Review: St. Regis Bali Resort

Introduction

Planning & Booking

Sheraton JFK Hilton JFK Conrad New York

Asiana 777 First Class Suite New York to Seoul

Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon

Asiana 767 Business Class Seoul to Bangkok

Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Thai Airways Business Class Lounge & Royal Orchid Spa Bangkok

Thai Airways 777 Business Class Bangkok to Bali

Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

St. Regis Bali Resort

Exploring Bali

Singapore Airlines 777 Business Class Bali to Singapore

Conrad Singapore

Exploring Singapore

Singapore Airlines The Private Room

Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class Singapore to Los Angeles

The ride to the St. Regis took about an hour as we wound our way through villages and down to the coast through a mix of rain and sun.  We had arranged transportation through the St. Regis so when we arrived, they were expecting us and our room was ready despite it being a couple of hours before check-in.  Check-in was processed in the lobby while seated enjoying a welcome drink.  All of our Platinum benefits were explained (a few extras given that breakfast is included for all resort guests) and then we were shown to our room.  The only odd part about check-in is that you're seated in chairs in the lobby but the agent has to run back and forth to the desk with your credit card, passport, etc...which seemingly makes things inefficient.  But we were relaxed and on vacation so didn't really care.

Welcome to the St. Regis Bali

Welcome drink

Lobby shot

The grounds of this property are beautifully maintained.  There are 110 rooms (vs. about 60 at the Four Seasons) many of which are villas so the guest to room ratio is higher.  My guess is that there were about 300 people staying at the resort during our stay.  But between the size of the beach, lagoon pool, and other stuff to do in Bali, it never really felt crowded.

Another 100,000 Mile Bonus from Citi

Earlier in the year, I posted about the amazing Citi Executive AAdvantage card.  Citi was offering 100,000 American AAdvantage miles after spending $10,000 in 3 months.  In addition, they were also offering a $200 statement credit to offset the $450 annual fee.  In recent months, I've read stories about dozens of people getting their second (and sometimes even third and fourth) version of this card along with the bonus.  I've also read that the offer was slated to go away (which seems to have happened) so I applied for another card a few weeks ago.

Citi Executive # 2

Typically, I apply for cards in chunks every 90 days or so.  But this offer was too good to pass up so I applied for it "off cycle."  I value 100,000 AAdvantage miles at $2,000 so earning $2,000 for a $250 annual fee is a no-brainer for me.  Hitting the minimum spend requirement is a bit challenging but with Amazon Payments and  couple of big expenditures (estimated taxes, car insurance) coming up in the next 90 days, it shouldn't be an issue.

So I applied for the card and wasn't approved immediately.  I was on vacation and then have had a busy few weeks so just forgot to call Citi and see if they would approve my application.  Last week I received a letter from Citi stating that they would approve me for a second card if I cut my credit line on the first card by 30%.  That wasn't a big deal to me so I signed the letter, sent it back, and receive my card in the mail yesterday.

Once activated, I wrote to them to confirm the bonus and received a nice confirmation back from customer service.

110,000 AAdvantage miles (with the minimum spend miles) is enough for a roundtrip business class ticket to Europe or a one-way first class ticket to Asia with 42,500 miles leftover!   Thanks to Citi for offering such a great deal!

Review: Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

Introduction

Planning & Booking

Sheraton JFK Hilton JFK Conrad New York

Asiana 777 First Class Suite New York to Seoul

Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon

Asiana 767 Business Class Seoul to Bangkok

Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Thai Airways Business Class Lounge & Royal Orchid Spa Bangkok

Thai Airways 777 Business Class Bangkok to Bali

Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

St. Regis Bali Resort

Exploring Bali

Singapore Airlines 777 Business Class Bali to Singapore

Conrad Singapore

Exploring Singapore

Singapore Airlines The Private Room

Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class Singapore to Los Angeles

The ride from DPS to the Sayan area took about an hour.  Our driver was super friendly and his English was fantastic.  We had been traveling for the better part of two days so it was great to just sit back and watch the scenery change as we made our way from the coast into the jungle.  Upon arrival, we were greeted by name at the main gate, secondary security checkpoint, and the lobby.  Something that would continue across the entire stay.  We were treated to a traditional Balinese welcome ceremony before check-in which was done in the seating area in the stunning main lobby.

