Author: Shane

Standard Chartered Bank launched the X Card – so what’s the verdict out there?

Published by

Miles collectors in Singapore have another reason to celebrate recently – the launch of the Standard Chartered Visa Infinite X Credit Card. Targeted at millenials, it comes with a very attractive sign-up bonus: 100,000 miles. Of course everyone got slightly excited. Who doesn’t want a (almost) free one-way business class ticket to the US? Update (1 Aug 2019): Standard Chartered now puts out on their website that the 100,000 miles offer has been fully taken up, and now new applicants can only enjoy up to 60,000 miles. Because I’m so late in doing this review, here’s what every other travel/airline/miles writer have said about the card so far: Milelion: A 100,000 miles sign up bonus is something few of us thought we’d ever see in Singapore, and for those with upcoming big ticket spending, it’s an absolute no-brainer. I’m sure there’ll be much more to say about the X Card in the days and weeks to come, but in the meantime, be sure to get approved before 31 August if you want to snag the 100,000 miles sign …

Cathay Pacific reopens lounge at Shanghai Pudong Airport

Published by

The lounge reopens after nine months of upgrading works. Cathay Pacific has reopened its lounge at Shanghai Pudong International Airport earlier this week (18 July), offering an upgraded lounge experience for its customers. The new space, located near gate D69 in Terminal 2, can seat up to 305 customers. Opened from 0530H to 2100H, it primarily caters to the Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights, although eligible frequent flyer members of other oneworld carriers may also use it. This is what the PR promises out of the new lounge: Cathay Pacific is “moving beyond” for its customers with a superior experience at every stage of their journey. The new Shanghai Pudong Cathay Pacific Lounge will be another reason for customers to arrive early, rest and recharge in the welcoming atmosphere of comfort and wellbeing before their flight. Cathay Pacific press release What can you expect out of the new lounge? The marketing photos honestly look amazing, and one should expect no less from a Cathay Pacific lounge. This is what you can expect from the …

Singapore Airlines Spontaneous Escapes August 2019 list is unveiled

Published by

Singapore Airlines have released their August 2019 Spontaneous Escapes offer earlier this week, offering 30% off the usual redemption rates for travel in August 2019 to select destinations. Offering this month is a little skimpy, with a total of 22 Singapore Airlines destinations and 15 SilkAir destinations available. Notable mentions Almost all of Japan are available for redemption this month in both Business and Economy, with the exception of Sapporo and Hiroshima For Europe, only Singapore-Frankfurt is on offer in Business class. You will have to figure a way to get back to Singapore. Premium Economy seats between Singapore and Los Angeles are available for redemption this month Unfortunately, there are no offers available to Australia or New Zealand. Full list of offers are below: Singapore Airlines Miles required each way Sector Economy Class Premium Economy Business Class Eligible flights / Blackout dates Southeast Asia         Singapore – Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur – Singapore 5,250 – 13,300 SQ107, SQ116, SQ117 Singapore – JakartaJakarta – Singapore 5,250 – 13,300 SQ950, SQ951 Singapore – BruneiBrunei …

FLIGHT REVIEW: Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class, Singapore – Bangkok

Published by

Many people associate Cathay Pacific with its home base of Hong Kong, which isn’t surprising given that there are over 50 flights a week from Singapore to Hong Kong. While Cathay Pacific is one of the preferred choice when travelling to Hong Kong, what some people may not know is that Cathay Pacific also offers a daily service to Bangkok from Singapore. The Cathay Pacific Singapore-Bangkok daily service is one of Cathay’s unique fifth freedom flights around the world, and the only one operating between the two Southeast Asian cities. I decided to take a slight detour to Bangkok today while on my way to Hong Kong, to check out if this option is indeed a much better choice than other full service carriers. The schedule Cathay Pacific runs a return flight between Singapore and Bangkok daily, in addition to its eight daily services to Hong Kong. At the time of writing, the daily schedule is as follow: Flight Route DepartureTime ArrivalTime Day Aircraft* CX712 SIN-BKK 1320 1500 Daily A330-300 / A350-900 CX717 BKK-SIN 1155 …

LOUNGE REVIEW: TGM (formerly known as The Green Market), Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2

Published by

Plaza Premium operates a wide suite of lounges and airport transit hotel offerings around the world, and have been aggressively expanding in the last couple of years. Its footprint at Changi Airport is not small: it operates two lounges (one at Terminal 1 and 4 each), the Aerotel in Terminal 1 as well as a restaurant-lounge concept TGM at Terminal 2. TGM, formerly known as The Green Market, has been around at Changi Airport for several years now. Located in Changi Airport Terminal 2, the space is on the third floor after immigration, right next to the food court. In the strictest sense, TGM is not exactly a lounge, but rather a restaurant. As such, the restaurant-lounge outlet also accepts walk-in guests who may be there for a meal, so this place tends to get a little busy during meal times. Given that it operates more like a restaurant rather than a lounge, TGM doesn’t have a large footprint. The restaurant only has booth and dining table seating, and you will be hard-pressed to look …