Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been running a giveaway for 25,000 SPG points courtesy of the Starwood American Express.

The giveaway was through Twitter, and you could enter once per day. Anyway, the winner of the giveaway was @THERESAPISELLI, and s/he has been contacted with instructions on how to claim the prize.

Thanks to everyone that took part in the giveaway, and stay tuned for more giveaways over the coming months, as there are another 185,000 SPG points on the way!

For the first time ever I took my pants off in the Admirals Club. No, not in the bathroom, but at the table I was sitting at. Let me explain.

I’m having a bit of an odd travel day. I’m flying from New York to Atlanta on American, and then from Atlanta to Tampa on AirTran. That’s because I’m heading home from Asia and my ticket to Asia originated and terminated in Atlanta (because the fare was much lower from there). I completely spaced and forgot to book my ticket from Atlanta to Tampa, so last night logged online, only to find that AirTran had the lowest fare at only $80 one-way.

The good (and at the same time bad) news is that I have an hour-long connection in Atlanta. I need to get home tonight since I’m flying back up to New York tomorrow for my brother’s wedding, so I really do need to get home, wash my clothes, sleep, and head back to the airport.

I get to the security checkpoint in New York (LGA) and the contract worker ensuring you have a valid boarding pass asked me to place my carry-on in the sizer, and it didn’t fit.

Of course with my luck this has to happen on the very last segment of my journey. Heck, even Japan Airlines didn’t have a problem with my bag, which is a miracle in and of itself. Of course I realize she’s just doing her job, so I wasn’t about to blame her. I tried to reason with her to the extent that I was flying American Eagle and my carry-on would be gate checked anyway. She argued I was actually flying American, claiming American Eagle leaves from a different terminal.

But checking a bag just wasn’t an option, thanks in part to my short layover in Atlanta. There was no way I could go to baggage claim and still make my flight home. So I did what I’ve secretly always wanted to do. I walked about five feet over from the checkpoint, opened my bag, and started “layering.” It was a hot day in New York so I only had on shorts and a t-shirt. Two minutes later I was wearing three pairs of jeans, two sweatshirts, two shirts, and my biggest pair of shoes.

I asked the same agent if she wanted to “size” me again, and she responded with “no need, sir, go right ahead.”

Now, wearing three pairs of pants, and four shirts/sweatshirts wasn’t especially comfortable, and I’m pretty sure I looked like I was in a spacesuit to those in the security line.

As soon as I got through security I headed for the Admirals Club, found a table, and immediately started taking my pants off. It didn’t occur to me until they were off that others were giving me looks of pure horror. Oops.

There you have it, folks. That’s what it takes to make a connection on AirTran…

A lot of people assume my flying is all ice cream sundaes, caviar, and Wong Chin. To prove that’s not the case, check out (parts) of my boarding pass for today’s flight:

Oh yeah, I’m going there, and I’ll be Tweeting the whole way….

Introduction
Credit Card Points
Airline Miles
Hotel Points

Air Canada Aeroplan – 1.3 cents/mile

In November I valued Aeroplan miles at 1.5 cents each, which was already after their huge devaluation, though I think their value has gone down even further. Since then Lufthansa has full-on stopped releasing first class award space more than a couple of weeks before departure, eliminating quite a few redemption opportunities in advance. Furthermore, fuel surcharges have continued to rise as oil prices continue to increase, so the cost of redeeming Aeroplan awards keeps going up.

Best credit card(s) for earning Air Canada Aeroplan miles: Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Personal Card and Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Business Card, which offer one SPG point per dollar spent on all purchases, and two SPG points per dollar spent at SPG properties. Points can be transferred to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio, and for every 20,000 points transferred you get a 5,000 point bonus, meaning you’re essentially earning 1.25 Aeroplan miles per dollar spent.

Alaska Mileage Plan – 1.5 cents/mile

In November I valued Alaska miles at 1.4 cents each. In absolute terms I don’t think the miles have appreciated one bit, since the program has more or less remained the same. I do, however, think the miles have relatively appreciated, given that they partner with Cathay Pacific, which is one of the few airlines that continues to generously release transpacific award space.

Later this year it should be possible to redeem Alaska miles for travel on Emirates, so if that award chart looks good their miles could appreciate even further.

The thing preventing Alaska miles from being more valuable is that they don’t let you mix partners on an award ticket. While they have tons of partners, they don’t let you mix and match their partners on award tickets, which is a real challenge for many destinations. So my valuation of Alaska miles is based almost exclusively on the ease with which one can redeem for travel on Cathay Pacific.

