Yearly Archives: 2017

All Airberlin topbonus status match offers to oneworld alliance

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Airberlin’s last day as a oneworld member airline will be October 27, 2017. But it doesn’t mean your topbonus status has to be wasted.  There’re several status match opportunities with several oneworld airlines.

Iberia Plus status match

iberia plus status match

iberia plus status match

Currently the best oneworld status match offer. You can match topbonus Silver (oneworld Ruby) status to Iberia Plus Silver.

In case you have topbonus Gold or Platinum (oneworld Sapphire and Emerald) you can get Iberia Plus Gold (oneworld Sapphire).

You need to fill in the status match request document, which is in German, but… Google translate would help! Send it to ibpcampaign@iberia.es or clasica@iberia.es, including photos or screenshots of your current topbonus status.

The best part of Iberia Plus status match is that it’s not asking to do any flight challenges, so you can just receive the status and start using it immediately.

Finnair Plus status match and challenge

finnair plus status match

finnair plus status match

Finnair will only match topbonus members to Finnair Plus Silver (oneworld Ruby), irrespectively of having higher tier.

Reaching Finnair Gold status will require a Gold Challenge, which requires 40,000 tier points or 23 flights within 6 months. All details are available on Finnair status match webpage.

I got my status matched within 2 weeks after sending the required information to Finnair.

British Airways Executive Club status match + bonus Avios

 

BA Executive Club Silver

BA Executive Club Silver

British Airways, same as Finnair, is only matching to BA Bronze (oneworld Ruby).

 

If you are an existing Executive Club Member,  you need send an email at ABtieroffer@ba.com with your Executive Club membership details and attach evidence of your airberlin topbonus tier status by the 30 November.

If you are not an existing member, you will need to join first. You will also be eligible for an additional 4,500 Avios when you join before the 30th of November.

if you take 4 flights with British Airways before the 31 December 2017, you will receive additional 9,000 bonus Avios.

Full details are available at BA status match page

Royal Jordanian Airlines Royal Plus top-tier status match

Royal Jordanian status match

Royal Jordanian status match

Quite “exotic” status match from Royal Jordanian airlines. The offer is valid only for top-tier statuses (Gold and Platinum). The status match requires a flight with RJ to “activate” the status and member must achieve 20,000 miles within the first 12 months to keep the matched status, otherwise, the card level will be demoted.

Full details are available on Royal Jordanian status match page, This status match is only making sense if you have travel plans with RJ, which has quite nice business class.

Personally, I have already matched to Finnair Plus and plan on matching to Iberia Plus. I don’t see myself using RJ anytime soon. And in good, old-fashioned traditions, British Airways are offering close to a useless status match.

Which program would you choose?

Kaligo and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles promotion

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Kaligo.com is running a new promotion targeting Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer members.

During the promotion period from 1st of October until 30th of November, KrisFlyer members can earn 18 KrisFlyer miles per S$1 spent on every hotel booking with Kaligo.com. 

The hotel stay has to be completed by 30 June 2018.

it’s additional 50% more miles compared to regular earnings of 12 KrisFlyer miles per S$1 spent.

I’m already rebooking some of my hotels stays with this promotion, as I recently started to accumulate Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles for the First Class trip between Singapore and Hong Kong.

Don’t forget to book with a credit card that earns miles.  For example with new Miles and More Mastercard, you can make a double dip, earn both Singaporean KrisFlyer and Lufthansa Miles and More miles within one booking!

You’ll need to register for this offer at www.kaligo.com/krisflyer-offer.

