Frustration With Avios Points

I like to keep the blog posts positive, but I have, on occasion, ranted about things. Well, really only about booking airline tickets. So as my frustration with British Airlines rises, I feel compelled to share. WHAT THE *#!@%!!?? Are they living in the 21st century? Their website is ridiculous: recursive loops, frequent errors, and no capability to book open jaw flights with frequent flier miles. That means you have to call their customer service number to accomplish this and that is a frightening prospect given the many, many tweets, blogs, and online comments about how rude and unfriendly their sales agents are. Deciding to risk it, I called the number. Yesterday I was on hold for 53 minutes before deciding to hang up. But today, after a 48 minute hold, I reached a sales agent.

Surprise! He was quite friendly. Judging by his accent I had obviously reached the UK-based call center. But he was less than helpful as he transferred me to an Executive Club agent since I wanted to book with Avios points, and the EC agent said she had no idea why because she couldn't help me. So I was transferred back to a different sales agent and he happened to be cheerful and generous. He searched endlessly for a flight that would work for us, waived my phone booking service fees, and explained that British Airways's reputation for rude telephone agents arose after the Jacksonville, Florida, call center employees were told they were out of a job because the center was closing. (It is now closed.)

So did we book a flight on British Airways using our two free companion tickets and 240,000 Avios points? No.

Hubby and I were excited to sign up for the British Airways Chase Visa Signature Card when they offered a signup bonus of 100,000 airline miles, another bonus of 50,000 miles after spending $2,000 within 3 months, and a free companion ticket after spending $30,000 on the card within a calendar year. We fervently charged up the card the last two years in an effort to rack up enough airline miles (Avios points) to travel to Europe for free this summer, although I was aware of the extremely high taxes, fees, and fuel surcharges one still had to pay on British Airlines.

Did I say extremely high taxes, fees, and surcharges? I mean prohibitively high. Almost $3,000 for the four of us to fly to Germany on a complicated, circuitous route not in nor out of anywhere near our home airport. We chose to pass on that. Words from the wise (such as The Points Guy, BoardingArea, and Mommy Points) say that the best value in spending Avios points is to fly short domestic flights on British Air.

Not quite sure how we're going to get to Germany to visit the family this summer now.

10 Best Airlines in the World

I am currently skimming The 10 Best of Everything by Nathaniel Lande and Andrew Lande.

Interesting, their list of the 10 best airlines in the world, which they give in random order:

American Airlines (hmmm...not my personal favorite)
Cathay Pacific Airways
Thai Airways International
Air New Zealand
Malaysia Airlines
Japan Airlines
Midwest Airlines
British Airways
Singapore Airlines
Air Malta & Aegean Airlines

We'll be flying British Airways to Europe next summer, so I'll be able to judge them for myself, but how about you?  Do you agree with this list?

Sleeping Cabin on the Train from Lisbon to Madrid

Oddly enough, the only direct train from Lisbon to Madrid, and vice versa, is a night train.  So, since we had no other way to get from the capital of Portugal to the Madrid airport for our flight home, we booked a 4-person sleeping cabin for $110 per person.  Expensive, I know.  When you compare our crowded, bumpy, noisy, 11 hour night on the train with a stay in an equally expensive luxury hotel, it's a little depressing.  But the experience was valuable for my kids, and I'd do it again.

I slept fine (with just a little help from a good pair of earplugs and a double dose of Advil PM), and my son and daughter said they slept alright.  But my husband had trouble.  He's about 6'1", and the bed was too short for him.  The beds are also somewhat narrow.  He said he hardly slept at all.

As you can see from my photos, the cabins are narrow with little room for luggage.  The bed linens are okay and the blankets aren't needed because the room gets stuffy and warm in the summer.  In the corner is a small sink with running water and each passenger is provided a little gift pack which includes earplugs, a bar of soap, a travel toothbrush and toothpaste.  Nice touch, I think.  We felt very safe because the door had a lock as well as a security chain.  I did tell the kids to wake one of us up if they had to go to the bathroom at night, though, just to be cautious.

