Long Haul Business Class for under $2K (Long Post)

[Bonkabit]

23 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

 

I just arrived at my hotel, only to discover that Singapore Air also ripped one of the 4 sets of wheels off of my bag, ruining it.

If it is any comfort, you will find that prices of suitcases are relatively low in SE Asia.

Above all, in Vietnam. Many well-known brands are actually made there. At the big Tan Binh Market in central Saigon you can select from a big range at hard-to-beat prices.

[ThePope]

I possibly averted a disaster with my EK F trip. I was browsing flyertalk's aircanada section and a poster had issues with an aeroplan F award that was switched from Oman F to EK F due to a time change like my upcoming flight. He was denied boarding at checkin with EK due to his 'fare basis not matching fare class'. Im sure everyone here is aware of fare buckets/classes and how I is usually business award, Z is usually first award etc. Well when aeroplan rebooked this guy they didn't account for EK's strict 'fare basis' rules and kept his fare basis starting with "O" instead of reticketing it to start with "Z" and he had to be rebooked by aeroplan on TG. I looked my aeroplan itenerary up on cowtool (AC PNR Viewer) and had the same problem. I booked a test booking home-yyz-dxb and this booking came up with the fare basis starting in Z on the EK booking so i knew i had an issue. Called aeroplan, 1h waiting for them to call me back (great feature) and 5minutes explaining to an agent and another 1h15m on hold waiting for her to get through to ticketing and they reissued my tickets with the proper 'fare basis'. It was possible i would be denied boarding over this if i didnt catch it due to another poor guys loss on flyertalk

Started booking my 2nd trip of 2024, i have a trip for Jan-Feb2024 but decided July-Aug2024 is also calling. Aeroplan availability from YYZ to BKK is slim at the normal pricing so you have to basically book at 2100hrs eastern time 359 days out or whatever (booking Aug2 2024 and its now Aug7 2023) exactly when the EVA air single award flight per day opens up. Ive managed to grab my favourite outbound leaving home sunday evening after work, and im aiming for an Aug3 return. Ive been staggaring the booking every night; when July31 BKK-TPE-YYZ opened up i grabbed it, then when Aug1 opened up i grabbed it and instantly canceled July31... etc. This is also made more complicated as i want my YYZ-Home connection included but that doesnt come out till 358 days out... so i have to book the flight under a family members name and wait until the next day and quickly cancel it and rebook in my name

So ive done about 6 bookings for my BKK-TPE-YYZ-Home flight so far, staggaring the days and am holding Aug1 return all the way home in my own name, and Aug2 in a family members name hoping to cancel tomorrow evening and quickly rebook

[Luv2Phuket]

I think I saw a tweet or blog post questioning whether multiple bookings is "ethical" - in my opinion, the answer is a SOLID "HELL, YES!"

With points bookings getting even more and more difficult, I book anything that might remotely work and then cancel if something better comes along.  I'll also hold some for backups, just in case there is a change or cancellation.

 

[vivalv2001]

Looks like there's some September deals in J to BKK for those in Europe:

https://samchui.com/2023/08/16/business-class-deals-europe-to-asia-from-1568/?utm_source=BoardingArea&utm_medium=BoardingArea

[madmike]

An update for those trying to find business class from the states.  After doing a lot of online investigations and dates etc. here is what I ended up buying.

First the requirements. 

a)  Lie flat seat all aisle access on all the long haul (local 1 hour flight can be cattle class)

b)  Connections have to be reasonable.  No 12 hour waiting.  In worst case my connection in LAX is 4.5 hours which is OK since I do not trust American to be on time from Phoenix.

c)  No pretend airlines like Phillipines or Saudia.  And I chose to avoid the ones that routed east through the middle east despite some of those airlines and prices being competitive.  Even with good connections it was much longer flight times.

d)  Round trip with a stay duration of 60 days and I was open to any departure date in January with that condition.

I ended up with Cathay-Pacific long haul and American for local PHX-LAX legs.  Total cost $4,884.

I know some of you guys are better at using miles etc. but seems like they always make it impossible to use them for business class other than upgrades and I don't want to buy a ticket first THEN learn the upgrades aren't available.  So for old men like me who NEED to meet the conditions I specified this was the best I could find right now. 

