The Great Mileage Debate.....

I could stare at this for hours, but that's just me.

Clearly, I like miles.  Or at least, one would believe that after reading even one or two things I've written on this blog, or even more so if you have had the misfortune to be at a social gathering with me recently, wherein drinks and the topic of travel had been combined. 

Inevitably, in such an occasion someone in the group will gesticulate in frustration mid-point through my comments on why I last went to Hong Kong for 36 hours, saying that they don't know why anyone would do that because their miles are worthless, can't be used 'for anything,' and all airlines are terrible now.

Okay let's unpack this, and maybe we can come to an accord on several things, and possibly even learn to understand how miles and points get their value.  We might even be able to reach an understanding about what they're actually 'good for.'

But first, let's address the sentiment that 'all airlines are terrible now.'  That one I'm not going to bother arguing over. This is mostly because it's so vague it can't really be dealt with outside of  a seminar on the purpose, regulation, and structure of the global air travel industry.  It's also not worth wasting too much time on because with the way all the changes have been going lately, if it was sufficiently later in the evening, I might just throw up my hands and agree.  But, that would be not entirely true, and counterproductive to the rest of this post. 

So, onwards we go to the rest of the discussion.....

Getting to the other, most important point first, I will generally ask the irate-mileage account-owner what they're actually trying to use their miles for, the lack of which makes them so frustrated. In general, I get a response like this one:

"I have all these miles, and so just last week I wanted to fly our family of four to Cancun for Thanksgiving in first class!  There were NO flights that worked.  Well, maybe the overnight, but we weren't about to do that!!"

Okay, yes, Cancun is lovely, but not the point I'm making here.

Okay, let me tell you what that sounds like to me-

"I have all these dollars in my bank account, but when I tried to find a family of unicorns to buy, there weren't any!!  They tried to sell me a couple horses instead, but I only wanted unicorns.  Ergo, all these dollars are just worthless!"

The reason people outside of the 'miles and points' community get so frustrated with trying to use their miles is that they don't really understand what they're for.  No, you will not be able to necessarily get the exact ticket you've decided you want on the exact day you want it.  Well, on occasion you can, but you may have to spend a lot of miles, or get very lucky. 

The better way to think about how to use your miles is the same way you would think about going to a completely new type of restaurant for the first time, and finding something interesting on the menu.  You might go in thinking you're in the mood for chicken, but if they're out of the chicken, you might be surprised to see a better and intriguing fish option that you go with instead.  You also won't be at all shocked that there's no unicorn on the menu at all, and it shouldn't make you upset.

A few examples of 'interesting dishes' you could order right now:

How about LAX direct to Abu Dhabi in first class on Etihad?  From there you can easily see Dubai, or use it as a starting point to get to Africa, Southern Europe, or India.  The Maldives are always a good choice.

(Click to enlarge)  Notice the 'guest space' available for the next two days, as well as the little note that this ticket comes with car service! 

Plus, the life experience of flying in one of Etihad's closed door first class suites is worth the trip alone if you ask me.  Also, when you consider that the actual price of this ticket comes in in the $15,000 range, it's a pretty darn impressive use of your miles.  If you don't think so, I'll happily take those miles off your hands so I can let you know how it is instead. Kidding, not kidding,

So, what else can we find on the menu?  Well how about...

 

...First class on Cathay Pacific direct to Hong Kong?  You can even bring a friend! If your friend is very nice to you.

 

What if you don't want to go that far, that soon, and/or want to spend fewer miles for a premium experience?  Well, remember how I kept ranting earlier about our trip to Peru?  This flight on LAN only costs about $30 in tax, and 30k miles each way.  Plus, both this trip and the Hong Kong trip can be paid for with either American miles, or with BA Avios, which is a transfer partner with Amex's Membership Rewards.

Nonstop to Lima, and you can add on a free connection within the country.

But what about Europe?  "We want to go to Europe next summer, and we can never get business class to Europe!"  Okay, yes, I do sympathize here.  Premium tickets to Europe, if you're trying to avoid the big taxes that British Airways charges are probably the unicorns of the award flight system.  However... in this world, there are still unicorns out there if you know where and when to look.

