Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Lifehacksg#22 - $100 roundtrip ticket on Tigerair
[savings type - $$; one-off at >$200]
At Lifehacksg, we’re big fans of Standard Chartered Bank (No unfortunately this is not a sponsored advertisement, guys). When we first heard of this new deal, we couldn't hide our excitement. They have reached a new height of dominating the credit card market share with this clever maneuver, dangling the most sought-after carrot to an island of consumers who take their globetrotting rights very seriously.
Jumping on the bandwagon of attractive packages by low-cost carriers, Standard Chartered is one of the first banks to launch a co-branded card with a budget airline. The Tigerair Platinum Credit Card basically rewards you with flights upon usage. In the Upfront Rewards plan, you will be awarded a one-way ticket upfront upon card approval, and you have the next 12 months to accumulate $5000 spend on the card to fulfill the expenditure requirement. If you fail to fulfill the spend requirement or terminate the plan before fulfilling the spend requirement, Standard Chartered will charge you a $100 penalty.
As part of the introductory offer, you get an additional one-way ticket if you sign up for the card before 31 January 2014. This means that with the Upfront Rewards plan, you will receive two e-vouchers to redeem one return flight. Here's the lifehack - sign up for the card, redeem your return flight, and immediately terminate the plan. You will have to pay the $100 penalty, but that basically covers the cost of your return ticket.
Each e-voucher is valid for 12 months from the date of issue and can be used to make any flight reservation for a one-way Tigerair journey, inclusive of taxes and charges, departing from Singapore to any one of the following 11 destinations – Bangkok, Hat Yai, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Krabi, Kuala Lumpur, Medan, Pekanbaru, Penang, Phuket and Surabaya.
While a location like Kuala Lumpur may not seem worth the $100, think about Bangkok, where it may cost you north of $300 for a return ticket during non-sale periods. Save that $200 and take it on a 5000 Thai Baht shopping spree in Chatuchak weekend market. We think it's worth it. What about you?
At Lifehacksg, we’re big fans of Standard Chartered Bank (No unfortunately this is not a sponsored advertisement, guys). When we first heard of this new deal, we couldn't hide our excitement. They have reached a new height of dominating the credit card market share with this clever maneuver, dangling the most sought-after carrot to an island of consumers who take their globetrotting rights very seriously.
Jumping on the bandwagon of attractive packages by low-cost carriers, Standard Chartered is one of the first banks to launch a co-branded card with a budget airline. The Tigerair Platinum Credit Card basically rewards you with flights upon usage. In the Upfront Rewards plan, you will be awarded a one-way ticket upfront upon card approval, and you have the next 12 months to accumulate $5000 spend on the card to fulfill the expenditure requirement. If you fail to fulfill the spend requirement or terminate the plan before fulfilling the spend requirement, Standard Chartered will charge you a $100 penalty.
As part of the introductory offer, you get an additional one-way ticket if you sign up for the card before 31 January 2014. This means that with the Upfront Rewards plan, you will receive two e-vouchers to redeem one return flight. Here's the lifehack - sign up for the card, redeem your return flight, and immediately terminate the plan. You will have to pay the $100 penalty, but that basically covers the cost of your return ticket.
Each e-voucher is valid for 12 months from the date of issue and can be used to make any flight reservation for a one-way Tigerair journey, inclusive of taxes and charges, departing from Singapore to any one of the following 11 destinations – Bangkok, Hat Yai, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Krabi, Kuala Lumpur, Medan, Pekanbaru, Penang, Phuket and Surabaya.
While a location like Kuala Lumpur may not seem worth the $100, think about Bangkok, where it may cost you north of $300 for a return ticket during non-sale periods. Save that $200 and take it on a 5000 Thai Baht shopping spree in Chatuchak weekend market. We think it's worth it. What about you?
Lifehacksg#20 - Krisflyer... or not?
[Savings type - $$; >$500 when redeeming miles]
Most people are buzzing about cheap airfares and promotions provided by low-cost carriers these days. If you have not already jumped on that bandwagon, you should definitely check out Jetstar's unique booking features we covered in Lifehacksg#7.
But for today's lifehack, we will put you ahead of the crowd in being airfare-savvy. We decided to delve even deeper into what these airline 'promotions' and frequent flyer programs entail. Specifically, we will scrutinize the frequent flyer program which most people based in Singapore are part of – Singapore Airlines Krisflyer.
Most people are buzzing about cheap airfares and promotions provided by low-cost carriers these days. If you have not already jumped on that bandwagon, you should definitely check out Jetstar's unique booking features we covered in Lifehacksg#7.
But for today's lifehack, we will put you ahead of the crowd in being airfare-savvy. We decided to delve even deeper into what these airline 'promotions' and frequent flyer programs entail. Specifically, we will scrutinize the frequent flyer program which most people based in Singapore are part of – Singapore Airlines Krisflyer.
