OUT AND OUT – Page 63 of 64 – Out for points. Out for money.

Trip Report: Aeromexico Economy LAX-GDL

March 8, 2013 by Harlan 1 Comment

First, I need to start this post with a cringe. I cannot STAND LAX. Oh my god. So when I landed at Terminal 7 on United’s flight from DEN, I set about immediately transferring to Terminal 2, where the international departures happen. To do that, I have to completely leave the terminal (bad), go through security again (bad), but didn’t have to recheck my bag thanks to United’s interline baggage policy (very good).

As I wandered through the fog outside LAX toward Terminal 2, I was reminded of why I can’t stand LAX, or LA in general. The airport is poorly designed, it’s literally falling apart, and each new process feels like pulling teeth, which kinda ties into the bad design.

When I arrived at Terminal 2, it was pretty easy to find the Aeromexico desk. I could hear it before it saw it. A cacophony of screaming Spanish. The occupy the old Northwest space. I know so because I could still see where they crossed out Northwest a few years ago and put up Aeromexico.

I waited in a long line to get my boarding pass, and credited the flight to Delta. Since it was a Q-class economy fare, I’ll get full mileage credit. The agent was friendly and efficient, but my god the people. It was a completely full flight.

The gate on the boarding pass read 24A. When I got to the gates, I checked the monitors like always and saw they’d changed it to 28. Fine. When I got there, people were lined up waiting to speak to the gate agents. Gross. Some of them were crying. Like, convulsing crying. Did I miss something? Was the gate change that dramatic? I heard a lot of people bitching about it while waiting in line.

The boarding process was almost comical. There were FAs literally showing people to their seat and stowing away baggage for the customers. First time I’d ever seen that happen. Even still, people were lost and confused. Watching the boarding process in an aircraft always makes me lose faith in humanity.

Aeromexico felt grimy, like they’d never cleaned the planes. The FAs were thorough, modern, and cultured, but the other passengers were like animals. I had three Mexican men in contact with me as they slept, snored, and randomly jerked. I was also the aisle bitch and was bumped CONSTANTLY. Jesus. I am not a big person. It takes effort to hit me. Also, every time someone came down the aisle, they clutched my headrest for dear life, which of course made my whole seat go back. This happened over and over and over. I won’t even mention the quantity of crying babies because you all know how much that thrills me.

The ride to GDL seemed like forever. It finally touched down at 6am. They did that Euro thing where they plop the plane down and make people take a bus to the terminal.

Bus to terminal at GDL

Customs was a breeze. My company hired a broker specifically to get me through customs. All I did was present my declaration and touch a button. Within minutes, I was at the Delta counter receiving my boarding passes to ATL and EWR. After the hellish experience with Aeromexico, and um, I guess I’m now classifying it as hellish, I was thrilled to see those dark blue and brick red kiosks.

Final take on Aeromexico: right up there (down there?) with Alitalia. Wouldn’t be my first choice for travel, in any cabin. Why do all of Delta’s SkyTeam partners SUCK?

Trip Report: Delta Economy GDL-ATL-LGA

March 8, 2013 by Harlan 2 Comments

View of mountains in Guadalajara from GDL

I’m on a roll on this GDL-ATL flight, and can see Texas below me. This flight was exactly what I’ve come to expect from Delta: solid, reliable, easy.

Just sat down on Delta’s GDL-ATL flight

Only bone: they had me in Zone 3 boarding. Really, Delta? I’ve got the card and everything. But other than that, this flight has brought back warm and fuzzy memories after being on United and Aeromexico the past couple of days.

Also, this flight really solidifies Delta Vs. American for me. I like them both equally. Dust, please settle.

Lots of people on here have cute Southern accents and it reminds me of home. Flying out of GDL was gorgeous. Guadalajara looks cute from above, and the mountains and canyons beyond the city were stunning. I wish I could’ve spent more time there.

Over Mexico

Oh! I should give thanks to Amex because I’m using some of my $200 airline credit this year to buy myself a margarita.

I have an evil plan for when I get to ATL. I want to get bumped, get a voucher and put on a flight that instead arrives at JFK. I hate flying into EWR. HATE it. I checked on the Fly Delta app, and my chances are 70/30 at this point that I’ll get bumped. So fingers are crossed.

