Capital One Venture card with 50,000 miles (~$500) sign-up bonus

For a limited time, Capital One has more than doubled the sign-up bonus on their flagship Venture card from the standard 20k to 50k!  $3,000 spending threshold within the first 3 months of card membership is required, which should be doable for most of you.  From Vikings to Alec Baldwin, you've all seen their corny commercials.  Nonetheless, this card does live up to its name with 2 miles per dollar spent (~2% cashback) and Capital One's signature no foreign exchange transaction fees.

Similarly to the Barclays Arrival card, Capital One miles are actually not frequent flyer currency, but monetary currency where 1 mile = 1 cent when redeemed for travel purchases.  So this 50k bonus equates to a $500 credit towards any purchase towards flight, hotel, car rental, cruise, etc., making this card generally immune to frequent flyer point devaluations that we have witnessed repeatedly through the years.  Redemptions with this card also won't affect your ability to earn elite qualifying miles/points since your travel purchases are revenue fares, unlike award bookings.

Among the other benefits of this card:
-Visa Signature Concierge
-Visa Signature purchase protection
-Annual fee waived for the first year ($59 value)

Be wary that Capital One is known to do a hard pull on your credit from all 3 credit bureaus, which could have a noticeable effect on your credit score.  Other than that, this simple card is the way to go, and the sign-up bonus is currently one of the most generous given the spending threshold.

2013 Grand Finale: Eva Airlines economy class CTS-TPE-HKG

2013 Grand Finale lineup

Eva Airlines economy class CTS-TPE-HKG
Cathay Pacific biz HKG-TPE
Japan Airlines economy class TPE-NRT
American Airlines biz NRT-LAX

As the final frontier of 2013, I embarked on an intra-Asia holiday trip before heading home for Christmas.  With Eva Airlines miles on the verge of expiring, it was the perfect opportunity to use it or lose it, and what better destination in North Asia than HKG?

CTS international terminal

Eva Airlines operates one flight per day during the winter from CTS-TPE.  As Hokkaido is a popular destination for Taiwanese tourists, the A330 is often full of leisure travelers who flood the economy class check-in desk and security line.  Fortunately, as a Star Alliance Gold member with Turkish Airlines, I was able to bypass the long check-in and boarding lines.  Since Eva just joined Star Alliance last July, their system is far from being fully integrated, and there's always the fear that *G benefits aren't properly implemented, which was the case when I flew last November.  Fortunately for this time around, lounge access was no problem in both CTS and TPE, which would prove important with a 2 1/2 hour layover.

1,500 yen in food credit or a subpar lounge?  Depends on whether you had lunch or not.

Since the CTS Royal Lounge is a joke acknowledged even by Eva, you're given the option of either lounge access or 1,500 yen (~$15 USD) in food credit at the food court.  Without a full lunch, I opted for food credit since I can't value this lounge access at 1,500 yen.

Just your average food court selection in Japan: filling but nothing more

Hello Kitty plane

As it would suggest, Taiwanese people think of Japan as the sole home of Hello Kitty such to the extent that one of their flag carriers soups up their planes flying to Japan with the iconic cat.  Even the food items resemble the pink feline.

Nothing like getting an emergency exit seat, but economy will always be economy no matter the carrier or the seat.

A 4 1/2 hour intra-Asia flight is the upper limit where your miseries are yet to set in from a small seat.  But you'll never be able to complain about a mileage redemption flight baring a crash landing.

TPE Eva Airlines biz lounge

As by far the largest airport in Taiwan, TPE is a Skyteam and *A hub.  The airport specializes in duty free stores galore and, of course, Hello Kitty decor.  I headed directly to the Eva biz lounge upon landing for some dinner.

The lounge had what you'd expect out of international hub lounge in Asia: hot buffet food items, ample seating, and a premium alcohol selection.

Although not spectacular, the lounge is acceptable and the food is sufficient.  The best treat is the generous ice cream selection, which most lounges skimp out on or avoid all together.  In comparison, the lounge is equivalent to the Thai Airways lounge: one step ahead of the Korean Airlines lounge and one below the JAL and ANA hub lounges.

As Messi and Kobe would point out in their Turkish Airlines commercial, "Ice cream?" "Si."

Bottom line

Eva Airlines offers a respectable intra-Asian product with a sufficient international hub lounge.  Whereas a lounge shower would have been a good amenity, the lounge is slightly above average, which plain outright destroys any U.S. lounge.  Getting lounge access is important before economy class flights, but not so much for premium class travel as the in-flight experience and food are far better than the ground selection.

