Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by Cappy

I did this last year.

You got a meal, about an hour or two after take off?

Then you got a breakfast snack about an hour before landing. Like a breakfast sandwich.

Not sure what you mean by open bar?
- I usually get a mini bottle of wine when they are serving dinner, but I don't think you are able to just order beers/hi-balls for free

Depends on which cabin you purchase.

In Y you can ask for one during the service but they are not going to wait on you. You can try your luck by walking to the galley and asking for a snack or drink if you want, usually they will be more likely to oblige on TATL flights.

In J they will typically come around and offer you whatever you want all flight if you are awake and not bother you if you are asleep.

[Wormius]

Is it worth it buy points if there is a bonus given? For example AC is doing 85% bonus and for hotels IHG hotline are doing 100%. i think IHG might make sense, since I have been looking at a trip to Toronto and paying with purchased points, with the bonus makes sense. Not so sure about flights and whether I could get screwed buying some points instead of paying cash for a flight.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Is it worth it buy points if there is a bonus given? For example AC is doing 85% bonus and for hotels IHG hotline are doing 100%. i think IHG might make sense, since I have been looking at a trip to Toronto and paying with purchased points, with the bonus makes sense. Not so sure about flights and whether I could get screwed buying some points instead of paying cash for a flight.

Typically no. You'd have to do a full calculation to know for sure. There might be bonus points and whatnot, but sometimes, I realize that I'm paying over a dollar for dollar of point credit or that I'm acquiring extra points by paying unfavorable prices by 10-15% and the points offer me like an extra 5-11% in credit (not worth it). I've only ever bought points to have enough to cash out 100% of my points on something so that I don't end up accumulating more points that I have to give up if I get rid of the card.

I've been stuck in a scenario a little like this for the last little bit. I'm thinking about getting a new travel credit card because Westjet has basically totally screwed over that card. It also doesn't help I ran into issues with both the pilot strike and hail and it was basically exempt from the APPR stuff and attempting to avoid Westjet going forward. (Plus they only have to do reimbursements on the first flight even if it screws over your return flight too).

[MoneyGuy]

Nephew’s destination wedding in Costa Rica has been cancelled (they’re still marrying) so some of us are looking at taking the 10 days we’d booked off and going somewhere anyway- mid-December. Our cost is half the cost at the resort the bride selected. We!re looking at the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica or Mexico.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by JD

I think the annoying part is that the breakfast is usually terrible. Especially on AC when they serve those heartburn-inducing, mouth-searing hot pockets. Just exactly the wrong thing to serve on a long flight.

Oh last year when I flew from Hong Kong to Tokyo on Cathay after lunch they gave us peanuts and Hagen Daas!

I never thought I would ever see peanuts on a plane ever again!

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Oh last year when I flew from Hong Kong to Tokyo on Cathay after lunch they gave us peanuts and Hagen Daas!

I never thought I would ever see peanuts on a plane ever again!

I think it's largely a North American and U.K. thing with peanut allergies and mostly because of a policy of withholding peanuts (which happened in the late 90s but has since been acknowledged as an error).

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by JD

I think the annoying part is that the breakfast is usually terrible. Especially on AC when they serve those heartburn-inducing, mouth-searing hot pockets. Just exactly the wrong thing to serve on a long flight.

Last breakfast I had on Westjet was awesome

Spoiler!

[/IMG]

[getbak]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Last breakfast I had on Westjet was awesome

Spoiler!

[/IMG]

Damn, where were you flying/which cabin were you in?

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by getbak

Damn, where were you flying/which cabin were you in?

The cutlery is a hint.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by getbak

Damn, where were you flying/which cabin were you in?

Just looking at the seat, seems to be business on the 787

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Nephew’s destination wedding in Costa Rica has been cancelled (they’re still marrying) so some of us are looking at taking the 10 days we’d booked off and going somewhere anyway- mid-December. Our cost is half the cost at the resort the bride selected. We!re looking at the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica or Mexico.

Costa Rica is a wonderful country to visit. It’s very geographically diverse. Super friendly and pretty much awesome.

No need for a resort while in CR

[getbak]

Originally Posted by D as in David

The cutlery is a hint.

How so?

Originally Posted by STeeLy

Just looking at the seat, seems to be business on the 787

Thanks. I couldn't tell if it was Premium or Business (since I've never flown in either on the 787). I'm flying Premium to Barcelona in a couple of weeks, so I was wondering if that's what I have to look forward to.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Typically no. You'd have to do a full calculation to know for sure. There might be bonus points and whatnot, but sometimes, I realize that I'm paying over a dollar for dollar of point credit or that I'm acquiring extra points by paying unfavorable prices by 10-15% and the points offer me like an extra 5-11% in credit (not worth it). I've only ever bought points to have enough to cash out 100% of my points on something so that I don't end up accumulating more points that I have to give up if I get rid of the card.

I've been stuck in a scenario a little like this for the last little bit. I'm thinking about getting a new travel credit card because Westjet has basically totally screwed over that card. It also doesn't help I ran into issues with both the pilot strike and hail and it was basically exempt from the APPR stuff and attempting to avoid Westjet going forward. (Plus they only have to do reimbursements on the first flight even if it screws over your return flight too).

Hmm, yeah I ended up looking deeper into it and buying the points were in USD which made it much less appealing to bother with. Plus for some reason paying with points excluded me from all of the rooms that could sleep more than 2 people, which isn't great for a family trip.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by getbak

How so?

It was metal. Or is economy back to using metal instead of plastic cutlery?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by D as in David

It was metal. Or is economy back to using metal instead of plastic cutlery?

Oh yeah, I knew it wasn't Economy. I was more asking if it was Business or Premium.

[Freeway]

Originally Posted by butterfly

For flights? Hotels? Food? Recreation?

Must-see/do things in both cities, if possible.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by getbak

How so?


Thanks. I couldn't tell if it was Premium or Business (since I've never flown in either on the 787). I'm flying Premium to Barcelona in a couple of weeks, so I was wondering if that's what I have to look forward to.

Yeah business class on a 787. I'm pretty sure Premium gets the same or similar meals

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Yeah business class on a 787. I'm pretty sure Premium gets the same or similar meals

Premium gets you the same breakfast, but the drink has the mini umbrella.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Yeah business class on a 787. I'm pretty sure Premium gets the same or similar meals

Can’t confirm for sure but have flown both cabins a bunch of times and the meals do seem similar.

[Bill Bumface]

I want to take my family to Central America this winter. I've got two kids under 10 years old. I've heard wonderful things about Nicaragua, but there are also travel advisories like crazy for it. Looking on Reddit etc, the theme seems to be "it's totally fine if you aren't an anti-government activist".

I'm also open to other places like Costa Rica etc.

Is Nicaragua safe? Is it "stable" and likely to be safe in 6 months? If not, where else should we consider?