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Written by Darren Ho

Created: 19 October 2014

Date: 25/9/2014

I was transiting in Hong Kong International Airport and had a 3 hour timeframe. This gave me enough time to do a bit of wandering around the shops. I had to find a place first of all that served congee as that is one of my two favourite meals in the world – the other being wonton noodles. Only can I eat it in Hong Kong as they did it better than any other place.…

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Written by Darren Ho

Created: 19 October 2014

One of the things I love in life are Points. Anyone that knows me understands how incredibly passionate I am about this subject. I love how every time I spend my money – I am given the choice to receive something back. The name of the game is to get the best return in regards to points and to maximise the value of the points earnt.

Of course I know that my obsession with this differs me from the next person. Most people would only use cash in fear of being in debt with a credit card. I use to be that person 10 years ago. But if you are a frequent flyer - using points is one of the best ways to travel. I would have to say my loving wife changed my mind when she said that you could earn reward points for using a credit card. So she would redeem 16,000 Citibank reward points for a $100 Target gift card. But I learnt you needed to spend $16,000 to redeem a $100 gift card. Doesn’t sound like a great reward after spend that much money does it!

Anyhows – I didn’t think much of it and continued to use both cash and credit card whenever I felt like it.…

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Written by Darren Ho

Created: 12 October 2014

Date: 25/9/2014

Seat No: 17K

Class: Business

Departure Time: 8:00am

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Written by Darren Ho

Created: 12 October 2014

Date: 25/9/2014

Let me describe you one of the cases of how do I use frequently flying miles.

I arrived in Sydney Airport at 5.30am for a flight from Sydney to Hong on Cathay Pacific Business Class Flight.

I have access to the Qantas Business Class Lounge as my ticket is a Business Class Ticket on Flight No. CX110. Normally this is the case for airport lounge access when you have a Business or First Class seat.…

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Written by Darren Ho

Created: 12 October 2014

You may want to start investigating how may points it takes to fly once you have a decent amount of points accumulated. You ask yourself: "How do i use frequent flyer miles"?

Depending on which airline you are trying to redeem with and the route you want to go by – it can get extremely complicated and time-consuming if you do not know the main airline hubs.

Generally speaking – the best way to look at routes in my opinion is to look at the longest leg of the flight first. Once you have found the date and times for that – then you can work on the smaller routes and book flights cheap.

The 3 basic cabins most airlines have are Economy (Y), Business (J) and First (F). I have always preached you using frequent flyer miles on Business or First – never on Economy.…

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Written by Darren Ho

Created: 07 September 2014

Date: 24/4/2014

Room Booked: Basic Room

Upgraded: Executive Level (top level) with Lounge Access

Cost: $100

Check-in

Checking in was quick and efficient as it was quiet. I arrived at 1:30pm from Vancouver Airport. It took 40 minutes to get to the hotel by taxi. The cost was $36.20 CAD.

The staff at the reception acknowledged my Gold membership and noted I was upgraded straight away which was a nice gesture. The hotel has 18 levels so a rather small hotel with a Hilton name in the Burnaby area in Vancouver…