Hello from Florida! I spent this week at home, and next week am off on another huge adventure, which should be the best one of the year. I can't wait to share the full details of that. I'm just wrapping up my last trip report based on the trip we just…
While I've flown British Airways first class many times before, there were a couple of things that would make my flight from London to Boston unique: -- This would be my first time flying British Airways' 777 first class; up until now I've only flown…
Yesterday British Airways pilots announced that they're going on strike September 9, September 10, and September 27, 2019. This follows a contract dispute between pilots and management that has been going on for quite a while. It's still possible that…
Air Tanzania is a fascinating little airline. Up until about a year ago they had a single regional jet and four turboprops. However, in the past year they've taken delivery of one Boeing 787-8 and two Airbus A220-300s. With these planes they've launched…
In this weekend schedule update, United has quietly suspended two routes: -- Chicago to Hong Kong is being suspended as of September 8, 2019 -- Newark to Buenos Aires is being suspended as of October 26, 2019 In both cases United is labeling these as…
National Emerald Club is one of the most popular car rental loyalty programs among frequent travelers, thanks to their Emerald Aisle system of being able to choose your own car, and also thanks to their generous promotions. Well, National has just brought…
In September 2017 I first wrote about Global Ghana Airlines, a new startup airline that intended to operate nonstop flights between Chicago and Accra. At the time the airline announced that they’d begin operating flights within weeks. There was only…
In mid-2017, Qantas announced that they'll be refreshing their fleet of Airbus A380s. The airline currently operates a fleet of 12 Airbus A380s, and the plan was to refresh all the cabins, and in particular to install all new seats in business class…
For weeks now, a British Airways pilots strike has been looming. Well, the dates are now official. The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has today announced that British Airways pilots will strike on September 9, September 10, and September…
While there are aspects of the US travel experience that are worse than ever before, there have also been some innovations in the past several years that have made air travel more pleasant. Specifically, TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry are among those.…
There are lots of aspects to maximizing your credit card strategy, including taking advantage of the best welcome bonuses, spending categories, and card perks. Sometimes I think it's interesting to break down credit card strategies by card issuer, so…
Earlier this week the Apple Credit Card was formally launched in the US. For those of us who are into maximizing credit card rewards, this card is truly nothing to get excited about. However, Apple has a loyal following, so I imagine this card is going…
There are lots of aspects to maximizing your credit card rewards, including taking advantage of the best welcome bonuses, spending categories, and card perks. Sometimes I think it’s interesting to break down credit card strategies by card issuer, so…
Chase issues some of the best rewards credit cards out there. When it comes to applying for Chase credit cards, people frequently find themselves faced with Chase's "5/24 rule," which is one of the restrictions they have in place. So in this post I wanted…
Online shopping portals can be a great way to pick up additional miles & points for purchases you’d make anyway. Just for following a specific link you can earn bonus points in addition to the ones you’d earn for credit card spending. Whenever I make…
Following American Airlines announcing some significant international expansion a couple of weeks ago, United Airlines has now announced some international expansion as well, including some pretty cool and creative routes. United has experienced an incredible…
While I've flown British Airways first class many times before, there were a couple of things that would make my flight from London to Boston unique: -- This would be my first time flying British Airways' 777 first class; up until now I've only flown…
To return from Mykonos to the US we decided to fly British Airways, given what a convenient routing they had available. Getting from Mykonos to the US same day without leaving at the crack of dawn is a challenge. Furthermore, it's great to be able to…
We had a great time in Santorini last summer, so this summer we decided to visit Mykonos. We decided to book Santa Marina, which is a Marriott Luxury Collection property, using points. Hotel rates in Mykonos are crazy-high in summer. Not because the…
And now it's time for a review of the MVP of this trip, in my opinion. Actually, there might be one more pleasant surprise coming up after this. To get back to Europe I was flying Thai Airways' A350-900 to Milan. While Thai Airways has several destinations…
Continuing my tour of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport lounges, I decided to next check out the Miracle First Class Lounge, located in Concourse D. Bangkok Airport has at least nine(!!!) Miracle Lounges -- some are technically "first class" lounges while…
After visiting the rather underwhelming Thai Airways Lounge, I figured it was time to check out the Turkish Airlines Lounge, which just recently opened. I had access to this lounge on account of my Star Alliance business class ticket, though the lounge…
While some other premium credit cards are all about the perks, one of things that makes the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card so well rounded is that it's also a fantastic card for everyday spending. Specifically, the card has two valuable bonus categories,…
Hyatt has quietly rolled out an award sale, offering discounts on both Free Night and Points + Cash bookings at 22 properties around the globe. Note that this can potentially be stacked with Hyatt's 10% discount on redeemed points, valid for stays between…
Many of us rely on ridesharing services to get around. It's pretty crazy to think how much the "sharing" economy has changed our behavior, both when at home and when traveling. While Uber has had its fair share of issues the past few years, it continues…
We know that Qantas is working on "Project Sunrise," which is their goal of operating nonstop flights from the East Coast of Australia (Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney) to both London and New York. It'll be a few years before these flights launch, given…
For the past few years, most of IHG’s global hotel promotions have been customized. Everyone gets some type of offer, but different members get targeted for different versions of the offer. The logic is that hotel loyal programs want to generate incremental…
A couple of weeks ago we saw American Airlines make a big international route announcement, and it's expected that they'll make another route announcement soon. They're not the only airline with a big announcement coming, though. On social media United…
To return from Mykonos to the US we decided to fly British Airways, given what a convenient routing they had available. Getting from Mykonos to the US same day without leaving at the crack of dawn is a challenge. Furthermore, it's great to be able to…
British Airways has just announced the latest phase of their investment in improving technology and training, and it's an interesting one. British Airways has announced that all 15,000 of their cabin crew will be receiving iPhone XRs. The new phones…
One of the best perks of The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) and The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (review) is access to Centurion Lounges. These lounges are at airports, and are for the most part significantly better than…
American Express and Hilton have just rolled out new welcome bonuses on their co-branded credit cards, following some minor changes that have been made to some of these cards. Here are the details of these offers: The Hilton Honors™ Card from…
