Naughty Kea
I’m sure everyone has read hundreds of “how to stay safe from thieves” articles on travel blogs and websites. But who could have anticipated in highway robbery out in the New Zealand bush? I know it wasn’t funny to the tourist who had his bag snatched by a Kea, but it is funny to think of birds lining their nests with £50 notes! Full story.
HT – TravelBloggerBuzz
Thanks to George of TravelBloggerBuzz who found this comprehensive airline fees chart. Good to keep on hand!
Sample provided, please use link to view the complete chart on Airfare Watchdog.
Airline Fees Sample
Let’s take a look at the buy miles promos that have been released so far this month and let’s assume that we want an award from North America to Brazil not during peak season to keep an even playing field. The award costs 60,000 in economy on the 3 main airlines serving this route – AA, UA and US. So how much would it cost to buy enough miles to complete this award?
American Airlines – to buy 60,000 miles it would cost around $1217 including tax and service charge. You would get your credit card spend miles but no category multipliers as it is processed by Points.com. This trip can be done for 40k in off-peak season.
AA Buy Miles Promo
US Airways – if you have the US Mastercard you can get a 100% bonus, otherwise you get a 50% bonus. It would cost $1128 to buy these miles including tax.
US Airways Buy Miles Promo
United Airlines has not announced a Buy Miles Promo yet so you would have to pay full price for the whole 60,000 miles – whopping $2257.50! If they did join the party and offered a 100% bonus promo, the cost would be $1128.75.
United Airlines Buy Miles
So how much would it be to simply BUY a ticket from LAX to the gateway city of Sao Paulo, Brazil? Let’s try Kayak for a generic fare quote. As we can see, economy fares start at $1015 for a multiple airline routing and go up from there. The purchase price of a ticket is at least $100 cheaper than buying miles, PLUS you will earn miles from your purchase!
Kayak Quote LAX-GRU
Fare quotes will vary depending on which city you start from and which city in Brazil you want to get to. If you are headed to the Pantanal, you would need to get to Cuiaba or Campo Grande which can be reached on Brazilian carriers GOL, TAM and TRIP. In this case, when I tried a fare quote from LAX to CGB (Cuiaba) the fares started at $1414, so in this case if you can use a partner award all the way to Cuiaba you would save around $200, but you would not earn miles.
Fare Quote Cuiaba
I have my Top 8 programs that I concentrate on for miles collection to maximize opportunities in both One World and Star Alliance. I am not lucky enough to have employer paid travel that allows me to earn “free” BIS (butt-in-seat) miles so I have to be more creative in using partners to earn miles. However with limited funds, there is only so much I can do and even within my Top 8 programs, I need to prioritize whose miles I want to earn first. Sky Team doesn’t interest me at all because I don’t like their major US partner – Delta’s frequent flyer program. If Virgin Australia joined Sky Team, they may be of interest but for now they have nothing to offer me that I can’t already get from Star Alliance and One World.
Factors that I don’t care about but you might: Business travel (employer’s preferences), paying for mileage runs and earning elite status.
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I want to go to destinations that offer good birding with a high population of parrot species. I also have family in the USA and I attend a major parrot conservation conference in Tenerife, Spain every 4 years. If there are promos (Grand Slam, credit cards) that allow me to easily acquire miles I would spend them on business class for at least long-haul, otherwise we would fly economy if that’s all we can afford. So here’s how this all adds up.
I use Google flights to look this up. Just type in “Flights to LAX”, replacing LAX with your home airport code. In my case, this is BNE. Now scroll through the list and pull out the airlines which are in alliances and non-allianced airlines that you have easy access to partner earnings on.
Brisbane is not Australia’s major airport, Sydney is. However, since Star Alliance does not have a partner which serves domestic Australian flights, One World is going to give me a lot more options since I can use Qantas to get to Sydney, Melbourne or Perth from where there are additional flight opportunities. Using the Google Flights tool, I now look up flights to Sydney (SYD). Now I can see that in addition to the airlines that also serve Brisbane, I could connect on:
On the surface, it looks like I should prioritize Star Alliance and seek out mile-earning opportunities on United and US Airways. BUT, the main problem is getting award seats from Brisbane as I don’t want to pay out of pocket for feeder flights to Sydney or waste Virgin miles. Two of the 3 Star Alliance partners (NZ, SQ) that serve Brisbane rarely release business class awards and even economy can be hard to find. TG is more generous and when EVA Air joins in a few months, hopefully they will also be generous with award seats and routes via TPE will fall within the MPM for US awards. On the other hand, One World has the only domestic Australian partner that allows me to route via Sydney’s international connections. American Airlines has 2 major partners that serve Brisbane – Air Pacific and Hawaiian and also Etihad via Sydney. So here is how I prioritized my airline programs:
1. American AAdvantage – because of more flexibility and domestic Australian feeder flights, extra partners like Etihad, Air Pacific and Hawaiian, one way awards permitted and most airlines I use bookable online. Also, One World and AA partners serve more of the airports that matter to me. Can transfer from SPG at 20k SPG = 25k AA and use E-Rewards and flower partners to top up. Citibank denied me the co-branded credit card but planning to try again in 6 months for the sign up bonus.
