HOME  » WORLD TRAVELER  »  ALAN'S VIEW

Alan’s View

August 2008

ASD Picks: 3 Favorite Credit/Charge Card
Rewards Programs

While I can't claim to have researched and/or tried each and every credit card and its reward program, I can definitely recommend these three programs to anyone who travels frequently:

American Express Platinum ($450)
This has to be the best $450 travel investment I've made—and I don't even use the complimentary companion-ticket benefit when booking first- and business-class international flights. My payback comes from using the Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) benefit. Using the Amex travel service, I frequently get better hotel rates, an upgrade based on availability (worth $50–$100 per night and almost always available), late checkout, and one additional amenity (usually worth about $100 per stay). Points earned can be used for a wide range of products, but most important to me is transferring them into the half-dozen or so airline frequent-flyer programs I use, including Continental, Delta, and Virgin Atlantic (alas, AA and UA are not included). I also frequently take advantage of the preferred or discounted seating at a wide range of events in major cities. The list of benefits goes on—if you travel a lot, it's a good deal.
American Express Platinum

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Credit Card from American Express ($45)
I frequent Starwood more than any other hotel chain; I'm a big fan of the W, Westin, and St. Regis brands. Using this card gets me two points for each dollar spent at a Starwood hotel, even before the real benefit kicks in: For most airline frequent-flyer programs, you get 1.25 miles for each point transferred, which means 2.5 miles per dollar spent. I value each mile at 1.5 cents, so the "discount" when using the card at a Starwood hotel works out to be approximately 4%. SPG also comes in handy to fill in the Platinum Card airline gaps (such as American Airlines).
Starwood Preferred Guest

United Mileage Plus Platinum Class Visa Signature Card ($140)
This has to be one of the best-kept secrets in the credit-card business. Don't even try to find it on the Chase website. Of course, you should have a credit card tied to the airline you most frequently use. But with this card, in addition to the typical 20K-mile signing bonus, one mile per dollar spent, and double miles when purchasing United airline tickets, you earn Elite miles (up to 15K in year one, 10K thereafter). It means I can use frequent-flyer miles on trips that I might otherwise pay for in order to qualify for Elite status.
United Mileage Plus Platinum

Back to Top

On the Road: London, Paris, and Monte Carlo

I thought I was prepared for the cost of traveling to Europe this summer. Then I saw four-star hotel rooms at $500, daily Internet in the room for $40, first courses at $25, taxi fares that effectively started at $10—even the underground/metro was $8! It hurt. But now, reflecting on our time spent there, I could argue that if the price of a Rolex can be justified, the price of the London/Paris experience certainly can be, as well. These remain two of the world’s most beautiful and vibrant cities.

London Tim and Kit Kemp (Firmdale Hotels), behind one of my top three London hotels, The Soho Hotel (the other two being the Mandarin Oriental and One Aldwych), have scored again. Their new Haymarket Hotel bumps the MO off the list, thanks to its perfectly comfortable style and cutting-edge (in a homey way) design. You’ll have to fight the urge to just hang out in the rooms, lounge, or library, and step outside into the very heart of central London.  If there’s a downside to this hotel, it’s that its restaurant and bar, Brumus, despite providing a first-rate dining experience, doesn’t seem to be catching on. Of course, there is no shortage of buzz in London, and Mint Leaf, my favorite trendy Indian restaurant, is just around the corner.

Andaz is the new Hyatt brand we think is trying to be cool, or at least compete with W hotels. I say "think" because, looking at their website or stepping into their first property in London, the message is confusing.  Nevertheless, the Andaz London is a wonderful new incarnation of the short-lived Great Eastern Hotel, which was a modernization of one of the grand railway hotels of a previous century—this one over Liverpool Station. Instead of checking in at the lobby desk, a clerk carrying a tablet checks you in remotely while you sit on a lounge bench. This would be cool if the tablets worked and there weren’t four or five clerks milling around waiting for someone to need their services.  Once past this stage, you’ll find attentive service, comfortable rooms, and decent restaurant choices—but the star attraction is the east-side location in the heart of the city (the financial sector) that gets very quiet on weekends (and the rooms rates come down accordingly). Take a short walk or cab ride to the new hot spots of London, including Spitalfields, Hoxton, Clerkenwell, and Holborn.  Brick Lane—packed with restaurants (try Brickhouse), clubs, and mostly younger people—is party-central.  Pearl, also nearby, is a sophisticated choice for nouveau French cuisine, but especially fun for a pre-dinner specialty cocktail.