Will report more from ATL SkyClub, which will be my first time there! Let’s keep this buzz goin’, Deltoid.

Another stamp on the ol’ passport

So I’m safe at sound now and wanted to update on the final flight, ATL-LGA. It was supposed to be to EWR, but I despise that airport and asked the agent the agent at the SkyClub if I could fly into LGA instead. Since the flight to EWR was delayed anyway, the agent was able to put me on the next flight to LGA. Score. Cheaper taxi ride!

Since the flight was in a different terminal, I headed over there to imbibe a drink instead. The SkyClub in Terminal A was HUGE, but man was it packed. I tried to go to the bathroom, and there was a line. The little bathroom only had two stalls, yet the SkyClub is built to accomodate about 200. Stupid. I left and went to the bathroom in the airport, which was actually emptier and had no line, then went to the SkyClub in Terminal T.

A vast improvement. Ample seating and much less crowded. I promptly grabbed a rum and coke and chilled for a sec.

When I fly for over 24 hours then have a drink

It was really nice. I left soon after to go board. The boarding process was easy enough, and I got all settled into seat 29F. After everyone was on, the pilot announced that we’d have to deplane to change aircraft. The whole point of changing my flight was to get to New York sooner, not later. Anyway, after we boarded again, we sat on the tarmac for a while before we departed. Then, a couple of hours later, I was finally home after a long and crazy run out to GDL. The flight was quick, lots of turbulence, and I nodded off a lot. I felt so gross and tired when we finally landed, and hopped right into a taxi.

Back in the snow

I did notice that when I got put onto the LGA flight that the agent knocked off the GDL-ATL segment, so I anticipate having to call about the missing miles and MQMs in a few days. The weather has sucked lately, Mercury is in retrograde, and pretty much all of my flights were delayed. But, I’m back in the NYC and looking forward to my next trip, wherever it may be.

Trip Report: United Economy EWR-DEN-LAX

March 8, 2013 by Harlan 1 Comment

March 6

March 6th started off with a call from Charlie, my boss at the courier company. When I can, I work as an air courier, which has helped me explore many different airlines, airports, aircraft, classes of service, and all sorts of other travel-related minutia.

Charlie’s a lady. She called me at 7:30 – I was off work that day and still asleep. “Can you go to Guadalajara today about 2pm?” she asked. “I’d love to.”

The client was supposed to get back to us my 10am about the 2pm departure, but they didn’t get back to us until 12:30. The next flight to GDL was at 5:10pm on United with a LGA-IAH-GDL itinerary.

Enter Winter Storm Saturn. United decided to cancel the aircraft coming in from IAH that was supposed to take us back, so Charlie had to work her magic to get me to GDL, and ASAP.

She found a EWR-IAH-GDL itinerary out of Newark at 5:30. So, cargo in hand, I drove west in my Hertz rental car toward New Jersey. Due to traffic, the air train, and the freaking Holland Tunnel, I didn’t get to the airport checkin desk until 5:06. I tried every trick in the book. And I do mean every trick.

“Can I upgrade to first?”
“Can I check it at the gate?”
“Is there anything I can do to get on that flight?”

No, no, no said United’s version of a Red Coat. “You are late. The flight is closed.”

I pushed my cart into a corner and called Charlie. I don’t know how the hell she did it, but I am writing this on United flight 270 bound for Denver.

So far, the service has been fine. I was highly unimpressed with the unwillingness of United’s phone and desk agents to do anything about the canceled LGA-IAH trip. The offered to put me on the next flight out, but it would’ve caused me to miss the last flight out of IAH to GDL. I would’ve had to stay overnight. The EWR idea was a good one, but it was half-baked. Getting from LGA to EWR is a project. Driving through Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Holland Tunnel (deserves its own mention), and down to Newark was brutal, mostly because of the traffic and the wind kicked up by the storm.

The baggage concierge lady was the nicest of the bunch. Security at EWR was surprisingly easy. As soon as I was out, I was literally 50 feet from my gate.