2. United Mileage Plus – would have been first place if they had a domestic Australian partner or better flights out of BNE; but I value one way awards and online booking so they edged out US. Can get miles from Chase’s Ultimate Rewards and co-branded cards and any partners which I can’t credit to AA.
3. US Airways Dividend Miles – good redemption levels but I find the restrictions of round-trip awards and having to call them to book awards stifling. They have had the best ever promo – Grand Slam which ran every Sept – Nov 2008-2011 which allowed us to earn huge amounts of miles fairly cheap and they also can run good 100% buy or share bonus promos, making it fairly cheap to buy their miles. If they merge with AA, these miles could potentially become AA miles which I personally value much higher.
4. British Airways Avios – I used them for a bargain one-way LAX-HNL and also have them earmarked for short haul domestic Australian and intra-South America awards. Can transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards and E-Rewards.
5. Avianca/Taca LifeMiles – Good awards within Central America and South America, sometimes offers 100% buy/share miles promos. The credit card has an anniversary bonus of 6000 miles for $75 annual fee which is a good deal and painless.
6. Qantas – Awards are expensive so prefer to use AA as main One-World program, also Australian co-branded credit cards can have higher annual fees. I can get free miles from shopping and phone bills so I just let them silently accumulate.
7. Virgin – Good for credit card bonuses, transfers from Amex and short-haul to New Zealand and Pacific islands. Can earn miles with NAB card and Virgin mobile through everyday normal use.
8. Singapore Krisflyer – Has the best award rates between Australia and Pacific Islands, can use Amex MR to get miles but otherwise no easy “everyday spending” opportunities.
So now I know where I want to look first for incidental bonuses for car rentals, hotel stays, flowers, surveys and where to credit them to!
What are your miles collecting priorities and why?
The Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus) is a parrot native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands (Moluccas).
They are not the easiest locations to visit on miles but often the thrill of the chase for that perfect photo can lead you there. Could anything be more exciting than the brilliant ruby red and deep sapphire blue of the female Eclectus and the dazzling emerald green of the male peeking through the trees in the rainforest? My preferred location to see Eclectus parrots is in West Papua just because it is cheaper to get to with miles for Aussies at least and you can travel independently, hiring local guides to help you find the birds.
Female Eclectus Parrot
Male Eclectus Parrot
Eclectus Parrots can be found in roughly the same habitat as the Palm Cockatoo which I blogged about yesterday.
Here’s a great video with a glimpse into the life of the Eclectus Parrots! How many women will see this and wish they were a female Ekkie? But then again the males are rather naughty too!
Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus)
Dramatic and majestic, the Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is high on most birder’s list of dream birds to see in the wild. They can only be found in the far north of Queensland, Australia, Papua New Guinea and West Papua, Indonesia. These are all countries on the Top Twelve countries to see wild parrots so all are well worth a visit.
Palm Cockatoo Habitat
Seeing them in Australia won’t be cheap. You have to get to Weipa, then get to Iron Range National Park. Sorry Star Alliance members, only One World airline Qantas can get you here! Redemptions using Qantas Frequent Flyer points start at 8000 each way from Cairns to Weipa. You could also use Avios if you are coming from elsewhere in Queensland for 4500-7500 Avios. If you are starting elsewhere in Australia you can use American Airlines miles for anywhere within Australia to Weipa for 10,000 miles. Once here, you can either join an organized tour or make your way to Iron Range National Park by hired 4WD. Avoid coming here between November to March due to extreme heat, humidity and danger from cyclones.
Even for Australians, it can be easier and cheaper to see them in Indonesia. Use miles to get to Jakarta or Bali, then a domestic carrier such as Sriwijaya to get to Sorong, Manokwari or Jayapura. Stay tuned for detailed destinations guides when I return from my own trip there!
Here’s some websites to read and a video with a bit more information.
