Introducing: Life Amplified
A revival of Drake's Travel Newsletter, revisited and reimagined.
This is Life Amplified, a newsletter about thoughts on life, business, travel, and upgrading it all.
I wrote a monthly travel newsletter pre-pandemic—it was rewarding, but exhausting. Writing about “dealsss” all of the time is soul-crushing! Travel is one part of life, and I love it. I especially love amazing experiences for cheap. I’m still going to bring you that content, but we’re also going to explore other areas, in a more sustainable every-other-month newsletter. Not interested? Unsubscribe, it will not hurt my feelings :)
In this issue:
What’s on my mind lately
Thought-provokers
How I’m approaching travel in 2022—and some deals
Life update
What’s on my mind lately
Russia & Ukraine: I visited Ukraine last September. L’viv is one of the most beautiful cities, and Kyiv is edgy and cool. Kyiv was home to the 2013-14 Maidan protests that overthrew the previous corrupt government. A great documentary on this is Winter on Fire (Netflix). My view: Most Westerners don’t know what it’s like to fight for freedom & democracy. Actually fight. Diplomacy should always be our first option, but we cannot let freedom-loving people be attacked by outsiders.
China & Taiwan: China is watching how the world is reacting towards Russia and Ukraine. The parallels are too similar. Taiwan is a shining example of development: a vigorous democracy, an envious health system, innovation & GDP growth. We’ve seen freedoms shrink in Hong Kong; we need a strong Taiwan.
Hong Kong legislative system: Democracy’s death in Hong Kong has been perplexing to me. If people wanted democracy, why didn’t they just vote for it in previous elections? Digging into Hong Kong’s Legislative Council system, we see three parts: Geographical, Functional, and Election (or proportional). The Geographic seats are simple, they’re like districts in the U.S. Election seats were reintroduced in Dec. 2021—they’re a Hong Kong-wide list. The Functional seats are where it gets interesting. 30 functional seats cover industries, with seats dedicated to Accountants, Insurance, Textiles, and other industries. What other government is set up like this in the world? Because these industry groups rely on business in China, they’re pro-Beijing. Even if the general population voted for pro-democracy groups, the Functional seats always served to counter-balance. Pro-democracy was doomed from the start. (It’s also important to note that when the U.K. controlled Hong Kong for a century, they did not support democracy)
San Francisco school board recall: ICYMI, San Francisco just recalled 3 school board members. It wasn’t close. These were very progressive school board members (but with other problems not necessarily linked to progressive politics). SF is one of the slowest school districts to re-open nationally, just pointing to the fact that visceral issues like school closures transcends traditional party factions.
Thought-provokers
Taiwan’s single-payer success story — and its lessons for America (Vox)
Why so many Olympians are broke (Insider)
An inside look into Putin’s secret palace (Navalny.com—it’s in Russian but easily translated)
Turkey, you were doing so well! (Noahpinion)
How I’m approaching travel in 2022—and some deals
I know, I made you scroll. Let’s get meta first. Here are my theses for travel this year:
People are pent up. The best spots will go early, and most destinations should be open.
People are saved up. Savings rates shot up during the pandemic. Expect traditionally expensive places (e.g., Greece, Italy, France, island destinations) to be more expensive than ever. Cheap destinations are less sensitive and can absorb more demand.
For operators, cash is king. People have a lot of points saved up, but that’s the last thing hotels and airlines want. They need cash. Expect them to make it harder to redeem, especially during peak times.
Testing restrictions are fading. Many countries are dropping their antigen and PCR test requirements, and this will likely accelerate into summer.
Here are the deals and value areas on my mind:
Use your Marriott and Hyatt points in the next month
Marriott is ditching their award chart in March, which means the most expensive hotels with points will raise rates. If you travel during low season, this is good news for you. Hyatt is increasing the points rates on their best hotels on March 22. Book before then. For both, as long as you book before their change dates, you lock in your rate.
Why Avianca’s LifeMiles is my favorite loyalty program right now
Avianca is a Colombian airline, part of Star Alliance. Their loyalty program, LifeMiles, partners with Marriott, Citi, Amex, and Capital One. They also regularly run sales for buying points. Avianca typically has very attractive rates for its partners, and some sweet spots. (For example, you can find JFK to Zurich for 16.5k miles one-way, when it would be 30-35k with any other airline). Where Avianca shines is Business and First Class for 63k and 87k to Europe, typically on United or Lufthansa. 87k miles for first class, a $10k ticket, is one of the best deals globally. Availability typically only shows in the last 14 days before a flight, so patience and backup options are required. During an award sale, you could spend $1,000 buying miles with Avianca and then buy the first class ticket with miles—it’s a very simple hack if you don’t even have miles!
Status match to ITA Airways
Many airlines went under during COVID-19, like Alitalia, Italy’s biggest airline. They’ve since reorganized and are now ITA Airways. They’re part of Skyteam (Delta). Given they’re a “brand new” airline, they have a new loyalty program. I status matched, and they denied me—but then two days ago they changed their mind and status matched me! Sign up for ITA Airways status, then email statusmatch@itaspa.com with proof of status in a different airline. You may get denied, but confirmed many weeks later, like me. Why? This should get you perks and benefits across Skyteam, including Delta flights.
In the market for a new premium credit card?
There’s a mini-war going on in the premium credit card space between Amex, Capital One, and Chase. My recommendation typically leans towards Amex Plat, but Cap1 is a good alternative. If you do banking with Chase, then CSR can also be a good pick. Amex points are the most flexible (though you should always transfer them to a partner, redeeming them within Amex is not a good value, same with the others). Amex’s lounge network can’t be beat in my opinion, even if Capital One and Chase are building out their lounge network (it’ll take years for them to catch up). Amex Plat is the most expensive, but the most perk-laden. If you’re planning a summer trip, I highly recommend having one of these cards for the travel perks + travel insurance. The bonus offer for Amex is higher than normal (100k points goes very far) same with Cap1. Here’s my Amex referral link.
Life update
It’s halfway through the winter quarter at Stanford. Graduation is in less than 4 months, which is a little daunting. Next month my term as Co-President of the Student Body ends. I’m planning on pursuing entrepreneurship, which feels like a can of worms right now (Stanford prepares you better than most, but there are a billion things to do.) It feels weird compared to my undergrad experience, charging head on without a dedicated outcome. But exciting. I’m building in the HR Tech space—if you have cool thoughts, connections, or resources, I’m all ears.