I know, maybe I should hire a better competent computer user but this was truly the best deal I could find.  Please note I purchased directly with the airline no consolidator.

 

 

[bgtp]

Mixed results for me today. The good news is that I got my outbound for late October booked. I found a flight for 110K United miles MCO-SFO-TPE flying EVA business on the long haul. My award did include the domestic leg in coach which often happens when I book a United award. At least it includes the flight, I don't have to buy one and I'm on a single ticket if anything happens. Since MCO-SFO is a bit of a haul in itself and I'm tall, I paid the $169 for Economy Plus. Sucks that United makes you pay for that when you're on a business award and can't get first on the domestic leg. American doesn't charge for its Main Cabin Extra in similar situations. I'll finish the Taiwan portion of my trip in Kaohsiung and booked a nonstop flight from there to BKK on China Airlines using Delta miles.

The bad news today is that I got my first ever credit card denial. I was trying for the Citi AA Platinum Select and got instantly denied. I heard it's not uncommon and I think what the OMAT guy and others in the comments describe here happened to me, too. Bit of a bummer as I really need sign-up bonuses to make the game work for me.

[jmukh]

10 hours ago, bgtp said:

The bad news today is that I got my first ever credit card denial. I was trying for the Citi AA Platinum Select and got instantly denied. I heard it's not uncommon and I think what the OMAT guy and others in the comments describe here happened to me, too. Bit of a bummer as I really need sign-up bonuses to make the game work for me.

That's an odd reason; a high amount of unused credit (90%+) is critical to building a higher credit score, lowering your risk level, and ...qualifying for premium credit cards. Most of the folks in the game (and most of the advice on building / improving / repairing credit) is to lower your credit used to <10% of your available credit on each product, and to lower this to 0-1% if you're applying for a mortgage (debt to income ratios are a huge deal with current interest rates).

This creates a Catch-22. It's unfortunate, since I was hoping to add Citi AA cards at some point (I hate Barclays with a bitter, burning passion) and attempt AA status.

[Luv2Phuket]

12 hours ago, bgtp said:

Mixed results for me today. The good news is that I got my outbound for late October booked. I found a flight for 110K United miles MCO-SFO-TPE flying EVA business on the long haul. My award did include the domestic leg in coach which often happens when I book a United award. At least it includes the flight, I don't have to buy one and I'm on a single ticket if anything happens. Since MCO-SFO is a bit of a haul in itself and I'm tall, I paid the $169 for Economy Plus. Sucks that United makes you pay for that when you're on a business award and can't get first on the domestic leg. American doesn't charge for its Main Cabin Extra in similar situations. I'll finish the Taiwan portion of my trip in Kaohsiung and booked a nonstop flight from there to BKK on China Airlines using Delta miles.

The bad news today is that I got my first ever credit card denial. I was trying for the Citi AA Platinum Select and got instantly denied. I heard it's not uncommon and I think what the OMAT guy and others in the comments describe here happened to me, too. Bit of a bummer as I really need sign-up bonuses to make the game work for me.

Bummer on the denial -- I think I am about to get denied on my request for a new Chase Ink card, based on the fact that I ahve too many Chase Biz cards (currently, 3).  My plan is to cancel one when I get the new card, but I don't want to (a) downgrade from my current Ink to the no annual fee card (no bonus points!) or (b) cancel the current card BEFORE i get the new one, in case there is some kind of hiccup.

Current card (no longer offered) has $95 annual fee and gets 5X at office supply, and on mobile phone, internet, etc.

Card I am trying to get is no annual fee and still gets the 5X on office supply, internet, cable, etc....AND a 75,000 UR signup bonus with $6k spend in the first 3 months.

I may call a Chase rep to discuss.
 

2 hours ago, jmukh said:

That's an odd reason; a high amount of unused credit (90%+) is critical to building a higher credit score, lowering your risk level, and ...qualifying for premium credit cards. Most of the folks in the game (and most of the advice on building / improving / repairing credit) is to lower your credit used to <10% of your available credit on each product, and to lower this to 0-1% if you're applying for a mortgage (debt to income ratios are a huge deal with current interest rates).

This creates a Catch-22. It's unfortunate, since I was hoping to add Citi AA cards at some point (I hate Barclays with a bitter, burning passion) and attempt AA status.

My unused credit is absurdly high -- like 93-95%.