For most of us who grew up in this country, Singapore
airlines has been known to be the flagship carrier of this entire nation. Famous
for its excellent service and extremely posh premium-services, we can comfortably
assume that it is one national icon we are all pretty proud of. This sense of power and pride manifests itself in a little card
which sits in all our wallets – the Krisflyer frequent flier card. We hate to admit that we have fallen prey to this card for years, but a recent epiphany made us realize that it has
been a very big mistake.
This post is derived from well-grounded research by expert
analysis from the wonderful world wide web, based on a comparison between
Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines) and Mileage Plus (United Airlines). We figured
that since these folks have already done so much of the work, we will not
reinvent the wheel and will instead report the facts as they are.
According to a very comprehensive analysis here, one of the
biggest pain points of redeeming miles via Krisflyer is the amount of taxes/fees
involved, and the table below can speak for itself. While these numbers may be
from 2012, sources tell us that as recent as September 2013, a roundtrip San Francisco-Singapore flight on United miles merely costs an additional USD61.90 in
taxes/fees. The same route on Krisflyer miles today will set you back 10x the cost due to an exorbitant USD630.59 in taxes/fees.
Roundtrip
|
Program
|
Miles
|
Fees (USD)
|
Singapore – New York
|
Krisflyer
|
63,750
|
688.35
|
Mileage Plus
|
65,000
|
42.10
|
|
Auckland – Colombo
|
Krisflyer
|
59,500
|
546.94
|
Mileage Plus
|
60,000
|
65.50
|
|
New York – Dubai
|
Krisflyer
|
75,000
|
740.47
|
Mileage Plus
|
80,000
|
74.40
|
There are plenty of other benefits to compare, including free
upgrades, bonus mileage, award booking discount etc., but for the purposes of
this Lifehacksg post, we simply want to focus on the exorbitant Krisflyer
taxes/fees compared to United, which really make the Krisflyer program look a
lot less attractive. The >$500 you will
save can definitely go into additional shopping/food budget on your travels.
Here's the scoop to have your cake and eat it too: If you want to redeem miles with low taxes and fly in the comfort of Singapore Airlines, the Mileage Plus program will still work for you. Not only can you accrue Mileage Plus miles while flying Singapore Airlines as both are members
of the Star Alliance, you will also be able to redeem your Mileage Plus miles on SQ flights (under "Partner Flights") if they are available.
P.S. This is a
comparison only between KRISFLYER and MILEAGE PLUS.
Lifehacksg#7 - Squeezing out more budget from your budget flights
[Savings type- $$; Annual - $144]
More travel hacks for the travel-junkies out there! Specifically, for budget flights out of Singapore - we're talking about Jetstar, Air Asia and Tiger Airways.
Who doesn't love a weekend get-away, or a short trip that makes use of the wonderful Singapore "long weekend" benefits when public holidays lie just before or after a weekend? I know Singapore is a pretty awesome city with loads of stuff going on, but if you haven't, I highly recommend that you jump on a budget flight to explore this amazing region of Southeast Asia.
Today, budget flight tickets to the region are mostly available online and they've made it so easy for consumers to purchase tickets. A mini #lifehacksg here - don't forget to sign up for things like Jetstar's Jetmail where they send you regular updates for their Friday Fare Frenzy deals; I've personally gotten some ridiculously low ticket prices which can only be achieved otherwise via a.... paddle-boat of sorts.
Navigating a budget airline's checkout process is tricky, mostly because of their add-on features. While the ticket may be cheap, budget airlines make a ton of margin off features like extra baggage, food, insurance etc. To increase their chances of having you pay more, these options are often a "opt-out" feature; that is, you literally have to check NO such that they don't charge you for these extras. I say, go for the barebones package.
Towards the end of the checkout process, most airlines slap on this thing called a "convenience/processing fee", which is presumably used to cover the administrative costs of processing the transaction with the credit card companies. Fair enough, but at close to 5-10% of a ticket cost, that seems way more than what the credit card transaction fee will cost. Anyway, this is unnecessary money that should be stripped away.
Convenience fees (return):
Tiger Airways - $18
Air Asia - $16
Jetstar - $16
To avoid this cost, #lifehacksg suggests to go with.... Jetstar! They have made an offline payment option available. Effectively, after you click "purchase", you have 48 hours to make this payment at any Singpost/SAM machines. Viola! Using Tiger Airways as a benchmark, at $18 per return ticket, assuming you make up to 4 budget trips a year as a couple, we're looking at saving $144 per year! Now, money aside, further thoughts about this system reveals a SECOND lifehack...
With the offline payment function, what you're effectively doing is making a reservation at NO COST, with a 48 hour period to make a call on your buy-option. So while you're price searching, go ahead and secure a Jetstar price (through the "reservation") while you continue to figure out the best deals. What one could use it for is also to secure tickets for a group of people, and then go seek their consensus on whether the trip should happen. I've personally used it a few times and it's just great!
Alright, another travel tip to the bucket of lifehacks in Singapore!
More travel hacks for the travel-junkies out there! Specifically, for budget flights out of Singapore - we're talking about Jetstar, Air Asia and Tiger Airways.