 

Promotional Terms and Conditions:

  1. To enjoy this offer, please register for the offer with your email at http://link.kaligo.com/krisflyer-offer and place your hotel bookings with your registered email during the Promotion Period: 1 October 2017 and 30 November 2017 inclusive. The hotel stay has to be completed by 30 June, 2018.
  2. Both new and existing Kaligo customers are eligible to qualify for this bonus offer.
  3. Eligible KrisFlyer members will receive an extra 50% KrisFlyer miles on top of the regular KrisFlyer miles earned on Kaligo. The regular KrisFlyer miles refers to at least 2.3 KrisFlyer miles per S$1 (equivalent to at least 3 KrisFlyer miles per US$1) spent that KrisFlyer members could earn on Kaligo.
  4. Bookings made under this Promotion will not qualify for Kaligo Affiliate Program commissions.
  5. KrisFlyer miles will be credited to your account within 4-6 weeks after the completion of the required hotel stays.
  6. We reserve the right to retract awarded miles if we suspect fraud, unauthorised stacking of bonuses, collecting multiple bonuses from the same hotel stay (defined as the same travelling party staying consecutive nights at the same hotel), technical errors, cancel/rebooking activity (defined by identical search criteria), or any other deceptive behaviour attempted to circumvent the limits expressed in these terms and conditions.
  7. You cannot use these offers in conjunction with any other promotional offers or apply them to existing bookings or retroactively apply them to hotel stays completed prior to registration.
  8. Kaligo reserves the right to terminate this bonus offer at any time and without notice.
  9. In case of any disputes, KrisFlyer and Kaligo reserve the right to make the final judgment and the decision of KrisFlyer and Kaligo shall be final.
  10. Please read Kaligo’s general Terms and Conditions carefully as they apply to all hotel bookings made through Kaligo.
  11. KrisFlyer’s terms and conditions apply.
  12. Visitors arriving to Kaligo from meta-search sites will not qualify for this bonus offer.

Kuala Lumpur airport lounges review: Plaza Premium, SilverKris and Royal Silk

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During my latest Crazy Trip of September, I had a chance to visit two StarAlliance Gold and one PriorityPass lounge in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL or KLIA).

My flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo/Narita was departing at 7-00, so during check-in, I got an invitation to contracted lounge Plaza Premium, which is the only lounge working during the night.  Singapore Airlines SilverKris and Thai Airways Royal Silk lounges were both opening only at 6-00.

The amazing part is, all three lounges are within 1-minute walk from each other and next to smoking lounge! If you have a long stopover, you can do lounge hopping entire day ;)!

Plaza Premium Lounge in Kuala Lumpur

If you are travelling business class or have elite status with any of the following airlines, and your “native” alliance lounge is not working, you shall get the invitation ticket at the check-in counter.  I could also access Plaza Premium Lounge using PriorityPass that I got after receiving American Express Platinum card.

At 5-00, when I entered the lounge, it was quite empty and only a few passengers were napping there. Closer to 6-00, when most of the airlines start flying, the lounge became much busier.

There is a dedicated bar, which serves coffee and alcoholic drinks.

There is a price list for alcoholic drinks, but I was told to show my boarding pass and got it for free. Not sure who is required to pay, my guess would be PriorityPass users.

The food options were limited to the salad bar, some chicken sausages, fried noodles and omelette.  Next to the food station are fridges with soft drinks. There was also a separated “bread” station with bread, pastries and butter/jams.  A bit later there were sushi rolls available.

Each seat has several power outlets, which is usually one of the biggest deficits in many lounges. WI-FI was working good, but I would expect worse performance during busy hours.

Jumping ahead, I think Plaza Premium is one of the best lounge options at Kuala Lumpur Airport among the ones in the review.  It has the widest food selection and bigger sitting area, Surely, before it gets completely packed during busy hours due to many partners being served.

Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge at KLIA

The second lounge I visited at Kuala Lumpur Airport was Singapore Airlines SilverKris. To be frank, I always prefer SilverKris lounge in Asia, if there is one available, to any other StarAlliance lounge. Clearly, the lounge can be accessed by anyone flying Singapore Airlines business class or StarAlliance Gold members. SilverKris lounge opened precisely at 6-00 and is located 1-minute walk from Plaza Premium lounge.