The bridge to the lobby

Lobby view 

We booked our stay through American Express FHR (using an Amex Platinum Card) which entitled us to two hour long massages (value of $160) and daily breakfast for two (value of $240).  In addition, we were upgraded from our base suite to a villa.  After checking in, we were driven to our villa in a buggy where our bags were already waiting.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Eliminates 7% Dividend

As many of you know, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is my favorite card.  The majority of my spend is dining and travel so earning 2x Ultimate Rewards in those categories equates to a "return" of about 4% on spend.

One of the perks of the card is an annual 7% dividend where all the points earned in the previous calendar year (including the signup bonus) earn an additional 7% UR bonus deposited in February.  So if you earned 45,000 miles from the signup bonus (the current bonus) and spent an average of $1,000 a month on travel/dining and $1,000 a month on other stuff, you would have earned a total of 81,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

You would then receive a dividend of 5,670 Ultimate Rewards points.  The value of those points more than offsets the $95 annual fee making this a really great card to keep forever.

Unfortunately, Chase has changed the card offering for new card members and eliminated the dividend.  Lame.  It sounds like current card members will be able to receive the dividend for the next two years (2014 and 2015) and then it will be eliminated as well.  I am sure this will be communicated via email/letter but figured I'd write about it since this is my everyday card.

Chase has replaced the dividend with increased rental car coverage which is great for the 1-2x per year that I rent a car but I would definitely prefer the dividend to stay forever.

This is still a phenomenal card and will continue to stay in my wallet despite losing 7% of my points after 2015.

Review: Thai Airways Business Class 777 Bangkok to Bali

Introduction

Planning & Booking

Sheraton JFK Hilton JFK Conrad New York

Asiana 777 First Class Suite New York to Seoul

Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon

Asiana 767 Business Class Seoul to Bangkok

Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Thai Airways Business Class Lounge & Royal Orchid Spa Bangkok

Thai Airways 777 Business Class Bangkok to Bali

Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

St. Regis Bali Resort

Exploring Bali

Singapore Airlines 777 Business Class Bali to Singapore

Conrad Singapore

Exploring Singapore

Singapore Airlines The Private Room

Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class Singapore to Los Angeles

Suvarnahbhumi's gates are different in that you go down a set of ramps from the retail level, have your passport and boarding pass checked, and then enter kind of a holding area prior to departure.  When we approached the "gate" there was a huge line of people making their way down the ramp to the holding area.  By the time we had made our way through, boarding had already begun so we boarded immediately and were on the plane in about 2 minutes.  It was nice not to have to wait as the holding area has limited services and gets pretty crowded prior to boarding a 777.

Our Thai Airways 777-300 to Bali

Review: Thai Airways Business Class Lounge & Royal Orchid Spa Bangkok

Introduction

Planning & Booking

Sheraton JFK Hilton JFK Conrad New York

Asiana 777 First Class Suite New York to Seoul

Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon

Asiana 767 Business Class Seoul to Bangkok

Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Thai Airways Business Class Lounge & Royal Orchid Spa Bangkok

Thai Airways 777 Business Class Bangkok to Bali

Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

St. Regis Bali Resort

Exploring Bali

Singapore Airlines 777 Business Class Bali to Singapore

Conrad Singapore

Exploring Singapore

Singapore Airlines The Private Room

Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class Singapore to Los Angeles

I really like the look of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport.  There are rows upon rows of check in desks for airlines headed to exotic locations all over the world.  The people are just as diverse headed home, to their holiday, on a business trip, or just transiting through.

Thai Airways has their premium check-in for first and business (Royal Silk) class passengers in row A which is all the way to the left upon entering the great hall.  We made our over and were immediately shown to a check in desk.  The check-in process is unique in that there are umbrellas at each station along with cubes where you can sit down if you'd like.  The color scheme is decidedly "Thai Airways Purple" which I like a lot.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Check-In

United MileagePlus Shopping Back-to-School Bonus

As I've written about in the past, one of the best ways to earn miles is through online shopping portals.  United's shopping portal is offering pretty lucrative "back-to-school" bonus that is worth taking a look at.

