Airlines around the globe are struggling to stay in business with the current pandemic. EL AL has been in an especially tough spot, as the airline hasn't been able to secure government funding, and more or less had to temporarily cease operations...…
We spent the first night of our road trip in Springdale, Utah, so that we could visit Zion National Park. Springdale has a variety of limited service hotel options, though nothing terribly exciting beyond that. My loyalty belongs to Hyatt, Marriott,…
Hotel credit cards can be incredibly valuable. Typically the cards have reasonable annual fees, and offer outsized value, ranging from annual free nights to status. What's rare is to see a hotel credit card that offers perks in spite of not having an…
What are reasonable expectations to have when flying during the coronavirus pandemic? A reader points me to a complaint posted on Singapore Airlines' Facebook page, expressing frustration over a flight he describes as "daylight robbery." It does raise…
Personally if I were to launch a new airline I probably wouldn't do so during the coronavirus pandemic, but that's just me... Etihad Airways has been struggling financially since long before coronavirus, and in 2017 the airline began a five year transformation…
A few months ago demand for air travel began to plummet, as we've seen airlines cut capacity unlike ever before. During that time I've been keeping an eye on passenger numbers, as it's interesting to see how demand is evolving. The pace at which travel…
Airlines around the world are downsizing due to the current pandemic, and Royal Air Maroc is no exception, as reported by Morocco World News. However, there is one aspect of Royal Air Maroc's plan to shrink that surprises me. These updates come based…
Usually Spirit Airlines is in the news because of the fights that passengers manage to get into, so the positive ending for this story is a nice change of pace... On June 30, 2020, Spirit Airlines flight 3216 was scheduled to fly from San Juan to Philadelphia.…
11 people chartered a private jet from the US to the European Union, and were refused entry, as reported by castedduonline.it. But they're angry. Really angry. They feel they were "treated like criminals," and plan to "ask for damages." First it's important…
In this post I wanted to review the Iberia Visa Signature® Card, which is one of Chase's less known travel rewards credit cards. I realized that I've never formally reviewed this card before, so that seems long overdue. This card has only been in the…
In mid-June, Ford and I did a four day road trip through Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado (I recognize that technically not all of those states are the "southwest," but I feel comfortable enough with the general theme). In this post I wanted to talk…
If you're in the UK and have £7500 burning a hole in your pocket, here's a cool way to spend it... Blue Sky Luxury and Caledonia Jets have partnered to offer a new once weekly charter flight between London and Barbados. Barbados is a popular vacation…
In general, I think hotel credit cards are incredibly underrated. They can offer huge perks that more offset the annual fees, and some cards even offer free nights that can get you a lot of value. While I have quite a few hotel credit cards, in this…
Hello from Miami! There's not much fun to report on the travel front, as we've been staying inside the past week in order to stay safe, given how many new cases we have in Florida. On the plus side, I'm spending the weekend getting caught up on the trip…
While we were in Marrakech, I had a work call, and when I disclosed my location one of the other meeting participants blurted out "Man. I effing hated that medina." And I didn't hate it, but parts of the experience were decidedly unpleasant. Other aspects…
We wanted to stay in the thick of the medina on this trip, but that does come with some safety considerations. We also liked the idea of staying in a small independent riad. I'd had numerous people tell me that in Marrakech, your riad host is essentially…
This lounge review will be short and sweet, and not to put too fine a point on it, but hopefully your stay here will be as well. Bottom line up front: this lounge has little to recommend it, but it's not like the rest of the terminal is super glam either.…
On Wednesday I flew American Airlines first class from Miami to Las Vegas, which was a roughly five hour flight. I've been curious to see firsthand how onboard service has been adjusted as a result of the current pandemic, and wanted to report back on…
I've been sitting on this trip report for three months now (where have three months gone?) because it just hasn't felt like the right time to talk about travel details, and this particular trip was odd from the start. This trip took place in early March,…
Yesterday I took a five hour American Airlines flight from Miami to Las Vegas, which was my first flight in 99 days. I have so many thoughts about the current state of the air travel experience, but first wanted to dedicate a post specifically to some…
I don't think there's a single card that has changed the premium credit card landscape like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card did back when it was introduced in the summer of 2016. Before the Sapphire Reserve was introduced, premium cards were thought…
American Airlines will be changing terminals at London Heathrow, and that's either good or bad news, depending on how you look at it. It has today been formally announced that American Airlines will be moving to London Heathrow Terminal 5 as of July…
If one good thing comes out of 2020, it's that the St. Regis Cairo has finally opened... seemingly out of nowhere? If you're wondering why I have such an interest in this hotel, let me explain... St. Regis is one of my favorite hotel brands, and Cairo…
One thing we've noticed (and this is not a new phenomenon) is that "travel sentiment surveys" don't really take into account the viewpoints of the most frequent travelers, or the most highly-engaged loyalty program members. Our community may not be statistically…
Over the past few month we've seen a majority of airline lounges around the world close. This has been both due to lack of travel demand, and also because updated lounge protocols were needed to reflect the times. We're slowly seeing airlines start to…
In April American Airlines announced several updates to the AAdvantage program. The airline extended elite status by 12 months, and revealed plans to introduce a new one-time American Airlines Vacations credit for elite members, and also adjust change…
Remember a few months ago, when travel perks were one of the primary motivators for getting a premium credit card? Well, suffice to say that times have changed. With social distancing replacing travel for many people, credit card perks that were once…
In April American Airlines announced several updates to the AAdvantage program. In addition to elite status being extended by 12 months, some other creative initiatives were also revealed, which were overwhelmingly positive. One new benefit -- an American…
Even domestic travel is getting significantly more complicated. A few days ago a 14-day quarantine was added for travelers arriving in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut from regions with high COVID-19 infection rates. Now a similar requirement has…
JetBlue pilots have reached an agreement with management that just about any US airline employee would be happy with at this point... US airlines received around $50 billion worth of grants and loans through the CARES Act. This included payroll protection,…