I have the Barclay's Silver and am using it a ton to try to keep Platinum Pro status....although I need to see of Platinum Pro is THAT much better than Platinum, which I am on the verge of hitting shortly.

I do like the 5k LP bonuses you get for $25k, $40k, and $50k spend each year (so 15k total bonus).

[jmukh]

3 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Card I am trying to get is no annual fee and still gets the 5X on office supply, internet, cable, etc....AND a 75,000 UR signup bonus with $6k spend in the first 3 months.

I have that one; it's a great card if I remember to grab Uber / Amazon gift cards every time I pass a Staples, which effectively gets 5x Chase points for both. Extremely lucrative for a $0 card you can hold forever. I'm currently trying to figure out if there's a way to use my signup bonus for a trip to Rome in the next week-ish; I've been having great luck with close-in availability on Air France recently.

Some folks in the Facebook groups have reported a lot of luck with repeated Ink signups, so they're rotating through free Ink cards every couple of months until Chase notices.

I elected not to tempt fate and grabbed the IHG business card next, as it doesn't hurt 5/24 (I just barely made it back under 5/24 a few months ago) and I can use the free night cert to justify the annual fee forever (it will be a sad year when I travel so infrequently I'm unable to use free night certs at Marriott, Hilton, and IHG). I also think I'm going to cancel my Amex Marriott card this December; I've been trying very hard to justify the new annual fee, but given how shittily Marriott treats me most of the time, I'm not sure I can do it (and I definitely won't be doing it enough to get to Titanium again after this year). I'd need to completely use the $300 in monthly restaurant credits *and* value the free night at $350 to make it work, and honestly, Bangkok hotels are so good in the $150-$200 range that I'm having a hard time valuing anything there at $350. Another reason to add another hotel card to the list.

If I drop the card as expected, I'll have 1 Marriott (business card), 1 IHG, and 1 Hilton free night every year, 4 Wyndham nights I need to use once every four years (2 years in now), and a $250 Hilton resort credit that can be used at the Hilton Pattaya. That should be doable.

I'm currently adding United travel bank credit at the rate of $450/yr and it expires in 5 years, so presumably I'm going to find some United-only (non-codeshare) availability in economy to Asia someday.

I'm not sure what my next card will be. I might take it easy and begin canceling a few cards (I'm looking at you, Alaska) to control annual fees a little more for the rest of this year. Amex Platinum may be on the chopping block next year.

Edited August 29, 2023 by jmukh

[Luv2Phuket]

Interesting breakdown on your hotel cards, @jmukh.

I have run into too may instances where I had to check into a hotel here in LV not to "waste" a free night certificate. 

I keep debating keeping an old business AMEX Marriott card -- annual fee is $129, and I only keep it for the free night.  Combining it with my Chase Biz marriott gives me 2 free nights.  In the past, the decision wasn't that hard -- I was self-employed and would right it off as "bank fees."  Starting a gig as a full time employees on Sept. 1, so that card may be dropped when it comes up for renewal.  That said, I love the fact that I can "top off" the 35k points with additional points to get a room at higher level.

Here's a breakdown of my (MANY!) annual free night certificates:
 - Hilton: 2 nights + $250 resort credit (1 with Aspire; 1 for spending $15k on AMEX Biz)
 - Hyatt: 2 nights (1 for Chase Hyatt card + a 2nd for $15k spend on it)
 - Marriott: 2 nights (Chase Biz + AMEX Biz cards)
 - IHG: 2 nights (Chase Premier + the old Chase card that closed years ago) + BOGO weekend night for Ambassador status (for which I pay $250 each year)

In the past, hitting the $15k spend was beyond easy, given taxes/estimated taxes.  Now I'm going to be a W2 employee, my (ugly) estimated tax payments are a thing of the past, so it may not be the same piece of cake that it has been.

To the extent the $15k spend may get difficult, the Hilton Biz AMEX may be the first to go.  It's tough because that room certificate has almost ZERO restrictions, while Hyatt is capped at Category 4.

I may drop Ambassador status, but it will depend almost entirely on when/if I am going to Pattaya.  I get good value from the BOGO and the guaranteed upgrade on paid nights at the InterContinental, which is one of my favorite properties.