The promotion is tiered but basically you'll earn an additional 4 miles per dollar spent up to $500.  I needed to reload my Starbucks card and Emily had a few items in mind from Nordstrom's upcoming Anniversary sale.  So I went through the portal to Staples and purchased a $200 gift card to each store with my Chase Ink Card.  Here's a recap of my earnings:

• I spent >$375 on the back-to-school bonus so that's 1,500 United Miles ($30 value)
• I earned 4 miles/dollar at Staples through the portal so that's 1,600 United Miles ($32 value)
• I earned 5 Chase UR points for using my Ink card so that's 2,000 UR Points ($40 value)
• Nordstrom is currently offering 10x United miles through the United portal so when redeeming the gift card, I'll earn an incremental 2,000 United Miles ($40 value)

So all in, I spent $404 (with Staples gift card fees) and will earn 5,100 United Miles and 2,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.  I value those points at $142 so that's a 35% discount on purchases (coffee and clothes) that we would have made anyway across the next six months or so.

Review: Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Introduction

Planning & Booking

Sheraton JFK Hilton JFK Conrad New York

Asiana 777 First Class Suite New York to Seoul

Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon

Asiana 767 Business Class Seoul to Bangkok

Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Thai Airways Business Class Lounge Bangkok & Royal Orchard Spa

Thai Airways 777 Business Class Bangkok to Bali

Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

St. Regis Bali Resort

Exploring Bali

Singapore Airlines 777 Business Class Bali to Singapore

Conrad Singapore

Exploring Singapore

Singapore Airlines The Private Room

Singapore Airlines A380 First Class Suite Singapore to Los Angeles

Our flight from Seoul landed around 10:45 PM and our flight to Bali departed at 9:30 AM the next morning.  So it wasn't really enough time to go into the city (where luxury hotels are prevalent and inexpensive) and after flying for 25 hours, we were just looking for a clean bed and a shower.  The Novotel is located on the BKK premises so was the obvious choice.

Shot of the pool

Review: Asiana 767 Business Class Seoul to Bangkok

Introduction

Planning & Booking

Sheraton JFK Hilton JFK Conrad New York

Asiana 777 First Class Suite New York to Seoul

Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon

Asiana 767 Business Class Seoul to Bangkok

Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Thai Airways Business Class Lounge Bangkok & Royal Orchard Spa

Thai Airways 777 Business Class Bangkok to Bali

Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

St. Regis Bali Resort

Exploring Bali

Singapore Airlines 777 Business Class Bali to Singapore

Conrad Singapore

Exploring Singapore

Singapore Airlines The Private Room

Singapore Airlines A380 First Class Suite Singapore to Los Angeles

After spending a couple hours in the Asiana First Class Lounge, we walked down to gate 46 for our departure to Bangkok.  We arrived approximately 45 minutes prior to departure and the signs in front of the gate were already blinking "boarding."  But that's really just a trick in Asia to ensure you're in the gate area on time.

We strolled around the concourse and 15 minutes prior to our scheduled departure, the flight still wasn't boarding.  So we were definitely going to be delayed.  Another 30 minutes went by and we finally started to board.

The 767 that would take us to Bangkok had a 2-1-2 configuration in business class with angled lie-flat seats meaning the seats didn't recline all the way or go completely flat.  In the US, having these seats on a transcon or a flight from the west coast to Hawaii would be fine.  But after flying Asiana's first class suite product, we were a bit spoiled.

Review: Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon

Introduction

Planning & Booking

Sheraton JFK Hilton JFK Conrad New York

Asiana 777 First Class Suite New York to Seoul

Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon

Asiana 767 Business Class Seoul to Bangkok

Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Thai Airways Business Class Lounge Bangkok & Royal Orchard Spa

Thai Airways 777 Business Class Bangkok to Bali

Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

St. Regis Bali Resort

Exploring Bali

Singapore Airlines 777 Business Class Bali to Singapore

Conrad Singapore

Exploring Singapore

Singapore Airlines The Private Room

Singapore Airlines A380 First Class Suite Singapore to Los Angeles

After a great flight from New York, we were off the plane and through transit security within about 10 minutes.  Incheon is really a great airport.  Not as good as Singapore Changi or Hong Kong but it's up there.  Clean, modern, well marked.  It's very easy to get around.

Asiana First Class Lounge Entrance

We made our way to the lounge which is up a set of escalators along with all the other lounges.  After a quick scan of our arrival boarding passes, we were shown into the lounge.