April 02, 2007
April 2nd Update
Just a little update to keep this thing semi-current.
My travel for April includes:
4/26 - 4/27: Washington, D.C. for the annual Freddie Awards.
4/27 - 4/29: Portland, OR to San Jose, Costa Rica (via Atlanta and Minneapolis) [mistake fare]
May:
5/4 - 5/6: Portland, OR to San Jose, Costa Rica (via Atlanta and Minneapolis) [same mistake fare, second trip]
I think that's it for now. No further travel plans until June, but as always, plan for change. ;)
Posted by Derek at 11:32 PM | Comments (8)
August 08, 2006
I've Done it Again
$140 for 9000 miles. SYR-DTW-SEA-ATL-SYR all on Saturday. That's about 1.5 cents/mile, which is well below the "Golden Rule" of 2 cents/mile. I think next year I'll be too busy spending all my miles to pay for anything. . .
Posted by Derek at 10:13 AM | Comments (7)
August 05, 2006
Budget Travelers Take Cyprus and Italy by Storm, and Doing it in Style
Travel Escapade 2006-003
Route:
YYZ-FCO-LCA-MXP-YYZ
(Toronto-Rome-Larnaca, Cyprus-Milan-Toroto)
[bold indicates a stopover]
Rome: 2.5 days
Cyprus: 4 days
Milan 3 days
Distance:
11,287 actual flight miles (base mileage
4,268 bonus miles (50% bonus for booking in business class)
14,111 bonus miles (125% Platinum status bonus)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
net: 29,666 banked miles.
Dates:
8/21/06 - 9/1/06
Airfare:
$212
Synopsis:
April 5th was a magical day. I woke up, launched my browser, and was greeted with this: a mistake airfare rate of $33+tax for business class roundrip tickets from Toronto to Cyprus. After a quick second to recall where Cyprus was, I was booking myself a ticket. I asked my parents if they wanted in. They did, so I booked them a trip at the end of December. I called my brother who was luckily home at the time. He answered the phone. "Hello?", he said. I replied, "Do you want to go to Cyprus for $33+tax in business class?" He said, "Book it."
After a comical game of tug-o-war between the airline (Alitalia) and those of us who booked this mistake ticket, we were offered that they (the airline) would honor the ticket and grant us a ONE TIME ONLY date change from what we originally booked, pending seat availabilty on our new dates. This was a comprimise for both parties, as they could easily have cancelled the fares outright. On the other hand, these are full fare, unrestricted business class tickets. Basically worth their weight in gold as they are supposed to be fully flexible, allowing date changes, routing changes, stopovers, whatever you like. The tickets normally sell for about $3900 RT. My brother and I booked for the same dates, then a few days ago we got serious and moved the trip to dates that worked for both of us and got the changes made. We get to see Rome, Cyprus, and Milan on this trip, flying in business class the whole way, and for just over $200, although most of that cost is taxes and fuel fees. This is probably the best deal I've scored so far, although I'll reserve final judgement until I've completed the trip. :wink:
The missing link, you might be thinking, is how I'm going to get from MSP(my home) to Toronto. Well, I may fly standby on my brother's benefits, so MSP-LAS/PHX/PHL-Toronto. Or, I may buy a standby ticket on Air Canada and try to fly nonstop from MSP-Toronto. But that costs real money ($50) ;). The other standby flights are essentially free (aside from a few taxes/fees which are basically peanuts).
Posted by Derek at 10:27 AM | Comments (1283)
March 10, 2006
The City by the Bay
As usual, I haven't planned much of anything to do as far as sightseeing and the like once I arrive in Singapore. I was able to book a hotel room for 2 nights on the cheap yesterday, so I at least have somewhere to stay and a partial plan (spend the first 2 days sightseeing in Singapore). After that, I'm not sure. The plan is to take the train into Malaysia at some point, either to KL or Penang, but I haven't decided yet. I do know it is cheaper in Malaysia and that makes it very appealing. I'm spending the night in The City by the Bay (San Francisco) tonight before my flight across the ocean departs tomorrow afternoon. Right now, today's flights look extremely full and I hope to get bumped and collect some cash. We'll see how that works out . . .
Posted by Derek at 08:54 AM | Comments (1)
March 03, 2006
Singapore? More Like Sing, I'm Poor
I've got a 8 day trip coming up in just over a week, and other than 2-3 days within the city itself, I'm not sure what to do with my time. I've got local options (train into Malaysia) and regional options (discount airline Tiger Air) and more far-reaching options (redeeming an award ticket to somewhere within North/South Asia). Perhaps I should fly to Guam or Saipan and lay on the beach for the remaining time? Go to South Korea and visit a friend for a few days? Same for Nagoya or Tokyo? Go back into Thailand and pick up where I left off? Re-visit Hong Kong? Try and squeeze out a Chinese visa in the next couple of days (yes, it is possible) to visit a new friend in Changsha, China? I just don't know. Thoughts? Of course, anything I do will cost money, and with another extensive trip to Asia with some friends coming up in May/June, I'm saving what I can for that . . .
Posted by Derek at 12:03 AM | Comments (68)
December 27, 2005
Travel Escapade #2006-001
Route:
MSP-DFW-ACA-DFW-ORD-NRT-KIX-KUL-BKK-KUL-BKI-KIX-SFO-ORD-MSP
Distance:
26,009 miles
Dates:
1/6/06 - 1/17/06
Transportation costs:
$105 + $419 +$33 = $557
Synopsis:
This is basically two separate trips that I was able to book back-to-back. I got a mistake fare last month from Minneapolis (MSP) to Acapulco (ACA) for $105 RT. I booked 4 tix for me and my family to go from 1/6-1/9 as sort of our "winter vacation". A few days ago, I saw $319+tax airfare from Dallas (DFW) to Osaka, Japan (KIX). I had a brainstorm -- normally I would be unable to take advantage of this deal. But I happen to be passing through DFW on my return from ACA. So, I decided to skip my final leg home to MSP, stay in DFW for a few hours, and jump on the deal (as that is a very good price from anywhere in the US) to Japan. So, I'd be in Osaka, Japan for 6 nights . . . Awesome. Then I got to thinking . . . Japan is really expensive for transportation, food, etc . . . I have a lot of frequent flier miles . . . It only costs 20,000 frequent flier miles to go from Japan to anywhere in Asia . . .
A few hours later, my brother and I were planning a 4 day trek through Bangkok & Thailand (BKK). To get my award ticket redeemed, I had to connect through Kuala Lumpur (KUL). Actually, I'd have to overnight in Kuala Lumpur on my way to Bangkok. Aww, shucks. Now I'd have to explore another city. ;) Since this "mini trip" is bracketed inside the original trip to Japan, I'll also have a day on either end in Osaka, which should be enough time to see my cousin and a friend who are both studying in Japan right now. I also have a $250 voucher for hotels in Japan, so my lodging there will be free. All this and back in time to start school for the final time. Oh, and a final plus: I get to transit through Kota Kinabalu (BKI), one of the stops on The Amazing Race from a few years ago, and also a place I thought I might never pass through.
Thoughts? Comments? Slaps upside the head? :)
Posted by Derek at 08:30 AM | Comments (0)