Eh....who am I kidding?  I'm likely going to keep ALL of them and all of the nights that come with them!  555

BTW, on Wyndham, I got an email the other day offering me a status match.  Since you mentioned a free Hilton night and $250 credit, I assume you ahve the Aspire card, which also nets you Diamond status.  If you don't have top tier status with Wyndham, you should look into that.

I haven't stayed at a Wyndham in donkey's years (as my Mom would say), but I'm thinking top tier status is top tier status!  555

 

[Luv2Phuket]

Heads up for anyone who holds BA Avios (or really ANY Avios): Chase is currently offering a 30% bonus on UR transfers.

I was nowhere near the 3-year expiration date on my Avios, but decided to move them back to BA from Qatar (not sure if the transfer counts as activity - it likely does) and waste 1000 URs to start my 3 year clock running again.

Looking at the Google results, even a redemption extends you for 3 more years, so that was likely a stupid thing to do....and the same mistake I think I made a few years ago!  555

BUT if anybody has a Qatar award in their sights, it's a great opportunity to get the 30% transfer bonus by going Chase to BA, then BA to Qatar (pretty sure Chase does not transfer directly to Qatar Avios).

[jmukh]

21 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

BTW, on Wyndham, I got an email the other day offering me a status match.  Since you mentioned a free Hilton night and $250 credit, I assume you ahve the Aspire card, which also nets you Diamond status.  If you don't have top tier status with Wyndham, you should look into that.

Yup, I believe I already have Diamond from the Wyndham Earner Business. Haven't used it, since I've never stayed at once, but I liked that the "free night" is you getting the equivalent number of points, which expire after 4 years. That makes it the easiest card benefit to use, since instead of an annual night, I just need to spend 4 nights there on points once every 4 years (plus my sign-up bonus, so this might be 5-6 nights the first time).

I had my eye on Yangon, since they had a Wyndham hotel that apparently had girls in the basement lounge, so I figured it'd be a great way to visit Burma, but this coup situation might not resolve itself in the next couple of years, so worst-case scenario I'll just use them in Colombia.

21 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

In the past, hitting the $15k spend was beyond easy, given taxes/estimated taxes.  Now I'm going to be a W2 employee, my (ugly) estimated tax payments are a thing of the past, so it may not be the same piece of cake that it has been.

I voluntarily lowered my federal withholding to $0 after my former employer royally botched my taxes (they withheld $70 for the year, but unfortunately for me, I am not in the Donald Trump Tax Plan). Then I make a payment myself every quarter on my estimated taxes so I'm not hurting in April and blowing my entire bonus on taxes.

21 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

 - Hilton: 2 nights + $250 resort credit (1 with Aspire; 1 for spending $15k on AMEX Biz)
 - Hyatt: 2 nights (1 for Chase Hyatt card + a 2nd for $15k spend on it)
 - Marriott: 2 nights (Chase Biz + AMEX Biz cards)
 - IHG: 2 nights (Chase Premier + the old Chase card that closed years ago) + BOGO weekend night for Ambassador status (for which I pay $250 each year)

Are you getting good value on all of these certs in Pattaya / Bangkok? I was under the impression Hyatt didn't have a ton of options when I looked at it a couple of years ago, and I'm never going to do enough nights to get a meaningful level of status, so I haven't looked at it in a while (despite every travel blog raving about it). I didn't see great Marriott options in Pattaya either, but I usually use those in Bangkok. Hilton in Thailand was incredible (the Conrad works for Amex's $200 hotel credit, the rates are awesome, the Pattaya Hilton is considered a "resort" for the $250 annual credit, the free night cert was worth $360 there on Dec. 30th.). Hilton's my favorite for BKK so far. Very good in Kuala Lumpur as well.

IHG: This one's new to me, so I haven't used it yet. Where do you recommend in BKK / Pattaya for the free night cert? Do you have favorites for Hyatt certs in BKK or Pattaya?

[Luv2Phuket]

9 hours ago, jmukh said:

I voluntarily lowered my federal withholding to $0 after my former employer royally botched my taxes (they withheld $70 for the year, but unfortunately for me, I am not in the Donald Trump Tax Plan). Then I make a payment myself every quarter on my estimated taxes so I'm not hurting in April and blowing my entire bonus on taxes.

