Hong Kong: Victoria Peak and IFC Building

I have to admit that while I spend an exorbitant amount of time trying to defray my out of pocket expenses on exotic vacations I spend very little time deciding what I want to do when I get to the destination.  Same held true for Hong Kong.  My final destination was Phuket, Thailand and I could have had a decent layover in Hong Kong before catching a business class flight to Phuket but I decided I wanted to see Hong Kong so I booked three days at a Hyatt Regency to take it all in.

Cathay Pacific Flight to Hong Kong

It arrived, the announcement I had waited for, the culmination of many months acquiring points and understanding how to best utilize them, finally, first class passengers were called to board. Not only did I have priority boarding I had my own lane, my own jet walk, my own entrance onto the plane,  I did't even have to board with the masses.  I arrived to my suite, yes suite, not seat.  Suite 1A and Diva Ridge my travel companion occupied suite 2A.  Our first class cabin had only 6 suites; our two are marked with an arrow.

Trip Report: Just getting on the plane

I'm back!  Having survived two weeks in Asia with nothing more than a few bugs bites and an angry Hong Kong mafia (more on that in another post) it's good to be home.  Trouble with being home is that there is so much catching up to do and the demands of providing new content on the blog coupled with jet lag from a 12 hour time difference make it a challenge.  These travel bloggers I follow who provide content while away have must have ghost writers as I found it very difficult to post while I was away but then again I don't do this as my life 24/7 so with that said hope you'll forgive the hiatus and keep engaged as I relive the experiences of this long planned trip.

Asia Eve

In less than 15 hrs I'll be on my way to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Hua Hin and Phuket.  There isn't a frenzy of activity surrounding me as everything is booked, packed and ready to go.  Flights checked, boarding passes issued and hotels confirmed.  Today is not about last minute this and that for the Asia trip, but that is not to say I haven't been swamped with things to do.  I have been very busy with acquiring future travel benefits for myself, things I may or may not need depending upon where my travels take me.

Working Hyatt Experiment - Updated Again

Turns out my experiment detailed here worked after all.  In a previous post I explained how I was hoping to take advantage of two Hyatt promotions at once based on a timing technicality.  I reported that my experiment did not work in my favor, turns out that was WRONG.  The charges I initially reviewed were "pending" when I wrote about the results of my experiment, now the charges are finalized and the purchased points with bonus have been deposited to my Hyatt.  This means I effectively purchased Hyatt points offering a point purchase bonus that was ending on June 30 and will receive credit towards an additional bonus for a required spend that wasn't to begin until July 1 simply by waiting until a few minutes before midnight on June 30. Nice.  

The Year of the Devaluation

2013 will certainly go on the records books as the year of the devaluation.  Every company is jumping on board with this trend to devalue their loyalty points.  The latest is Hertz.  I am a Gold Plus Rewards Hertz member and have enough reward points for 2 free days of rentals, trouble is that will change come October when the points needed for a free day rental will increase by 10-15%.  Hertz sent notice out to me on July 2nd announcing the program change.  I have to give them credit for letting their loyalty program members know ahead of time because many companies try to hide their devaluations and one does not find out until they try to book an award.  I'm not happy about it but I planned to use my reward points prior to the devaluation anyway.
Devaluations come as part of this travel points hobby,  thats why everyone warns not to hoard points, earn them and use them if you want the most value.  The devaluations just make the hunt all the more challenging.  The thirst for inexpensive travel wont die just the means of acquiring ways to achieve it.

Do You Uber?

Uber  is the new startup company based in San Francisco making a mobile application able to connect passengers with drivers of luxury vehicles for hire.  Its more expensive than a cab but less expensive than a private car service. Anytime  a new service is introduced the company needs to get the word out and usually offers fantastic deals to get you on board.  Same holds true for Uber.

Working Hyatt Experiment Result

In my post detailed here I write about trying to work two Hyatt promotions to my advantage.  One promotion was ending on June 30 the other beginning on July 1.  The promotion ending June 30 was a buying points with bonus special and the promotion beginning July 1 was a spend promo with 5K points bonus for spending $3K in 3 months.  It wasn't the holy grail of trying to work the system to my advantage, but it still FAILED.