still at inflated tourist prices, but much more reasonable than on property. Depending on our mood, we biked, walked, and sometimes drove into town.

On the eastern edge of Canyamel is a set of caves, Coves d’Artà which was worth a visit. While I could mostly get by with my mediocre Castillian Spanish most of the time in Mallorca, our tour guide at the caves provided commentary in English, Catalan, Spanish, and German. He also offered Italian and French, but there were no takers in our group.

Here is a view from inside:

We also ventured slightly further away, for a grocery store and a few more dining options, in Capdepera. We also visited a castle here, apparently the largest on Mallorca. I would have spent more time here looking around, but the excitement of a castle wears off a 3 year old pretty fast.

Final Thoughts

We really enjoyed our stay at the Park Hyatt Mallorca. The property is lovely. Lots of stone work, and a modern design, in a new property that is very well maintained. The staff we encountered were lovely; from reception, valets, and my daughters “mermaid friend” in the restaurant, all went out of their way to be helpful. There is definitely a pride in this property among the staff.

Prices at the hotel are not cheap, but there can be some deals. A points redemption is 20,000 points per night, and cash rates seem to range between €300-500 or so. We got a great value with the excellent suite, and would return here if in Mallorca or close by. Definitely recommended.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Review: Park Suite at the Park Hyatt Mallorca.

Satellite WiFi on American Airlines domestic fleet

How can you tell if your flight will have either 2Ku or Viasat? Different radome the plane. Gogo ATG has a series of small antennas on the side of planes. Both Viasat and Gogo 2Ku require a larger radome on top of the fuselage. It looks like the below. It is somewhat longer and thinner than some other satellite radomes, such as for Viasat.

There is likely no way to know in advance which type of WiFi your plane will have until it pulls into the gate. The unofficial American Airlines fleet page does keep track of which planes have updated WiFi. That site is a useful source if you want to monitor your particular aircraft.

As you can seen on the fleet page, these WiFi upgrades are moving fast across the American fleet. A recent trip had one flight with a Viasat plane (a 737), and another with a legacy US Airways A319 that had 2Ku. I was glad to finally test out the higher speed Gogo solution.

Connecting to 2Ku on American

My last American flight was a ~300 or so mile short hop on an Airbus 319. I noticed the 2Ku radome, so I was interested to test things out. I have a corporate iPass account, which works well on various in flight WiFi systems, including those provided by Gogo and Panasonic, but not Viasat on American. After sitting down, I couldn’t connect right away, but after being seated for a while, I noticed the network (gogoinflight) became available while we were still at the gate. I was able to connect and get online before takeoff, which is a nice improvement on the older Gogo ATG system, which is only active above 10,000 feet. The internet speed was noticeably faster than old Gogo, which was nice. Here are the results of the speed test I did:

If I recall correctly, this test was done while still on the ground in Charlotte, but speed remained fast throughout the flight. Given the short duration of the flight, I didn’t even bother getting online on my laptop. WiFi access is available for charge, but live TV content is free. Eventually seats will have mounts for to hold personal devices, although my case worked for this purpose. As I was on an A319, there are power ports, but if on a A320, there are currently none.

Streaming Live TV on personal devices on American Airlines

I did connect to live TV, which is a new feature American has rolled out on their 2Ku equipped planes. Eventually this service will roll out to Viasat equipped planes as well. Below is more information from an AA press release, and here is a link to the full document.

FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines has activated free live TV on its first 100 domestic aircraft, with plans to extend live TV and high-speed internet across its long-term mainline narrowbody fleet of more than 700 aircraft during 2019. American is already the only U.S. airline to offer live TV on international flights. All channels stream directly to customers’ laptops, phones or tablets free of charge. Live TV is easy to use and available from gate to gate – customers can choose it from American’s lineup of free entertainment that includes hundreds of movies and on-demand television shows.

You can watch twelve live TV channels powered by DISH on domestic flights:

Before we took off, I got my tablet set up in the seat in front, and started streaming live TV. Nothing particularly urgent I wanted to watch during my short flight, but I was glad it worked, and it was very easy to set up and play.

Final thoughts on Gogo 2Ku on American

This is a definite improvement from typically painfully slow Gogo ATG technology. I didn’t notice any significant difference between 2Ku and Viasat in terms of speed. Both are fast, and speed tests are similar. Having access to Live TV is a nice plus too. Hopefully this will be added to more planes soon.

Have you flown on an American flight equipped with Gogo 2Ku?

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Review: Gogo 2Ku Satellite WiFi and Live TV on American Airlines.

Do This If Applying for the Card

First of all, if you want this card, do yourself a big favor.  DON’T apply through American Express directly through your online account or public link.  You’ll only receive the mediocre 25,000 point sign-up bonus.  To earn the 50,000 point bonus, you can try this link in incognito mode as detailed in Omar’s post.  (It didn’t work for me, however.)  Alternatively, try a personal referral link; see Doctor of Credit’s post for more info.  Or, e-mail or DM me and I’m happy to share mine with you.

