British Airways frequent flyer program much less than expected
How it began
I signed up for a British Airways credit card to receive the 100,000 bonus miles (after $2,000 purchase). Then I started using it for all purchases, since I was getting 1.25 miles for each dollar spent. Then, I tried to redeem some miles.
The shocker
I found that British Airways charges you the fuel surcharge and taxes and fees, a minimum of $100+ for transatlantic flights each way for the surcharge alone. A search concluded that for a May round-trip flight to Madrid and back, I’d use 60,000 of my miles and pay $300 or more total.
My tried and true frequent flyer program
Redeeming American Airlines miles is much more rewarding. I’ve paid from $44 to $80 in taxes for round-trip flights to the same European location. And if I flew between October 16 and May 15, it would only take 40,000 miles.
The consolation prize
Thankfully, redeeming domestic U.S. flights via British Airways is useful. $5 in total taxes for a round-trip from Austin to LAX.
Why American Airlines is terrific
I’ve gone back to spending on my American Airlines credit card for another reason. All British Airways transatlantic flights stop-over in London, which sometimes means another stopover for me, which I don’t like at all. Through American, if I book far enough ahead, sometimes I just have one stopover for a flight from the small city of Austin! And another thing. In the last year, American has upgraded its mileage reservations system. It’s easy to see one month at a time what days still have rewards seats available in each category. British Airways’ search is much more shot in the dark and tells you NO more often than not.
Back from a month in Spain. First let’s talk Ibiza…
I didn’t know what to expect. I’d booked a hotel room (a double but for just me) for a great rate since I booked in January. 30 euro a night for each of three nights and 50 for the last (don’t know why, it was a Sunday). I’d already spent four days at the beach on the North Coast of Spain, in Bakio close to Bilbao and San Sebastian, so I wasn’t screaming “Need beach” but when I arrived it was a given that I was going to start a tan like a lot of these bronzed Italian and Spanish gym boys. Incidentally, not enough of them were gay for me to even notice. It was a smorgasbord for all. Yeah, there were plenty of beautiful girls there too, though I didn’t notice them much.
Of course, with all these ripped gym bodies all around, one of the first things I did was find a gym, run and owned by of course, a gorgeous bronzed ripped guy, of French origin. He cracked me up because every time I’d cuss in Spanish or say the word “whore” he’d get embarrassed and utter “Madre mía” meaning “mother of mine.” I like oxymorons – huge guy who gets shocked by little foul-mouthed chick.
I hit the gym every day I could, with a great view of course, of the whatever body of water is there in Ibiza (I don’t pay attention to such things – is it a sea or ocean? Whatev).
Enjoyed myself thoroughly at the opening party of Pacha, formerly my favorite club in Barcelona before it shut down, though now it’s been replaced by a kick-ass club called Oshum I have yet to set foot in… next time I’ll have to check it out.
It was sardine-can packed, so I stayed away from the booze – plus, the fucking bartender lady wouldn’t serve me – seems like if you’re not bald, you’re not going to order as many drinks so you’re not worth her time. When it started to get reasonable, a guy who worked there, handsome Victor from Sitges outside of Barcelona with big innocent eyes, told me about some other rooms, so I got myself a juice in one of those, and this gorgeous black female DJ in awesome distinctive fishnets gave me a gift. But mostly, it was a juice and hang-out-with-Victor night.
More later. Just going to say: Viva Italia!!
Top travel romance moments
These are just a few.
1) We met in the Writer’s Store on Westwood Blvd. I thought, “Hm, they keep their men gorgeous in L.A.” Then he chatted me up, invited me to lunch, and a couple of days later on the way to dropping me off at the airport, we stopped by his Bel Air home for fifteen minutes of a little bit of fun. And he was right, I wasn’t late for my flight!
2) Some making out with a tall Keanu Reeves look-a-like in a secluded spot atop a gazebo at the airport watching planes take off and land as the sun came up.
3) Getting to act out a little fantasy with a guy who looked very much like my first big crush. Talk about closure and feeling like I was in high school again (along with the awkwardness – ha).
