Off to Hawaii

I got up early in the morning to take some cash from the ATM and print some of our confirmations. After a quick shower and brunch, I managed to book my ticket to Miami. We got picked up 2.5 hours before we were scheduled to depart. We arrived at T-2 hours and checked in at the counter and dropped off our bags. We got priority luggage tags for all of them despite not being First class.

Security check was brief and we got stuck behind the couple with a baby and stroller. I got to go through the puff scan while the rest of the family did not have to experience. We settled down at the gate and I went by Auntie Anne's for a free pretzel with coupon. Upon boarding, my family dragged their feet for getting in board and them TSA gate would not let them pass until their group was called. I had to ask the gate agent to grant them early boarding with me. Being one of the first ones on board, we had no trouble finding overhead space and settling down.

After we departed, I immediately pulled out the iPod as the American Way magazine was still the same as my last flight. Out movies to watch were Elf and Legally Blond, so nothing worth watching (again). I did watch the reruns of 30 rocks and The Office. We had 3 beverage services through out the flight. We were located in the mini cabin between first and the rest of economy cabin and located near 2 toilets. It was a long flight and the arrival descent was very scenic.

Shortly after we landed and got our luggage, we proceeded to get on the bus to Waikiki hotels. Since it was already night, we could not really see anything. We were the last group to be dropped off. Check in was not problem until we were ready to board the elevator and the agent noticed that we had 3 people. He asked that we were booked for a queen bed. I told him that I booked an ocean view 2 double bed room. They gave our room away so we got stuck in the one queen bed size bed city view room. They offered a roll away bed for the night as well. After dropping off our luggage, we went to Benihana's for dinner.

After searching for a bit and all the people out dressed for the club/new year celebrations, we made it to the restaurant. Despite arriving 15 minutes early and with a reservation, we still had to wait for a table. We sat with an older couple and a Japanese family. The food was good and the show was not bad. I got the steak, mom had the ahi and brother got chicken. The starters were onion soup and salad. Followed by shrimp, mushrooms, asparagus, and bean sprouts. I told the waitress that it was my mom's birthday so they brought out a honeydew plate and candle followed by a Japanese group song.

We went back to the hotel; spoke with the manager who apologized for the mix up and offered a partial refund. We would get moved to a double room starting the next day. The rest of the evening was not eventful with the exception of fireworks bursting through the night. We went to bed at midnight or 4AM Dallas time.

Last Mileage Run for the year... EXECUTIVE PLATINUM now

I scheduled two appointments in the morning. The optometrist cleared me for my vision being vision close to being 20/15 almost and will need to visit only if I had any problems. I had my dental cleaning in the morning as well.

I drove to the Fasttrack Parking lot for my day trip. I went through security and boarded into First Class with no problem. Since the plane was a Super 80, there was no TV available. The plane came from Minneapolis to Dallas to Fort Lauderdale to Dallas to Austin. The nuts were ok with my Jack and Diet Coke. The flight attendants seemed out of it or tired since they were less than friendly.

I used my iPod the whole time since there was no entertainment. When we landed, I left the secure area to recheck in and get a boarding pass. I boarded the plane in First Class again and to my surprise, it was the same crew. This has been the first time something like this has happened. I was glad that there were not any interruption or flight cancelations all day.

An older lady sat next to me and had limited mobility. Her daughter preboarded with her. She first patted my leg and asks if I spoke English. Then she asked if I would switch with her daughter in coach. She begged that I did it for her. I asked if she realized that we were in First class and her daughter was in coach. It seemed like this was her first time in First as she copied everything that I did with the seat. Dinner was a choice with of chicken or pasta shells and I went with my gut feeling by choosing the chicken.

I got back to DFW at 9PM and went home. That was my last paid flight of the year and the flights that put me over 100K with 100,006 miles. I was lucky that all my upgrades cleared all ahead of time for the trip. So it will take in effect on January 2, 2010 for the change.

So what does the next year hold? Well, since Executive Platinum (EXP) is the highest status of the AAdvantage program, it is also the highest of the OneWorld alliance with Emerald Status. So for the next fourteen months, I get the following benefits:

1. Unlimited complimentary upgrades domestically in the US, Canada, Caribbean, and Central America on any paid flights. They will clear 100 hours before the scheduled departure

2. Eight one-way upgrades for any three segments of travel that includes domestically and internationally. That means I could travel for example, DFW to NRT and get upgraded to the next class of service. I could also do LHR to BOS to LAX to NRT or do NRT to LAX to MIA to BCN. They are worth thousands of dollars. The only downside is an UK or France tax for premium travel in the Europe.