More Grocery Bang for the Buck

The “grocery” category does contain some significant limitations.  Notably, wholesale clubs (Sam’s, Costco, etc.) do NOT count as grocery spending.  So, those of you who buy groceries at any of those places largely miss out.  In addition, Wal-Mart codes as a “discount store”, not a grocery store, even though Supercenters sell groceries.  There is, however, a possible workaround for the Wal-Mart problem…

Try Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market

I never really paid attention to this, but Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market DOES code as a grocery store.  If you live in a major metro area, chances are you have a Neighborhood Market nearby.  Here in Plano, there are three locations within a 10-minute drive of our house.  If you typically buy groceries at Wal-Mart, it might be worth driving a few extra miles to shop at Neighborhood Market instead.

Even if you don’t usually buy groceries at Wal-Mart (I don’t), there are other ways to maximize your 4x bonus.

Dinner Box Services

If you use “dinner box” services like Hello Fresh, that spend also codes as grocery spend.  Amex Offers also periodically pop up for these.  For example, I recently received an offer for $20 off a Hello Fresh purchase of $65 or above.  Potentially, you can both save money AND earn the 4x points.

Grocery Store Pharmacies

I fill many of my prescriptions at Kroger. Their pricing usually runs about the same, and I like the convenience as it’s literally 2 minutes away.  Better yet, the card issuers don’t distinguish between pharmacy and store purchases.  It all comes through as “Kroger”, and codes as a grocery purchase.  Obviously, check the pricing on your medication.  But if your grocery store prices the same or lower, that’s one way to rack up the points.  As an added bonus, many grocers award bonus fuel rewards points for prescriptions.  Kroger, for example, awards 50 points per prescription.

I’ll also note that many grocer pharmacies also stock pet meds.  If your four-legged child takes medication, like Revolution for fleas, check the cost at your grocery store.  It might be worth getting it filled at the store instead of the vet’s office.

Gift Cards

This is perhaps the best way to boost grocery spend if you don’t buy a lot otherwise.  Most grocery stores carry a TON of gift cards.  This is a sample of the current selection at my neighborhood Kroger as a data point:

I sometimes use this strategy to max out the Chase Freedom quarterly grocery bonus, but it bears repeating here.  You can buy gift cards for stuff other than groceries.  You’ll even notice some travel-related gift cards like Southwest, Delta, and Airbnb.  Or, if your store also sells gas, you can buy that store’s gift cards and use them at the gas station. Effectively, this allows you to convert non-bonused or lower-bonused spend to 4x spend with little effort.  Gift cards also often earn 2x or more fuel rewards as an added bonus.

Now, I don’t necessarily recommend Visa gift cards, as the purchase fee significantly eats into the value of the points.  I also suggest buying cards only for merchants you actually plan to shop at soon.  (If you use gift cards for manufactured spend, do so at your own risk.)

If you decide to buy gift cards, DO NOT try to buy them from your grocer online.  I found out the hard way that these often code as gift card purchases, thus leaving them ineligible for bonus points.  Instead, just take them to the checkout counter and pay for them with your groceries. Reader Kevin below also brings up a good point – use a little discretion when buying gift cards.  A hundred bucks or two of gift cards added to your regular grocery purchase should work.  Trying to buy $2,000 worth at a time might be a different story.

Final Thoughts

I don’t usually get excited about credit cards, but the new Amex Gold got my attention.  As someone who spends a lot on groceries, and as an airline free agent who can use the fee credit, I get plenty of value for the annual fee.  Even if you don’t spend much on groceries, though, there are ways to maximize the bonus on this card, without too much work.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Maximizing the Grocery Bonus with the New Amex Gold Card.

Today Hyatt is announcing more extensive perks for all its members when they visit Exhale Spa locations. That includes the ability to earn and redeem World of Hyatt points for fitness classes and spa treatments. In addition, Explorist and Globalist members will enjoy complimentary perks. You must link your Hyatt and Exhale accounts on the aforementioned microsite to enjoy these perks.

Earning Hyatt Points at Exhale

World of Hyatt members can earn 10 base points per dollar spent at participating Exhale locations. This is double the 5 base points per dollar you would earn for staying at a Hyatt hotel.

However, bonus points for using a Hyatt credit card or having World of Hyatt status are similar. That means 10% bonus for Discoverist, 20% bonus for Explorist, and 30% bonus for Globalist members. If you pay with the new World of Hyatt credit card, you’ll get 4 bonus points per dollar. (Using the original Hyatt credit card–no longer available for new cardmembers–will earn just 3 bonus points per dollar.)