Paris You’d have to be a stay-at-home (and not read Night+Day) to miss the fact that we’re experiencing Global Cooling, a phenomenon in which high design transforms spaces to provide unique, and often sophisticated, sensual experiences. One of the best examples of this transformation is hotel Le Meurice. What was once a "palace" hotel, suited to the folks who have palaces, has now employed Philippe Starck and daughter Ara to create visually stunning public areas that will make fashionistas and trendsetters feel at home. But the jury is out as to whether it will work. The beautiful, manly bar may not be suited to host a scene.  And while diners at grand Le Meurice restaurant will appreciate the new design (it manages to maintain the feel of the original), the brilliant and fun interior of its less formal sibling, Le Dali, was let down by average food and some of the worst service I experienced in Paris. Nearby Buddha Bar and the restaurant and bars in Hotel Costes are still hot and worth it, as is the concept store, Collette. In a neighborhood of very trendy venues, the new Le Meurice has a lot to offer, but it hasn’t yet hit its stride.

My favorite pastime in Paris is sitting at Café Deux Magots with an espresso, just watching people.  But for a dollop of sensory overload I recommend the one-two punch of the Quai Branly Museum and Les Ombres restaurant (on a fifth-floor terrace adjacent to the museum). The museum building and gardens are striking, the controversial exhibition of African, Asian, and early American artifacts is inspiring, and the restaurant’s close-up view of the Eiffel Tower is simply mind-blowing. The food is star-worthy French, original in both taste and presentation. While it takes some effort to get used to the lunch menu prices and the occasional service meltdowns, the real difficulty is staying engaged with your meal companions because that tower view is so compelling!

I spent a few weeks in the south of France (somebody has to do a good guidebook for the French Riviera!) which I'll discuss in more detail in a forthcoming newsletter, but for now some brief remarks on…

Monte Carlo When people with too much money want to go incognito, they go to Monte Carlo. We looked out our Fairmont Monte Carlo bedroom window to what we thought was the Mediterranean Sea dotted with islands—only the islands were yachts! I can only imagine how humbling it is to have a 100-footer and be the smallest kid on the block. I figure if your 160-foot yacht requires a full-time crew of 14 and $300,000 to fill the tank, you’d better be the one selling the oil.  But for travel-book publishers, it is enough to spend a day just checking out the boats, cars, jewelry, and clothes, then having a dinner at the touristy but fun Café de Paris and dancing at Jimmy'z. Stay away from the main casino unless you are betting the yacht (better to go to the casino at the Fairmont).

Last Word: Feeling Old Before It’s Time

If I seem preoccupied with aging (my June column was about turning 60), it is genetic. My father, who passed away a few years ago, was the co-founder of AARP, and while it seems as though this happened not too many years ago—I can remember sitting in a hotel room in Ojai, California while my father and Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus put the finishing touches on the first issue of Modern Maturity—AARP is celebrating its 50th birthday next month.

My father was determined to turn the experience of aging into a positive one. Toward that end, he provided the very first health insurance available to people over 65, as well as many of the other benefits for which AARP is now famous, including travel services (Grand Circle Travel) and low-cost prescription drugs. In fact, it was GCT that provided me with my first summer job—and may be why I’ve been hooked on travel ever since.

At 20, I spent the summer accompanying tour groups around Europe in order to evaluate the tour guides’ performance, as well as customer satisfaction. The participants ranged in age from 65–90, and the experience completely changed my view of getting old. These people were feisty, fun-loving, and downright crazy (in the nicest possible way)—not the image of senior citizens that was prominent at the time. I still remember the joys of sharing the sights of Europe, all-night fondue parties, and emotional farewell dinners—memories that inspire me to produce guides that point people toward travel’s peak experiences.

Way back then, one had to be 65 years old to join AARP. Sometime later, the age dropped to 60, then 55, and now it is 50. Ironically, AARP's success has meant that people feel old at 50, rather than young at 65! And if my math is correct, and the trend continues, my great grandchildren will be feeling old at 15! I doubt my father would be pleased with that result, but I’m sure he joins me in wishing old AARP a very happy 50th birthday.