I took this picture about a week before the whole “Can’t bring liquids on the plane” thing came about. It was in the same country as the scare. Where was this picture taken and what currency do they use there?
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The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL
I’ve been to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. I’ve seen the original Rembrandts in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I’ve wandered through the national gallery in London, and yet the museum I visited last week tops them all.
On January 1, 2011 at 11:11 am, the Dali Museum was opened to the public in St. Petersburg, Florida. True to form, the building itself is essentially surrealist art, and the pieces that it houses had me so far beyond captivated. Admittedly, I’m not much of an art fan, but to whom doesn’t Salvador Dali provide some intrigue? I mean, the guy wore an incredible upturned moustache and walked with a cane… he painted melting clocks and emulated almost every style of art. He’s like the Pink Floyd of paint… a puzzle in an enigma, wrapped in a shroud… and his finest works are on display in St. Petersburg.
All of the pieces had some interesting features, but the one that I really latched onto was the massive tribute to Columbus which Dali was commissioned to do for the opening of a museum of modern art in New York. When the museum failed before it ever opened, the painting went up for auction, and Dali insisted that his friend Albert Reynolds Morse purchase the painting to keep it from selling to someone in the Far East. When Morse resisted, Dali told him that he’d have a third party re-purchase it later on, but it was pure deception and Dali had never intended for anyone else to come along and buy it.
The painting is, as with all of Dali’s works, full of symbolism and hidden imagery. Countless references to Roman mysticism, along with Christian dual-meanings and Spanish heritages infiltrate the painting, not to mention Dali’s traditional self-insertion. Dali even went so far as to place the “sea urchin” at the base of the painting in a prophetic reference to a future event to take place – man’s visit to the moon.
If this were the only interesting painting in the entire place, it would have been worth a visit, yet Dali has four or five enormous paintings with compelling stories and hidden artifacts, and countless smaller works. I can’t recommend this place highly enough. Even if you have a hard time appreciating the genius of someone who lived in a world of rhinoceros horns and nuclear mysticism, I think you’ll leave the Dali museum with a sense of awe.
Also, if you’re in St. Petersburg, I have to recommend an eclectic Mexican restaurant called “Red Mesa.” It’s become an annual tradition to visit the place because it never disappoints.
If you’re new to WorldWanderlusting, please take some time to browse around the site. We hope you’ll like what you find.
Posted in Fun Travel Stories
Tagged dali museum, Salvador Dali, things to do in St. Petersburg
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Avoid Paying Credit Card Annual Fee
I had two different experiences as I sought to avoid paying the annual fee on my Citi AAdvantage credit cards that I got a year ago. I posted earlier about how and when to cancel a credit card. One was for me, and the other was for my wife. I’ll explain what happened to me in both cases.
First Case Study
I called the 1-800 number that I found on the back of the card. I did this while driving to work at about 8:30 AM Mountain Standard time. I got a lady on the phone who was my first contact and I explained that I didn’t want to pay for the next year’s annual fee. I was considering canceling the card if I wouldn’t have the option of getting away without having the annual fee. She mentioned to me that the annual fee could not be waved. I was rather disappointed.
She was pretty insistent ant and wouldn’t budge on her position. I asked if there were any other options. She mentioned that I could switch my current “Gold Level” card to a Bronze level card that had no annual fee. You don’t get 1 point per dollar spent, but they only allow you to have .5 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent. I considered canceling the card alltogether, but I want to make sure that I establish a good credit history. One of the contributing factors to your credit score is the average length of history. If I could get two years out of the card then it would significantly lengthen the average.
Reluctantly I agreed to accept her offer still frustrated that she had won the battle. I considered calling back and trying to get another customer service rep, but I had already given up. After all, it wasn’t that bad of a trade. I obviously won’t be using the card much though and will probably cancel it at the end of next year.
Takeaways:
- If you get someone who isn’t helpful, try calling back for another rep.
- They usually can switch you to a card that has no annual fee.
Second Case Study:
This is for the card that my wife has with Citi and is the AAdvantage Platinum. This is the offer that gave us 75,000 big ones. We have used some of the points going to Costa Rica and can’t wait for our opportunity to use the next ones too. I called tonight, a Tuesday at about 7:00PM Mountain Standard time. The customer service rep who answered was a female. I explained to her that I wanted the annual fee waived from the Platinum card or I was considering canceling the card. She mentioned again that the annual fee couldn’t be waived. I was starting to get depressed.
