Using a BA 241 voucher on a trip to the US

I'm looking to take a trip to the US using my BA 241 voucher - looking at economy outbound to the East Coast, preferably Washington ... spend a few days in Washington, fly down to Florida and have a few days there ... and fly back Business Class, preferably on a B747 (so we can experience the Upper Deck) on a slightly longer flight that the short hop from the East Coast cities.

I've found Business Class reward seats available on the LAS - LHR flight on Sunday 20th December departing at 20:40 and arriving into London at 14:35 giving almost 10 hours (hopefully in the Upper Deck) of a B747.

For the outbound flight - I've found reward seats in Economy available on Friday 11th December from LHR - PHL departing at 17:15 (so could do most of a day's work) arriving into Philadelphia at 20:15 - 8 hours (hopefully a bit less if the winds aren't too strong) in a shiny new B787 Dreamliner.

From Philadelphia to Washington - there's an AA flight departing at 21:29 arriving into DC National (it looks like it would be fun to land in the city centre) at 22:32 at a bargain price of 3.50 gbp (and 4,500 Avios).
There's also departure at 22:35 (lands at 23:35) which doesn't currently have reward availability.

If we missed the flights - there are direct trains from the main station in Philadelphia (30th Street Station) which take approximately 1:40 - 2 hours.  There's an express departure at 22:15, a slower departure at 22:35 and a final one at 23:30 which arrives into Washington at 01:30
From PHL to 30th Street Station there are trains at 13 & 43 mins past the hour - which take just 17 mins to get into town.  A taxi should take about the same time.

To avoid flying into PHL - on Friday 11th December there's reward availability on the 13:50 departure from LHR to BWI (on a B767) and also the 11:15 departure from LHR to IAD (on an A380) - but these wouldn't allow much work time in London.  There's no Economy reward availability to Washington or Philadelphia on Saturday 12th.

I can't get an exact price for these flights, but probably around 370 gbp - plus a bunch of Avios !


I've also checked that there are reasonably priced flights from Washington to Florida around Tuesday 15th, and from Florida to LAS on Saturday 19th - so we could overnight in Vegas, and enjoy a day there before the flight back to London.

flights to Longyearben

Norwegian fly twice a week - Mondays and Fridays

Mondays
dep OSL 09:50
arr LYR 12:50  3 hours - nonstop

dep LYR 13:35
arr OSL 16:35  3 hours - nonstop

Fridays
dep OSL 08:45
arr LYR 11:45  3 hours - nonstop

dep LYR 12:30
arr OSL 15:30  3 hours - nonstop


SAS fly five days a week (not Wednesdays and Saturdays)

SK4414
dep OSL 09:55
arr LYR 14:00  4 hours - stop in TrOmSo (11:45 - 12:20 duration 35 mins)

SK4425
dep LYR 14:45
arr OSL 19:00  4 hours - stop in TOS (16:20 - 17:05 duration 45 mins)

sometimes the 8am departure from OSL (with 2.5 hours wait in TOS) is cheaper.


Norwegian fly London Gatwick to TrOmSo twice a week - but sadly it arrives in TOS after the SAS flight to LYR has departed

Mondays & Fridays
dep LGW 14:20
arr TOS 18:50  3.5 hours - nonstop


Finnair don't start flying to LYR until June 2016


Once you get there - activities can be provided by:

Svalbard Villmarkssenter

Spitsbergen Travel seem to act as an agent

Nordic Visitor just seem to have a single tour in deep winter

And there's a list of activity providers from the tourism office

Why Oyster is better than Contactless

Yesterday I wrote about how using Contactless on Transport for London is more expensive than using Oyster in two important ways.

Even if you Contactless is the same price as Oyster for your usage, there are other differences which are important to understand.

