Flying for Fitness

Most Citi credit cards, including the Costco Anywhere Visa ,  Premier , and  Prestige  cards, carry Worldwide Car Rental Insurance , which is a free benefit Citi is unfortunately eliminating on September 22, 2019 for all their cards except the Costco Anywhere.  Worldwide Car Rental Insurance is underwritten by Virginia Surety Company, and provides damage and theft protection for your rental car of up to $50,000, but not liability or damage to other vehicles.  Coverage is primary outside of your country of residence and secondary in your country of residence, meaning that if you reside and rented a car in the U.S., your personal auto insurance would kick in first, and Worldwide Car Rental Insurance would cover any excess not covered by your personal insurance policy. For New Zealand, I rented two cars: one for the south island and one for the north island portions of my trip both using my Citi Premier card, which earns 3x on travel including car re...

When you're traveling, you might not have access to a gym despite your best efforts in searching for a lodging with a suitable fitness center or that is close to a gym.  So even if you've got the spare time for a workout, you could be low on options.  Meet your new best friend: the bicycle.  Biking is arguably one of the safest cardio workouts for your joints as it utilizes your biggest muscle group with a very functional movement.  It also burns a good amount of calories (~50 calories per mile depending on your weight) and can even build muscle when you go high gear uphill. But perhaps what I like most about the bike is that it's an excellent tool for actually going somewhere.  If your hotel is a few miles away from the supermarket, restaurant, or your duty station, you can bike there and essentially kill two birds with one stone.  There's also less of a concern for traffic and parking, which can be horrendous in downtown metropolitan areas. ...

Delta has been on a role recently with this week's  Dream It Live It Event .  Yesterday, they offered a  $25 bonus Delta eCard with a $250 Delta gift card purchase.  The deal is still active and ends while supplies last.  The $25 Delta eCard does need to be redeemed by 12/31/2019, but can be used on almost any flight booked on delta.com in the future, including flights on their SkyTeam partner carriers. Delta processes gift card transactions directly, so if you're going to take advantage of this deal, be sure to use a credit card that earns bonus on flights booked directly with the airline like the Amex Platinum for 5x MR. Today, Delta is offering flights to Europe for 40,000 miles (plus taxes and fees) or $539 round trip when you book by 11:59 pm ET on August 30, 2019, and travel between January 7, 2020 – March 31, 2020.   These are some great deals both for paid and award tickets, especially since Delta Skymiles typically aren't the most v...

It's been a while since we've heard of any good news period on the United MileagePlus program, especially with the dreaded variable-priced award system coming in mid-November.  But this is actually a good one as United just announced that MileagePlus miles will now no longer expire regardless of inactivity.  Previously, miles expired after 18 months of inactivity, which is also the case with American Airlines. United now joins the ranks of Delta and JetBlue as the lone airline programs with miles that no longer expire.  Redeeming/earning miles so that they remain active can be difficult to keep track of, especially when you rack them up among a dozen different carriers and hotel groups.  So although this isn't a huge change, it's still welcoming that your United miles will not expire as it's one less thing to worry about.

China Southern is currently having a great sale for business class flights between LAX and China for as little as $1,534 roundtrip.  Eligible cities include Beijing, Shanghai, Shengyeng, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Jinan, and Zhengzhou, with Shanghai being the cheapest.  China Southern flies nonstop from LAX to Shenyang and Guangzhou, so these flights will require a connection. Here are the fare rules: Outbound travel permitted Monday – Thursday Must depart by October 4, or between October 16 – December 13, or December 25 – December 31 3 month maximum stay Return travel not permitted September 27 – October 1 or January 1 – January 23 Must ticket by September 9 (though the fare may not last that long) $100 fee to change or refund To find the flights, Skyscanner.com would be your best option.  China Southern, which recently exited the Skyteam alliance, is partially owned by American Airlines, and they have an earn and burn parternship with AA....

Recently for an intra-Asia flight in business class, I flew out of the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), which is the smaller of the two primary airports serving Shanghai.  Although with far less nonstop international destinations compared to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), SHA's close proximity to the Hongqiao District and downtown Shanghai make it a good travel option.  Since I was going to Taipei, the nonstop flight from SHA-Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA) is the best routing possible as it's essentially city center to city center. Flying in Air China biz, I had access to the V02 Air China Premium lounge in the international terminal.  Knowing that this is a smaller airport than PVG with far lighter international traffic, I didn't set my expectations high for the V02 lounge.  But upon entering, it was literally seating galore from end to end. I can't recall ever seeing this many chairs in an airport lounge, not even at the...