Best credit card(s) for earning Alaska Mileage Plan miles: Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Personal Card and Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Business Card, which offer one SPG point per dollar spent on all purchases, and two SPG points per dollar spent at SPG properties. Points can be transferred to Mileage Plan at a 1:1 ratio, and for every 20,000 points transferred you get a 5,000 point bonus, meaning you’re essentially earning 1.25 Mileage Plan miles per dollar spent.

American AAdvantage – 1.8 cents/mile

American miles have consistently been increasing in value for me over the past couple of years. I even made a post about it recently. Lately American has overtaken United, in my opinion, when it comes to the ease with which one can redeem for international first class award tickets.

Last year American launched a partnership with Etihad, which has a solid first class product and excellent award availability to the Middle East and India. Cathay Pacific continues to have phenomenal first and business class award availability, releasing two first class award seats on many routes. Furthermore, at 135,000 American miles roundtrip it’s one of the most economical ways to get to Southeast Asia.

United miles are still more valuable for travel to Europe, though not by a huge margin anymore, ever since Lufthansa stopped releasing first class award space in advance.

So for me it has gotten to the point where American miles are as valuable as United miles, which is a first.

Best credit card(s) for earning American AAdvantage miles: Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Personal Card and Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Business Card, which offer one SPG point per dollar spent on all purchases, and two SPG points per dollar spent at SPG properties. Points can be transferred to AAdvantage at a 1:1 ratio, and for every 20,000 points transferred you get a 5,000 point bonus, meaning you’re essentially earning 1.25 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent.

British Airways Executive Club – 1.1 cents/Avios

Previously I valued British Airways Avios at 1.3 cents each, and obviously they have gone down substantially in value since then due to their award chart devaluation. That being said, there are still some great redemption opportunities using British Airways Avios, in particular for shorthaul flights in coach or business class, where you can get a roundtrip for as few as 9,000 Avios. So while it’s far from my favorite program, there is still some value in the program.

Best credit card(s) for earning British Airways Avios points: British Airways Visa Card, which offers 1.25 British Airways Avios points per dollar spent. For more flexibility the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Personal Card and Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Business Card are also good, given that they offer one SPG point per dollar spent on all purchases, and two SPG points per dollar spent at SPG properties. Points can be transferred to British Airways at a 1:1 ratio, and for every 20,000 points transferred you get a 5,000 point bonus, meaning you’re essentially earning 1.25 Avios points per dollar spent. Lastly, another great option is the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card, which offers 3x points on airfare, 2x points on gas and groceries, and 15,000 bonus points for any year in which you spend $30,000 on the card. Points can be transferred 1:1 to British Airways.

Delta SkyMiles – 1.1 cents/mile

I’m torn on this one, since I feel like I need to lower my valuation of Delta SkyMiles, given that I valued them at 1.1 cents per mile last November.

Since then Virgin Australia (one of their more useful partners) has just about completely stopped releasing business class award space. Furthermore, Air France has drastically reduced the amount of business class award space they release. And it really is a drastic change, since routes that were previously available almost every day hardly have any availability anymore.

But still, I can’t bring myself to value them at less than 1.1 cents each. At the end of the day there’s still some Air France transatlantic business class award space out there for 100,000 SkyMiles roundtrip, and I can’t value a business class award at less than $1,100 plus tax. And the decrease in Air France transatlantic award availability isn’t all that different than what we’ve seen with Lufthansa lately.

Also, a reader recently pointing out to me that Delta miles can at least easily be used for travel to South America does make them a bit more valuable, in my opinion.

Best credit card(s) for earning Delta SkyMiles: American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card, which offers 3x points on airfare, 2x points on gas and groceries, and 15,000 bonus points for any year in which you spend $30,000 on the card. Points can be transferred 1:1 to Delta SkyMiles.

United MileagePlus – 1.8 cents/mile

Nothing has really changed with MileagePlus since November, so you’re probably wondering why my valuation of United miles has gone down by 0.2 cents per point.

Unfortunately it’s because premium cabin award space isn’t even nearly as good as it used to be. Ever since Lufthansa stopped releasing first class award space to partner airlines more than a couple of weeks before departure, the transatlantic and transpacific options in first class really are limited.

The saving grace with United miles are twofold:
a) Changes are cheap, at most $75
b) United lets you make changes close to departure and after travel commences, meaning if you’re willing to wait you can still pull off “masterpiece” awards.