Next: Cathay Pacific biz HKG-TPE

Thai Airways Bangkok to Sapporo

Air China business class Sapporo to Beijing
Singapore Airlines business class Beijing to Singapore
Singapore Airlines business class Singapore to Hong Kong
Thai Airways A380 business class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Thai Airways Bangkok to Sapporo

Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) in Bangkok is the 6th busiest airport in Asia and the 14th busiest in the world.  By far the busiest airport in Thailand, BKK serves as the primary hub for the country's 4-star flag carrier, Thai Airways.  Thai Airways initiated nonstop service between BKK and CTS Sapporo in November 2012, and frequency has been upped from 4x week to daily.  This largely leisure route is operated by an Airbus A330 widebody aircraft.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge

The Royal Silk Lounge is Thai Airways' business class lounge, with access granted to all premium cabin passengers and Star Alliance Gold members.  Since the final segment of itinerary was in economy, I gained entry by using my Turkish Airlines Elite status.

As the only Star Alliance lounge in BKK, the Royal Silk Lounge was relatively full.  Finding an empty seat and a power outlet was near impossible.  The lounge had a linear configuration, making destinations a lengthy walk.  The only view of the lounge was the terminal escalator, which gave off an annoying automated voice after detecting a new pedestrian.

The food consisted of traditional Thai options and western deserts and fruits.  The alcohol selection, however, was nearly non-existent.  My biggest pet peeve was the lack of shower facilities, which even domestic United Clubs carry.


Thai Airways BKK-CTS

After eating dinner in the lounge, I headed to my gate for boarding, which consisted of secondary security screening.  Since the aircraft was an A330, I expected to be able to board directly from the jetbridge.  Instead, the jetbridge took us down to ground level, where we boarded buses to our plane.

The plane's economy seats were small, and all aisle seat legroom was restricted by an entertainment box.  I couldn't comfortably place both of my feet under the frontseat, so I immediately headed towards the rear of the plane and found a bulkhead aisle seat.  After leaning my seat back, I dozed off and was awaken for breakfast shortly before landing.

Doesn't look that much worse than biz class meal

Bottom line

Thai Airways leaves you with much more to be desired.  Self-hailed as "Smooth as Silk", Thai Airways should be stripped of their 4-star ranking.  Their hub lounge is mediocre, and their in-flight service is a notch below ANA and JAL's.  They're definitely ahead of North American carriers, but that's saying very little considering that they're headquartered in the highly competitive southeast Asian market.  From service to food and lounges, there is much room for improvement for this national carrier.

Free instant Silver status with Hilton and Marriott!

Hilton and Marriott are both offering instant Silver status to Accenture employees, but anyone can sign-up for the offer.  The Hilton offer is available to all current and new members, whereas the Marriott offer requires you to create a new account.  Silver status is the bottom-tier elite status for both programs, and though the benefits may be marginal, it never hurts to have elite status when staying with these hotels.

The Marriott Silver status may take 48 hours to process, so the earlier you do it, the better.  In addition to Silver status, Hilton offers you a fast-track to Gold status where 4 stays within the next 90 days gets you Gold status, which is easily the best mid-tier hotel status in the industry.

Bottom-tier elite status has been losing its luster over the years, but it's still better than nothing.  And free status is always nice.

Thai Airways A380 business class Hong Kong to Bangkok

Air China business class Sapporo to Beijing
Singapore Airlines business class Beijing to Singapore
Singapore Airlines business class Singapore to Hong Kong
Thai Airways A380 business class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Thai Airways Bangkok to Sapporo

With so many carriers to choose from and an even greater selection of premium cabin products, the frequent flyer often finds him/herself at odds over who to fly with.  After all, the conclusion of nearly every commercial flight on the planet ends with "we thank you for choosing to fly with us today".  Whereas a showdown between United and Singapore Airlines is a no-brainer, how do you juggle the choice between evenly matched heavyweights like JAL and ANA, who have similar services and hard products?  Sometimes, the plane type makes all the difference, which is the case with the mammoth Airbus A380, the largest commercial jet ever assembled.

I couldn't miss the opportunity to fly in business class on an A380, regardless of the carrier.  The A380, which has been a thorn on Airbus' side with zero profits, has become the flagship plane for the 10 prestigious carriers currently operating the jumbojet.  Singapore Airlines and Emirates' A380 house the best passenger cabins in the world, and I was expecting a similar experience with Thai Airways, Thailand's flag carrier and a 4-star airline.


Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge - The Wing

With a layover in HKG, I could not pass up the chance to visit The Wing, which is Cathay Pacific's newly remodeled first class lounge at their primary hub.  Because I only had 1-hour, I scouted the lounge and grabbed a quick bite.

Upon entering the dining area, I was asked how many in my party, seated, and handed a menu.  This was a welcome surprise as I expected to just grab a couple of buffet items.  I chose the salmon fillet and champagne and complimented it with seafood fried rice, dim sum, and sushi from the buffet bar.

The dining area is catered and serviced by the Peninsula Hotel, so the service and food were spectacular.  After finishing a nice meal at their full-service restaurant, I scouted the other areas, which included several bars and Cathay Pacific's signature Noodle Bar.

Although I didn't have time to reserve a private cabana, the lounge was already incredible with amazing decor, service, and food.  It completely blows JAL's first class lounge out of the water, and puts to shame even Singapore Airlines' lounge.  I will be posting a more detailed report on this lounge when I get experience the cabanas will my longer layover this coming December.


