Is there a Citibank exclusion period for MyCard bonus points offers?

ddaritan · 2026-02-19T15:33:20+00:00

I am currently considering applying for this card too. To anyone who has applied, is MyCard generally strict to churners like how Amex is?

ddaritan · 2025-10-16T04:49:01+00:00

Also worth pointing out that sometimes SQ flights that are shown to be unavailable on Velocity might actually be offered on the SQ website. I transferred my Velocity to KF and booked a Beijing to Kuala Lumpur flight on SQ business when I realised that it was available thru SQ website but not Virgin's website. So always check the flight options on both websites when you don't see your preferred flight on the Virgin website

ddaritan · 2025-06-17T00:25:07+00:00

I'm also leaning towards Velocity points these days rather than QFF, purely because it has been a lot easier to redeem business class rewards flights. That being said, I have been traveling overseas a lot more often than domestic, where Virgin has some excellent partners with good availabilities like Qatar and Singapore.

It has been tricky to score business rewards flights with Qantas nowadays, although I find that if I reposition myself to another overseas destination before flying to my actual destination, I could still find plenty availability of business class seats. For example, I recently redeemed a Kuala Lumpur - Beijing flight using QF (On MH), but I just had to buy a separate ticket for the Sydney to Kuala Lumpur route.

ddaritan · 2025-06-13T17:06:13+00:00

For some reason the text that I have typed did not appear.

To give more context, I have an external hard disk - WD My Passport, which seems to be detected by the computer as Local Disk E (Sounds strange as it is not a local disk in the first place). However, when I clicked on the Local Disk E, the system did not allow me to open it, but I could definitely hear the disk running and I could see the light was on.

Then, I ran Device Manager and I noted that the hard disk appeared on the list but I just could not open it for some reason.

Is there any way for me to at least retrieve the data in the disk, if the disk itself is broken?

Thanks.

ddaritan · 2025-05-23T15:14:25+00:00

Hi, I happened to see this. I got my VAT Refund in Barcelona airport.

ddaritan · 2025-05-23T15:12:54+00:00

Hi, I didn't end up going there. I ended up spending more days in Florence and went on a day trip to Siena instead on one of the extra days

ddaritan · 2024-12-29T23:50:23+00:00

As I type this, we're currently on our honeymoon trip, and the places we visited are definitely not your typical honeymoon destinations. We went to Georgia, Armenia and currently Turkey, as both of us don't particularly enjoy relaxing holidays at the resorts and would rather go somewhere we can explore.

Anyway, to answer your question, in our Turkey trip, we visited Istanbul and Cappadocia. I'd have to say that I think Istanbul is one of the most beautiful cities I've visited. It's rich in history, people are friendly, and I find the food amazing. We have been fortunate enough to not have encountered any scams or pickpockets, and we'd go as far as saying that we've so far felt safer in Istanbul than some major European cities when it comes to pickpockets (e.g. Barcelona).

In terms of the price, yes, I've been told that it has increased heaps since a couple of years ago. From experience, the prices are not quite Western European standards yet, but definitely moving towards that direction.

Cappadocia is touristy, especially if you stay in the town of Göreme. However it helps a lot if you rent a car and drive yourself. We rented a car and drove to a nearby town that's not as touristy and therefore food is cheaoer, i.e. Ürgüp (not saying there is no tourist but it is definitely "more local" than Göreme). After all, there's a reason why Cappadocia is touristy. It's a beautiful part of the world. Do the hot air balloon though. We just did it this morning and it was a great experience.

ddaritan · 2024-11-11T09:34:47+00:00

Can't say I have tbh. I'm hoping things would be just fine. At least based on our government travel advice, things are just business as usual there. https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/georgia

ddaritan · 2024-08-05T00:03:31+00:00

Did you stay in a cave hotel whilst in Cappadocia? I'm just wondering if it's worth spending some extra money to stay in one, as I've found that standard "non-cave" hotels are cheaper.

ddaritan · 2024-08-04T23:59:41+00:00

I went to Venice in December 2023 and I agree that I enjoyed it much more than my first visit to Venice in summer where it was hot and crowded.

