Monthly Archives: October 2011

Bangkok Hotels with river view

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For the most enjoyable hotel location in Bangkok, choose a hotel with a view of the Chao Phraya River.

You’ll see traffic of a different kind and can enjoy the experience of visiting the Royal Palace by public river taxi.

There are surprisingly few hotels to choose between and I summarise them in order of value-for-money:

Royal Orchid Sheraton

All rooms are river facing so you will definitely enjoy a fantastic river view. The hotel is next to a main river taxi stop so it’s easy to get around. It’s a Sheraton but it’s also starting to show its age thus the rates are lower than you might expect. Breakfast is expensive so try and get a B&B rate, otherwise there’s a restaurant outside that serves European and Thai style breakfast.

You’ll find the best rates using our Hotel Search engine which compares 20+ Hotel “bed-banks” and tour operators

Millennium Hilton Bangkok Hotel

Located opposite the Royal Orchid Sheraton

You will have to request a river view and so there is no guarantee. And the location is on “the wrong side” of the river as the main tourist attractions, shopping, restaurants, night life etc are all on the other side

The Peninsula

A superb 5* hotel but also on the wrong side of the river

Shangri-La Hotel

Next to the Skytrain station the Shangri-La is an expensive choice.

AURUM the River Palace

Converted from a 50 year old warehouse, this hotel is a 4-storey European style building with 12 guestrooms, 4 of which are river views. The rate is THB4,400+ (£93)

For all these hotels, you’ll find the best rates using our Hotel Search engine which compares 20+ Hotel “bed-banks” and tour operators

Christmas Train Tickets on Sale

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Christmas rail tickets have just gone on sale…

Rail tickets are always cheaper booked up to 12 weeks before departure; Booking now for travel at Christmas could save hundreds.

The busiest days are predicted to be Friday 23 December and Saturday 24 December.

The cheapest advance fares from Liverpool Street to Norwich for those dates cost £8 today, but as much as £55 on the day.

Get prices and tickets from our UK Rail Page and you’ll save an additional 13% compared to the trainline.com (because of no credit card or booking fees)

 

River View Hotels Bangkok

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For the most enjoyable hotel location in Bangkok, choose a hotel with a view of the Chao Phraya River.

You’ll see traffic of a different kind and can enjoy the experience of visiting the Royal Palace by public river taxi.

There are surprisingly few hotels to choose between and I summarise them in order of value-for-money:

Royal Orchid Sheraton

All rooms are river facing so you will definitely enjoy a fantastic river view. The hotel is next to a main river taxi stop so it’s easy to get around. It’s a Sheraton but it’s also starting to show its age thus the rates are lower than you might expect. Breakfast is expensive so try and get a B&B rate, otherwise there’s a restaurant outside that serves European and Thai style breakfast.

You’ll find the best rates using our Hotel Search engine which compares 20+ Hotel “bed-banks” and tour operators

Millennium Hilton Bangkok Hotel

Located opposite the Royal Orchid Sheraton

You will have to request a river view and so there is no guarantee. And the location is on “the wrong side” of the river as the main tourist attractions, shopping, restaurants, night life etc are all on the other side

The Peninsula

A superb 5* hotel but also on the wrong side of the river

Shangri-La Hotel

Next to the Skytrain station the Shangri-La is an expensive choice.

AURUM the River Palace

Converted from a 50 year old warehouse, this hotel is a 4-storey European style building with 12 guestrooms, 4 of which are river views. The rate is THB4,400+ (£93)

For all these hotels, you’ll find the best rates using our Hotel Search engine which compares 20+ Hotel “bed-banks” and tour operators

Gatwick Express Discount for two adults travelling together

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Gatwick Express is offering a discount fare of £20 per person return, for two adults travelling together;

The normal online fare is £27.40 return per person (that’s with an online 10% discount applied) so by booking two together you will save £14.80

This offer ends 15th December.

