YES : Again Avianca have an offer 

this one is short but sweet yet again

US$33 will buy you 1,000 LifeMiles costing just under AU$46, with this offer you will get 2,400. Bring this back to dollars per 1,000 LifeMiles in AU and it sits at $19.15 - putting it at the upper end in value. I consider this to be a little expensive if you are not going to use them straight away. The AUD/USD conversion is just crap right now for this sort of thing. I have written to LifeMiles and asked if my credit card can be charged in Colombian Peso and at what value per 1,000 and am waiting for a response. This may make the choice to purchase a little easier. I just don't like purchasing in USD...

Insideflyer have done a deal with LifeMiles

BUY LIFEMILES AND RECEIVE A 150% BONUS

How will it work out with the Australian Dollar the way it is?

LifeMiles are bought in US dollars so it does hurt with the conversion right now.

From lifemiles & Insideflyer sites the buy price is US$38.94 per 1000 netting you 2500 miles (there is a minimum purchase amount of 100,000 miles or US$3894.00 approx AU$5525.00) 

A few things to take note of if you are interested:

#1 - Only registered InsideFlyer members are eligible. So signup now

#2 - You must purchase between 100,000 & 150,000 LifeMiles.

#3 - You have from now until Tues Oct 6, 2015 to register for this launch promotion on InsideFlyer

#4 - You must be a registered member of LifeMiles by Tues Oct 6 to be eligible.

#5 - You will be able to buy LifeMiles thru Mon Oct 12  (there are restrictions)

There are other terms and conditions on Lifemiles (*I have included the link below) which make it a little confusing as to the time limitations on purchasing. 

I will update when I have access to the deal:

YES IT WORKS AND THEY HAVE EXTENDED THE DEAL 

https://www.lifemiles.com/eng/tra/pro/proinsideflyer.aspx

American Express 

&

Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer Program

Click on the card >> << To apply today

This is my referral link

.....

Updated 21 September 2015

Firstly - The 4 things that makes it a great deal for me 

- 110,000 Velocity points :  Apply by and be approved by 30 September 2015, spend $1000 on the card in the first 3 months of card membership. (applying directly to american express gets you 100K, apply by a referral link gets you the 110K and the referrer gets a referral bonus) 

- 1 free return domestic flight with Virgin each year
list of routes here: AMXACQ1994_FlightMap_v4

- 2 single entry passes to Virgin Domestic lounges per year
lounges listed are Brisbane,Sydney,Melbourne,Perth, Adelaide and Canberra

- Ability to convert your points to (SQ) Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer Miles

(converts at 1.35 VA to 1 SQ mile)

110K will get you 81,481 SQ Kris Flyer Miles once converted – VA points don’t expire, SQ do expire after 3 years so transfer when you are going to travel. 

To fly from Brisbane to either London or Barcelona one way with SQ in Business Class will cost 80,750 miles (booking online discount applies) + $502 in taxes

So effectively if you absorb the application fee ($349) into this flight it will cost $851
** not bad at all I say **

There is the usual other benefits you get with the card like spend and earn Velocity points, complimentary insurances for overseas travel and purchase protection.

.....

I have been following the application of a college as well as my application to verify that all that is offered is received and in a timely manner.

The Timeline to date 

- Colleges application in 28 July 2015 and approved. 

- Card received 06 August 2015, activated, 1st item charged to the card.

- Complimentary domestic flight loaded into Velocity account on American Express system   06 August 2015.

- 2 lounge passes loaded and backdated to 28 July 2015 into Velocity account on American Express system and verified on Velocity program.

- My application in 08 August 2015 and confirmed 10 August 2015.

- Referral bonus loaded into colleges Velocity account on american Express system.
- Received referral bonus in Velocity account 18 August 2015
- 110,000 loaded onto Amex system 16 August 2015
- I have now received my card 28 August 2015, with a letter arriving 4 days earlier saying that there was a delay with sending out cards and 10 days have been added to the 3 month minimum spend period.
-110,000 loaded  onto my account in Amex system 02 September 2015
-My 1st referral activated there card 09 September 20

-Amex system seems to us a 4 day period to load passes, flights & points. This has been the case until the most recent applicant which I referred. neither of us have received points allocation at 4 days but have received passes and flights.
-I contacted Amex at 5 days to ask what was there system of allocation and all they said is they would check it out and manually force the points allocation. At 7 days and neither account has been adjusted.
-Colleges Velocity account credited with 110,000 19 September 2015
-My 1st referral account loaded with 110,000 18 September 2015 

As the process moves I will edit the page . 

If you use my referral link please let me know as deals like this get both you and me closer to our next redemption flight. I'd also like to say thanks for the help.