Are you getting good value on all of these certs in Pattaya / Bangkok? I was under the impression Hyatt didn't have a ton of options when I looked at it a couple of years ago, and I'm never going to do enough nights to get a meaningful level of status, so I haven't looked at it in a while (despite every travel blog raving about it). I didn't see great Marriott options in Pattaya either, but I usually use those in Bangkok. Hilton in Thailand was incredible (the Conrad works for Amex's $200 hotel credit, the rates are awesome, the Pattaya Hilton is considered a "resort" for the $250 annual credit, the free night cert was worth $360 there on Dec. 30th.). Hilton's my favorite for BKK so far. Very good in Kuala Lumpur as well.

IHG: This one's new to me, so I haven't used it yet. Where do you recommend in BKK / Pattaya for the free night cert? Do you have favorites for Hyatt certs in BKK or Pattaya?

Lowering my withholdings is a good idea -- I kinda like making those big, lump sum quarterly tax payments to spread out potential card bonuses. 555

As for value from my free night certificates, pre-COVID, I was killing it....post-COVID, not so much.

You are correct that Hyatt and Marriott are useless in Pattaya, so I tend to use them in Bangkok.  I made a last minute reservation, so no Hyatt awards were available and I used points at the Hyatt Regency, which (absurdly, IMHO) is only a Category 2 hotel.  Hyatt cert is good on Category 1-4. 

The other good option in Bangkok is the Grand Hyatt Erawan, which is Category 3 (but oddly the cash price is often lower than the Hyatt Regency).

The Marriott certs are good for 35,000 points per night, but you can top them off with up to 15,000 points.  My plan was to use them in Singapore at the St Regis, but the trip got FUBARed and I only ended spending 1 ngiht there (for which I used a cert + 7,000 Bonvoy points).  Also, one cert arrived too late to be of use for that trip.

I tend to use the Hilton certs in Pattaya, and killed my annual $250 credit there on a recent trip, but I am using 1 of the 2 for a hotel in South Beach when I travel through Miami later this year.  I usually try to combine those certs with a "5th night free" points booking in Pattaya.  Given that I only have 1 Marriott cert left, I may try to use it in Miami instead and preserve the possibility for 7 free nights in Pattaya.

The free night certs for IHG I tend to use at the InterContinental in either Pattaya or Bangkok.  A a general rule, the Holiday Inn is so cheap on points that using a certificate does not make much sense.  I think the certificates are for 35,000 points and, as I understand it, they can now be topped off with IHG points.

The value you get from certs in Asia is incredible compared to the USA.  I can get the St Regis in Singapore on a cert + some points vs like a Courtyard Inn here!

That said, with my travel to Thailand/Asia possibly diminishing in the coming year(s) due to my new position, I may be hard pressed to get full value out of them (hence my use of a Hilton cert in Miami).

EDIT:

Glad you asked about the value, because it got me thinking about whether I should use 1 of my 2 Hilton certificates OR my lone remaining Marriott certificate in Miami.

I decided the 1 Marriott cert had a little less value to me, especially with 2 Hyatt certs ready for my next Bangkok stay, so I used it for Miami.  Decent value - about 1.25 cents per point (35,000 point certificate + 15,000 Bonvoy points for a room that is running $635).  I THINK it's close to where some coworkers are in Miami, but not sure.

Hilton I was looking at on South Beach was 95,000 Hilton points, but standard award so Hilton cert would work, but it was only going for $338.

[cygnus100]

25 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Lowering my withholdings is a good idea -- I kinda like making those big, lump sum quarterly tax payments to spread out potential card bonuses. 555

 

 

Is there a fee when paying taxes with credit card? Do the points make up for the cost of the fee?

 

 

26 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

You are correct that Hyatt and Marriott are useless in Pattaya, so I tend to use them in Bangkok.  I made a last minute reservation, so no Hyatt awards were available and I used points at the Hyatt Regency, which (absurdly, IMHO) is only a Category 2 hotel.  Hyatt cert is good on Category 1-4. 

Looks like there is a Hyatt in Jomtien https://www.hyatt.com/andaz/utpaz-hyatt-andaz-pattaya-jomtien-beach. Is that hotel any good?

[Luv2Phuket]

39 minutes ago, cygnus100 said:

 

Is there a fee when paying taxes with credit card? Do the points make up for the cost of the fee?