For more details and to make bookings, visit Gatwick Express direct

And remember, Booking Business Travel has the best hotel search engine that we know of

BMI Loyalty rewarded with a 30% Discount Code

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Members of the BMI reward scheme called Diamond Club are receiving offers of 30% off their next flight booking.

A discount code is provided if they click on the email notification.

Only one discount code is issued and can only be used when booking a flight on flybmi.com between 20 October and midnight on 12 November 2011 for travel between 10 December 2011 and 31 March 2012

It is available for the member or a friend and includes new routes such as Agadir, Amritsar, Basel, Bergen, Casablanca, Marrakech, Nice and Stavanger.

RULES

The promotional code will be valid for a new bmi return booking, travelling in any of the following classes; J, C, D, Z, P, I, Y, B, M, U, H, O, G, Q, V, W, S, T, N, E on any bmi operated routes, excluding codeshare and bmibaby flights.

Bookings must be made on flybmi.com

Classes L and K are excluded on all routes for this promotional discount code

To book please click on the link below


bmi carousel 468 x 60

British Airways Business and First Class Seat Sale

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Book by midnight Tuesday 8th November

Applies to varying travel dates but generally, from November – 10 January

A Saturday night stay is required on all bookings. Reservations have to be made in advance and fares are not flexible.

These rules are designed to be impractical for business travellers. However, if your journey meets the above criteria, the fares are exceptional:

Return Fares

USA East Coast, from £1,499
USA West Coast, from £1,999
INDIA from £1,566
MIDDLE EAST from £1,379
FAR EAST from £2,450

To book, please visit our British Airways Page

or click here to visit BA direct and for more information

 

 

Emirates Skywards or Etihad Guest loyalty schemes.Which is more generous?

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Emirates fly to Dubai, and Etihad to Abu Dhabi, at similar fare levels.
I was recently asked how their individual traveller loyalty schemes compare.
The Etihad Guest Account is a clear winner, whether you are a Pearl, Silver or Gold member.

Emirates Skwards Blue Account

Heathrow-Dubai Business Class earns 7,500 miles (discounted air fare)
And a free reward flight will cost 90,000 miles.
Let’s say that the average discount Emirates fare on the Airbus service costs £2,800
That’s approximately 3p per mile.

Therefore the miles earned on a return booking represents a value of £225

There is a Skywards mileage calculator here:

Etihad Guest Account:

Heathrow-Abu Dhabi earns approximately 10,277 miles for a Pearl member, 11,932 for Silver and 13,636 Gold member
A reward flight costs 87,851 miles
Take the average discounted fare of £2,800
That’s approximately 3.2p per mile and the reward value for a return ticket equates to:

Normal Etihad Guest: £328, Silver Member £381, Gold Member £436

Best Credit Cards for Travel Purchasing

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INTRODUCTION

This article is intended to help SME companies choose a credit card for payment of business travel bookings.

The author has managerial and operational experience of implementing corporate charge cards within a Travel Management Company environment, for companies with a spend of up to £1 million

OVERVIEW OF CORPORATE CARD TYPES

Credit card companies offer a bewildering choice of options. The MAIN card types are as follows:

LODGE CARDS
CORPORATE CREDIT CARDS
INDIVIDUAL CARDS

LODGE CARDS

What is a lodge card?

You have to use a travel agent.
The lodge card is “lodged” with the agent, who charges every purchase you make to the card.
It is not intended for other direct purchases.
They focus on added value to travel agent services:
Monthly statements include purchase orders, and/or cost centres, and other predefined fields.
Some cards provide additional reporting detail.
The initial setup can be complex thus the travel company you choose should already be working with a lodge card partner.

How does a lodge card work?

You have to book through a travel agent. If you book an EasyJet flight on www.easyjet.com you enter the card details but where do you enter the cost centre, or purchase order information etc?

How does that information end up on a statement?