The start of the referral link looks like this www316.americanexpress.com The www316 looks weird but this is how American Express generates the link. I was unsure of it's validity at the time and I checked it out to be 100% safe and correct, then I proceeded.

As part of the application process you are asked if you have a American Express card. This is a card that originated from American Express direct

Velocity Platinum Card

This is the Card I have just applied for

It may have a higher than normal annual fee than I would normally accept when applying for a credit card but the benefits outweigh this expense 

Click on the card above will take you to the application page

(This referral link gives you 110K, you can apply directly without using the referral link for 10K less)

Some highlights of this card:

- 110,000 velocity points upon spending $1000 within the first 3 months using a referral link

- A free return domestic flight with Virgin each year - list of routes here: AMXACQ1994_FlightMap_v4

- 2 free passes to a domestic Virgin lounge per year

- Points can be converted to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles

- 3 points per $ at a range of restaurants and with Virgin Australia

- 2 points per $ for airlines, accommodation, cruise and tour operators

- Supplementary cards for no additional cost

- Discounted international companion business class fares

- Usual travel insurance / purchase protection etc

The annual fee is $349

Is a BIG winner for me 

To make an offer good for me:

If you calculate A$15 per 1,000 points (miles) you receive with a card is greater than the annual fee then it's a goer and deserves a look at.

I'm prepared to buy points (mile) at up to A$19 per 1,000 depending on the program

Vietnam Airlines business class Australia to Europe

I was just doing a random search for flights out of Australia into Europe (as you do) on a cool winters day in #cairns #fnq 

picked random days departing  15 September 2015 returning 30 days later

flying business class 

The search came up with AUD $4062

WOW

Hey : better do a search to see if I can get a few days in Ho Chi Minh on the way over to break the journey. The fare moved to $4219 - a little increase of $157 

Break the journey on the way back as well - add another $158 to $4377

WOW

If you are going to travel these distances travel business class. It's not just the comfort in flight its the access to lounges along the way. This makes spending time at airports a lot more civilised

For those who are interested 

You land at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in Ho Chi Minh

The aircraft type you most likely be travelling on are the Airbus 330 on one sector over and the other a Boeing 777

If you discover some great finds in the FBP world please let me know

tweet me at @ascns

Macaron Cafe - Cairns

Location and setting : 19/62 Grafton St - nice setting just near Rusty's Market
Food  / Menu : Patisserie and Café specializing in French pastries - had a berry danish that had pastry without a flake to be seen - not freshly baked
Drinks : Coffee - If you wanted it the way they made it, it was OK.  I asked for a third little less milk in the cup to keep the strength of the Coffee up, they checked with me and confirmed but still a full cup arrived and weak coffee. Why do people pretend to listen. this is not a barrister
Special : was once
Service :Got me what I wanted and then back to there gossip session. I was the only one in the cafe at 8:30am

On my way towards the northern beaches of Cairns I made a detour to  :

Le Crouton a French Bakery at 227 Kamerunga Rd, Freshwater QLD 4870

Now were talkin - Fresh, flaky, delightful, a superbly made Cherry Danish 

Champagne Jean Jacques Lamoureux is a champagne house you should visit if you are in the Côte des Bar and anywhere near Les Riceys


I am still in Côte des Bar (September 2013) and this was on our last day before we had planned to leave for the Marne Region. I had read a bit about Jean Jacques and his training and Champagne making style and wanted to visit his house if possible. No need to make an appointment as his cellar door was open until 6pm. I thought I had ample time to get there but we ended stay at the previous house way over our expected time. You have to love your TomTom GPS it got us there just in time and I'm glad it did. The Champagnes were superb and this was one of my favorites and chosen ones to bring back and have at home.

 

Champagne Jean Jacques Lamoureux 

As the Champagne houses are small in Côte des Bar, some that I wanted to visit are open by appointment only. I had per-arranged 2-3 visits per day and some visits lasted for 2 to 3 hours so a day goes very quickly and the region is very large which involves a lot of driving to cover the whole region. 

If you favour a champagne or two head to the  Côte des Bar

I just came across an interesting website 

Take a look 

 

http://www.getairhelp.com

Now to move towards one of my favorite letters in FBP and that is B for Booze but in this case the one in particular I would like to pop the cork on is Champagne and a Champagne house I visited in 2013 in a region I had not yet visited  : Côte des Bar. There are certainly more than one Champagne houses that I found  to my liking but I have to start at one (not in any specific order of preference) other than this one is a most recently consumed bottle.

The House was Champagne Gaston Cheq located between Meurville and Bar sur Seine.

The bottle that came back with me was the Special Cuvee 2007 and it was indeed very special. It had all the things I like in a Champagne

If you have free time in July there is a festival on in Côte des Bar

More info here :- http://2014.routeduchampagne.com 

Champagne Gaston Cheq  location map