Experiences

My own travels and trip reports – pictures of my own use of points and discounts on airlines and in hotels around the world.

Photo summary: to the 2012 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne! April 7, 2012: Although it’s mostly what you’d presume from this site, I’m not completely obsessed with points and travel. One of my other ‘things’ is motorsport and a general interest in cars, and I promised myself that this year I’d try and get to the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. With a friend coming along for the [...] Read more – ‘Photo summary: to the 2012 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne!’.
QF128 SYD-HKG Qantas A380 Business Class review April 1, 2012: I was originally booked into Qantas Premium Economy as per my outbound ticket, and was considering burning 25,000 Qantas points on a upgrade to Business to maximise sleep opportunities on this overnight flight. As luck would have it, on rechecking my seat assignment on the morning of the flight, I was no longer shown in [...] Read more – ‘QF128 SYD-HKG Qantas A380 Business Class review’.
Cathay Pacific’s ‘The Cabin’ Lounge review March 11, 2012: When Cathay Pacific opened the Cabin in late 2010, it gave a glimpse into a new modern design philosophy for their ‘hard product’ – lounges, seating, etc. – which would be rolling out across their network in the coming years, such as the refurbishment of The Wing, and their new Business Class seating. I was [...] Read more – ‘Cathay Pacific’s ‘The Cabin’ Lounge review’.
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Hong Kong – Review February 25, 2012: Before spending some time in The Wing, one of Cathay Pacific’s many Business Class lounges in Hong Kong, I scouted out the Qantas Business Lounge which is used for Qantas & British Airways departures to Melbourne, Sydney and London. You’d be able to access this lounge if travealling with Qantas or British Airways in Business [...] Read more – ‘Qantas Business Class Lounge, Hong Kong – Review’.
Cathay Pacific’s The Wing Lounge review – Photo tour, post 2012 refurbishment February 13, 2012: Cathay has 3 major lounges at HKG – The Wing, The Pier (both with Business and First Class sections), and The Cabin (Business class only). On my return to Sydney, I was able to access both The Wing and The Cabin thanks to my Qantas Gold status, and a 2 hour delay which meant me [...] Read more – ‘Cathay Pacific’s The Wing Lounge review – Photo tour, post 2012 refurbishment’.
Sydney – Hong Kong QF127 (747) Premium Economy review February 11, 2012: My flight up to Hong Kong was on QF127, the daytime departure from Sydney at 11.50am. Although Qantas have recently started flying the A380 on this route, 3 days out of 7 are still operated by a 747 which was the case for this journey. As this work trip was booked only 10 days before [...] Read more – ‘Sydney – Hong Kong QF127 (747) Premium Economy review’.
Qantas First Class Lounge, Sydney – pre-QF127 review February 1, 2012: I’m fairly fortunate to have Qantas Gold status – I don’t travel ALL that much, especially compared to the real air warriors. I normally bank 4 or 5 international trips a year – but thanks to these and the ability to book Any Seat Awards using points to travel nearer the front of the plane, [...] Read more – ‘Qantas First Class Lounge, Sydney – pre-QF127 review’.
A guide to LA800 & LA801 Business Class – Sydney to Auckland return January 20, 2012: One of my favoured ways to travel between Sydney & Auckland in Business Class on the cheap, whilst still accruing Qantas Frequent Flyer points and Status Credits, is to use LAN’s daily service. LAN fly a widebody Airbus A340 between the two (and onwards to their primary hub in Santiago, Chile), with their respectable long [...] Read more – ‘A guide to LA800 & LA801 Business Class – Sydney to Auckland return’.
Trying out Qantas Domestic Business – QF444 Melbourne to Sydney Review December 29, 2011: I normally wouldn’t write a review about a quick Melbourne – Sydney domestic flight. As one of the busiest routes in the world, and at an hour or so long, it’s never going to be a unique experience that you’d die to repeat. However, I was down in Melbourne for work, and given my employer [...] Read more – ‘Trying out Qantas Domestic Business – QF444 Melbourne to Sydney Review’.
Sydney to New York (via Auckland) – QF141, QF25 and QF107 Qantas Business Class review December 24, 2011: As I wrote back in November, I was recently given the opportunity to go to a conference/seminar type thing in New York in early December. The event was only announced a month before it was on, and I knew it was something I wanted to be at. I am lucky that my employer is pretty [...] Read more – ‘Sydney to New York (via Auckland) – QF141, QF25 and QF107 Qantas Business Class review’.
