Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Tripadvisor.in continuing its offer for JPMiles

JetPrivilege has been one of my favorite loyalty programs. It is generally easy to earn miles when flying with them, and they have great partnerships with many airline and non-airline partners. JPMiles can be redeemed easily on the Etihad equity alliance partners, and JetPrivilege's recent changes make it easier for members to attain elite status.

As per the post: My 2015 JetPrivilege Strategy, I have relied upon Jet's partnerships to earn a significant number of miles. One of these partnerships is with Tripadvisor.in

Tripadvisor has continued their offer of providing free JPMiles for every review submitted on their website. I have been able to mass over 2500 JPMiles with them since January, and look forward to gaining more miles if they continue this offer. It is generally a good idea to make searches on Google for "hotels that offer 200JPMiles" as this can help in gaining quite a lot of miles in a very short span of time. Restaurants offer up to 75JPMiles/review, attractions can provide 50JPMiles/review while hotel reviews can help members earn 200JPMiles for every review submitted online.

I really like Tripadvisor's offerings and I hope that they maintain this partnership with JetPrivilege.

Some of the best wine aboard

Flying long haul flights can be very tiring, and a good wine can certainly go a long way in making the experience better. Sadly, many airlines do not serve quality wines on board (some don't serve wine/alcoholic drinks at all).

Recently, I had the experience of flying KLM, and trying the wine they have to offer. I flew economy class, and no drinks were offered by the flight crew. However, a friend of mine had asked me that KLM does serve wine when asked for.

The wine in economy class is a South African wine that goes by the name - "The Elements" (by Julian Schaal), and is one of the best wines I have had :) I went for the Cabernet Sauvignon (red wine), but KLM had a Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc to offer as well. Having tasted the wine, I speak highly of it always, and the wine is one of the major reasons I look forward to flying with KLM :) (It makes me want to buy tickets that are significantly more expensive). This wine is also available at the Schiphol wine bar, and I make it a point to get it when traveling.

I am not aware of drinks served by other carriers, but  few friends tell me that Turkish Airlines offers whiskey for their passengers flying coach. I cannot confirm this, but if they do; this might be a reason for me to spend my money on them...
Maybe someone can confirm this in the comments?

Sunday, January 25, 2015

OptionTown - Cheaper upgrades!

As many of you might be aware, I do not fly business often. I look for the cheapest of tickets, which means that the coach is generally the fare I travel on. However my travel with Jet Airways´ business class product from Mumbai (BOM) to Singapore(SIN) [trip report coming soon], has always made me look for cheap ways to upgrade.

It is true that upgrading with miles is always a great option and there are many ways of accumulating them. As I started collecting miles very recently, I currently do not have enough to upgrade my travel.

Needless to say, I have been looking for ways to upgrade. I recently stumbled across a website that claims to provide cheap upgrades on select airlines. OptionTown is a web service that helps travelers upgrade to business class seats at a quarter of the original cost. They work with a few airline partners, namely – Air India, Air Asia, AeroMexco, Adria Airways, SAS, Vietnam Airways, Cyprus Airways and Insel Airways.


OptionTown works by selling un-sold business class seats at a fraction of the original cost. However at the end of the year, when many of the frequent flyers are trying to fly business to earn more miles, there will not be many business class seats for OptionTown to sell.

However OptionTown can be useful if used consistently, especially during seasons when business class seats are available.


Monday, January 12, 2015

A London Christmas (Part 2)

This is part 2 of a multi-part series describing my trip from Amsterdam to London and back!

Having arrived in London, I was super excited and had many things planned to make this trip a memorable one. Naturally, I wanted to get done with immigration and baggage claim as soon as I could. To my luck, Heathrow was almost deserted on the night I arrived, and the immigration staff seemed too bored to bother incoming passengers. I was hustled away from immigration in a matter of seconds, and my baggage was on the belt when I reached there.

Exploring gardens, farms and drive through London:
I am so glad that through out my trip, the weather was at it´s best. It was slightly cold, but always sunny, which made it very easy for me to walk around and explore the city.
I spent quite some time exploring Londonś gardens and the massive farms that are present to the North of the city. A friend of mine drove me around which made exploring the area easy.

We visited many places including the extremely scenic St Albans. I happened to visit here on Christmas eve, and the entire town was deserted. There was not even a single person in sight, and the entire area had a peaceful and calm aura to it.

Look at how deserted it is!!

I visited the churches and the beautiful buildings that surround this place, and took quite some time admiring the art in front of me. I did round up my visit to St Albans by visiting the famous Verulamium park.
This beautiful park has a lake that runs right through, and the entire atmosphere is a very relaxing one. A walk around the garden, listening to the ducks ended with me trying to get a coffee at the parkś restaurant only to realize that it is closed (its Christmas!).

