Monthly Archives: May 2016

Velocity 15% Bonus Promo – Ends 31 May

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For the last few years, the month of May has been a great opportunity for people to boost their Virgin Australia Velocity points when transferring points from various Australian banks.  For more details, T&C’s and links to the banks, click the image.

Barely back from South America, I still need to plan for Africa next year and Velocity points can be used on Etihad & South African Airways which suit my needs!

Velocity 15

Transfer your points to Velocity between 1 May and 31 May 2016 and receive 15% bonus Velocity Points. You’ll enter a new world of rewards, including flights to over 600 destinations and award-winning Reward Seat availability^.

Back From An Epic Trip To Ecuador, Colombia & The Caribbean

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Actually we got back a week ago and I still haven’t really recovered.  This has been a very full-on trip covering a lot of ground throughout Ecuador, Colombia & some Caribbean Islands that have good birding – Trinidad, St Lucia, St Vincent, Dominica & Puerto Rico.  We then spent time in the USA visiting family.  While I usually try to build some down time into a trip, this time it wasn’t possible.  It’s getting so much harder to earn miles from credit cards and my stockpiles are dwindling so I was mindful that we may not get back to these parts of the world again so we had to cover everything possible.

During this trip we experienced the big earthquake in Ecuador on 16 April.  Luckily we were far from the epicenter and in no real danger but the internet and tv reception were out in the lodge we were staying at and we had no way of knowing just how bad the earthquake was until we got to the Quito airport the next day.

Flights weren’t affected and we got to Colombia on schedule only to have our bank shut down our ATM card!  I had done everything right – notified all banks and credit cards of our itinerary and the bank should have known we were in Colombia but they still shut down that one ATM card.  Thankfully they didn’t shut down our credit cards and I was still able to access cash by doing cash advances but I had a mess to sort out when we got home.  They wouldn’t accept my secure message to unblock the ATM card and insisted we call but between lack of phone coverage, quickie one-night layovers and time zone differences between Australia and the Americas we weren’t able to connect until we got home.  The bank finally did reverse the cash advance fees because they had unjustly blocked my card but it took numerous phone calls and a lot of stress.

Other things piled up and I am still trying to sort out some personal stuff but once I do, I can start blogging this trip and trust me, it will be worth the wait!

Great Florida Birding Trail

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Many people will find themselves in southern Florida whether it be a visit to friends or family, business, pre-cruise ship or just a family vacation.  There are many beautiful birds to be seen here as shown on the latest Birding Adventures video!

Singapore Airlines Adds Premium Economy As Redemption Option

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This is good news for those who don’t have enough miles for a business class redemption but would like a little more comfort than economy.  But in most cases from Australia. the difference between economy & premium economy vs premium economy and business are enough that I still suggest you go for business class awards if you have/can get the miles.  SQ miles are relatively easy to get with American Express Membership Rewards and several other Aussie bank issued cards transferable to SQ.  Remember, you get a 15% discount for awards on Singapore Airlines & Silk Air booked online!

The updated Singapore Airlines award charts – Australia is split between zone 8 & 9.

Full text of SQ’s Announcement

More Legroom Vs Wider Seats On Economy Flights

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With airlines tightening up redemptions on premium classes and the huge devaluations that have happened over the last couple years more people will find themselves traveling in economy even though they may have originally been saving for business class redemptions.

This is where doing some homework can really pay off.  Conde Naste has a good article on finding extra legroom seats.  Even if you redeem miles, you can usually pay extra to have these seats when you choose your seats.

You should also check the exact plane configuration on Seat Guru and read the comments as some seats can have problems such as ife boxes under seats which reduce your legroom.  You can also check the width to see how closely you will be crammed in next to your seatmates.

I personally prefer to fly on smaller planes which have 2 x 2 seats on opposite sides of the aisle so my husband and I don’t have to sit with a stranger, so I always choose these planes over a 737.  We also prefer more seat width to more legroom so Seat Guru shows us what our options are.

Better Photography – Hand Holding Your Camera

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In most cases when you are birding, you will be walking along a trail where it isn’t always practical to bring a tripod along.  You have to be ready to move fast as birds fly overhead and grab your camera quickly.  In other words, you will be “hand-holding” your camera.  Here’s the best way to do it.

 

Best Uses Of Flexible Points (USA) For Eco-tourists

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I’m a big fan of flexible points because they give so many options for flights to the more remote, exotic locations eco-tourists want to visit.  Here are a few of my favourite uses.

CHASE ULTIMATE REWARDS

Flex Chase UR

Mostly I transfer points to United as the award chart is still pretty good to get to Asia and Africa.  They are also useful for routes within Central & South America on Avianca & Copa.  Singapore Krisflyer can be used for the same routes as United as they are also Star Alliance but beware of surcharges on routes between Australia & Asia & Africa.  I use British Airways for shorthaul economy within South Africa and on LAN flights in South America.

CITIBANK THANK YOU POINTS

Flex Citi Thankyou

I’ve been using Thank You points mostly on Flying Blue for an upcoming redemption on Kenya Airways within Africa.  They can also be used on Garuda to many birding hotspots in Indonesia.

AMEX MEMBERSHIP REWARDS (USA)

Flex Amex MR

I had a Premier Rewards Gold a few years ago and made good use of the points with a transfer to Flying Blue for Kenya Airways redemptions.  A few stray Amex MR also went to Singapore & British Airways.  You can only get any American Express card bonus once in a lifetime so I won’t be getting this card again.  I cancelled the one I had before the annual fee was due.  Considering that other cards also transfer to most of these partners and Amex isn’t as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard, this would be a last resort card to get.  The Australian version of the Membership Rewards cards is a better option (for my Australian readers) as there aren’t as many cards to compete with it.

SPG

Flex SPG

SPG points are extremely valuable as they have so many airline partners but unfortunately their credit card is issued by American Express and it’s another one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” cards.  I’ve highlighted the partners I use them on and they were extremely useful transferred to LAN to top up the miles from the LAN Visa so we could get free tickets to the Galapagos.  When Starwood is merged into Marriott, these options are likely to go away.

Birding In Cuba

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Although the USA has only just reinstated the ability for US citizens to visit Cuba, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t already on the radar of dedicated birders!  Cuba does have some real stunning birds as you will see in this video journey by Rigdon Currie.