Mobissimo

Lots of good prices here, the lowest ever for the Asia FareIndex. While it's probably super muggy-step outside feel like stepping into a shower time, well, not yet, it's getting there, fares are so low, you should schedule that trip to the Far East.

For flights departing 05/11 returning 05/19

Departure City	Arrival City	Airfare	% Change
San Francisco (SFO)	Tokyo (NRT)	$645	-0.47%	Search
San Francisco (SFO)	Seoul (ICN)	$752	-15.49%	Search
San Francisco (SFO)	Singapore (SIN)	$722	-21.46%	Search
San Francisco (SFO)	Hong Kong (HKG)	$788	-8.19%	Search
San Francisco (SFO)	Manila (MNL)	$843	-20.46%	Search
San Francisco (SFO)	Sydney (SYD)	$913	-22.31%	Search
San Francisco (SFO)	Christchurch (CHC)	$1101	-23.95%	Search
San Francisco (SFO)	Bangkok (BKK)	$801	-19.31%	Search
San Francisco (SFO)	Kuala Lumpur (KUL)	$935	-21.25%	Search
San Francisco (SFO)	Beijing (PEK)	$814	9.81%	Search
Average		$831	-16.31%

How many times have you heard that you must visit Argentina and Buenos Aires? I've been going since the early 90s, the travel pioneer that I am, but it is still a good time to go (login may be required).

Travelers Are Heading to Buenos Aires for the Culture -- and Staying for the $250 Rent

By Allen Salkin

Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, April 23, 2006

Meghan Curry starts her day with a walk to the river. The former real estate agent from Denver, who is 26, holds hands with her fiance, Patricio de Vasconcellos, 31, a wavy-haired Argentine with dark eyes, as they gaze over the coffee-colored waters of the Rio de la Plata. Around midday, when de Vasconcellos heads to work at the wine shop where the two met a year ago, Curry settles into her two-bedroom apartment to work on her travel memoir and a collection of poetry. Then she might nap or head downtown for café con leche with friends at one of the city's thousands of outdoor cafes. Later, much later, it's time for a slow dinner on Buenos Aires time, where many restaurants don't open until 10 p.m.

If this sounds appealing to you, you should head down. If you haven't already, you should subscibe to the Latin American FareIndex to get updated pricing and trends - a huge tool for those wanting the optimal time to purchase a ticket.

Perhaps the most hard to get credit card in the world, this black Amex card is so exclusive you won't find mention of it anywhere. Except here at MobiBlog. Because that's what we do. Bring the obscure, the cool, the hip, the fascinating, the Lindsay Lohan to you, MobiFriends. At one point it was rumored to be an urban legend, but it seems to be all true. Talk about a good frequent flyer program.

The Centurion card by American Express is so exclusive that you won't even find details of it on the American Express Web site. It's available "by invitation only" and reputedly requires an annual fee of $2,500 and card spending of $5,000 per month. We say reputedly because American Express releases few details on the cards, which are available to only a tiny percentage of American Express's clients.

Rumors circulate about who holds these most prestigious credit cards. Among the rumored recipients are Jay-Z, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson and Sean (P. Diddy) Combs, who have all been spotted with their Centurion cards in hand.

There are only an estimated 10,000 Centurion cards issued worldwide -- or at least that's the rumor. American Express representatives declined to verify the rumors circulating about the Centurion card and those who carry it.

The Centurion card, also known as the Black card, was introduced in 1999 and targeted at the very best customers. In fact, you must spend around $250,000 annually on another American Express card to be considered.

According to American Express, the card offers a variety of privileges, such as complimentary companion airline tickets on trans-Atlantic flights, personal shoppers at retailers such as Escada and Saks Fifth Avenue, access to airport clubs, membership in the Sony Cierge personal shopping program and dozens of other elite club memberships. The card comes with access to a personal concierge and travel agent. The program offers many hotel benefits, including a free one-night stay in the Mandarin Oriental hotels once a year.

Read more here.

Good and bad news. Fewer miles to fly on short haul routes, more miles to fly long haul. A quick summary:

• Domestic Short Haul Saver Awards
  Effective immediately, our Short Haul Saver Awards for trips 700 miles or less each way are only 15,000 miles, instead of 25,000 miles. Flights that qualify for a roundtrip United Economy® Saver Award must be booked online at united.com for non-stop travel on United, United Express® and TedSM within the 48 contiguous states and between the U.S. and Canada. United Business and United First* class of service will be 30,000 miles.
• Miles Required to Redeem for Certain Awards to Change
  Effective October 16, 2006, the number of miles required to redeem for many Standard and select Saver Awards will change. The domestic Economy Standard Award redemption amount will increase from 40,000 to 50,000 miles.You have until then to book and ticket at the current award mileage redemptions.
• Standard and Saver Award Booking Fees
  Effective October 16, 2006, we are initiating fees for Standard and Saver Award travel booked less than 14 days in advance, as follows: $75 for travel ticketed six days or less prior to departure; $50 for travel ticketed 7-13 days prior to departure; no fee for travel ticketed 14 days or more prior to departure. Fees will be waived for 1K® and Global Services® members.

