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Brazil introduces mandatory $120 e-visa for Australians

Dec 17, 2023, 05:30 PM

This is a reversion to the old policy. Brazil has required visa applications for Australians (including bank statements) for as long as I've been alive, with the last few years being the only exception. At least it's an e-visa this time and not sending off a passport.It's a pity they're reinstitu...
Australia, China to establish new multi-year visa

Nov 09, 2023, 08:28 PM

This was a pleasant surprise. I had a few trips to China this year with near monthly trips planned from March next year so I hope it gets rolled out soon (seems unlikely but still…). Also hopefully this will see an even bigger influx of Chinese carriers over time, I appreciate having so ma...
What’s next for Qantas in the post-Alan Joyce era?

Sep 05, 2023, 10:03 AM

The only thing they could do to win me back at this stage is overhaul QantasLink.Old, slower aircraft in dire need of refurbishing with no wifi or entertainment and poor quality, unfilling food. All for triple the price or more than routes on the golden triangle. That’s true for even large ...
Qantas trials US-style ‘group boarding’

May 30, 2023, 06:34 PM

Qantas do need to sort out their premium boarding, but Virgin does it just fine without groups for everybody else. Just needs a bit of enforcement.I really do dislike travelling in the US where you have like 5 different types of priority groups (Veterans, Credit Card Holders, People who gate chec...
Bait and switch: should you be compensated for an inferior seat?

Mar 14, 2023, 02:09 PM

Yup. And laws need to be tightened around it.In the Emirates case, where they were actually using misleading or false advertising it’s very clear cut, but there are plenty of cases where even if it’s not marketed, compensation should be due in case of aircraft swap. The number of time...

Contemplating a WISE card for travel. Opinions?

Apr 27, 2024, 03:38 PM

I've always thought having accounts in foreign currency is unnecessary for travel - Up, ING, Bankwest etc. all offer transaction accounts that have no foreign exchange fees and at close to the wholesale rate.The only reason not to use an AUD account is if you want to lock in an exchange rate well...
5-year Chinese Visa when?

Feb 10, 2024, 01:06 PM

Hi all,I'm in the process of applying for a new Chinese visa (L - Tourism). I know Australia reached an agreement with China to allow 5-year multi-entry visas, however as far as I can tell that has not been implemented.I asked the visa center via email and they just responded with a link to the a...
Which SkyTeam FF Program to use?

Dec 12, 2023, 02:59 PM

I had major issues with Delta SkyMiles earlier this year. None of my flights on Aeromexico credited automatically and it took many months for them to credit it after I filed multiples requests. Then they credited it at the economy rate instead of business.So I moved over to Air France/KLM flying ...
Velocity HNA partnership still intact?

Nov 22, 2023, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by djtech Yes. Should lodge a missing points claim with Velocity. Even though this partnership isn't going to go anywhere and is nowhere near as good as pre COVID, it still exists. You still get some status benefits and you should earn points/status credits as per the chart. EDI...
Velocity HNA partnership still intact?

Nov 22, 2023, 03:04 PM

I flew domestically within China a few times on a fully paid business class ticket ( C ) on Hainan airlines in October. When booking the flight through a third party there was no option to add a Velocity number, so I thought the partnership was over but looked on the Velocity website and it state...