TravelPony - A Hidden Oasis (for Some Cities and Some Hotels)

While I am sure that many of us travellers are familiar with the big names of Online Travel Agencies (e.g. Expedia, Booking, Hotels, HotelClub), many are not aware of TravelPony.

TravelPony is extremely different from other OTAs for various reasons and I definitely will not suggest this as a substitute over the aforementioned agencies for the exact same reasons.

1. Only some major cities are covered. For example in Asia, only hotels in Hong Kong and Singapore are bookable. 
2. Only a very limited number of hotels within these limited cities are covered. 
3. You can only pay in USD (as of now) which is not a bad thing if you have Credit Cards that gives you bonuses for transactions in a foreign currency. 

In the following example, I will look at one-night accommodation available in Singapore three days later (29 March to 30 March). At TravelPony, I am presented with only five properties that are available (click on the image below). 

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These rates are in USD and for some reason, applicable taxes and service charges are included in some of the listed prices. Looking at the prices for Hilton Singapore hotel, it is currently USD$222 before taxes (and USD$240 after) for a Deluxe bed without breakfast.

However, on Booking.com, it is USD$232 before taxes (and USD$273 after) for the same room without breakfast. Therefore, booking on TravelPony essentially gives you a rate that is 14% lower. 

Additionally, when you book on TravelPony for the first time using my affiliate link, you get USD$35 off your first booking (with no minimum spend). Essentially this reduces the amount you have to pay to approximately USD$205, giving you an estimated overall saving of 25%.

It's sometimes incredible how low the room rates can go on TravelPony and I have used it with my previous stay at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport with absolutely no issues. It seems like the rate gets better as the date draws nearer. If you're paranoid about things, go ahead and email the hotel in advance to confirm. However do remember the limitations with using this over the major OTAs as covered above. 

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) - Going for GOLD

The Westin Singapore officially opened its doors (again) in November last year after an absence of 12 years. To many frequent travellers, the addition of a new Starwood property spells excitement as there is more to choose from. Like other Starwood properties, The Westin Singapore participates in the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program which allows you to earn Starpoints on eligible hotel spend. 

There are three main tiers in the SPG program - Preferred, Gold and Platinum. Within the Platinum category, there are further sub tiers to reward the frequent and business travellers. Unlike other hotel programs that expire with every year (through a re-qualification process, you may reach a lifetime status under this program, disabling the need to re-qualify for Gold or Platinum statuses - a major incentive to remain to SPG! However such lifetime statuses are difficult to qualify and usually requires a minimum period of 10 elite years. 

Amongst other benefits, the SPG Gold tier allows for a 4pm late checkout, an upgrade (that does not include suites) and a welcome gift (in the form of bonus Starpoints, a welcome drink or complimentary internet access). Full details on the Gold tier benefits can be found here. The usual qualification process requires 10 eligible stays or 25 eligible nights in a calendar year. However, if you hold a World MasterCard in the Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan), you can qualify for the Gold status with as little as just one eligible night stay.

You may sign up for this promotion here.

Upgrade to the Gold status will take up to 4 weeks after your stay. For a cheap way to gain this status, you may consider the Aloft Kuala Lumpur property at Kuala Lumpur Sentral or the Sheraton Singapore if you do not wish to leave the country. Do remember that you need register for the program first, and you have to book directly with the hotel (not through Agoda or online travel agents) in order to qualify for this promotion. Also do note that status earned after 1 April of each year will last longer in absolute terms. 

Additionally, if you book before 6 April 2014, you may qualify for the Book Early or Stay Longer promotion (in Asia Pacific properties only), giving you up to 50% and 10% off respectively. So go on and get your well-deserved Gold status with SPG and enjoy your Gold benefits for a year.  

Uber(BLACK) Singapore: A Review

Uber has recently expanded rapidly across many Asian cities, covering over 70 cities worldwide right now. One thing that really caught my attention was its unorthodox method of marketing. During the Chinese New Year period in Singapore, Uber allowed users to request for a Lion Dance performance. It has also partnered with top night clubs to offer free limousine transportation to venues. During Christmas time in USA, Uber also partnered with Home Depot to bring users live Christmas trees.

As such I was extremely excited when I finally got a chance to try it out a couple of weeks ago. I received a complimentary ride (of up to $40) after leaving my account inactive for a while. As such, I decided to request for an Uber Black Limousine from One George Street back home. The iOS application is gorgeous and the recent addition of UberX (a low cost extension of the Uber brand) is easily accessible via the polished interface. 