3. Special call center for EXP use only. They answer calls within a matter of seconds of calling them and take really great care of their highest members

4. Ability to upgrade traveling companions with 500 mile stickers that are earned or purchased.

5. First and Business Club/Lounge access when traveling internationally to all OneWorld lounges when traveling an OneWorld flight regardless of cabin (economy or business or first) which includes American Admiral's Club, Cathay Pacific Lounge, British Airways Executive Lounge, Japan Airline Sakura Lounge and others in OneWorld Alliance

6. No baggage fees for myself and those traveling with me (Gold and Platinum get it as well)

7. First class check in on all OneWorld counters

8. Ability to use Priority AAccess security and board after First and Business class

9. Expanded MilesAAver availability for award travel

10. No expedited award travel fee so I could use miles for travel 4 hours before the flight leaves with no extra fees

11. No service charge for calling an agent to book any flights for myself and any traveling companions

12. Availability for economy ticket 24 hours before the flight

13. Priority for First or Business tickets

14. Ability for Revenue Management to release premium seats for upgrade

15. Free snack and Alcoholic Beverage on American Eagle flights or when traveling in economy (if an upgrade did not clear)

16. Highest priority for standby for missed flights or wanting to get on an earlier flight

17. Expanded award availability

Leaving London...back to DFW

Got woken up by Angel this morning to finish my packing of things used overnight. It did not take me long to get ready. She served an egg for breakfast along with her usual morning blend drink of greens/bananas/apples/other healthy items. She dropped me off at the Bentalls Centre and the bus was late. I got to Heathrow a little past 9AM. I got to use the Flagship check in but had to go to the central check in to go trough security. I got to use the fast track but got stuck behind a lady traveling with a small child. She took a while to get everything through security.

The next challenge was to choose which lounge to access first. I decided to use the Cathay Pacific Business lounge since it was further away from the other two that I would visit. The set up was nice, but no windows. They had a breakfast bar of sandwiches, dim sum, fruit, yogurt, and cereals. I grabbed a few packaged biscuits to go for later. The dim sum was ok but the sandwiches were not tasty, would not have them again unless I was starving. The fruit bowl was a nice touch but the yogurt was sour. Soft drinks were chilled in the fridge while the bar had a open tap of different liquors. I used the computers a bit to check my email and surfed for a while. After an hour, I decided to head to the British Airways Galleries.

Somewhere between the Cathay and British lounges, I lost my boarding pass. It was embarrassing to show up at the BA lounge and not have a boarding pass. I backtracked to Cathay but did not track my pass down. I went to the American Airlines Admirals Club to get a reprint of my pass and also to use the facility there. They had a good set up of continental breakfast and juices. The bar was open as well along with chilled soft drinks. The atmosphere was very calm and the lounge had a great view of the runway. The space is huge and very open. Not sure where the Flagship lounge is but it is being remodeled right now.

I walked a few steps to use the BA lounge. The space was big as well but not open like AA. I grabbed some fruit and water from the bar since they did nit serve diet Coke. I stayed long enough for them to change the food line from breakfast to lunch. One thing I did notice is that Cathay and BA had free WiFi while American limited to the lounge members and those with a one day pass. They all had open PCs for use though with printers available as well.

I went back to the BA lounge and sat my bags down before checking out the breakfast spread. Cereal, fruit, yogurt, and croissants. I took some fruit and water since they were out of diet Coke. I waited round until noon and then went back when lunch was set up. It was some type of Chicken Tikka and rice or noodles/marinara sauce. I did not realize that there were small open bars towards the other side with snacks at the other end of the lounge until I went to use the restroom. I grabbed some chips and cookies on my way out.

It was about a 10 minute walk to my gate. When I got there, there were two equal long lines waiting to get into the secure gate area. I was glad that an agent went through the right lane and inquired to see if everyone in the lane had Priority AAccess on their boarding pass. About 2/3 of the line moved to the other (much bigger/growing) line. One guy had headphones on and did not pay attention. He also had a bottle of Maker's whiskey that he sipped periodically. Everyone noticed and the agent kept on asking him to move and stood there. She got a supervisor to come with her to grab his boarding pass and passport. He was a UK citizen and flying economy. They would not let him board since he was intoxicated. He left the bottle on the floor and asked for coffee to sober up. They left him to his own devices and he waited to see if he could board.

I made it to the secure area and tried to see what was going on with him. They called for boarding for business class so I had to leave the area. I ended up sitting next to a weird big guy who had a bad case of halitosis and really gassy.

The business class ended up with 3 empty seats and I ended up with the guy that had questionable hygiene and no shame. It seems that the left side of the plane always gets served last for everything from the personal entertainment devices to the food and beverage services. We had the hot nuts for snacks and I took it with my diet coke and bacardi. We were then served an appetizer of shrimp and salmon. I got my first choice of dinner which was beef, green beans, and potatoes. Dessert of Ben & Jerry's vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream, butterscotch, nuts, and hot fudge. I had coffee and Baileys which went wonderfully with the cookie and fruit platter. I only used half the bottle of Bailey's for my cuppa of Joe and used the rest for a second cup. They did give me another bottle of Bailey's so I took it home. It was slim pickings for movies so I watched I hate Valentine's Day. It was an ok movie, nothing really outstanding about it. I starting watching The Big Bag Theory and will need to catch up on it from the beginning. I tried to sleep but it did not really work since it was still a day time flight. We landed a few minutes early and I cleared through customs pretty funny. My mom had problem finding me but she found me eventually after learning that there was only one arrival door for international flights.