So now I’m on the first flight. Service is what you’d expect from an economy flight – and it’s a very full one too. Very quiet. No babies, thank gods. The seats are narrow and the legroom is wanting, but what can one expect? Charlie usually gets me into biz class, but everything was sold out today, probably due to the domino effect from the storm’s delays.

The connection in DEN is tight, and it’ll be my first time there. I hope my shipment gets checked through alright. The last leg is on Aeromexico and they interline checked the shipment… I know Delta was stopped doing this, but apparently United still does it.

I wonder if I’ll have to change terminals at LAX. Probably, right?

I’m looking forward to seeing what Aeromexico is like. The feeling I got from United today was ill-prepared and very unhelpful. I’m sorry to say, but that’s the overall impression I get from their unempowered employees.

Still, I’m basically on a mileage run to GDL, and will get a nice batch of MileagePlus miles (from the United flights), and a few SkyMiles (from the Aeromexico leg).

Eff it, I’m buying a Heineken. It’s been a long day of driving through Long Island, delays, setbacks, and finally, flights.

Above Denver

March 7

I’m writing this GDL-ATL. Wanted to update about DEN-LAX flight.

EMPTY. I got a whole row to myself. Still had a bit of that slimy United feeling that I generally dislike. There was also a screaming baby who was so loud I didn’t know babies could even be that loud. Also lots of trashy LA people, of course. Despite the loud babies (yes, plural), I managed to get to the REM cycle. I found myself wanting another round of the cycle. But alas, the time to touch down at LAX came much too soon.

Luckily, the gate to LAX when I got out at DEN was just two down. I grabbed a bottle of water and a sandwich, and before I knew it was boarding again.

First thing I did when I got to LAX: cringed. That West Coast vibe just doesn’t do this New Yorker good.

Dying

Next up: LAX-GDL on Aeromexico.

Why I Don’t Care About SPG Starpoints

March 8, 2013 by Harlan 12 Comments

Don’t give a!

I fully admit I’m a rookie at best with miles and points collecting, but I’ve never understood the allure of Starpoints.

In theory, they are like a rare, valuable currency that can get one access to a variety of different airlines and hotel locations. But in practice, are they worth it?

Starcrap

The best signup bonus I’ve ever seen for the SPG Card is 30,000 Starpoints, which translates to 35,000 miles of a whole lot of different airlines. The signup bonus is great, and so is the flexibility. But there are a couple of things about the card that have also irked me. Read More

Dilemma of the Day: Which Caribbean Island?

March 6, 2013 by Harlan 4 Comments

St. John, USVI

Just what the subject says. As part of the signup bonus for the shiny new British Airways Visa Signature that I got during my recent App-O-Rama, I will soon get at least 75,000 Avios – and hopefully 100,000 Avios. They’re great for short hops or some mid-haul jaunts under 1150 miles. The caveat is that they can only be used on places where Oneworld has routes. So no Philadelphia, no Burlington, no Portland (Maine), no Albany… surprising, right? But then I pulled up the American Airlines route map and the British Airways Avios Calculator to see where all I could go on the East Coast. My eyes drifted toward the equator, and I saw St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, and St. John just sitting there all lined up like a row of temptresses.

For 20,000 Avios R/T in economy, American will fly me to:

St. Thomas (STT)
St. Maarten (SXM)
St. Kitts (SKB)

But NOT St. Croix (and St. John doesn’t have an airport). I haven’t experiment with other islands yet, but I did notice it was the same rate to Cancun, though I’m not really interested in going there. Even though it’s not a short- or mid-haul, 20K R/T to visit the Caribbean from New York is pretty good, right? And it’s much less points the further south you start out from. Which brings me to my dilemma. Which Caribbean island should I visit first? I’ve been to none of them and don’t know where to start. I know they’re all probably amazing, but which one is best for a beginner? The research continues, into the islands as well as into the value of Avios. I’d love to go sometime between April and June.

This redemption really got the thinking when I saw it, so I thought I’d share. It might be old news to some, but sure brought a warm feeling to imagine those bright, sandy beaches. Really liking Avios right about now. And open to ideas!

