£5 reward for creating an Amazon wish list
Amazon has launched a new effortless promotion and you can earn a £5 voucher easily if targeted.
You can access the offer and check your eligibility here. Simply create a wish list and add at least 3 items to it, and you’ll receive a £5 reward to apply to your next purchase of £20 or more.
The offer expires March 21, but is limited to the first 1,000 customers only.
Other Amazon offers:
- £10 off your first Amazon App purchase
- £20 off your first Amazon Fresh and Morrisons order
- Get £10 Amazon voucher for using its Photos app
- £4 off your next Amazon pickup order
- £5 Amazon bonus when topping up £60
- £5 Free Voucher for Streaming Amazon Music
- £5 Free Voucher for Streaming Amazon Podcast
- Earn £5 voucher for using Amazon Pay
- Free £5 Amazon voucher to claim
- £5 voucher for watching Amazon Prime Video
- £5 reward for creating an Amazon wish list
- £15 free money to spend at Amazon Fresh stores
- Amazon Warehouse £5 free voucher
My review of Le Meridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre
Disrupted by the layoff, my five-night beach holiday in Dubai turned into a short airport layover of two days. There are quite a few hotel options near the Dubai airport, such as the Holiday Inn Express, Aloft and Element. However I didn’t want to “downgrade” that much, so went for Le Meridien in the end.
The hotel is about three minutes’ drive from the airport, and you can actually walk if not carrying too many bags. Despite of its remoteness, the hotel is right next to a metro station so connection to downtown Dubai is easy.
Don’t confuse it with Le Meridien Fairway, which is further away from the airport and much smaller.
A Christmas tree is ready for the festive period.
Interestingly, Le Meridien is actually composed of two hotels, which is very unusual. The hotel has one building named the Royal Wing, which has its own reception, parking space, pools and club lounge, so it’s pretty much an independent hotel.
Marriott Platinum members receive an upgrade to the Royal Club Room by default.
You need to cross the main building to see the Royal Wing block.
Upon entering the building the first facility you see is the Royal Club, which is an exclusive club lounge. However, it is basically a lobby bar so feels quite different to an ordinary lounge you see elsewhere.
Royal Wing has a very different style of interior design compared to the main building. Darker colours are used everywhere to the Royal theme.
You can’t fault the service in Dubai. A porter came to pick up my luggage at the first sight and accompanied me all the way to my room. Moments after I’ve settled down, someone else brought me a huge fruit platter.
There is only one room type at the Royal Wing. The room to be honest, is a bit worn.
You can see the Aloft through the window.
The jet tub is a nice addition to the bathroom.
The best feature however, has to be the massage chair, which is total surprise. I couldn’t wait to try it out after my 10-hour flight, and it works pretty well, as the pressure is probably deeper than what some masseurs can do. If I remember correctly only Royal Club rooms have the massage chair.
The swimming pool is located on the fifth floor. It’s a small one, but being on the rooftop adds some bonus points. Someone told me you can actually see the New Year fireworks from here.
Royal Wing’s benefits are listed as follows:
Royal Wing offers complimentary one-way airport transfer if you book directly, but that doesn’t include complimentary upgrades. The charge is only 30 AED though so I opted in, and somehow they ended up not charging me.
Titanium members can choose restaurant breakfast as a welcome amenity, and I didn’t want to walk all the way so didn’t bother and decided to dine at the lounge instead.
The buffet is way below par, so go to the restaurant if breakfast is important to you.
Flyertalk’s reviews don’t speak highly of their afternoon tea so I didn’t check it out. I’m here for the happy hour though, and appetisers is limited one portion per person. You can drink as much as you want though (prices are just for reference in case you invite someone else).
If you don’t mind paying for your food, the hotel has 16 restaurants to choose from! I tried the Spanish restaurant which is quite decent and not overpriced.
As a Titanium member I get 15% discount on my bill. I don’t think it’s a regional dining benefit (like the one in Asia Pacific), so probably a nice gesture from the hotel itself.
Royal Wing guests are free to use any facility at the main building as well. There’s another lounge – Le Meridien Club Lounge, which is open to Club Room guests staying at the main building. As Elite members are usually upgraded to the Royal Wing, it tends to be quiet.
