Off to Thailand again - December 2014 trip

[vinapu]

. Besides, if you get a Syphilis, big deal, easily treated and cured. 

very few people would like to contract even easily treated and curable disease. There's always possibility that our body will not respond to the medicine doctors expect.

 

Billions are devouring peanuts  but there are still some who are alergic to it and in big trouble if not careful enough 

[vinapu]

The most wrong you have ever been. Nobody can be right about whether where I stay or how I travel is a waste. 

blessed are you. It's comforting to know that in our midst is somebody who never made wasteful spending decision.

 

My comment you responded to was  not directed at your accommodation spending habits but of general nature.

 

Not long ago millions of your compatriots were taking  mortgages they couldn't afford to buy a houses of size they did not need and subsequently were kicked out. Some are still licking their wounds.

 

No doubt few of them when advised against the purchase by more sober friends and in-laws responded 'nobody can be right whether.... and how.....I...."  

 

Our boys spending tips  to replace perfectly working smartphone with newer model , they too know better whether they are spending their money wisely or not.

 

Sure I can be more wrong and I will.

[firecat69]

I must have missed where I told you how cheap you are for staying in places that I would not be caught dead in. Or how I told you the places you eat have food that is barely edible.

 

Oh that is right I never told you that. So how do you think you can comment on where I stay.

 

And by the way your comments on any mistakes made by my fellow USA citizens pales in comparison to the precipitous drop in your currency. Guess your country must be doing something wrong or the Strip Clubs in Montreal would not finally be doing well again since you have to give me $1.30 for every one of my dollar bills.

 

Bottom line spending habits are a ridiculous discussion except in regard to what boys get tipped.

 

I'm about to take my 5th flight in a row to Thailand in Business Class and I have not paid a penny for any of them. Instead I used miles I earned over many years and never used. Now I use them for more comfortable travel all over the world. And in fact I have enough for at least another 2 years of anywhere I want to go.

 

As I previously stated my luxury oceanfront apartment costs just a bit more then where you stay and in fact when you come in non low season there is no difference . I don't drink and I rarely go to a restaurant that could be called anything but low priced .

 

I don't take buses to Pattaya because there are none at 23:00 and after 24 hours of traveling, I am certainly not going to spend an additional 8 hours on an airport bench in order to save $30.

 

For the last 3 years I stay in Luxury Hilton or Marriot Hotels in BKK once again either for free or less then you pay because once again I am using points or a combination of points and cash where my Hotel never costs me more then 1200 baht a night all the way down to FREE. And in fact you have reservations in BKK at a price higher then anything I have paid in many years. Who are you trying to impress?

 

So none of your comments have anything to do with wasteful spending , or spending to impress in regards to me.

 

In fact they make no sense to me at all because if someone can afford to spend the money then even insinuating that they are doing it to impress someone else or themselves is just plain ridiculous!!!

[vinapu]

I must have missed where I told you how cheap you are for staying in places that I would not be caught dead in. Or how I told you the places you eat have food that is barely edible.

 

 

olala !

 

I guess eating crappy food prevents overfeeding and related benefits ,still can be enjoyable as long as one is dining in good company.

 

So none of your comments have anything to do with wasteful spending , or spending to impress in regards to me.

 

exactly  !

 

so why such  a rant ? Did I step on your toe or mentioned your name in the contest?

 

would somebody explain to me where I crossed the line ? abuse in 7 languages accepted

[steveboy]

For the last 3 years I stay in Luxury Hilton or Marriot Hotels in BKK once again either for free or less then you pay because once again I am using points or a combination of points and cash where my Hotel never costs me more then 1200 baht a night all the way down to FREE. And in fact you have reservations in BKK at a price higher then anything I have paid in many years. Who are you trying to impress?

 

Sorry, firecat69

 

It was all my fault when I wrote that

 

"Splurging on hotels, fine restaurants, expensive shopping is only to impress others, to feel important in business trips or with family. "

 

This is incorrect, and I realize that splurging is not always done to impress but also to indulge.

 

I want to ask you: what do you do to accumulate so many points/miles? 

 

I also accumulate them but when I have enough for a free flight I use them immediately, afraid that the airline rises the number of miles to redeem a flight.

[TotallyOz]

I like nice places and good food and do not do this to impress anyone, including myself.  I love myself more than anyone but even I do not need to impress myself.  

I have worked hard in my life to stay in order to stay in nice places and I am not impressed by those that have not worked as hard as me and are lazy and can’t afford the nice places I stay.  

God did not create us all equal.  He created some of us with the intelligence to rise to the 1 percent and he created the others to stay in the cheap and dirty places when they travel.  Don’t be upset with those of us who God has said we should stay in beautiful resorts.  If you want that to be you, just work harder and don’t be lazy.  I’m sure you would be able one day to afford the nice things in life too.

  (I believe none of what I posted above. But, I also think total bullshit that someone stays in nice places to impress others)
 

[forky123]

I upgrade my flights slightly and stay in mid range or higher hotels because I'm on holiday. I work long hours the rest of the year so that I can indulge in a couple of holidays each year where I don't have to watch the pennies. My spending habits on such items don't affect anyone other than myself and I'm really not sure who I'm supposed to be impressing by my choices since I travel alone. If you're the type of person who is impressed by other people's choices of travel or hotels, you really need to get over it.

 

The only areas where my spending habits affect others directly in either a positive or negative way is the amount I pay for extras, offing or tipping. These guys have a hard life and if over tipping a little makes their lives a tiny bit easier for a day or so, that's fine with me. I'm sorry if my over tipping offends those people who count it a badge of achievement to get sex or a massage for the lowest price possible, but since the price of LT in LOS even when over tipping is the price of 30 minutes back home, I'm certainly not going to lose sleep over offending a few tight wads.

[firecat69]

olala !

 

I guess eating crappy food prevents overfeeding and related benefits ,still can be enjoyable as long as one is dining in good company.

 

exactly  !

 

so why such  a rant ? Did I step on your toe or mentioned your name in the contest?

 

would somebody explain to me where I crossed the line ? abuse in 7 languages accepted

 

 

Peace be with you my son! hehe

[anddy]

I'm about to take my 5th flight in a row to Thailand in Business Class and I have not paid a penny for any of them. Instead I used miles I earned over many years and never used. Now I use them for more comfortable travel all over the world. And in fact I have enough for at least another 2 years of anywhere I want to go.

 

 

wow I'm genuinely impressed firecat (this is not to take up the "impressed" discussion, don't get that wrong), you must have travelled a LOT and for a LONG time (in economy I surmise) to get THAT many miles. A long haul business class ticket costs well over 100k miles (to SE-Asia from US or Europe), so you obviously have a lot. I accumulate miles, too, and use them for that exact purpose, i.e. business class for long haul,  but I'm far from having enough to last for years as you say. And that's despite the fact that sometimes I buy business or even (cheap-ish) first class tickets, which give 2 or 3 times the miles.

Can you give an indication how you got that many?

 

I also accumulate them but when I have enough for a free flight I use them immediately, afraid that the airline rises the number of miles to redeem a flight.

 

That's a valid point too, so saving up for TOO long may be counterproductive.

[firecat69]

Sorry, firecat69

 

It was all my fault when I wrote that

 

"Splurging on hotels, fine restaurants, expensive shopping is only to impress others, to feel important in business trips or with family. "

 

This is incorrect, and I realize that splurging is not always done to impress but also to indulge.

 

I want to ask you: what do you do to accumulate so many points/miles? 

 

I also accumulate them but when I have enough for a free flight I use them immediately, afraid that the airline rises the number of miles to redeem a flight.

 

You would be amazed how many free points and mile you can get just by applying for credit cards and getting bonuses. I have gotten an unbelievable number of miles and points for Hotels this way.. As much as 70,000 miles and 90,000 hotel points on multiple cards .

 

Then in addition I traveled extensively for years both for enjoyment and business and again accumulated miles. Also there was a 5 year period when I was making 4-5 trips a year from East Coast USA to Thailand.

 

Bonuses earned because of status piles up miles especially with NW which became DL. Same thing with UA.

 

Just last year the Bonus I got for a Chase Card paid for 2 rooms for 4 nights in a fabulous Hotel in HKG.

IF we had paid it would have been $2000 US, instead it was free because I applied for a cc and agreed to charge $3000 in a 6 month period and when I did they gave me 80,000 points.

 

You have to be smart i that you look for value. Like a number of times I have stayed in Doubletree in Kuala Lumpur. Points used are the same as I would use for a Hampton Inn in the USA. Yet I get upgraded to a Suite, Buffet etc at a very nice hotel and the amount of points I use is a joke.

 

I have repeated this many times with Chase Citi and Amex. Of course you need to have excellent credit.

 

When I was earning all the miles I was mostly in Economy and always paid and saved my miles.

 

Yes sometimes these things get devalued which is why I started using them to pay for my travel.

 

When they are gone, I may be back to Economy or more moderate Hotels or just less travel since age is creeping up on me.

 

Some people should not have multiple credit cards because they can't control themselves but I have right now hundreds of thousands of points at multiple Hotel Chains and a good % of them were free just for using CC to pay my bills etc.

 

Just as an example my Chase IHG Hotel card alerted me that i had a bill coming due for $49. Since I hadn't used that card I went to my account and saw it was the yearly charge of $49. Since the only time I used the card was to earn the 80,000 points I used in HKG , I thought maybe I'll just cancel. First year was free.

 

But then I checked my account and saw they had just issued me another free night certificate for anywhere in the world. Certainly worth a lot more then $49.

 

And there was another free certificate that they gave me that I had forgotten about. So the first one I quickly used for an overnight in LAX on my return trip from LOS which saved me at least $119 and the new one which is good for a year I will likely use for a stopover in Brussels next year where again nice Hotels are expensive and this night will be free.

[Guest abang1961]

Firecat, i admire your prudence.

Yes when banks and other agencies offer goodies and discount, why not take it?

 

Here in Singapore, there is no limit on how many credit cards one can hold.

I have Card A free for one year and then cancel it and move to Card B because of a better deal/offer.

Some give life-time membership for FREE... there is no annual renewal fee!

And for joining and making 3 transactions (regardless of the amount), I was rewarded with $40 subway rebate..

 

So Firecat's strategy is smart and we should learn from him.

Why should we have to skimp on your vacation (unless that has to do with clothings for me)?

We should pamper ourselves and live like a king for that 2 weeks in a year...

Forget about saving your dimes ..if you do, stay home!

[steveboy]

Thank you Firecat, Abang for your recommendations.

 

I already do all of that but not in such degree.  I have the idea that opening and closing many credit cards may affect negatively a credit rating.  But I already have an excellent credit rating and I don't foresee any big expenses that may be affected by such rating.

[steveboy]

  (I believe none of what I posted above. But, I also think total bullshit that someone stays in nice places to impress others)

 

 

I am glad that you don't believe what you had posted above.  I first thought that you were a televangelist preaching the gospel of prosperity.  

 

I used to stay at fancy places when on business to protect my "dignity".  But now fortunately my "dignity" is mostly gone.

[Guest]

Firecat's strategy is smart, if your credit card spend is sufficient to earn all these perks. 

 

As for splurging for 2 weeks a year, that's not quite my style.

When making best use of my holiday allowance, I will take a total of 5 or sometimes 6 weeks on foreign holidays.

Then rather than splurging, it's a case of finding that sweet spot where I get the optimum balance between price and quality.

A hotel room in the 1~1500 baht range usually offers everything I need.  

[paulsf]

I rent an apartment in Bangkok for my month long trips. It works out to about 1300 baht per day.

But I have full kitchen, 1 bedroom. washing machine and swimming pool right outside my door.

The street I stay on is a turn around for taxis and I never wait more than 1 minute even in the rain.

7-11 and all sorts of street food at my door step. Walking distance to BTS and Soi Twilight.

With a little searching, you can find a lot for a few baht more than very basics.

[vinapu]

 

 . But, I also think total bullshit that someone stays in nice places to impress others)

 

I'm sure you are right but then when some talk  so much about their expensive hotels , fancy restaurants and first class airfares, etc, they give impression of bragging. Hence suspicion .  

[TotallyOz]

I'm sure you are right but then when some talk  so much about their expensive hotels , fancy restaurants and first class airfares, etc, they give impression of bragging. Hence suspicion .  

 

Bragging is a word that has been used on this site for years based on trip reports and people staying in nice resorts or hotels.  If a member stays in a nice place or eats at a nice restaurant, I don't consider it bragging but telling where they stay and their experience. We all have different experiences and different expectations of a trip.  I enjoy hearing the spectrum of experiences.

 

Suspicion based on someone staying in a nice place or eating in a nice restaurant or even flying business class, says much more about the person being suspicious then it does about the person having the experience.

 

IMHO

[anddy]

thanks firecat for the detailed explanation, you're clearly a points-master ;-)

I get air miles on my credit card expenses, too, but that doesn't amount to the hundreds of thousands. You are right that sign-up bonuses (awarded for essentially nothing) are particularly lucrative. On occasion I'd do something like that for a small-ish bonus, but otherwise I guess I'm kinda too lazy to play that game to the extent you successfully do. Compliments :-)