England Day 11

I woke up by myself for once with everyone bustling downstairs. I got a ride from Daniel and we went to pick up 2 people from this nice glass house by the Thames. We got their late, picked them up and then turned back to the house since the rental school building was not open due to the caretaker not showing up. I helped move the chairs and set up. It was a good meeting and I enjoyed seeing everyone.

Lunch at Celine and Shem's place consisting of a hodge podge of different foods. Soup, to rotisserie chicken, to fired dumplings and tofu. It was a great meal and I overstuffed myself. Dessert consisted of creme puffs and Ben & Jerry's. I quite enjoyed the Baked Alaska since it does not exist in the US.

We waited for Samuel to arrive and I relaxed a bit till he got there. We caught up after picking up at the train station. We proceeded to visit Hampton Court but it rained so we headed back to the car after making a stop at the Gift Shop. We waited a while at their place while I took a nap and Samuel got his things ready for his travels.

We went to Gourmet Kitchen Burger for dinner. We shared onion rings and fries while the burgers were made. Shem had a Eggplant/cheese, Celine had Falafel, Samuel had lamb/goat cheese, and I had a Bacon/Guacamole Burger. We got back and counted Samuel's loose change accumulated from the last few months. I got dropped off at Angel's place and caught the end of X factor. Finished packing up and prepared for departure tomorrow. Back to the states in business. Will visit American Airlines Admiral Club, British Airways Galleries and Cathay Pacific Lounges tomorrow.

Travel flash: My return flight from FLL on Wednesday was upgraded to First with stickers. Only two people got upgraded but otherwise the cabin looks empty. Still waiting for my outbound flight and chances are slim since there are only four seats left and only one is not a bulkhead. Fingers crossed!

England Day 10

Gotten woken up for our early trip to Bower House. Steve drove and took his Jaguar so we piled 5 people in it. It was about an hour drive and I dozed off a bit since the ride was smooth. When I got there, they had coffee, tea, and biscuits. I grabbed a cup of coffee and talked to Sam for a bit. We headed to the tent area and enjoyed the graduation presentation. Eleven graduated this term so everyone got to share a lot. We all partook of the boxed spaghetti and bread. I chatted and caught up with loads of people. Jon, Tim, Sam, Sam, and Andrew. We went back and I started packing my things together. Got caught up on my shows and went to Sainsburys to buy some biscuits for me to taken home. Dinner was a buy one, get one free papa john's pizza deal. Went to sleep late after creating a profile on flightmemory.com and entering my flight info for this year. 40 segments combined on American and Southwest this year. A quarter of them out Southwest. Seems like a lot but some were connecting/multiple segment trips.

England Day 9

Woke up at 10AM despite staying up late to watch a mid season finale for one of my shows. I got ready quickly since I wanted to take advantage of the daylight. I left at 11:30AM and grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading to the train. I got off at the Waterloo station and walked to the embankment station so I could take in the sights. I walked by the London eye where it was not crowded at all. I casually walked by the river, Westminster bridge and Big Ben. I took the tube to Tottenham Court Road and had lunch at McDonalds. Some guy was passing out vouchers for £1.99 lunch of Big Mac and fries. I took advantage of this for a bit of bite to eat.

I walked to Trafalgar Square, something I missed the last time I was here. I took some pictures of the place along with The National Gallery. There was environmental demonstration going on in the front. People in pup tents and dreadlocks. I went quickly through the gallery by spending time with the Renaissance art and Van Eryk. I did look at the gift shop and everything was overpriced. I was not willing to pay £3 for a magnet nor £12 for a poster replica.

I needed a snack so I went to McDonalds again with another voucher. I took my food to go his time. I spent my last day of being in Central London shopping for souvenirs. Tee shirt for me, key chain for me, mugs for me, one mug for my sister, a shot glass for my mum, socks and purse for a friend. Headed back to the suburb and waited for Celine. I went by Marks & Spencer to get cookies for a friend. Six packs should tide him over. We met up and walked to waitrose where I got a voucher for my hospitality taking care of me. Went back to Celine place and had some tea before we left for the home meeting. It was a small meeting and I got dropped off shortly after when it was over.

England Day 8

Woke up to the sound of vaccuming and cleaning. It turns out that the maid was doing all the heavy lifting up and down the stairs. I got ready quickly and headed out the door by 11AM. I stopped by Greggs for some pasty and a bottle of water at Marks & Spencer and some snakcs at Sainbury's. I got the Waterloo train station at about noon. I got off at Tottenham Court Road to gather some intel about where to get souvenirs. I did get a voucher from this guy for £1.99 Big Mac and fries meal deal at McDonalds. I jaded back to the tube and went to Leicester Square tube.

