Hello from Miami! I'm spending my last weekend for a while at home, and then this coming week am headed to Romania with Tiffany, which I'm very excited about. Not only should the trip be fun on the ground, but we'll fly Turkish's new 787-9 business class…
October has been a month of new credit card applications for me, given that I fell under Chase's 5/24 limit: -- First I applied for the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card (review), for which I was instantly approved; I've wanted this card for the…
With the 737 MAX having been grounded globally since March, and with no real indication as to when the plane will be back in the sky, you'd think things couldn't get much worse for Boeing. Well, yesterday things got much worse for Boeing. What happened?…
French all business class airline La Compagnie flies year-round between Newark and Paris Orly. The airline has two A321neos they recently took delivery of, which feature fully flat business class seats and wifi. This past summer the airline operated…
We had a roughly eight hour layover in Doha, as we were arriving from Cape Town around midnight, and departing for Dallas shortly before 8AM. So that left us with a few choices for spending our layover. The way I viewed it, we had a few options for how…
For those of you not familiar with Amex Offers, it’s a program available through most American Express cards, where different cards are eligible for different savings and bonus offers. In many cases the offers can be huge, and more than offset the annual…
Today is a pretty cool day for aviation, as a nonstop flight from New York to Sydney will be operated for the first time by a commercial airline. Now, don't get too excited -- this is a one-off, and the plane will only be very lightly loaded. But it's…
In August Marriott announced that they're launching an all-inclusive platform. Marriott sees a lot of growth with all-inclusives, and it's an area where they've historically had very little market share. To kick off their strategy, Marriott announced…
For those of you not familiar with Amex Offers, it’s a program available through most Amex cards, where different cards are eligible for different savings and bonus offers. In many cases the offers can be huge, and more than offset the annual fee on…
For those of you not familiar with Amex Offers, it’s a program available through most Amex cards, where different cards are eligible for different savings and bonus offers. In many cases, the offers can be huge, and more than offset the annual fee on…
In mid-April I wrote about a pretty terrifying incident that happened on an American Airlines flight bound from New York to Los Angeles. The flight was operated by one of American's special A321T aircraft in a premium heavy configuration, featuring just…
After a once in a lifetime trip, it was time for the long journey home. We managed to all travel back on the same flight using miles, with what I consider to be one of the best award chart sweet spots out there. Qatar Airways has my favorite business…
In mid-September, World of Hyatt rolled out a promotion on purchased points, which is in line with the best offers they have. This has the potential to be a great deal for anyone considering a stay at a Hyatt. The promotion ends tomorrow (October 18),…
I have a lot of credit cards. Many of them have annual fees, which I consider to be worthwhile given the perks they offer in return. Every year when the annual fee is due on cards, I do an analysis as to whether or not it makes sense for me to keep the…
Most probably remember the Asiana Airlines 777-200 that crash landed at San Francisco International Airport in July 2013. The accident, which was primarily determined to be pilot error, caused three fatalities and nearly 200 injuries. As a result of…
Yesterday was supposed to be a game changing day for aviation. Global Ghana Airlines was supposed to launch their highly anticipated service between Chicago and Accra. The new eagle that was supposed to bring us the faith to fly was supposed to take…
We had a roughly eight hour layover in Doha, as we were arriving from Cape Town around midnight, and departing for Dallas shortly before 8AM. So that left us with a few choices for spending our layover. The way I viewed it, we had a few options for how…
After a once in a lifetime trip, it was time for the long journey home. We managed to all travel back on the same flight using miles, with what I consider to be one of the best award chart sweet spots out there. Qatar Airways has my favorite business…
To finish off our trip we spent three nights in Cape Town. To be honest, I really struggled with where to stay in Cape Town: -- In general I value luxury hotels much more highly in secluded places rather than cities, since I don't spend that much time…
After an unforgettable six days on safari, it was time to visit Cape Town for a few days. We had to fly Federal Air from Kruger National Park to Johannesburg (which I've already reviewed). From there we flew Comair from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Comair…
In the past two installments I've reviewed Singita Boulders Lodge in Sabi Sands Reserve and Singita Lebombo Lodge in Kruger National Park. I only briefly covered the game drive portion of our safari experience, and in this post wanted to talk about that…
We were so sad to leave Singita Boulders after an incredible three days, though the fun wasn't over, as we were then headed to Singita Lebombo, considered by many to be the "flagship" Singita property. As mentioned in the previous installment, Singita…
La Compagnie is the all business class transatlantic airline that started flying in mid-2014. The airline operates flights between Newark and Paris Orly, and this past summer also operated seasonal flights between Newark and Nice (I guess the route was…
JetBlue and Norwegian have just announced a partnership that I guess isn't surprising, though I also have some logistical questions... JetBlue and Norwegian have signed a letter of intent to launch an interline agreement, with JetBlue and Norwegian planning…
Southwest Airlines has just announced some significant changes to their Rapid Rewards program, including a policy change on their points expiration, and also an increase to Companion Pass requirements. Let's look at the details. Effective immediately,…
A couple of months ago there were rumors of Airbus developing the A350-1000ULR, though it looks like the aircraft manufacturer has a different plan. Qantas wants to launch the world's longest flights, nonstop from Melbourne and Sydney to London and New…
The new Istanbul Airport opened earlier this year, and it represents quite a change over the old Istanbul Ataturk Airport. The airport is beautiful, but also absolutely massive and poorly designed, in my opinion. Anyway, for many travelers one major…
American Express is expanding their offerings in Canada as of today with a new credit card (not a charge card!) geared towards small business owners. Like the American Express Cobalt™ Card, the American Express Business Edge Card carries a points…
Delta has just rolled out an interesting new program, called SkyMiles Select. This is a $59 bundle of travel benefits for SkyMiles members that's described as having a $100 value. The benefits are all valid for a year, and kick in within 24 hours of…
Oh Marriott Bonvoy, why does this have to be the program where the most gamification nowadays is happening on the part of hotels, rather than members? Marriott's Blackout Date Policy With the introduction of the Marriott Bonvoy program, Marriott has…
There are quite a few loyalty programs that frequently run promotions on purchased points, which can represent a great deal, especially for aspirational redemptions. Back in the day Starwood Preferred Guest would often have promotions on purchased points,…
Here's a fantastic development. As of today, American Airlines' app will notify you when boarding for your flight starts. A message will pop up saying: "We have started to board your flight to [destination]. Please head to gate [number]." It's my understanding…