Consider a hypothetical scenario where you spend $200 including tax and tip on an hour-long spa massage. That would earn a Globalist member 17 points per dollar when paying with a World of Hyatt credit card–a total of 3,400 World of Hyatt points toward a future Exhale treatment or a Hyatt hotel stay.

Redeeming Hyatt Points at Exhale

You can also redeem the World of Hyatt points you already have at Exhale, including points transferred from a partner like Ultimate Rewards.

• 2,000 points for a free fitness class
• 12,000 points for an hour-long massage or facial

It seems to me that 2,000 points is a fair price to pay for a class. Many one-off yoga or barre classes cost about $25-35, which is consistent with my valuation of 1.5 cents per Hyatt point. Obviously you can pay less at some facilities if you have a monthly membership.

The redemption price of a spa treatment may be a little high. Many of the treatments listed on Exhale’s website are around $150, which implies you’re getting a redemption value of just 1.25 cents per point. That will change after you include tax or if you pick one of the more expensive treatments. Facials may be the better deal.

Complimentary Services for Explorist and Globalist Members

Explorists are mid-tier members in the World of Hyatt program and will receive one free Week of Wellbeing each year at a participating Exhale location. This includes unlimited fitness classes as well as discounts on retail purchases and spa treatments during that week. You do not need to be staying at a Hyatt hotel to enjoy the Week of Wellbeing, but you could certainly arrange it to coincide with your trip if you don’t live near an Exhale location already.

Globalists are Hyatt’s top-tier members. In addition to the Week of Wellbeing, they will also receive complimentary access to Exhale classes when they are staying at a nearby Hyatt hotel. That includes regular rates, free night awards, and Points + Cash awards.

These two benefits reflect Hyatt’s commitment to its customers’ wellbeing, understanding that regular travel takes a toll on their health and sanity. The Week of Wellbeing provides an opportunity to rest and recharge. Complimentary classes for Globalist members help these individuals stay fit on the road. Maintaining a routine is particularly difficult when your work involves traveling 50+ days of the year.

Sharing Benefits

I specifically asked Hyatt for more information about sharing benefits with another individual. Between my wife and me, I am typically the one who earns status. I also have zero interest in visiting a spa. Every time we get a free spa credit at a hotel, it goes to my wife. She even uses my employee wellness benefit at work to pay for her yoga classes.

Globalist members cannot share their complimentary Exhale classes when staying at Hyatt hotels. This benefit is specific to the member. I received a less clear answer in regards to the free Week of Wellbeing or the ability to earn and redeem points for another person’s treatment. All of that is handled after you link your Exhale and World of Hyatt accounts. It sounded like it depends: if the computer allows you to use your Exhale account to book treatments for another person, then maybe they can enjoy your Hyatt benefits.

Participating Properties

My biggest complaint about the Exhale partnership is the limited number of locations. They are heavily concentrated on the East Coast with only three west of the Mississippi River. One of those, ironically, is inside a Hilton hotel. Another is located inside the American Express Centurion Lounge at DFW. I can’t provide you my opinion of the quality of Exhale’s treatments because the Exhale Spa at DFW has always been too busy to secure a treatment.

In any case, the DFW location is not participating in the Hyatt relationship. Most other locations are participating, but if it’s a private location then you’ll need to be eligible to visit before you can utilize your Hyatt benefits.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Hyatt Offers New Wellness Benefits at Exhale Spa.

Be sure to brush up on Omar’s basic strategy for booking award travel. It’s not enough to just visit a website and search from point-to-point. Sometimes it takes some coaxing to make the space appear, and then you can piece it together.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Aeroplan is an independent organization that was spun off from Air Canada years ago, and Air Canada will soon replace them with a new in-house loyalty program. But for now Aeroplan remains a good way to search for its own award space as well as space on other Star Alliance carriers such as United and Lufthansa.

Generally there are few issues with phantom award space–instances where an award might appear available online but cannot actually be booked. What Aeroplan is not good at are itineraries with connecting flights. You might benefit from starting your search by looking for each segment one flight at a time, but that’s good practice with every program.

First and business class awards for travel on Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A380 are not possible with Aeroplan miles. Look at using Singapore KrisFlyer miles instead.

Use the Aeroplan website to find award space for Air Canada and these partner airlines:

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Air France and KLM operate a single loyalty program–Flying Blue–for both airlines. You can also use it to book travel on a variety of SkyTeam partners. It may work better if you’ve been having travel using Delta’s website. However, not all partners are visible online. Non-alliance members such as Copa, Japan Airlines, and Bangkok Airways will need to be researched through other means.

