Travel In Style (Without Breaking The Bank) – Part 2 of 2

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This opulent accommodation I got to experience for 3 nights for the price of one (St. Regis Abu Dhabi)

“Cancellable.” That’s the key word when booking an accommodation. Like your lovelife, you need to be prepared to let go. You can lock-in your habibi and hope that everything goes as planned until such time that you will come to the realization that it was not or will ever meant to be. As mentioned in my previous post (Deconstructing A Myth: Travel Is Only For The Rich?), you have to book early so that you can lock-in the cheaper prices. But always make sure that it’s “cancellable” in case your plans don’t push thru.

So how do I get decent accommodation when I travel without spending too much? How do you choose among so many options? I try to simplify my life thru loyalty. As you probably have seen in my previous posts, I’m very loyal: 5 frequent flyer loyalty programmes (Travel In Style Part 1), loyal foodie (Mendokoro Ramenba: Arguably The Best Ramen In Manila), loyal to self (The Joys Of Travelling Solo), and now hotel loyalty program. Like your lovelife, you need to be loyal to avoid any drama. In the last 14 years, I have been a Le Club Accor member. I started by subscribing to this loyalty programme where you pay an amount which is about the same as a night stay in their 5 star hotel but comes with perks (aside from a free night stay in any of their hotels worldwide, you get 50% off on group dining at Spiral (Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila), access to periodic room sale, 15% discount on food and drinks, member for a day voucher, birthday cake, etc.). Last year, I forgot to renew my subscription and Accor thought that I was not renewing so they sent me a loyalty card (which has most of the perks as having a subscription) which I can keep for free if I continue to stay in their hotels for at least 10 nights per year. Not bad for a regular traveler like me.

So why Le Club Accor? This loyalty club is like a basket of hotel brands that cater to low, mid, and high end accommodations. There’s a brand for you if you are on a tight budget, and a brand if “money is no object” to you. Some of their low-end brands (less than $60 per night) are Ibis, Ibis Styles, and Adagio. Their mid-scale brands ($60 – $160) are Grand Mercure, Sebel, Novotel, and Mercure. High-end brands ($160 up) are Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, Rixos, M McGallery, and Pullman. Sometimes, the prices can overlap depending on the location and the season. Say you can stay in a high-end brand in Istanbul for the same price as a mid-scale brand in Athens. But what made me stick to this programme are the cancellable option, all-year round member’s special rate, periodic room sale, and points that you earn every time you stay in their hotels on top of the perks that were previously mentioned. The cancellable option gives you the flexibility to cancel at least a day before your stay (no booking platforms such as Agoda and Expedia can match that cancellation policy). The member’s special rate and the room sale will offer you with bargain prices and options. The points you earned and accumulated for every stay are convertible to cash vouchers that you can use to pay for your next stay. If I could remember it right, it’s one point to a dollar, so if you have spent $1,000 for a 10 night stay in one of their low or mid-scale hotels, that’s 1,000 points. For every 2000 points, you get I think $60 dollars voucher. So that’s about a free night stay in one of their low to mid-scale accommodations. They also have this accelerator point system (additional points you get which sometimes doubles up the actual points from your stay) which up to this time I still have no idea how it is computed, but there was a time when I have raked in more than 18,000 points which I have converted to 9 cash vouchers of 40 euro each (yeah, you have the option to redeem your points in dollar or euro). That’s 9 free night stay in their low-end accommodation (low-end here means 3-star hotel, so not that shabby I guess).

Screen grab of Le Club Accor points history

Though they have extensive presence across Europe, Asia and Oceania, Accor hotels are limited in US and Africa. That’s why there would be trips where I have to make use of Agoda or Expedia, but you also need to be smart when using these booking platforms. Credit card companies do not only have tie ups with airlines but also with hotels and their booking platforms. So it is not rare where credit card promos will include discounts on these platforms of up to 10%. So if I have a planned trip, I would check out which of my credit cards (I mentioned in my previous post that I have two, Citi and BDO Amex) have hotel and/or booking platform promos. Booking smart does not only mean being on a lookout for discounts, but also knowing how to book to get the least price. So say you are going to 2 or 3 destinations, where you are indifferent to the order of the trip. To be specific, say you are going to Auckland and Wellington for 2 weeks and you don’t really care whether you want to do Auckland first or Wellington. Booking smart means that for the same Auckland and Wellington hotels that you are interested in, you need to check the prices of Auckland for the first week and Wellington on the 2nd week and compare it if you do Wellington on the first and Auckland on the following week. You’ll be surprised that hotel prices can go up between weeks for whatever reason (I’ll say there may be a scheduled convention or event on that week where the prices are much higher). You can then arrange the order of your trip depending on which order will have you end up spending so much less. Yeah it’s a lot of work, just like your lovelife.

BDO/Amex credit card promos for airfare and hotel bookings

There are also ways to save up from just planning your trip alone (and I’m not referring to airfares and hotel prices). From the same example above, say you have decided to do Auckland on the first week and Wellington on the second week coz that would give you the least price. Say you have booked a roundtrip ticket from Manila to Auckland (Manila-Auckland-Manila) and booked a domestic flight between Auckland and Wellington (Auckland-Wellington-Auckland). When booking that domestic flight, you can check if there is a return flight to Auckland just a few hours before you can catch your return flight to Manila. This means you no longer have to stay in Auckland for a night just to catch your Manila flight. This will save you roundtrip airport transfers which is very expensive in some cities (between $30 to $50 per trip depending on the distance of the airport from the city, or about $60 to $100 roundtrip, or equivalent to a night hotel accommodation). Depending on your budget, you can also plan your activities without spending a lot. Like instead of booking a guided tour for your desired place of interest, why not read about that place first and then do your own tour? You can do the hop-on-hop-off bus to familiarize yourself with your new environment, but you can also learn how to use the subway (particularly the complex ones like those in Tokyo) to get to the different touristy sites that you have always wanted to see. There are also ways to save up on subway tickets (ie 24 hour pass, 7-day pass, reloadable card, etc.). The only thing that I would strongly advise not to scrimp on is on food. My Mom used to say that you can be stingy on most things but not on food. Trips are best enjoyed with good food and lots of walking to burn those calories.

Who knows, getting fit (both body and bank account) from your trips will get you your next lovelife.

(Left) Lunch by the beach. My Mom said don’t scrimp on food, so I’m having mini burgers, fries, soda plus Vitamin D from the sun 😉 (Right) Lounging by the beach. Don’t I look fit from all the walking? (Super Paradise Beach Club)

Travel In Style (Without Breaking The Bank) – Part 1 of 2

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Not a few of you have been asking how I get to travel in style (business class seats, 3-5 star hotel accomodations, dining out, the whole shebang) particularly now that you’ve seen me in my newly opened Instagram account (columbusbee.gram). As I’ve mentioned in my previous post (Deconstructing A Myth: Travel Is Only For The Rich?), you don’t have to be wealthy to get to travel and you don’t have to be Crazy Rich Asian to travel in style. Truth be told, there are ways to travel in style without breaking the bank. So I’ll let you in to some of my ‘secrets’ so that you too can be stylish jetsetter.

In the last 9 years or so, there has been an advent of promo fares here in Manila and I’m not even referring to a local airline’s one peso fare. These are promotional fares from highly rated airlines, either thru travel expos, tie ups with major credit card companies or their very own flash sale. Looking for good buys is just like shopping for bargains and anticipating mall sale. My first venture into this airfare bargain hunting was going to travel expos. Every year, there is a travel expo around the 2nd weekend of February organized by travel agents association. Multiple airlines would offer marked down prices, especially for business class fares. I remember getting business class fares for $999 to Europe (exclusive of taxes), or something like less than $1100 net. That’s a pretty good deal given that it only costs as much as a regular economy ticket. Of course nowadays, you can’t find that kind of price points anymore. where the good buys would be between $1,600 to $1900 to Europe or US. Anything more than that would already be a rip off in my book (unless you’re flying Emirates or Qatar Airways where a little premium will go a long way).

The second path to a successful hunt is thru airlines tie up with major credit card companies. It is essential then to have a very good credit card for this purpose (you’ll need a credit card anyway when you travel). Personally, there are only two credit cards that in my experience offer the best airline tie ups: Citi and American Express (where the latter is issued by BDO locally). I’ve seen promos from BPI (usually tie ups with Singapore Airlines), Metrobank, Security Bank, etc. but nothing beats these two when it comes to the depth (prices) and breadth (participating airlines). Travel sale for these airlines gives the public the option to get it from their onsite travel sale (similar to travel expos but exclusively for their credit card holders), thru their airline offices, or online. For BDO cards, there are times that there would be pre-sale (usually a day before the actual sale) exclusively for their elite cardholders (ie Amex Platinum, BDO Titanium, etc.) where they can have first dibs on promotional fares. Sorry to say that not all credit cards are created equal. There is a caste system among credit cards but don’t fret, having the right credit card would already get you into this world of low airfares. For example, you don’t need to be an Amex Platinum or a BDO Titanium cardholder. All you need to do is just to have any Amex or BDO card. There’s this Blue Amex that I heard is being widely marketed nowadays (compared to the more exclusive Amex Platinum) and of course your regular BDO credit card. You just need to ensure that you are in their email list where they send announcements of their forthcoming fare sale.

This is how I got my latest promo fare. Oman Air has a promo last April for BDO cardholders (I’m an Amex cardholder). Though the flights to Europe on promo are limited to certain destinations only, Oman Air also launched its maiden flight to Athens starting June, so I decided to make Athens as my port of entry to Europe and booked the promo business class fare for $1,760 inclusive of taxes (so the airfare was about $1,600+). This is a good buy compared to regular business fare of about $2,600 (or about 33% discount) and regular economy fare of about $1,200 for the same airline.

Basking in the sun on infinity pool lounge with the Aegean Sea, beach, and mountains as backdrop (Mykonos Island)

The third path is thru airlines’ flash sale. Here, as long as you have a credit card, you can already purchase promo fares online. Airlines would normally have these flash sales on special occasions (such as airline anniversary, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or any holiday or season that these airlines are celebrating). You just have to watch out for these special occasions during certain times of the year or to regularly check out the websites of your favorite airlines.

Once you have started flying, you can join the airlines frequent flyer programs. I’m currently a member of five (5) programs: Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines), Asia Miles, Miles & More (Lufthansa), Enrich (Malaysia Airlines), and Mabuhay Miles (Philippine Airlines). I’ve flown other airlines as well, but since they are part of airlines’ global alliances (for example, Thai Airways is in the same alliance with Singapore Airlines under Star Alliance) I don’t need to enroll in their own loyalty programs. The miles that I would be entitled to will just be credited to my existing loyalty program (so the miles that I will get from a Thai Airways ticket I will just have it credited to my Krisflyer account). What’s special with frequent flyer program is that aside from getting notified of the airline’s forthcoming promotional fares, they also offer miles sale (where you get free airfare at marked down miles compared to regular miles required to redeem a free flight). I find Krisflyer to be very good at this in terms of depth (miles discount) and breadth (you can have the option to redeem your miles thru another airline that is a member of the global alliance). For example, last December, when I went on vacation to Bangkok and Pattaya, I have an expiring 25,00 miles in my Krisflyer account. I tried checking for the required miles for a business class ticket and there was a business saver promo for 40,000 miles (compared to the regular 80,000 miles). So I transferred 20,000 miles from my Citi Premier Miles (that’s the credit card I would recommend among Citi cards if you like travelling) to meet the required Krisflyer miles for redemption. My business class redemption was confirmed for the Manila – Bangkok leg of the Singapore Airline flight (with layover in Singapore) but was waitlisted for the return flight. So I clicked the Star Alliance button on their website and found that Thai Airways business class was available for my return date. So I flew back (Bangkok – Manila) direct on Thai Airways flight business class for free (ok, not totally free coz only the airfare is free and you still have to pay a minimal amount for the taxes/surcharges). So I got to compare business class experience between these two airlines from these two short haul trips.

(Up next: Accomodations and Incidentals)

How To Apply for Schengen Visa – Embassy of Greece in Manila

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No matter how many times you have applied and secured a Schengen visa in the past, you cannot always be overconfident that you already know or have everything. That’s exactly what happened when I went to the Greece Consulate in Makati City last Friday. On the way there, I told myself “I got this.” Coz what could possibly go wrong when this would already be my 7th Schengen visa application and went thru similar process at the embassies of Belgium, Germany, Italy, Norway, Italy (again), and Spain, not to mention visa applications in other non-Schengen and non-European embassies and consulates? Even if I felt like pretty much jaded as a visa applicant that sometimes you can’t help but scorn being born in a 3rd world country, you just have to do it for the love of travel.

So early April, I was able to book a return flight to Greece, thus have to get my Schengen visa from their embassy given that it will be my port of entry in the Schengen area (as well as the Schengen member state where I will stay the longest). As soon as I got my ticket, I checked their website to know how to apply and lodge a visa application. Unlike other embassies where visa appointments are booked online, Greece Consulate requires that you email them at visa.man@mfa.gr with the following details:

PREFERRED DATE: {DD MONTH YEAR}
Name of Applicant: {LAST NAME, FIRST NAME}
Passport No:
Contact Tel.:
Type of Visa: {SCHENGEN/SHORT TERM or NATIONAL/LONG TERM}
Main Country of Destination:
Expected Date of Departure: {DD MONTH YEAR}

After sending the e-mail with the above details, I got an e-reply stating that they are acknowledging receipt of the appointment request and not to send the same e-mail twice as they are declogging their inbox. More than a month later, I got no update from the consulate so I decided to e-mail them again, apologizing for sending the same e-mail twice but also highlighting that no updates were received after a month’s wait. There were just a few more weeks left before my scheduled departure date so I let out a sigh of relief when I finally got an actual reply (not the electronic one) the next day with the date and time of the appointment.

I started collecting and gathering the visa requirements. I prepared a cover letter that will serve as a checklist, reiterating the same documentary proofs that are in the list of requirements found in the website. These documentary evidences are:

Proof of financial means – I requested for a bank certificate from my bank not only containing the current balance but also the average daily balance (ADB) for the last 6 months. This detail is important coz when I was in the consulate, a senior couple were asked by the local staff for bank statements (take note that this is not the same as bank certificate) since the ADB is not stated in their bank certificate. I also enclosed my credit card statement.

Proof of travel – since I already have my paid tickets, I brought a copy of the same as well as my travel itinerary. The latter is important as it will serve two purpose. One, it will show your inclusive dates of travel as basis of the visa validity period as well as number of entries (single, double, or multiply entry visa). Second, it will manifest that you are a legit traveler, that you know exactly what you intend to do while you are in their country or in any Schengen member state.

Proof of will to return – since I have used (and outstanding) visas, I submitted photocopies of the same. Though not in the list of requirements, I thought what could be a better way to prove that you’re returning to your home country by showing the number of times you’ve been in and out of countries you have visited. I don’t need to bring titles of properties and marriage certificate (uhm, I’m single?) just to prove that I’m deeply rooted in this country.

Proof of occupation – I got a certificate of employment from my employer stating my position/rank, salary, and years with the company.

Proof of accommodation – this is where my Le Club Accor membership comes handy (I’ll have a separate article for this so watch out for it).

Proof of insurance – since I already have a dollar medical insurance policy (Pacific Cross which is among the accredited insurance companies) that covers travels that are less than 90 days in duration, I didn’t have to pay for the usual travel insurance. So I just enclosed a copy of my insurance policy. This proof that you are insured while travelling is important as the consulate will outright reject your application if you don’t have this documentary evidence.

So you thought I got everything covered, right? Absolutely not. After the local consulate staff has perused my documents, the staff requested me to photocopy the identification page of my old passports where the used visas are attached. Good thing I have my old passports with me (which they would require anyway, even if it’s not on the list of requirements), so after the staff gave me the BDO deposit slip to fill up and use to pay for the visa fee of 3,480 pesos (the equivalent of 60 euro fee), I went down to get to the BDO branch just across the street as well as the print shop (for the photocopy) that’s just a few steps away. It was a few minutes past noon that when I tried to enter the print shop, the attendants are signaling that they will open at 1PM! So that’s roughly an hour wait, or alternatively a few minutes walk to Greenbelt under the scorching summer heat to look for photocopying services (National Bookstore?). Resigned to the fact that I may have to brave the heat, I decided first to go to BDO to pay the visa fee. It was almost an empty branch where I got to the teller without queuing. Then there it was, at the corner of my eye, a photocopier. Hallelujah (angels singing)! I asked the teller if she can photocopy my passport and she was kind enough to oblige. In this case, BDO truly “find ways.”

Then I went up to the consulate again to submit the validated deposit slip and the photocopies. I waited for my name to be called again for biometrics. Then another wait for my name to be called where they will issue a receipt indicating when I can claim my passport with visa (if my application proves successful). The whole process only took me a little over an hour. Not bad.

So applying at the Greece consulate wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be given the reviews I’ve read while preparing for the appointment. With common sense and a little bit of luck (bringing your charm on will also do wonders), applying for a visa is nothing more than just another task completed.

P.S. I got my visa 10 calendar days after my appointment date. It’s my 3rd time to get a 90-day stay multiple entry visa valid for one year. Not sure whether there’s a trick that I’m missing, but I’m pretty sure this is uncommon as more than half the time my Schengen visas were only valid for the travel period that I have indicated in my application. I must be doing something good.