[KevinC]

I’m sure you’ll be fine. If you want to do the art house project, you can walk between those venues.

[KevinC]

We went to Naoshima this summer. We judged it too big to walk around. The sites are also too spread out. There are public buses plus the shuttle buses put on by the hotel. We weren’t staying on the island so we didn’t have access to the hotel buses. We hired electric bikes.

[KevinC]

I don’t fully understand why people think A&K would have sold all trips to Paris at that price. Clearly it wouldn’t have cost that during the Olympics but in February after Valentine’s Day it ought to be possible. January too. The hotel has not sold out and it is not presented as a ‘come on in’ special price but as a rough guide starting price.

A&K will be very happy to sell you all sorts of add ons but that should be the rough, if not exact, price for three nights in low season if you take the basic package as listed.

I don’t suppose A&K sell that many holidays so cheap but that’s where they start and you’d be able to get one if you politely asked.

[KevinC]

Yes @JDB, I appreciate all that and you do get extras with the Paris trip. It’s not comparable to booking an easyJet package. Private transfers are included for instance and you get a walking tour.

All I’m trying to do is work out what the starting price is for a genuine A&K package and, using their own website as a resource, it seems to be three days in Paris for £2110 for two people. I don’t see why Amex wouldn’t process the rebate if you bought that.

If A&K don’t want to give the rebate on that package, they need to update the terms.

[KevinC]

Surely they price city breaks up for each customer on demand. The website tells you the hotel the headline price is based on so you would just say you want to stay there (Hotel Pont Royal) and you are flexible as to the dates. You can book this hotel direct on its website for 280 euros per night in February. I don’t see how A&K could charge much more than two grand for 840 euros worth of hotel rooms and two eurostar tickets.

I’m not going to do this btw as I don’t want this particular break and I don’t want the admin if they won’t pay out.

[KevinC]

My saved offer hasn’t been updated.

A&K advertise 3 nights in Paris from £1055 per person. I don’t think it would make me a ‘chancer’ if I was to book that for a couple on a single card with an expectation that I would get the rebate.

[KevinC]

We have been to Japan a couple of times in Japan in the summer. We went there this year and had a really good trip.

It’s certainly hot but it’s okay if you plan around it and don’t try to fit in too much.

Summer dishes include cold noodles and shaved ice. You won’t have a problem finding sushi if you’d like some.

[KevinC]

The dining ad has a site for Hawksmoor and then it isn’t listed. It’s almost as if the site is a bit buggy.

Ham Yard also gone I think.

For the places left a 20 per cent discount is pretty good but I hope it isn’t replacing the dining credit.

[KevinC]

I also think you will be fine. 2.40 is quite early.

Unless you are hand luggage only, you won’t save any time with fast track anyway.

The seaplane will wait for the last passenger booked on it. You are more likely to have an hour in the hotel lounge than be late for your plane.

[KevinC]

Has it been discussed at length? I thought it was briefly mentioned in the daily thread a couple of days ago.

I got 13,500 Avios with my wine (posted instantly). I do appreciate that I could have got cheaper wine by shopping around or contacting vineyards directly but it seems like a reasonable way of getting some okay wine and enough avios for one and a half tickets to Copenhagen.

[KevinC]

We are just back from Japan.

If you like theme parks then, yes, go to Disney Sea.

Personally I preferred Kyoto as a base to Osaka – especially if you have spent time in Tokyo. We stayed in Umeda and it felt a bit like holidaying in the Westfield Centre – of course that has its appeals.

We found that most places weren’t that busy. But you can’t fit too much in a day 1) because of the heat and 2) because a lot of sites close by five. I think in the summer you get to see fewer things but you can see them properly. An exception was Nara (and you should consider putting Nara on your list). Try to build in time for exploring wherever you stay. There are tiny temples wherever you look.

If it was me, I would drop Dubai, but I’m sure you’ll have a great time whatever you decide.

[KevinC]

I have never been able to get the $100 deducted from the accommodation cost. What is, or isn’t included, varies by hotel but you can never claim the cost of the night. They do sometimes let you take from the minibar, and I was at a hotel on Sunday that was happy for purchases from their gift shop to be covered.

[KevinC]

We haven’t been able to use Pocket Concierge on this trip but my son is staying on in Tokyo and being joined by friends. Can I book a restaurant for him and use my credit? Do you need to physically present the card at the venue?

[KevinC]

Aston100 wrote:

meta wrote:

After last trip and seeing how easy it is for sightseeing, I would also recommend Kimpton. Standard rooms are 28-30sqm.

Thanks.
Any thoughts on the ANA IC? location looks meh, the rooms seem to be 28sqm or more and the hotel looks to have undergone a refurb very recently (might even be ongoing I think?)

We are staying there in July. If you book the right room with an Ambassador weekend voucher you get upgraded into one of the refurbished suites. The new rooms look very nice and it has an outdoor pool.