You can use the Air France (Flying Blue) website to find awards for Air France, KLM, and all other SkyTeam alliance members:

There are also some non-alliance partners that cannot be researched on the SkyTeam website. Instead, look these up on some of the suggested sites below and then call Flying Blue to book:

• Comair — search on British Airways
• Copa Airlines — search on United Airlines
• GOL Airlines — search on Delta Air Lines
• Japan Airlines (JAL) — search on British Airways
• Malaysia Airlines — search on British Airways

There are some carriers that cannot be researched online at all, so you will need to call Flying Blue to find award space and book:

• Air Corsica
• Air Mauritius
• Bangkok Airways
• Jet Airways
• Twin Jet
• Ukraine International Airlines

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Long-time readers know that I have a fond relationship with Alaska Airlines after 11 years living in Seattle, and they continue an independent streak forging separate relationships with each of their partners rather than joining a single alliance.

Sometimes that creates difficulty finding the award you want or predicting what the price will be. In other ways, however, it means some very generous routing rules and low prices compared to what other partners charge for the same flight. One of my favorite redemptions is booking first class on Cathay Pacific for just 70,000 miles. That’s nearly half what you’ll pay with American AAdvantage, and you’ll get a free stopover.

You can find award space for Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and almost all of Alaska’s partners directly on their website:

There are only two airlines that cannot be searched for on the Alaska Airlines website:

• Cathay Pacific — search on British Airways
• LATAM — search on British Airways

Yes, you can use the Alaska Airlines website to search for travel between two cities outside the United States. There’s no requirement that you have to begin travel in the U.S. I just checked and was able to easily find business class awards on JAL between Shanghai and Tokyo.

Each of Alaska’s partners has its own award chart, and some of the awards you might expect to find are missing. This means you’ll get a negative result, even if you know the airline flies that route or there is an award available through a different partner.

For example, British Airways does not have a published award using Alaska miles for travel wholly within Europe; there is only an award for travel from the U.S. to Europe. That means you can book a flight from New York to London to Paris, but you cannot book a single short segment from London to Paris by itself. You can still book such awards using American AAdvantage, British Airways Avios, and a variety of other programs — just not Alaska Mileage Plan.

Bottom line: be familiar with the award chart. Check it before you start searching, because the flight you want to book might not be an option with Alaska miles. At least two partners, Cathay Pacific and LATAM, are not available at all on Alaska’s website due to a compatibility issue. Just search for award space on the British Airways or Qantas websites, then call Alaska Airlines to book it by phone.

Alaska Airlines also has a partnership with Singapore Airlines, but it is still not yet possible to redeem Alaska miles for travel on Singapore Airlines. Finnair was another recent addition that took many months before award travel could be booked.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a member of Star Alliance (and thus a partner of United Airlines) and has a very accurate search tool. The only issues are that it’s a little complicated to use–at least that’s my general impression. The award travel rules are so complex that understanding them can be tricky. For example, ANA requires you to book round-trip awards, which means you also need to search for round-trip awards.

Besides ANA, you can find award space for most Star Alliance carriers on ANA’s website:

Like Aeroplan, you may not be able to book some business and first class awards on Singapore Airlines. Non-alliance partners will not be searchable at all on ANA’s website. Check out these other websites if you need to find award space and then call ANA to book:

• Air Dolomiti — search on Lufthansa
• Air Macau – call ANA
• Etihad Airways — search on Etihad (look for a “Guest” award
• Eurowings — search on Lufthansa
• Garuda Indonesia — search on Air France (Flying Blue)
• Jet Airways — call ANA
• Philippine Airlines — call ANA
• Virgin Atlantic — search on Delta Air Lines

American Airlines AAdvantage

Despite improvements in recent years to Delta, United, and even Alaska Airlines’ websites, I am still disappointed by the quality of the American Airlines award search tool. It’s not even as comprehensive as the results you can get from British Airways and Qantas. Only a few partners are available online in addition to American Airlines:

Note that American only allows you to redeem miles on Hawaiian for travel within Hawaii–not to the mainland–and to other Pacific destinations. In general the limited number of partners means you will have difficulty finding and booking longer itineraries that include connections on multiple airlines.

I strongly recommend you use another site, such as British Airways or Qantas, if you are traveling anywhere other than North America or Europe. This includes travel on:

• Cathay Pacific
• Japan Airlines
• LATAM Airlines
• S7 Airlines
• Sri Lankan Airlines
• Qatar Airways

Still more partners are not members of the Oneworld Alliance and can’t be found using the British Airways website. You’ll need to either call American Airlines or search other sites if you want to find award space for these carriers:

• Air Tahiti Nui — search on ExpertFlyer
• Cape Air — call American Airlines
• Etihad Airways — search on Etihad Airways
• Jet Airways — search on Jet Airways
• Seaborne Airlines — call American Airlines

British Airways Executive Club

British Airways’ Executive Club program issues Avios (not “miles” or “points”) and is one of the best ways to search for award space within the Oneworld alliance. It includes a few carriers that American Airlines leaves out, and recent improvements have removed the annoying messages that used to prompt you to fly British Airways–even on routes that they didn’t operate. I’m also a big fan of the Qantas website, which is more difficult to use but has a nice calendar feature.

