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Just a quick note on avoiding foreign transaction fees. AMEX has a 3% fee when spending in a foreign currency, but not when spending in AUD with an overseas-based merchant. Obviously, always say no to 'dynamic currency conversion' at point of sale (which is rarely available on AMEX anyway), but...

The notion of a 30% bonus from Amex to Hilton is laughable when you can convert from Amex to Virgin Atlantic at the same 2:1 rate as for Hilton, but then onwards from Virgin Atlantic to Hilton at a 2:3 rate, every day of the year. It's the same as converting from Amex direct to Hilton with a 50%...

Did you have to do anything to activate/receive those nights into your account? Nothing here yet with Accor Plus via AX.

I had this issue the other week. I found via the AA mobile app, that you could try to enter the Qantas PNR and surname, get it to fail, and it'll take you to a different screen where you can enter the PNR or the ticket number. So, I copy-pasted the Qantas 081 ticket number into the box from the...

It seems quite broad. "To transfer Membership Rewards points you must be enrolled in Membership Rewards Ascent, Business Ascent, Gateway, David Jones, New Corporate Ascent or Ascent Premium and be a member of Qatar Airways Privilege Club." The transfers actually quietly went live this week...

There was definitely an unwritten rule for a fair while after 'anytime access' was removed. The rule was technically that a Gold or Plat had to present a same-day boarding pass for access. The part left unsaid was that this didn't necessarily have to be the member's own boarding pass - it could...

With the Citi card, I find that the foreign currency amount that shows in the app and statement for the withdrawal is always just the cash withdrawal amount itself. But the AUD amount deducted from the account includes both the base cash and the withdrawal fee, which you only see on the ATM...

The Australian Consumer Law only applies to refunds on 'faulty' products, not on change of mind returns. Buying two of something and returning one later because it wasn't the right size is a 'change of mind' return, not a product fault.

A bank manager explained their approach as follows. Start with your gross income, deduct income tax and HECS (if applicable) to get to your net income. Come back to this later. Add all your credit limits together. Calculate 3% of those total limits. (I'm this scenario, the bank assumes a...

For those thinking of transferring up to 3 years worth of points to SQ, just a reminder, SQ can change redemption rates with 21 days' notice. So, if the flight you're looking to book is more than a ~year in advance, just be mindful that you might end up needing more miles. SQ increases tend to...

Who knows! I'm sitting on close to 1mil MR points and haven't heard zip yet.

From what I've heard from those in the banking industry, the costs associated with Skywards and KrisFlyer have long been at the more expensive end of the spectrum in terms of 'buying' those miles for customers behind the scenes. When you consider that most foreign airlines also operate...

Changes like this can really make overseas-based frequent flyer programs much less appealing. Skywards already recently lost all of its Citibank transfers (which included not just Citi Rewards, but also Suncorp Rewards, Diners Club Rewards and a couple of others). Add to that, having a...

I should have clarified in my comment, not an 'additional' change, beyond the recent blanket change where guests had to be travelling (as opposed to being able to bring anybody in, as before).

Update on Platinum arrivals access with guests who have also just arrived (and don't have an onward boarding pass). I escalated this to a senior contact at Qantas HQ, and they've confirmed that as with the Platinum (or Platinum One) member themselves, accompanying guest(s) merely need an...

I was first Plat about 10 years ago and regularly brought in guests on arrival that weren't travelling same day, or had just arrived on other flights. (That was also in the days where you could largely just flash the Plat card and wander on through.) Never had a prob, although I only got back up...

Hmm, had an interesting one at the SYD Domestic Business Lounge last weekend. Me, Platinum, arrived from BNE. My guest, Bronze, arrived from MEL at the same time. On entering, the host explained that the rules had just changed. She said that while access for the actual Platinum member is...

There's always something printed. On the older style SmartGates though, the magic letter doesn't appear until after you've inserted and retrieved the ticket from the physical border gate. On newer systems (like in BNE where you just get a photo receipt and only need to walk up and look at the...

I know it's not transatlantic, but I saw a business reward seat bookable via QFF on AA metal for SYD-LAX only just recently for travel next month. They are there, but there aren't a huge number that pop up.

I've had this same issue on every flight, which is starting to get annoying. Once I just kept submitting the form and it went through on about the 20th time. On another flight, it just wouldn't connect and the FAs couldn't do anything or offer anything. It's at the point where I just book Qantas...