I waited about twenty minutes for someone to show up. We walked across Soho district and china town to gt to a French restaurant. Thye ha a £7.80 lunch special menu. I had the falafel/hummus for starter and a beef/potatoes dish for the main. Tim had mussels for his starter and a duck with potatoes for his main. I had a taste of the duck and it was tasty. We talked and caught up over lunch. I skipped dessert as I was stuffed and he had a cup of tea. He walked me over to oxford street as I wanted to visit John Lewis department store for a paellea pan. I had no such luck.

I grabbed a after-eight McFlurry for a quick dessert and browsed through H & M to se if anything caught me eye. Nothing did so I made my way back to the British Museum. I toured the remainder of the exhibits for an hour (mainly the Egyptian and Greek) I enjoyed the greek statues more. For some reason, the egyptian stuff seems weird to me. I stopped by his souvenir shop where they hav the best deals for mugs. Another place nearby had cheap but good quality magnets. I got them for my work staff. I went to another place for a cheap pewtwer frame. After that I headed back home for dinner. The train took 35 minutes as it stopped 9 times on the way. I liked the direct train better, but those are from 5 to 6PM I believe. I made it home with ten minutes to spare as the souvenirs were getting heavier with each step. I did take a wrong stop somewhere so I had to backtrack since I took the back exit from the station.

There were some guest for dinner tonght and I briefly greeted them. Dinner was good with chicken and fish entrees. The dessert of peaches was great. I cleared the dishes and place them in the dishwasher before heading upstairs to retire for the night. I managed to stay awake to catch up on finishing one of my shows. Too bad it won't be back until April.

England Day 7

Woke up pretty late and had cereal before packing to go. I left at 1PM and got to Heathrow at 4PM since the bus stopped several times along the way. I listened to my iPod and played some games. I even got a bit of shut eye as well. I made it back to Surbiton by 6:30PM and caught Steve on the train back. I unpacked, ate dinner and went to sleep. Nothing eventful. It was a travel day.

Travel Flash: My return flight to the US was successfully upgraded to business. Good news: I got upgraded early on a free SWU and the Bade news: UK luxury tax of $75 will be collected for the upgrade

England Day 6

Woke up early with the expectations of going to York via bus ride. After I started to get ready by showering and packing... we discovered that we could not buy the day of tickets to York. Well, we decided that it was not worth it to travel 1 day each to go there back so I canceled the trip. I decided to stay in Cambridge through tomorrow morning and will head back to London for more sight seeing and hanging out with friends.

Breakfast consisted of pancakes, hash browns, and sausages. They were quite tasty. I made sure to get plenty of food this morning. Jon had to take care of some stuff for school so I caught up on some of my shows online. They had four trainees from FTTL over and we had lunch together. I had a great time meeting with everyone and getting to know them. One couple was graduating and heading back to Australia soon. I got their contact info and will hit them up for when I go visit Sydney in the future.

We went to the river to go boating but arrived too late as it was dark when we got there at 4:30PM. We then headed towards the Fitzwilliam Museum and had about 30 minutes to tour the galleries for free. We proceeded to Mills Street for the Asian grocery stores. We got ingredients from three different places and the journey took us about an hour. When we got back via a short cut in the back alley, we got to eat pho that Mary prepared all day. I had about 3 servings which would equate to a large bowl at the restaurant. We enjoyed some mochi balls with ice cream for dessert.

More people showed up and we had a prayer meeting. This one was small and more intimate. I watched more shows and we played a game of Scrabble until the wee hours of the night. Last day in Cambridge and heading back to London in the morning when I get back up.

England Day 5

I woke up late again and Jon took me on a MP3 tour of the city. We saw a few colleges, went by to grab some pasties for breakfast, and went inside King's Church. Since he was a student, we got free admission. It was set up similar to Westminster Abbey with the stained glass and the wooden pews. I stopped by boots to get some snacks... the pine apple slices were a rip off (£1.85) while the dried apricots were £.20 for a small (originally £.80). He grabbed a new cell phone at the T-mobile store having the requisite one hour of bank history in the UK. He will pay 20 a month with 24 month contract (nice) free phone that allows 300 minutes (they do not round up minutes in UK), unlimited internet and text. All incoming texts and calls are free. UK does have the better phone packages compared to the US.

We decided to hit up a pub for afternoon snack. I had never been in a pub before. We sat down, placed our order at the bar, and they brought the food out to us. We dined on fish & chips along with cottage pie. The menu was pretty cheap for a meal. Can't beat the special of £3.20 for fish, chips, tea, toast/butter, and peas on the afternoon special. We split the meats in half and enjoyed a great meal. I can finally say that I have eaten fish and chips.

We walked home and rested. Dinner was vermicelli noodles with stir fry and egg rolls on the side. Jon took me to ASDA (owned by Walmart) and it was an interesting set up of grocery items.

Before going off to bed, we all three played Scrabble and snacked on tea/cookies. I won of course. The best part was my bingo of 86 points. I did have to used two blanks to spell out bandages or in my case banda**s. I finally broke the 300 point goal that I have had for a while now.