You can use British Airways to search for award space on British Airways and these partner carriers:

Award space on non-alliance partners is not available on the British Airways website. I recommend searching elsewhere, and once you find the space you want you can call British Airways at 1-800-452-1201 to book; they should waive the service fee. You can find partner award space on these websites:

• Air Lingus — search on United Airlines
• Alaska Airlines — search on American Airlines

Remember that British Airways uses a distance-based award chart and prices each segment separately. That means adding connections will cost more than booking non-stop. However, it also means you can add as many connections and stopovers as you want.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles is one of the more difficult programs to utilize because it requires transferring points from other programs and uses a less common distance-based award chart, similar to British Airways. But it still has several good values if you plan to fly on Cathay Pacific (and extra award space). You can also search on the Asia Miles website for a few other carriers:

You’ll need to search for award space for other partners on another website or call Asia Miles for assistance:

• Aer Lingus — search on United Airlines
• Air China — search on Aeroplan
• Air New Zealand — search on Aeroplan
• American Airlines — search on British Airways
• Bangkok Airways — call Asia Miles
• Gulf Air — call Asia Miles
• Japan Airlines — search on British Airways
• Jet Airways — call Asia Miles
• LATAM — search on British Airways
• Malaysia Airlines — search on British Airways
• Royal Brunei Airlines — call Asia Miles
• S7 Airlines — search on British Airways
• Sri Lankan Airlines — search on British Airways

Delta Air Lines SkyMiles

Delta is one of the most popular domestic U.S. carriers, even though I don’t think very highly of its loyalty program. Keep min mind that you will never find international first class award space when you search with SkyMiles since the program doesn’t offer those awards; another program like Air France/KLM Flying Blue might provide better results.

However, like Flying Blue you can use the Delta website to search for award space on all SkyTeam partners as well as a few others non-alliance partners that are specific to SkyMiles:

There are also two partner airlines that you can’t find on Delta’s website, but you can search for them through other means:

• Air Tahiti Nui — search on ExpertFlyer
• Czech Airlines — search on Air France (Flying Blue)

Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank

Japan Airlines (JAL) is like American Airlines in that you can only use JAL to search for a few airlines besides itself. It’s interesting that they aren’t all Oneworld Alliance members. They include:

• Air France
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Dragon
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates
• Qantas

Award space for most other partners will be found on the British Airways or Qantas websites, after which you can call JAL to book them by phone:

• Alaska Airlines — search on American Airlines
• Bangkok Airways — call Japan Airlines
• China Eastern — search on Air France (Flying Blue)
• Finnair — search on British Airways
• Iberia — search on British Airways
• Jetstar Japan — call Japan Airlines
• Korean Air — search on Air France (Flying Blue)
• LATAM — search on British Airways
• Malayasia Airlines — search on British Airways
• Qatar Airways — search on British Airways
• Royal Jordanian — search on British Airways
• S7 Airlines — search on British Airways

Korean Air SkyPass

Korean Air SkyPass is not as convenient as it used to be since it ended the opportunity to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to miles. However, you can still get miles through other means. The program has enough value that it is worth keeping mind. Also, you must book through SkyPass if you want to travel in Korean Air first class–this challenge has the upside that award space is more available.

Besides Korean Air, you can use the SkyPass website to search for award space on several partner carriers:

Remember that you can also search for many of these partners on the Delta or Air France/KLM websites if you are trying to compare availability or are worried that one of them isn’t showing all your options. Note that if any part of your journey includes a partner airline, you’ll need to search for a SkyTeam award.

Some partners aren’t displayed on Korean Air’s website, so you’ll need to search for them in another place and then call Korean Air to book:

• Alaska Airlines — search on American Airlines
• Emirates — search on Alaska Airlines or Qantas
• Etihad — search on Etihad (look for a “Guest” award)
• GOL — search on Air France (Flying Blue)
• Hawaiian Airlines — search on American Airlines (does not work for mainland-Hawaii flights)
• Jet Airways — call Korean Air

Be aware that you can ask Korean Air to put your award on hold after you find award space. Take advantage of this before you transfer miles from another loyalty program since many transfers are one-way and irreversible. If you are booking travel for anyone other than yourself, those people must be family members.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

I’m a big fan of the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program and regular transfer miles there from a variety of other programs. It used to be that their website would not display award space on other carriers. However, recent improvements mean that you can now find award space on the Singapore Airlines website for all carriers:

* Non-alliance partners may not be available through the online search tool, but there are plans to add them. Until then, try calling KrisFlyer to book these airlines.

You can also use other sites if you prefer, such as United or Aeroplan to find award space on most Star Alliance partners. It used to be that there was a discount for booking Singapore Airlines award travel online (instead of by phone), but this is no longer the case.