Business class to Europe for the Summer.  It happens.

A few years ago when we did Europe on an explorer ticket, the work around was to take Airberlin and spend a few days in Berlin, which was an unplanned but really nice stopover.  This year, how about Helsinki?  This itinerary only costs $61 in cash!  Plus, you get to experience Finnair on the outbound, and one of American's new 787's on the return.

For this post I focused on the premium cabin tickets, but in most cases finding economy availability to these places is orders of magnitude easier.  Plus, you can always mix and match the cabin class if you're willing to do economy one way to save some miles, and make planning trips even simpler.

All this is in addition to being able to use your miles to upgrade your flights, both domestically and internationally, as well as the hotel and car rental deals you can use them for around the world. 

So, where does this leave us?  While finding the trip that works for you if you're limited in time and location is a challenge, it's definitely possible, and if you're flexible you can put together some truly inspiring and luxurious trips using Oneworld miles. 

Happy searching,

~CruisingAltitude

Of course if you don't want to use your time delving into all of the nuance of finding the right trip, I'd love to help you with it!  Visit Altitude Consulting to get in touch! 

Flyover Friday: When a Picture is Worth 1000 Miles

 

With a very few exceptions, all the travel photos I use for this blog are ones I've personally taken.  I don't travel with a fancy camera, or use many filters.  The world as I am lucky enough to see it simply doesn't need enhancement.  I think it's about time for some gratuitous travel photos, because Friday.  Also because I'm trying to convince myself it's still a good idea to get up at 3am and head to LAX for another same day turn to ORD in the morning.

Let's see if we can go 'around the world' in ten pictures or so.

  

While we're on the topic of Chicago, just reminding myself that Oak Park in the Fall isn't a bad choice.  It also gets about 3,400 qualifying miles from LAX.

 

Up next, taking it South, to the lakes of Panama, surrounded by thick jungle and mangrove. 

 

 

Meanwhile in Europe, meet one of my favorite travel photos of all time- A bike ride through Deer Park just outside of Copenhagen.  I'll explain in more detail in another post, but I'm hoping to go back to this region next Summer, since Finnair has released some impressive partner business class award tickets for next year.

 

And a stop in Tuscany between vineyards.  On our first full day in Italy, we got lost in the hills outside of Florence on bikes.  It was gorgeous, but our legs were very tired once we finally found our way back to the villa.  For the record- just because you didn't get lost biking in Berlin or Copenhagen....does not mean you won't get lost further South. 

 



 

From old to new - Doha's harbor, now dominated by ultra sleek and modern architecture, while fishing boats still dock beside.

 



 

 

Then go East.....Far East.  One of the most beautiful sunrise approaches I've seen, going Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur (top) and the staircase to the Batu limestone caves, Kuala Lumpur. (bottom)

 

 

On the home stretch, go a bit north, for a look at Shanghai from the Bund....

 

 

.......And the beautiful ceiling of Tokyo Station, before crossing the last ocean for home.



 

 To finish out, a reminder that sometimes you don't have to go far at all for beautiful sights, and good memories.  Back on the West Coast, Mrs. CruisingAltitude & BabyFlyer enjoy a Summer day in Langley, Washington taking in the Cascades in the distance.

 

In other news, as I said in a recent entry, I'm excited to now offer travel help, advice, and consulting through Altitude Consulting!  Altitude provides personalized assistance planning your next trip, finding the best redemptions for your air miles and hotel points, as well as consulting on any topic you've been wondering about the world of loyalty programs.  This is a new endeavor, so I'm still building out the site, but please check it out & get in touch.  I'd love to help you Travel Well!

 

~CruisingAltitude

 

This post is part of Budget Traveler's Sandbox' Travel Photo Thursday, and Life In Wanderlust's #FlyAwayFriday.  Go check out both these great collections of posts for some amazing travel info and ideas!





Flyover Friday- Family Edition...

Mrs. CruisingAltitude and BabyFlyer take in the view of Puget Sound from Row 2.

