Palo Will Travel Blog

Haneda Airport Viewing Deck 0

American Airlines Business Class: HND-LAX B777-200ER

I was originally scheduled to fly from Narita to LAX, but a C Class seat became available on the Haneda to LAX route therefore allowing my to use my SWU for an upgrade to Business Class. The text alert came in from ExpertFlyer just after landing into Narita from Jakarta....

JAL B787-9 0

Japan Airlines (JAL) Premium Economy Class: CGK-NRT B787-9

Japan Airlines offers day of departure cash upgrades to their Sky Premium (Premium Economy) from Economy for a flat rate. I decided to try it out on a recent flight from Jakarta to Tokyo. The Premium Economy Class was wide open with only a handful of seats booked prior to...

Sunrise Sydney 2

Hotel Tips and New Global Entry Interview Option

Staying in hotels almost 50% of my nights last year, I learned a few tips. Tip #1: Book directly with the hotel, using 3rd party sites such as hotels.com increases your odds at getting “walked” last minute. This means you will be placed in a nearby hotel due to an...

CX Premium Economy Row 30 A330-300 3

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy Class: CGK-HKG A330-300

I’ve previously flown Cathay Pacific First Class and Business Class which have been very pleasant flights. This was my first flight to try out their Premium Economy seats. Upon checkin, I was informed that Priority immigration is only available to Business and First Class passengers even though I’m a Oneworld...

Borobudur 0

Garuda Indonesia Business Class: JOG-CGK B737-800 Upgrade for $1

I was originally booked to visit Borobudur in January 2016, but due to a change in plans it was delayed. I finally made it to Borobudur earlier this year and after an amazing visit I wanted to grab an earlier flight back to Jakarta (CGK) from Yogyakarta (JOG). There isn’t much...

AMEX Platinum 1

Credit Card Review: AMEX Platinum

American Express offers many credit cards but the most elite option available to the general public without an invite is their Platinum card. It is an excellent option for the active traveler as the value of the benefits outweigh the annual fee. The current signup bonus ranges from 60,000 to...

Cathay Pacific A350 @ HKG 1

Cathay Pacific Business Class: BKK-HKG A350-900

I used GrabCar to get to BKK (Bangkok) airport which is similar to Uber. It is a nice option as you can schedule a pickup which was needed for the early morning departure. Uber didn’t offer this option in Bangkok. The Cathay Pacific lounge at BKK is very nice compared...

Torrey Pines 0

June 2017 Updates

USPS Informed Delivery, started on April 14th nationwide You can now receive an email each morning with scans of the envelopes that will be delivered to your address that day. It even works while your mail is on hold so you can check to see if that important piece of mail will...

Bali 0

New Sprint International Data Plans as of April 2017

Sprint’s previous update in November 2016 resulted in very slow 2G speeds in countries which previously offered 3G speeds. It has changed yet again in this evolving land of competition amongst US carriers. Sprint now offers high speed (3G or LTE) data packages on a daily/weekly basis with unlimited data usage...

Keraton at The Plaza, Jakarta 0

Hotels Embracing Apps: WhatsApp & UberCENTRAL

During a recent stay at Keraton at The Plaza in Jakarta, I was presented with a business card at check-in listing the WhatsApp phone # to message for assistance during my stay. Instead of calling the front desk from your room, you can now message them through WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a...