Author: Hari

Hey there! I’m a Clemson grad that travels quite a lot for work, and am the help of my lady working on traveling more for pleasure both solo as well as with my lady. This is a place for me to jot my thoughts… adventures… misadventures… fun products and the such.Before we get started, just a brief disclaimer: all thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are my own and not those of my employer. I will clearly identify all affiliate links as well. You don't have to use them, of course, but I certainly won't object if you do! :)If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me by email at... hari [at] traveling-tiger.comThanks for visiting!

A trip to Vermont is not complete without cider doughnuts, cheese, or chocolates… so we squeezed all three into one day! 😀

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

Our first stop of the day was Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Only 15 minutes from the Village Green condos, it made for a delicious start to the day. You are encouraged to sample their different ciders, apple butters, and spreads. They also make wonderfully moist cider doughnuts – the traditional size, so you don’t have to feel guilty about it, of course.

After putting our legs up for a bit, we made our way to Pete’s Green’s, where we were told we could see some alpaca! Though the alpaca didn’t want to be friendly, we did meet a very friendly sheep and an adventurous chicken who escaped the pen as we made our way to the car.

Cabot Annex, Smuggler’s Notch Distillery, and More

Located just south of Pete’s Greens is a strip-mall-esque location containing an annex for Cabot’s cheeses, as well as Danforth Pewter, Lake Champlain Chocolates, and Smuggler’s Notch Distillery.

We had to sample everything available here, so we took our time and explored what they had to share. My personal favorite at Cabot was their Lamberton cheese, which we picked up for our burgers. I also purchased a fifth of Smuggler’s Notch Litigation – a new offering of whiskey that I found quite tasty.

Though there is quite a lot of detail in the wares at Danforth Pewter, the prices are quite reasonable given the work put into the items, and it is an excellent option for souvenirs and gifts. This property is attached directly to the Lake Champlain Chocolate store, which made for a nice transition. Though the iced Americano was tasty, the iced brew from Scout & Co. in South Burlington was by and far better.

For lunch we traveled back to Waterbury and visited the Prohibition Pig.

Ben & Jerry

On the way back to Stowe, we had to visit Ben & Jerry’s headquarters.

Though we didn’t stay for the tour, we definitely had some ice-cream (Bourbon Brown Butter) and went to say hi to the cows on the way back to the car. Gotta thank the ladies for the delicious milk!

Vacation Report: Stowe, VT, Day 2

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

We spent our day wandering about the various stalls at the Stowe Farmer’s Market and I found myself falling in love all over with cheese. I also discovered a liquor distilled from maple syrup, as well as gins that were created exclusively with herbs from Vermont! There were many fuzzies (puppies mainly, though a horse did show up!) that were very friendly with us.

Afterwards, we visited the Stowe Cider as well as Stowe Wine and Cheese. The staff everywhere was extremely friendly and is happy to help you find a cider that fits your flavor profiles! They make one that is aged in Rum barrels, for example, that is quite tasty.

For lunch, we visited the Malt Shop, where I opted for onion rings and a burger with bleu cheese. They also have excellent chili-fries. Be warned, though, they only accept cash!

Vacation Report: Stowe, VT, Day 1

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

Background

My girlfriend’s family has access to a timeshare in Stowe, VT, so I decided to take some time away from my day job to get some R and R. I took the opportunity to fly more with Delta to help maintain status, and kill two birds with one stone. To add icing to the cake, a good friend of ours visited at the same time, so we had many nights filled with Cards Against Humanity!

Flights

To reach Stowe, VT I flew to the nearest airport: Burlington, VT (BTV). The first flight was from Raleigh to Detroit, and then routed from Detroit to Burlington.

The full route can be seen here, courtesy of the Great Circle Mapper.

Thanks to my Diamond Medallion Status, I confirmed upgrades to First Class for both segments on the way up. The first flight was on a B737-800, while the second was on a regional jet (CRJ900). I opted for window seats on both flights – I’m a sucker for a good view!

Detroit

As we taxied for takeoff at Detroit, I caught a glimpse of a 747-400 – one of my favorite planes, and my first wide-body experience that I can remember. Because of the sentimental memories associated with the plane, I can’t help but smile when I see one.

Burlington Airport

While the Burlington Airport is technically international, it is fairly small in that it only caters to regional aircraft, albeit the larger ones (CRJ700/900). There is no SkyClub, due to its size, but TSA PreCheck is available.

The airport is directly across from the Army and Air National Guard hangars, which made for an impressive landing. The 134th Fighter Squadron was visible from my window. As an AvGeek, seeing F16s was definitely awesome.

South Burlington

Before heading to Stowe, I headed into Burlington to get some coffee and a snack. I stopped at Scout & Co., and their iced coffee was just what I needed. Highly recommended, if you find yourself in the region!

