Test Driving Cathay Pacific's New Business Class from New York to Bali

Very, very, very early this morning we'll take off from New York's JFK and head to Bali, where we'll spend a few days at the St. Regis Bali before embarking on our Camp Leakey itinerary with Orion Expedition Cruises.

With the forthcoming changes to British Airway's partner award chart (see The Points Guy's take on the situation), we decided to burn some BA miles and booked two business class tickets on Cathay Pacific.

We've flown the airline's first class product before and loved it (see our review of our Cathay Pacific first class Toronto to Bali transit last year) and so we're eager to test out their new business class seats.

I plan to take some photos of the new business class section but if you can't wait to see more, check out The Brooklyn Nomad's Cathay Pacific business class photo gallery.

On the way home from the cruise we're booked into Cathay Pacific's first class cabin (I can't wait to put on those Shanghai Tang PJs!) so it will be interesting to see how the two classes compare. We'll keep you posted.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for Luxury Cruise Bible

Global Entry Makes International Arrivals to the US a Breeze

If you travel internationally a few times a year, do yourself a favor and enroll in the Global Entry program. Sponsored by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, participation in the Global Entry program allows you to skip the line when returning to designated airports in the United States. No more waiting in that huge line and no more filling out those U.S. Customs forms!

All you need to do is fill out the application at the Global Entry website and pay a $100 application fee. (If you have the American Express Platinum card, Amex will refund the $100 application fee. This is a new benefit of cardmembership.)

Once your Global Entry application is reviewed, you'll be invited to make an appointment at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office at an airport near you.

The application process took about four weeks in our case and we went to Newark International Airport for our interview with U.S. CBP. The agents played a short video explaining how to use Global Entry and then took our photo and fingerprints. That was it. We were barely in the office for five minutes.

Now, when we re-enter the United States all we need to do is bypass the huge line and look for the Global Entry kiosks. Insert our passports, type in some information, verify our fingerprints and then we'll be on our way!

Global Entry Airports

Boston – Logan International Airport (BOS)

Chicago – O'Hare International Airport (ORD)

Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW)

Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport (DTW)

Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL)

Houston – George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)

Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)

Honolulu International Airport (HNL)

New York – John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

Las Vegas – McCarran International Airport (LAS)

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

Miami International Airport (MIA)

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Orlando – Sanford International Airport (SFB)

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU)

Seattle – Tacoma International Airport Sea-Tac (SEA)

Washington-Dulles International Airports (IAD)

For more information, visit the Global Entry website.

An Easy Way to Snag 100,000 British Airways Miles

I've talked about my frequent flyer mile obsession in the past and will admit that my fervor usually peaks this time of year. Year-end is when I review all the miles in each account and create my strategy for the coming year.

A few weeks back I sat down and wrote out my comprehensive plan for 2010, but then today British Airways and Chase made me slam on the brakes.

They've announced what, to me, is an unprecedented bonus mile deal: earn 100,000 miles with a new British Airways Visa Signature Card from Chase.

Card Benefits

• receive 50,000 miles after your first purchase
  
  
• spend $2,000 within three months of opening your card and receive an additional 50,000 miles
  
  
• earn 1.25 miles for each $1 spent
  
  
• earn 2.5 miles for money spent on BA purchases
  
  
• spend $30,000 in a calendar year and you'll receive a 2-for-1 companion award certificate
  
  
• $50 off a British Airways flight if booked before December 31, 2009 (for travel before the end of 2010)

This promo is especially enticing since British Airways offers what they call "Household Accounts." This means you can combine miles with anyone living at the same address. That makes managing miles SO much easier! You'll retain your own Executive Club membership but your mileage balances will be combined.

You may use British Airways miles on any OneWorld airline, including:

British Airways
American Airlines
Cathay Pacific
Finnair
Iberia
Japan Airlines
LAN
Malev
Quantas
Royal Jordanian

Other British Airways partners also include:

Aer Lingus
Alaskan Airlines
Brussels Airlines C
aribbean Airlines
Mexicana

This British Airways/Chase Visa promo is definitely something to look into. I'm already figuring out where we'll travel with our newfound cache of British Airways miles! Apply for the card now.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com