I recently checked out the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in JFK and loved it so much (MilesTalk also went not long after me and seems to have felt the same way!) that when I saw the SFO lounge was also available with Amex Platinum, I knew it would be worth going to the airport early before my flight. I did keep expectations low though, since I knew it was smaller and it had less stellar reviews while it was a Priority Pass lounge.
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On our long route back home from Necker Island (EIS-SJU-JFK-SFO), we had the opportunity to visit the Virgin Atlantic Lounge at JFK (operated by Plaza Premium) using the Amex Platinum card. Our flight was at 6 pm, so our plan was to lounge hop Bobby Van’s Steakhouse, Centurion Lounge, and Virgin Atlantic. After we picked up our to-go order at Bobby Van’s, it was 3 pm, so the Virgin lounge had just opened. We decided to go there first since it was further inside Terminal 4 than Centurion, which was right next to security. But the minute we stepped inside the lounge, we scrapped all plans to go to Centurion.
Many of you know that I spent a week at Necker Island for the second time last week. I’m still working on the blog post for that, but I wanted to first share with everyone that Sir Richard Branson’s other island, Moskito Island, is now publicly available for booking at more than half the cash cost of Necker Island and a lower minimum-night requirement. It’s previously been used for Necker Island’s overflow guests, but is now publicly available for booking on its own as its own proper Virgin Limited Edition property.
Hi all, this seems like such a silly post to write, but I’ve seen a lot of people complain about how different setting up an auto-pay for a credit card at Bank of America is compared to other banks, and how it’s led to missing a payment, getting interest charges, late fees, etc. I’m so used to having all my cards on auto-pay that this happened to me once too. Setting it up is definitely more tedious and requires more clicking around than other banks. So hopefully this post documenting the process helps someone out there.
Update 5/4/21: There is currently an Amex offer for Yamibuy for $10 off $50 in one or more transactions, expiring 6/3/21! I appreciate it if you use my referral link for $5 off. 🙂 Please also check out my Pro Tips for Weee! post.
This is a follow up to M’s post about Weee! (my referral for $20 bonus) back in December. Weee! is an Asian grocery delivery service similar to Instacart and Amazon Whole Foods/Fresh currently serving the SF Bay Area and Seattle. I started using it at the beginning of Shelter In Place since I craved Asian groceries, but the lines at 99 Ranch were sometimes pretty daunting. I’ll also talk about some similar alternatives to Weee!, Yamibuy and Yamimeal in this post.
First published 4/6/2016. Last updated 5/2/21: Some devaluations this year, like IKEA.
Hi everyone! It’s been awhile since you last heard from me, due to all my traveling recently. Unlike Daniel and Michael, I have a hard time keeping up with computer-related stuff while traveling. But I am back now, and have a lot of things to catch up on and things I want to share with you! I seem to have a ton of friends with birthdays in the spring, so hope this is timely for some of you.
I recently stayed at the Hyatt Centric Waikiki and Hyatt Regency Waikiki on another awesome trip to Oahu, my favorite island, and want to share my assessments, which may help you choose on your next trip if the pricing for both is similar, as it was for us. The purpose of our trip was primarily to requalify for Hyatt Globalist under their double elite night promotion, and we were fortunate to hang out with family and friends who were after the same goal. We stayed at Hyatt Centric for 4 nights and Hyatt Regency for 7 nights, both on the Healthcare Friends & Family rate (which does earn elite nights and points), and I applied my Amex Offers and Chase Offers to them.
Recently, on my way back from Taiwan to Japan, I stopped for a week in Singapore to see friends and co-workers, and no quarantine was required! I used the Air Travel Pass, a travel green lane to enter Singapore that is open to the following countries as long as you have been there for the last 14 days (subject to update, check https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/atp/requirements-and-process for the latest requirements):
Detailed review of Ventana Big Sur, pro tips for your stay, and suggestions for what to do around the area and along the beautiful Pacific coastline. Click the title to read more.
Last updated: 2/26/2023
There are only a handful of places in the world that I love so much that I’d want to visit at least once a year. Hawaii is one of them. I lived in Honolulu for 4 months in 2010 and fell in love with it to the point where it has become one of my favorite destinations in the world, and I’m lucky it’s only a 5 hour flight away.
Oahu has a lot of haters, but I think those people either don’t appreciate amazing food or haven’t been to the right places. I can’t deny that part of Oahu has a lot of tourists and traffic, but I love that Oahu has the best of both worlds (city + nature). Just head over to Kailua, Yokohama, or North Shore and it feels like one of the less-populated islands with the beautiful unspoiled nature and wondrous hikes (did you know Oahu has more hikes than any other island?). Then come back to Honolulu and its amazing food and fun things to do! For those of you who thought you hated Oahu, I hope you will give it another chance after checking out this post.
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