Contactless does have some advantages:

1) You don't spend time buying ticket / loading credit onto Oyster

2) If you're unsure how much travel you will be making (and so don't want to buy a weekly Travelcard), you may be able to take advantage of Mon-Sun cap

3) Instead of payment (for Travelcard or Oyster top-up) hitting your credit card bill at the start of the week/month, the payments are deducted each day (although for most this is a minimal saving)

4) You can earn interest on your money from not keeping credit on Oyster card (again minimal, approx. 5p per year)

The disadvantages of Contactless (apart from being more expensive) are even bigger:

1) The yellow readers take longer for Contactless than Oyster - which isn't surprising, but definitely slows you down

2) The embarrassment of waving your fancy credit card at the yellow reader - and risk of dropping / losing it (depends of your embarrassment tolerance and the fanciness of your card!)

3) Loss of credit card loyalty points - with Contactless your card is debited with your daily total spend (rather than a single debit for your weekly/monthly Travelcard or Oyster top-up amount). Many credit cards round down to the nearest pound (or 8 pounds if you have a Tesco reward card) for points calculations - so if you have a Tesco card you probably won't earn any loyalty points at all, and others may also lose out

4) To check that you have been charged correctly with Contactless you have to look at all your transactions for the week - and compare the total to the prices on the TfL website - and then do the calculations to see if you have been charged more than the weekly Travelcard price plus travel outside your core zones.  With Oyster, you only have to see how much has come off your Pay As You Go balance - this should just be your travel outside your Travelcard zones - much more simple.

5) Contactless makes spending money too easy / hidden - where as your Oyster Pay As You Go balance is much more visible (it shows on the bus / modern tube exit each time you pass through).

6) If you miss tapping out at the end of a journey, with Contactless you will instantly be hit with a penalty fare which you will only notice if you check your credit card statement.  But with an Oyster Travelcard the system may assume that you exited at a valid station.  Even if you are hit with a penalty fare - it is easier to spot as your Oyster PAYG balance will reduce dramatically, and can be easily fixed at any of the TfL ticket machines.

7) If you are due a refund on Contactless you may have to phone up TfL (although this may just be for American Express cards), whereas you can collect a refund on Oyster at any nominated station.

The moral of the story - use Oyster!

Contactless is NOT the same price as Oyster

Transport for London is trying hard to get everybody to use their Contactless credit and debit cards, rather than using Oyster - which is more expensive for them to run.

To push Contactless TfL are making frequent announcements over the Public Address in stations that "Contactless is the same price as Oyster".  They even make the same claim on their website.  Both are lies.

There are two main scenarios where Contactless fares are NOT the same price as Oyster.

1. Weekly usage for any period which doesn't start on a Monday.

If you are starting on a Monday, then the Monday-Sunday cap will mean that you pay the same as a standard 7 day travelcard.  However, if you start on any other day, you will pay more - possibly a lot more.

So, if you are starting your travel on anything other than a Monday - it is cheaper to buy a travelcard on your Oystercard.

2. If you are going to be using Transport for London services for a month.

Despite the (false) claim that Contactless costs the same as Oyster, TfL do actually admit that regular users should buy a monthly travelcard - but they bury it in their website, and make no mention on their Public Address announcements.

I hate to think how much regular commuters are wasting on weekly Contactless fares, when they should be buying a monthly travelcard.

It is shameful that TfL lie about Contactless - and thereby steal from their customers.

When not to redeem Avios on EI flights

I previously wrote about the (vaguely reasonable) cost of redeeming Avios on EI flights from NOC - LGW ... and I recently contacted BA about the cost of a couple of other routes.

Whilst there is usually good BA reward availability from DUB - LHR, sometimes the reverse is not available, so I asked about the fees/taxes on an EI reward flight from LHR - DUB ... and was staggered to hear that it would set me back 67 gbp !

I also asked about LGW - NOC on an EI flight ... and it was a not very pleasant 54 gbp for fees / taxes.

Warning - Belarus to anywhere via Moscow

Planning a trip to Belarus recently, the best fare back to London was via Moscow - so I looked into whether I needed a Russian transit visa.