We all hate layovers and delays, unless we've got international first class lounge access with free massages, sleeping rooms, and a la carte dining.  But what if you could kill the time with a killer airport workout?  I recently covered that the airside TWA Hotel at JFK was selling gym memberships, but most airports don't have decked out gyms with heavy weights and Peloton.  So this is where you can improvise and take advantage of your bodyweight. TWA Hotel fitness center: the best airport gym on the planet Unbeknownst to most, a number of airports actually have free yoga rooms, which are actually a good way to reduce the stress of your delay.  And yes, yoga can be difficult while burning a good number of calories as your muscles struggle to maintain those poses.  In the U.S., yoga rooms can be found airside at San Francisco , Dallas Fort Worth, Chicago O'Hare , Burlington , and Miami international airports.  My personal favorite is the yoga studio ...

Earning bonus cashback at restaurants is a relatively common category afforded by many credit card issuers.  But since you count your daily macros and especially your protein down to the milligram, you like to keep your dieting clean and cook at home.  So what if you could earn bonus cashback at supermarkets on top of restaurants?  Enter the Amex Gold card, which earns 4x Membership Rewards at both restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. Earn 4x MR at restaurants worldwide including Chiltepin Marisquillos' legendary grilled octopus for your protein and veggies So whether you're an over-eater or a strict dieter, or the majority of the population in between, this card is a winner.  Yes, it does come with a hefty $250 annual fee, but let's take a look at some of the card benefits: $100 annual airline fee credit $120 annual dining credit 4x points at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets 3x points for flights booked directly with the ai...

With tens of thousands of airline routes across the globe, one stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of total revenue.  Unsurprisingly, on the top of the list is British Airways' JFK-LHR route, which became the first and only airline route to break the billion-dollar barrier from the period April 2018 to March 2019.  Raking in a total $1.15 billion, BA flew an average of 600 flights per month on the JFK-LHR route, which amounts to an hourly revenue of $27,159. Far from being the busiest route on the planet, which goes to the Jeju to Seoul Gimpo route in South Korea followed by the Tokyo Haneda to Sapporo route in Japan, the JFK-LHR route actually barely cracks the top 50 in terms of total passenger carried.  But with 30% of the seats sold as business and first, the business travel revenue of this route cannot be understated.  Both airports are huge hubs, essentially connecting the the East Coast to Europe. BA's new Club Suite (aka biz) BA has ...

Charles Schwab is currently running a targeted 100k Membership Rewards sign-up offer for their Amex Platinum card.  If you're a Schwab account holder, you can check if you were selected for this offer here , and then login in to your Schwab account.  The standard sign-up bonus for both the Schwab and Amex personal version of the Platinum card is 60k, so this is a great sign-up bonus if you are fortunate enough to be targeted.  The Schwab card carries all of the benefits of the personal version: Access to the Global Lounge Collection Priority Pass lounge access (excluding restaurants) $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit $200 annual airline credit $200 annual Uber credit Global Entry or TSA Precheck credit Access to the exclusive Amex Fine Resorts and Hotels collection Marriott Bonvoy Gold elite status Hilton Honors Gold elite status In addition, the Schwab Amex Platinum card has a few benefits over the personal version, including a $100 annual statement c...

Mostly everyone around you in the gym is sporting some kind of headphones, and likely blasting house music.  I use the same Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones in-flight as I do in the gym.  The downside is that they tend to be bulky and can fall off when you're doing burpees and box jumps.  Meet the Bose SoundSport wireless earbuds, which are currently on sale for $119.95 direct from Bose on eBay. While not noise-canceling, these earbuds are designed to provide optimal sound quality while not falling off under intense physical movement.  They also feature a water-repellent mesh in the open ports, meaning that you can drench yourself in as much sweat as you want during your HIIT workouts.  At 40% off the $199.95 retail price, this is a stellar deal and Bose factory renewed products carry the same warranty as their new products. Link: Bose SoundSport Free Wireless Headphones In addition to the SoundSpot earbuds, the noise-canceling QuietComfor...

SFO-AKL Air New Zealand Business Premier Queenstown Airport workout Milford Sound Review: Westland Recreation Center in Greymouth Abel Tasman National Park Hobbiton Te Puia geothermal geysers AirBNB gym Air New Zealand compensation New Zealand's north island is home to the Taupo Volcanic Zone, which has been active for the past 2 million years.  At the heart of the Taupo Volcanic Zone are the geysers of the Te Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley in the city of Rotorua.  The geysers and hot springs themselves are located within Te Puia, which is a 70-hectare historic site operated by the indigenous Māori people.  As Te Puia is home to the largest geyser in the Southern Hemisphere, Pōhutu geyser, I decided to spend a few hours checking out these natural wonders. The entrance fee is $50 NZD, with free guided tours departing on the hour.  The tour took us through the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, which was established in the 1920s to f...