Search results

Thanks -- now all we have to do is actually get there! Flights are running today, which is a good sign. But I'm just off the phone to Virgin and the earliest they can get us there is tomorrow. They've also told us that they won't pay for a second night's accommodation at Surfer's and that I...

Oh, before I forget, I have one quirky/annoying/interesting fact from my observations from row 3 during the MEL-OOL flight. Number of Economy passengers who used the Business class toilet: 4. Number of Economy passengers who were refused entry into the Business class toilet: 3.

Almost immediately after arriving in OOL we were informed that our flight to DPS was cancelled due to the volcanic eruption. A few minutes later, we received another email informing us that we had been rebooked onto a new itinerary: OOL-SYD-DPS … on Wednesday. We were given other options, but...

The day began with so much promise. VA743 MEL-OOL VA83 OOL-DPS Economy Class (EconomyX) 27,800 Velocity points plus $147.95 per person. Most of that $147.95 is tax, so actually the cost is quite reasonable given the circumstances. It is a six-hour direct flight to Bali from Melbourne. But...

Bingo!

Happy to hear that you and your family had a great time. We will be staying nowhere near Sanur ... hopefully there's more than one nice area to stay in Bali!

Going back to the justification for this trip report: I’m a middle-aged, relatively-seasoned traveller, but a Bali newbie. In fact I need to sheepishly confess that my entire experience of south-east Asia is limited to Singapore (which I love). So possibly there are AFF readers who would be...

This Trip Report won’t be for everyone. I’ve been in two minds for months over whether to write it at all. But there hasn’t been a Bali trip report on AFF for … well, for almost a whole year now. And the circumstances of this TR might be of some interest to at least a small subset of AFF...

With Google Translate or Apple Translate you could just open the app and point your phone camera at them for an instant translation...

I assume you're a business owner and you're able to put business spending on your AmEx and pocket the points yourself? If that's the case, yes, you can accumulate bucketloads of points using that method. Unfortunately, though, that's not a strategy that's open to most of us....!;)

Yep, time to vote with your feet! I've only ever taken out Westpac and Bank of Melbourne cards for their sign-up bonuses, which can still be OK.

Reliable 200mbps onboard for the duration -- that really is a game-changer!

I'm booked at the Ibis Melbourne Central. I'll certainly be snug in my 13 square metre room!

Sadly, you can't really consider yourself a frequent flyer if you haven't been bumped from an A330 on the SYD-MEL route at least once!

Next time I stroll the 3-minute walk between International and Domestic at MEL, I'll keep in mind what a massive sacrifice I'm making doing it in MEL rather than SYD where the international-to-domestic transfer is so much more convenient!! ;)

I find that amazing. So the MAX can't do some things that the NGs can do?

Agreed, with the exception of the $200 international dining credit. I'm perfectly happy to spend $200 in a good restaurant, with a $6 foreign currency fee on top, and then get $200 back. I'll also use it on hire cars overseas because the insurance is worth the 3% foreign currency fee.

Earlier this year I flew into Singapore at 5pm, on my way home to Melbourne. I was using points, and two options were available: Option 1: An overnight Singapore Airlines flight in Business Class after a transit of 6 hours or so. Option 2: Emirates First Class, leaving at 10am the next day. I...

I paid with my Commbank Mastercard and immediately got a fraud alert -- but they let the payment go through and I confirmed it was legit (apparently in that order).

Have upgraded from Gold to Platinum -- yay! I'm local but will book a hotel somewhere in the CBD.