Drive or ride on Germany’s most famous race track
The Nürburgring, 90km southwest of Cologne, is the ticket. One lap costs €16 in your own vehicle. Or take a ride (up to three passengers) with a pro for €180. One lap is 13 miles. A nice little summary is at about.com or visit the Nürburgring site itself.
I was researching a screenplay I’m writing. Thought I’d share this tidbit of info.
Another track for watching races instead of being on the track is the Hockenheimring. I know. Germans really need to remove some consonants from names. Just separate the “ring” from the word to help a touch.
International SIM cards – the perils
Oftentimes SIM cards you want to use abroad are expensive.
I thought I’d found the perfect deal for Spain in Lebara (you essentially pay €10/$15 for the card), and I thought I’d even be able to keep my sweet phone number. Well, they’ve changed the rules. It used to be that you had to use it in some capacity every 90 days to keep it active without occurring additional fees.
Now, I see that they’ve changed the rules. See this FAQ page on their site where I’ve gotten the following:
Your Lebara Móvil SIM card will remain active as long as you top-up the balance at least once every two months (60 days). If you do not do this or if you run out of credit, Lebara Móvil will grant you an additional month to top-up your balance. During this month, and until you top-up the balance, you will only be able to receive calls or make calls to the emergency services. If at the end of this one month period, there has not been at least one top-up, the SIM card will be permanently deactivated and you will lose the number and, if applicable, any remaining credit.
Sorry. I’m just bummed. I had €17 left on the card when I left in October. And I really do have a sweet phone number. Lebara’s still cheap, especially when they have their frequent top-up deals – buy €20 credit, get €10 free. Ah, well. Here we go again.
I love hostels!
My first hostel experience at age nineteen was my worst only because my friend and I did not know what to expect. It was not until years later that I rediscovered them through sites such as hostels.com and hostelworld.com and fell in love. I have since stayed at fifteen hostels throughout Europe and the States.
I grew up vacationing in tents and an expandable trailer (I miss it). As an adult, I’ve been fortunate to have enjoyed deluxe accommodations like the Intercontinental, a fabulous five-star hotel in Singapore, New York’s four-star le Parker Meridien, and various gawdy hotels in Las Vegas.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- small quarters
- bunk beds
- sometimes no windows
- people who may not clean up after themselves
- few bathrooms
- varying levels of security
- mostly young people
- sometimes a chronically ill person
- sometimes a creepy f*er
- noise, especially if you’re on a popular street
- planned hostel events like pub crawls or dinners
- usually a great location
- a really cheap price
- paying a bit extra for linens or possibly internet
- sometimes a kitchen and use of the frig
- to book, pay only 10% up front, if you don’t show, you’re charged one night’s stay only
I personally tend not to hang with people at the hostel, just because I prefer to party with the locals and not speak English, the prevalent hostel language.
WHAT DO I LOVE?
The fact that it’s cheap allows me to travel much more often than I would if I always stayed in hotels. There are people to hang out with if you’re bored, and you have a kitchen (sometimes) to store your food. There’s usually free wi-fi or PCs and a metro stop is often nearby.
HOW TO FIND A GREAT HOSTEL
Your primary tool is the rating system. On booking sites, each hostel is rated by its guests. I usually stay at hostels in the 75% to 90% satisfied category. Secondly, you look at the written reviews. Through them, you see what quirks you might not enjoy, like being on a major street, rude staff, or cold showers. If I see any reviews of bedbugs, that puts me on edge. Once in a New York budget hotel, I woke up looking like a leper. No thanks. I’ve never been attacked by bedbugs at a hostel. As for noise? Bring earplugs. I usually come back to the hostel at 4 or 6 a.m. I’d hate to wake you up. One more thing, if you’re getting on in years, hostels are probably not for you. Meaning, if you’re an older person, you may fall into the “creepy f*er” category, and I’d hardly want to encourage you to be my roomy.