England Day 4

I woke up earlier than usual (as compared to the last 2 days) at about 9:30 AM. I did the whole waiting in bed trying to figure out if I anted to get up or go back to sleep. Since my bed was right to the window, I got a bit disturbed from the rain throughout the night. It stopped by the time I woke up in the morning. I had a quick shower and got dressed for the meeting. Breakfast consisted of a burrito made of eggs, bacon, and potatoes which were quite tasty (especially with hot sauce).

We made it to the bus stop and met a brother along the way who was the bus driver this morning. We bought a day pass and the ride took about 20 minutes. We had to walk to the home for a meeting and had to cross over a bridge over the road to get there. We were about an hour late so we had a front row center seat. After singing hymns, I started to fall asleep during the meeting. It was great to hear what everyone was speaking and I got to introduce myself. Everyone went on their way to their separate conversations so I helped moved the chairs.

Lunch consisted of leftovers from last night and canned soup cooked over the stove. I accidentally ate an unwashed apple from Belgium. I took a nap while Jon and Mary figured out/learn to drive a stick shift car. It was one of those where I drifted in and out of sleep. We took the bus back and looked around the local mall. One of the department stores had some interesting stuff for bad girls. They ranged from heart shaped egg skillets to pinching devices to I love you! toast stamp to other indecent phrases on other objects.

We went by the food court which consisted of "traditional favorites" and a Burger King. Next door was a movie theater and there was the British Version of $ store. They had 14 AA batteries for £1 which seemed to be a good deal if they lasted a while. We headed back to the house since it was getting late. We took off and went to dinner at Charlie Chang's (local Chinese restaurant) as suggested by my London Guide book. It was a short brisk walk as we passed a make shift ice skating rink and carousel on the way. The front of the restaurant was under repair. The food was good but pricey. We order 3 dishes: beef/scallions, tofu/chili sauce, and sizzling chicken with bean sauce/green peppers. I was surprised that we had to pay for plain white rice. The food was tasty but under salted/MSG'd... it was good though. We managed to eat all of the food which came out to $48 for everything. That's pretty steep for a casual dinner and that was considered inexpensive by my guidebook. I learned that most people do not go out to eat in England unless it is a very special occasion.

We headed off to McDonald's for dessert of mint chocolate McFlurry and Minced Meat/custard pie. Mary was yearning for fries that we all got to share. We strolled around town and a gift shop for a bit. We we got back, we drank tea/played Scrabble and I beat Mary... something that I thought would not happen.

England Day 3

I woke up at around 1:30PM since I stayed up late watching my shows till 3 AM. I took a shower and packed up my belongings. I ate some left overs for lunch and the sister packed me some fruit for me to take along on my trip. I looked up to see how I would make it to Cambridge by train. I have to take a train to Vauxhill, then transfer to the Victoria line to King's Cross and then the direct train to Cambridge. I missed my original train since I got to the station late via the front entrance. The only trains at that time went straight to Waterloo so I took that route. The whole trip was interesting since I had to carry 2 heavy luggage bags up and down the stairs/escalators and the card booths. I took the Northern line to Warren street stop to change to the Victoria Line but that stop was closed. I took it to Euston, the next stop and had to go across the station to transfer. By the time I got King's Cross, my arm was tired. I found an elevator to the platform and managed to catch my train a minute before I left. It was a 45 minute ride to Cambridge and the sky was already dark at 4:15PM... sun sets early in England I guess.

By the time I arrived, the rain started. I dragged my luggage to the front of the station. Jon found me in no time. He arrived on bike so we had to both drag my luggage in the rain. It was about a 20 minute walk in the cold rain. I was very glad that I was leaving one of the bags in Cambridge and will be responsible only for my own from now on. I took my bag to the very top of the house on the 3rd floor. The space is very cozy and the room is pretty small. Some students came over while Mary was cooking the dinner. I surfed on the internet for a bit on my iPod touch and talked for a bit.

Dinner consisted of ribs, tuna quiche (which I ate very little of), zucchini, potatoes and rice. I ate plenty of ribs and got to cut some of them up when everyone took all the small pieces. Dessert consisted of a lemon tart which was quite tasty as I took a small piece. After everyone left, Jon made me go to the grocery store with him. We took a small trek and it turns out the store closed early on weekends. We tried to find another store near but were unsuccessful. By the time we got back, it was about 10:30PM. We talked into the wee hours and I went to bed around midnight.

England Day 2

I stayed up late the night before so I was unable to get up in time to go anywhere for a whole day. I woke up at noon and managed to leave the house at 1PM.

I stopped by two grocery stores to pick up some snacks. I went by Barclays to withdraw cash (free of charge for being a Bank of America customer). I bought a day pass to Central London and had no problem navigating the underground. I had £28 left on my oyster card when I inquired the balance at the station. Since I was mapless (it was not returned to me) when I got out of the underground, I had a hard time finding the museum. I was able to navigate using the general maps of central London in my guide book.