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The fare estimator quoted me $39 to $51 for this ride (essentially giving me a free to $11 ride home when using the $40 discount). I requested for an Uber Black taxi and was immediately given one, accompanied with a photo, name and contact details of the driver. The driver then gave me a call to confirm my location which I thought was a nice touch (I had a similar experience using the GrabTaxi app in Kuala Lumpur). 

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Note: Parts of the photograph, name and car plate number has been removed to protect the identity of the driver.

It was really impressive watching the driver make his way to my location. Until I realised that he wasn't. 

Somehow the driver went around in circles and eventually found his way to me (after approximately 20 minutes). During this time, at least thirty vacant taxis went past me. However, when I was finally on the limousine, the taxi driver was pleasant. One really cool feature that Uber provides is the ability to track the ride real-time via web link. In a pretty safe country like Singapore, I do not really see the use of it (apart from it being cool and visually pleasing). Then again, it's probably a great way to know whether or not your friends are truly "reaching soon". 

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The entire ride ended up on the highest end of the fare spectrum quoted ($51) and was generally a rather pleasant ride. As you may have noticed, assigned drivers come with a rating. At the end of your ride, you may choose to leave a review or feedback which will supposedly affect the driver's overall rating.

As cool as this ride may have been, there really is insufficient justification for the premium (approximately 3x the usual rate) charged over regular taxi rates. Perhaps UberX may cater to those whom enjoy such services without wanting to pay a high price. If you really want to try it and fancy a $20 credit bonus, you may use my link to sign up for a new account (I get $20 credit after you take a ride too!). For now however, I think I'll stick to the regular taxis. Besides, I do enjoy my local conversations with an overly zealous uncle who complains about everything from politics to daily life. 

Hotel Review: Crowne Plaza Changi Airport (Deluxe Room)

Coming in fifth place and voted as one of the World's Top 10 Airport Hotels by the World Airport Awards, the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport sits quietly in a corner of Terminal 3. That being said, the entrance to the hotel cannot be easily missed as clear signage from the MRT Station and around the terminal points you towards the property. Once in a while, a hotel exceeds my expectations by showing me what it has to offer. My recent staycation at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport over the weekends has inspired me to take more photos than usual as I really liked what is done with the overall property design. Email communications with the hotel were also replied promptly which is always a good telltale sign of a healthy property.

The walls of the walkway allowed natural lighting to come in, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that I believe will be beneficial for weary travelers. Personally, the airport is a pretty cold place (metaphorically speaking and otherwise). However, the passageway actually created this bridge of distinction between a place of hospitality and a place of transit. 

The location of this hotel is excellent for both business travelers and guests coming for staycations. There is a supermarket approximately ten minutes walk away with a range of dining options that cater for different tastes and budgets. Many of these restaurants are also open 24 hours so you can be sure to satisfy a midnight craving or a post-flight hunger pang. 

The check-in process was almost painless and since I was approximately an hour early, I had to wait a couple of minutes while they checked on the condition of the room. As an IHG Platinum member, I was upgraded to a Club Room on the executive floor with direct pool access from my room. I was also offered a 4pm late check-out (which was highly beneficial since it started pouring around 12pm), two welcome drinks at the bar, a fruit platter as well as some discounts for laundry and restaurants within the hotel. I went up to check out my room once I was told that my room was ready. However, upon reaching the entrance of my room, I realised that there was a pair of work shoes in front of the door and I pressed the doorbell to check if there was indeed someone in my room. Surprisingly, housekeeping was still in the room and so I showed myself to the Club Lounge while I waited for the room to be ready (for real this time). 

The Club Lounge was vacant when I visited and I was quickly offered a drink by the staff after selecting a seat overlooking the magnificent garden pool. The coffee was a standard caffeine infused beverage that one may expect from a coffee machine. On this note, I do not remember the last time an Executive Club Lounge actually served real coffee. My room was ready in about five minutes after sitting down, and I was told that my room was special because it was one of the few rooms with direct access to the pool. 

The room like most modern hotel rooms, came with a deep soaking tub behind a glass wall that overlooked the bedroom (and more importantly, the TV). The bathroom also came equipped with in-built speakers to make sure whatever you're watching is audible even when you're enjoying a good soak. I really enjoyed the almost-symmetry arrangement of my bedroom. The floral mural across the walls and bathroom glass actually did create a rather soothing effect to the overall atmosphere of the room. While instant coffee was provided, one thing that was lacking in the room however was a coffee machine. However, being on the executive floor meant that I could hop over the Club Lounge quickly for a caffeine fix whenever I wanted to. 

As mentioned previously, one of the full-length window panels open up to the swimming pool directly. While one may question the difficulty of taking a lift down to the pool level, having it literally at your door step is a luxury due to the ease of access.

IHG Platinum members also enjoyed complimentary internet that was accessible via my room. It is worth noting however that a more expensive and supposedly higher speed internet was available at an additional fee. Like most other IHG properties, this complimentary internet (24 hours) was available for up to 4 devices. The spacious work desk that overlooks the beautiful garden area, allows for the business traveler to catch up quickly on work before the temptation of taking a dip in the pool takes over. 

One of the benefits of club rooms is the cocktail hour where drinks and canapes are served. The cocktail hour for Crowne Plaza Changi Airport ran from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, offering a range of alcoholic beverages and evening snacks. Apart from the delicious Shiraz that I was offered, I particularly liked the sweets that were served. A club room is always a good decision if you intend to have a drink of two at the hotel. 

I was unable to resist the temptation for a swim after the cocktail hour (although swimming after drinking is questionable). However, it is worth knowing that the pool isn't heated. While some may call the cold refreshing, it was not pleasant to me initially. Once you're warmed up however, you will be able to enjoy a beautiful view of the surroundings, the control tower and the regular flight take-offs from the pool. Times like these, you'd wish you have a pool access room. 

Bathroom amenities were from The White Company. The invigorating scent from these products was the perfect complement to an after-swim rinse down. 

Light sleepers need to note that the sounds from airplanes taking off are not completely blocked off as the rooms are not sound-proof. That being said, as a relatively light sleeper myself, the noise did not affect me much as I didn't have trouble sleeping. In fact, I thought the beds were amazing to sleep in. Additionally, the rooms are designed to allow for natural lighting to come into the bathroom and the entrance. To ensure that you have near complete darkness, it is highly recommended that you draw the blinds for the bathroom and at the entrance of the door. 

I chose to have breakfast at Azur on level two instead of the Club Lounge as I fancied a little more variety over privacy. Featuring two open concept kitchens, the restaurant offered a mix of Western and Eastern cuisines for her guests. IHG Rewards Club members have a reserved seating area which is positioned strategically in front of the omelette station. 

After breakfast, I took a leisurely stroll back to the room as there was no need to rush. The 4pm late checkout for Platinum IHG Members is definitely a much appreciated luxury. I enjoyed a lazy afternoon by the pool (after the rain has subsided) and watched as the planes went by. After returning to the room after my swim, I requested for some additional bath amenities to be sent up. However, these were never sent up and I just requested it from a housekeeping staff who was around the corridor approximately twenty minutes later. This is actually the first property that I have encountered to fail in delivering additional amenities. 

After checking out, I went to the Lobby Lounge to redeem my 'Welcome Drink' (which was evidently my departure drink). I really liked how the natural light illuminates the entire area while boasting a garden view. A quiet weekend at this amazing property topped off with a glass of Merlot. There's really not much more I can ask for... except maybe for that heated pool dream to come true. 

Book your next Crowne Plaza visit here.

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport
75 Airport Blvd, Singapore 819664
Website | Email

Triple Dipping in Credit Card Promotions

Cards Required:

1. New ANZ Travel Visa Signature Card
2. Registered EZ-Link Imagine American Express® Prepaid Card
3. Amazon Account (Optional)

Applicants who apply for the ANZ Travel Visa Signature Card under the promotion from 01 February 2014 to 31 April 2014 can qualify for 2,750 Travel$ (which can be redeemed for $50) and an additional bonus 2,000 Travel$ after $700 of eligible spend within 30 days from the date of approval. For the full terms and conditions of this offer, please click here. Redeeming the bonus Travel$ for cash rebate will give me $100 back for $700 spend with 230 Travel$ remaining (approximately 14.9% rebate). 

However, since I do not have any planned expenses of $700 or more coming up, I decided to top up $700 to my Imagine Prepaid AMEX Card to hopefully qualify for this promotion. The second promotion is offered by the Imagine Card. A pair of Shaw Movie Vouchers will be issued to registered customers upon a minimum of SGD $100 spend in a non-SGD currency. The accumulated spend needs to fall between 11 to 20 March 2014 (settled by 25 March 2014) - full details here. 

Once again, I have no immediate plans to spend more than SGD $100 in foreign currency and therefore I decided to send myself a gift card on Amazon in order to qualify for this promotion. I have chosen a slightly higher value - USD $83 (approximately SGD $105) to make sure that the order exceeds SGD $100. It is worth noting that these gift cards have no expiry dates. 

Additionally, spending on the AMEX purse of the Imagine Card grants me 5% rebate (for up to $5 each month). Essentially, this gives me $5 back for the $105 spent on redeeming the USD $83 Gift Card on Amazon. 

In conclusion, charging my Imagine Card with SGD $700 and then spending SGD $105 on the gift card will potentially give me SGD $105 (from ANZ and Imagine Card) in cash back and two Shaw Movie Vouchers. 

Hilton Honors Points for Singaporeans (Credit Card Spend)

As covered in my previous entry, Hilton Honors Points are incredibly difficult to earn in Asia. In Singapore, there are only two credit card companies that allow you to earn Hilton points from spending (albeit still at a very low rate). A reader recently brought the American Express Rewards Card to my attention. The low fee credit card allows for an excellent chance at earning HHonors Points (or miles, if you prefer). 

There are a couple of requirements you have to fulfill before you are eligible for the bonus points:

1. Annual Income needs to be greater than SGD$30,000.
2. You need to be a new American Express Rewards Card applicant (it is ok if you are currently holding a Platinum or Krisflyer card).
3. You need to pay the annual fee of $53.50 (inclusive of GST). 
4. You need to spend $1,500 from the date of approval. 

Upon spending $1,500 within three months from the date your credit card was approved, you will receive 21,000 bonus Membership Rewards Points. On a normal rate of earning, this card gives you 1 Membership Rewards Point per SGD$1 spent. As a bonus, you get 100% bonus points for the first three months of your new account. Therefore spending $1,500 would normally give you 1,500 points but you will receive 3,000 points should you spend this amount within this time frame. Combined with the 21,000 bonus points, you will receive a total of 24,000 Membership Rewards Points for spending $1,553.50 [$1,500 + $53.50 (Annual Fee)]. 1 Membership Rewards Point is equivalent to 1.25 HHonors Points. Therefore, this opportunity will present you with $1 to 19.31 HHonors Points for the first $1,500 spent (within the first 3 months), leaving you with 30,000 HHonors Points. 

This truly is an exceptionally rare opportunity and I beseech everyone who is a HHonors Points collector to make use of it. 

Citibank is the other bank that allows consumers to earn Hilton Honors Points from spending. The Citibank Rewards Card provides 10x base earning bonus when you shop for clothes, bags and shoes or at departmental stores (e.g. Tangs) or online shopping websites (e.g. Amazon). With a base earning of 0.4 HHonors Points per dollar, this is equivalent to 4 HHonors Points (or 4 Miles) per SGD$1 when you shop and these locations. 

Alternatively, the Citibank Premiermiles (VISA) allows you to earn 1.2 Citi Miles per SGD$1 spent on anything (or 2.0 Citi Miles per dollar in Foreign Currency). 1 Citi Mile is equivalent to 1.5 Hilton Honors Points, and therefore:

Local Currency (SGD): $1 = 1.8 Hilton Honors Points
Foreign Currency (SGD - after conversion) = $1 = 3.0 Hilton Honors Points

There is an American Express version of this Citibank Premiermiles card with slightly higher earning rate but I personally think the AMEX version is more restrictive and you generally end up paying more after currency conversion due to higher charges. For those that are interested, here are the conversion rates:

Local Currency (SGD): $1 = 2.1 HHonors Points
Foreign Currency (SGD - after conversion): $1 = 3.0 HHonors Points
Singapore Airlines/SilkAir (SGD): $1 = 3.75 HHonors Points

Conrad Bali - A Strategy

Profit maximising businesses are often interested in one thing. They are often concerned with the optimum level at which the business operates. In many instances, they want to know what is the best price to sell a product or service in order to maximise revenue. As such, they sometimes hire consultancy firms to help them with pricing and strategy (amongst many other things), hoping that it will help them drive profit. In economics, this is known as the efficient frontier. In day-to-day life, I call this is a simple cost benefit analysis. More simply put, what are you willing to pay for an extra unit of enjoyment. 

I recently made a reservation for a weekend at the Conrad Bali. The initial motivation was simple - I needed a vacation and the Conrad Bali seemed like a property that I will enjoy. As a Hilton Gold member, I earn 25% bonus on my base points earning (US$1 = 10 Points). Additionally, since I selected Points and Points as my preferred method for point accumulation, I also get a 50% bonus on base points, resulting in a total of 75% bonus on base earnings when combined with the Gold benefit. 

I looked around the Conrad Bali website and realised that they were having a special 10th Year Anniversary promotion rate which comes with a range of benefits. This rate is valid for bookings made by 31 March 2014 for stays through 31 December 2014. More details can be found via the website. 

The promotion included daily buffet breakfast for two, return airport transfer (US$22 each way usually), 60-minutes body massage for two at the Jiwa Spa, 15% discount on F&B and as a Gold HHonors member, I also received a complimentary upgrade to the next room category as well as 10,000 bonus points.  

Since I wanted the Deluxe Ocean King room, I booked the Deluxe Resort King room (one tier below the room I wanted) for the complimentary upgrade. Whilst most Hilton properties do provide a one-tier minimum level of upgrade for Gold HHonors members, this upgrade was always subjected to availability. Since I really wanted the Deluxe Ocean King room, I decided to go for the aforementioned anniversary promotion as the upgrade is guaranteed in this rate. As a rule of thumb, it is also worth calculating what the upcharge of the next room type is, in order to find the optimum room category that you should book given your willingness and capability to pay. To illustrate my point, consider the following example: 

The room rates for the Conrad Bali are as follow (excluding tax and service tax): 

1. Deluxe Garden King (US$185) 
2. Deluxe Resort King (US$205)
3. Deluxe Ocean King (US$245)

If I were to select Option 1 and got upgraded to Option 2, I would effectively benefit from a US$20 upgrade (in terms of monetary value). However, if I were to select Option 2 and got upgraded to Option 3, I would have gotten a US$40 upgrade instead. Of course having said that, calculations like that should only serve as a guide in your decision making process. It is fair to assume that the rooms get better with higher prices (although this may not be the case for all properties) and thus, sometimes spending a little more can get you a lot more benefits.  

In conjunction with the Conrad Bali promotion for 10,000 bonus points, there are also two concurrent promotions that are valid with this stay. As the first Conrad/Waldorf Astoria property that I am staying this year, I will gain 2,000 bonus points. Additionally, I also gain 2,000 bonus points for each night in a Conrad/Waldorf Astoria property. Since I am staying for two nights, I will be getting 4,000 bonus points from this targeted promotion. Every US$ spent on the property will also give me a net 17.5 points (10 points from normal earnings, 5 points from the selected point accumulation method and 2.5 points as a Gold HHonors member bonus). Since the total stay is approximately US$500, I will gain roughly 8,750 points from the stay. Additionally, since breakfast is included in my rate, I have opted for the 1,000 bonus points as a My Way bonus for Hilton Gold members. In total, this stay will earn me the following number of points:

Base: 5,000
50% Bonus: 2,500
Gold VIP 25%: 1,250
My Way Bonus: 1,000
Brand 1st Stay Bonus: 2,000
2k Points Offer: 4,000 (two nights)
Anniversary: 10,000
TOTAL: 25,750 Points

Valued at $0.005 per point, these points are worth approximately US$129. To put things into perspective, some properties in countries that I am intending to go have a reward night at only 10,000 points. This means that I have effectively earned myself 2 free stays at a hotel of my choice. It is however important to note that the number of points required for each property may vary greatly. For example, the Conrad Koh Samui (Category 7) requires 95,000 points a night whilst some Category 1 hotels require only 5,000 points for a free night. 

In Singapore where we do not have any branded hotel credit card, it is extremely difficult to earn points/status across most hotel chains. With regards to earning Hilton HHonors points with credit card spend, Citibank gives you 2 Hilton HHonors points for 5 Citi$. Since non-promotional spending gains you only 1 Citi$ per SGD 1 spend, you are effectively getting only 0.4 Hilton HHonors points per SGD 1. The credit cards in Singapore pale in comparison when comparing to the Hilton HHonors Surpass Card (AMEX) in the US that earns you 12 base points with each dollar spent on Hilton property. 

I charged my Conrad Bali bill to my UOB PRVI Miles Platinum (AMEX) card instead. Although I can not redeem my UNI$ for Hilton HHonors points, I have gotten 812 UNI$ since I was billed in a foreign currency (6.25x multiplier), which is equivalent to approximately 1,600 miles. Additionally, because this transaction was travel related and more than SGD 500, I will be given a free limousine ride (either Mercedes or Chrysler) to the Airport for my Bali trip.  

Is this the optimal solution to booking my trip? The answer is no. Everyone of us places different levels of importance on different things. While some of us may value points over cash backs, there are many people out there who are interested in reducing the total amount of expenditure. It is therefore important for you to know what matters to you first, and then find the optimal way of doing things.