United Airlines MileagePlus

I first started my journey to elite status with United Airlines, earning Premier Silver the first year and Premier 1K shortly thereafter. They remain one of the easiest ways to search for award space on United and Star Alliance partners, but they do sometimes suffer from a problem with phantom award space:

Finding award space on Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines is difficult. I recommend you use Jet Airways’ own site for the former, and use Aeroplan to find award space on the latter. You can then call United Airlines to book those awards. Like Aeroplan and ANA, you may have difficulty booking first or business class awards on Singapore Airlines.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

The biggest issue with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is that you can’t search for partner awards on their website. You can only use it for travel on Virgin Atlantic. Partner awards will need to be found elsewhere, and you can then call Virgin Atlantic to book by phone, at 1-800-365-9500. The award chart is still a good one for some purposes (and we’re even looking into adding it to the Award Maximizer soon).You can search for Virgin Atlantic on its own website, but here’s how to find award space for Virgin Atlantic partners airlines:

• Air New Zealand — search on United Airlines
• All Nippon Airways (ANA) — search on United Airlines
• Delta Air Lines — search on Air France (Flying Blue)
• Hawaiian Airlines — call Virgin Atlantic
• Jet Airways — call Virgin Atlantic
• Malaysia Airlines — search on British Airways
• Singapore Airlines — search on Aeroplan
• South African Airways — search on United Airlines
• Virgin Australia — search on Delta Air Lines

Note that rules for one-way travel are not the same for Virgin Atlantic and its partners. Normally one-way tickets cost half as much as round-trip if you fly on Virgin Atlantic. If you fly on a partner, the prices could be half, or they could be more. Each partner has different prices, much like Alaska Airlines and its partners.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at The Easy Guide to Finding Airline Award Space.

The DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles Resort and Spa is located approximately 20 minutes south of Seychelles International Airport (Aeroport de la Pointe Larue). From the airport, you can take a taxi, shuttle or bus to the southern coast of the island but in my opinion, driving a rental car is the best way to get to the hotel. The drive to Anse Forbans is easy to navigate and scenic as you pass through several beautiful beaches and cute towns along the way. Hotel parking at the DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles is provided free of charge.

Anse Forbans is located in a quieter part of the island. It’s away from the hustle and bustle of Victoria and Beau Vallon, and in my opinion, offers a more local vibe to the island. If you’re looking for a beachfront hotel with great ocean views, direct access to a private beach and hidden hiking trails away from the other tourists, then the DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles is meant for you.

With only 30 rooms, the hotel itself is very small and intimate. During my stay, I found the resort grounds to be calm and relaxing and it never felt crowded, even though it was fully booked. And as an added bonus, each and every room offers an amazing oceanfront view. That’s right; every room. No need to bribe the front desk attendant for an upgraded view here. 😉

On this trip, I used 140,000 Honors points for a two-night stay (70,000 Honors points per night, standard award) to celebrate my 40th birthday. I booked a regular King Deluxe room and as a Diamond Member, was later upgraded to a King Grand Deluxe room at check-in. When we arrived, my friend and I were greeted with a warm signature DoubleTree cookie and a glass of juice as the front desk attendant processed our check-in.

DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles King Grand Deluxe Room

At check-in, we were assigned room 301, an end room located on the top floor. The room was spacious, airy and incredibly bright with lots of natural lighting. The large floor to ceiling windows let in a ton of natural lighting and the blackout curtains were perfect for sleeping in past sunrise. I loved how open this room was and it allowed two adults to walk around freely without being on top of each other.

The room was minimally decorated with subtle pops of color and it wasn’t cluttered with unnecessary furniture. If you’re traveling with kids (or a third wheel), the room can easily accommodate a proper roll-away bed without impeding the living space.

The enclosed bathroom had an open shower and dual sinks with plenty of counter space for two adults to spread out. Crabtree and Evelyn bath and body products were provided for our convenience and personal hygiene products such as shaving kits and deodorant were provided complimentary upon request. I love it when hotels do this as I’m always forgetting stuff at home.

Other room amenities included a Nespresso machine, water kettle, fridge and in-room safe.

The room itself was very nice but in my opinion, the best part of the King Grand Deluxe room was the oversized balcony. It was spacious with a large whirlpool tub, sitting area, and a two-person lounger. We spent a lot of time out here as it was the perfect place to have a cup of coffee in the mornings and chill out with a glass of wine at night. We could have hung out here all day and night if the rest of the resort wasn’t so amazingly pretty. The large opening provided great views of the pool and beach below but the enclosed walls offered defined spaces and privacy from the other hotel guests.

I mean, just look at this view from our room. It’s postcard perfect, right?

DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles Resort and Spa amenities

Resort amenities included a fitness center, spa, outdoor infinity pool and two restaurants. If you wanted to, you could literally spend your entire vacation here without ever leaving the resort.