I had been up late last night (in my timezone) when reports of 5000 point hotels started trickling in on FlyerTalk. Since I need 3 nights in Bali, I waited up to see what would transpire. No luck for me, Bali was not included in the list finally released. Although eco-travelers came out fairly unscathed with the recent award chart devaluations (big cities got hammered), most of us were expecting a halfway decent Pointbreaks list for Feb and March to make up for it; so there was disappointment all around.
Pointbreaks
The list finally went up after a few false starts and very few people had something to be happy about. Here’s a few that may be of use:
Fiji Intercontinental – nice base to relax in between trips to outer islands and there are some bird species in the vicinity.
Auckland Airport – you’d pass through here enroute to Australia or the Pacific Islands so why not get a free night to rest up before the flight?
Crowne Plaza Johannesburg – useful if you are enroute to or from Kruger or Magoesbakloof.
Holiday Inn Sumare, Sao Paulo – inconvenient location but if you are taking a bus to the Pantanal and need an overnighter, it’s an option.
Crowne Plaza Maruma, Venezuela – with all the parrots in Venezuela, worth a look.
Crowne Plaza West Hanoi – people on FlyerTalk say it’s inconvenient to the city but it may have birding nearby so check it out.
Check out the whole Pointbreaks list.
The countries of South-East Asia’s bird populations are as colourful and diverse as you could expect from this culturally rich region. let’s concentrate on the countries which are classified as “South-East Asia” by the frequent flyer programs and have great birding and eco-tourism opportunities such as (alphabetically) Burma, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. If you are married to or involved with a non-birding partner, this is a great region to plan a trip to as they will find plenty to do while you are off chasing birds. Unfortunately, being so far from everywhere except Australia, it can be very expensive to get there whether you use miles or cash. Let’s look at a few options.
South-East Asia
AMERICAN AADVANTAGE
For most people, joining American Airline’s AAdvantage will be the best option. They have quite a few credit card options to quickly build your miles stash and a few partners such as E-Rewards and various hotels where you can transfer points in. The region is called “Asia Zone 2” on this chart and includes Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Saipan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam. Airlines which serve this area include Cathay Pacific and Qantas with Malaysian Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Qatar Airways joining very soon.
These figures are one-way so double if you want a round trip. The nice thing about AAdvantage is the flexibility, you may choose to go one way in economy and one way in business, or do an open jaw where you fly into Bali (DPS) for example and out of Bangkok (BKK). Please note that awards between South-East Asia and South America Zones 1 & 2 are not available so if you want a route like that you will have to join up two awards such as Asia-North America and North America – South America.
USA and Canada: Each way is 35,000 economy; 55,000 business; 72,500 first. You can use Qantas, Cathay Pacific, and Malaysian but there are no stopovers allowed.
UK and Europe: Each way is 35,000 economy; 52,500 business; 70,000 first. You can use British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Etihad or (coming soon) Malaysian Airlines and SriLankan Airlines; or use Finnair, Air Berlin or Iberia to get to Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong or anywhere Qantas flies.
Australia and New Zealand: Each way is 25,000 economy; 35,000 business; 45,000 first. You can use Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Malaysian.
QANTAS
For Aussies who have easy access to Qantas points via their employer or Everyday Rewards, it’s worth checking out QF’s awards to South-East Asia. Use their points calculator as the awards are distance based, not by country. A long distance award such as Brisbane – Bangkok will cost more than a short one like Darwin – Denpasar/Bali. The awards look expensive compared to AA, UA and US but if you got your points for free, might as well enjoy them!
Qantas Awards
AVIOS (BRITISH AIRWAYS AND IBERIA)
By the time you read this, Malaysian will have joined One World, though the booking engine may not be online yet. Look for bargains in one way awards between Kuala Lumpur and nearby cities such as Singapore, Jakarta, Bali, Bangkok, Vientiane and Manila. In the examples below, the awards will range from 4500 Avios to 10,000 Avios.
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AVIOS AWARD CHART
No matter where you live, the two best programs to use in Star Alliance are United and US Airways. Both have their pros and cons. With United, you can book partner awards online, book one-way awards and get lots of miles via several Chase credit cards; but if you can’t get these cards it can be hard to get miles in United Mileage Plus. With US Airways, the major drawbacks are you have to book round-trips and you can’t book online, you have to call them. The advantage with US Airways is that they offer frequent “Buy miles, get 100% bonus free” promos and in the past, they had the wonderful Grand Slam promos where it was possible to do partner transactions and with careful planning you could get about 120,000 miles for $400-600 incremental cost. The US Airways Grand Slam hasn’t been seen since Sept-Nov 2011, unfortunately they didn’t do it in 2012. Depending on where you live, Avianca/Taca Lifemiles could be useful too, but it is hard to use their booking engine for complicated routings so I suggest saving them for USA-Central/South America where they offer better value and ease of booking.
