Delta Makes a Classy Move and Family and Friends Extended til 9/30

Several days ago Delta Airlines put a mile in each of our Skymile accounts as "expiration extensions". What a classy move in the midst of their merger to place us all on an even keel as far as expiration.

Intercontinental Hotels has extended the Family and Friends Rate

This rate is good for everybody and saves you about 25% at least on most bookings. I originally posted this about March 10th to 13th. Check there for more details. The extension is good until September 30th.

Honolulu to Dallas on American Next Generation Business Class

What a pleasant surprise. I was expecting a typical domestic first class seat and little rest on the 7.5 hour flight. The 767 was equipped with the next generation business class lay flat, well almost, seat.

There was plenty of room, lots of overhead space, and the seat offered varied positions for your comfort. After my mediocre meal of salmon, with a nice ice cream sundae for dessert, I reclined for a comfortable 5 hours of restful sleep on my right side. Katy was out like a light in half an hour.

We woke up with barely enough time for coffee and a mango smoothie from a bottle. The movie options were limited and not on demand. And the new cashless society was in place. If you did not have a debit or credit card in coach, you could not purchase food with cash.

The experience was pleasant and makes me think again of trying for my second million miles with American. A June 16th challenge date is good until February 2011 ????

$30 Off Expedia Coupons

If you will be booking a hotel room in 2009, send me your first, last name and email and I'll have Katy send you a $30 off coupon from Expedia UK. They are good for hotels worldwide. I have enough referrals for my maximum of ten. Now we'll work on hers :)

ingy104@gmail.com

We Are Headed Home.We Made it 61 Days

Our current adventure ends today with a flight to Honolulu then on to Dallas on American Airlines. As I look back here is my list of immediate memories.

1. The passport fiasco to start.

2. Machu Pichu and the incredible ruins and the native dressed grandma with baby in the blanket .

3. A balky computer and all your help and suggestions

4. The awe at Iquazzu Falls and the start of Katy's passport problems.

5. The bathing suits of Rio and the view from Sugarloaf.

6. My postponed CNN Business Traveler interview in London and my temper tantrum from exhaustion.

7. Munich, the Glockenspiel, Beer gardens, meeting Geoff, Tim and Andrew and the beer as big as Andrew's head.

8. Salzburg an incredibly beautiful city and the hokey and hilarious Sound of Music Tour.

9. The solitude at the top of Innsbruck. Another spot on earth that man has not touched as of yet.

10. The Swiss Alps and the Shiltzhorn restaurant and view. Our only day of snow and riding the gondola into the fog. The continuation of Katy's passport mess and our unscheduled trip to Bern.

11. The beautiful new Bangkok airport and acrid smell of the air. Our taxi cab rip off and the Prime ministers family wedding.

12. Angkor Wat temples, the heat and humidity, elephants and Thor and SoPhat. Our traditional Cambodian BBQ. The only white guys in the room.

13. JW Marriott Resort and Spa Phuket, our timeshare presentation, the fabulous pool, $13 hour long massages and our wacky day in Patong Beach.

14. My son Andrew and our time in Sydney. Having Gray with us for a few hours, the meals, the chats, and the neighborhoods of Sydney and the Aussie Rules football game. And don't forget the fruit bats as big as my head, and always, that magnificent bridge and opera house.

15. Maui and the infinity pool, struggling with the snorkeling, and giving Denise a word of encouragement.

16. Being back in Kauai, the views, the pool, the Priceline room and the air of Hawaii. It is so soft on your skin.

And lastly the people we met along the way. The plain old ordinary working guys and gals from the gardeners in Cambodia, chairlift operators in Switzerland, to the store clerks, waiters, waitresses and yes, even the cabbies everywhere. No matter where we went or what we needed, the people of the world were there to help us along the way. It is the regular guys and gals that makes the world a great place to see and be.

And we, the ordinary working stiffs of the world, can, and should see the world around us, at prices we all can afford. I think it makes us better people.

With a tear of gratitude in my eye as I write this line, thanks for coming along with us.

And I'm glad to report the vertigo was a one day deal. A little Bug lovin' and some meclazine and I'm back on top again.

Let's do it again real soon.

Rick and Katybug

Photos of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Katy and Hula Pie at Duke's on Kalapaki Bay

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Citicard One Card in 60 Day Policy and Kalapaki Beach Hut

Here is an email I got from Diane RE: Getting more than one personal card within 60 days. This confirms her experience with personal cards only.

Rick,

Unfortunately you are correct regarding Citibank's change in policy on the number of cards. Both my son and I applied in May for 2 personal cards on the same day. We both were denied the second card because of the 60 day limit.

Diane

This does not answer the question regarding if business cards are effected by the same 60 day policy. In the past it was one business card every 90 days but you could get a personal and business card within a given 60 day period.