Just stopping by to put up a bonus post to end the week.  This 'flyover' pic is from a recent trip to Seattle to visit my family and introduce the our newest traveling companion, BabyFlyer.  She's been a pro from the start, even if we're still working out the details of flying as a family of three.  It's a whole new world for sure, and I plan on doing a baby travel-centric post with my experiences and tips in the future. 

For this trip, we booked a mixed itinerary, a one way award ticket on Alaska using our AA miles in First, and the return in economy on American for an impressive $58 each on account of the new LAX-SEA route that AA has brought back recently.  As an added bonus, we cleared our upgrade at 100 hours out for the return, so we essentially had two round trip first class tickets for a $116 cash outlay.  Add in a stop at the new(ish) Centurion Studio at SEA, and you've got a fun and relaxing travel experience.  Or, as relaxing as traveling with a 4 month old can be :)

Happy weekend, everyone!

~CruisingAltitude

The Inca Flightpath, part II

Quinoa fields and glacier-capped Andes on the plains above the Sacred Valley

As promised, here's the 'trip report' half to this mileage burn trip.  For the nuts and bolts of booking it, check out the post [HERE.]

By the time our departure finally rolled around I'll admit I was really, really excited for this trip.  It had been a hectic start to the year for us, and for a while I was convinced this was going to be one of those times I'd be utilizing the EXP mileage ticket 'get out of jail free' card, and re-depositing my miles.  However, I really, really didn't want to.  And, as it turns out, I didn't have to!

So.... here's the report:

First stop, of course, was LAX to catch our LAN Dreamliner flight down to Lima.  This alone was plenty reason to go, but I also hadn't had the chance to fly out of Tom Bradley Int'l Terminal since they've gotten further along in the renovation.  I'm always just watching it from 'afar' in T-4.

For OW elites, the renovation has meant some highly improved lounge choices, as well as just enjoying that 'new terminal smell.'

(Completely random note- if you walk into a brand new Centurion Lounge, say, in DFW the first week they open, and make that same joke about a 'new club smell,' they will fix you with a glare, and say very seriously, 'No.  That is our 'signature scent.'  I'm not kidding.  I love you AmEx (mostly) but please...)

Annnnyhow.... OW lounges, right.  So, there are two reasonable choices.  First is the Oneworld Business class lounge, which is highly rated, large, and even has a faux fireplace in the middle with seating around it.  It has decent food, drinks and seating.  I really meant to go check it out, I really really did.

"Official"  Pic of the Oneworld Bis lounge at TBIT

But then, all of a sudden.... I didn't.

Because, just a couple months before this trip, Qantas opened a new 1st class lounge at TBIT.  So, that happened.  What also happened, was that due to the new lounge(s), I wanted to take my time at the airport before the flight.  Like, a lot of time.  Our flight was at 1:30pm, LAN's check in opens at 9:15.  We were there at 9:05.  Yes, Mrs. CruisingAltitude would have thought I was nuts, but she's got a decent sense of humor about me, and enjoys a good lounge as much as anyone.

 

Point of order, though- the sign said they opened at 9:15.  They did not open at 9:15.  They did not open at 9:20, or 9:30.  It was closer to 9:50 before the counters opened, and the Mrs. had to withstand my mounting annoyance at waiting in line while there was a perfectly good lounge just RIGHT past security.  This mainly took the form of repeatedly pointing to the well staffed, and prompt JL counter next door, and grumbling about how we 'would already be having a mimosa if we were on the Tokyo flight.'

But, eventually, we did get checked in and on our way.  Now, the lounge- the one complaint I've read about it is that it can get loud and crowded at times.  The acoustics, admittedly, could be better as it is essentially one large room, and at one side features an open kitchen.  I could see the issue when in the evenings Qantas loads up a couple a380s with a decent amount of premium passengers, as well as the OW Emeralds.  Luckily for us, though, the LAN flight is hours before this rush, and we were just about the only ones there at the start.  Like, seating for 200, and it's us and one other person.  Echos, crickets, it was magical.

Beautiful and....

....empty Qantas 1st Lounge.

