Airline Miles For Grocery Shopping – Chase Freedom (USA) Visa Card

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People often wonder how I get so many frequent flyer miles when I rarely ever pay for an airline ticket.  This is one of my techniques.  Using the right credit card can get free miles for simply doing your normal grocery shopping!

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Maxing out your $1500 during 3 months is basically $500 a month and most families will easily spend that on groceries.  You can also buy gift cards for any other merchants (such as gas stations, restaurants, department stores) you do business with at most grocery stores.  You then end up with 7500 free Ultimate Rewards points that can be converted to airline miles if you also hold a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Plus card.  The best partners to transfer to are United Airlines and British Airways.

 

If you don’t already have a Chase Freedom, you can post here asking for a referral as I sometimes have them to give out.  My most recent referral just expired on 8 Dec but I still have referrals for the Chase Sapphire Preferred valid until 31 Jan 2015.  Or you can read this Flyertalk thread to see if there are any specials going on.  The most recent special has been this one, but please read the thread to see if it is still active when you wish to apply.

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Air China Business Class Taipei-Beijing

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One good whirlwind layover deserves another, right?  Hence the 2nd leg of our convoluted routing to South Africa giving us 7 hours in Beijing.

The Air China flight from Taipei to Beijing was in a regional Airbus A330-300 and right on time.  The recliners were fine for the 3.5 hour flight.  The food was decent, my husband went for the seafood as usual and I went for the pasta.  Then we watched a movie (can’t remember which one) until arrival.  No complaints about the hard or soft product.

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This Needs To Stop – NOW! How You Can Help

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I’m getting a bit ahead of myself as I usually blog a trip in chronological order but this is more important.  This happened in Antananarivo, Madagascar.  When we were in the taxi going from the hotel to the airport, I noticed a bunch of cages on the street.  We were on the opposite side of the road so I didn’t get a good look but having an 18 megapixel camera was enough to get the real scoop.

IMG_5803 IMG_5802I can identify Grey-headed Lovebirds and Vasa Parrots in a few of the cages which would clearly be captured from the wild.  One green bird I can’t identify appears to be dead (lying on its side on the floor).

THIS IS WHAT NEEDS TO STOP!

The World Parrot Trust has the experience to help these birds.  Right now they are doing their annual campaign in which everyone’s donations are matched by an anonymous donor.  So give $25 and it becomes $50, give $100 and it becomes $200 and so on.

Click for donation page

As my blog about Africa progresses, you will see a lot of photos of wild Lovebirds, Vasa Parrots and more flying where they belong.  Help the World Parrot Trust keep them free!

Taipei Layover & Airport Lounge

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Getting creative with the routing enroute to your final destination gives a chance for a quick look at a city that you otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to.  We had 7 hours in Taipei to see some of the highlights.  I wanted to allow a generous buffer to get back in time for the onward flight to Beijing.  By the time we left the lounge with our backpacks, we basically had 4 hours to go downtown and back.  I decided the best option was the Evergreen bus and that we would have to just see as much as possible through the window as we wouldn’t have time to get out and actually visit anything.  Still it was better than nothing!

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The friendly tourist information folks directed us to where the buses were.

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We had to buy one-way tickets for the outbound journey and were charged upon return for the return trip since we never left the bus.  It was a comfortable ride with nice large windows.IMG_2513 IMG_2511

We got a peek at Taipei 101 and other interesting buildings.  It was pretty cool to watch people going about their normal early morning business.IMG_2487 IMG_2489 IMG_2490 IMG_2491 IMG_2492 IMG_2493 IMG_2494 IMG_2495 IMG_2496 IMG_2497 IMG_2498 IMG_2499

Right after I snapped this pic of the monk, we were treated to some major drama!  All of a sudden, a young man ran out in front of the bus, then a policeman followed on foot all at high speed!  We watched the youth cross the street and disappear on the other side.  The policeman stopped a random passer-by on a motorcycle, hopped on back behind the driver and take off in pursuit of the suspect.  It all happened so fast it was over before it even occurred to me to try to take a photo.  Probably better that I didn’t as I wouldn’t  have wanted to be involved in a court case just as our African adventure was starting.IMG_2500

The bus continued through downtown Taipei and we saw more interesting buildings and temples.IMG_2501 IMG_2502

I was relieved to see we made good time and that we were in no danger of missing our flight.IMG_2504 IMG_2506 IMG_2509 IMG_2510 IMG_2512

More curiosities back at the airport.IMG_2515

Interesting shops at the airport.IMG_2516

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Our onward flight was on China Airlines and we were invited to the China Airlines lounge, once again a cross-alliance partnership.  So we got to experience two lounges at TPE.