Who doesn't love a weekend get-away, or a short trip that makes use of the wonderful Singapore "long weekend" benefits when public holidays lie just before or after a weekend? I know Singapore is a pretty awesome city with loads of stuff going on, but if you haven't, I highly recommend that you jump on a budget flight to explore this amazing region of Southeast Asia.
Today, budget flight tickets to the region are mostly available online and they've made it so easy for consumers to purchase tickets. A mini #lifehacksg here - don't forget to sign up for things like Jetstar's Jetmail where they send you regular updates for their Friday Fare Frenzy deals; I've personally gotten some ridiculously low ticket prices which can only be achieved otherwise via a.... paddle-boat of sorts.
Navigating a budget airline's checkout process is tricky, mostly because of their add-on features. While the ticket may be cheap, budget airlines make a ton of margin off features like extra baggage, food, insurance etc. To increase their chances of having you pay more, these options are often a "opt-out" feature; that is, you literally have to check NO such that they don't charge you for these extras. I say, go for the barebones package.
Towards the end of the checkout process, most airlines slap on this thing called a "convenience/processing fee", which is presumably used to cover the administrative costs of processing the transaction with the credit card companies. Fair enough, but at close to 5-10% of a ticket cost, that seems way more than what the credit card transaction fee will cost. Anyway, this is unnecessary money that should be stripped away.
Convenience fees (return):
Tiger Airways - $18
Air Asia - $16
Jetstar - $16
To avoid this cost, #lifehacksg suggests to go with.... Jetstar! They have made an offline payment option available. Effectively, after you click "purchase", you have 48 hours to make this payment at any Singpost/SAM machines. Viola! Using Tiger Airways as a benchmark, at $18 per return ticket, assuming you make up to 4 budget trips a year as a couple, we're looking at saving $144 per year! Now, money aside, further thoughts about this system reveals a SECOND lifehack...
With the offline payment function, what you're effectively doing is making a reservation at NO COST, with a 48 hour period to make a call on your buy-option. So while you're price searching, go ahead and secure a Jetstar price (through the "reservation") while you continue to figure out the best deals. What one could use it for is also to secure tickets for a group of people, and then go seek their consensus on whether the trip should happen. I've personally used it a few times and it's just great!
Alright, another travel tip to the bucket of lifehacks in Singapore!
Lifehacksg#6 - Free rides from the airport to the city
[Savings type- $$; One-off - $30]
Airport to the city! This is probably a pretty cheap-o lifehack but hey, if you're a traveler on a budget or if you've just burnt a hole in your pocket somehow, this may be good information for you.
When the MRT is running, getting from the airport to the city is pretty affordable and fast. We're looking at an ~$2 train ride. However, relative to other major cities the Singapore train network shuts down pretty early. When that happens, your only choice of getting from the airport to the city will be a taxi.
Past midnight, an average ride from the airport to the city will set you back ~$30.
Lifehacksg#6 reveals that there is a form of transportation which gets you from the airport to the city (Marina Bay Sands to be exact) at zero cost. MBS provides free shuttle buses all day long to ferry their guests from the airport. However, literally every person that travels with a baggage/suitcase of some sort is considered a guest. By that, I simply mean that they shuttle bus drivers do not check if you actually have a reservation at the hotel. Just ask "Marina Bay Sands?", and board the bus. You'll be in the city in less than 20mins.
From 10pm-6am, the shuttle bus leaves (at one hour intervals) from the Coach pick-up Bay at Terminals 1,2 and 3. At the time of writing, the Budget Terminal is still under renovation.
Now if you need to get to somewhere else, at least you are now a whole lot closer to wherever that is in the city centre once you get to MBS.
Airport to the city! This is probably a pretty cheap-o lifehack but hey, if you're a traveler on a budget or if you've just burnt a hole in your pocket somehow, this may be good information for you.
When the MRT is running, getting from the airport to the city is pretty affordable and fast. We're looking at an ~$2 train ride. However, relative to other major cities the Singapore train network shuts down pretty early. When that happens, your only choice of getting from the airport to the city will be a taxi.
Past midnight, an average ride from the airport to the city will set you back ~$30.
Lifehacksg#6 reveals that there is a form of transportation which gets you from the airport to the city (Marina Bay Sands to be exact) at zero cost. MBS provides free shuttle buses all day long to ferry their guests from the airport. However, literally every person that travels with a baggage/suitcase of some sort is considered a guest. By that, I simply mean that they shuttle bus drivers do not check if you actually have a reservation at the hotel. Just ask "Marina Bay Sands?", and board the bus. You'll be in the city in less than 20mins.
From 10pm-6am, the shuttle bus leaves (at one hour intervals) from the Coach pick-up Bay at Terminals 1,2 and 3. At the time of writing, the Budget Terminal is still under renovation.
Now if you need to get to somewhere else, at least you are now a whole lot closer to wherever that is in the city centre once you get to MBS.
Tag :
Travel
