Author: Shane

REVIEW: Mandarin Orchard, Club Deluxe King Room

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It’s been almost half a year since anyone in Singapore had a staycation, so when STB announced that staycations were allowed once again in Phase 2, many people made a beeline to make a booking at their favourite hotel, to make up for the lack of a overseas holiday. I was no exception. I made my searches, and the Mandarin Orchard deal caught my eye: A club room, breakfast and late check-out for under S$250 nett? Let’s check it out. In this post:• Introduction• The reservation• Check-in• The room• Top of the M• Afternoon tea• Evening cocktails• Breakfast• The facilities• Final thoughts Let’s face it: pre Covid-19, with the option of going overseas for a short getaway, plus the allure of many hotels in Singapore, the chances of choosing Mandarin Orchard for a staycation was hardly in order. During the times when tourists are flocking to Singapore, Mandarin Orchard typically commands a premium for its excellent location, despite its dated features. With over 1,200 rooms, this hotel was popular with Indonesian visitors, given it’s prime …

Hilton Singapore approved for staycations

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The hotel joins a list of 200 over hotels that are allowed to accept leisure guests in Phase 2. Hilton Singapore has joined the list of hotels approved for staycation bookings in Singapore yesterday. The Orchard Road top-end hotel joins the green list of hotels allowed to take in leisure guests, which now covers more than half of all hotels in the city. Rates from $168++ available At the time of writing, the earliest bookable date for Hilton Singapore is 15 Sep, although all weekend dates in September are unavailable for some reason. If you look further into Oct 2020, you will be able to find rates starting from S$168++. Some services are unavailable For those who are interested in exploring a stay at this old-time favourite, note that some key services are modified. For those looking at a Club room, note that the Executive Lounge is closed until further notice. What this means for guests with Club benefits, including Hilton Diamond members, are that the following services are modified, according to our conversation with …

Singapore Airlines to start operating Boeing 737s from 2021

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But the lie-flat business class seats will have to wait for now Singapore Airlines will begin operating Silkair’s Boeing 737-800 fleet from early 2021. The commencement is ‘slated to happen between January and March 2021’, Singapore Airlines reportedly told Executive Traveller in a report. On top of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, Singapore Airlines will also add 737-NG aircraft type to its fleet, providing the company with more flexibility to navigate through the recovery period. Lie-flat business class seats on hold for now According to Executive Traveller, the flag carrier is however not rolling out the lie-flat business class seats as yet. The airline was planning to upgrade the recliner seats on Silkair’s Boeing 737-800 to the lie-flat Vantage model made by Thompson Aero. This will bring the premium cabin experience in line with the wide-body fleet, providing a more consistent offering across the airline. The Vantage seat will be laid out in with either one or two seats on each side of the aisle, with the number of seats alternating between each row. Singapore Airlines …

OCBC VOYAGE offers 2.5mpd on dining in August

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This is a 1.2 additional mpd on top of its usual 1.3mpd OCBC VOYAGE cardholders finally have something to shout about: the bank will offer 2.5 miles per dollar spent on dining spending in August 2020, capped at S$1,000. This enhanced earn rate applies to all versions of the VOYAGE card and the enhanced rate of 2.5mpd holds same, regardless of what’s your base earn rate (either 1.3 or 1.6 mpd). Registration for this promotion is not required and all cardholders are automatically included in the promotion. For any reason you are dining overseas (perhaps you are just based in UK and decides to use your Singapore credit card anyway), you will still earn only 2.5 mpd on dining spend. Bonus miles will be awarded by October According to OCBC’s terms and conditions, the bonus miles will be awarded two months after the end of the promotional period, i.e. by 31 Oct. Note that OCBC has moved to a S$5 block for the award of miles, so that means that you will earn a total …

Qantas offers free status credits towards keeping status for another year

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50% upfront status credit boost for the next year, more if your status is expiring in early to mid-2021. Qantas has extended a second lifeline to its frequent flyer members, after providing a one-year extension on all statuses earlier this year. This time round, Qantas will be giving members at least 50% of the status credits needed to retain their tier for another year. The precise number of status credits you’ll receive depends on the expiry date of your current status. Here are the details: Free 50% status credits Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One cardholders with membership expiry dates between March 2021 and February 2022 (after the one-year extension given earlier) will be given 50% of the status credits needed to retain their tier. So that means you will receive the following status credits: Silver members – 125 status credits Gold members – 300 status credits Platinum members – 600 status credits Platinum One members – 1,800 status credits The free status credits will count towards reaching and keeping Silver, Gold, …