The bar area & espresso bar

The layout offers lots of seating arrangements, a couple TV lounge areas, work space, and a full serve complimentary restaurant menu with seating.  It's very 'First Class.'  There's also a large bar, and several self serve bars throughout the space with wine, water, and soft drinks.  If I'm nit picking, I'd say the only drawback here is that the substantive food options are limited to the menu, so there's no buffet to grab something at on a shorter visit.  That said, the service was great, and with just us eating, was super prompt.  We arrived in time to start with breakfast, and then later before heading out, tried their lunch menu as well.  Both were great, though, I'd say the lunch/dinner menu is more memorable.

5 o'clock in airports everywhere

The carpacchio and the calamari were particularly good, as was the semifreddo that the great waitress demanded we try on the way out!  (And I mean demanded, as in 'you have to have it, yes you have to, it's great....don't worry, I'm sure your plane will wait for you to have some dessert' kind of demanded)  I'll also give a nod to the espresso bar.  It was a treat to be able to order a real 'flat white' Aussie style.  Haven't had one of those since we were in Sydney several years ago.

Lemon & Black Pepper Calamari- We didn't even order this, it came by mistake, but we sure ate it!

Carpaccio 

Dessert- the photo got a little blurry, as we were scrambling to make it to pre-boarding! 

White wine & sparkling water

The reds...

One tiny other complaint, that they can't do anything about, is that there are no windows that overlook the gates or runways, so no planespotting.  This looks to be true of both lounges for OW elites in this terminal, and it's a bit of a shame as the one thing that would make the great amenities and service even better would be enjoying them while watching some of the big birds that leave from TBIT roll the runway.

But, regardless, we had a great time, and then headed off to catch our flight.  As discussed in the last post, we were trying out a new 787-900 that LAN just took delivery of.  Yes... new plane smell...

The -900 configuration features 30 'premium business' seats, all forward of the 2L door, which was also the boarding door at LAX.  I do love 'turning left, not right' on a long haul.   The cabin layout is 2-2-2, so the window seats don't have direct aisle access.  In theory, this can be annoying if you don't know the person sitting next to you.  However, I found the new LAN J seats to be extremely spacious, and it was easy to get up and into the aisle, even with the lie-flat bed next to you fully extended.  This is because, unlike the 'angle lie flat' seats still installed on most AA 777-200s, the bed is very low, and can easily be stepped over.  This is probably my favorite cabin layout to travel in with a companion.  You can talk easily since there's no big privacy divider, but you definitely feel like you have personal space.  The pictures really don't do justice to how nice the seats were.

This is also combined with the fun of the dreamliner- the windows, of which each J seat has 3- are huge, and dim via a button, rather than a pull down screen.  The seats are fully wired, with USB as well as DC plugs, and the recline function worked without any glitches.  The cabin is also well insulated, making the engine noise quieter, even on take off.  Through the flight, the plane handled turbulence well and I was able to get some good hours of sleep after the dinner service.

So- hard product: 8/9 out of 10.  Top marks.  Now, a bit about the 'soft product.'

Overall, it was a nice flight.  I especially liked the personal greeting by the purser when we got to our seats.  ('En ingles?') He was attentive, offered a PDB (I went with the champagne, of course, which was Roederer estate, and very nice).  They also came by at gave use Ferragamo amenity kits that came with standard items- lotion, pen, etc, as well as a pillowcase, which I hadn't seen before.  They do give you upgraded headphones, which was nice, but they weren't Bose like AA offers and I could tell the difference.

The food, which was lunch, and then a slightly confusing breakfast-ish meal prior to landing (at 11:50 pm??), was okay.  Maybe on par with AA's usual international fare, but not like what you would expect from a carrier like JL or CX.  I did find that once the main service was over, the crew wasn't as attentive as some.  I'm not the type to ring the call button (which was probably what I should have done) but I found myself going up to the galley a few times to ask for more water, drink, etc.  On that, one thing that did annoy me a little was that they kept the curtain closed to the galley, and snapped down, so that to use the lavatory, you had to shove/crawl your way though.  I assumed it was for cabin lighting, but still... awkward.  Some of the FA's also clearly weren't as comfortable with English as the Purser, but I was on a LAN Peru flight, so that's as much my issue as theirs.  As it turned out, this was just the start of our education in how little of our rudimentary Spanish from High School had stuck with us, and how Peru is NOT a resort town in Cabo, language-wise.