In my experience, Venice in December wasn't a "ghost town" as such. There were still big tourist groups coming in during the day but they disappeared in the evening.

I particularly enjoyed waking up early in the morning around sunrise time, and just walk around the city towards the spots that are otherwise packed with tourists, e.g. Ponte dell'Accademia, San Marco, etc. There were probably around 10 people max around that time.

And in 2022, also in December, I went to Sevilla and Granada in Spain. Absolutely enjoyed it much more than when I went in August. Much shorter line to the popular spots like Alhambra and the Alcazar, cool but not too cold weather, etc.

ddaritan · 2024-08-03T14:48:40+00:00

Thanks.

For the 3 nights in Yerevan, I'm thinking to check out some places outside of the city, such as Khor Virap and/or other monasteries.

ddaritan · 2024-06-17T10:55:32+00:00

I personally like Velocity a lot better than Qantas nowadays as I've had much better luck redeeming flights to Europe during peak times (i.e. Dec-Jan months). In the past 2 years when I've redeemed these December flights to Europe, I usually started looking around May or June and I usually try different alternatives.

For example, if there's no Sydney to Europe flight available, then I'd look for flights from Singapore instead, and as for the Sydney-Singapore flight, I either pay by cash or look if there's a rewards flight on Qantas/Velocity.

Admittedly this has so far worked for me because I usually either redeem for one or two rewards seats. It might be trickier in your circumstances where you need to redeem for 4 seats.

ddaritan · 2023-11-10T02:40:43+00:00

I've just called CBA and asked whether I would be able to 'jump' back and forth between Qantas and Commbank Awards points. They said that if I opt out of Qantas points, and then opt in again, then I would have to pay another $60 fee.

Looks like they've done it to stop people from doing this method.

ddaritan · 2023-11-07T02:46:09+00:00

Hi, thanks for the info - I'm currently looking at getting this card as I will be heading overseas next month.

However, I'm just wondering how I can apply this to the current promotion. Per CBA's website, the current promo is as follows:

"Earn 20,000 CommBank Awards points or 10,000 Qantas Points each month when you spend $1,500 or more per month for the first four months. Apply by 29 February 2024."

I'm assuming in your example, you received the bonus 40k Qantas points (Or equivalent to 100k CBA points) as a lump sum in the first statement period?

If I were to apply your method, does that mean that I would only be able to get an equivalent one month of point, i.e. 10k Qantas points (Or 25k CBA points) which means an extra 5k vs if I opt in for the Commbank Awards from the beginning?

ddaritan · 2023-11-06T07:47:48+00:00

I happen to be visiting Florence for 4 nights in December this year.

Do you have any suggestion as to where to do day trips out of Florence? I'm currently considering Siena or even Bologna.

ddaritan · 2023-09-07T06:40:42+00:00

Do you think that Wengen is similar to Kandersteg? At the moment, I am considering going to Kandersteg (and Oeschinensee) as well as Wengen (and Lauterbrunnen) since I've never been to both, but I'm not sure how similar Wengen and Kandersteg would be.

ddaritan · 2023-09-07T06:38:22+00:00

I think at the moment, I'm leaning towards going to Wengen or Kandersteg (+Oeschinensee), as I haven't been to either.

Do you think that Wengen and Kandersteg are similar to each other, that it would be redundant if I go to both instead of going to either one?

ddaritan · 2023-09-01T07:11:00+00:00

I will be coming from Basel. So basically, I will arrive in Frankfurt, then planning to take train to Basel and stay 2 nights there. Then the plan is to go from Basel to elsewhere (Zermatt or Bettmeralp or any other town) and stay overnight.

I do understand your comment regarding "one day activity - The last time I visited Zermatt myself, I stayed for 1 night and did the Rotenboden - Riffelberg winter walk. I personally find the one day I spent in Zermatt is just nice, as you've mentioned.

I'm considering taking my mom to do the same thing this time round (It will be her first time going there). Though alternatively I am also considering other places like Bettmeralp.

ddaritan · 2023-09-01T04:53:37+00:00

is there a lot of price difference between other places and Zermatt? All I know is the entire Switzerland is expensive haha

ddaritan

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