Not only are Americans banned from visiting most of Europe, but we're increasingly seeing domestic travel restrictions as well, as some states see a surge in coronavirus cases. In late June New York announced a travel quarantine, and that has now been…
In mid-June, Hilton Honors rolled out its latest promotion on purchased points, which is in line with the best promos offered by the program. This is a reminder of that, as the promotion is due to expire tomorrow, so this is your last chance to buy points…
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards has just rolled out its latest promotion on purchased points. The concept of a revenue based frequent flyer program selling points has always been strange to me, so let's take a look at the details. Through Wednesday,…
In February 2020, many of us were caught off guard when it was announced that Alaska Airlines would be joining the oneworld alliance by the summer of 2021. Well, it looks like the timeframe for that is now being moved forward significantly. I guess one…
The border between the US and Canada has been closed for non-essential travel since March 21. Up until now the border has been closed for non-essential travel through July 21. It's now being reported by CBC that that closure will be extended by an additional…
Back in late March, Hilton Honors became the first major hotel group to extend elite status by a year. Now the program has announced another great initiative. Hilton Honors will be rolling over all elite nights earned in 2020 to the 2021 program year.…
Well this is a massive win for Qatar, and in turn for state-owned airline Qatar Airways... at least on paper. The Qatar blockade began in June 2017. With this, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, introduced a land, sea, and air…
There has been lots of uncertainty about Virgin Atlantic's future. While the airline is resuming service as of July 20 and is undergoing a major restructuring, up until now the airline lacked the financing to continue operations for much longer. Virgin…
About a year ago it was formally announced that a new version of Microsoft Flight Simulator would be introduced in 2020, which is the first new version since 2006. I can't even begin to say how much of my childhood was spent playing this game, so it…
Delta Air Lines has just become the first major US airline to report its second quarter earnings, and goodness is it rough... as you'd expect. Delta Air Lines has reported its second quarter results: The airline had a GAAP pre-tax loss of $7.0 billion…
It was hinted at a couple of days ago that this would happen, and it's now official. Hawaii won't welcome tourists without a 14-day quarantine until at least September 1, 2020. In late March Hawaii introduced a 14-day quarantine for anyone coming to…
Unfortunately this is the third time I'm writing about Aman's gift card promotion. Not because I want to, but because Aman keeps changing the terms. This has gone from a great deal for any Amanjunkies, to a hard pass (at least for me)... Anyway, lately…
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,…
I picked up the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card a bit over a year ago. This card has a $450 annual fee, and is easily one of the all around most compelling hotel credit cards out there. This card has many huge benefits, and almost seems too…
We spent the third and fourth nights of our trip in Moab, Utah. We decided to spend more time here because we knew there was a lot to do in the area, and we were very happy with our decision in the end. Moab has virtually every limited service hotel…
We spent the second night of our road trip in Page, Arizona, primarily so we could visit Horseshoe Bend. As we quickly learned, the real treat was just being able to drive around this part of the country, as the scenery is breathtaking. Page has virtually…
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,…
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.…
Ah, tax season. As many Americans are starting to procrastinate finalize their tax returns, questions about earning points for making those payments always come up. That's particularly relevant this year, and individuals and businesses may be paying…
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…
It looks like the current dispute between British Airways' pilots and management may be coming to an end... Airlines around the globe are suffering right now, and are having difficult conversations with labor groups, as redundancies loom. British Airways…
Given how much consumer behavior has changed in the past few months, many of the credit card benefits that members used to appreciate most aren’t as valuable anymore. We’ve seen card issuers get creative with perks, to give members an incentive to keep…
EL AL has been looking for a new investor for the past several months. The airline was in a bad financial situation before the current pandemic started, and of course this situation just exacerbated EL AL's problems. A couple of weeks ago it was revealed…
We've seen airline loyalty programs start to offer incentives for travel. Air France-KLM Flying Blue has just published a solid promotion for members, offering bonus miles and also making it easier to qualify for status. Flying Blue offering double miles…
United Airlines MileagePlus has just launched its latest promotion on purchased miles. Through 11:59PM CT on Thursday, July 16, 2020, United is offering a bonus on purchased miles. Different accounts may be eligible for different bonuses, but the accounts…
JetBlue has just extended its seat blocking policy for several additional weeks once again. Through September 8, 2020, JetBlue is promising that you won't sit next to a stranger on a flight. Until recently this policy was valid through July 31, while…
The weekend night certificate issued as part of InterContinental Ambassador status just became more useful. IHG has a rather complicated rewards program structure. In addition to the IHG Rewards Club program that covers all of IHG's brands, InterContinental…
We've seen many airlines around the world suspend operations in recent months, and all business class airline La Compagnie was among them. I wanted to provide an update on the airline, since this doesn't seem like an ideal time to be running an airline…