QF32 Qantas A380 Premium Economy – brief round-up December 10, 2011: It’s been an age since I started my report of our RTW trip I took 8 months ago now. I’ve been procrastinating posting this leg as, well, I didn’t get many good pictures, and it just wasn’t particularly interesting. So, it’s here for completeness, nothing more, nothing less, and in brief form. This was booked [...] Read more – ‘QF32 Qantas A380 Premium Economy – brief round-up’.
Qantas QF2117 Coffs Harbour to Sydney – Dash 8 Q400 review November 19, 2011: Reviewer: Point Hacks – Keith Mason Rating of Qantas QF2117 Coffs Harbour to Sydney – Dash 8 Q400 review : 4.0★★★★ As I arrived at Coffs Airport, there were no Qantas staff around as the previous flight had left about 20 minutes prior, with my flight about 3 hours away. I managed to catch someone [...] Read more – ‘Qantas QF2117 Coffs Harbour to Sydney – Dash 8 Q400 review’.
My next trip booked – to NYC! November 13, 2011: The past couple of weeks have been slightly crazy, hence the lack of updates around the place. One of things that has kept me away from blogging, but researching points, routes and airlines a hell of a lot, is the opportunity that has come up for a quick trip to New York in December. I’ll [...] Read more – ‘My next trip booked – to NYC!’.
Virgin Australia Premium Economy – DJ1167 Embraer 190 Sydney – Coffs Harbour Review October 31, 2011: I’d managed to arrange a last minute trip up to the Coffs Coast to go check out Rally Australia. Part of the trip was funded through work, but I had to enable to flights – the perfect use of points for flying domestically given the last minute booking (plans were only confirmed on Wednesday for [...] Read more – ‘Virgin Australia Premium Economy – DJ1167 Embraer 190 Sydney – Coffs Harbour Review’.
InterContinental Singapore – Club Premier Room review October 19, 2011: On our way back to Sydney from Europe (London to Frankfurt on BA, and Frankfurt to Sydney on Qantas) we decided to break the trip with some time in Singapore to ease the jetlag pain. It ended up being 2 nights, and meant we were fortunate enough to enjoy the InterContinental Singapore to relax over [...] Read more – ‘InterContinental Singapore – Club Premier Room review’.
Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore – King Superior Room Review September 23, 2011: We needed an extra night in Singapore on top of my initial booking with the InterContinental, thanks to award availability changing on me during the booking process. By the time I got around to sorting the extra night, the IC was too expensive, and I reverted back to the Holiday Inn, which was booked via [...] Read more – ‘Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore – King Superior Room Review’.
JetQuay VIP arrival, lounge & transfer service review – Singapore Changi Airport September 3, 2011: I learnt about the JetQuay VIP arrival and transfer service at Changi from Gary Leff’s JetQuay review, and given we would be arriving with bags, infant and long flight behind us, I figured I’d give it a crack. I emailed the InterContinental after making my booking to double check on the price and arrangements – [...] Read more – ‘JetQuay VIP arrival, lounge & transfer service review – Singapore Changi Airport’.
QF6 Frankfurt – Singapore in Qantas Business Class – Upper Deck 747 August 24, 2011: Research & Booking Getting back over to Asia and onto Australia from Europe was only possible in Business on points by departing from Frankfurt on QF6. QF5 (to Frankfurt) and QF6 (from Frankfurt) is Qantas’ last non-London European beachhead, and operates daily – departing Frankfurt in the late evening, and one of the first Qantas [...] Read more – ‘QF6 Frankfurt – Singapore in Qantas Business Class – Upper Deck 747’.
JAL Sakura Lounge, Frankfurt – Review August 23, 2011: After arriving into Frankfurt from London on BA in the early evening, we set about whiling away a few hours until the 23.50 departure to Singapore. We headed over to the JAL Sakura lounge which was just a few minutes walk from our arrival gate. It turned out the lounge was also well located for [...] Read more – ‘JAL Sakura Lounge, Frankfurt – Review’.
CX110 Sydney – Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Business Class Mini Review August 5, 2011: Ever since I can remember, I’ve gotten super-tense for early morning departures of any kind. It’s something I’m slowly getting better at, but this morning was no different – I reckon I was operating on 3 hours sleep, max, after leaving the house at about 5am to be at SYD by around 5.30, for a [...] Read more – ‘CX110 Sydney – Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Business Class Mini Review’.
To Hong Kong – Pre-Departure Dramas & a review of The Cranky Concierge July 18, 2011: Trip Research and Booking Last year I planned a brief trip to visit a friend in Hong Kong for a few days. I had collected around 13,000 miles from travel back from 2001/2002 (!) on Continental which had been sitting in an account for 8 years – it’s actually amazing they didn’t expire. Combined with [...] Read more – ‘To Hong Kong – Pre-Departure Dramas & a review of The Cranky Concierge’.
London – Frankfurt (LHR-FRA) on BA914 – British Airways Club Europe & Heathrow T5 Galleries Lounge July 13, 2011: Booking I couldn’t get award availability out of London to Singapore for two of us in Business, so needed a connecting flight to Frankfurt to pick up Qantas’ other European service, QF6 to Sydney (via Singapore). Both our tickets were originally booked in Economy – one a BA points award and one a paid booking [...] Read more – ‘London – Frankfurt (LHR-FRA) on BA914 – British Airways Club Europe & Heathrow T5 Galleries Lounge’.
London City Crowne Plaza – Executive Club Room Review July 4, 2011: Research & Booking Before heading out of the UK we were due to spend a couple of nights in London catching up with some friends and enjoying the city we lived in a few years back. I was looking for a central, but not too obvious location that would be close to either Victoria or [...] Read more – ‘London City Crowne Plaza – Executive Club Room Review’.
London Heathrow Hilton Terminal 4 – Standard Room review June 30, 2011: Research & Booking We needed a brief overnight stay after landing at Heathrow on BA178, and the Sofitel at T5 was too expensive. I wanted a hotel that was as close to the airport as possible as we were connecting onto a BA flight to Glasgow the next morning, and wanted to minimise any transfer [...] Read more – ‘London Heathrow Hilton Terminal 4 – Standard Room review’.
Booked! To New Zealand on Air NZ in Business June 29, 2011: Well, I went for it : ) helped me think it through, and the plan all made sense – so I bought and confirmed my Air New Zealand itinerary for early next year. I’ll be heading to Webstock – my favourite web conference, ever – in Wellington, via Auckland. The routing looks like this - [...] Read more – ‘Booked! To New Zealand on Air NZ in Business’.
New York JFK – London LHR – BA178 in Club World (Business Class) June 22, 2011: Our experience on BA was actually pretty bad, given how great Qantas were for the rest of our journey. I’ll come to that in due course, but first, a few notes on how this was booked. BA charge 50,000 miles for a one way Club fare between the North America and the UK. Redeeming for [...] Read more – ‘New York JFK – London LHR – BA178 in Club World (Business Class)’.
InterContinental The Barclay New York – Executive Room Review June 14, 2011: As part of my round the world trip we had around a week in New York, visiting friends and family. When we first arrived I was keen to stay in a full service hotel with everything taken care of; after a couple of nights we’d then move into an apartment rental for the rest of [...] Read more – ‘InterContinental The Barclay New York – Executive Room Review’.
Sydney – New York via Los Angeles – QF11 & QF107; Qantas Premium Economy & Business Class May 7, 2011: The first and second legs on our around the world trip were from Sydney to New York, via a 23 hour stopover at LAX. Qantas treated us admirably in Premium Economy, and we scored an Economy -> Business points upgrade about 22 hours prior to departure for LAX-JFK – win! Read more – ‘Sydney – New York via Los Angeles – QF11 & QF107; Qantas Premium Economy & Business Class’.
Introduction – Around the World in Premium & Business Class – April 2011 May 4, 2011: The lack of updates around here has been because I’ve just returned from a round the world trip in Business and Premium Economy, for roughly the cost of an Economy ticket – by using BA and Qantas points. I was traveling with my partner and our 4 month daughter, and was determined to not have [...] Read more – ‘Introduction – Around the World in Premium & Business Class – April 2011’.
Sydney – Frankfurt in Qantas Business Class on Points March 11, 2011: Given that this site has been set up to talk about how to best accrue frequent flyer points I figured I might as well cross-post this write up from my personal blog of my experience last year of flying from Sydney to Frankfurt in Qantas Business Class which was booked using 128,000 Qantas points. Enjoy [...] Read more – ‘Sydney – Frankfurt in Qantas Business Class on Points’.

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