There were some premade salads stored in the fridge, four options of warm dishes, some bread and pastry, alcohol bar and soft drinks.

SilverKris lounge had a fridge with a few bottles of white wine and red wine available next to heavy alcohol, which is my main food in lounges 😉

The lounge is the smallest one in the review, mostly providing high tables and just a few rows of chairs, but once again, no issue with power outlets or WI-FI connection.

Thai Airways Royal Silk lounge In Kuala Lumpur

The last lounge I managed to visit very quickly was Thai Airways Royal Silk lounge, which is located right opposite Plaza Premium. It’s a bit more spacious than SilverKris, seem to have more comfortable chairs, tables in front of you, rather than on a side,  and decent working area.

The food selection was exactly the same as in KrisFlyer lounge, so there is not much to discuss here. The beverage selection is the same minus any sort of wines.

Thai Airways lounge was completely empty, while KrisFlyer was already getting busy at the time of my visit.

Bottom line

If you travel with StarAlliance Gold and want to have a glass of wine, head directly to Singaporean KrisFlyer lounge. If you don’t care about it and want nicer sitting area, the choice is Royal Silk lounge. Food is equal in both lounges, but Thai seems to be a bit quieter.

If you can access Plaza Premium lounge – there you find a wider food selection, but it can get very crowded and noisy.

Overall, Kuala Lumpur KLIA airport is a heaven for lounge hoppers!

SAS Travelers go West – USA campaign

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SAS is running a new campaign – Travelers go West, with very attractive prices on flights to the USA.

Book before October 2nd, travel between 15/11 2017 and 31/5 2018.

Travelers go West campaign covers most of SAS American destinations, like New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

I found a very interesting option, flying Malmo to Los Angeles and back from San Francisco to Malmo for about 350 euros. Try playing with Momondo and depart from a smaller airport, rather than Copenhagen, Stockholm or Oslo directly.

Another great option is new year dates for 650 euros, which is sick cheap given the high demand during those days.

It’s also a great opportunity to go on SAS EuroBonus mile run, as a round trip to San Francisco or Los Angeles would give around 8 000 SAS EuroBonus points.

Pontus in the Air – Arlanda American Express lounge review

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Pontus in the Air – is a lounge dedicated specifically to American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders.

The lounge is located in Terminal 5 of Arlanda Airport in Stockholm. Terminal 5 is mostly used for international departures outside of EU. The lounge is a part of Pontus in the Air restaurant but separated from the main area for privacy. To access the lounge you need to present a valid American Express Platinum or Centurion card to the lounge staff. It doesn’t have to be issued in Sweden, but mine was :).

Entrance to the lounge

The lounge looks quite tiny and at most have 10-12 tables. The service is provided by waiters, and I found it to be the downside in comparison to self-service SAS lounges. I had 40 minutes before the next flight and had to wait 20 minutes for a glass of wine and food. When I finally got it, I had to rush it and run to the gate.

Pontus in the Air lounge

There is a fixed menu for all customers, which consists of three main courses.

Swedish people LOVE the shrimp sandwich from Pontus, but I decided to try a salmon salad, complimented with a glass of white wine. To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes for the food, but the salad was delicious.

In case you are vegetarian, you can ask staff for a special meal outside of the menu.

Apparently, when the lounge just opened, there was a welcoming champagne served. But not anymore :(. However, wine, beers, and soft drinks are still included.

There’s selection of bread, desserts, and fruits available. As I don’t eat desserts that much, I haven’t tried them.

Overall, I enjoyed my very short stay in Pontus in the Air lounge. It’s a nice perk for American Express Platinum/Centurion cardholders, especially if they are traveling via Arlanda airport a lot.

It’s a good alternative to SAS and contracted lounges in Arlanda, especially if you’re hungry.

The service is nice and polite, but a bit slow, so I would not plan to visit the lounge if you have less than 30-40 minutes before the flight.