If somebody can provide info to that effect, we will all be grateful.

Kalapaki Beach Hut

If you stand in front of the hotel looking at the water and turn right, walk past Duke's Restaurant and turn the corner uphill towards the bridge. Just before the bridge on the right hand side of the walk is a T shirt souvenir shop, walk straight through it and you 'll be at the back of the Hut. Two stories high with a crows nest dining spot upstairs. Walk around to the front and order a local favorite the Loco Moco of rice, egg, hamburg and brown gravy. Or another favorite is the Ono Fish Sandwich, with onion, lettuce, tomato and mayo. Ono is a mild fish and their biggest seller. No need for a tuxedo, tie or even shoes here. Just have a good meal at a reasonable price and enjoy the local show. And of course the ever present chickens.

Vertigo for the Frugal Guy

It started yesterday. Every time I change positions from horizontal to sitting up or standing the room starts spinning. It happened once before while in Seattle, but I attributed that to just getting off a cruise ship after 5 weeks.

For those that have not had the experience it is very unsettling and limiting. Katy has to help me move around and keep me from changing my point of focus too drastically. It is great being married to a nurse. For the next couple days I have to sit by the pool in the shade, handling email, having my meals brought to me, hunting for travel deals.

Somebody has got to do it, right? I just hope it clears before I have to drive home.

The Priceline Room at the Kauai Marriott Beach Resort

We've stayed here about 4 or 5 times in the past. The last time we did a Priceline bid here was about 6 years ago as the last 4 days of our honeymoon. We had spent the first 4 days in the Rainbow Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach. Our view was of Diamondhead. This is a bit of a contrast.

I forgot how small the Priceline rooms were. I asked at checkin about the possibility of an upgrade and was offered a partial oceanfront view for an extra $100 per night.It seems a flight was cancelled last night and they have a hold over group of 200+ people that have the hotel close to capacity. Otherwise they are running about 60%.

We passed of course on the upgrade, but it was worth the try. Status means nothing here if you are on a Priceline stay. I did give them my membership number in hopes that the nights will count, as there is a double nights promo going on. If they do, I'll be one night from Gold for 2010. My award stay in Thailand got credit, but that was a paid two nights mixed with an award, and the one on Maui (all award) has not posted yet. I am bound and determined to get hotel status with at least Hilton and Marriott for 2010 as European breakfasts are just too expensive in the hotels or outside restaurants.

Back to the room. The photo shows all the room. The distance between the foot of the king bed and the Phillips 17" TV is less than 3 feet. If you look out our window (which does not open) you can see the elegant roof vents and gravel roof of the building adjacent. And the most special part of the setup is the internet connection. The electrician installed the high speed internet connection directly behind the center of the kingsize bed with just enough cable to hook up the computer one place in the room. In bed.

I am not complaining. I saved a ton of Hilton points and we are not in the room that much. Wired internet in the room is $12.95 per day and it is free in the veranda overlooking the huge pool.

Take a look at the other photo of Molakai. The feathers you see in the photo are the propeller of of Dash prop plane frozen in motion by my Iphone camera.

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We Are Ready to Come Home

As we walked to breakfast a day ago, we both knew it was time to come home. Our first RTW was 6 weeks and this one pushed the envelope just a bit too far. It has been 7 weeks plus, and we are ready to return to a somewhat normal life. When we passed on taking a road trip to Hana, I think we both knew. We are becoming increasingly lazy and the pool seems like the best option for yet another day. I'm not complaining. I realize that millions of people would love to do what we have just done. My comments are more to assure others that there is a limit, and at some point I think we will all reach it.

But God works in mysterious ways at times. Our breakfast waitress for the last 4 days asked us where we met and I responded at a meeting of drunks. Her eyes got as big as saucers and she said she was a past member but had gone back out to the world of insanity. It is a plain and simple fact some of us can handle it. Neither Katy nor I can. We got to share our story, give a word of encouragement to try it again. I guess we are not supposed to go home yet.

In fact, on Kauai we met a gal last year struggling to beat crystal meth. She had been clean 6 months and was working as a landscaping worker trying to stay clean. Our shift to the Marriott will put us within walking distance of where we met this gal in February. We hope to see her again and again give another word of encouragement.

Fighting that disease is really no different in one respect than finding travel bargains. We can do a much better job together, than trying to tackle it alone.

Stepping down off the soapbox. Those encounters do mean alot to us.

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Off to Kauai and the Hilton Kauai Resort

We ended our last around the world trip here and it seemed only appropriate to come back (plus it was free). The Hilton Resort on Kauai is probably the smallest, least elegant resort offered by the big three (Hilton, Marriott and Sheraton) in Hawaii. It sits isolated from other properties, has a laid back feeling and last time we were there, no kids at all in the "screaming at the top of their lungs"age.

