u/abhinavshete

Hi Folks,
I want to thank this community for all the help i got here. Wanted to share my process and hurdles I faced.

Everything here is for 2 people.

Finally I was able to find a Award booking for my BOM - Tokyo Return for 1.44L tax.
The cash price of this is over 5.6L INR.

Past two years has been collecting points on wife's Travel Plat and my MRCC. We would have spend maybe 8-9L total in past two years. We stopped using Travel plat this Feb cuz of devaluation and we knew we cannot reach 4L by the end of Feb and we have not reached 4L still on wife's Travel Plat.
Total Points collected: 1.2L on Travel Plat + 1L on MRCC

So the booking/planning journey started late July I wanted to score a business class ticket.
Signed up to almost every other award program and began searching for Award tickets. No luck and everything was requiring lot of miles especially SQ (this our fav airline)

I finally got award travel tool thinking it might help me.

Here are some of the Airlines program i rejected because of exorbitant amount of miles:

AA shows low miles but has phantom availability on award travel tool
SQ heck loads of miles.
Vietnam Air was the same.

Here are the 2 which were doable for me:

Cathay (but only 1 way)
ANA via Virgin (same one way) *this changed couple of days ago thanks to AMEX.

I called Virgin to check if there is availability for my dates and there was 🎯 (this check i did early Aug) but found that the taxes were high so did not end up booking this. (1.44L)

I checked cash booking on ANA and JAL(as i am in blr) taxes on these were high too.
Cash cost:
1.6L for economy on ANA + domestic flight to Mumbai. With there flying blue sale on.
2.2L for economy on Jal.
1.15L for SQ economy this was our choice/solid backup if not using points. (cheapest)

We really wanted to travel in Business that was the goal (our first time). Paying some extra amount over SQ economy was ok for US. We did not mind layover specially in SQ.

We thought lets do 1 way business and return in SQ.
Last couple of weeks i called virgin over 10times LOL for availability and nothing was available for my dates. I was like "**** should have booked when i had the chance"

As i heard the news yesterday about Amex - Virgin (5:4) i was overjoyed as now I can book return. YEY!! but i knew no availability :(

I did call virgin india 2wice yesterday and was told no availability. Don't want to call Virgin every now and then to ask for availability, its a hassle. I did check same dates on ANA there was award availability but not with Virgin.

I did lot of research again, how can i find these award tickets again and found that if there are award tickets available on UNITED/AIR CANADA there is 90% chance that i will be able to book it via Virgin on call.

I checked Air Canada but did no availability there as well. I was also fed up doing date by date on there website. Switched to award travel tool I filter air canada and checked found multiple dates available suitable for me both onward and return.

But now it was night almost 11.30PM IST (cannot call virgin). Checked online again how to get this done, tried virgin chat feature but failed. I realize why not call UK number.
Did a international calling recharge and called virgin.

I was told they do have the tickets for my dates but they cannot hold it like how you can ask VIrgin India to hold the tickets for couple of hours.

I said OK and disconnected the call and went AMEX website and logged in selected virgin and connected my flying club account, did same same for my wife. Within 1 min we received confirmation that we can transfer the points.

Transferred points over 1.2L+67K MR points approx to virgin (i still have 40k MR on my MRCC) And made the booking 😄

PS - NO AI USED TO WRITE THIS, pardon if there are any typos/mistakes

Let me know if you guys have questions. happy to help.

https://preview.redd.it/zeq7b95x6bkh1.png?width=1074&format=png&auto=webp&s=c5772ee193230e9e792e19e3c03a0a786d3d9f3e

https://preview.redd.it/ks44395x6bkh1.png?width=994&format=png&auto=webp&s=3ef9f8d1fca1feddadb17ba88a75e3bf342cedb3

These are all virgin/SQ economy options. Ended up going with Option 2

I need help making a buying decision between two 75% wireless mechanical keyboards available in India. Both cost exactly Rs 10,000.

My daily usage is split between creative professional work and competitive gaming. I use design applications like Figma, Adobe Illustrator, and After Effects daily. For gaming, I mainly play fast-paced titles like Dota 2.

I also want to occasionally carry my keyboard in a backpack to a friend's place.

Here are the choices.

# Option 1. NuPhy Node 75

Sold on ctrlshiftstore as a pre-order.
Looking at Red Max Switches.

I looked at sound tests and love the smooth, dampened sound of the Red Max linear switches.

The seller only explicitly mentions a 7-day return policy for defects. There is no clear mention of a long-term warranty on the page.

[NuPhy Node 75 on CtrlShiftStore](https://ctrlshiftstore.com/products/nuphy-node-75)

# Option 2. Aula M75

Sold on MECKEYS.

It features a heavy full CNC aluminum case. It has a heavy, stable desk presence.

It has no physical volume knob or touch control strip. Volume changes require key shortcuts.

It uses proprietary Aula software instead which might feel like a bloat in my system.

It sounds noticeably louder when compared Node75.

MECKEYS provides a clear, reliable domestic warranty inside India.

[Aula M75 on Meckeys](https://meckeys.com/shop/keyboard/75-keyboard/aula-m75-wireless/)

I am torn between the premium metal build of the Aula M75 and the better sound, touch volume bar, and light weight of the NuPhy Node 75.
Which one would you recommend for creative workflows and gaming? Any insights on the long-term reliability of these boards or experiences with the sellers would be greatly appreciated.

[Award Success] Scored ANA Business Class Return (BOM ⇄ Tokyo) for 2 via Virgin Atlantic using Amex points!

NuPhy Node 75 (CtrlShiftStore) vs Aula M75 Aluminum (Meckeys) Comparison