She did however mention that she could get me to an “Account Specialist” or something like that. She went and got someone else who answered the phone promptly. He was very friendly and explained that the annual fee couldn’t be waived. He did however offer to give me a statement credit of $85, which is the cost of the annual fee. (Where do they get off thinking that there is a difference between waiving the fee and giving me a credit?) Who cares really, but he also offered me the opportunity to earn double miles in each month in which we spend over $750 on the card. BONUS!!
I was pleasantly surprised that they were so good to me, especially considering my previous experience. I’ve learned a few things that I’d love to share with you.
Takeaways:
- Ask for a “Statement Credit” rather than “Waive the annual fee” with Citi.
- Always push to get away from the CSR and get to an account specialist. They are the people who make the offers.
- Same as mentioned above, just try calling again if you don’t like the offer.
- Whenever possible avoid paying the annual fee.
Make sure you properly manage your credit by using CreditSesame.com to carefully watch your score.
Posted in American Airlines, Citi, Credit Advice, Credit Cards
Tagged avoid annual fee, citi aadvantage, credit card cancel
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Shark Diving in Roatan
When we started researching what to do in Roatan, one thing jumped out as an absolute-must-do… Diving with Caribbean Reef Sharks. We arranged it through Sueno del Mar, the place we stayed and did our other dives. All of our scuba experiences there were beyond amazing, but this one even more so.
They have it arranged to provide a maximum feeling of safety. You descend on a mooring line to a sandy area backed against a reef wall. The sharks are all around, but somehow the feelings of awe overcome any feeling of fear. The sharks move through the water with agile ease… like they own the place… and they do.
Watching them is just an incredible site, and our divemaster felt comfortable to invite us to leave the sandy area and swim around with them. It was a surreal experience. They were taking video, but we opted not to buy it, knowing that YouTube is already flush with other peoples’ experiences just like ours.
Here’s a video that will give you an idea of just how amazing it is.
Video
Posted in Central America, Video
Tagged diving in roatan, scuba, Shark diving, what to do in roatan
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Marriott 70,000 Rewards Points-Unbelievable
UPDATE: It looks like this offer has expired. I’ve removed the link as it looks like it has gone back to the 50,000 offer. The Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card offer is still a great deal!!
Hold your horses for everyone who was considering the 50,000 Marriott Rewards points card. This one takes the cake.
This is the best Marriott card that I’ve ever seen. Make sure you take a picture of the landing screen to show that it was the offer for which you applied. You can take screenshots in the following way:
- Mac: Hold Command, Shift, and 4 all at the same time. It will give you a little cross that you use to select what you want to save. It will save it as a jpg on the desktop.
- Windows 7: Use the Snapshot tool to select and save the screen wherever you would like.
I would always make a habit of saving those landing pages to make sure that you can prove the offer for which you applied. When you are fishing for the best offer you want to make sure you prove that your application was for the correct sign on bonus.
This offer is better than the previous offer for a few reasons…
- An Additional 20,000 points from the previous offer, or an additional 40,000 Marriott Rewards Points from the normal offer. I usually shoot for offers that get me 50,000 or more. This one definitely meets the criteria.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. This is great for people who like to travel overseas. It can save you 3% from most cards. A lot of cards have that fee, which can add up if you are spending a lot on your credit card.
- Wavied annual fee. This saves you $85.
Plus you still get:
- 15 nights toward an elite qualification status.
- One free night at a category 1-4 hotel
- Unlimited earning potential
- 5 Points per dollar spent at a Marriott
- 2 Points per dollar spent at hotels, airfare, car rental, etc
- 1 Point on everything else.
Chase keeps handing out the best offers all the time. You can only apply for a new card every 30 days, and they are pretty limited on how often they will approve you. If you haven’t had a Chase approval in the last little bit and you need a hotel card this is an OUTSTANDING offer.
Thanks to mr. Sun_AA for the tip.
Posted in Chase, Marriott Rewards
Tagged marriott chase credit card, marriott rewards points
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Starwood Card = Trip to South America
I have a special affinity toward South America as I spent two years of my life in Paraguay. I’ve been itching to get back, but it is difficult to get there. The only airlines that fly in to the small airport are tiny companies that are based out of South America. Because of the difficulty of arriving there it might be a few years before I make it back.
I wish that either American or LAN flew into Paraguay, but they don’t. At one point they both flew into Paraguay, but have since canceled their services as the demand is rather low.
There are many other places that I’d love to go in South America. My brother lived in Argentina for two years and he loved Buenos Aires. I’m not much for dancing, but I’d love to see the tango in action. I’ve also dreamed about climbing the hills of Machu Picchu in the Andes. Tierra del Fuego in the southernmost part of Argentina and Chile would be breathtaking. I’m always looking for ways to get there. This is one idea that you might not have considered.