If you’re staying for a decent period of time in one city, book several locations, for variety’s sake. You’ll discover more parts of the city, and if you happen to have a roommate that hacks up her guts every night and guilts you into buying her dinner, you can say, “Bye, bitch.”
Finally, at the end of a trip, I like to book a a single room to decompress, shop like mad and not worry about where to put all the new stuff, and just enjoy being by myself. I found a crazily-prized, highly-rated single room in Barcelona for a miniscule 25€ a night, including taxes and booking fees, through barcelona30.com.
I personally have had no issues of theft in a hostel. Usually, people who travel in hostels already have so much shit, the last thing they want is yours. Laptops are very common so unless yours is amazing or light like a netbook, there isn’t much of a draw. Plus, you can just put those things in a locker. Also, don’t bring things that would make you cry if you lost them. That’s just standard travel advice.
Enough about hostels. I’m almost done booking mine for my upcoming trip. One more city to go. Happy hosteling!
Travel Advice
24-Hour Cancellation
Booking directly through a major airline, including American Airlines, Delta, and Continental, allows you 24 hours to either cancel your trip at no charge or hold the reservation. In the case of a hold, American claims they reserve the right to change the fare till the ticket has been purchased, but in my experience, they abide by the fare reserved. Once, I totally did a brain fart and booked a trip when the other person would have already been on a business trip. I noticed two hours before the deadline to change and lucked out.
Earning Frequent Flyer Miles
Earn miles for every flight you take. First see if the airline you’re booking with partners with airlines you already have accounts with. I missed out on 10,000 miles once for not noticing that I could have applied my Alitalia trip’s miles to my Delta account. That’s a whole lot of stupid. Next, if the airline is not, apply for a frequent flyer account and enter it when you check in. It may someday merge with another airline and you’ll have combined redemption power.
By the way, you do not earn miles on trips you take using miles. Wouldn’t that be sweet?
With American, you can hold an itinerary for reward miles for five days which is super convenient. They also just recently added a feature where you can book international travel online and clearly see what days carry what mileage requirements, and which flights within those days are eligible.
Note that there is a maximum % or number of passengers on any particular flight that are traveling using their miles. This is why I ended up buying a ticket for my upcoming trip instead of redeeming my precious miles.
Roma, you suck, but you coulda been cool
So I neglected to rant about my April trip to Rome. This is probably because I’d returned to Barcelona and successfully washed Rome off of me in the Catalan city I call “where my heart is.” Pardon the euphemism.
After I arrive in the slut I call Rome, I take a loudly-squeaking, graffiti-covered train – think of an old lady in metal form – and then get ripped off by a seemingly warm-hearted taxi driver. “Oh, your first time in Rome, eh?” – which in Italian means “I am going to rape your wallet, but with a huge smile on my face.” He even asked what I was doing so far on the other side of the city, when in actuality the train station and my hostel were on the same side and it was a mere five-minute drive from the station. The meter he was using was very odd – no decimals – and was completely different from any other meter I saw for the rest of my trip.
I pay the damned 20 euros – though it should have been about 8 – because I just want to get to my hotel, dammit. So, bye, a-hole. Hello, f-ing Rome.
My hotel, Hotel Lodi, is an oasis in the grime-ridden, tourist-ridden, old-crap-ridden, noodle-ridden hole I call Rome. The hosts are friendly, it has a lovely courtyard, one of the staff just out of the blue cooks lunch for a few of us, and it is outside of the touristy areas.
The rest of my Roman experience is pretty much crap. The spirit that I thought was the core of the Italian existence is missing. It is as if the tourists have sucked the life out of the city. The city is in ruins, not just its old buildings. Because my guy in Barcelona requested it, I take various pictures of famous sights, but I am unimpressed. I had gone there to live like a Roman, but Romans are no fun anymore. Clubs are small – bars are more the norm – and other than the weekend and a few random clubs on a Monday – namely, an American-filled, hip-hop meat market – I’d say the nightlife, not so great. Roman guys are weird-looking in general – kind of Neanderthal or nondescript, and there’s very little variety in food. And guess what? Carbonara is not good for you. Oh, how it hurts!
