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I flew up to Sydney yesterday but I’ll spare you a post about my VA MEL-SYD flight, except to say that it was a typical VA MEL-SYD flight. The internet worked. So our trip began with a Didi to Sydney Airport at 5:30am, and a walk to Virgin Australia Check-In. Of course, the car dropped us of in...

Definitely following, and well done for doing a TR — the first post is the hardest! One lesson: Burgers on planes don’t work.

I am writing this Trip Report for me (and my family), to remember what may well be my mother’s final overseas trip. She is in her mid-eighties, having had an incredible life … a life worthy of a book, in fact! She spent her childhood in a war zone, a witness to terrorism. She remembers tanks...

Apologies if this has already been said but I think it’s a relevant point. My last 3 overseas trips have all been this year, and all booked (with relatively little difficulty, all things considered) with points. But I have EITHER been flying solo, or flying Economy. Both of those things make...

I shared my experience in my recent Trip Report. I agree that it’s a great seat. Along with the Cathay Service, it was one of the best Business class flights I’ve flown...

As a general rule, more and more smaller shops have surcharges, but the bigger chains (including supermarkets, petrol stations, department stores, and many hotels and utilities) don’t have surcharges. What this looks like for me is that even though probably half of the merchants I buy from have...

Not at all. The vast majority of my bookings with them have been done online. I can’t remember why I had to call them but I think it had something to do with including a domestic leg that wasn’t showing up online. It’s a good programme, particularly for Cathay’s own flights as they generally...

Pretty much instant, yes. I was once on the phone to Cathay customer service, organising a redemption booking, and the booking required more points than I had in my Cathay account. While on the phone I did a transfer from AmEx, the points turned up in my Cathay account within a minute, and I...

Well, I'm sure I have a breaking point. But at the moment I'm making more redemptions than ever, and flying more on points than ever. If I have a breaking point, it's so far away that I can't even see it on the distant horizon.

Totally agree. Part of the thrill of the hunt is finding new loopholes and sweet spots as the old ones close. They do exist. And as for people leaving the game, if they leave and I stay, that can only be good for me.

It takes a special type of warped mind to regularly fly long-haul in Business class or higher using points. It always has. Everything you write is true. But to my warped mind, that's part of the fun. It's like a hunt -- you spend hours and hours fruitlessly searching for your prey, but when you...

Really the trend for the past couple of years now (at least) has been for airlines to give first dibs to members of their own FF programmes. It's happening more and more, which means that flexible points programmes are more important than ever. As @bcworld rightly pointed out, Singapore...

Welcome to AFF @BC-Treks !

Will DM you.

Sorry if this has been covered above. I'm looking to book a hotel in Europe (Geneva) for a stay in April next year. Is there potential benefit in holding off until after October 1 so I can take advantage of the then worldwide 15% discount, or would it be better to book now? (The third option...

No, you are not correct. The changes affect all "flavours" of MR points including Gateway, Ascent and Ascent Premium. CX is one of the programmes whose redemption rates will change from 2:1 to 3:1. Rates to a few programmes such as Qantas FF, Velocity and KrisFlyer will not change.

What an interesting article -- thanks for sharing @VPS !

I noticed that too. But how could Cathay possibly know whether the points you transfer are from a sign-up bonus or not? I'd be mildly surprised if you don't end up getting the 10% bonus points. But of course there's no way of knowing for sure until/unless you make the transfer. And even then...

Thanks for your insights. I will report back from Versailles. I love how we're having this conversation: AFF stands for "Artistic Frequent Flyer", right?

@FlyingFiona I haven't been able to get your comments about Vigée Le Brun out of my head, and now that I'm home I've been able to get out my catalogue and have another look at her Marie Antoinette portraits... Maybe I'm being a bit harsh. On the other hand, I read with interest the...