I stopped by to get a snack along the way and got to the British Museum at 2:30PM. I did notice that prices at the same chain of grocery store was more expensive in London rather than the suburbs. I toured about half the exhibits spending a lot of time in the China Pottery and Money Room. By the time I got to the the exhibits that I really want to see, they closed up the upper floors. I decided that it was time for me to go back home. I stopped by the gift shop to get a holographic postcard that had night and day views of the museum. I also grabbed a guide book before I left. My last stop was the Rosetta stone and it took a while to catch some photos since so many people were in front of it. I enjoyed visiting the museum and since it was free, I will have to go back and finish up seeing the exhibits that I had missed.

On my way back, I stopped by two souvenir shops. I did not buy anything but I did take note of the prices so that I know what kinds of prices I am dealing with later next week. There was hardly anyone at the home meeting so after dinner, I went up stairs to check my email and watch some TV shows. I fell asleep way past midnight around 3 AM. It was 9PM US time, so I am still adjusting to the difference.

England Day 1

We departed the plane not from the terminal, but had to get off in stairs and take a bus to the gate. Apparently, American only has 5 gates at LHR and they were all occupied. It was different since the last time I did it was back in 1996 coming to the US from China. I had filled out my immigration card ahead of time and using the Fast Track for flying business, I cleared customs in no time. I waited about 10 minutes for my bags to come out and was one of the first to get it. I put both of them with my carry on on a trolley and proceeded to find the arrivals lounge.

I had to take the elevators to the 3rd floor. After inspecting my boarding pass, I push my luggage trolley to the designated area. Took advantage of the clean restrooms, computer and the breakfast lay out. I had 2 types of yogurts and croissants. They had cookies available and I took some to go since they were wrapped. The lounge was very peaceful and only 3 other people were there when I left.

I had bind my carry on on top of one of my checked luggage as I only had 2 arms. It took me a while but I had a make shift double decker of luggage. I walked to the bus circle and had just missed my bus that ran 2 times a hour. I waited until the bust got there and was the last one on the bus since I had so many luggage. I was nervous about the bags falling here and there so I had to make some modifications to my double decker typing. I got off at the familiar spot if the train station as last time.

The hard part was making the phone call for pick up from my hospitality. I waited about 30 minutes before having the guts to approach someone to borrow their phone. It would have cost $3 to call via credit card on the pay phone. I was far too cheap for that. I approached a young women who was smoking and she was nice enough to let me use her phone. My ride picked me up and took me to her home. It took me a while to free my luggage so we chatted while I did that.

I relaxed and check my emails when I got there and decided to start a new blog to capture my lift post-graduation and student life.

Botched Mileage Runs and Jeting Off to London

Tis was a horrible day for mileage running since it was freezing and raining. I tried to rush but my windows kept on fogging up so I had to park at the terminal. Woke up a little later than I wanted (5AM) and drove as fast I could to make the 7:15AM flight. I got to the gate at 7AM and they closed the gate to my flight to IAH already since I guess they have a lot of transfers. Due to the cold weather/snowing... the flight was delayed on the tarmac. Dang... if I had gotten there maybe 15 minutes earlier, I would have made it. The subsequent return flight was delayed as well... so I would have missed the Lubbock flight as well.

Instead of flying stand-by, I canceled the Houston run and decided to see if I should head to the B terminals for the regional jet for Lubbock. I had about 3 hours to kill so I went to Walmart to buy some gloves since London will be cold and rainy was well. I went to the park and fly to save some money instead of parking at the terminal and I had about 2 hours to spare.

After heading to the gate after security, I get a text that my flight was canceled. I thought about catching the flight that was boarding at the other side of the terminal and I decided to cancel the trip and get a refund. So I went back to the park and fly and cut my losses. At least they did not charge me for my 40 minutes at the park and fly.

Went home to finish up packing and relax. Called American for a refund on my canceled Lubbock flight which could take up 2 billing cycles. Since I missed 2 mileage runs for 4K Elite Qualifying Miles, I had to make it up before the end of the year to get Executive Platinum status (which would made all the other traveling in vain). I for a refund back to my card and proceeded to search for another mileage run when I get back. I searched for flights to SEA, MIA, LAX, LAS, BOS, ORD and LGA that were cheap. I need about 2200 miles to qualify for Executive Platinum so at least 1100 miles each way. SEA, BOS and LGA were too expensive. ORD was too short of a flight and MIA, LAS, LAX arrived too late in the day since I had to work the next day of the mileage run. I found a cheap flight that was reasonable on short notice to FLL. Left at 2:30PM and got back at 9:15PM that night and I would have 6 extra miles to spare for the 100K goal. I found a coupon online and knocked the ticket down a few bucks.

Called Bank of America to let them know I was using Barclay's in England for cash withdraws and to get the approval on that. I also called Capital One for them to note that my credit card would be for use in England for 2 weeks. The agent made sure to let me know that they did not charge a conversion fee for foreign transactions on credit card use.

Grabbed some much needed items at CVS and Container Store. Took advantage of the 25% off an entree offer at Pei Wei for bringing a canned good item. I got rid of some refried beans that we had for about a year now (still good still). Ate my lunch, showered, and left for the airport.