Both the London and Washington embassy websites stated that:

Passengers travelling to the Republic of Belarus or the Republic of Kazakhstan via the Russian Federation must obtain Russian Transit Visas

I have bolded "to", as I understood this to only mean to - rather than both to and from.  This meant that I booked flights out of Belarus via Moscow to avoid the extortionate £80 fee (or £125 if you need it quickly).

You can imagine my horror at the airport in Minsk when I was told that I did in fact need a transit visa to travel via Moscow.  I double and triple checked it with different Belavia staff at the airport - and I was told that it common error that European passenger make.

The result was that I had to book a different flight back home to London - there was by chance a direct flight leaving a couple of hours later.  And of course my flights via Moscow were non-refundable, so I lost them.

Russia's London embassy visa agent have now changed their advice to read:

Passengers travelling to and from Belarus via Russian Federation need to obtain the transit Russian visa irrespectively of their length of stay in the airport.

But it's too late for me :(

And Russia's Washington embassy website is still showing the incorrect information.

A friend subsequently told me about the useful Star Alliance Timatic service which provides the detailed information that all airlines use in deciding whether to allow you to fly.  This does indeed state that you need a Russian transit visa.

Apparently the reason you need a Russian transit visa is that flights to and from Belarus arrive into the domestic terminal in Moscow, so it's not possible to stay airside in the Transit Zone.

I guess the time and money I spend learning this lesson could have been worse - so maybe I was vaguely lucky to learn my error this way !

You shall go to Belarus on a Transit Visa

Belarus is one of the last European countries where Europeans still need a visa - and whilst you can apparently get it on arrival in certain circumstances ... it's probably safer to get it in advance !

The rules state that a Transit Visa is valid for 48 hours ... and since the price of a Transit Visa is currently one third of a standard short term (90 day) visa ... there is an incentive to try using a Transit Visa - especially if you want to use the more expensive 48 hour express service.

I recently visited the Belarus embassy in London with a copy of my flight booking in hand (I had ensured that my onward flight was to a different country from my inbound - you can't back track) ... and was pleased / relieved that my Transit Visa request was accepted - after some questioning / double-checking by the staff member.  I suspect that it may depend on how the staff are feeling on the day, and if they don't like the look of you they may not allow it.

I had to come back the next day (actually the day after, as they are closed on Wednesdays) with additional paperwork - my hotel booking (I got away with a standard printout - rather than an official stamped invitation that I probably should have had), proof of my travel insurance and a photo.

On arrival in Minsk (MSQ) all foreign passports were given the most detailed examination I've ever seen - which included every page being checked under a special light, and an eyeglass being used around the photo (presumably to check that it hadn't been replaced) ... it felt like we were all potential spies !

On departure, I had to change my flight booking, and I ended up leaving about 50 hours after arrival ... but they didn't seem too worried - apparently as long as you leave within two days, you are ok.  But I doubt that the London embassy would have issued a Transit Visa if my original flights were booked 50 hours apart ... and there's always a risk that a stroppy border guard in Belarus might take a different view.  Not work testing it !

Since Minsk isn't exactly the most exciting place on earth - 48 hours was plenty of time to explore the city.

Antarctica - how to get a discount

Even with a discount, Antarctica is never cheap!  But every little helps, as the saying goes ...

If you are flexible in your timings, and can handle not knowing when / if you will actually get to Antarctica ... you can save a lot of money ... I paid just 34% of the list price for my 3 week trip to the Falklands, South Georgia, the peninsula and across the Antarctic Circle !

When my sister went to Antarctica almost a decade ago there were two main agencies

1) Ushuaia Turismo
http://www.ushuaiaturismoevt.com.ar/web/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ANTARCTICA-USHUAIA-TURISMO/323405918330

2) Antarctica Travels
http://www.antarcticatravels.com/
https://www.facebook.com/antarcticatravels

and now there is a third !

3) Freestyle Adventure Travel
http://freestyleadventuretravel.com
https://www.facebook.com/FreestyleAdventureTravel


They all upload their latest deals to their Facebook pages, but it's worth making contact, as they might email you the deals in advance of them being posted ... and they might be kind enough to earmark a place for you if they know that you are looking for a specific trip !

