Episode 21: Boutique European Hotels, Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Review, London, Venice and Rome With a Family of Four

And….We’re Back! Spring break is over and we’re here with a jam packed episode. Today we cover: 

News:

0:30 Chase 30% Transfer Bonus to British Airways (link)

• Through June 16, 2019
• You don’t see the 30% bonus on the UR portal, BA processes the bonus on its end
• Deal or not a deal? Enough to encourage speculative transfer?

4:45 Zero fee MCGC at Staples 4/21-4/27 (link)

• Stack with Dosh 3% capped at $5 per day (link)
• Payce too?
• Am I banned by Dosh? 
• Chase Offers
• Amex Staples 10% back Offer

7:50 11-Day Stop & Shop Strike Over (link)

• Had effects on sales of prepaid cards

9:35 Main Topic: Robert’s Trip to London, Venice and Rome

10:25 Parameters

• Family of 4 out of Boston (boys 14 and 11)
• Saturday to Saturday during April school vacation
• London, Venice, and Rome

11:20 Flights

• Blog post on this
• BOS-LHR//FCO-LHR-BOS
• Virgin Atlantic Upper Class both ways + Alitalia Economy
• Paid 150,000 Delta SkyMiles pp + $100 taxes + fees roundtrip
• Added LHR-Venice (cheap, paid with Wells Fargo GoFar Rewards)
• Day-time flight on the way there, which is rare

All lodging and tours booked through Chase Expedia portal with 1.5 cpp uplift

23:10 London

• Hotel: Rosewood London
  • Hotel is fantastic. Absolutely gorgeous with great service.
  • Family Room (2 double beds)
  • Public spaces, restaurants, and bars are so well done.
• Tour: Photography Tour

29:20 Venice

• London City Airport-Venice flight on BA was a fine 2 hour flight in Economy
• But getting through Passport Control in Venice took 1.5 hours
• Really makes me want to avoid short hop intra-Europe flights because they’re such momentum killers
• Took a Alilaguna shared water taxi from airport to central Venice 15 euro pp
• There were transport options in Chase UR portal but the options were confusing to me/poorly reviewed so I made a game out of finding our way there
• The water taxi stopped at a bunch of places on the Grand Canal before reaching out hotel but it was a fun experience
• Hotel: Hotel Flora
  • Highly recommend staying right in central Venice overnight (crowds are low in morning/late at night)
  • Felt like a very Rick Steves kind of plac