Introduction: A Mess Of A Trip

That Cathay photo is amazing!

Mate, you don’t need to apologise for getting sick. Most people (and you’re not most) would have just enjoyed the trip as much as possible and not have even bothered reviewing anything.
I admire your commitment!

Awesome CX photo Tiffany!

Lucky,

I think you should do a sweepstakes or charity auction where one blog reader gets to go with you on one of these bonkers trips. Show up at the airport one morning and see where the points take us! It would be quite an experience...

My sick day is laying in bed watching television. Lucky's sick day is flying CX F. Jabs aside, being sick on vacation is probably one of the worst things ever.

Lucky- if you don't mind me asking. What was the final outlay of points and $$ with all of the changes. Were you able to work with delta for the flight home or did you just eat the cost? Etc.

What type of flu was it?

@ Jeremy -- I might try and do a separate post about that, actually. Some of the changes to the award tickets were covered by our elite status with whatever program, and then some other fees were waived given the illness. The only problematic tickets were the DragonAir flights between Hong Kong and Beijing -- the BA rep told me they'd cancel and refund the Avios, but two months and dozens of phone calls later they've yet to do so.

Let me explain...

@Tiffany. I’m glad to hear some of the fees were actually waived due to Ben’s illness. So often, people make the decision to travel while ill to avoid change fees. Top elite status aside, are airlines normally accommodating in such situations?

@ Donna -- They really aren't, which is where travel insurance comes into play I suppose.

@ JoeMart

It is called the Premium First Flu..only First Connoisseur gets it..

@Tiffany

@Lucky is really lucky to always have you when he is sick..the CX pic is just perfect..that is how you convey premium luxury travel!
Next time @Lucky should take care of @Tiffany or just be fit!

I cannot wait to read the next installments!!

A buggy trip sounds more like it. :p

Flu shot?

Why is Hong Kong favourite cities? Overcrowded and overpriced.

I guess you don't care when using points.

Agree with that sweepstakes/charity auction suggestion lol.

That aside, I love the way you plan trips. The spontaneity is infectious. I just did something like that:

All in J for just over $5000 (revenue tickets) and spread over 3 months:
TK YYZ-IST-SIN
QR CMB-DOH-PHL
QR PHL-DOH-CMB
TK MNL-IST-ORD
TK ORD-IST-MNL
TK SIN-IST-YYZ

Well Lucky, Tiffany you’ve definitely gotten me hooked to this thing. Hope that one day I’ll bump into you “on Air”.

I'm really looking forward to the review of the new Delta Cabin. Especially since one of my good friends usually works this flight on a regular basis and was one of the launch Flight Attendants for this flight and plane.
And I'm sorry you got the flu, nothing worse! I spent 36 hours in my hotel room in London last November.

That CX F picture is the reason I've been playing this game for past 3 years.

It sounds like you had to throw away the return Delta ticket. Would it have been possible to get a partial refund if you were able to provide a doctor's note?

I would hope anyone who travels would receive their annual flu vaccination (unless contraindicated). I hope you received some Tamiflu (antiviral) as soon as possible (due to the flu vaccines somewhat dreadful effectiveness rate this season).

@ Weymar M Osborne -- We didn't really throw it away (though were prepared to, because that's sometimes how life works). Delta gave us vouchers for the residual value of the tickets, which is common in these types of situations. The vouchers can typically be applied to a future fare less a change fee, but you can often get the fee waived/refunded with medical documentation.

@ Weymar M Osborne @Tiffany - I had a similar situation happen to me and my family recently and was able to get the entire cost fare refunded by Delta without a cancellation/refund fee. They required me to send in medical documentation to their Customer Care department and processed the refund within about 2 weeks - surprisingly fast IMO. Even better, I had booked via Chase Travel (not the best redemption, I know) so all the points were redeposited back into my account.

Whatever happened to the 10 years of OMAAT celebration with readers? I wanna hang or even travel with Lucky & Tiffany! I think that'd be super fun, do a trip with readers and document it all!

@schar, look at some of the idiots, no doubt all Republican, who comment on this blog. If you were lucky, would you want to travel with them?

Tiffany, Lucky - suggest you contact this kid for a trip report. I'd read it: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-43875266

That's a tough break. Your lifestyle by nature puts your immune system at risk.

Park Hyatt Bangkok looks cool though - look forward to hearing about that.

Just wondering what the extra 125$ for the Park Hyatt Bangkok was for. It doesn't look like a good deal to me since for 125 cash alone (never mind the points), you can get an entry level room at many 5 star hotels there. Not the Park Hyatt admittedly, but enough for the Westin or Conrad.