My husband and daughter, who are early risers, strolled up to the dining car before dawn and had breakfast.  They both agreed it was a good meal, with fresh rolls and orange juice.  My daughter particularly enjoyed watching the sunrise from the train as the Spanish countryside swished by outside the window.

Lisbon Oriente Train Station

Did you know that Lisbon's Oriente train station is as busy as Grand Central Terminal in New York?

Lisbon Oriente Station

On the train platform.

Books for sale inside the station.

My daughter looks like an alien standing in the inner gallery of the Lisbon Orient Station.

This is my Photo Friday link-up post at DeliciousBaby.com.

Lovely Lisbon

This is not the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

This is not Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.

Both of these landmarks are in Lisbon, Portugal!  The 25 de Abril Bridge was our first glimpse of Lisbon as we crossed it by car to enter the city, and we were all astounded at how identical in shape and color it was to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  The Cristo-Rei, or Christ the King, statue  was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro and also watches over the city it protects with outstretched arms from an isolated hilltop.

The week we spent in Lisbon last summer in a great little Baixa district apartment was a lovely end to our vacation - Lisbon is a magnificent city.  Most impressive are the views, from almost everywhere throughout this hilly capital, of the Atlantic Ocean, the Tagus River, and red-tiled roofs as far as the eye can see.

Because Lisbon was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1755 and subsequently rebuilt by the Prime Minister at that time, a man with modern urban plans, the city today has large squares, grand boulevards, and many parks and plazas.

Rossio Square

Rossio Square

Commerce Square

Park at the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcantara lookout point.

Alfonso de Albuquerque Square in the Belém district.

There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites to visit in Lisbon:  the Tower of Belém and the Jerónimos Monastery.

The Tower of Belém was designed as a fortified defense tower and ceremonial gateway to Lisbon to ships traveling on the Tagus River.  The Tower sits on the bank of the river and is open for tours, though we did not go inside.  We did admire the architecture with its arched windows, balconies, and watchtowers.

Tower of Belém

The Jerónimos Monastery was built in 1459 by Henry the Navigator to house monks and, with its cathedral, to be a house of prayer for seamen and explorers departing or entering port.  Vasco da Gama and his crew spent the night in prayer at the monastery before leaving for the Orient in 1497.  The monastery is an enormous, ornate structure and definitely worth visiting.  Tour the cathedral and the stunning interior square cloister.  Big tip of the day:  entrance to the Jerónimos Monastery is free on Sundays!

A short walk down the river from the Tower of Belém is another monument, the Monument to the Discoveries, a fairly recent (1960) structure to honor the Portuguese Age of Discovery of the 15th and 16th centuries.  Its sculptured figures include depictions of Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan and 30 other explorers.  An elevator to the top of the monument takes you took a fine lookout over the city of Lisbon.  Another tip for you:  there are free, clean restrooms under the Monument to the Discoveries.

Monument to the Discoveries

It wouldn't be a great European city if it wasn't protected by a medieval castle on a hill, and Lisbon is proudly safeguarded by Castle of São Jorge, a 10th century Moorish citadel with a 360° view of the capital.

Castle of São Jorge

A very lovely half day can be spent walking the castle walls, climbing the towers, and, as we did, enjoy a picnic inside the large interior square.

Santa Justa Elevator

Transportation around the city is unique and fun, and there are ways to save money.  For example, to go across town by bus the fare is 1.75€ per person.  For our family of four, a taxi cab was less than 7€ to travel almost anywhere in Lisbon so that was obviously cheaper and more convenient.  Also, you'll definitely want to ride the iconic Santa Justa Elevator and one of the cute vintage cable cars.  I suggest you do this on the same day to save money by buying a 5€ all-day transportation pass.  This pass lets you ride all buses, subways, cable cars, and funiculars for 24 hours.  A terrific savings, since the Santa Justa Elevator ticket by itself is 5€!  Lisbon's subway system is clean and nice, but we found it not quite extensive enough to reach all the tourist sites.

Vintage cable cars in Lisbon.

Riding the cable car.

Glória Funicular

Beautiful side trips, or day trips, to gorgeous towns such as Sintra, Cascais, and Estoril are an easy and inexpensive (18.40€ for the four of us to take the train to Sintra) train ride from the Lisbon station.

