Details

Written by Darren Ho

Created: 07 September 2014

Class: Economy (there is no business class)

Route: Vancouver to Seattle

Departure Time: 8:10am

Duration: 35 minutes

Seat number: 5C (aislie)

Flight

Flight was perhaps one third full so everyone was able to spread out. The plane was very small – basically a bus with wings. There was 1 flight attendant for the flight.…

Details

Written by Darren Ho

Created: 06 September 2014

How much is a Point worth you may ask?

The answer is – it depends.

Let’s look at 2 extremes

One of the ways say if you had 10,000 credit card points. Let’s say it was American Express Membership Rewards points. With 10,000 points – most people would redeem it for a $50 shopping voucher at Big W or Target for example. Also to gain 10,000 credit card points you would most likely need to spend $10,000 if for every dollar you spent – you earned one dollar.

Therefore the value of 1 point is 0.5cents. The majority of people would go ahead and do this. And why not? It’s practically free as you are using your credit card for everyday expenses and after spending.…

Details

Written by Darren Ho

Created: 28 August 2014

Flight No: AC064
Class: Business
Seat No: 3K
Configuration of Business Class Cabin: 1-1-1
Departure: Seoul, South Korea
Arrival: Vancouver, Canada
Departure Time: 6:20pm
Arrival Time: 12:30pm (Same Day)
Duration of Flight: approx. 10 hours.

Check-In

Check-In was nice and breezy. There is a Priority Line for Business Class passengers and I arrived at the Boarding gate and only had to wait for a few seconds as I was the only person in the line.…

Details

Written by Darren Ho

Created: 28 August 2014

Don’t be Fooled that there is only Qantas and Virgin as the Airline Loyalty Programmes you can join. As we live in the Australian economy – these 2 programmes provide us with the most incentives to shop, sign up for credit cards and even take out home loans these days

I certainly have an account with these 2 programmes – but I also have around 20 other different Frequent Flyer Programmes around the world.  This provides me more flexibility, options and value then just either having Qantas or Virgin.

For Qantas – as it is part of the One World Alliance team – you need more points to redeem for a flight then with Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles or Singapore’s Krisflyer programme.

This doesn’t provide value in terms of points – which makes me focus on other different methods to accumulate points for other frequent flyer programmes faster.…

Details

Written by Darren Ho

Created: 24 August 2014

When I fly First and Business class often – I hear some comments of whether I’ve struck the jackpot. Other times I receive subtle indications on social media and gossip that I am flaunting my wealth.

When I post pictures of incredible Suites throughout the world – again I’ve got friends who question how I am able to do this and that they see more pictures of the flights and hotels then the destinations.

I can tell you that I am far from wealthy. I am your average guy earning an average salary. But what separates me from the next guy is I have a passion of making the most of what I spend on everyday purchases such as groceries, appliances, food, entertainment and clothing. I understand what my end goal is for both myself and my family in terms of financial security and my precious time with them.

First and foremost I understand the value of money and what it can do for you. Everyone has a choice in how they spend some money. I know people who have a high income – but are asset poor. So at the end of their working lives have nothing to show for it.  …

Details

Written by Darren Ho

Created: 07 August 2014

In Australia we have 2 Major Budget Airlines – Jetstar and Virgin. Tiger Airways is owned by Virgin – so really – you have 3 airlines.

I’ve flown Qantas domestically from Sydney to all over the country a few years ago. Most of them were  Sydney to Melbourne or Sydney to Brisbane flights. Since they were only 1 hour flights and I did not check-in any luggage – it really didn’t differ much to say a Jetstar flight. I did gain some status on Qantas though – but not enough to actually do anything with it.

So one of the criterias when I fly domestically – as long as they are under a 2 hour flight – is to go for the cheapest airfare. There is not enough time to enjoy a drink or meal on these short flights. So I couldn’t care less if I was on Business class here.

The name of the game is to get the best bang for your buck here. Recently I was able to snag a return flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast for $18. Cheaper than a taxi to the airport itself.

The majority of people will typically just book a ticket when there is a sale or when there is a need to fly. They possibly don’t go further in their research online.…