 

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Eva Air Business Class: Brisbane – Taipei & Lounge Access

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Since United devalued their program a few months ago, I wanted to take advantage of the generous routing rules before they took that away too.  Devaluations seemed to be a common theme amongst most airlines this year. I also noted that the trend is for airlines to be stingy with business class awards and I really didn’t want to do such a long itinerary in economy!  I also wanted to take advantage of the routing rules for quick layovers in Taipei & Beijing.

QANTAS LOUNGE IN BNE

Much to my surprise, we were invited to the Qantas lounge (OneWorld member) instead of the Air New Zealand Koru Club that Thai usually invites us to.  Apparently this is due to a code-share arrangement between Eva and Qantas. The only other Star Alliance airline – Singapore has their own lounge but they only open award seats in/out of Australia at T-14 so basically useless for advance planners.  It was nice to try out a new lounge and relax before our flight.  It wasn’t crowded and was very comfortable.

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I loved the artwork!IMG_2470 IMG_2463 IMG_2464

View over the airport from the lounge.IMG_2466 IMG_2467 IMG_2468BUSINESS CLASS SEATS

Although they were angled lie-flat, they were still comfortable and we got a good night’s sleep.

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I didn’t really care for the food but my husband liked it.  I just wanted to get some sleep so passed on my evening meal.IMG_2476EVA AIR LOUNGE IN TAIPEI

Upon arrival, we went to the EVA AIR lounge hoping to stash our bags while we did a quick run into the city.  They took my boarding pass as security which was bad as we needed the boarding passes to clear security and immigration after our excursion so we ate a quick breakfast, then headed through immigration, backpacks and all for the trip.

Entrance to lounge

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Breakfast buffetIMG_2484 IMG_2483 IMG_2482

Very cool bottles for sale in duty free, I would have bought one if this had been the return leg into Brisbane.IMG_2477

Did I Achieve My Birding Goals In Africa?

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During the planning stages of “The Mother of all African Adventures“, I was targeting areas in which parrot species could be found along with many other bird and mammal species.  I will copy the targets here and give you the results to show how goal planning can affect your trip.  Of course the trip will be blogged in detail over the next few months.

I have copied below the parrot species I was targeting which represent 17 out of the 24 species that are found in Africa and the neighboring island nations.  Successes will be highlighted in lime green.

PARROT SPECIES FOUND IN AFRICA

1. Rose-ringed Parakeet – Psittacula krameri.  We have seen them in several places in India and feral populations in Europe.  Not a priority but may see them during the trip.

Result:  Not seen on this trip.

2. Mauritius Parakeet  – Psittacula echo.  Habitat in Black River Gorges National Park, easily driven from hotel in Mauritius.

Result:  Seen well in Black River Gorges National Park.

3. Gray Parrot – Psittacus erithacus.  Has large range but many places difficult, expensive or possible unsafe to travel to.  Easiest place to see them near Star Alliance airport is in Ghana at Kakum National Park.

Result: Only a pair seen flying at a distance in Kakum National Park.

4. Greater Vasa Parrot – Coracopsis vasa.  Madagascar endemic, easiest place to find them near Star Alliance airport is Andasibe National Park.

Result:  Seen well at Ankarafantsika National Park.

5. Lesser Vasa Parrot – Coracopsis nigra.  Madagascar endemic, easiest place to find them near Star Alliance airport is Andasibe National Park.

Result:  Seen well at Ankarafantsika National Park.

7. Black-winged Lovebird – Agapornis taranta.  Found in Ethiopia.  Slim chance to see them if there is a long layover at Addis Ababa.

Result:  We had a scant hour of early dawn light to try to find them on a brief layover and failed to find any.  Needed more time!

8.  Red-headed Lovebird – Agapornis pullarius.  Habitat not easily accessible, best chance is in Ghana.

 

Result:  Poorly seen in dense foliage at University of Ghana, Accra.