Thai Airways A380 business class

It's every frequent flyer's dream to fly in a premium cabin on the A380, even on just a 2 1/2 hour flight.  Biz class cabin is exclusively on the upper deck as staggered suites, which is synonymous to what ANA uses on their 787s and newly-configured 777s.

The cabin looked completely full, which meant 60 biz passengers.  As a 2 1/2 hour flight, the flight attendants appeared to be rushing the service and somewhat understaffed for such a large plane.

The suites were nice with plenty of storage space.  The seat itself featured forward thrust and flatbed mode.  However, the foot cubby wasn't big enough for my feet, and the bed could have been a few inches longer.  The AVOD had plenty of channels and movies, and a convenient USB slot allowed for easy charging of your iPhone.

Thai Airways allows you to choose and even view your meal selection online before your flight, and I opted for the salmon meal.  I can't say that I was impressed.

The salmon main entree item tasted fine, but the presentation needed some serious work as it was reminiscence of economy class servings.  I was also expecting larger food offerings for a biz meal.  After finishing lunch, I reclined my seat and slept for the rest of the flight, which featured excessive turbulence.  I don't even want to know how it might have felt had I been flying on an Embraer.


Bottom line

Simply said, the Thai Airways A380 is overrated.  The biz suite, while housing nice features, could have had a longer bed with more foot space. The food was also subpar for a biz meal, and the service was rushed.  Thai Airways should use these planes for longhaul routes and not 2 1/2 hour flights, which pretty much defeats the purpose of flatbed suites.  There was really nothing special about this plane, besides haveing a 500+ passenger capacity.

Next: Thai Airways Bangkok to Sapporo

Singapore Airlines business class Singapore to Hong Kong

Air China business class Sapporo to Beijing
Singapore Airlines business class Beijing to Singapore
Singapore Airlines business class Singapore to Hong Kong
Thai Airways A380 business class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Thai Airways Bangkok to Sapporo

Singapore Changi (SIN) is the main airport serving Singapore, serving a wealth of international destinations with over 100 airlines.  Due to its strategic location in southeast Asia, SIN is a major transit point primarily for the kangaroo route between Australia and Europe.  The entire airport is like a playground and a parent's dream as the kids will always be occupied.  And for elite and premium class travelers, SIN offers 24-hour lounges.

Because my flight to Hong Kong departed at 7:35 am, I opted to take the final night bus to SIN at 11:51 pm to crash at the lounge for the night instead of booking a hotel and catching a taxi at 5 am.


Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge

The SilverKris Lounge is Singapore Airlines' business class lounge at their primary hub reserved exclusively for business class and first class passengers.  Star Alliance Gold members and passengers flying in premium cabins with other Star Alliance airlines are not eligible, thus affording the lounge with a private and ambient atmosphere.

Upon entering the lounge from the escalators, you're greeted by two lounge dragons, who will seemingly do anything to prevent ineligible guest from entering.  While you wish their front desk was more friendly, this preserves the integrity of the lounge by keeping numbers low.

The lounge has everything that you'd expect and more.  Food and drink offerings were ample, though the food items were removed after 2 am and breakfast didn't start until 5 am.

The seating area was huge, and vacancies wasn't a problem during this time of night.  The lounge had an impressive spread of work stations offering PCs and Macs.  However, printing service is limited, and the lounge staff needs to collect the electronic documents from you via a USB drive.

The bathrooms were the best I've ever seen for a lounge, with a dozen shower stalls and toiletries at every sink and a full supply of bathing accessories in every stall.  An employee works full-time in the lounge to insure that every drop is wiped and every shower is stocked.  After showing, I headed towards the sofas and napped until 6 am for breakfast.


Singapore Airlines business class

After breakfast, I headed towards the gate for boarding.  SIN is very unique in that every gate has its own security check on top of the general security checkpoint required to gain access to the terminal.  The plane was the same aircraft type used on my PEK-SIN route with wide angled lieflat seats and oversized AVOD screens.

Since the flight was only 2 1/2 hours, the flight attendants went to work right after takeoff, jotting down breakfast orders.  I chose the salmon scrambled egg meal.

The food and presentation were definitely up to par, and the service was phenomenal as usual for Singapore Airlines.  After breakfast, I leaned my seat back to the bed position and slept until landing.


Bottom line

Singapore Airlines (SQ) is king, living up to its slogan as "A great way to fly".  Both at the airport and onboard, SQ possesses that magic touch to make your travels pleasant and enjoyable.  The SilverKris lounge is one of the best business class lounges in the world, easily surpassing the ranks of JAL, ANA, and Korean Airlines.  The problem for the flyer is that once you go with SQ, you never want to go back to the torturous skies of United.

SQ's new mind-blowing commercial

Next: Thai Airways A380 business class Hong Kong to Bangkok