I hope that Amex will expand their Platinum and Centurion lounges to more airports, and especially open something in my beloved Kastrup airport in Copenhagen.

Hilton 72h Flash sale in Central and Southeast Asia

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Hilton is running a new 72 hours Flash Sale targeting hotels in Central and Southeast Asia.

The sale will end September 8th, 5 AM GMT time, and for the stays between September 5th 2017 and February 28th 2018.

Hilton 72h Flash sale in Central and Southeast Asia

Hilton Hotel and resort properties of the participating are offering a discount of up to 40% off of the best available bed or bed and breakfast rates.

Hilton Honors members during the 72-hour sale get additional discount of 10% — with potential savings of 50% off of regular rates. Guaranteed Discount or lowest price offering is valid for Hilton Honors members only. To qualify, you must be a registered member of Hilton Honors at the time of booking; and the booking must be made through Hilton direct channels: Hilton.com or HHonors.com, or the Hilton Reservation call center.

Keep in mind that all Hampton by Hilton hotel properties in mainland China are excluded from the Hilton Honors frequent guest loyalty program.

I booked a stay in Hilton Phuket Arcadia resort few days ago with refundable rate.

Now the Flash Sale HH rate is 50% cheaper, so surely I will cancel my first reservation and rebook it with Hilton Flash Sale rate.

There’re many interesting offers in Korea and Japan, as well as Singapore. Unfortunately, Kuala Lumpur hotels don’t show any Flash Sale rates. It’d be a really cheap way of extending my Hilton Honors Diamond status by staying in Kuala Lumpur Doubletree hotel.

Did you find any other great deal with Hilton Flash sale?

The Great Singapore Airlines Getaway launches on 7 September 2017

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Singapore Airlines is launching 7 September 2017 “The Great Singapore Airlines Getaway”. Using the new offer is promising  great prices to great places, along with a bunch of great perks.

The Great Singapore Airlines Getaway perks

  • Double KrisFlyer miles with Rentalcars.com and Agoda.com bookings
  • S$10 KrisShop eVouchers for inflight duty-free shopping
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer members can also enjoy additional discounts on selected destinations

It would be interesting to see if The Great Singapore Airlines Getaway offers additional ways of earning KrisFlyer miles without actually flying Singapore Airlines. KrisFlyer miles is the best option to enjoy award winning Singapore Airlines first class, including first class suites.

Will keep updated when The Great Singapore Airlines Getaway service becomes available.

British Airways Visa Card Sweden

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British Airways has announced a new promo offer for Visa Card for Swedish market.

The card will allow to accumulate Avios on BA Executive Club reward program for residents in Sweden.

British Airways Visa Card

  • Annual fee: 395 SEK a year
  • Points earning: 1 Avios for each 20 SEK spent and 2 Avios for purchases with British Airways
  • 5000 bonus Avios are awarded on the first purchase made on the British Airways Visa Card before 30 September 2017
  • British Airways Companion Voucher after spending 500 000 SEK a year (SIC! More than triple times the amount required with SAS American Express Premium/Elite)
  • 10% flight discount on a single or return journey between Sweden and the UK on BA operated flights
  • Application form is here

I don’t see many people applying for this card, unless they regularly take British Airways to fly between Scandinavia and the UK. Even though, Avios collection might be of interest for some Scandinavian travelers, but SAS is offering much better service and redemption options in comparison to BA Executive Club reward program. As there is no minimum spending required, technically you can apply for the card, make one purchase, receive 5000 Avios and close the card.

The companion voucher, however, is a complete joke and doesn’t stand a chance against SAS American Express 2-4-1 voucher.

And let’s not forget, British Airways has been constantly on strikes for several years in a row, which doesn’t add much credibility.