Staples Update: Order Cleared, Rebate Still Pending

March 5, 2013 by Harlan Leave A Comment

Staples called me today to confirm the validity of my order of 10 three-user Kaspresky Anti-Virus software downloads. It was from a 902 area code, which is Nova Scotia. The guy from Staples made me verify my name, address, and email. He said that because of the popularity of the deal, they were calling to confirm that the orders were legitimate. While I was on the phone with him, I refreshed the Orders page on the Staples site, and my order status changed from “Researching” to “Transmitted for fulfillment.”

I don’t need the software, but I did receive the download codes as soon as I hung up the phone. So the first part is over, that being the order clearing through Staples and my bank (Citi, in this case). The next step is to get the rebates processed and in hand. Wonder how long that’ll take… As soon as I get the check, I’d like to look into donating and/or selling the software. It would be my first time to actually profit from a deal in both points and cash.

Will update when the rebate status changes. Hope it isn’t a protracted process like the Thanksgiving Kaspresky deal.

My Experience with Alitalia

March 5, 2013 by Harlan 6 Comments

Where to even begin?

My experience with Alitalia was the worst I’ve ever had with an airline. They’re uncommunicative, highly unhelpful, and their website is a complete disaster.

Let’s start at the beginning.

I found a really great deal of a ticket – only $281 with a promo code that I used on Alitalia’s Japanese website.

Cheap ticket to Madrid!

The code was valid on any fare. However, the best deal was to go to Madrid. I’d never been to Madrid and had always wanted to. I used Google Chrome to convert the Japanese text to English, plugged in the code, and got $315 off the fare. It went through after some coaxing. Amex converted the Yen to US dollars, and the total came to $281. Shortly after, I received a confirmation email with a ticket number.

Then, I got this email on the 21st:

Then, on the 22nd, I got this email:

Rejected purchase

I figured the deal was off and forgot about it until I received another email on the 25th:

Shortly after, I received my itinerary. Great. I was booked for Madrid. Those few days in waiting were very “will they or won’t they” – and I honestly thought they wouldn’t honor the fare. So when they did, I wanted to verify that the reservation was in their system.

alitalia.com is a piece of you-know-what. The only way to view the reservation, I found after a lot of Googling, was to use the Russian website – alitalia.ru, which I had to translate from Russia into English. Sure enough, my reservation was there. February 1-5. Yay. I booked a cute room in Chueca, Madrid’s gay district, through Airbnb.

All was good for a few months. November and December passed, and I thought I was still on for my February trip to Madrid. On January 21st, I received this communication:

They canceled my flight on the 5th

Great. Canceled flight. So I called them to get onto another flight on the 5th. Nothing. But I could get on a flight on the 4th, which meant I’d have to cut short my first trip to Spain, and update my Airbnb reservation. I only got $5 back after paying the change fee, and Alitalia put me on a flight on the 4th instead. Fine.

All went as planned on the departure, thank god, because after so much back and forth I already swore I’d never take Alitalia ever again. Their CSRs are like freaking robots. Talking to them is like pressing a button on a phone menu. They don’t listen. They just repeat the same statements over and over. Oh, it’s worth mentioning that the number I called them on isn’t listed on their website. That would be too easy. I had to Google around to get that too. No reservation on their main website, no number to call them on, random flight changes, and a less than accommodating bunch of CSRs. I even hung up and called back a few times. It’s like they’re all brainwashed.

I had a great time in Madrid, and on my last night there, the 3rd, was getting ready to for my 7am flight the next morning. Until I got an email at MIDNIGHT that Alitalia had pushed back the second leg of my trip, FCO-JFK, by five hours. Which meant my layover in FCO, a total shithole of an airport, would be over nine hours.

I called them and asked if I could tighten up the connections in any way. Maybe connect in Milan, or Miami instead of Rome? No. No, no, no. I tried to check their flight schedules on the website, which simply doesn’t function. BUT, it did work on their mobile app. I took a few screenshots and called back again with another plan.

Could I at least fly out of Madrid a little later? The agent gasped like it was the most brilliant idea she’d ever heard. What a moron. She put me on a 12pm flight instead, which meant I could sleep in a bit. How shady to do something like that the night before an early flight, when I was planning on getting only a few hours of sleep anyway.

