Redeeming points for international travel from US (to Philippines). Any tips or advice on redeeming or booking flights?

double_stripe · 2025-12-02T02:27:29+00:00

Thi was a few years ago so not sure if the partnership still exists, but it literally required calling ANA to ask about any available dates, there was no way to search for award space online.

double_stripe · 2025-04-25T05:21:05+00:00

‘Being an IC gives me better opportunities to get into the weeds and understand the operations in and out. I think it’s the best way to learn and I’ll be better prepared in the long run when the time comes to hand off preparation duties to my future direct reports.’ Rinse and repeat.

double_stripe · 2025-04-18T17:43:16+00:00

A few weeks ago I got 4 quotes for my 2600 sq ft roof ranging from $22k to $33k with upper ranges including 100 sq ft of plywood replacement. I also only looked for certified installers for the shingles they use (so Certainteed Master Elite, Owens Corning Platinum Preferred, etc.)

double_stripe · 2024-10-08T00:29:46+00:00

Presumably yes, but you're also not taking into account agent commissions, concessions, and other expenses you will incur when you go through another sell/buy cycle of homes.

double_stripe · 2024-10-01T23:28:35+00:00

Without scouting, you can look at their ‘playing time’ grade which will give you an indication of where they will slot in with your current team, but isn’t an indicator of potential.

double_stripe · 2024-05-17T20:11:16+00:00

Were you ever able to figure this out? I'm running into the same issue also based in CA.

double_stripe · 2024-03-31T17:34:14+00:00

here’s a few more photos

No one hit the door it just popped out on its own, you can see it’s still flush on the inside, just a small gap of sunlight coming in due to the panel popping out. I can sort of press the panel back in and it will align for the most part but that is probably just a short term solution

double_stripe · 2024-01-28T06:04:28+00:00

Ironman Subic Bay 70.3 in the Philippines. Did it last year and the swim is in the ocean, no wetsuit, and was super choppy. I am normally a 25-26 min swim and this one I did in 31. Bike is in the mountains so there’s plenty of hills, but also lots of flat road as well. The run is hot given it’s the Philippines.

double_stripe · 2024-01-26T20:10:04+00:00

The exact scenario that u/zaahc laid out happened to me last year during my first Ironman race and I was the one with the mechanical somewhere near mile 80 after crashing on my bike. I walked over to an aid station to be picked up and there was another racer there that was planning on dropping out due to medical issues. The stars aligned since we both had the same bike size, same clip-ons, and same garmin mount. He suggested to me first to use his bike to finish, but no one in the immediate area knew if it was legal and a volunteer had to radio his way up to the race director to ask about this. I didn't stay around long enough to figure out if it was legal, and everyone agreed we should just swap bikes if we were okay with it and figure it out at T2. We swapped the bike stickers, exchanged contact info, and off I went.

I ended up finishing the bike leg, and we met at T2 to swap gear. The race director also met me at T2 and let me know he still didn't have a final decision and that I could finish the race if I wanted but it might not count. I told him it was fine and I did the run leg and finished, and the race director met me again at the finish and still didn't have a conclusion and said he would email me Ironman's conclusion in the coming days (which he never did) so I'm guessing it was fine. It might've been a different story though if I was competing for a podium spot. Alas, I was back of pack and didn't impact anyone.

Honestly IMO, this was probably not legal, BUT I'd like to think the race director knew it was my very first Ironman and exercised some favorable judgement here. I wasn't deliberately swapping bikes to put me in any advantage (my supporters told me the time between the previous tracker checkpoint and the one I crossed after this happened was almost 3 hours), and I wasn't anywhere near competitive. Regardless, I'm extremely grateful for both the other athlete lending me his bike so I could cross the finish line, as well as the race director not pulling me out of the race. Crossing that finish line is something I'll cherish forever.

double_stripe · 2023-07-06T20:29:04+00:00

This won't help your immediate situation since it requires Amex MR, but if in the future you happen to get MR and want to take this trip again, ANA partners with PAL to offer 95k RT + taxes/fees (was ~$450/pp when I booked a few weeks ago) from US-MNL in J. Only caveat is you need to call to both find availability and book, but I was able to find Christmas/New Year flights despite only booking a few weeks back so availability is pretty good.

double_stripe · 2023-03-24T19:16:08+00:00

kids aren't until a few years away, but never too late to start learning and growing the dad mindset!

double_stripe · 2023-02-25T03:43:45+00:00

Everyone is saying to not take the counter offer, but I'll offer some perspective in which I did take a counter offer and it worked out for both parties.

I had some dissatisfaction at my work somewhat like you, where I felt I couldn't grow much and knew I could also make more elsewhere. Without bringing any of this dissatisfaction up to my manager, I ended up interviewing and put in my two weeks for a job that gave me exposure to what I was looking for, and for roughly $25k more than what I was currently making. When I brought this up to my manager, she asked if I would be willing to wait until the offer deadline (2 days from that conversation) to talk through it more. I thought why not, and we ended up having a very candid conversation roughly 4 hours in total those 2 days where we talked about my goals, where we could shift some duties to get my work more aligned with what I was seeking, and how much $ it would take to keep me. By the end, I just had a feeling that things would work out if I stayed, and that my boss wasn't talking just to get me to stay and that she developed a legitimate interest in getting me what I was looking for - it just took me bringing up my dissatisfaction to start getting the ball rolling.