The traffic was not bad and we had about 150 minutes to spare when we got there. Since I had 2 checked bags and 2 carry-ons, my mom helped me take my luggage in. We somehow ended up on the self-serve machines. I had trouble using the machines with my new passport. The good thing was that the security was really short. They took the box of electronics from my carry on and did a rescan of it by itself and did physical inspections of it. After that 10 minutes of fun, I proceeded to the gate. It was located right next to the Admiral's club so I went in. The agent checked my boarding pass and Platinum Card for entrance. She handed me a drink chit for use. The lounge was 2 floors up via elevator. They had a bar, smoking room, kid's room, conference room and 2 waiting rooms. I used the computer for most of the time and grabbed a diet coke & bottle water from the bar. I had to exchange the drink chit for the bottle water. I knew that the water would come in handy later in the trip. The lounge was relaxing and pretty quiet for the most part.


[Next to the entrance to the AA Terminal D lounge]


[My diet coke/lime and bottle of water]


[My boarding pass for the flight and Admiral's Club]

I left the lounge about 30 minutes before departure so that I could board. The boarding was late, not sure why and no announcement was made so I made a beeline to the gate when other people started boarding since I was in business as well. When I got to my seat, the guy sitting next to me already took all the space in the overhead bin so I luckily found an empty one near me to stuff my bag into it. The guy next to me was traveling to India and was pretty friendly since he introduced himself first. He had over 600K miles in his account and cannot really use it since he has 2 small children. We chatted through dinner and did not really much talk after that.

The seats were great (compared to coach) since they reclined. We had personal flight entertainment systems. Nothing really interested me except 'shorts' the kids movie. It was ok, I watched reruns of The Office and part of I Love You, Man. Dinner was not really eventful. I finished my warm mixed nuts snack and ate 2 pieces of the cheese snack, it was not impressive. I tried Jack and Diet Coke... had to ask for an extra can of diet Coke since the drink was a bit strong for me. We had shrimp and smoked salmon for appetizer. I ate the shrimp and bits of the salmon. I got the chicken entree for main course (with asparagus, tomatoes, and pumpkin cranberry rissole), my second choice after the beef. The salad was nothing great or to brag about. The ice cream sundae was great... chocolate and butterscotch syrup, nuts and whipped cream.

We each had our own in flight entertainment wit Bose headphones. They headphones did a good job of filtering out sounds. I tried to sleep and did an ok job of it until the plane started to shake over the Atlantic and we encountered some type of rain/turbulence. The cabin was dimmed about 2.5 hours into the flight and I used the shades from the amenity kit. I got woken up for breakfast which I choose the omelet, beef, and potatoes with the seasonal fruit platter.

Welcome and Introductions

So my love of traveling stemmed from the fact that I did not get to travel much growing up do to financial and family issues. Now that I graduated and working now, I am making up for last time. Between the day to day work as a pharmacist... I try to squeeze in little trips here and there.

I was introduced to these so call 'elite status' on my award ticket from Austin to LA back in 2005. A friend wanted me to visit so I took up on his offer on a free coach ticket. The thing is that he was using Continental miles so I had to connect through a hub via Houston on both ways which was not a big problem. It was nice to use the elite access for security and boarding despite not being the elite member. I was hooked from that moment and vowed to take as many trips that I could from that point onward. I immediately signed up for American Airlines (since I was based in DFW) and Continental Airlines (have not earned 1 mile nor flown with them since)

After starting pharmacy school, I learned that we got stipends to attend these professional organization conferences. I have been to Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas (2 times), San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, and Columbus with these trips partially funded by the school. It was great traveling during times when we had class/exams and being able to reschedule them.

While I was in college, Southwest Airlines had a lucrative deal for students. I earned 2 Rapid Rewards Credits for every flight I took. It only took 4 round trips from Dallas Love Field to Austin to earn a free ticket redeemable for any free flight on Southwest. On top of that, I put all my purchases on my Southwest Chase Credit Card so every time I spent $1, I earned 1 point and 1200 points equaled 1 Rapid Reward Credit. On purchases on Southwest.com, I earned 2 points per $ spent. They occasionally had bonus offers from the credit card company as well such as $100 Southwest gift card purchase during December 2007 earned a bonus Rapid Reward credit. Since gift cards never expire, it was a no-brainer for me to earn the maximum of 5 Rapid Rewards during that promotion. One year in December, for every $100 in Southwest gift cards I bought, I earned 1 Rapid Rewards Credit (on top of the 1,000 points I earned). It did not take long for me to figure out that Southwest was very lucrative for me to use during my college years. 16 Rapid Rewards credits X $1,200 = $19,000 needed to spend for a free ticket (less if purchasing tickets or gift cards on Southwest). It would take $25,000 to get an award ticket on American so I immediately canceled that credit card when my Southwest Credit Card came alone since I already had used my 25,000 bonus mile sign up on my Philly trip for a free ticket. I would always volunteer to buy things for the professional organizations while in school. The best deal I had was buying law books for a fundraiser that I got reimbursed for 100% from the club with a check. I earned 8 Rapid Rewards that way and since I turned 24, the double credit was gone plus with the fact that the program was discontinued this fall.