My sister went with Ushuaia Turismo many years ago.  I went with Antarctica Travels in January.  And quite a few people on my boat had booked with Freestyle.

The advantage of Antarctica Travels is that they have a member of staff based in Sweden - so when an offer is released after the close of business in Argentina, she sends out emails / posts it before the others.

The advantage of Freestyle is that they seem to offer a better service - giving advice, such as buying cheap drink in Ushuaia to take on board (and other less alcoholic tips), as well as arranging drinks the night before departure for their customers.  It meant that the Freestyle people on my boat had all met each other beforehand, so had a more enjoyable/relaxed first few nights than the rest of us !

Bear in mind that you will probably have to sign a disclaimer, promising not to reveal to anybody else on board how much you paid.  Your price won't include accommodation the night before departure (it can get busy in Ushuaia, so book it as soon as you have confirmed your trip).  They will of course take full payment at the point of booking as it will be close to departure (mine went through the ship company, not the travel agent) - and they may not let you split it across different credit cards.

Still, worth it for saving 66% of the list price !

redeeming BA points on EI flights

Whilst Aer Lingus isn't a member of OneWorld you can redeem your British Airways Executive Club frequent flyer points on Aer Lingus flights ... by phoning up BAEC - they don't show up online.

However, if you have a United frequent flyer account, the EI reward flights do show up ... so whilst availability for BA will probably be different on some dates, it may be a helpful starting point.

I recently phoned up BA to ask about flights from Knock to London Gatwick ... and was pleasantly surprised to be told that if they have availability, the taxes/charges would be 27.30 gbp in addition to the 4,500 BAEC points (although NOC charge all passengers a 10 euro exit fee in addition).  Considering the price of some reward flights, I didn't think this was too bad.

Sadly they didn't have availability for almost a week after I wanted to fly, so I didn't book.

London to Budapest ... by rail

For a different experience, I thought that I would look into going to Budapest by train ...

As always Seat61 is a fantastic resource for anything train related ... and they suggest a number of different routes to Budapest ...

With Eurostar starting direct trains to Lyon from 1st May, I thought that might open additional options, but in fact they aren't great either for timings or for pricing.

Whilst an overnight in Zurich and taking the scenic route sounds beautiful, I'm not sure that I have the patience for that long on a train !
So I'm thinking the London - Paris - Munich - Budapest, with the final leg on an overnight sleeper, looks like the best option.


Looking at prices for early (just to give an idea) - they are somewhat higher than those quoted on the Seat61 website:

London to Paris - I will hopefully be able to use my Eurostar Frequent Flyer points

Paris to Munich - there is just the direct train, but plenty of connecting services
79 euro (3rd May) to 99 euro (4th May) to 119 euro (2nd May)

Munich to Budapest overnight - the options for a sleeper (I'm ignoring the couchette and seat options):
3 person cabin - 89 euro per person
2 person cabin - 99 euro per person (an extra 10 euro for one less person sounds like good value)
1 person cabin - 149 euro per person

So 79 + 99 = 178 euro, assuming I can use my points to get to Paris

This compares to about 100 euro for a Wizzair flight (including train ticket to Luton).

Mid week ski break

Looking to go skiing in March ... heading off on Sunday ... coming back Thursday ...

For a change, considered going to Åre in Sweden ... but the access isn't great for a short break from London ... there aren't direct flights to Ostersund or Trondheim on the Sunday (or Monday) - so would spend best part of a day getting there ...

The other option of flying to Stockholm would require about 7 hours on the train to Åre so again ... best part of a day travelling (the bus connection is only on very limited days).

Thinking about other destinations, the most popular short break destination is Chamonix ... but since one of the party has already been there ... I thought I would looking into other options ...

One place that I've looked into before is Saas-Fee in Switzerland.  It's supposed to be a nice car free village with a new wellness centre, and lots of intermediate skiing, but not enough for a week (so a short break would be ideal) as well as altitude (village is at 1,800m with skiing up to 3,500m) so late March should be fine (current conditions are good).