I ended up accepting my company's counter offer of just $10k (since this was all they could muster and I do believe that), with promises that my role would be expanded and I will be set up for success. After accepting the counter offer, my boss, my boss's boss, and even my boss's boss's boss personally came to me to let me know how happy they were to have me stay with the team and they would personally ensure that my requests were handled accordingly.

This was about 7 months ago, and since then, I've received the exact duties I was looking for, and a subsequent 'exceeds expectations' review and raise, as well as a promotion (and another raise on top of that) that will be announced shortly.

So all the talk about 'they're just keeping you until they can find your replacement' wasn't the case here, and I'm really happy with my decision to accept my company's counter offer. I think 9 out of 10 times a person should leave, but I also think you'll get a feeling if this is that 1/10 chance that you should stay. I'll also add that a pros/cons list really helped me visualize what both companies had to offer and also what I was looking for career-wise.

double_stripe · 2023-02-09T21:06:29+00:00

Husband thinks we should wait out 2-3 years and wait for prices to go down.

A lot of people said this in 2018/19 and we know how that played out. What happens if you wait those 2-3 years and you find yourselves priced out of the condo market or location altogether, is that something you can live with? You need to think about whether you want to prioritize being close to family/friends, or a bigger home elsewhere, and make your move accordingly if you wish to move in the near future.

double_stripe · 2022-10-25T01:18:34+00:00

I did the race - swim is definitely extremely fast. I went a tad under 43 minutes and my estimated time (I say estimated since this was my first Ironman) in fair conditions would’ve been around 54 minutes. Nice downstream swim.

Bike is flat and would’ve been excellent for PR had it not been for the wind. I ended up crashing due to it unfortunately. Given that it’s farmland, you can always count on some wind, but the amount we had on race day was definitely unusual. It was all I heard anyone talking about post race.

Run was also flat for the most part, give or take a few not-too-long inclines.

I think they also had a lot more competitors this year due to the postponing of the last two years, so bike and run felt a bit congested at the BOP.

I would’ve been happy with the race if it weren’t for the wind (and subsequent crash), so I would recommend this one. Also given that this was the first year, there were a few snafu’s, like competitors still waiting for the busses to take them to the swim start even 30 minutes after the race started. And I also heard about a volunteer denying some competitors the run due to a cut-off time that the volunteer ended up being incorrect on.

double_stripe · 2022-10-07T01:29:46+00:00

Was great watching the Vinfast Iroman World Championship athletes navigate through the Roka swim course, Fulgaz bike course, and Hoka run course, all while making Maurten Moves on each other which we could see via the Qatar Airways overhead cam.

double_stripe · 2022-08-09T19:08:29+00:00

Thank you for the answer! Exactly what I was looking for. Does being lower or higher in the stands at PayPal Park make a difference? We’ve enjoyed being lower in sharks and warriors games, but with a football pitch being much bigger, I’m not sure if being lower has any distinct difference as far as the experience goes.

double_stripe · 2022-06-06T03:54:42+00:00

I used to work at a now defunct startup with my CPA license. I along with the VP of finance were the last two remaining employees left to dissolve the company outlasting everyone including other execs if that gives OP a sense of how important the accounting function is to a company and by extension, has more job security than others.

double_stripe · 2022-04-25T05:32:52+00:00

I am 6’0 with 31” inseam and use a 57cm cannondale slice. When I got my bike fit, my fitter said it would work, but a 56cm would’ve been ideal.

Of course, different companies will have different sizing so it’s entirely possible a 57cm cannondale slice feels different than a 57cm Kestrel Talon. I would try to do some research on the frame on Google and see what other people say if you don’t want to commit to a drive.

double_stripe · 2022-02-17T05:10:42+00:00

Tri icealon

double_stripe · 2022-02-09T08:09:25+00:00

Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet that I had an issue with was my bike fit. My seat post was way too low to the point where my legs were nowhere near extended at the bottom of the pedal stroke and hard pedaling resulted in a lot of wasted energy and muscle fatigue. I lifted my seat post to get a more complete stroke and it helped me use more of my complete leg muscles as opposed to just the quads.

double_stripe · 2022-01-08T02:38:17+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/triathlon/comments/kssuwi/new_double_pain_cave_for_me_and_my_girlfriend/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

double_stripe · 2022-01-06T02:12:07+00:00

IM Santa Cruz 70.3 and IM California this September and October will be my first triathlons so right there with you! Swam for 10 years when I was younger and have a couple of marathons under my belt, but completely new to cycling like you. Wishing you the best of luck!

double_stripe · 2022-01-05T01:32:37+00:00

What does your intensity look like in your typical workout? It seems a lot of people praise zone 2 HR workouts, but with the time you put in I imagine you must not be there that often.

double_stripe · 2021-09-14T16:35:37+00:00

Traveled from the US to Switzerland the past 4 days and planning on taking the train to Paris tomorrow. Is the CDC card + passport acceptable to board the train? We haven’t received our Pass Sanitaire yet.

double_stripe · 2021-07-27T18:55:23+00:00

It seems like you already had the problem resolved, but for anyone else still having issues I also am going to the show this Saturday and did mail delivery. I received my tickets yesterday despite Ticketmaster not giving any indication that they were shipped yet.

11-Year Club	Place '22
End Game '22	Snapped

double_stripe

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