My friend wanted to visit Paris this year and I wanted to travel a bit before going to the real world of working. I saved up about 70,000 miles after 4 years and redeemed it for 2 round trip tickets for my brother and I to go to Hawaii in January 2010. I got my mom on the miles train as well as she signed up for American Airlines before her trip to China last year and switching her credit card usage from Discover and Bank of America to Citi AAdvantage exclusively. She even signed up for a checking account at Guaranty bank (before the BBVA compass take over) and earns 1 mile for every $10 average balance in her account. The great this is that miles are not taxable income/earnings (for now) and putting money in a CD or MMA will cause the interest to be generated as taxable income. She has over 100K miles in her account currently so she is in it for the long run. She has enough for a round trip economy ticket to China and 20K away from a business tickets. This is after the 35K that she used for a round trip ticket to Hawaii as well.

I burned all my miles up for the Hawaii trip back in March and I'll have over 200K before the end of the year is over. That equals 8 domestic round trips in economy, 5 US to UK in economy in off season or more than enough for First class to Asia. If I get 60K more, I can do a First Class trip around the world with 18 stops. It has become more than an obsession for me. I enrolled in a Gold status challenge with American before my Europe trip in May. I qualified after that trip plus a mileage run to Boston for 1 day. That enabled me to earn a bonus 25% miles when flying. Due to a change in my ticket, I earned enough points for Platinum status on American. I paid another fee and now earn 100% bonus when flying American from then to Feb 28, 2010. After using the status to check in at the first class counter, 2 free checked bags, select seating on planes, and priority security screening/boarding... I knew that I was in it for the long run. I could not go back to the regular no-body on an airline.

On top of that, I earned a set of four 500 mile upgrade awards for domestic travel every time I flew 10,000 miles on American. Those can be used to upgraded to the next class of service free of charge (provided that there was room). So I used 3 of them to upgrade myself from economy to first from my DFW-DCA leg back in August. Once that was depleted, I can buy more of them as needed to upgrade my self and anyone traveling with me. I used it for my trip back from DCA for myself and a friend as a gift. I was thinking that I could get used to that... so I upgraded myself for my trip to Boston to see my sister. Most recently used it for LAX to HNL for a mileage run.

When American Announced that they were counting elite qualifying miles to be doubled from Sep to Dec 15, I knew that maintaining Platinum status for next year was doable... but getting Executive Platinum would be a challenge. I looked up fares and came up with the fact that if I went to London again and did 2 round trips to Hawaii... on top of 2 mileage runs from DFW-MCO... I could hit it.

Why Executive Platinum? Because of the awesome benefits on it... dedicated 24 hour phone line, more lounge access, UNLIMITED domestic upgrades (as long as they have room)... I would be ahead of everyone else that was not Executive Platinum for US, Mexico, Central America, Canada, and the Caribbean. I also get 8 upgrades for any 1 way trip in the world where American flies to the next class of service (Asia: Shang Hai, Beijing, Delhi and Tokyo / South America: Guayaquil (Ecuador), Quito, Buenos Aires, Barranquilla (Colombia), Bogota, Cali (Colombia), Medellin (Colombia), Santiago, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Recife (Brazil), Salvador de Bahia (Brazil), Belo Horizonte (Brazil), La Paz, Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Guatemala City, Montevideo, Lima, Caracas, and Maracaibo (Venezuela) / Europe: London, Dublin, Manhattan (England), Paris, Madrid, Zurich, Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Frankford, and Brussels. They can be used for anyone (even if they are traveling alone)

I know that Australia and South America... unfortunately American does not fly there yet. That is where the One World partner airlines come in. Qantas serve Australia exclusively and British Airways service Africa. To round off the rest of the team... Japan & Cathay Pacific cover Asia/Pacific, Iberia / Finnair / British Airways / Malev all cover parts of Europe, Royal Jordanian covers Middle East, Mexicana covers Central America, Lan covers South America and S7 will open up Russia in 2010.

My goal right now is to gain Executive Platinum for 2010 and to continue to requalify each year. My other goal is to earn 1 million miles (for now) for Gold status for life and then 2 million miles for Platinum status for life. On top of everything, to go out and explore the world and flying in first/business while I can.

So I will be dropping my Southwest credit card next year after my 2 anniversary credits post as I am not really using it anymore unless they waive the annual fee (which Citi has done for the last 2 years). I will be merging the Southwest card with my previous Wamu (free Fico score look up)-turned-Chase-Rewards. I have my eyes on the Chase British Airways Credit card where for a $75 annual fee... you can get 50K miles after first purchase and another 50K for spending $2000 within first 3 months of opening account... which translates to 4 domestic US trips on American or 2 economy tickets to Europe on British. Would not hurt to fly on British for fun 1 or 2 times to Europe. Will merge the credit lines into the Chase British Airways if I cannot get the Southwest card fee waived.