It's less than a 3 hour drive from Malpensa airport ... the outbound flight would be 104 gbp (without baggage fee), and the return flight would be about 35 gbp (again without baggage fee).

The car hire would be approximately 60 gbp through auto europe (who I have used before) ... and viamichelin estimate 85 euro for the petrol and the swiss motorway vignette (return journey).

Whilst there are fast trains to Brig or Visp, car hire would give more flexibility with flight times (the last train would require arriving into Malpensa around 5pm).

Through the Saas-Fee website, they have a 3 star hotel near the main gondola station for 150 gbp per person sharing a twin room.

It started with an Amex card …

Everybody complains about how unpleasant air travel is these days, and there is a lot of truth in it … but with a bit of planning, it can get better.

For me, it started a couple of years ago, when I got an American Express platinum card – with it came a Cathay Pacific gold card, the equivalent of a British Airways silver card.  I originally took out the credit card to get the 30,000 bonus points – intending to convert them to British Airways Avios (I actually converted most of them to travel on Eurostar) … however, the Cathay Card has had more of a long term impact.

I actually cancelled the Amex platinum after about 6 months, after I had signed up for all the different perks and triggered the 30,000 bonus points.  Amex are good enough to refund you the rest of your annual fee when you cancel a card - a significant amount on their Platinum card.

With airlines often prepared to match the status that you have on a rival airline, I chanced my arm and sent United Airlines a copy of my Cathay Pacific card … and they set me a challenge … fly 12,500 miles on United over the following 3 months, and they would give me their Gold status – in the meantime they gave me temporary Gold status.

On my current trip to the Americas I flew 3 United legs to get to my first destination, and used the temporary Gold status to obtain better seating, fast track security, priority baggage (although after a tight connection it did go AWOL for 24 hours) and lounge access.  I've booked my final two segments to get home, and the mileage will be enough to confirm my Gold status.

I’m writing this onboard an American Airlines flight (old plane, but enough space to unfold a laptop) which I booked using my British Airways Avios points, and I’ve got another AA flight tomorrow (also using Avios) to South America.  At check-in today I avoided the baggage fee on this domestic flight by presenting my Cathay Pacific gold card.  Sadly AA doesn’t have a lounge in Salt Lake City international airport, but tomorrow I’ll be spending some quality time in their lounge at Dallas Fort Worth.

I’ve also bagged a couple of free flights within South America, by transferring American Express points to Delta and booking flights on Aerolíneas Argentinas.  I had previously tried to book the reward flights through KLM (they are all part of Skyteam), but they couldn’t see any Aerolíneas availability, so I opened a Delta frequent flyer account.  I even did the second transfer from Amex to Delta live – I phoned up Delta to check availability for the flight I wanted, initiated the transfer, and within a minute the Delta agent could see the points arrive and finalised the booking.

Most of the Amex points for these Aerolíneas flights came from the 20,000 bonus points that I recently triggered from my new Amex Gold card.  You’re eligible for a bonus if you wait 6 months between closing one card, and opening the next.

Whilst in Europe we are used to airlines loading outrageous fees onto reward flights (so they sometimes cost more than a cash fare), however the four reward flights that I’ve booked in the Americas cost a grand total of 10 dollars – combined !

In between the flying, I used my status with a hotel chain to get a room on the top floor – it even elicited a “wow” from another guest when I pressed the 15 button in the elevator !  And checking out at 4pm was a handy perk that my gold status with the hotel chain also delivered (thanks again to that Amex platinum from a couple of years ago).  I’ve even managed to leverage the status with a couple of hotel chains to get a matched with a couple more – just in case I need them.

Next up: with my Cathay Pacific card expiring soon, I will be attempting to leverage my new United Gold card to gain status with another Oneworld airline, so I can continue to avoid baggage fees, using fast track security and most importantly, sitting in quiet lounges …

As a backup – I’ve already obtained a Gulf Air gold card (status matched from Cathay Pacific), in case the United Gold card doesn’t do the trick !