In flight meal- I had the scallops.  Not bad, but a little fishy.  

In Flight Dessert

The IFE was okay, definitely better if you're a 'movie' person, as the TV options were a little slim.  I think Mrs. CruisingAltitude approved, though as she got through the better part of 4 movies while I ate and slept.

Overall, I'd give the soft product a 6ish out of 10.  Highlights were the drinks and 'breakfast.'  There were things I'd change, especially since they've invested in such a stellar hard product with the 787.  A few little things would bring the whole experience up to a really elite business/first one.

When we landed it was late, so after getting through customs, we made our way to the Wyndham hotel that's at the airport.  It wasn't the fanciest, but was the only one that we could walk to from the terminal, and the rooms were upgraded and clean.

The next morning we checked back in to catch our short flight up to Cusco.  The flight is about an hour on a a319 on LAN.  No 1st/bis class, so we were in the main cabin.  No complaints for such a short flight.  The real intrigue of this flight is that while Lima is essentially at sea level, the Cusco airport is at a whopping 11,000 ft.  As a result, this flight path goes up to cruise, and then only has to come about half way back down.  You fly over the Andes, and then land into the valley that Cusco is in.  It's worth getting a window seat for this one!

For what to see and do in the Sacred Valley, have a look at Part III!

~CruisingAltitude

The Inca ‘Flight Path,’ or ‘A Mileage Burn To Write Home About’....

 

Correspondent’s note: I’m going to break this trip report up into the ‘what and why’ first, with a second post covering the ‘where and how.’  In other words, this is the how to book and why to book, with the experience based info coming next.

 

Yes, everyone has this shot.  Yes, it's worth going and taking it yourself, especially if you do it in style! 

In May, Mrs. Cruising Altitude and I did our second international mileage burn in as many years.  I have to say, that both trips, (the first being our Oneworld Explorer tour of Europe) turned out to be an amazing use of miles.  Great value throughout, reasonably ‘bookable,’ and a totally memorable trip to somewhere I might not have thought to go otherwise.

Awhile ago, some other savvy folks we’ve met in our travels, told us unequivocally that we “had to go to Tambo Del Inka, on a miles and points deal, and drink lots of Pisco Sours and coca tea.  Oh, and yeah... probably go to Machu Picchu at some point.”  Well then, who am I to decline such specific advice??

Welcome to Tambo Del Inka...

....Have a [large] Pisco Sour.

As you may or may not know, Tambo Del Inka is a stunning, relatively new, Starwood Luxury Collection resort in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, high up in the Peruvian Andes.  The resort is well designed, and tastefully constructed to fit in with the natural surroundings.  On one side rooms face a rushing river lined with towering eucalyptus trees, and the other has views of a year-round glacier.  The grounds are beautifully up-kept, and the facilities include a unique indoor/outdoor pool, water spa, gorgeous architecture featuring towering timber beams to the ceiling, and a reasonably priced, but fantastic restaurant.  

Quiet and peaceful grounds.

Indoor/outdoor pool and spa.

The resort has only been open for a few years, and so is not yet showing age.  Plus, for the environmentally conscious, it meets LEED standards.  A rarity in foreign construction, but feels good given the natural treasures this area holds.  

The town of Urubamba itself is next to the resort, and is easily walkable if you want to explore.  It’s not a ‘tourist area’ per se, but can be interesting to check out to take in some local culture.  While we were there there was a several day festival going on, complete with parades, dancers, and music.  What’s most useful about the proximity though is possibly that you can get a WAY better deal on transportation to the train stations, airport, and archeological sites by just walking a few blocks from the resort down to the nearest gas station and picking up a local taxi.  Tambo’s travel agency on site will happily arrange tours for you…. for double or more the price.  

