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Agreed. In my case, the travel insurance is part of my calculation in deciding to get a card, but not the only factor. Reward points are important, the annual fee is important, but the free flight I have found I usually do not use in practice, because of all the restrictions on its use.

I'm planning an around-the-world trip, so I decided to compare the travel insurance offered with my two credit cards: The American Express Ultimate Qantas (AUQ) card and the Westpac Earth Platinum Plus (EPP). The direct-from-Amex card comes out of the comparison looking totally inadequate. I...

I'll put my stuff in a shared middle seat and expect the person on the other side to do the same, if they care to. I try to keep my stuff to my side of the middle seat, at least until it's clear that the other person won't be using their half. After eating, I'll pull the middle tray down and put...

They used to be essential, but I hated how heavy they were in my luggage, and the restaurant reviews were always outdated. These days, I rely on Wikitravel and the like instead.

I think that's what they have on BA flights: a set bag that you can put your feet in. Better than nothing, but not as good as perfectly-sized hand luggage. I have a roller-bag that will *just* fit under the seat in front on larger planes, and it makes a great footrest.

I leave the soap,but take the biscuits, and sometimes a teabag or two.

It depends how long I will be there, how long I have to prepare, where else I will be going on that trip, and how widely English is spoken in the places I will be visiting. If I am visiting one destination on a trip, I will do my best to learn some key phrases before I go - especially if I will...

I use Skype. Calls from Skype to phones around the world are very cheap.

The chicken quinoa salad is excellent.

WeMo Switch

If you want to try the air purifier, you could buy one of the Belkin plug attachments so that you can turn it on and off remotely, for instance turning it on a day or two before you get home. If you want to try the open windows, you could get security screens for them.

Congrats, Jessica :) I just reached LTS a month ago myself and was quite pleased, too.

I ate at Dinner by Heston in London once. The savory porridge entree was interesting and very worth a try. The chicken main tasted just like Red Rooster. I can't even remember my dessert. Overall, I'd say it didn't live up to my (extremely high) hopes.

So currently, I have: a Woolworths Everyday Rewards card, a Westpac Earth Platinum Plus account and an Amex Ultimate Qantas card. I should get rid of one of them, but in the meantime, can someone tell me whether any of these will give me reward points for an ATO payment?

I took earplugs to the last concert I went to at a venue that I know tends to have the volume at hearing-damaging levels. It was actually easier to follow the lyrics with the ear-plugs in that without (otherwise, the volume was just overwhelming). Unfortunately, it somehow changed the quality of...

Yep, that sounds like treating it as theft after it has been reported to the airline :) Still, I wonder what the police guidelines are regarding what they do and don't respond to, when it comes to petty crimes. A rock through our front window when no-one was home? No. Theft of $50 through a...

Re: QF Upgrade Success Rate I've had near 100% success Y-J when flying alone. Almost all long-haul international. I've had 0% success Y-J when flying with my husband.

I saw it happen once, in one of the Heathrow BA lounges. In that case, it was a group of drunken young men. But I agree with others that it is plain theft.

I used to like hotelclub for the rewards to be used against the cost of my next booking, but recently, I have found that the prices are high enough to negate the benefit of the reward %. I'm back to bookings.com or wotif or Serko (the govt travel agent site). Serko gives less info and fewer...

I tried it and got a "very good" 789. I'm not sure why it isn't "excellent": perhaps because I have kept my mortgage account open to act as a flexible line of credit, despite having it effectively fully paid off via funds in an offset account? Or perhaps because I have three different credit...