  1. You have to book through the travel agent
  2. The agent will make the booking online (on the EasyJet.com website, for example)
  3. That booking information then entered into the travel agents back-office system.
  4. Manually, the travel agent then adds the Cost Centre and/or Purchase Order reference into the system and once a day, at midnight, an electronic file is then sent to the card company, who merge that information to the EasyJet transaction details already charged.
    That then appears on your statement.

The same procedure applies to any other suppliers, Eurostar etc.

Who offers lodge cards?

There are several companies offering lodge cards, including the major banks.
The most popular cards specifically designed for travel services are provided by AirPlus and Amex

AirPlus Card
https://www.airplus.com/uk/en/

Six Reports costing £250

  1. Refundable unused tickets BA, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Air China ONLY
  2. Overview of flights, classes, destinations
  3. Class of Travel Report – Business Class
  4. Flight Volume Top 10 carriers – useful but will not assist in deal negotiations
  5. Flight Volume Top 20 destinations – after the event
  6. Travel Expense Report by service type

Payment terms – Up to 28 days credit

AirPlus Company Account Card

As above with:

Uploading to ERP (e.g. SAP) systems

Invoicing – flexible data fields including Cost Centre, Staff ID, Dept, Accounting Unit, Project Number

Not all suppliers accept AirPlus cards for payment and in these situations, Airplus can generate a virtual MasterCard number.

BookingBusinessTravel Advice:

Your travel agent should be supplying more meaningful reporting and we don’t believe the AirPlus reports are worth the £250
The refund report is a good facility to have, but only covers a few airlines. Your agent will have a system that identifies all unused tickets, but is your agent refunding you?

American Express® Business Travel Account (BTA)
http://corp.americanexpress.com/gcs/intl/unitedkingdom/corporatecards/bt/default.aspx

  • 50% more on-business points with BA bookings
  • Payment terms – Up to 55 days interest free credit
  • Flexible Billing Options – weekly/monthly
  • Free online reporting

BookingBusinessTravel Advice:

The travel reporting provides much the same data as your travel agent should be providing.
The incentive of 50% extra on-business points is of value especially for companies that have significant long-haul travel in premium class / business class on British Airways.

CORPORATE CREDIT CARDS

These are very different to Lodge Cards
Individual cards are issue to employees for business expenses and can be controlled and monitored by your company.

Who offers corporate charge cards?

All major banks will provide you with these cards but American Express offer more rewards than other banks.

The British Airways American Express® Corporate Card
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/corporatecards/public/en_gb

  • When you book directly with British Airways (i.e. not through a travel agent?) you will earn 50% bonus On Business Points for the company use.
  • Individual card holders receive 1 BA mile for virtually every £1 spent to their BA executive club membership. BA miles can be redeemed against flights/upgrades for anyone
  • Online management information tool
  • Annual fee £50
  • Insurance: Travel Accident Benefit £225,000

The British Airways American Express® Corporate Card PLUS
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/corporatecards/public/en_gb

The same benefits as the corporate card above PLUS:

  • Individual card holders receive 1.5 BA miles for virtually every £1 spent  and 3 miles for bookings on BA flights
  • Bonus 2,500 On Business points when spending over £25,000 in one year
  • Annual fee £180

BookingBusinessTravel Advice

Your company needs to use BA and the BA On Business programme regularly to benefit most.
From our experience to date, most UK companies spend 50% of air travel with BA.
The accrual of executive air miles for all other spend is an added bonus

INDIVIDUAL CARDS

For SME companies wishing to maximise reward and cashback schemes, the best card types are individual cards. Whilst these cards are not marketed to companies for company expenses, there is no prohibition against making purchases for your travellers online, and you will earn significant rewards or even cash-back.

