This was our first big international trip since the pandemic and I was excited to fly KLM for the first time. I took advantage of a AMEX transfer bonus and transferred points to Flying Blue. Two round trip tickets in business class cost 252,000 Flying Blue points or ~193,000 AMEX Membership Rewards (~48.5K each way) which seemed solid.
Continue reading “Review: KLM World Business SFO-AMS”Tag: SFO
Review: AA Flagship First SFO-JFK
We were at the SFO Admirals Club getting ready to head to the gate when I saw a seat change notification. I wasn’t expecting good news. However, for whatever reason, we were both upgraded from Flagship Business to Flagship First. My only guess is that business was oversold. The agent provided us our new boarding pass and we were on our way to the gate.
Continue reading “Review: AA Flagship First SFO-JFK”Review: SFO Alaska Club
Alaska Airlines opened their new San Francisco club a few months back and I finally had time to check it out. Before the pandemic the original plans were to create a new space. However, plans changed and Alaska took over the former American Airlines Admirals club. The agent quickly scanned our boarding pass and we entered the lounge.
Review: BA First SFO-LHR
We boarded from the lounge into the First Class cabin through door 1L. This was my first time flying British Airways.
Date: Friday February 28
Flight: 284
Aircraft: 747-400
Origin: SFO
Destination: LHR
Seat: 4K
Scheduled Push Back: 4:10 PM
Actual Push Back: 4:13 PM
The seating is in a 1-2-1 arrangement on the lower deck in the nose of the aircraft. The crew was very professional and addressed me by name. The seat was comfortable and spacious. On the seat was two pillows.
Review: SFO British Airways Terraces Lounge
British Airways recently remodeled the SFO lounge in 2019. The pictures looked stunning. This would be my first time visiting a British Airways lounge. I showed up at 12:45 PM for my 4:30 PM flight to find out the lounge doesn’t open until 1:15 PM. Taking advantage of my oneworld ticket I went over to the Cathay Pacific lounge to wait it out.
Continue reading “Review: SFO British Airways Terraces Lounge”Review: NH SFO-NRT First Class
I was pretty excited for this flight. I read amazing things about ANA (and JAL) first class. I booked this round trip first class flight using Virgin Atlantic miles which was an excellent deal (especially since there was a transfer bonus using American Express Membership Rewards at the time). I left the United Polaris Lounge and arrived at the gate to get a print out of my boarding pass.
Review: KE SFO-ICN First Class
This was my second time flying Korean Airlines first class and I was pretty excited. I booked this flight by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to Korean Airlines before Chase devalued the program. We checked in using the first class line which had no wait.
Review: San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront
I tried once before to stay at this hotel before a flight and the rates were 450+ per night which is insane. When I saw this hotel for 150 inclusive of taxes, I booked right away! I’ve always had my eye on this hotel. Apart of the convenience of being an airport hotel, it was recently remodeled with the new Marriott look. Boy was this hotel stunning! Continue reading “Review: San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront”
Review: UA Polaris Lounge SFO
United opened their first Polaris lounge in December of 2016. However, they failed to open any in 2017. Additionally, the roll out of the new Polaris seats have been slow as well. In the time it took United to open two Polaris lounges, American opened several Flagship lounges. In terms of business class lounges the Polaris lounge is a step above Americans Flagship lounge as it offers sit down meal service (Americans Flagship Dining isn’t open to business class customers). Both American and United business class lounge offerings are above Delta which doesn’t have a dedicated business class lounge (though Skyclubs are generally better than standard Admirals and United Club offerings). Anyway, the time has finally come! United will be officially opening their second Polaris lounge on Monday April 30th. United hosted a media event on Wednesday April 25, and auctioned off tickets to attend a pre-opening event on Friday April 27. For 2,500 miles, it seemed like a good offer!
Review: UA SFO-NRT Polaris Business
Date: Tuesday January 9
Flight: 837
Aircraft: 777-300ER
Origin: SFO
Destination: NRT
Seat: 5L Polaris Business
Scheduled Push Back: 10:55 AM
Actual Push Back: 11:14 AM
I boarded through door 1L, walked across the plane, and turned right. I was in seat 5L which is a window seat. Resting on the seat was the Polaris Saks Fifth Avenue bedding. I was immediately confronted with a problem.. Where do I put all this stuff?! Since you are allegedly not allowed to stow anything near your seat for taxi, takeoff, and landing I ended up stashing it in the overhead compartment for the time being. My first impression of the seat was that it was quite comfortable. By default the seat is reclined a considerable amount which makes it feel very relaxing.