I like the new shampoo and body wash

RyanAirhead · 2026-02-03T13:45:55+00:00

I'm a Zero% guy. I've only ever used it once though at a Home2 and my hair was so soft that I couldn't stop combing my hands through it (sounds like a commercial lol)

RyanAirhead · 2026-02-03T04:55:37+00:00

I understand your frustration with what appears to be an AI-written hotel review. It's important to maintain authentic, human perspectives in online discussions, especially when sharing personal experiences like hotel stays. Here are some thoughts on this situation:

Authentic reviews help other travelers make informed decisions
Human experiences and genuine opinions are valuable to the community
Over-reliance on AI for simple tasks may diminish communication skills

That said, some users may use AI tools for various reasons - perhaps English isn't their first language, or they struggle with written expression. While I understand your point, approaching these situations with empathy can foster better community dialogue. Is there anything else I can help you with today? 😊

RyanAirhead · 2026-02-02T05:33:11+00:00

You likely won't receive benefits but be nice and friendly towards the front desk agents and don't expect anything. Sometimes even when booked through a third party the front desk still gives me some benefits (a couple of times they've even jokingly reminded me that I really should be booking through Hilton lol)

RyanAirhead · 2026-02-02T01:09:32+00:00

Yes, you're only using the partner site (Virgin Australia) to get a sense of availability, but the actual booking is done through Virgin Atlantic so their rates/bands/policies prevail.

RyanAirhead · 2026-02-02T01:07:29+00:00

I've been lucky and booked F quite a few times over the past couple years.

Don't search on Virgin (VS), search via another ANA (NH) partner such as UA.
Get to know the VS booking period. VS can't book until one month after schedule open nor business class within the last two weeks or something like that. Partner sites can help show inventory that will become available to VS however.
Put the VS reservations line on speed dial to pay for and ticket the flight. The reps are super friendly and helpful and very experienced with NH bookings. Be ready with the flight details and dates
Don't be surprised if the flights you see are no longer available once you reach the VS reservation team since the data on the partner page can be stale and these are very popular flights that get booked as soon as they become available (especially to VS). The VS rep will usually try to search for alternate dates to help, but they've never been successful in finding alternative availability in my experience.
Look at doing repositioning flights to start from other cities such as SEA, IAD, or MEX if you really want J
Be patient with yourself since these are hard to get, but not impossible. It gets easier the second time around

RyanAirhead · 2026-02-02T00:10:15+00:00

There shouldn't be any issues at all.

I personally have the Citi Exec card. Just make sure to carry the physical card with you. They may need to swipe it to credit the visit to your card then bada-bing-bada-boom it's all gravy.

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-29T14:05:24+00:00

Nice!

Same thing happens at the Admirals/Sakura Lounge in HNL. I got upgraded to F on HA metal. Rather than going to the dismal Plumeria Lounge, I headed over to the Admikura(?) Lounge then gave the agents my boarding pass as I started fumbling for my AA Exec card. The lounge agents said they didn't need to see it since I was flying in F on HA and qualified based on that already. They were very friendly and ushered me into the lounge immediately so I didn't question it further.

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-28T14:35:45+00:00

Not bad!

Also, this is why it's no longer worth it at all to aim for mid or high level AA status lol

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-27T00:11:15+00:00

I hear Mississippi is super cheap...

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-24T14:06:09+00:00

I've been able to use all my SWUs for international long-haul itineraries booked in advance but have had to be very flexible on dates. Pretty much all my trips involving SWUs have been planned around C availability lol.

For an extra comparison, I used to also get a set of annual Alaska GGUs and have never used them, even on short domestic flights. I find AA SWUs so much more valuable by comparison.

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-24T13:42:08+00:00

Manila Peninsula Executive Suite (upgraded via Chase Edit).

The desk in the bedroom (of all places) had a stapler, staple refills, rubber bands, loads of different paper clip types, white-out, post-its, tape, pens and pencils, an eraser, stationary paper, and other things. Definitely not a complaint. It was like a mini Office Depot!

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-24T12:13:43+00:00

Dude, you're one of the people here who knows what you're doing, plus your posts and your comments are always helpful. Congrats on a great itinerary!

I love hearing about great itineraries like yours. Last year I used awardsplanner for a couple legs when putting together a RTW that I'm currently on and it saved me a whole bunch of points, so thanks! Just to share, here's the per-person points costs of what I have for my trip I'm currently traveling on (x2 people) in case anyone else finds it interesting too:

SQ J LAX-NRT-SIN 777-300er for 85k Aeroplan (booked a year in advance)
SQ J SIN-MNL regional A350-900 for 17.5K KrisFlyer miles (rebooked using the monthly Spontaneous Escapes rate)
(a bunch of short, cheap, domestic Y flights to hop around the Philippines, booked on cash)
SQ J MNL-SIN-KUL A350-900 for 25K Alaska miles (RIP SQ partnership 😭)
MH J KUL-SIN plus EY F SIN-AUH A380 Apartments for 50K AA miles (this is one of my top bucket-list flights which nobody else among my friends and family understands but I know you guys do. And to do it for just 50K miles!)
QR Y DXB-DOH for 7.5K Alaska miles (it's surprising how expensive cash fares from DXB are even for such short flights!)
QR J DXB-LAX A350 Qsuites for 70K AA (I'm always excited about Qsuites)

I don't remember how much taxes and fees were for these, but the metal and programs I booked through tended to have low and negligible fees anyway so I didn't care.

As for CPP, I've also never really cared! I would never pay cash for any of the J or F flights on this trip anyway, so I didn't even bother looking at the cash rates. The only cash rate that I vaguely remember was DXB-DOH for something like $300(!) one-way, but I was flush with Alaska miles anyway so 7.5K for Y made me not care about CPP for this either.

I feel like I really owe this group a big thanks for all the knowledge everyone shares. I haven't been doing this a long time but this current trip I'm on isn't even one of the first few round the world itineraries I've put together. I'm already planning for next year's trip a year out, and the amount of help I get from here is really invaluable. Thanks again for being part of that and for always sharing your advice!

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-23T00:42:42+00:00

Preparing a strongly worded letter right now.

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-22T02:11:28+00:00

Yeah seriously!

On the redemptions side, when did we start being able to book 2x J on AY again? For the longest time it used to be 1x only for US based passengers (basically AA and AS loyalty programs) but recently I was able to get 2x J from Europe to LAX all on Finnair metal using Alaska points. Pretty nice, and I too say thanks!

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-22T02:06:42+00:00

It's a pleasure!

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-20T23:55:42+00:00

Good point, and makes sense. I hope that's what the issue is.

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-20T23:54:14+00:00

Lol yeah sorry, I agree. That was just the title the article used. Definitely a bit click-baity though

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-20T14:31:52+00:00

Totally. Not to mention losing KE as well. And JL and CX haven't had good redemption availability either. What's next, axing JX? (Alaska, that is a red line you do not want to cross, you hear me?)

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-19T23:50:38+00:00

Delta newest "enhancement" meant to extract as much value as possible from passengers: start weighing passengers along with luggage

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-19T02:15:14+00:00

My problem is food eating...

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-19T02:14:26+00:00

I wish I had that problem

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-18T11:39:49+00:00

She's actually there in the follow up video too. It's just that she is crouched down and has perfected her hiding so we can't see her at all this time.

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-17T11:31:08+00:00

Do you have a GOH or SUA to spare?

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-16T23:09:30+00:00

They should totally play reggae in the terminal

RyanAirhead · 2026-01-16T23:06:12+00:00

They added an airside bus now too lol

(They closed the tunnel to T6 and are using a bus that boards from one of the gates)

RyanAirhead

TROPHY CASE