By that time, I was most unhappy to be taking Alitalia back to JFK. The airline is garbage. And they’re supposedly the 8th largest carrier in the world and Italy’s premier airline? Between Alitalia and FCO, color me extremely unimpressed with Italy’s aviation experiments. Regarding Alitalia: between the terrible agents, multiple canceled/delayed flights, last-minute communication, back-and-forth on whether I even had a ticket or not, and the piece-of-$#!+ international websites, I will avoid this airline at all cost. If you ever have to fly with them, be very wary. You’ll have to check in on them a lot. And even then, expect a lot of red tape to get clear answers. Very customer UNfriendly.

When I think about it all now, it makes me cringe. I’d honestly be surprised if anyone’s had a positive experience with them. Did anyone else get in on this fare deal? How was the service?

At least I credited it to Delta and got a nice batch of MQMs out of it. In fact, when I got back, I found out it had bumped me into Silver Medallion status. Small wins. Small wins.

MTA Fare Hikes Are Killing NYC

March 4, 2013 by Harlan Leave A Comment

Argh, the lovely and esteemed MTA has once again raised fares on the subways of NYC. I usually by a weekly because I don’t get enough value out of a monthly. When I went to refill my weekly card before hopping on the F Train today, I noticed a whole slew of new info screens at the machines. My $29 MetroCard was now $30. Overnight. Thank god I get 2 points/dollar with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

New fares! Don’t like ’em? Go kill yourself.

It’s also an extra $1 if you want a brand new card (or you can swap in an old one for free). I sometimes get a new card because the magnetism on the card wears off after a while, meaning you have to go talk to one of the agents in the little booth. This is always a debilitating experience, because they:

1. Glare at you like you’re the most annoying person in the world

2. Move as slow as possible, even, and especially if, a train is pulling into the station

3. Hate to be useful, preferring to look bored and annoyed

4. Berate you if you make any indication that you are in a hurry (which everyone always is)

Poor tourists

I can’t say I’m surprised by the newest round of hikes, but the MTA is killing NYC. It’s little things like this that are slowly chipping away at my willingness to continue living in this corrupt, overcrowded, but insanely fun and cultural city. My love/hate relationship with New York is already pretty extreme. This just exacerbates it way more.

The newest round of hikes is especially rough for Long Islanders, and for any of the B&T (Bridge & Tunnel) commuters because LIRR and bridge tolls are more expensive, too. So in the future, when you want to visit New York, it’s going to cost you more to get around. After a while, they’re going to price all the tourists, and eventually the residents, out – one little annoying overpriced fee at a time. The “green” fee – $1 for a new card – is, for me, the worst. What a crock of shit.

Happy travels? Yeah, right. Have you been on a piss-smelling, packed-like-sardines, frequently rerouted MTA train lately? Wait till 2015! More hikes on the way. I hope to be long gone by then. Thanks, MTA, for slowly killing NYC.

Trip Report: Madrid 2013

March 3, 2013 by Harlan 1 Comment

I went to Madrid February 1-4, 2013.

Booking Madrid

The ticket was only $281 R/T in economy thanks to an awesome deal described in this post from The Points Guy. I was actually in the middle of putting together The Points Game guide, so this was a real opportunity to put some of the things I’d learned from the blogs into practice.

The currency conversion came to $281

I bought the ticket for a number of reasons:

As a Silver Medallion on Delta, I was entitled to a 25% RDM bonus
The itinerary was JFK-FCO-MAD-FCO-JFK – over 10K MQMs and nearly 13K RDMs
The end result was 2 cents/mile – a screaming deal

Multiply this times two – I credited the flights to Delta’s SkyMiles program

I paid for the ticket with a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card (my Amex Platinum Card) since I had a credit with them after bitching for a solid week in September.

And I’d always wanted to visit Spain. You can’t beat a $281 R/T ticket that comes with ~13K RDMs. It would also be my first chance to utilize my Global Entry (coming back to JFK) that I got through the Amex Platinum Card.

Departure

Looky What I Just Got

March 3, 2013 by Harlan Leave A Comment

So it’s official. I’m FO on Delta.