Footprint:

1. 5,000 Bonus Avios offer available to Eligible Participants only. Eligible Participants must be aged 20 or over and must reside in Sweden. 5,000 Bonus Avios are awarded on the first purchase made on the British Airways Visa Card before 23:59 30 September 2017.
2. Offer available to new applicants for the British Airways Visa Card only.
3. No annual fee for the first year, thereafter an annual fee of 395 SEK applies.
4. The Eligible Participant must have a valid British Airways Executive Club account to receive the 5,000 Bonus Avios. If you're not an Executive Club member already, we'll automatically enroll you into the Club when you get your British Airways Visa Card.
5. Standard terms and conditions apply to the use of the British Airways Visa Card, see here for full terms and conditions, interest rates and APR. [Annual fee 395 SEK, 13.64% effective interest rate (6 April 2016). The total amount payable is 21,590 SEK based on a credit of 20,000 SEK and 15.77% APR. The amount is calculated on the basis that the credit is repaid over 12 months (instalment amount in average 1799 SEK) and that the interest-free period of 39 days is used. This does not include any charges for cash withdrawals].
6. The 5,000 Bonus Avios points will be added to the Eligible Participant's nominated Executive Club account 30 days from the date of first use of the British Airways Visa Card. 
7. Avios Points are issued subject to British Airways Executive Club Terms and Conditions. Reward Flight Saver bookings and Companion Voucher bookings are subject to availability and Executive Club members are responsible for the payment of taxes, fees and carrier charges. See ba.com for the full range of Avios redemption opportunities.
8. Companion Voucher bookings are subject to terms and conditions.
9. Full travel insurance terms and conditions can be found here: Travel insurance terms and conditions (pdf, 135kb, Swedish only).
10. Eligible Participants shall receive the standard benefits from the British Airways Visa Card subject to the terms and conditions of use referenced in clause 5 above in addition to the Bonus Avios under the terms of this promotion.
11. These terms and conditions may be amended by the Promoter at any time.
12. The Promoter, administrator and issuer of the British Airways Visa Card is EnterCard Sverige AB, Corp ID no. 556673-0593, SE-105 34 Stockholm, tel +46 (0)771-48 00 50. EnterCard Sverige AB is subject to inspection by Finansinspektionen. Cancellation policy applies.
13. Questions regarding the British Airways Visa Card should be directed to EnterCard, tel +46 (0)771-48 00 50.
14. A flight discount of 10% applies to new British Airways Visa Card holders who've taken up the card between 01 September and 30 September 2017. Flights must be marketed and operated British Airways flights booked on ba.comby 31 March 2018 for travel by 31 October 2018. Discount of 10% is inclusive of taxes, fees and charges. One single-use discount code valid per customer. Eligible to be used on Single or Return journeys on routes between Sweden and the UK only. BA cabins available for this offer are Euro Traveller and Club Europe.

Lufthansa Miles&More points bargain Meilenschnäppchen

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Lufthansa monthly promotes Miles&More mileage bargains. September promotion is offering some nice destinations with up to 50% Miles&More discount.

  • Booking period: September 2017
  • Travel period: 01.01.2018 – 15.02.2018
  • Round trip in Business and Economy classes from Europe
  • Promotion and all destinations are available at: www.meilenschnaeppchen.de

Booking economy class with Lufthansa Miles&More isn’t feasible economically, due to very high YQ surcharges. For example, a round trip from Frankfurt to Hong Kong in economy class will cost 40 000 miles and $360 surcharges.

LufthansaeconomyclassHongkong

More interesting offers are in Lufthansa business class.

A roundtrip to Dallas or Chicago is only 55 000 instead of 105 000 miles + $380 taxes. This route is operated by A380, which makes it a great opportunity to experience Lufthansa business class onboard of A380.LufthansabusinessclassChicagoThere are also Asian destinations, including Tokyo and Beijing, which are available for 70 000 instead of 135 000 miles + 460 EUR in taxes.LufthansabusinessclassBeijingLufthansa Miles&More Meilenschnäppchen is also country dependent, so try playing with the departure country to find additional offers, for example departures from Austria have additional destinations in USA and Asia.

Royal Jordanian business class review Athens to Amman

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In July, I had to fly from Athens to Amman on Friday, and it’s the only day when Aegean Airlines is not operating flights to Jordan. The only option was to take Royal Jordanian airlines, which is a oneworld member. It was a good reason to status match with Airberlin topbonus, so I could get priority checkin, baggage and lounge access.

Royal Jordanian Crown business class review

  • Flight: Royal Jordanian RJ 132
  • Athens Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) – Amman Queen Alia International Airport (AMM)
  • Direct flight: duration 02h10m
  • Economy class -> Business class with bid upgrade
  • Aircraft: Embraer 175
  • Seat: 1A

I booked a flight with Royal Jordanian airlines in economy class, but used Go Crown bid upgrade service. Go Crown bid upgrade was available in My Booking section of RJ.com website. The lowest amount to bid was 100, my upgrade bid was only 110. Two days before departure I received email with congratulations on upgrade.

I checked in online and had only carry-on with me, so I didn’t have any counter check-in experience.

Royal Jordanian lounge in Athens

Athens airport is a StarAlliance hub, so there was no oneworld lounge. But as I was flying Royal Jordanian Crown business class and had Airberlin topbonus gold status, I was able to enter one of the contracted lounges in international A-zone of Athens airport.

The lounge was quite good. Definitely not comparable to Aegean or Lufthansa StarAlliance gold lounges, but it served the purpose. You can read separate review of the lounge here.

Royal Jordanian business class flight

Royal Jordanian flight 132 is operated on Embraer 175 with 1-2 seat configuration. I chose seat 1A so I can seat alone. Business class cabin was half empty, while economy class was almost completely full. The cabin looks a bit dated, seats were worn out and slightly dirty. There was already pillow on the seat and I asked for an additional blanket.

Food and drinks

Shortly after taking off, I was approached by a very polite and nice flight attendant. She asked me what would I like to drink, but as there was no food/drinks menu I had to ask “what do you have?”. She asked again what do I want, and we had to play this game two more times, just for the fun of it.

To my surprise, Royal Jordanian was providing alcoholic beverages, including champagne. I asked for a glass of champagne. I got a strong feeling that the crew didn’t know how to deal with such request. First the flight attendant asked a male colleague to help her find it, another 10 minutes they could not open it, next 5 minutes they were looking for a glass.

When I finally got server the glass, I was wondering what brand is it, if it is even champagne or just sparkling wine. The flight attendant went back and returned with a small bottle of Tattinger champagne. I couldn’t be happier :).

Royal Jordanian is also offering selection of Jordanian wines in business class. I have tried Jordanian wine in Amman and it’s quite drinkable and enjoyable. They have only 3 different producers, but they taste more or less the same.

Every passenger in business class cabin was offered a cup of traditional Jordanian coffee with cardamom. Can’t say I’d drink it ever again, but was a fun experience.

There was no food selection, so everyone got served the same plate of Arabic meze (eggplant, cheese pie, filled tomato and falafel), salad with dressing and bread/pita. I liked the food a lot, apart from the cheese pie. The dow became soggy after heating up.

After lunch, the flight offered me a refill of champagne, which I couldn’t deny. And glass by glass I finished entire bottle of Tattinger.

Inflight entertainment

None, apart from Royal Jordanian magazine. But it’s not a big issue, given the flight duration of 2 hours only.

Overall

I was very pleased with my Royal Jordanian business class experience. I had much lower expectations, but a bottle of champagne definitely raises it up. The crew was nice and polite, food was very tasty and the seat is much better than most of European airlines have in business class. We arrived on time to Amman Queen Alia International Airport and quickly left the aircraft.

The only negative moment was dirty and worn out cabin conditions, but I personally prefer old Embraer 175 over new Boeing 737.