Urubamba festival

View from the front of the Tambo lobby

For the nuts and bolts of this booking-  Tambo Del Inka, perhaps because of it’s remote location, does have ongoing decent availability for cash & points nights throughout the year, especially if booked far in advance.  At its hotel tier, it requires 6000 starpoints and $110.00 per night.  Worth it.  No question. The added great thing about cash & points is that those nights are generally completely refundable.  One not here though- as this is a ‘resort property’ make sure you keep on top of what the ‘cancel-by’ date is.  This property requires about 3 weeks’ notice to cancel, though I’ve had good luck getting around these rules by calling the Starwood Platinum line and pleading my case.  

Room selection-wise, if you can’t get one of the ground level suites that have a private patio, I’d go for the side facing the river (where we were).  It’s quiet, and with the placement of the trees, really feels like you’re out in nature.  Plus, you can open the sliding windows and listen to the water.

Tambo Del Inka is beautiful from any angle...

As an added note, this property is good with Platinum recognition.  While we ended up there during a peak time when the resort was fully committed and weren’t put in a suite, they did offer to move us for the portion of our stay that they had a suite available (we turned it down because our room was plenty nice), and apologized that they couldn’t confirm a suite and offered both extra points, and the free breakfast, rather than just one or the other.  Plus, for Plat guests they take an additional 15% off the restaurant and bar prices, which made the already good prices due to the exchange rate even better.  The 1:3 rate of dollars to soles was awesome, and resulted in wonderful dinners out for 2 people coming in around $30, with drinks.  

The 'riverside' rooms.

Both the lobby, and the restaurant feature huge fireplaces.  Walking into Tambo at the end of a day of adventuring is like getting a hug...especially when it comes with a warm cup of coca tea.

So….given all of the above, how does one get here???

That’s the best part!

I knew that LAN flies nonstop from LAX to Lima a couple times per day, and does it for a stunning 30k AA miles each way in business class.  Knowing this, and that I needed two tickets, I pulled out the calendar FAR in advance (ie. 331 days), and got on the phone.  The tickets can be booked as a Oneworld partner award, and I recommend booking them as one way tickets initially so you don’t have to wait until 331 days before your return date to book the outbound.  As a bonus, for the same mileage, you can add on the connecting flight LIM-Cuzco, which is where you need to get to to visit the Sacred Valley.  

On the phone, the booking was fairly simple, and stress free, as being an EXP my mileage tickets are fully refundable up to the day of travel.  Plus, no big taxes and fees here- only about $36 per ticket, round trip!  Done and done.

Now...now...for the best, best part.  When I booked the tickets, the flight was on a 767-300, with a 2-2 config in J.  Fair enough, sounds good to me.  However, several months later, I found out that AA had reassigned me a new FF# due to an alleged hack of their database.  Annoyed, I called to find out what was happening, and ended up on the phone with an AAgent for 2 hours because my flights hadn’t moved over to my new profile, and in the moving, they lost my seat assignments.  

Anyhow… when the Lima itinerary was pulled up, the agent asked what seats I wanted, “it’s a 2-2-2 configuration” she said.  Wait, WHAT NOW??  I knew something was up, so I asked her what the plane type was showing as. It was….wait for it…. now a brand spanking new 787-900 Dreamliner that LAN just took delivery of at the start of the year.  

Cue avgeek meltdown.  

This plane’s so new, SeatGuru didn’t even have a map for it, and I couldn’t find any reviews, other than previews of the new cabin config and seats from LAN itself.     

Extremely spacious 2-2-2 lie-flat seat config. 

787-900 J cabin

Not bad at ALL- 8+ hours on the Dreamliner in J (there’s no F on this plane, so J is the pointy end) for 60k miles and $36.  I didn’t even mind (too much) that LAN only released tickets on the later departure from LAX that arrived LIM at about 11pm, and the return was a redeye.  I booked a layover hotel in LIM, and we slept a bit and then took a morning flight to CUZ.  The connections in and out of CUZ go at least once an hour, so that was no issue at all.

All in all, this trip can be a fantastic value- luxury plane and resort for very low points, miles, and cash.  Not too many times can you get 4 nights in a 5 star resort, and round trip airfare on this kind of flight for two for around $500!  

Let's go!

Up next- the trip report itself.  TBIT’s new lounge, LAN J service, and adventures- salt pools, Inka ruins, fun at altitude, fast and slow taxi drivers, and more Inka ruins….