11. Fischer’s Lovebird – Agapornis fischeri.  Found in Tanzania, targeting them in Arusha, Tarangire and Serengeti.

Result:  Seen well near Ndutu Safari Lodge on Serengeti border.

12. Yellow-collared Lovebird (Masked Lovebird) – Agapornis personatus.  Found in Tanzania, targeting them in Arusha, Tarangire and Serengeti.

Result:  Seen well at Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

14. Grey-headed Lovebird –  Agapornis canus.  Madagascar endemic, easiest place to find them near Star Alliance airport is Anatanarivo’s Tsimbazaza Park.

Result:  Seen at Ankarafantsika National Park.

15. Red-fronted (Jardine’s) Parrot – Poicephalus gulielmi.  Targeted in Arusha National Park and possible Ghana.

Result:  Seen at a distance at Arusha National Park, Tanzania

16. Cape Parrot – Poicephalus robustus.  Southern coast of South Africa.  Will try to find them as close as possible to Port Elizabeth.

Result:  Seen well in King William’s Town, South Africa.

17. Brown-necked Parrot –  Poicephalus fuscicollis.  Subspecies of Cape Parrot.  Have seen in Magoebaskloof, planning on return visit.

Result:  Seen well at Magoebaskloof, South Africa.

18. Brown-headed Parrot – Poicephalus cryptoxanthus. Easiest to find in northern Kruger National Park.

Result:  Seen well at Pretoriuskop Restcamp, Kruger National Park.

19. Red-bellied Parrot – Poicephalus rufiventris.  Found in Tanzania, targeting them in Tarangire.

Result:  Seen well at Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

21. Meyer’s Parrot – Poicephalus meyeri.  Several subspecies spread out over southern and central Africa.  Best places to target them are northern South Africa and Tanzania’s Tarangire and Serengeti.

Result:  Seen well at Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

24. Senegal Parrot  – Poicephalus senegalus.  Wide-spread in West Africa but easiest place to see using Star Alliance airports would be Shai Hills, Ghana near Accra.

Result:  Seen briefly at Shai Hills, Ghana.

By “seen well” I mean that the bird stuck around long enough to have a good look and get photos.  In some cases, all we could see were birds flying rapidly through the trees or scrambling through foliage.

FINAL TALLY

17 out of 24 parrot species targeted.

15 out of these 17 were seen.

11 out of these 15 were “seen well”

That’s actually not bad when you consider how unpredictable wild birds can be, and it only happened because I did TONS of research to give myself the best possible odds!

 

US Dividend Miles Bonus Promos Going Downhill

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Anyone who can either churn credit cards or manufacture spend won’t be interested in this, especially since the days of the 100% buy/give miles promos are over.  But since I have readers in many different countries who can’t access US credit cards, I still decided to share this.  These miles will be merged to AAdvantage in the 2nd quarter of 2015.

Remember, you shouldn’t buy miles on spec as devaluations can be sudden and unpredictable.  Only buy them if you need to top up for an award and planning to redeem immediately.

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Why I Am Generally Happy With Our Lodging

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Hotel reviews are a hot topic today in the blogosphere and I thought I would chime in as I tend to get off the beaten track more than most travel bloggers in the miles & points world.  It was a thread on FlyerTalk that started it, then bloggers Kathy (Will Run For Miles) and Brian (The Gate) respectively blogged about their thoughts.

(Disclosure) I have no credit card affiliate links though I do get invited to publicly offered “member get a member” promos where existing cardmembers are given incentives to refer their friends to a card they have and get bonus points.  Chase does this often and has one active now.  But these promos are hardly enough incentives to give hotels false positive reviews.

There are two reasons I generally give positive reviews.  Firstly, I do HEAPS of research before booking a hotel or eco-lodge.  I spend hours reading reviews and in the case of eco-lodges trying to find bird lists in the vicinity of the property.  I know what I like and take care to book accommodation that I am pretty confident I will like and I usually get it right.