The lake at Verulamium Park - Beautiful!


It was fun being chased around by these guys

Later that night, we drove to Wembley area where we had a wonderful meal (which was surprisingly very cheap). The grilled meat we ordered was cooked to perfection and was so well priced that I made it a point to return once more during my trip.

The magnificent Wembley Arch


Into the city:
Having seen the gardens and parks that adorn London, it made sense for me to explore the city (and perhaps try some awesome food there).
I really like Londonś public transportation system, with the immense network of tube and buses making it ridiculously easy to travel from one place to other. I bought a one-day ticket that cost me €11 (I think this is pretty expensive!!)
I carried this card back home as a souvenir from my trip to London :)

The day pass I bought - now a souvenir for me

Being in central London, I took to a path that many tourists tread upon. Walking over the Thames, I realized how attractive the city is. From this place I could have a clear view of the London eye, the Big Ben and the cityś financial district all at the same time!

The Big Ben and the Thames
A view of Londonś financial district

It was a very windy day, and walking by the Thames made me feel super-cold. However I am happy that it did not rain.
Even in London, I realized that the most popular restaurant for visitors is McDonalds :) This is very counter intuitive to me as I prefer trying local cuisine than to indulge in food I can buy back at home.

From the London parliament, I walked over to Trafalgar square and encountered this memorial that I found very interesting.

A memorial to those who fought the World War

Visiting the charming Trafalgar square was a great experience. It amazes me that London being such a big city has places of such historic importance at a stoneś throw away from the city center. The national art gallery and the beautifully sculpted architecture coupled with the rows of little shops ensure a great time for visitors.

Trafalgar square gallery

Really interesting sculpture

Horse Guards, Whitehall
The blue rooster :)

Some more beautiful architecture


From Trafalgar square I walked over to Londonś China town at Lichester square. There was a local festival that was going on and I spent a lot of time enjoying the rides and food there. I am sure that Leichester square is one place where people from all ages can have a fun time. There is an assortment of street performances, restaurants that serve mouth watering delicacies, a theater that screens the latest of movies and a wide array of casinos to choose from and indulge in. Not to mention there are so many English pubs that line the street.

The local festival at Leichester square

A Burger King!

The way to Piccadilly Circus

A visit to Leichester square is almost always coupled with seeing Piccadilly circus. Seeing the bright and glaring displays showing so many advertisements immediately reminded me of Sherlockś theme song :)

Sherlock!


Back to Amsterdam:
My trip to London has been an awesome experience. Not only did I visit the city, I also got the opportunity to visit some of London´s many gardens. To say that I am impressed would be an under statement. I am positive, that London´s charming views and rich heritage would bring me back some other day for another trip.

 I flew back to Amsterdam with KLM and was pleasantly surprised by a city I have longed to visit for such a long time. It is truly said: ¨A man who is tired of London is a man who is tired of life.¨

Back in Amsterdam, I got to relax and sample the new year celebrations which were so much fun as well :)

Amsterdam fire works on new year eve

Saturday, January 10, 2015

A London Christmas (Part 1)

This is part 1 of a multi-part series describing my trip from Amsterdam to London and back!


I had a trip to London planned for Christmas since a long time. Since this was my first time in the United Kingdom, I was naturally very excited.

I was to travel from Amsterdam Schiphol to London Heathrow and KLM was the carrier I had chosen for this journey.

Getting to Schiphol (and a visit to the Pythonbrug):
Traveling within Amsterdam is super-easy, thanks to the amazing public transport system. I used the Metro to travel to Amsterdam Centraal Station, from where I boarded a NS train to Schiphol.
As I was running slightly before schedule, I decided to visit the Python Bridge (which is very close to Amsterdam Centraal). This iconic bridge is always a place I have enjoyed visiting – partly because of how beautiful it is and more because of the tranquility of the entire location. It is a very peaceful spot, and the view from atop the bridge is spectacular.

Metro 26 goes from Centraal station to Pythonbrug (I love the public transport here!)

The splendid and extremely beautiful Pythonbrug (Python Bridge)

From atop the Pythonbrug (Look how quiet it is!)

I do make it a point to visit the Pythonbrug whenever I am in its vicinity.


At Schiphol and aboard my flight:
After spending (more than I could afford) time at the Pythonbrug, I arrived just in time to check-in and board my flight. Even though I was late, I was surprised by how helpful the KLM staff was, and the speedy immigration process at Schiphol added to this experience. The immigration (and security) staff were friendly and it was a delight talking to them.


KLM Boeing 737 I traveled on... What a beauty!