Yes, we've turned the corner on low to high season, so expect prices to start inching up towards the $700 and $800 level. Sigh* Still, prices are not that bad, so a quick trip to Europe is within your reach.

For flights departing 05/01 returning 05/09

Yemen is probably not on most people's top 10 list of places to visit, but in reality, Yemen is actually very safe and accessible for travellers. Richard Bangs, well known for his pioneering efforts in adventure travel, has the best life in the world. Get paid to visit these areas and then write about them.

Our next stop in the Eight Wonders survey takes us to Yemen, home to some of the oldest civilizations on earth. Situated on the Arabian Peninsula, across the Red Sea from Eritrea and the Gulf of Aden from Somalia, Yemen only recently (1990) combined its two halves, North and South, into a single nation. Yemen is also known as Arabia Felix or "happy Arabia," so let's find out why.

Ahh, the Eight Wonders, did you know you can search for Wonders on Mobissimo Activity Search? Yes, the Ancient Wonders as well as the Modern Wonders, only here, only with Mobissimo Activity Search.

Delta, Delta, Delta, can I help you, help you, help you? I've been fascinated with the Delta situation, as you can tell by my blog posts. What happens with Delta may be an indicator for other legacy airlines in the United States. This is Easter weekend, a heavy travelling weekend marking the turn to the high-season for airline travel. Delta averted a major situation by reaching a tentative deals with the pilots.

ATLANTA - One hurdle for Delta Air Lines Inc. is over: the nation's third-largest carrier on Friday avoided a possible strike for now by reaching a tentative deal with negotiators for its pilots union on permanent pay cuts.

Good. We didn't want people sitting around the airport on this holy weekend. Pay the pilots what they want I say, keep them well fed and content. While we can deal with surly flight attendants and bungled operations at the check-in counter, landing a 747 in near white-out conditions at O'Hare demands to have the best of the best.

As reported here earlier, Delta pilots were authorized to strike. The next step? Picketing the Delta headquarters and placing a large inflatable rat outside.

ATLANTA - More than 300 Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots marched near the company's headquarters Wednesday and placed a giant inflatable rat on a street corner to symbolize what they see as corporate greed in management's effort to void their contract and impose pay cuts.

One of the comments posted on the last post was about pilots having lots of time between shifts, so perfect, get outside and picket your employer. The strike may be imminent, as talks are happening right now and they are 'intensifying,' but the oucome is still murky. Those holding Delta tickets are justifiably concerned, but much like when the Independance bankruptcy left ticket holders stranded, other airlines will be more than willing to earn more business.

Hawaii, much like the rest of the West Coast of the U.S., has been inundated with record rains, driving away tourists (why go to Hawaii for rain?) and making locals not so happy.

UNDER sunny skies finally, Hawaii last week began to mop up after six weeks of record-setting storms that dampened thousands of vacations.

Although the islands could get "shots of heavy rain" this month, Derek Wroe, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Honolulu, said, "We're looking for increasingly drier weather."

Imagine, you're looking to escape the dreary winter weather of wherever you live, you booked your cheap a** package deal to Hawaii, you get off the plane and you have 7 days of rain. Constant rain. Remember, Brasil rarely has rain, and the fares right now are super cheap.

In yet another example of how profiling has gone awry, a man was detained for requesting his cabbie to play a certain type of music.

Harraj Mann, who is of Indian origin, had the songs stored on an MP3 player, which the cab was equipped to play on its stereo. Mann asked the driver to play "London Calling" by the Clash as they headed for Tees Valley International Airport near Darlington in northern England on March 30, news reports said.

Mr. Mann was arrested, he missed his flight and was forced to go home. This happened in England, yes Britain, our biggest supporter in the war against terrorism. Luckily, Britney Spears and Ashlee Simpson don't raise an eyebrow, except perhaps in the taste area, so I guess I'm fine.

At the end of April, there is usually a dip in prices to South America because it's right after Easter, so not too many people are travelling. It's a great opportunity to head down and get some sun. If you've been rained on, snowed on, beat on by the weather, now's your chance to shed your woolens and expose your pasty white body to the brilliantly tanned, magically sculpted natives of Brasil, or maybe Venezuela. Or you could just hang with others of your kind in Costa Rica, sheesh, that fare is cheap.

For flights departing 04/24 returning 05/02

Some of us can't bear to be apart from our pets. I love my dog Clare, but I don't know if I'd subject her to a long flight on an airplane. She's also kinda big, so I can't really stuff her into the overhead compartment. But for those of you will small pets, rejoice, there is a resource for you so you can travel with you pet.

NEW YORK - If you're flying somewhere and you want to bring a pet without putting it in cargo, you may be able to find an airline that will allow your animal into the cabin.

Many airlines permit small animals in carriers to fly beneath the seat ahead of you where you would normally stow your luggage. The Web site for Sherpa's Pet Trading Company has detailed information on pet policies for more than 100 airlines.

The website has done the hard work for you, finding the pet policies for many airlines. So next time, maybe give it shot and bring Mr. Knuckles or Jinxy on your trip.