Secondly, I have realistic expectations.  I don’t expect an eco-lodge in the middle of the rainforest to have wifi, room service or even a swimming pool.  I know there will be bugs; hell it’s a RAINFOREST!  I’m prepared to bring my own mosquito coils and use them if the lodge doesn’t have mosquito nets.  I know that most rainforest lodges are off the grid,  will be using a generator and will probably switch it off at some point in the night.  So yeah, no fan or AC either!  But in this case, I do expect the rooms to have good ventilation so they don’t become sweat boxes!

I rarely use chain hotels other than in gateway cities before and after a flight and they will be booked using points gained from credit card promos.  We stay in a lot of chain hotels near airports and I don’t expect these to be as posh as the Hyatt Vendome.  All we need is an airport shuttle, shower and wifi so I can catch up on what I missed while I was in the rainforest.

I guess having had 30 years of backpacker travel experience helps, you should see some of the places I stayed in during the 80’s & 90’s!  My perspective is different than someone who started out as a young adult in the miles and points game and has only experienced 4 & 5 star hotels.

My reviews are never influenced by any special blogger consideration, eco-lodges don’t do that.  I give my honest opinion and I do mention ways the property can improve if I happen to think of any – just in case the management happens to read it.

Making The Decision – Air Madagascar VS Air Austral

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Sometimes you can’t use miles because you are flying between two cities whose airlines aren’t in one of the major alliances.  This is the case when flying from Mauritius to Madagascar.

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I would have to pay cash for the flights.  A quick search on Kayak gave these possibilities.  Prices are in USD.

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In case you are wondering why I didn’t use United miles for the South African flight, take note that the JNB-TNR segment is actually operated by Airlink which is not part of Star Alliance.  And it’s ridiculous to take 22 hours for a flight that is less than 2 hours nonstop!  Air Mauritius is a partner of Flying Blue but the cost of 15k miles and around 100 Euros per person tax made it poor value.

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But wait, can that Air Madagascar flight really take less than 2 hours?  When researching this airline on Skytrax, Flyertalk & Trip Advisor, I found all kinds of reviews on how unreliable they are.  Cancellations and excessive delays are normal.  Many people also said that they are poor at communicating the reasons and length of the delays.  I tried tweeting them to ask questions and got no reply.

Once you get in the air, the service is supposed to be good.  If I were a backpacker with several weeks to travel around Madagascar, I would have gone for this cheaper nonstop option.

To help me decide on cost vs reliability, I checked Flightstats.  Over the past 2 months, 7 out of 11 flights were either excessively delayed or cancelled.

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Just before buying the ticket this is what happened on last Monday’s flight.  Bear in mind that this flight is only twice a week and the Saturday’s flight 2 days prior had been cancelled.  I don’t know if they made those passengers wait for this Monday flight or booked them onto the next departure on Air Mauritius or Air Austral.

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This was the only flight to be THAT bad out of all arrivals to TNT that day.  2nd place went to a domestic flight with about 2.5 hour delay.

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Since we would only a have a week in Madagascar to get to two of the best national parks for birds and lemurs, I just couldn’t take the risk.  I checked the stats on Air Austral which is actually an EU based airline.  They are based in Réunion, which is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland. Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, is part of the Eurozone.  EU airlines offer more protection.

Now this is more like it!

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Sometimes it really pays to do your homework when you are considering airlines that aren’t familiar to you and you need to make decisions on cost vs timings & reliability.  Both Air Austral & Air Madagascar have scheduled arrival times before noon.  This is enough time to get to Andasibe and have a late afternoon of birding.  Air Mauritius has an arrival time of 15:30 which means arriving at Andasibe after dark and delaying the birding trip to morning.  I decided it was worth the extra $105 USD per person for the more reliable option and being able to spend more time in Madagascar.

Lost Opportunity – 15,000 US Dividend Miles – Spend $500 Nov, Dec, Jan

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I waited ages for this one as I had seen so many people on Flyertalk get it but I never did.

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In normal circumstances this would be an easy one to do – except the email came 2 days after we left for Africa and I didn’t bring this card with me.  It’s not one I normally use on an overseas trip due to the forex fees, but I would have made the sacrifice for this type of promo.

After getting home I sent Barclays a secure message asking to postpone the promo to Dec, Jan & Feb since I had been traveling in Africa but no dice!  Now I have to decide whether to keep or cancel.  They did recently confirm that they would keep the 10,000 anniversary bonus even after the merger with AA so I am inclined to keep it.