AIR MILES:

British Airways American Express Credit Card
http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/ba-credit-card/

  • 1,000 bonus miles currently offered
  • 1 mile for virtually every £1 spend
  • Redeem miles against a BA flight for yourself or anyone
  • if £20,000 spent in one year, one additional “companion” ticket provided as a bonus (valid for cardholder + companion only)
  • No annual fee

British Airways American Express® Premium-Plus Card
http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/ba-premium-plus-credit-card/

  • 6,000 introductory bonus BA miles
  • 1.5 miles for virtually every £1 spend and 3.0 miles for every BA flight
  • Redeem miles against a BA flight and if £10,000 spent in one year, one additional “companion” ticket provided as a bonus

The miles are redeemable against a flight (valid for cardholder+companion only)

  • £150 annual fee

BMI Amex Credit Card
http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/loyalty-programmes/credit-card/credit-card.aspx

Works well with BMI Diamond Club Rewards and redeemable against BMI flights or Star Alliance Airline partners

  • July offer, 30,000 destination miles, enough for two return tickets to Berlin, Vienna etc
  • 1.5 destination miles for each £1 spend
  • No fee

CASHBACK CARDS

American Express Platinum cashback card
http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/platinum-cashback-credit-card/

  • First 3 months, 5% cashback, maximum £100 payout (£2,000 spend)
  • Minimum spend required £3,000 per annum
  • Spend over £7.501 in the year and earn 1.25% cashback
  • No annual fee

 

Hilton hotel sale for weekend stays only

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Book by Wednesday evening, 12th October;

Hilton is has a “flash sale” of 50,000 rooms worldwide with astonishing rates, but it is for weekend stays only, between 14 October and 16 December

These rates are not displayed in the hotel comparison sites.

Choose Hilton Hotels even if the rates appear higher, and check.

You’ll be offered the discounted rates after you click through.

We recommend you always compare by using our Hotel Comparison Page

 

Hilton Sale – Rooms from £49 – Book by Wednesday 12th October

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Hilton is has a “flash sale” of 50,000 rooms worldwide with astonishing rates, but it is for weekend stays only, between 14 October and 16 December

These rates are not displayed in the hotel comparison sites.

Choose Hilton Hotels even if the rates appear higher, and check.

You’ll be offered the discounted rates after you click through.

We recommend you always compare by using our Hotel Comparison Page

 

British Airways reduces fares from Gatwick

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BA has reduced fares for departures from Gatwick by up to 20 per cent.

12 routes now cost less than £40 each way: Amsterdam, Bologna, Bordeaux, Edinburgh, Genoa, Glasgow, Malaga, Manchester, Marseilles, Naples, Turin and Verona

Other reductions include flights to Faro and Innsbruck (from £49), Salzburg (from £59) and Marrakech £69)

Unlike most “sales” these price reductions appear to be open-ended

The airline has moved to North Terminal with a new dedicated check-in hall.

Hand luggage allowance is one bag of up to 23 kg PLUS laptop or handbag

BA provides free online check-in and advance seat selection.

More information – visit British Airways here

Or visit our British Airways Page

 

 

Avoid Ryanair Fees using Cash Passport

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Save £12 per person per return ticket by using the Ryanair Cash Passport card

But be aware of the following:

  • Prepaid cards are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
  • Transaction fee of 50p applies on spend anywhere other than on Ryanair.com
  • Inactivity fee of £2.50 every 6 months! Loading a small amount of money may count as an activity as a way around this.
  • Cash Machine Fee £2 per withdrawal
  • £6 purchase fee refundable against future flights

More information and apply here:

 

Avoid Ryanair Fees with a prepaid card

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Save £12 per person per return ticket by using the Ryanair Cash Passport card

But be aware of the following:

  • Prepaid cards are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. So don’t load your lottery winnings onto the card.
  • Transaction fee of 50p applies on spend anywhere other than on Ryanair.com
  • Inactivity fee of £2.50 every 6 months! Loading a small amount of money may count as an activity as a way around this.
  • Cash Machine Fee £2 per withdrawal
  • £6 purchase fee refundable against future flights

More information and apply here: