Monthly Archives for May 2018.
The Park Hyatt Tokyo is a great value property for Hyatt’s top tier elites. I used a confirmed suite upgrade and got nice value from breakfast which can be taken in the restaurant or via room service (or both). I enjoyed the complimentary happy hour for top elites as the sun set.
This is a property that appeals to me emotionally because years ago I really enjoyed Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, much of which takes place inside of this hotel.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
The first time I visited Tokyo many years ago I wanted simplicity. I took the Airport Limousine Bus, which drops off at hotels. By the time I had gotten out of the airport I was on a bus departure after 5 p.m. and we got stuck in terrible traffic. The ride took almost three hours, and the bus seats weren’t particularly comfortable. I never did that again.
Taxis just aren’t an option from the airport in my view, they’re just too expensive, the idea of spending hundreds of dollars for a car and getting stuck in traffic doesn’t appeal to me either.
It’s only been two years since I bought my last laptop. It’s a Lenovo T460s, and I hate it. It has an Intel i7-6600u processor and a 1 terrabyte hard drive. But battery life is awful.
Here’s my criteria in a new machine and I could really use suggestions about what will work best.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
I’m just back from Tokyo and Shanghai. My wife and I flew to Asia on a Virgin Atlantic 120,000 mile roundtrip ANA first class award. It’s one of the better value redemptions in all of travel — United would charge 220,000 miles roundtrip for the same thing, Aeroplan 210,000 miles, and Avianca LifeMiles 204,000. ANA itself charges 150,000 miles roundtrip.
And it turns out the deal is even better than that because most of the points for these two tickets came from American Express Membership Rewards transfers — when there was a transfer bonus. I called up Virgin Atlantic, put the award on a 24 hour hold, and then transferred the points. Not bad for a roundtrip ticket that was pricing at $22,907 apiece.
Ten engine parts fell out of a Japan Airlines Boeing 767 hitting a car and a medical clinic. The plane was headed from Kumamoto airport to Tokyo Haneda as flight JL632.
A left engine blade sustained significant damage. The parts falling from the sky “cracked a clinic window in Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, and damaged a car on the premises.”
A yellow lab named Eleanor Rigby (like the Beatles song) gave birth at Tampa airport’s gate 80 just prior to boarding a flight to Philadelphia. She had eight puppies. The airport’s fire and rescue team was called to the scene to assist with the delivery.
This is absolutely adorable. But even people can expect to take some time off in the days leading up to giving birth, and certainly shouldn’t be flying. This dog almost gave birth on the plane. And why isn’t this service animal fixed..?
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
I was in the Phiadelphia airport’s Centurion lounge this past week. I hadn’t been since the lounge’s pre-opening event in October. It was packed.
They’re popular with travelers because they’re better than the lounges that were already in the airport before American Express opened them. However with high demand comes real wear and tear on the spaces.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