I had only booked 4.5 days there, but 3 is enough. I frantically Skype–> fail – -> internet –> fail –> call, to get my flight changed so that I can get back to my beloved Barcelona 1.5 days earlier. I pay 100 euros for the favor – more than my original ticket – and escape!
Of course, my experience could have been a lot better had I remembered to contact people via couchsurfing.org, before my laptop started spazzing. After the fact, I saw that there were an impressive % of good-looking Roman couchsurfers who could have made the trip bearable.
ACTUAL GOOD THINGS ABOUT ROME:
1) A drink called a Spritz, which is Campari, sparkling white wine and sparkling mineral water and twist of orange. My first I had at the Caffe Ducati, which on a late Saturday night was sadly one-tenth full. But the drink was nice. Note: Campari by itself is disgusting!
2) Shopping - not the best I’ve seen but I bought a unique leather purse for 40 euros and a comfy, pretty tiered top. Rome had a Fornarina and Stuary Weitzman shop, plus a lovely billboard of Marion Cotillard, one of my top three fave actresses in the world. She’s a mix of gutsy and vulnerable.
3) Amazing starving artists - do you see this dude doing a masterpiece in chalk? Crazy, eh? Here’s a link to him and his fellow artists: http://madonnaripugliesi.blogspot.com/
Dance the night and morning away
Nightclub Apolo, Barcelona
So if you’re a party girl or boy like I am, you’ll appreciate the social network for partiers, Tilllate.com, TILL LATE in English, TEE-YAH-TAY in Spanish, just so you don’t get blank stares like I did. You can see photos taken at the hottest clubs throughout Europe. I’m in one of the pics, but I look a little odd so I’m not going to tell you where to look. I’ll just say May 8.
My favorite clubs in Barcelona are: Space (best on Friday unless you’re a tater-tot – then go on Thursday), La Madame (only on Sunday nights if you’re not a gay man), and Apolo (famed for its inventive Monday mix but great all week). The above crappy pic is one I took at Apolo, but at least it’s authentic. Pacha was my favorite till it shut down but can be found in other international hotspots including Madrid, Ibiza and Manhattan.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you my favorite clubs in Madrid because I was essentially taken to places and just went with the flow. Ten days out of thirteen I stayed up till 6 or 7 a.m. Yeah, Madrid! Not as fashionable or vain as Barcelona, but they know how to live it up and do it in a laid-back way, kind of like San Francisco with hotter people. It’s a city where beer is a food group. I think I ate one meal a day the whole time I was there. Ask for the drink Tinto de Verano for a beer-substitute – weak, girly, and refreshing. Kapital is worth a visit; it’s the largest meat market I’ve ever seen with its seven floors and as many themes. Just don’t go during a Spanish holiday like I did. Trust me on this.
Clubs in Spain open around 1 a.m., get busy after 2, and close at 5 or 6. Then, you hop on the the metro and you’re good to go. There are after-parties but they’re not for the faint of heart or for the gullible. Lots of drugs, some errant knives and wasted people wielding them – I’ve seen the scars – so beware. Both Madrid and Barcelona are pretty compact and I was in the center of each, so getting to and from wasn’t a big deal or expensive like it can be in Los Angeles and Paris.
I know I need to add a travel section. I’ll get to it, give me some time. Ciao!
Travel Site Recommendations
Stamped passport
Through the Virtual Tourist newsletter, I found out about multi-city package deals. They were worth passing along for those of you who like flitting through cities at a go. Visit European Destinations for vacations including flight and hotel from $800 or so. Sweet.
Not to be ignored, U.S. destinations like San Francisco, where I went last weekend, are worth checking out. SF grew on me, with its neighborhoods locked in a 1970’s jive movie, international flavor, indie fashion and food. I think I ate Thai everyday. Dance upstairs at Ruby Skye and you might get dipped all the way to the floor by a suave hipster. Hang with the doorman and get a sample of human psychology played out to your delight.
