Category Archives: Trip Reports

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Hotel Review: Hilton Beijing Capital Airport (Beautiful Hotel Close to PEK)

Good morning everyone.  As part of my 10 Day Asia Trip, I spent my first night at the Hilton Beijing Capital Airport.  This hotel is 5 minutes away from Beijing Capital Airport (PEK) and I took the complimentary airport shuttle to the hotel.  Before I arrived in Beijing, the front desk sent me a helpful email with directions on where to meet the airport shuttle.  When I originally booked this hotel a few months ago, I believe the price was roughly $190 USD, but I opted to use 40,000 Hilton Honors Points instead.  A few days before my trip, I checked the hotel prices and the price was down to around $120 USD or 36,000 Hilton Honors Points.  I ended up cancelling my points reservation and rebooking the paid rate.  Between paying with my American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card, my Hilton Diamond Elite Status, and various Hilton promos, I ended up earning 9,450 Hilton Honors Points, which is worth $47.25 to me (I value Hilton Honors Points at 0.5 cents per point).

I’ve stayed at a handful of airport hotels, but this hotel was different… it was really nice!  The check in area was beautiful, my room was great, the lounge was refreshing, and the breakfast spread had many options.

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Image source: https://www.hilton.com.cn/file/images/20170908/20170908114846521EcmVbcJ.jpg

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10 Day Asia Trip Report Summary (China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan & Nepal)

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  By the time you read this post, I will be flying Cathay Pacific business class back to San Francisco.  At the beginning of the trip, I flew Air China business class from San Francisco to Beijing.  For the last 10 days, I have been hopping around Asia and I visited these cities:

  • Beijing, China (1 night)
  • Yangon, Myanmar (3 nights)
  • Dhaka, Bangladesh (1 night)
  • Paro & Thimphu, Bhutan (2 nights)
  • Kathmandu, Nepal (2 nights)
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Great Circle Mapper: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=PEK-RGN-DAC-PBH-KTM

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Google Fi Introduces New Unlimited Plan

For those of you who haven’t already switched to my favorite phone service of all time, now might be your perfect chance. Google Fi (formerly Project Fi) is Google’s flagship mobile service that offers coverage in 200+ countries and territories, flat data rates, no contracts, and unlimited domestic calls and texts within the US.

Over the past several years, Google Fi has evolved from its beginnings with the Nexus and Pixel phones to present day, where members have the opportunity to bring their own phone to Fi. Most Android and iPhone models work with the Google Fi SIM card, so users aren’t required to buy a Pixel anymore. (I still would suggest buying a Pixel if you don’t have one, but that’s another story.)

Recently, Google Fi put a $60 cap on the cost of data for each cycle. Before then, data cost a flat $10 per gig but there wasn’t any relevant volume discount, so free data after 6GB was certainly a welcome change. Now, however, Google is upping their game with new unlimited plans that especially benefit families and groups.

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Hotel Review: Kimpton Sir Francis Drake Hotel near San Francisco’s Union Square (55K IHG Points)

Good morning everyone.  Last Saturday, Laura and I did a mini San Francisco honeymoon.  We stayed at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins a few months ago, so we wanted to check out the Kimpton Sir Francis Drake hotel near San Francisco’s Union Square.  As part of IHG’s current Accelerate Promo, I needed to book a Points and Cash reservation to complete part of the promo.  The Kimpton Sir Francis Drake is normally 55,000 IHG Points, but I did a booking for 50,000 IHG Points + $28 cash.  Here is what the hotel lobby looked like when we arrived (with a few more guests and people working):

a room with a bar and chairs

Image source: https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/sir-francis-drake.html

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How I did on that British Airways / Match.com Deal from 2017

Good morning everyone, happy Friday!  A few years ago, British Airways was offer 150x Avios at Match.com.  After fighting with British Airways and Match.com for a few months to get my 82,286 British Airways Avios, I ended up getting a full refund from Match.com (I would have much preferred the British Airways Avios over the full refund).  Thankfully, I met a wonderful girl on Match.com named Laura…

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