US Airways Chart
US AIRWAYS (round-trip only) Region is South & Central Asia which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Chagos, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
USA and Canada: Economy 80,000; Business 120,000; First 160,000. You can use United, Air Canada, Air New Zealand (hard to get) or sometimes take the “scenic route” via Asia using Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Asiana or ANA (All Nippon Airlines). US has recently started enforcing MPM (maximum permitted miles) so some Asian routings may not be acceptable.
UK and Europe: Economy 70,000, Business 90,000; First 110,000. Most people try to get routings using Singapore, Thai, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines. Some airlines do not give US Airways business or first class awards such as Singapore, Lufthansa and Swiss.
Australia and New Zealand: Economy 70,000, Business 90,000; First 120,000. You can fly on Singapore, Thai and Air New Zealand.
UNITED AIRLINES (can book one-way or round trip.
The award chart is too big to copy paste here so please follow this link to see the whole chart.
USA and Canada: (each way) Economy 40,000; Business 62,500; First 80,000. You can use United, Air Canada, Air New Zealand (hard to get) or sometimes take the “scenic route” via Asia using Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Asiana or ANA (All Nippon Airlines). You can easily see the routings via their online award booking engine.
UK and Europe: (each way) Economy 55,000, Business 75,000; First 90,000. Most people try to get routings using Singapore, Thai, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines. You can easily see the routings on their online award booking engine but be careful if you are looking at business or first class awards as sometimes they offer mixed class awards and the long-haul section could be in economy with a short sector in business or first.
Australia and New Zealand: Economy 30,000, Business 45,000; First 60,000. You can fly on Singapore, Thai and Air New Zealand.
Here’s an example of London to Bangkok, as you can see they quote both the miles and taxes and the business class award are “mixed class” and if you hover over the fare, you can see which flight is in which class.
United Chart
You can see how much cheaper it is to fly from Brussels due to the very high UK departure taxes.
United Award ex-Brussels
These are just a few examples, please feel free to ask questions in the comments.
If you need ideas on how to acquire frequent flyer miles, please see the Resources tab and Miles and Points tab. which I will update with new offers for free or cheap miles.
Another spectacular video from Birding Adventures TV! There are no parrot species in this video, though Botswana does have a few parrots species. They have some amazing footage of feeding lions along with some classic Botswanan birds such as Secretary Bird, Wattled Crane, Lilac Breasted Rollers and several Bee-Eaters. Enjoy!
This maybe stating the obvious, but as I sit here looking out the window at a torrential downpour in Brisbane, Australia I was missing the Rainbow Lorikeets that come to the Schefflera tree every day. They won’t go out in this weather and chances are NO tourists are either, eco-travelers or otherwise! Wouldn’t it be a shame if you had flown all the way out here from Europe or the USA to this kind of weather?
X Marks the spot of several of my favourite birding locations.
I wouldn’t recommend people come to Australia for birding anyways this time of year because of the school holidays but some people don’t have any choice and have to travel at this time. Should you expect this kind of weather at this time of year? Let’s consult my favourite weather site.
Yes, unfortunately, this is the rainiest time of year.
Rainy Season
If Brisbane and Southeast Queensland are your only destinations in Australia, the best time to come would be from mid Oct-end of November. I am not only considering the weather but school holidays as well which I like to avoid at all costs.
Let’s consider somewhere else. The south of India has fantastic birding and a wonderful culture as well. So when should you go? Type “Kerala ” into the search box, then when it comes up, click on “when best” as shown by the red arrow.
Kerala
Rainy season in Kerala
Now we have a full-on monsoon season. I did travel to Kerala in September 2011 and at least the mornings were nice with rain developing in the afternoon so I wasn’t rained out completely and still got to see lots of birds including Malabar Parakeets! But next time, I would go sometime in March or April. The “best time to travel” takes into account heat as well as rain. I don’t mind the heat so much but no eco-travelers wants to spend thousands of miles on airfare and money on eco-lodges and end up sitting inside all day!
Once again, here are the resources to check when planning your trip.
School Holidays and Public Holidays – You’ll have to Google both “school holidays countryname” and “public holidays countryname” as each country tends to have their own websites. Then put it all together so your trip avoids bad weather, high season and peak season in your own country when award travel might be scarce.