Village Green at Stowe

The timeshare properties are part of the condos located at the Village Green at Stowe. Though a little dated (the condos were built in the mid-to-late 70s), they have modern furnishings and gas cooking. My girlfriend brought up our grill so we were able to make some burgers with delicious Cabot cheese. The condos also have an indoor pool, outdoor pool, hot tub, and dry sauna available. Unfortunately cellular reception in the area leaves a lot to be desired, and Wi-Fi is only available near the club house.

Hello from Stowe, VT!

Apologies for the lack of posts, but the internet connectivity is spotty at best. There are posts coming, though!

Citi Prestige: 4th Night Free Benefit

If you are a work traveler, can book hotels directly, and use your own credit card, the Citi Prestige is a no-brainier. This card is one of the top-tier cards offered today (along with the Platinum Card from American Express, and the soon-to-be-released Sapphire Reserve from Chase). Though it comes with a hefty price-tag by way of a $450 annual fee, it has a staggering number of benefits.

In addition to the $250 annual airfare credit bundled with the card, one of the most advertised benefits of the card is receiving a free night for every booking of four or more nights. There is no limit to the number of times you use this benefit, so you can easily make your money back many times over. This is particularly beneficial when your work reimburses you for any travel you have to do.

To take advantage of this benefit, you just have to call the Citi Prestige Concierge at (561)-922-0158 and tell them that you would like to use the fourth night benefit for your card. They will walk you through the process of identifying where you would like to stay, any special rates (AAA, AARP, government, or corporate booking code), and your frequent guest information (Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards, etc.). They will then make the booking and send you an email detailing how much the entire stay will cost and how much you will be reimbursed. This is key as you will be paying for the full stay and then Citi pays you back the cost of the fourth night including taxes, but not resort fees. Per, TheFrequentMiler, conference rates aren’t bookable this way, but most others are. Be sure to check online through various booking systems (directly to the hotel, sites like Kayak, and others) before calling so you have a general idea of what to expect.

Even though this benefit will be changing over the coming months, so the credit from Citi will be for an average of the four nights instead of the price of the fourth night, the value offered by it easily out-weighs the $450 annual fee.

If you are interested in applying for this card, you can find it on the Citi website [not an affiliate link] with a 40,000 bonus point offer for completing a $4,000 spend in 3 months. I would strongly advise you checking a local Citi branch, however, as there have been reports of local bankers providing the old offer of 50,000 bonus points for completing a spend of $3,000 in the same period of time.

Status Miles vs. Award Miles: Airline Partner Earning

With more and more US airlines going from a “miles flown” to “dollars spent” award mile accrual system, extremely cheap flights are becoming less and less rewarding.

The “big three” airlines (American, Delta, and United) all follow this principle in that award miles – those used for redemption for future free flights – are based on how much you spend and what your status with the airline is. As a rule of thumb, you earn 5 award miles per USD spent as a general member, 7 at the lowest tier, then 8, 9 (if there are 4 tiers), and 11 miles per USD at the highest tier. Status qualifying miles, however, are still earned based on the miles you spend in the air.

One thing to keep in mind is that even though you earn status with the airline you credit your mileage to, since you are using that frequent flier number on your reservation, you will not earn status with the actual airline you are flying. That is to say, if I use my KrisFlier (Singapore Airlines) frequent flier number when booking flights on United Airlines I will:

Earn KrisFlier miles – minimum earning rate of 100% of the miles flown
Earn status with Singapore Airlines
Earn StarAlliance status (derived from KrisFlyer status)

However, upgrades will be severely impacted. This is because cross-alliance upgrades are not an advertised benefit for any of the alliances (OneWorld: American, SkyTeam: Delta, or Star Alliance: United). However, if economy is overbooked and there are unsold seats in a higher class of service and they cannot upgrade anyone from their own program, they might take alliance status into account. Since this is at the airline’s discretion, it’s hard to predict, so it is best to assume you will not be upgraded.

OneWorld

With the recent news that American Airlines will be going to a revenue based system, following the example set by Delta and United, many individuals who do not have high levels of status with American have considered crediting miles to other airlines in the OneWorld family. The primary target for this transition has been Etihad as you still earn based on distance flown.

Additionally, their awards chart is extremely competitive. With Etihad buying shares of other airlines, such as Brussels Air, you can get some spectacular deals when it comes to mileage redemption.

SkyTeam

Because it was the first of the “big three” to make this transition, many credit Delta with starting the transition to revenue based mileage earnings versus the traditional flown-miles model. Between this change and the removal of award charts, and subsequent change to “dynamic award pricing”, it can be tricky to plan mileage earnings for trips!

FlyingBlue, the frequent flier program belonging to AirFrance (and inherited by KLM after the merger in 2004), is particularly attractive as an alternative in that you still earn redeemable miles based on distance flown, even if at a reduced rate for discounted Economy fares. Additionally, they frequently run sales for their award flights, and will always give at least 500 miles for a domestic flight (750 for international) – regardless of fare and distance flown.

Another option is Virgin Atlantic, which offers at a minimum 75% of distance flown.

Both AirFrance and Virgin Atlantic will add fuel surcharges to tickets, though, depending on which airline partner you are flying with. Both have some very interesting options in that regard: Air Tahiti Nui, Singapore Airlines, and Kenya Airlines, to name a few.

Star Alliance

When it comes to StarAlliance, there are a few options that still offer a relatively high rate of accrual based on miles flown, but the airline that comes out at the head of the pack is Singapore Airlines. In addition to earning 100% of the miles flown, you get access to reasonably priced awards charts (with some of the best in-flight experiences available). The only down-side is that the awards will come with fuel surcharges. A full table regarding earnings can be found on the KrisFlyer website.

Another option is AirCanada’s Aeroplan program. Your mileage earnings will vary based on the fare-class: where discount-economy will come in as low as 50% of distance flown, with higher priced tickets earning more. The award chart is fairly competitive, which is also a nice perk.

Visa and MasterCard Benefits

With the different classes of credit cards offered by Visa and MasterCard, it can be difficult to keep track of what perks are associated with which. Add to the confusion the introduction of a new tier, Visa Infinite, and it can get a little crazy.

Visa

Visa Traditional

At the lowest level, cards simply identified as Visa offer very few inherent benefits. That said, card issuers are known to offer quite a few that can be identified in the benefits agreement that is sent to cardholders. All users, however, will be guaranteed the following:

Secondary Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
Emergency Card Replacement and Emergency Cash
Lost and Stolen Card Reporting
Zero Liability

Visa Signature

The middle tier, Signature, has all the benefits of the traditional Visa with quite a few travel perks.

Roadside Dispatch
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
Extended Purchase Warranty
Product Purchase Security
Visa Signature Concierge
Visa Fine Hotels and Resorts
Visa Travel Offers

Visa Signature cards also start with a $5000 minimum credit limit, and card issuers are known to bundle quite a few perks with these cards. Chase, in particular, has the Sapphire Preferred [affiliate link] as well as a variety of hotel and airline cards (United, Hyatt, Marriott, and British Airways) that are all in the Visa family.

Visa Infinite

The Visa Infinite level was previously only offered outside of the United States, but recently there have been two cards that fall into this category with a third on the way. Of the three, two are issued by Chase (noticing a pattern?). The remaining card is issued by Crystal National Bank. In all cases, the cards come with a fairly steep annual fee – upwards of $400.

As with the Visa Signature and Visa Traditional cards, the Visa Infinite will carry with it all benefits from lower tiers. Both issuing companies offer, TSA PreCheck/Global Entry reimbursement every five years, and travel credits of varying degrees.

The biggest perk offered is the Visa Infinite family is that domestic, coach airfare for two to five people will receive a $100 discount. That is – each time the card is used to purchase more than one ticket (where the cardholder is traveling), you receive a discount of $100. There is no limit to the number of times you can use this, and you can be upgraded after the tickets are purhcased from what I have been able to discern. DoctorOfCredit has a helpful breakdown of this feature.

In the same vein, the biggest disappointment is that the brand new card from Chase, the Sapphire Reserve, will not have this benefit.

MasterCard

Traditional MasterCard

As with the traditional Visa, the traditional MasterCard offers the fewest benefits of the MasterCard family. Many of the benefits of this tier are similar to those offered by Visa. Some of the main points can be found below. A full list can be found at MasterCard’s website.

World MasterCard

Keeping with the relationship of Visa Signature to Visa traditional, the World MasterCard carries with it all the benefits offered by the traditional MasterCard level.

Just like the Visa Signature, the World MasterCard offers a concierge service and a variety of travel related perks. Interestingly, World MasterCards can be issued with quite low credit limits – sometimes as low as $1000.

MasterCard Travel Offers
MasterCard Airport Concierge
World Air Program
World Cruise Program
World Tours and Vacations Program

World Elite MasterCard

The World Elite MasterCard is the luxury level offering in the MasterCard card line. It comes with premium concierge service and a variety of travel benefits. A full list with details can be found on the MasterCard website.

MasterCard Luxury Hotels & Resorts
MasterCard Airport Concierge
Personal Travel Advisor
World Elite Air Program
World Elite Private Jet Program
World Elite Cruise Program
World Elite Car Rental Program
World Elite Tours and Vacations Program

Trip Cancellation Insurance

As with the World MasterCard, there is no credit limit requirement, unlike the cards offered by Visa. Similarly, not all World Elite MasterCards come with high annual fees. The Arrival+ card offered by BarclayCard clocks in at $89, for example, while higher tier cards such as the Citi Prestige have a fee that reflects it.

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