Deciding where I want to place my airline allegiance. Should have American Platinum or even Executive Platinum status by the end of May. 2013 will definitely see a lot of programs get a good shake out. It’s definitely between Delta and American. Waiting for the dust to settle a bit before I commit to either, though.

Woo hoo! Just got 1,500 free AAdvantage Miles!

March 3, 2013 by Harlan 2 Comments

Thanks to the Frequent Miler for posting this opportunity today.

Nice lil’ haul

I’ve done this FAR (Free-After-Rebate) thing once before, and it worked like a charm. The Staples people say you’ll get the check within 4-6 weeks, but for me it was more like 8. I also had to do the live chat help thingy a couple of times to coddle them into moving the process along. That last check was for $60. This time I upped the stakes and spent $500 (not the full $800 as suggested in the post linked above.)

It actually was pretty easy. Thanks, Staples.

This accomplishes many things. It will help me meet the minimum spend on my brand new Citi Amex card, which is $3,000 within four months.

I’ll get 500 AAdvantage miles for putting this on the Citi Amex. I clicked through the AAdvantage Shopping Portal to get an additional 2 miles/dollar. Total haul of 1,500 FREE AAdvantage miles. The redemption value for me is .02 cents per mile, so I value this at $30. But more importantly, it brings me closer to getting 50,000 more miles when I reach the $3,000 mark with the new card.

The software is for Windows computers, and I have a Mac, so it’s pretty much useless to me. I’m thinking I could sell it online or perhaps donate it to a local non-profit and write it off on my taxes next year, either of which would help me to turn a further profit on clicking a few links and floating $500 for a month or two. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The only thing that bugs me is that status that says “Researching.” Researching what? Hmmmz.

Trip Report: Hawaii 2013

March 2, 2013 by Harlan 10 Comments

Also see:

Hawaii: 10 Days and 3 Islands for $100 a Day

When Jay and I were in Iceland late June/early July of 2012, I discovered I’d finally accumulated enough miles via my Chase Sapphire Preferred card to book our dream trip to Hawaii. We were effectively on one vacation and planning another.

Our excitement was through the roof. I booked us from JFK-SFO-OGG on January 10 and HNL-LAX-JFK on January 20th.

Ten days in Hawaii. Total out-of-pocket cost: $15. To book the award ticket was just $7.50 a person.

There was only a little drama. I ended up redepositing the miles and outright buying a flight from SFO-LAX-HNL on Delta because it was so cheap that I was no longer getting my .02 per mile – pretty much the only policy I hold when it comes to redemption values. But we kept the JFK-SFO leg on United.

The big day finally rolled around. It was balmy in New York, but certainly not beach weather. We woke up early to take the A train to Howard Beach, then the AirTrain to the terminal at JFK. It was one of those moments where the plane was boarding, the door would soon be closed, and we were still in the security line. It was the first time I ran through the airport in my socks. We found our seats on the plane, which was surprisingly empty. Economy seats we had. There were plenty of business and first seats available, but we had to suck it up and sit in the back of the plane. But we didn’t care. We were embarking on the first leg of our trip to Hawaii.

Flying over Colorado? Wyoming?

When we got to SFO, we had to change terminals, which was actually pretty easy. The only thing that sucked was having to grab our bags and recheck them. There was no SkyClub in SFO (!) but we only had time to grab a quick sandwich and then it was time to board our Delta flight to LAX.

Thanks, Deltoid

Once at LAX, we had a few hours to kill, so we hung out in the SkyClub, where I concocted a brilliant new drink: ginger ale and rum with a splash of grenadine. I had two. NOM!

Impromptu mixology

I worked on my laptop and watched the sunset over the ocean from inside the terminal.

Sunset at LAX

LAX-OGG was our third flight that day. The two before were nothing special. Economy, standard service, no food, alright seats. Small regional jet from SFO-LAX. The plane to OGG was huge though, and completely full. It always breaks my heart to watch the boarding process of a large aircraft. Oh my fuck, people are so stupid.

I chose Delta as my airline of choice for my $200 airline credit benefit with my American Express Platinum card, so treated myself and Jay to some drinks and food for purchase. We were obviously on a flight that held many attendants of a destination wedding. People were getting plastered and were so loud. Since it was a late flight, people finally konked out after about 90 minutes.