 

 

Looks like there is a Hyatt in Jomtien https://www.hyatt.com/andaz/utpaz-hyatt-andaz-pattaya-jomtien-beach. Is that hotel any good?

1.88% fee to pay with credit card - IMHO, the reward is worth it, but YMMV

Andaz in Na Jomtien discussed here - pretty far south (actually 2.5 km south of the Renaissance, which I consider a little too far south for a Pattaya Marriott redemption)
 

 

[HimBadMan]

Disaster strikes 😭

Was planning to utilize my Cathay Pacific Unicorn Business class redemption tonight. Sfo to HKia to BKK.

Well 330am rcvd email from Cathay.   Flight from SFO to HK cancelled due to a super typhoon.   Called them right at 330am and no options for another 3 to 4 days.

Around 4am logged into my AA account somehow there was a biz class flight fom Phx to DFW to BKK... But it leaves at 6am.   It's about 4am when I booked it.

Txt my boss told him I won't be in today.. jumped in my car booked it to the airport while I called AA because I knew issuing the ticket would be a pain ...

Made it to PHX airport with 30 mins to spare.   But realized my flight from nrt to bkk.  Was actually haneda to BKK the next day   so I will need to hang out in Japan for the night.

I will arrive 5 hours later than my original flight with CX.    So not terrible 

But I am worried about my flight sat from haneda to bkk because there are many typhoons hanging in the Pacific.

This is the 1st time in a long time that Im having these travel issues.   Just hope all works out.    And I at least am still flying business class.  

Once I get to nrt I will beg JL to see if I can get on their 6pm flight to BKK. I arrive 3pm.  They are selling those tickets for $1500.  So I won't pay it.   And doubt they will switch my ticket because I never have good luck with Japan airlines customer service 

Ohh.. and I only have a 70 min connection from landing in dfw to board my flight to Japan.   It's the same terminal.   But need my phx flight to leave on time and land on time and run run run.     And I'm currently waiting for takeoff on the Runway.     Wish me luck fellas 

Edited August 31, 2023 by HimBadMan

[Luv2Phuket]

Good luck!  I hope to see an update tomorrow that you are relaxing after getting a nice "welcome back BBBJ" in Thailand!

Shocked that you found AA availability.  I have a warchest of AA miles and always search them first, to no avail.  Hoping that Cathay starts opening up more and more seats to make them useful again.

[HimBadMan]

Well I made it to Narita.   But of course JL din't help me get on the 6pm flight to BKk.

So on the bus now to Haneda (cost $20). Will take about 75 mins.  Booked a JAL hotel close to HND airport for about $70 for the night.

My flight to bkk is scheduled on time for 11am in BKK by 330.  And hopefully into my Marriott hotel in BKK by 530pm if all goes well.

Yes I couldn't believe I saw a business class award all the way to BKK on AA the day of (90 mins before departure at that).

Deciding if I should hit the town in Tokyo tonight and make the best of it or sleep.      It's about a 40 min train ride to the city center.    I'll see how I feel 

Edited September 1, 2023 by HimBadMan

[Dinosaur20]

5 hours ago, HimBadMan said:

Well I made it to Narita.   But of course JL din't help me get on the 6pm flight to BKk.

So on the bus now to Haneda (cost $20). Will take about 75 mins.  Booked a JAL hotel close to HND airport for about $70 for the night.

My flight to bkk is scheduled on time for 11am in BKK by 330.  And hopefully into my Marriott hotel in BKK by 530pm if all goes well.

Yes I couldn't believe I saw a business class award all the way to BKK on AA the day of (90 mins before departure at that).

Deciding if I should hit the town in Tokyo tonight and make the best of it or sleep.      It's about a 40 min train ride to the city center.    I'll see how I feel 

Definitely worth going to Tokyo since the transport to and from either airport is consistent and pretty good. It's a shame you already booked the hotel, sleeping at a net cafe is comfy enough and can cost like $30 to have somewhere to sleep for the night, and most staff at them within Tokyo speak English/have all the phrases they need to get you in preloaded on to a translator and know how to deal with foreigners. Coinlockers everywhere for you to leave hand luggage and stuff off at too. 

[bgtp]

5 hours ago, HimBadMan said:

Well I made it to Narita.   But of course JL din't help me get on the 6pm flight to BKk.

So on the bus now to Haneda (cost $20). Will take about 75 mins.  Booked a JAL hotel close to HND airport for about $70 for the night.

