On Friday I posted about how without any communication, British Airways locked thousands of Executive Club members out of their accounts. As it turns out, it seems the accounts were shut down for anyone that uses a third party service (like Award Wallet) to access their account balances. I think our community is heavily represented on that front. ;)
When you tried to log into your Executive Club account you'd simply get a message saying:
"We are not able to recognise the membership number that you have supplied. Please check and re-enter."
You could log into your account again after resetting your password, though all Avios were missing, which made many members panic.
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If you ask around about volcanoes in Vanuatu you will inevitably be steered towards Tanna Island and the expensive package deals that every tour shop in town sells. They'll promise you a night at a resort and an easy 20-minute walk up the side of a volcano to see the fireworks. But those who prefer the road less travelled might find their way to Ambrym Island, where the challenging hike through the tropical forest takes 4 to 6 hours, accommodation is in tents or huts built by local villagers, and the food is whatever your guide catches on the way up to the camp site.
The centre of Ambrym is dotted with a pair of volcanoes (Maroum and Benbow) both live and dead, but is less popular than Tanna because they don't produce such a flashy display.
Maroum volcano is a roaring cauldron which produces rare "Pele's Hair," fine strands of volcanic glass which coat the ground around the crater. They are said to occasionally form hairballs that, in the right wind, can be seen blowing up from the crater. Maroum is also reputed to the site of animal sacrifices – if you steal from the wrong villager you must drop a white chicken into the crater to escape bad luck.
Benbow is a more hazardous journey, and the crater must be entered via a rope to see the lava.
The ash plains that lie between Maroum and Benbow are stunning in their own right, but can only be crossed with a guide. Black ash, tinted orange with sulphur from the volcanoes, they become on an eerie sight when wisps of smoke and cloud float through.
Different parts of the island have different stories about how the series of volcanoes came to be. One story is that a group were visiting family on the other side of the island, and crossing over left some laplap cooking under coals in the centre of the island. On their return through the forest the laplap had been consumed by the earth, and a volcano erupted the next day.
There’s a definite sense that visiting Ambrym requires more cultural respect than the usual tourist expedition. Visitors must book in advance and can only visit the volcanoes with a local guide. Guides are enthusiastic about sharing stories about their history and their way of life, but they are new to tourism, and there’s a sense that too much attention could upset a delicate balance between maintaining cultural ties and becoming yet another commercialised tourist trap.
Reader Dee asked, I’d love to know more about how to transfer points from one airline to flying on a partner (example: AA to Cathay Pacific). Sites seem intentionally vague on how to do this and how many points it would cost. Am looking to fly ORD-PEK roundtrip as an example. THANK YOU This is […]
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There are a lot of misconceptions about how credit scores are calculated. When I explain to people that I have 20+ credit cards open at a given time, the first question I'm usually asked is "doesn't that ruin your credit score?!"
The answer is no, and that in many cases it can actually improve your credit score. But it's very difficult for that to "click" with people. So I figured I'd explain in more detail, in part by sharing my own credit score as of last week.
As I explained last week, I just applied for five credit cards.
As is the norm when you receive your new card, I received a notice containing my credit card and an explanation of my credit.
The post What’s My Credit Score? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
I've received several messages today from readers pointing out an awesome website -- http://airportcod.es/.
Have you ever wondered the origin of airport codes? Well this website lists virtually all major airports, and where their airport codes originated.
Some are of course pretty straightforward. Like AKL is simply named after the city, AucKLand.
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