Comimentary upgrades are processed automatically. I think they start the process for platinums 48 hrs before the flight.
Airport Lounges: oneworld Lounges & Airport Lounge Access | oneworld
If you put in the airport code, this should tell you what lounges you can use. Generally speaking, I think you should be eligible to use a JAL lounge if it is used for their business class customers, but if it is dedicated for First Class passengers only, they usually block access to the riff raff :)
Thank you!
There is, however, one snack stand that sells beer.
But they only sell Snow 
Iāve noticed in Taiwan they donāt drink anywhere near as much as the Chinese. Taiwan is kind of a life-nit island.
Going to Brno during Easter break.
Probably hit up Olomouc for a day trip while there.
Short, relatively cheap trip for me (less than 3 hours by train). Even staying in a youth hostel despite definitely not being a youth.
This is something I also noticed. I used to joke that Taiwan is like China but with Mormons (which there are a fair amount of due to missionaries not being able to operate in PRC).
Going from China to Taiwan it also seemed like every single person I met had a serious artistic or athletic hobby.
Generally this will require an international itenerary, and the rules vary from alliance to alliance, but, eg on skyteam, you would in fact have access to any business class lounge operated by any skyteam airline. The really good lounges are excluded (eg BA concorde room etc)
Overall, I think of Brno as the Daniel Baldwin of Central Europe. You donāt suck because youāre surrounded by three superior things your entire life. It only means youāre not as good as them.
Prague, Vienna, and Budapest? Or which are your picks for the 3 superior cities around it?
Prague, Vienna, Bratislava
Iād argue that itās a bit close between Brno and Bratislava though. So I guess Bratislava is Stephen?
Bratislavaās in contention for my least favorite large city Iāve seen in Europe. Certainly my least favorite capital. Absolutely loved Budapest, and Prague and Vienna are obv great too.
Would have to have a think about worst capital in Europe. Havenāt been to all of them. So the answer would be incomplete.
Donāt think itād be Bratislava for me. My two immediate thoughts were Podgorica and Zagreb. If the people of Kosovo werenāt insanely friendly, Pristina would be in contention too.
Youāve probably been to a lot more of them than I have. Using this list: https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/capitals_europe.htm
Iāve been to 15 of them, but thatās including like Monaco, Vatican, etc.
I suspect I wouldnāt be a huge fan of many of the Balkan capitals, but havenāt seen any yet.
Iām trying to think of my least favorite city that Iāve been to outside the US. I always seem to find something to like when I travel.
Oh yeah Tulum. But itās not Tulumās fault. Itās the rich kids of Instagram crowd that have completely ruined the place. Cabo falls into a similar trap - but much more bourgeois crowd. Phuket similar.
I guess overdone tourist traps are the only places Iāve legit not found something interesting in. Even if itās a gritty non-tourist city, thatās interesting to me if itās outside the US.
Have you been to Pattaya? I havenāt been to Thailand yet, but been researching extensively and sounds like that city practically solely exists for creepy white sexpats.
No I havenāt been for exactly that reason. Phuket was basically like that. Koh Samui was a little better - touristy but not as sexpat-y. But that was 20+ years ago, who knows now.
I took my friend and her 15-year-old daughter to Thailand and Cambodia in 2008. We had to warn her she might see Thai girls her age with old white guys. That was a fun conversation.
Nassau Bahamas is my personal āmediocre place, no reason to return whatsoeverā nomination. Probably a rate of like 5x per day where I found myself silently saying āfuck this placeā in my head.
Hard to lump them in a group because they range from incredibly fascinating (Sarajevo) to soul-drainingly boring (Podgorica).
I find the entire regionās history as a whole interesting. So I am a bit biased for the Balkans in general and I still think Podgorica was a waste of a trip.
And again Iām biased but Iād rate Prague as the number one capital off that list.
Thatās fair. There are 8 on the list that wouldnāt surprise me if someone said it were their favorite.