The fitness center was small but it had all the basic equipment to maintain any vacation body, including cardio equipment, a workout bench and some free weights.

The eforea spa offered an extensive menu of services from manicures and facials to full-body massages. I got a 30-minute massage during my stay and it was really nice. The technician was great and It was so relaxing to get a massage with a nice cool breeze and the sound of the waves crashing outside.

The Les Palms restaurant offered a locally inspired menu for breakfast and dinner. Hilton Gold and Diamond members receive free breakfast at the Les Palms restaurant. Breakfast options included both hot and cold dishes, an omelet station and a “make your own” juice bar. The food was tasty and it filled us up all the way to dinner time

The DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles Resort and Spa has direct access to a small private beach with a protected bay and soft white sand. Water sports equipment such as kayaks and snorkeling gear are provided free of charge to all guests. On our first morning, the water was totally calm and we took a couple of kayaks out. It was so cool to be out on the water, watching the sea life below and it was even cooler that we didn’t have to pay for it.

Service-wise, all the employees we encountered were top-notch. They were friendly, attentive and personable. On one morning, I was talking to the front desk attendant regarding us having to leave early the next day to catch a ferry to La Digue. Knowing that we would miss our included hotel breakfast, he offered to have breakfast to go waiting for us before our departure. It was such a nice gesture and the packed breakfast totally filled our hungry bellies and made our morning.

DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles Resort and Spa bottom line

Overall, it was a quick trip but I really enjoyed our time here at the DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles Resort and Spa. I loved the location away from all the traffic and craziness of Victoria and Beau Vallon and the surrounding beaches in the area were pristine and beautiful. The room was clean, comfortable and spacious and the oversized balcony provided a private retreat to enjoy the stunning views and listen to the waves. The service was attentive and the hotel amenities were definitely appreciated. I really enjoyed the DoubleTree Allamanda Resort and Spa and I would recommend it to everyone.

Have you stayed at the DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles Resort and Spa? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!

The other related trip reports in this series:

1. United Polaris Lounge, San Francisco
2. Turkish Airlines Business Class, San Francisco to Istanbul
3. Here’s How to Get a Free Day Tour in Istanbul
4. Here’s How to Get a Free Transit Hotel in Istanbul
5. Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Istanbul to Seychelles
6. DoubleTree Allamanda Resort and Spa, Seychelles
7. Hilton Seychelles Northlome
8. Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Seychelles to Istanbul
9. LOT Polish Airlines Business Class, Warsaw to Los Angeles

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Review: DoubleTree Allamanda Seychelles Resort and Spa.

Note: this post is part of my trip report series about my quick weekend trip to Belgium.  Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.

Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

• Schiphol Boulevard 701, Schiphol, 1118 BN, Netherlands
• Website: https://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/netherlands/hilton-amsterdam-airport-schiphol-AMSAPHI/index.html
• Amenities: executive lounge, pool, fitness center, meeting rooms, parking (€49/day), restaurant, bar, business center

Location: attached to the Schiphol Airport complex.  There are several airport hotels at Schiphol, but the Hilton is the farthest from the terminals.  Even so, it’s only about a 10-minute walk.  After clearing passport control, first look for this sign directing you to “Hotels”.

Once you pass the Schiphol train station, look for this sign to continue towards the airport hotels.

Soon, you’ll pass the other hotels; continuing following the signs to the Hilton.

Eventually, you’ll reach the doors to the Hilton lobby.

As mentioned, though it’s the farthest of Schiphol’s airport hotels, the walk took only 10 minutes at a moderate pace.  To reach the Amsterdam city center, simply walk back to the signs for the trains.  Local trains take you to Amsterdam Centraal in 15-20 minutes; tickets cost €4.80 per person.

Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – Check-In and Common Areas

I checked in via the Hilton Honors app, and selected an airport view room on the 5th floor.  The check-in agent, however, had a very pleasant surprise in store.  She advised me that I’d been upgraded to an Executive Floor airport view room on the 11th floor.  Woot!  I must say, after a couple of nice upgrades this year, I’m rethinking the value of Honors Gold status.

Anyway, the hotel lobby feature a large atrium with some modern art and furniture.  It does have a definite IKEA vibe, but then again, I suppose that’s appropriate given the location.  Also notice the small kids’ play area tucked behind the escalator.

There is also a pretty nice bar at the back of the lobby.

From the 11th floor, you can appreciate the hotel’s circular design, and the spacious central atrium.  You can also see here that some rooms face the atrium, with no exterior windows.

You can also relax in the hotel’s indoor pool.  Or get in a workout in the fairly small fitness center.

Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – Guest Rooms

As mentioned earlier, the hotel upgraded me to an Executive Floor room on the 11th floor.  The “King Executive Room” measures a modest 290 square feet, with one king size bed.  The room definitely feels a bit small, though still comfortable.  Helpfully, both nightstands contain a plug (Euro-standard, so bring an adapter).