My flight to bkk is scheduled on time for 11am in BKK by 330.  And hopefully into my Marriott hotel in BKK by 530pm if all goes well.

Yes I couldn't believe I saw a business class award all the way to BKK on AA the day of (90 mins before departure at that).

Deciding if I should hit the town in Tokyo tonight and make the best of it or sleep.      It's about a 40 min train ride to the city center.    I'll see how I feel 

Glad you’re almost there. If you can get in only 5 hours behind your original schedule, I’d call that a win. My last weather mishap I got in about 7 hours later than originally planned and I was more than grateful. Have a great trip! How long are you out there for?

[Luv2Phuket]

Congrats on making it in - I agree that, despite the inconveniences, this is a HUGE "save"!

[Luv2Phuket]

On 31/08/2023 at 06:09, HimBadMan said:

Disaster strikes 😭

Was planning to utilize my Cathay Pacific Unicorn Business class redemption tonight. Sfo to HKia to BKK.

Well 330am rcvd email from Cathay.   Flight from SFO to HK cancelled due to a super typhoon.   Called them right at 330am and no options for another 3 to 4 days.

 

Thought of you when I saw this blog -- apparently an Ethiopian flight (ironically from Bangkok) was the last flight into HKG, arriving about 3 hours after the last flight.  Apparently, Ethiopian tried to fly back to BKK in the height of the typhoon, but eventually cancelled.

....nice reminder to me to avoid Ethiopian Airlines!  555

https://onemileatatime.com/news/ethiopian-airlines-hong-kong-typhoon-flight/

[Luv2Phuket]

Juist got fucked by Qatar on my award ticket next February.  

Instead of a 2+ hour layover, I now have a 9 1/2 hour, overnight layover.  Now I get in at 10:30 p.m. and leave at 8 a.m. the next morning (but I do have Q Suites from DOH-LAX; just reverse herringbone A380 from BKK-DOH)

When I contacted them about a complimentary hotel room, I was told my fare is not eligible (I assume because it is an award ticket).

Kinda thought they might make an exception since they're the ones who fucked me by cancelling my flight....but no dice.

I figure I need to book a room with a bed for that long of a layover.  I hope it doesn't cost a fortune...

Anybody ever have to spend an overnight in Doha?  Any crazy visa rules for Americans? 

[momo5]

38 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Juist got fucked by Qatar on my award ticket next February.  

Instead of a 2+ hour layover, I now have a 9 1/2 hour, overnight layover.  Now I get in at 10:30 p.m. and leave at 8 a.m. the next morning (but I do have Q Suites from DOH-LAX; just reverse herringbone A380 from BKK-DOH)

When I contacted them about a complimentary hotel room, I was told my fare is not eligible (I assume because it is an award ticket).

Kinda thought they might make an exception since they're the ones who fucked me by cancelling my flight....but no dice.

I figure I need to book a room with a bed for that long of a layover.  I hope it doesn't cost a fortune...

Anybody ever have to spend an overnight in Doha?  Any crazy visa rules for Americans? 

Visa on arrival, for 30 days, is free for US citizens.  
 

There are several Marriott hotels close by; I’ve seen a sign for a transit hotel but don’t know anything about it.  There’s probably plenty of cheaper options close by, but with only 9-10hrs, I’d prefer something close and easy to manage. 

[Luv2Phuket]

I booked (fully cancelable) a room at the transit hotel….with taxes, about $400 USD.  Fuuuuuck me….

They have little pod rooms at a lounge, but they are in the $300 neighborhood with taxes.

I may check the hotels close to the airport.

EDIT:

So an update that may prove helpful to others.

Qatar left me a message saying that, although I did not qualify for the free room, I could book the room as a paid accommodation through their service center.

This turned into a complete waste of at least an hour.  After being on hold for forever, I was disconnected.  Called back and again had to be passed to multiple people (all with incredibly heavy accents and a penchant for speaking very fast!).

Lady I ended up with said she would request it and they would get back to me in 2 to 3 business days.  After we hung up, though, I already had an email saying I didn't qualify....which was right where I started! 555

I'll give it a few days, then try back, but all I wanted to do was book the room as a paid accommodation.  

Discounted rate is $150 USD, so about 1/2 the cost of booking it on my own.