This is my Photo Friday link-up post to DeliciousBaby.com.

Do You Need Train Reservations?

I love the ol' hop-on hop-off days of train travel with a Eurail Pass in Europe.  Those were the days when you really only had to make a reservation on a train if you wanted a sleeper couchette.  Hop-on hop-off still exists in many European countries, but some, such as Switzerland and Spain, insist on seat reservations on all but small, regional trains.  It takes some of the spontaneity out of train travel.

What surprised me when traveling in Switzerland last winter was that seat reservations were not as necessary as I was led to believe.  We were traveling with a Swiss Pass and I had only booked seats on our two major travel days from Zurich to Adelboden and back again.  (And the cutest thing was that our Rail Europe travel agent had booked our group of 11 a whole car by having this paper sign taped to the windows!)  We took other long train rides (Frutigen to Gruyères, for example) and just simply boarded without reservations, no problem.

On a 2nd class train car in Switzerland.

In Spain this summer we didn't have rail passes so naturally got a seat assignment when we purchased our tickets, but it didn't seem to matter where we sat on the regional trains (Seville to Córdoba, for example).  In Portugal we took a few train rides out of Lisbon and didn't need seat reservations.

Certainly all high-speed trains such as TGV, ICE, Eurostar, Thalyes, AVE and others require seat reservations.  Even if you have a rail pass be sure to purchase (there's a surcharge) a seat reservation before boarding.

Another thing that's changed from "the old days" of European train travel is that there's not much difference between 1st and 2nd class cars anymore now that most seating is "bus style" as opposed to train compartments.  Sure, the seats are a little wider in 1st class, and we were shocked to be served a complimentary box of sushi, of all things, on a 1st class ride from Paris to Cologne.

And sometimes you just get lucky:  when my Girl Scout troop and I were headed to the Zurich airport for our flight home, one of our connecting trains was delayed.  A very kind Swiss train attendant knew we were nervous about catching our plane, personally led us to another train, and seated us in 1st class for the rest of our journey.  The girls felt very special!

Thanks for the Review!

Many thanks to Mary Turner, author of the travel blog Travel With Teens and Tweens, for featuring my blog post My Teenager's First Solo Flight in her Reviews & Resources for Family Travel Planners this week!  Check out her plentiful advice on family traveling in the U.S. as well as to exotic international destinations on her top-rated blog.

My One Wish (Briefly) Comes True

My One Wish briefly came true.  I had no idea we had two seats in Business Class on our recent flight to New York until I looked at my ticket, looked at the seat number, looked again at my ticket and again at the seat number.  Was it a mistake?  Was the upgrade intended?  Why hadn't I received any brandish accolades from American Airlines announcing my customer loyalty to be so commendable as to be worthy of a class upgrade?

Just look at those fluffy comforters and standard size (as opposed to cereal box size) pillows with cotton (as opposed to scratchy, disposable, non-woven) pillow cases.  See how the seat almost fully reclines and a convenient foot-rest reduces the pesky risk of deep vein thrombosis, a.k.a. "econony-class syndrome".

Dilemna:  only two of our seats were in Business Class and there were three of us flying to New York. Obviously one would belong to me (momma's gotta have her rest), but would my husband or my son enjoy the luxury of a double arm rest, bountiful legroom, warm lunch, and a freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie served with a smile by an attentive flight attendant?

My kind and generous husband surrendered the seat to my 13 year old son so he could gain the experience and -  I think - to hopefully motivate him to financially succeed in life in order to afford a little luxury once in awhile.  It might have worked.  Every time the flight attendant offered us something to eat my son would ask, "Is it free?" and the steward would say, "Of course!" to which my son would exclaim, "Cool!"  The deal was clinched for sure though when said flight attendant brought my son a Galaxy Tab for the duration of the flight.  For free.  Loaded with video games, TV shows, music, podcasts, and over 70 movies.  "Cool!" was then the exclamation from me, as I nested into my soft comforter, reclined my seat, and went to sleep.

Photo Friday: Lethal Snow Globes

Have we all gone mad?

This post is part of Photo Friday at DeliciousBaby.com.

Madrid Atocha Railway Station

A fun post by BootsnAll about a year ago listed the World's 11 Coolest Train Stations.  Atocha Station in Madrid was one.  I liked the photo of the indoor botanical garden inside the station and looked forward to seeing it when we took the train from Madrid to Seville in June.  But I missed it!  How could that be?  I'm sure we walked through the main entrance.  We certainly boarded our train.  Was it on another floor?  Is the station really that big?

Madrid Atocha is the largest railway station in Madrid.  It was completely remodeled in 1985 and is now a modern steel and glass building with underground platforms.  There is a somber memorial shrine in the station dedicated to the memory of the 191 people killed in the al-Qaeda-inspired commuter train bombings there on March 11, 2004, but we didn't see that either.  Sometimes when we're traveling we happen on sights we weren't expecting, and sometimes we completely miss things we're looking for.

Madrid Atocha was the only train station we traveled through in Spain where baggage is x-rayed before boarding.  There is no free wifi in the station, but there are free bathrooms.

Waiting inside the train at Madrid Atocha.

Layover Fun

My kids playing on the moving walkway at DFW airport today.  This activity never seems to grow old.

No Brotherly Love

Okay, what is up with Spain and Portugal?  Are they not friends?  Do they not share a peninsula?  Is there no Iberian brotherly love?  First I find out there are no regular, high-speed train connections between their capitals, Madrid and Lisbon, just an 11 hour overnight train.  In fact, there are only four rail lines that cross the border between the two countries at all.  Next, we try to rent a car for pick-up in Granada, Spain, and return in Lisbon.  We are perfectly well aware that there is often a substantial fee to pick-up/drop-off in two different countries, but Auto Europe denied our request completely, saying there is no - nada - cooperation between Spain and Portugal with rental car exchanges.

Guess what we'll have to do now?  Drive to Seville, drop off the car, get on a bus across the border, and then rent another car in the first town in Portugal.  How silly.

Only 4 rail lines (in red) cross the border between Spain and Portugal.

UPDATE POSTED ON JUNE 7, 2012:  Thanks to a suggestion by Denise, a commenter on this post, I tried working with Avis directly over the phone and got a much better deal!  They wouldn't allow such a booking on-line, but through an agent we got a reservation to pick up a car in Granada and drop it off in Lisbon!  Sometimes it pays to try everything.

Thun Town

The charming town of Thun (pronounced toon), Switzerland, might just be the perfect place to base yourself in the Bernese Oberland if you prefer to be in not such a big city but also not in a tiny one-horse town either.  Thun has a busy train station as well as modern office buildings, shopping, and culture, but once you step a few blocks away from the downtown area you will find yourself in a precious medieval village with a rising castle, clock towers, and covered wooden bridges.  That's right, you don't have to visit Lucerne to see ancient covered bridges.

Covered bridge over the Saane River in Thun.

Another covered bridge in Thun.

Walking across the Saane River covered bridge.

After strolling across the river through a wooden covered bridge, one comes to the historic old town, with its cobblestone shopping streets, quaint alpine architecture, and medieval sights.

Dominating the view from just about any spot in town is the 12th century fortress on a small hill in the middle of the city.  If the Disney castle was modeled after Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Rapunzel's castle could have been designed after Thun's Zähringen Castle.

Can't you just see Rapunzel's braid cascading down from one of the turrets?

The castle, which is closed in the winter so we could not go in, features a history museum with several sections about medieval armor, weaponry, and rural life.  A lovely walking path with terrific views leads from the castle to a nearby church.

Church in Thun.

One of the most popular reasons for vacationing in Thun, which was not available to us in the cold month of January, is its water sports and beautiful swimming beach on Lake Thun.  Boat tours on Lake Thun are free to Swiss rail pass and Eurail Pass holders and offer breathtaking views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau mountain peaks, the resort town of Interlaken, and of course of Thun.

A great place to spend time with kids is at Schadaupark, actually the grounds of Schadau Castle.  From spring until fall every second Sunday of the month kids can ride a steam train for 2 Swiss francs around the park.  There is also a nice playground on the property.