And….We’re Back! Spring break is over and we’re here with a jam packed episode. Today we cover:
News:
0:30 Chase 30% Transfer Bonus to British Airways (link)
- Through June 16, 2019
- You don’t see the 30% bonus on the UR portal, BA processes the bonus on its end
- Deal or not a deal? Enough to encourage speculative transfer?
4:45 Zero fee MCGC at Staples 4/21-4/27 (link)
- Stack with Dosh 3% capped at $5 per day (link)
- Payce too?
- Am I banned by Dosh?
- Chase Offers
- Amex Staples 10% back Offer
7:50 11-Day Stop & Shop Strike Over (link)
- Had effects on sales of prepaid cards
9:35 Main Topic: Robert’s Trip to London, Venice and Rome
10:25 Parameters
- Family of 4 out of Boston (boys 14 and 11)
- Saturday to Saturday during April school vacation
- London, Venice, and Rome
11:20 Flights
- Blog post on this
- BOS-LHR//FCO-LHR-BOS
- Virgin Atlantic Upper Class both ways + Alitalia Economy
- Paid 150,000 Delta SkyMiles pp + $100 taxes + fees roundtrip
- Added LHR-Venice (cheap, paid with Wells Fargo GoFar Rewards)
- Day-time flight on the way there, which is rare
All lodging and tours booked through Chase Expedia portal with 1.5 cpp uplift
23:10 London
- Hotel: Rosewood London
- Hotel is fantastic. Absolutely gorgeous with great service.
- Family Room (2 double beds)
- Public spaces, restaurants, and bars are so well done.
- Tour: Photography Tour
29:20 Venice
- London City Airport-Venice flight on BA was a fine 2 hour flight in Economy
- But getting through Passport Control in Venice took 1.5 hours 🙁
- Really makes me want to avoid short hop intra-Europe flights because they’re such momentum killers
- Took a Alilaguna shared water taxi from airport to central Venice 15 euro pp
- There were transport options in Chase UR portal but the options were confusing to me/poorly reviewed so I made a game out of finding our way there
- The water taxi stopped at a bunch of places on the Grand Canal before reaching out hotel but it was a fun experience
- Hotel: Hotel Flora
- Highly recommend staying right in central Venice overnight (crowds are low in morning/late at night)
- Felt like a very Rick Steves kind of places
- Family room had King Bed + 2 twins (which was great because our 11 year old got sick)
- Complimentary breakfast buffet
- Good spot. Not luxurious but great location and served our needs.
- Tour: Market Tour, Cicchette/Bacaro Snacks, Quick Gondola Ride, Lunch
- Took a restaurant recommendation from the hotel (wasn’t so great)
- Would recommend Rosa Rossa in Venice
- A highlight was after-dinner drinks at the Aman Venice where George and Amal got married
41:00 Venice-Rome
- Took the water “bus” from near the hotel to the train station
- Super crowded, so much so that nobody took our fare
- Train from Venice to Rome was *awesome*
- Freciarossa goes up to 190 mph (4 hour journey)
- Executive car holds just 8 people (it was just us + 1 other person for a portion of the ride)
- Lounge access before departure
- 3 course meal, great selection of Italian wine & beer on board
- $137.50 pp (paid for with US Bank Altitude points)
- So much better than flying intra-Europe
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