Welcome to my next trip report, which will cover a quick trip to Ecuador on American Airlines' notorious Boeing 737 MAX 8, with a stay at an incredible lodge. Ford and I try to plan some sort of fun "bucket list" trips around our birthdays, and Ford's…
A few weeks ago I wrote about how Lufthansa is launching what’s almost unarguably the world’s worst flight. As of November 1, 2018, Lufthansa will be resuming flights between Frankfurt and Pune. The challenge with this flight is as follows: -- Pune has…
It’s incredible how much growth we’ve seen from British Airways the past few years, especially on transatlantic flights. Rather than just increasing frequencies in major markets, we’ve seen them add service to all kinds of destinations that previously…
If you're collecting miles & points through credit card spend, I always recommend doing what you can to accrue transferrable points currencies. That's because these points are much more flexible than when you're earning an individual airline or hotel…
Every month I make a post with what I consider to be the best credit card bonuses of the month. While there are several excellent long standing credit card offers, the specifics of the best offers are constantly changing (be it the annual fee, minimum…
In Europe you have three "powerhouse" airline groups -- Air France-KLM, IAG (the parent company of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, etc.), and Lufthansa Group (the parent company of Austrian, Lufthansa, Swiss, etc.). Virtually all IAG and Lufthansa…
I'm a huge fan of travel marketing and branding. Maybe I give companies too much credit, but there's something about a well marketed hotel, airline, or place, that instantly draws me to it. I'm not just talking about TV commercials and print ads, but…
American Airlines announced their premium economy service back in 2016, and it has slowly rolled out across their widebody fleet since. On a recent trip from Philadelphia to Europe, I was lucky enough to try out the product. While this is certainly not…
Bad things seem to happen in threes. Primera Air went out of business a couple of weeks ago, Cobalt Air went out of business yesterday, and it looks like we may now see a third European airline go out of business. Air Belgium is the Charleroi-based airline…
Turkey is building one of the biggest airports in the world in Istanbul at the moment. The airport will have a capacity of 90 million passengers per year, and when the entire airport project is complete (in about a decade), the airport will have a capacity…
At the moment the Barclaycard Arrival® Plus World Elite Mastercard® (see terms) has its best ever welcome bonus. The card is offering a bonus of 60,000 miles after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 90 days. Furthermore, the card's $89 annual…
Ethiopian Airlines is Africa's fastest growing airline, and it's incredible the route network they've managed to build. While South African Airways is perpetually on the brink of liquidation and Kenya Airways is doing what they can to recover, Ethiopian…
Air Italy has been growing at a rapid pace this year. Ben flew them from New York to Milan and was extremely impressed, noting the service was almost too good for the relatively short flight length. With Qatar Airways' investment they have been growing…
Often we see the major global hotel chains adopt some positive policies due to social pressure. For example, just recently we’ve seen a lot of companies adopt policies banning plastic straws. A few years ago, IHG adopted a “sustainable seafood…
Earlier James wrote about a situation that has gone viral with Ryanair's cabin crew. Ryanair is an ultra low cost carrier, and typically their crews don't overnight at hotels, but rather they just fly somewhere and back the same day. So they're clearly…
American Airlines has just announced some negative changes regarding Admirals Club membership. Not only are the prices of Admirals Club memberships being increased (when paying in cash), but there will also be added restrictions. American notes that…
Welcome to my next trip report, which will cover a quick trip to Ecuador on American Airlines' notorious Boeing 737 MAX 8, with a stay at an incredible lodge. Ford and I try to plan some sort of fun "bucket list" trips around our birthdays, and Ford's…
American Airlines announced their premium economy service back in 2016, and it has slowly rolled out across their widebody fleet since. On a recent trip from Philadelphia to Europe, I was lucky enough to try out the product. While this is certainly not…
The last time I reviewed JetBlue Mint was in August 2016, so I figure it's time for an update to see how the product is holding up. After a long layover in Boston, I headed to gate C17 around 8PM, in time for the 8:10PM scheduled boarding time. Unfortunately…
Priority Pass is the world's largest network of independent airport lounges, with over 1,200 locations around the world. The number of Priority Pass members has increased greatly the past couple of years, ever since the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card was…
I'm going to keep this review relatively short, given that I've reviewed Lufthansa first class many times before, including on the exact same plane on the exact same route (so check out that post for the most comprehensive 747-8 first class review).…
Over the years I've reviewed several hotels in Frankfurt, most of which I consider to be pretty mediocre. However, there's one hotel I had heard good things about but had never stayed at, which would be Villa Kennedy, a Rocco Forte hotel. This is generally…
Etihad has been cost cutting significantly the past couple of years, after losing billions of dollars in botched investments. While the airline had been introducing cost cutting measures in their lounges around the world, recently they did something…
Ryanair has some unique conditions for their cabin crew. I understand one of them is that they never overnight at any destination (i.e. they always return to their home base each day they fly), because it is cheaper for the airline to avoid paying for…
This is not a good week to be a Virgin Australia Velocity member. A few days ago, Ben wrote about how Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines were devaluing their unique points transfer feature, from 1.35:1 to 1.55:1. This points transfer option has…
The last time I reviewed JetBlue Mint was in August 2016, so I figure it's time for an update to see how the product is holding up. After a long layover in Boston, I headed to gate C17 around 8PM, in time for the 8:10PM scheduled boarding time. Unfortunately…
Over the past couple of years we've seen more non-US airlines launch credit cards in the US, and it looks like we're now seeing yet another one. The new Air France-KLM World Elite Mastercard, issued by Bank of America, has just been launched in the US.…
We've seen a huge amount of transatlantic growth the past few years thanks to ultra low cost carriers. This has come with several different business models, like Norwegian, operating point-to-point flights with efficient aircraft, and WOW Air, using…
Over the past year we’ve seen several airport restaurants and bars in the US join Priority Pass. The concept is that at some airports Priority Pass has a tough time striking a deal with a major lounge due to crowding issues, so when that’s not possible,…
One question I get all the time from readers is whether I recommend The Platinum Card® from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. It's a logical enough question, given that American Express and Chase are among the two biggest card issuers,…
I appreciate when companies get creative with their partnerships, and go beyond what you'd traditionally expect. This is something we've seen in general with travel brands, and it's great for consumers. For example, airlines realize that if you fly a…
For many years I've had The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express, and have considered it to be one of the best cards for earning Membership Rewards points. However, with the recent introduction of the American Express® Gold Card,…
