Singapore, Singapore, Singapore... (Part 1)

As I write this, I am actually en-route to Singapore almost over the north pole at 33 thousand feet, 5hrs of 15, into my second of three flights.  This is not my first time there, it is actually my third. It is however the first time that I have had internet for almost all of the time while in the air, minus about 45mins when we are directly over the north pole.  It looks like airlines are FINALLY getting the hint that this internet thing is not the Devil....or is it....I suppose we will never know...

(I seriously found that on my first search....it was like the third pic)

But I digress....I suppose I am a little cranky that people are not more considerate, reclining their seat the whole flight, even during meals, and taking seriously like 25mins in the bathroom (not that I was going anywhere).

Back to Singapore.  I am going there to a work function where I will be interacting with folks from all over the standard APJ region for most companies.  Talking about the new vSphere 6 features and functions as I have done several times before this.  It is always interesting to get to see the different opinions from around the world.

The first time I was over here was right when the Singapore Grand Prix, was on, and they had the road in front of the hotel blocked off as it was part of the race track.  Let me tell you, trying to get around was severely limited.  We were at a Mandarin Hotel which was absolutely stunning.  They had wild birds that were put out every morning in the lobby to have some awesome sounds every morning.  

This time we are staying at the Marina Bay Sands.  It is really a staple of Singapore...and I have wanted to stay there every time we have gone...but it just doesn't work out...as our office is too far away. Our conference is actually AT this hotel though so I get to stay:

Yes it is a boat on the top....pretty cool even though i am not sure that it is real.  I am always amazed at Singapore, as there is such an intermixing of cultures and people.  The food is an interesting mix of different cultures.  By the numbers, it's roughly 74% Chinese, 13% ethnic Malay, 9% Indian, and 3% Eurasian. So I definitely can't wait to get some good eats. 

This is of course not to mention the Singapore Sling a pretty interesting cocktail made famous from the Raffles Hotel, a really really cool hotel that I have gone each time to have some drinks at:

Hotel is really cool looking too:

I will post pics and stuff as the week goes on.  I am also looking forward to seeing some friends that my wife and I met on our travels down in South America.  Random meeting, but we always get together for a meal and a drink whenever we can. Should be an amazing week, I can't wait for it! Sadly this post has only taken up 30 minutes of my remaining time. 

Airline Status - the best part about being a frequent traveller

This year I have not been travelling as much, as previous years, if you had not seen that from my lack of checking in fun places. That being said, I was recently asked again about what I thought about frequent flyer statuses. This comes up now and again, as many people don't actually collect them or know what they actually are. I started writing this on my way to Boston after hearing people complain about being in group 5 to board the plane.

Let me start by saying that I didn't even collect them when I started to travel. I had heard of the programs but didn't bother investigating. This is a fools move.

If you are not collecting them...you definitely should be.  Even if you don't frequently fly (a couple of times a year only) they are still amazing to have.  You can also collect miles from other places or from your credit card and they can be used for various things....I highly recommend saving them for travel on your airline of choice. But more on that a little later.  Before we get into it it helps to understand the basics. 

The Basics

Frequent flier programs are offered by every airline that I have ever been on.  Basically they are a running total of the distance travelled in that particular year.  Most airlines grant status based on accumulation from the previous year.  Accumulation is generally taken in two methods:

• Qualifying Miles - The number of miles flown. There are some stuff to note here that can affect this, such as the type of fare.
• Qualifying Segments - The number of flights taken, each round trip equals 2 segments.  This is a thing because many people take large number of flights but those flights aren't long.  

Once you meet the threshold for the number of miles or segments, you usually get some kind of perks with that airline. Of course, it sometimes can get a bit tricky because the reduced cost and popularity of flying in the last 15 years.  In addition, credit cards often grant miles so although they count towards some statuses, it doesn't count as qualifying.  

Airlines can also get a little shady when it comes to the number of miles received for a flight. To receive status they take into account the fare type, and also things such as making sure that you have a certain number of miles flown under their banner.  For example on Air Canada they have three economy fares, Tango, Flex, and Latitude.  If you fly a Tango fare, you only get half the miles. Sadly this is almost always the lowest cost fare.  On the other side, if you book a latitude or Business/first class flight you get 150% of the miles.  This of course costs way more and is most of the time out of budget.

Alliances

In addition to the individual programs, there have been alliances formed amongst airlines. You probably have seen them when waiting for a flight and not known about it...the two big ones are Star Alliance, and OneWorld. 

 

This not only helps with the perks but benefits as well, because you get credit for flying on a group of airlines rather than your primary.  For example, I fly on Air Canada primarily and if I take a United Airlines flight, I still get miles for that flight.  They also benefit you with the fact that you can get status with the group as well.  When you reach a certain level on a Star Alliance airline Silver/Gold is granted. This will generally get you some perks when flying on any airline in the group. Again, I normally fly Air Canada, but if I am travelling Singapore Airlines, it allows for some privileges even though it is not my primary airline.  This is great, for example, when you are in a foreign place and can get into one of the member airline lounges to relax or for a long connection.

Perks

So now that there is a basic understanding of what they are.  The question becomes, what does this all mean?  Well, it means, the more that you fly the more perks you get with the airline.  To be perfectly honest, many of them are useless.  But the ones that are my favourite and also very useful, are the following (some may or may not be available depending on status level):

• Priority Boarding - Being able to go on as Group 1 or 2, rather than Group 5, is a saviour more times than you would imagine. You can actually get overhead space for your carry-on luggage..if you don't have checked luggage it is a must.
• Priority Counters - despite the convenience of travelling from a big airport like Pearson in Toronto, if they are having a bad day, you can very easily be screwed by an hour + lineup for checking a bag or getting your ticket.  With status, you get the priority counters which I never have seen a line-up at, which gets you through in short order, even when the regular line is horrible.
• Priority Security Clearance - In many airports they also have priority lines for security. This gets you ahead of most of the crazy lines that can be there. It does not however get you through customs.  So you still have to take that time into account. I highly recommend using a program such as Nexus / Global Entry to reduce the time here.  They are amazing....specially when the lines are long for customs and it takes you two minutes to get through.  
• Priority Luggage - Along with the priority counter, if you happen to be checking luggage you get a little orange tag on it.  Thus your luggage will come out first.  This can save a TON of time.  Sometimes it doesn't go through as it should, but it generally is great.
• Lounges - I already mentioned them before but the lounges have a comfortable area for you to sit if you have a layover or arrive early.  They also generally have free drinks ( in Pearson they also have free alcohol) as well as food.  Some even have buffets, showers, etc etc.  It can be just what is needed without spending a crazy amount of money.   

There are of course way more but in the end I would gladly pay for this type of stuff....although i am glad that you can't other than by purchasing flights.

Upgrades

The other main thing that you get is credits / miles that you can use to upgrade Economy class fares to Business/First class.  With Air Canada, they are called e-upgrade credits.  Depending on the distance of the flight, as well as your status, determines the number of credits you get.

I can't tell you how amazing it is to be able to get a lay flat seat for an 8, 10 or even 15hr flight. These seats although amazing are in my opinion are not worth the 5 or more thousand dollar difference in ticket cost.  I just checked, and a standard flight to San Francisco a month from now is $393 round trip.  Not bad right?  Well that same 5hr flight is $3469 in business class.  Sure, you get a meal, and free drinks, and more space...but really It is not worth the $3000 extra dollars.  This goes up much more as you start to get on longer flights.

Don't get me wrong here, I like it and generally use my points as soon as I can, but the difference in cost is just crazy.

Using Miles

The final thing I will mention is all about using miles.  Once you have accumulated miles, you can go to the Aeroplan Website (or other website for other airlines), and use the miles.

You can buy anything from travel to merchandise, gift cards, etc.   I generally only use them for actual flights.  Now that being said, like most travel rewards, you still need to pay the tax.  Here in lies the problem...if you buy an economy class ticket with your miles, it is moderate.  If you buy that fancy business class ticket....well you sill have to pay tax on the much higher price.

In addition, if you try to use the miles to do a single leg of the flight, you have to be aware that certain classes of seat can't do that...as well as the fact that if you try to purchase only a single leg of a flight....that you may end up paying way more.

For example,  I was looking to use miles to upgrade a single leg of an upcoming trip, and it would have cost around $1500 for the tickets not bad considering that it was the longest flight distance of the 4 flights...but when I looked around for the other flights to complete the trip, it would have worked out to $5000 thousand difference to do the exact same flights as if I didn't upgrade.  Suffice to say I took the $1500 economy fare instead as that covered all 4 flights.  It is sad, but the reality of how the airline costing goes.

Conclusion

I really like the points and the perks of being a frequent traveller.  There are some gotchas, and there are some things that you have to avoid.  In general however, if you are purchasing a direct ticket somewhere, you can definitely get better seats etc.

I hope this helps to clarify things for you...although they keep changing it so who knows what it will be in the future!