I managed to get a wink or two, and when I woke up, we were a little over an hour from OGG. I was beyond thrilled. When I saw the first flickers of lights on the ground, I knew we were close. Flying over the ocean at night is terribly boring. But the long day of flights was finally over. We were in Maui. The flight attendants made an announcement wishing everyone a pleasant wedding. We did not get lei’d.

MAUI

It was 11pm when we landed. We dashed off the plane, stretched our legs, and went to grab our bags. I was immediately struck that the airport was all open-air (they all are in Hawaii, I found out). The light jacket I was wearing was too much. It was WARM. YES.

Love that shirt!

We went out to find a taxi and were immediately scolded for jaywalking. Um, this definitely wasn’t New York. It was actually really hard to find someone who would accept a credit card as payment. Again, very NOT New York. Also, there were a lot of women taxi drivers. We finally found a lady who would accept cards. I want my Ultimate Rewards points! By this time, we were halfway delirious and wanted to be in our room ASAP.

She drove us the twenty minutes to our hotel, the Aston Maui Li in Kihei, HI that I booked using ~47,000 United miles. We got our bags, and wanted to leave tip on the credit card. She demanded the tip in cash. Jay gave her all he had, which was about $6 (still a good tip for a $20 cab ride). She glared at us as we wheeled our bags away. It was so weird. But whatever.

We went to the checkin desk where the front desk employee was EXTREMELY thorough about the property. We were both so tired that we nodded off a bit during his spiel. I perked up when he said he’d upgraded us to an Ocean View room for free. The words “free upgrade” could pull me out of a deep REM cycle, I swear.

The room was basic, but we could indeed see the ocean. It was night, we were exhausted, and we looked forward to seeing Hawaii in the morning sunshine.

The next day we got the full effect. The property, the palm trees and beaches, the ocean… it was all perfect. We spent four days lying on the beaches to recover and reenergize. Maui was amazing. The beaches were wonderful, and we got quite a nice base tan.

Right outside our room

Our beach on Maui

Hang loose

There were lots of handgliders during the day on the beach. In the mornings, we had breakfast at a cafe down the street, and in the evenings we explored a few different restaurants including the most amazing taco place I’ve ever been to in my life. The fish tacos were so flavorful and fresh. YUM.

We heard of a couple of gay places on Maui. First, the Sunseeker Resort is a gay owned and operated facility, and is apparently clothing optional. We walked by on the way to a sushi place, but didn’t see any nudity. :p

Then, there is a gay nude beach called Little Beach. It is only accessible by car. Since we didn’t rent one for this leg of the trip, we missed out on the chance to get some sun on our blindingly white backsides.

Let’s face it, I went to Hawaii for the Mai Tais

What I wore to the luau

Sunset over Maui

Then, on January 14th, we flew to Hilo. We took a different car service to the Maui airport.

HAWAII (THE BIG ISLAND)

The big island was all Airbnb and Pointshound finds. We got some great deals, averaging about $60/night. We picked up a rental car from National, booked through Ultimate Rewards for only $167 for three days, and drove to our first Airbnb in Pahoa, HI.

Black sand beach on Hawaii

Waves crashing over black lava beaches

I was immediately struck by vast change in geology. The black sand beaches were rugged, and breathtaking.

Our Airbnb host was charming and kind, but we only stayed in each place for one evening. The next day, we drove north on the Hawaii Belt Road, all the way to Kona. The plan was to completely circumnavigate the island. Along the way, we saw Akaka Falls, more stunning beaches, and so much lush vegetation. We also grabbed a delicious lunch at a bakery/cafe and stopped to stretch our legs, and visit a few scenic points.

Very rugged. Uh oh!

Northern tip of the Big Island – it looks like Wisconsin

The change is geography was dramatic. In the higher altitudes, it was extremely foggy, and sometimes rainy. By the time we made it to Kona, it was sunny and gorgeous again. The western side of the island is very rocky and rugged, with lots of lava fields. We did make it to one coffee plantation near Kona, though.