[KevinC]

philuk wrote:

Not on my BAPP I’m afraid. It will hopefully appear in the next couple of days.

Worth checking again. It has appeared on my BAPP and also a supp today. I definitely didn’t have it before.

[KevinC]

mw4k wrote:

Charity otter (matching up to £5k) – want to put £2k through Amex but am not in the country until after the end of the offer period. Does anyone know if e.g. a donation via the Shelter website will work?

The charity offer on my card was for spend in shops and had a 5k limit in total not per card. That said, I’m sure Shelter would welcome your donation even if Amex don’t match it.

[KevinC]

For what it’s worth I have been told several times I must pay with a Platinum on checkout. Amex keep quite a keen eye on FHR – you are often given a questionnaire on checkout asking if you received the benefits.

I agree that a modern Platinum fee paying credit card will be acceptable.

[KevinC]

Blair Waldorf Salad wrote:

PhilE wrote:

Blair Waldorf Salad wrote:

Anyone who holds the Amex Bonvoy get the Marriott offer on any of their cards yet?

Nothing on my Bonvoy card yet. Then again, I haven’t got the Marriott offer one on my BAPP card either yet. I did get Hilton, IHG, Minor etc.

I got all of them except Marriott. Which i usually get on one of my MR-earning cards and a similar offer on my Bonvoy card. I am wondering if those of us with the Bonvoy card have been excluded this time and will only receive one offer – on the Bonvoy card.

I have the Bonvoy card and got the Marriott offer on my BA card. I didn’t get the IHG offer. I slightly suspect it’s random.

[KevinC]

Tracy wrote:

What do you guys think about the caption by Hyatt in Osaka at £130 per night? My other option is HIX midosuji 19k points pn. Liked the look of the Holiday Inn Namba but it’s 55k points pn… I’d rather have a basic hotel in a great location than a fancy hotel in a rubbish location and I can’t afford a great hotel in a great location 😂

I think the Caption by Hyatt in Osaka has only just started taking bookings. It starts at 3500 points for some nights so could be a bit of a bargain.

We are staying at the Hyatt Place in Kyoto on points and then the Intercontinental in Osaka on an Amex 3 for 2 deal.

[KevinC]

We have been to Japan in August. It’s okay as long as you plan for it. You’ll see a lot of people with umbrellas to keep the sun off and everyone gives out promotional fans. There are a lot of firework displays at night.

We went to the Sendai Tanabata Festival, which was great. It wasn’t as hot in Sendai but that could have been luck.

We are returning to Japan this year late July, early August. We booked flights for four in January when someone kindly wrote on here about Avios availability.

[KevinC]

If you are in Sendai then you may want to stay an extra day to do the trip to Matsushima. I think we stayed at The Westin in Sendai.

[KevinC]

meta wrote:

Summer is fine if you can tolerate the heat or have means to cool down (sea, pool, or going to the mountainous regions such as Gunma or north to Hokkaido).

On your point number one, it will depend on how Hilton Shinjuku is set up. I have not tried with Hilton hotels, but have received benefits at both IHG and Marriott hotels before whether paid in advance or on check out.

I stayed with a friend in Takasaki before, but he had the car and we drove around. If you have a car it doesn’t really matter where you base yourself. If not, you need to plan carefully local transport. While shinkansen will always be fine, local trains/buses may be scarce, especially in the summer. It can easily take 2-3 hours to get somewhere what would be less than an hour in the car. Sometimes it doesn’t even show on Google Maps in which as you need to do a deeper online search (also in Japanese).

Thank you. I think we will hire a car in Gunma for the reasons you set out. And I pressed inappropriate content instead of quote which I did NOT mean to do. Apologies.

[KevinC]

We are going to Japan this summer, just when everyone on here says you shouldn’t go but we’ve been in the summer before and still had fun.

A few hotel questions.

1) I can get the Hilton Shinjuku at quite a reasonable rate for two nights from Amex Hotel Collection with a $100 credit per room. If I elect to pay at the hotel, would I still get Gold benefits or will it be treated like a Expedia booking?

2) Has anyone stayed at The Kahala in Yokohama, by far the least Expensive of the Fine Hotels and Resort options. Alternatively is the Hyatt Regency Yokohama okay? We could stay there before travelling him and use points to get a club room or a suite.

3) Advanced level stuff, but has anyone stayed in Gunma. Specifically we want to visit Gunma Insect World which is near Kiryu. There are a couple of hotels there or we could stay in Takasagi for access to the Shinkansen, or Maebashi where there’s a Dormy Inn. Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

[KevinC]

Spend £500 get £100 back at Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Quite a different worldwide selection than a lot of the hotel offers. Lots of hotels in the US, Japan and Mexico. And even a couple in Ireland and Portugal!

[KevinC]

memesweeper wrote:

Any gems on the (short) list that readers would recommend?

We had a very good meal at The Berners Tavern the last time this offer ran.