A British Airways flight docked at Schiphol


Aboard the flight, I really did not expect a full meal, as the flight duration was so short. However, I was under the impression that I would be served a light refreshment (a small meal or a sandwich perhaps), considering I paid €170 for the flight tickets. To my disappointment, the passengers were served a packet of chips (and that's all!)

The measly packet of chips KLM served on a €170 flight


At London Heathrow:
The travel time was indeed very short, and we landed about 45 minutes after take off. Since it was Christmas time, Heathrow Terminal 4 was relatively empty. Immigration was super-quick and our baggage was already on the belts by the time we reached there.


 As I had arrived late at Schiphol, I did not have enough time to buy a meal at the airport. Needless to say, the measly packet of chips served by KLM did not suffice for dinner. After grabbing a quick bite at Heathrow, I started munching on the Stroopwaffels I had bought from Amsterdam for a friend (thank goodness, I still had more packets for him :D).

Stay tuned for the next post on my stay in London, and a report on the places I visited...
More coming up...

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

500 Award miles from Lufthansa's Miles and More

It seems that Lufthansa is serious upon improving the brand value of their co-branded cards offered in India (by Axis Bank). They are offering 500 Award miles for members to complete the survey (which should take about 5 minutes).

I really do hope to see a new offering of the Axis Bank card. The current product does not seem attractive enough as it does not have a great sign up bonus or transfer ratio.

The survey can be accessed at: http://www.milesandmoreindia.com/HVCMs/

Sunday, January 4, 2015

My 2015 JetPrivilege strategy

As my blog title reads, I am fairly new to frequent flyer programs. An upgrade to business class (using my dadś miles) when traveling from BOM to SIN got me interested in this, and I have been pursuing FFPs ever since. My first upgrade was with an Indian carrier – Jet Airways. Naturally, I am a member of their loyalty program – JetPrivilege, and am always keen on getting better status with them.

I joined JetPrivilege in June last year, and have already accumulated an excess of 12.000 JPMiles with them. I was able to do so without traveling much, as they have some excellent partnerships that allow members to earn JPMiles.

Like many other airlines, Jet has partnerships with car rental brands like Hertz and AVIS. Traveling with TABCab allows members to earn even more miles when in need of a taxi service. When in India, these partners can help in earning some additional miles while carrying out daily business.

Using partners like these is very helpful, but in 2014 I managed to get an excess of 5.500 miles by participating in on-line promotions. Let me expand on this:



  1. TripAdvisor.in: JetPrivilege allows members to earn JPMiles for every review submitted to TripAdvisor’s India site. I managed to earn about 1300 JPMiles with them. If TripAdvisor keeps its offer, I intend to submit more reviews for attractions I have been to. Visit: http://www.jetairways.com/EN/NL/JetPrivilege/Partners/Lifestyle/TripAdvisorLifestyle.aspx
  2. HolidayIQ: Jet and HolidayIQ recently ran a promotion where members were awarded for reviews submitted to HolidayIQ. For 8 or more reviews, members are awarded with 1100 miles. Visit: http://www.jetairways.com/EN/NL/JetPrivilege/Partners/Lifestyle/HolidayIQ.aspx
  3. Scripbox: Setting up an account with Scripbox allows JetPrivilege members to pocket 3000 JPMiles. This requires providing some information like bank account details, but the promotion certainly is useful. If you do not want to complete the paper work, I suggest creating an on-line account with them. This provides members with 300 JPMiles.



Jet also awards 500 JPMiles every time a booking is made directly with them (on their website or on their app). I have received this bonus several times and the free miles don’t hurt ;)



For 2015, I plan to use Jet as my primary carrier when traveling within India (would be at least 2.000 to 3.000 JPMiles + 500 miles bonus by booking on their site directly for each flight). If Jet does continue promotions on TripAdvisor (or on HolidayIQ), I plan to write more reviews for them (which can provide a cool 12.000 JPMiles/year for each promotion :D). For Indian residents, the Jet Privilege co-branded cards provide a great sign-up bonus (about 10.000 JPMiles without referrals) and also extend the validity of every JPMile in your account. This way members can potentially earn about 14.000 (2000+12000) to 37.000 (3000+24000+10000) JPMiles, with minimal traveling.

Of late, I have been contemplating on showing some love to my Etihad Guest account. Etihad is a great airline, and serves a huge number of international destinations. Moreover, they it is cheaper to redeem Etihad miles on Jetś flights. My PremierMiles can be converted to Etihad Guest miles (http://earnandburnmiles.blogspot.nl/2015/01/transferring-premiermiles-to-airline.html), and I can get an American Express charge card whose Membership Rewards can be transferred as well (http://earnandburnmiles.blogspot.nl/2015/01/a-comparison-of-travel-credit-cards-in.html).