According to the staff, the catering here is identical to the Royal Wing. In fact it feels much more like a proper club lounge, and I’d rather sit here to enjoy the light if I want a change of scenery.
Besides having 16 restaurants, the hotel also has four swimming pools! You’ve already seem the Royal Club Pool, and there’s Le Meridien Club Pool which is exclusive to Club Room guests.
There are a few guest rooms with direct pool access, but privacy may not be that good.
Fitness Pool is ideal for some proper swimming training.
And finally there’s the Courtyard Pool, which is the most family and kids friendly and has a bar.
The hotel feels a bit old, and definitely not on the luxury level by Dubai’s standard. However I’ve fallen in love with the massage chair, and the restaurants and pools have impressed me. If you need to stay close to the airport, Le Meridien Dubai is not a bad choice at all.
New IHG offer: 10K points for two stays
IHG has brought back its reactivation offer for members who haven’t stayed with them for a while, and you may want to try your luck.
You can sign up to the offer here. Stay twice within 60 days of registration and you’ll earn 5,000 bonus points each time. They must be paid stays.
Note that it’s a targeted offer, so not everyone is eligible. I was able to enrol when it came around last time, but could no more 🙁
Etihad sale: Rome – Abu Dhabi for €70 only (including Easter) !
I just booked myself a First Class ticket on Etihad from Abu Dhabi – London via Aeroplan, and then trying to figure out how I can get to Abu Dhabi from Southern Europe. Athens is already quite cheap at €142 with the hidden-city trick, but then I realised Etihad is running a ludicrous sale from Rome!
There are plenty of €70 tickets for FCO-AUH (one-way) throughout March and April:
Considering that it’s a six-hour flight on a wide-body aircraft, it’s almost handing out the ticket for free – in fact, the ticket’s fare is only €29 with the remaining being taxes. It appears to be a flash sale and can be booked on etihad.com only. Looking at Skyscanner, it’s even cheaper than Wizz Air!!
A return trip is available for around €160:
Dates around the Easter holiday are available, which is handy if you are planning a last minute holiday break.
Six hours for a day flight isn’t too long so I’m happy to fly in economy class. Note that it’s hand baggage only though, and you can pay an additional €40 to add on a check-in luggage when booking.
IHG’s “Straight to Diamond” offer returns with a catch
Last year IHG initiated a “Straight to Diamond” offer for select corporate clients and made it public by mistake, and many people had signed up to it before the loophole was closed. IHG has brought back the offer now, but is being much more careful this time.
You can check the offer details here. Quite similar to what was offered last time, a member receives a 120-day Diamond trial upon successful enrolment, and they would need to stay 10 nights within 90 days to complete the status challenge.
However, you cannot sign up yourself this time. Only IHG’s sales team, or any full-service hotel in Greater China can enrol you manually. To be eligible, you need to work for a company that is invited by IHG to partake in this promotion.
If you believe you are eligible (e.g. your company has agreements with IHG), especially if you have a recent / upcoming stay with an IHG hotel in Greater China, it’s worth enquiring with the relevant department or the hotel to see if they can register you.
My review of Etihad B787’s business class
Most international routes were still suspended or reduced when I was in China last year. Fortunately Etihad had already resumed weekly flights from Shanghai and Guangzhou, which connects perfectly with my layover in Dubai. I redeemed 60,000 Aeroplan points for a business class ticket from Shanghai to Abu Dhabi.
Passenger volume is very low at Shanghai Pudong, despite it being one of the largest airports in China.
Etihad uses China Eastern’s No 77 First Class Lounge, which also welcomes American Platinum cardholders.
Etihad’s China routes are all operated by Boeing 787 at the moment, with the two-class setup. In business class, you’ll find the four staggered Business Studios in each row.
Forward-facing window seats are semi-enclosed thus more preferred, whereas the rear-facing ones are less private.
Forward-facing middle seats are quite intimate, as it’s very easy talking to each other.
Boeing 787 makes up the majority of Etihad’s current fleet. Business Studio also features on their Boeing 777 and Airbus 380 aircrafts. On Airbus 350 however, they’ve got the reverse herringbone seats.