Coffee plantation in Kona, Hawaii

That night, we tried to sample Kona’s gay scene, but me and Jay ended up at a bar with one other guy and a very eager bartender. Not so great. Maybe we didn’t hit up the right place(s). We were exhausted anyway, and went to sleep in our gorgeous Airbnb rental with a view of the ocean beyond the city of Kona.

The next day, we drove to Volcano to see some of the hot magma and even more lava. What we saw, I will never forget for the rest of my life. Pictures don’t do it justice. It was a complete sensory experience. I could not only see it, but hear the crackle and force, smell the sulphur, and feel the vibration of the earth. Completely stunning.

I highly recommend a visit to Volcano if you are at all interested in geography/geology, or just want to experience the power of the earth.

Pele was raging

Mist and fog filled the air all around the volcano

We stayed that night at a creepy BnB we found on Pointshound. The woman was very religious, and the decorations were horrible. It was called End of Road Bed and Breakfast. Yeah, um… if you’re a fellow gay traveler, AVOID. We did have a fantastic dinner with lovely cocktails at the main lodge in Volcano. We wished we’d opted to stay there instead. Live and learn!

The next day, we returned the car and flew to Oahu.

OAHU

We were supposed to stay with one of my college friends on Oahu, but she screwed us over so we had to make last-minute Airbnb accomodations. Luckily, they were fine. We booked another car rental for pickup at HNL, this time with Budget. It was only $125 for three days.

We were most looking forward to our stay at the Hilton Waikiki Village. In the meantime, we partied with the gays in Honolulu, stayed out till four in the morning, and got drunk for $15 at a great little bar called Bacchus. Honolulu was very gay-friendly.

Dramz in Honolulu

The next day, we explored Honoruru.

Honoruru

We went to check into the Hilton, which I booked through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts. It offered me a whole slew of upgrades, including early checkin, late checkout, room upgrade, free breakfast, and a $100 food and beverage credit to use in the resort.

When we finally found the checkin desk which took forever as the place is very poorly signed, I heard those magical words again. “Free upgrade.” But this time, we snagged ourselves an Ocean View Suite. It had a separate sitting area, a huge king sized bed, and a large bathroom filled with sweet-smelling coconut- and pineapple-based products. We were shown to our room by the Concierge, who made us feel very welcomed. He brought along a kit detailing all of our amenities.

Our suite

View of the Pacific from the balcony

Thanks, Hilton and Amex!

We definitely used our food and beverage credit!

Kissing penguins at the Hilton

The next day, we laid on next to the beach until about 3pm and sipped Mai Tais. Then, we came in, showered, and packed up our things. The Hilton was wonderful! Five out of five stars.

Then, for our last day/evening in Hawaii, we had lunch at a little cafe downtown and dinner at an Italian restaurant further east, and drove around Oahu. We went down to Diamondhead and hiked down to the beach. There was supposed to be a gay beach down there, but all we could see was families with small children. We gave up and laid out to get a few last rays of sun.

Last day on Oahu

All-in-all, a wonderful trip. A few observations:

Hawaii was way more religious than I expected. There were churches EVERYWHERE
The weather was perfect (that might warrant a DUH)
I felt very comfortable the entire time. Everyone was kind
Hawaiians LOVE Spam
It was no more expensive than anything in NYC
I would totally go back again. I think Maui was my fave! (Then the Big Island, then Oahu.)

They love it!

Bottom line

Couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Read this post to find out how I made this dream a reality. We only paid $100 per day between the two of us for hotels, car rentals, food, gas, souvenirs, AND R/T flights from New York.

This trip was my first points redemption. Safe to say I’m completely hooked!

Doesn’t have to be!

Hot dogs at HNL – back to NYC

The flights back to New York were standard. We hung out in the nice SkyClub at HNL and had a couple of beers. When we got to LAX, we saw all members of the Boy Band 98 Degrees at the SkyClub. They were in business, of course. Jay and I were upgraded to Economy Comfort, which was a nice gesture. I sat right next to the door, and was the first person off the plane.

Fenwick was VERY happy to see us when we got back home to Brooklyn. I slept for a solid 12 hours to recoup from a long day of travel. A few days later, it snowed and was blisteringly cold, but I still had Hawaii on my mind as I geared up for my next trip to Madrid.