One of the features of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is that you can transfer the points you earn from that program to participating airlines. It just so happens that LAN has a great deal, a 2 fer 1.
This means that you get two miles per Starpoint converted. Also keep in mind that you get a bonus when transferring from Starwood to the airline carriers when moving the points in blocks of 20,000. The bonus is an additional 5,000 miles that you get for free. If you combine the two of these deals, it means that transferring 25,000 miles actually equals 50,000 airline miles. This gives you enough points to fly to the northern part of South America.
For all those people who would love to return to visit Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, Venezuela, or Equador, then this is a great option. This makes the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express even more valuable as it would only require you to spend $20,000 to get you to Brazil for FREE. If you did the same with the AAdvantage card it would require $60,000 in spending. Talk about a great deal.
Making it to Argentina would still be tough as it would require an additional 15,000 Starpoints to be converted, but would be well worth it when considering the cost of flying to Ushuaia, Argentina.
Also, right now if you join the LANPass program you can get a free 1000 kilometers (miles) for joining the program. (Thanks TPG)
TPG also says that the website isn’t very useful and might require you to call them to book the award. He also explains that the transfer of the points to LAN from the Starwood Program can take a lot of time, so plan accordingly.
This just goes to show how the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is more valuable than just any old hotel card. It has options to redeem for miles with a bonus or stay in great hotels for free. I think it is worth getting for sure. My wife and I both have this card.
Posted in Credit Cards, Starwood Preferred Guest
Tagged argentina, chile, lan, lanpass, tango, tierra del fuego
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Chase Southwest 2 Free Flights is Back
The deals keep coming out by the bucketful. I can’t believe my eyes. This card is really worth a small credit inquiry. Read about how a new credit card can affect your credit on one of our Doesn’t it Hurt My Credit.
Today I learned about the Southwest Airlines® Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, that they are reviving the 50,000 Rapid Rewards sign on bonus. I’ve categorized some of the most important things to consider when getting a card below. Remember that these things have a short lived offer, so don’t delay.
Bonus: 50,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points upon your first purchase.
Extra Bonus: 3,000 Rapid Rewards Points each anniversary
Spending Requirement: None. You only have to make one purchase to score the points. This is a big bonus. I hate meeting spending requirements. This is probably due to my ridiculous spending requirement of $15,000. I’ve had a lot of people who have helped me to get to this point, but I still have about $5,000 to go and I’m frustrated. A simple first purchase bonus would be great right now.
Point Earning: You get 2 points per dollar spent on Southwest flights, and all of Southwest’s Rapid Rewards’ hotel and car rental partners. You will also be getting 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.
Point Using: Southwest has a different approach to this than the other big airliners in the USA. The Rapid Rewards redemption is all based on how much the flight would cost were you to buy it, not a fixed amount for a flight within the USA.
I’ve taken a snapshot from their website that shows how the points can be used. You want to choose the lowest fare possible to make sure that your points stretch as much as possible. As much as possible you want to use a “Wanna Get Away” fare to make the points last as long as possible.
They tote that this card is worth over $800 by saying that a flight is roughly $200 each way, or a total of $400. You have to take $400 X 60 as long as you are flying on a Wanna Get Away fare. This equates to 24,000 points. If they give you 50,000 as a bonus then it is worth two of those, which means that it is worth over $800 truly. What a great deal!
Point Expiration: If you don’t earn or use points every 24 months they can expire.
Annual Fee: $69 and not waived the first year.
Foreign Transaction Fees: 3%=Ouch. Use another card for your foreign transactions.
Card Type: Visa. I think that this is advantageous as you can spend Visa almost anywhere.
Card Issuer: Chase Bank. Chase has been getting almost all of the new cards. They have had the hottest offers and seem rather reasonable to deal with. Starting to see a trend?
Other Stuff to Consider: Southwest does NOT charge change fees, and they don’t charge for your first, or your second checked bag. I LOVE this about their flights. I hate feeling like Delta, American, and United are just hosing me when I pay $50 for luggage. Aargh!
Southwest is a great company. They are very smart and have a niche that they fulfill nicely. I heard a story once about their company and how they were using a phrase “Plane Smart.” Another company had disputably been using the phrase “Just Plane Smart,” before Southwest was using their phrase. Instead of getting into a huge lawsuit the two CEO’s of the companies decided to solve it in a different way.
They met for an arm wrestling match between the two CEO’s and charged tickets for admission. At the end they donated all proceeds to charity and both kept on using their phrases. I was so impressed by both companies.
I’ve also read the book “Nuts,” which is the story of Southwest’s success. I would recommend it to anyone. It is a great read.