I’m not sure about your preference, but I LOVE Etihad’s Business Studio! I always find angled seats a bit awkward no matter how big the room is, and it’s refreshing to see a straight seat instead.
The screen is fixed in front of you, so that you can enjoy the programs while take-off and landing. The tray is hidden on the side, and you can easily pull it out by a gentle tap. I love both designs.
There’s a small storage cabinet next to the seat.
The amenity bag is made by Acqua di Parma, and it looks pretty.
The IFE has six live channels. I watched Vengeance and really liked it.
I used to fly with Etihad once, in economy class, but that was many years ago. I was really impressed by their catering and still remember the fruit plate was very tasty. This is today’s menu:
The Arabic Mezze is good:
The spiced beef is really impressive! To be honest I’m not sure it’s a real Chinese dish, but the way of cooking and seasoning are truly authentic. The quality is great especially for plane food.
Dim sums are nice too.
Even the coffee is presented with a classy tray and cutlery.
The seat in flat mode:
The seat is not very wide, and there’s no arm support. I’m more on the slim end but still find it slightly uncomfortable, which could be a concern.
My only major complaint is about their wifi packages. The whole-flight package (24 hours) costs $30, which is a bit steep, but more importantly limited to 350MB data only. Seriously what can 350MB of data do? Remember that an image nowadays could easily be a few megabytes in size.
Invitation for fast track immigration is handed out before landing. There is an arrival lounge for business class passengers at the arrival hall – if you are on a revenue ticket, you can wait here until your complimentary chauffeur service is ready.
I am genuinely impressed by Etihad’s Business Studio. They could have been more generous on wifi but otherwise it’s one of the best business class products I’ve seen in the last couple of years. Etihad’s First Apartments is also set to return to the sky soon, and I can’t wait to try it out!
Tips for Avios ticket seat selection as a non-BA Elite
British Airways is notorious when it comes to seat selection fees. It is perhaps the only airline that charges business class passengers if they want to choose a seat, and it could cost north of $100 for a long-haul flight!
Thankfully, the fee is waived if you hold any Oneworld Elite status – at the time of booking for Sapphire and Emerald members, or within 7 days of departure for Ruby members. It applies to status members from other Oneworld airlines too, such as American Airlines, Cathay Pacific or Finnair.
It gets trickier when you redeem Avios though. When you book an Avios ticket on ba.com, the reservation is tied to your BAEC number and it’s not possible to modify it online. Therefore you can’t add your say AA membership number for free seat selection.
A lot of workarounds have been suggested, for example updating the FFP number using Finnair’s website, however they might not always work. A friend @Rike has come up with a brilliant idea, which you may find useful.
In a nutshell, instead of booking the Avios ticket for yourself, book it for “someone else” so that the BAEC number won’t stick. Here are the detailed steps:
1. Add your travel companions and yourself to BA’s Family and Friends list:
2. Don’t fill in the BAEC number when you add them:
3. When booking an Avios ticket, answer “No” to the question “Is the payment card holder travelling on this booking”. Choose your companion or yourself from the Family and Friends list.
4. Go to ba.com, but don’t log in!
5. Go to Manage My Booking and retrieve your booking. You need to pay for seat selection as of now.
6. As your reservation has no FFP number attached yet, you can add it freely here.
7. Once done, you can reserve your seats for free!
(Gone) Zurich Marriott, Club Room for 100 CHF!
Zurich Marriott is offering a great deal which is well worth considering if you plan to visit the city in the next month.
Marriott’s price calendar suggests that rooms are being sold for circa 100 CHF on many March dates (until April 1st), whereas the usual rate is over 300 CHF.
If you click through, it is very obviously a pricing error. A single rooms is priced at over 260 CHF, whereas the Club Room with Lake View at less than 100 CHF…
I stayed at the Zurich Marriott Hotel in 2021 and reviewed here. It is not an inspirational property by any standard, but does its job. Club Room comes with access to the M Club, which offers breakfast and evening canapes / happy hour.
100 CHF is an amazing price for a five-star hotel in central Zurich. Beware that hotels tend not to honour such error rates though, so wait at least one week after you’ve booked to see if they get cancelled.