Flying for Fitness

Rakuten (formerly Ebates) is one of the first cashback portal services and has one of the largest selection of both online and in-store retailers for cashback earnings.  Their cashback rates are usually on par with their competitors, like Swagbucks, Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping, RebatesMe, etc.  Last year, Rakuten had announced that new members would be eligible to earn Amex Membership Rewards instead of cashback, which was a game changer as Amex MR are worth more than a penny each since they can be redeemed for roundtrip business class flights to Asia for as little as 95k points .  But now, Rakuten is allowing all members to switch their earnings from cashback to MR!! To change your earnings preference, go to this page and login .  Under My Account, click on Account Settings and you will see the option to get paid with Amex MR. Rakuten will then ask you to provide your Amex MR-associated account's login info and then verify over e-mail.  You obvious...

ANA first class SFO-NRT review ANA economy class NRT-Sapporo review Toyoko Inn at Sapporo Station Hokkaido University review Hokkaido University gym review Ishigaki snorkeling tours Super typhoon Hibigis hits Japan ANA Intercontinental Ishigaki Resort review Typhoon flight cancellations Tokyo Intercontinental the Strings hotel review ANA first class NRT-SFO review As the super typhoon Hibigis struck the east coast of Honshu , I was stuck in Ishigaki for an extra day.  So I called IHG and was able to redeem my IHG Chase Premier credit card's anniversary free night for the normally 60,000-point ANA Intercontinental Ishigaki resort, which is an excellent value as the revenue rate was ~$500 USD per night.  The Intercontinental Ishigaki resort is located on the south shore, and is the only hotel on the island associated with any of the major hotel groups. The Room The Intercontinental has a dedicated check-in desk for elite members, and the IHG Premier card gets...

IHG PointBreaks have always been sweet redemption spots for IHG points, with free nights for as low as 5,000 points.  The PointBreaks lists are released quarterly, and IHG has just released their current list today, which is valid for stays through January 31, 2020.  Here are my personal top picks for the new list: 10,000 Points Japan ANA Crowne Plaza Chitose ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima ANA Crowne Plaza Narita Australia Holiday Inn Sydney St Marys New Zealand Holiday Inn Auckland Airport Holiday Inn Rotorua United Kingdom Holiday Inn London - Heathrow Bath Road Pōhutu geyser near the Holiday Inn Rotorua 15,000 Points California Holiday Inn Express & Suites Napa Valley-American Canyon Holiday Inn Express Sunnyvale - Silicon Valley Georgia Kimpton Overland Hotel Atlanta Airport Washington Hotel Indigo Seattle Everett Waterfront Costa Rica InterContinental Costa Rica at Multiplaza Mall New Ze...

ANA first class SFO-NRT review ANA economy class NRT-Sapporo review Toyoko Inn at Sapporo Station Hokkaido University review Hokkaido University gym review Ishigaki snorkeling tours Super typhoon Hibigis hits Japan ANA Intercontinental Ishigaki Resort review Typhoon flight cancellations Tokyo Intercontinental the Strings hotel review ANA first class NRT-SFO review Ishigaki represents one of the most southern islands of Okinawa and pretty much the most southern point of Japan.  The island is roughly equal in latitude to the Taiwanese city of Taichung, and thus features tropical to temperate weather year-round.  Having been to Naha, the capitol of Okinawa, before the in the past, I decided to go deep and hit the less explored island of Ishigaki. Getting to Ishigaki Ishigaki has nonstop flights to most of the major cities on Honshu.  But since I was coming from Sapporo, I booked the token nonstop flight between Sapporo and Naha, and connected onto a short <...