These rooms also feature a mural of Amsterdam above the headboard.

In the center of the room is a flat-screen TV and a chaise-lounge.  I’m not sure I get the placement of the lounge; you can’t watch TV from there, or look out the window.

Between the sitting area and bathroom is a coffee maker and minibar.

To the left is a small closet with a safe.  Should you need more storage space, you can actually shove quite a few small bags underneath the bed.

In the corner is a proper desk and chair, though I found the chair a bit uncomfortable.  The desk includes a multi-plug power strip by the wall.  I do like the desk’s placement by the window.  Natural daylight is always preferable to a lamp while working.  Though the view out the window can get…distracting, as I’ll get to later.

The bathroom is reasonably sized compared to the relatively small room.  It contains a spacious sink area, along with a walk-in shower with hand-held shower head.  Amenities include Hilton’s standard Peter Thomas Roth products.

I’ve saved the best part of the room for last.  Remember my mentioning the distraction of the view outside the window by the desk?  That’s right – check out that view of the airport out the window.

The great thing about this view?  You get a panorama of the terminal buildings, apron, and runways.  And at Schiphol, there’s never a shortage of airplane porn to gawk at.

So yeah, if you’re even a minor league avgeek, good luck getting any work done from that desk!

Like most Hiltons, this property offers free WiFi for Honors members booking direct.  Speeds seemed pretty good; I made it through a half hour Vonage call with no issues.  Also, unlike most Hiltons, the network doesn’t boot you off when your phone goes into sleep mode.

Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – Executive Lounge

My upgraded room included access to the Executive Lounge on the 10th floor.  The club occupies a decent sized space, with seating for perhaps 25 or so.  From the entrance, the lounge opens up into a central dining area.  A handful of tables lines the windows, providing good airport views.

Just past the dining area is a larger central seating area, with an assortment of loungers and bar stools facing the atrium.  At the back of this section is a small business center, with a workstation and a printer.

This area also contains a couple of couches if you want more space to relax with a view.

A small library rounds out the very back of the lounge.

I made it to the lounge a few minutes before 8, just before the attendant picked up the evening snack selection.  It’s nothing spectacular; just some hummus and assorted breads, cold cuts, and cheese and fruit.  Frankly it made me glad I went into the city for pancakes.  But if you’re just looking for something to munch on while sipping a drink and planespotting, it’s fine.  Note that liquor is kept out only when snacks are out until 8 pm.  After that time, it’s beer and wine only.

Speaking of beer, it’s in the drinks refrigerator at the end of the buffet line, along with a coffee machine.

Honors Gold guests upgraded to Executive Level rooms receive their breakfast benefit either in the lounge or in the main restaurant.  However, as I had an early flight, I skipped breakfast at the hotel.

Final Thoughts

I thought the Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol was quite good for an airport hotel.  Small rooms are a minus, and the Executive Lounge snack situation looked subpar.  But I found the rooms and public areas well-appointed, the upgrade was great, and you can’t beat the airport views.  And of course, the short walk to the terminals and easy access to the city center works well.  It’s a good choice if you need an airport hotel in Amsterdam.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Review: Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

New Zealand is one of my favorite places to visit, so being more comfortable on the long flight down under sounds great. Not surprisingly, Air New Zealand already has a cheeky video featuring this new product. If nothing else, enjoy the Kiwi accents:

Air New Zealand and Allbirds collaborate on an eyemask for business class passengers

Air New Zealand and innovative footwear brand Allbirds have joined forces to create the Bird Mask. The Kiwi flag carrier features New Zealand products when available, so this seems like a natural fit. They came up with an intelligently designed eye mask to help customers sleep better and wake up fresh. Like Allbirds’ footwear, the sensationally soft mask is made from sustainable, ZQ-certified New Zealand merino wool and castor bean oil-based foam.

The Bird Mask has molded eye cups, similar to what Qantas offers in their Martin Grant amenity kit for First Class. The Qantas mask was certainly comfortable, and the eye cups did work well. The beak part of the mask looks strange, but is designed to keep light out which is the whole point. Air New Zealand claims to have tested this on board, so hopefully it works as well as they say.

Getting your own Bird Mask

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a sample of the Bird Mask to try for myself. The Bird Mask will be available exclusively in Air New Zealand’s Business Premier cabin on selected North American routes throughout October, including the airline’s daily NZ1/NZ2 service between Los Angeles and London.

I didn’t know much about Allbirds before this, but I may look into their shoes, they sound quite nice.  I’m a fan of merino wool products, and I appreciate their sustainability efforts.  I guess I’ll have to get on Air New Zealand soon to get my own Bird Mask.

What about you?  Have you flown with the Bird Mask?

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Allbirds Brings the Bird Mask to Air New Zealand Business Class.