As a Gold we were upgraded to a partial oceanfront view and had breakfast included every day. We were so worn out from our last RTW, we never left the property for 5 days. I'm sure we will get out this time, but if you are looking for a casual, laid back resort, this is the one for you.

Our flight from Maui is non stop at 10:50 AM and we will call the hotel shuttle for pickup if I can't steal a rental car from Priceline. I'll then continue to try for one or two days during our stay so we can get out and see the sights again.

Down by the south end is an old truck camper kind of thing that sells fresh garlic shrimp right out of the back of the truck. She cooks them to order and I can't wait. Last December she was down by the "blow hole" in the Poipu area.

It is worth the rental car price and ride if you like fresh shrimp and don't need a fancy table to enjoy it.

Last Minute Change of Plans Now the Marriott Kauai Beach Resort

Somehow I was paying 160,000 Hilton Honors points for my four night stay at the Hilton. Two days on biddingfortravel.com and Priceline got me a room at the Marriott for only $105 per night. We've stayed here 3 or 4 times and love it. It is bigger than the Hilton Resort but at $105 I could not pass it up. My first stay here was 6 years ago as part of our honeymoon. The winning bid at that time was $110 per night.

The funny thing about the Hilton is that it is a category 6 with Hilton and yet only listed as a 3 Star with Priceline. I just could not pay that many points for that property. I value a Hilton Honors point at .7 cents each. Even at 125,000 points, the correct AXON rate, the stay was worth $875. The Hilton is currently charging $169 per night. My total for the Marriott was $484 including all fees and I can get breakfast right next door to the resort for $7 each. The going rate for the Marriott for our four day stay is $199 per night.

If I would have done one thing differently on this trip, it would have been to do more checking of current rates as we went along. With the economy in its current shape and prices tumbling they way they are, I'm sure I missed a bargain or two.

TravelZoo Story

I wanted you to read the story on Travelzoo and how they pick their top twenty each week. I'll be damned, I can't find it. One of my fellow bloggers did a nice piece last week on all the effort that goes into the top 20 list each week. There are five different offices researching travel deals for the list and only deals that can be verified are included in the Travelzoo Top 20. I've been pushing this simple weekly update email for months now. I hope you'll subscribe for the best deals each week.

Mark to the rescue. Here is the link to the story

The End of my Northwest Airlines Worldperks Miles

When I started collecting miles in 2000 I was a captive Northwest Airlines guy. They were the primary carrier in my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan and until I began expanding my travel hobby, I flew their planes, used their credit cards and entered their promotions exclusively.

Today I transferred my remaining miles to my linked Delta Airlines account. My lifetime accumulated miles were 1.4 million miles with Northwest.

I had 58,000 in the account this morning but gave Andrew my account number so he could book a multi city trip when he returns to the USA this summer for a two week visit. When he was done, I only had 8,247 miles left. I'm glad I could help him out and sent the remainder to Delta. I know I can move them back if need be, but I don't expect that to happen.

I'm sad about it, but also relieved as I now have one less account to keep track of. I was Platinum with NWA for 3 years and they were my first mileage running airline.

I'm sure there are many others approaching this milestone closure. I wish the memories were better for all of us.

Crazy Times for the Frugal Travel Guy

I really have crashed after this 2 month trip. My internal clock is really screwed up. I'm not sleeping through the night and starting to feel the presence of my real world again.

So far this week, I've helped the boys set their travel plans for the summer. Glad that's done. We booked a long weekend in Aspen this summer as Aaron will be participating again in the Aspen Music Festival.

I'm now looking at renting a car on Priceline for next week on Kauai and booking hotel stays for my trip back to Traverse City from Savannah that includes two mileage runs on United during the last week of DEQM.

I need to get a hotel in Salt Lake City for a one day mileage run out on the 3rd and back on the 4th of July. Looking for bumps that day as I have 8 segments, and it is National Cherry Festival week in Traverse City.

In our travel future is a three week trip to New Zealand December 28th, which I need to work on. The Hawaii trip in early December is done. The trip to Vegas in June for the World Series of Poker is done. Four of us want to go to Scotland or Ireland in September for golf, and I know, I'll be the one responsible for that travel planning adventure.

And lastly, we are already thinking about our next spring trip in late April and May to Europe. We are thinking about Berlin, Croatia, Poland, Czech Republic, and then back to the Swiss Alps for some hiking. Any other Eastern Europe spots of interest will be considered.

I look back at where I started with Northwest Airlines, and can't believe how much this hobby has changed our lives.

I think I'll count up all the countries we're been to. Better put that on the list as well.

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