Still, it’s not quite as fun as it used to be.

Best credit card(s) for earning Mileage Plus miles: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which offers double points on dining and travel and a 7% annual points dividend, and the Chase Ink Bold Business Card, which offers 5x points on office supply stores and 2x points on gas and hotels, which can be transferred 1:1 to United. Alternatively the United Club Card earns 1.5 miles per dollar spent and offers lounge access, though comes with a hefty annual fee.

US Airways Dividend Miles – 1.5 cents/mile

In November I valued US Airways miles at 1.7 cents each, so much like the above the decrease in value accounts for the lack of premium cabin award space in advance, in particular on Lufthansa. The added challenge with US Airways is that they charge $150 for any ticket changes, and don’t allow any changes once travel commences.

So basically US Airways is great to the extent that you can book a first class award from the US to North Asia for only 120,000 miles, though it can be nearly impossible to maximize like I did in December.

Their off peak awards are also a fantastic value.

Best credit card(s) for earning US Airways Dividend miles: Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Personal Card and Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Business Card, which offer one SPG point per dollar spent on all purchases, and two SPG points per dollar spent at SPG properties. Points can be transferred to Dividend Miles at a 1:1 ratio, and for every 20,000 points transferred you get a 5,000 point bonus, meaning you’re essentially earning 1.25 Dividend Miles per dollar spent. Sometimes they even offer substantial bonuses for points transfers from SPG.

Full disclosure: I earn a referral bonus for anyone that signs up through the above links. It’s the best available offer, and of course I’m very appreciate of your support, regardless of whether or not you use my links.

Japan’s service culture has to be the most interesting in the world. For one, it’s the only place where they apologize to you for a free upgrade.

But during my recent trip to Japan there were a couple of other uniquely Japanese service experiences I have to share, both good and bad.

Let’s start with the bad. I was having lunch with friends at one of the restaurants at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto. We got there at around 2:30PM, were presented with lunch menus, and talked for about 30 minutes before ordering. The waiter comes over to take our order, and as we say what we want he says “oh, wrong menu, it’s not lunch time anymore.”

He proceeds to bring us the dinner menu, which has higher prices and a more limited selection. We asked if we could just order off the lunch menu since that’s what we were presented with, but he said no, because it wasn’t 2:30PM anymore. It’s the first time I’ve had the menus switched on me after sitting down.

Now, it’s not all bad news. As a Hyatt Diamond member I was given a 3,000 Yen (~$35USD) voucher at check-in for any restaurant purchase off the dinner menu. Now, while it wasn’t dinner time, the voucher specifically said that it was for orders off the dinner menu.

I figured that would compensate somewhat for the higher prices of the dinner menu.

He comes over and I present the voucher. He smiles and says “oh no, it’s lunch time, not dinner time.” Yeah, except you took the lunch menu right out of our hands as we were ready to order. He then claimed it was “snack time.” Fine, then present me with a “snack” menu and not the dinner menu please.

Look, I don’t want to be the “ugly” tourist. I understand Japan is about rules/procedures so I figured he could appreciate the fact that the voucher specifically said “dinner menu” and we were ordering off the dinner menu. While it took a bit of back and forth, we did eventually get the discount.

And here’s the other side of Japanese hospitality. We pulled up at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto and my friend had received a bottle of champagne as a welcome gift at the previous hotel. Stupidly he dropped it as the taxi door opened, and while it didn’t completely shatter, the top cracked and champagne started flowing out the top.

My friend grabbed it, not wanting to make a mess, but the lady at the hotel greeting us grabbed the bottle of champagne out of his hands and it sprayed on her instead, which we felt awful about. Nonetheless she proceeded to apologize profusely, and then performed “surgery” on the bottle to the point that it was fixed once again. It was made even better by the fact that she brought us some champagne glasses while at check-in so we could drink it in the lobby before it was flat.

On a somewhat unrelated note, negotiating (guaranteed) late check-out at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto was an adventure as well.

“Sir, would you like late check-out?”
“Yes, 4PM please.”
“How about 2PM?”
“How about 4PM, please?”
“We can do 2PM.”
“But am I not guaranteed 4PM check-out as a Diamond member?”
“We’re very full tomorrow. How about 2:30PM?”
“Okay, fine”
“Please hold on, let me ask my manger if we can do 2:30PM check-out.”
pause
“Okay, how about we move you to another room from 2PM to 2:30PM?”

For realz?

And of course no trip to Japan is complete without some Engrish: