-
Citi Prestige – Removal of merchant categories from reward programme
Introduction Citi Prestige is the best credit card for earning airline miles in India. You earn 1 point per INR 100 for domestic transactions and 2 points for INR 100 for international transactions. Each point can be converted into 4 airline miles across 14 different airline partners. The range of airline transfer partners is simply unmatched and you should definitely look at this card if you love collecting airline miles. Reward Program changes The Citi Prestige credit card earned reward points across all spend categories. However, effective October 12, 2019 purchase transactions across the following merchant categories will be excluded and will not earn any more reward points Transportation and Tolls…
-
The best website for booking hotels for beginners
Introduction When we got addicted to the travel bug, all our hotel bookings were simply based on finding the lowest price for the hotels that we wanted to stay in. We were indifferent to the source of our booking as long as the price was the lowest. While this strategy looks good on paper, it is not the best. There is a better way. The Normal Booking process Most people would use 2 to 3 OTAs (Online Travel Agents) to search for the lowest prices across various hotels. We typically use TripAdvisor.com to view rates across multiple OTAs as they show prices inclusive of all taxes. A sample search for Fairfield Marriott…
-
The Best Credit Cards in India for earning Airline Miles – A comparison
Introduction Collecting airline miles on credit card spends has been a long time passion of ours. We are able to use them to redeem award flights in premium cabins at a fraction of the cost. While there are multiple ways to earn airline miles, using your credit card is one of the easiest ways to earn them without spending too much additional effort. This page attempts to serve as a useful guide covering almost every major credit card in India which allows you to earn airline miles. Disclaimer Not all airline miles are equal and factoring that into a single article will be really difficult. This article will simply try…
-
Schengen Visa Rejected – My mistake story
Introduction I am a frequent traveler (25 countries and counting) and am always filled with envy when I meet my friends abroad who hold passports from USA / UK / Singapore / Japan etc. Little do they know of the struggles we Indians face in managing Visa applications every time we think of going abroad. Europe is one of our favourite destinations to experience natural beauty (Trip reports on Svalbard / Faroe Islands / Iceland coming soon) but they are some of the most conservative in granting Visas. USA grants a 10 year Visa and UK grants it as long as you can cough up the steep fees. France has…
-
Citi Prestige Meet & Assist + Airport Transfer Service Review
Introduction Citi Prestige is on the best credit cards in India for travel buffs and hands down the best credit card for Airline miles lovers. The Citi Prestige offers its users Meet & Assist service and luxury airport transfers at select airports in Asia Pacific Booking Process You need to call Citi Prestige concierge to book both the services (They are independent and can be mixed across different itineraries). The booking process was fairly simply and required us to provide our passport details for the Meet & Assist. A prompt email confirmation also follows and the entire process felt professional and well executed. Meet & Assist The Meet & Assist…
-
HDFC Bank Smartbuy & Diners 10x Partner Update
HDFC Bank has renewed the Smartbuy offer for another month till 30 Sep 2019. In addition there are a few changes to the 10x Partners as well. For those of you viewing this for the first time, HDFC Bank Diners club offers the best reward rate of 33% Cashback in India and perhaps across the globe. For those lucky enough to hold the Diners Club credit card, you can earn an incredible INR 40,000 in Cashback per month. Changes to 10x Partners The removal of PayZapp has become a major disappointment. Since the previous overhaul of the 10x partners, PayZapp was the only ray of hope for those looking to…
