[cin3]

Far far too rushed and christ 4 days for Tokyo.

[cin3]

JDB wrote:

NorthernLass wrote:

My teenager has just done his A level geography project on sargassum weed – it’s worth checking what measures your hotel has in place to mitigate this!

The awful seaweed is the least of one’s problems in Cancún! Some will say that the 30m annual tourists arriving at CUN can’t be wrong but they are sort of the problem because they are largely the wrong sort of tourists, so have made the place a haven for violent crime, drugs, prostitution and a destruction of the formerly beautiful environment. Cancún is about as Mexican as Dundee which is quite sad in such a great country. But that’s just my point of view.

Spot on. México is one of my favourite countries to visit anywhere in the world but god Cancun beach hotels, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Cozumel etc. are just such a sad way to see the place.

[cin3]

Can confirm pc charges immediately.

And there are hundreds of restaurants outside of Tokyo. You can easily scrape to a spreadsheet.

[cin3]

What was wrong with the Lobster Clam Calamri?

[cin3]

Bob wrote:

i have booked recently, seats were released exactly 14 days out for HND – LHR F/J

Are you saying this happens regularly or just as a one off?

[cin3]

Since when is using a mileage broker for VS fraud? I thought that was allowed?

[cin3]

Still awful value for money. I’ll sell all day long to people on hfp for 80% of what Virgin charge.

[cin3]

Fantastic work, congratulations!

[cin3]

l wrote:

duggie1982 wrote:

Can you buy amazon, etc gift cards at Sainsbury’s using Nectar for payment?

Not with Nectar, only with Sainsbury’s gift cards.

What about Sainsbury nectar vouchers which seem similar to gift cards?

[cin3]

Oh and skip all the TeamLabs unless you have children and they really want to go. It’s all hyper derivative digital art 101 stuff with zero soul for people who have never set foot in an art gallery in their lives.

[cin3]

Aston100 wrote:

Useful info. Thanks Jon.
BTW, how do prices compare to the UK?

Food is ridiculously good value for the quality compared to the UK but of course you can easily drop £500/head on a *** meal if you want.

Accommodation also comparable to UK and cheaper if you avoid bland chain hotels.

Travel slightly more expensive but the JR Pass is a must if you run the calcs and it works for your itinerary. I got almost 3x the value out of my 3 week pass.

Kyoto is touristy as hell but nice. However, after a week you will have exhausted most of what you want to do. Osaka however is a real city which if you want to get immersed in local culture is a far better bet for longer stays.

[cin3]

Scott wrote:

JDB wrote:

@Vit …There are presidential elections next month….

Next Sunday actually, and from a tourist cost point of view, I don’t know if it’s better if Milei wins (pledged to scrap central back, introduce dollarization) or one of the traditional candidates (economy remains on the same downward path.)

No possible good can come from this election result 🙁

[cin3]

Please don’t bring children into lounges — many many people find it really inconsiderate.

[cin3]

AFKAE wrote:

Many years ago we took two teenagers on a 3 week trip.

Several days crossing the Pantanal in 4×4’s, a few days on the Amazon travelling down from Iquitos and last few days in Rio doing the normal tourist stuff.

This sounds fantastic. It’s a massive country and venturing away from the obvious tourist places will pay back in dividends.

[cin3]

Reney wrote:

@davedent I would love to understand the breakdown of the value you expect to receive in return for the money you are putting towards earning Gold?

Honestly, there are so many better quality of life ways to spend £1800

[cin3]

I can’t see checking out online taking more than 45 seconds or so if you know what you’re doing. A simple greasemonkey script can cut that in half easily too.

[cin3]

BBbetter wrote:

cin3 wrote:

Only stuff via Iberia as the taxes on BA metal remove most of the benefit of the voucher. Sounds like it only applies for BA metal then on BA routes?

Why would Iberia give extra availability for BA vouchers?

No idea one way or the other but the article suggested they would.

[cin3]

Nectar boost offer.

Can you spend these vouchers on Ebay or in Argos either in store or at Sainsbury’s collection?

[cin3]

No sign of it on my UK IB+ account.

[cin3]

Retron wrote:

To be even more specific, it’s BA Club World I fare bucket seats which are opened up. It’s how I’ve managed to book the last two trips to Tokyo: nothing in U (normal redemptions), but plenty of I seats available. The bookings I made with the voucher booked into the I bucket.

I read elsewhere that if a longhaul BA flight shows as I9 in terms of availability on Expertflyer then it should be open for use of the Amex voucher – but there are apparently some exceptions. I’m not sure that anyone outside of BA knows the exact rules!

Thanks – very useful intel.

[cin3]

Richie wrote:

cin3 wrote:

Is there any way to book Iberia Express through BA.com?

Some of them are on ba.com with BA flight numbers and sometimes IB flight numbers if you are booking multi-stop itinearies.

Seems I can only find LHR-MAD and not any of the LGW-MAD flights unfortunately 🙁

[cin3]

Is there any way to book Iberia Express through BA.com?

[cin3]

ffwd wrote:

cin3 wrote:

Answering my own question as I found a better link than the one in the article.

Just use BA.com at https://www.britishairways.com/travel/btt/execclub/_gf/en_gb

It will transfer immediately.

Trying to do the same.
I used cin3 link and it showed an error saying session had timed out.
Any ideas please?

Try this link: https://www.britishairways.com/travel/combine-avios/execclub/_gf/en_gb

[cin3]

BajiNahid wrote:

Do not fly iberia express or iberia. seriously save your money and pay with a better airline. they do not even clean their aircraft!

I don’t think anyone really cares for a short flight and it’s not like there are better options for LGW–MAD.

[cin3]

RK228 wrote:

At which routes are you looking?

I think the additional availability is only for Club World (i.e., long-haul business): https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/collecting-avios/credit-cards/uk/companion-voucher#LNA

I think only those with vouchers can see the enhanced availability, where available, but it’s not guaranteed that these seats will necessarily ever be released.

Anna wrote:

Which routes/dates have you tested?

Only stuff via Iberia as the taxes on BA metal remove most of the benefit of the voucher. Sounds like it only applies for BA metal then on BA routes?