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…
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…
Lately we've seen a lot of travel brands get creative when it comes to generating revenue. With so many businesses having liquidity issues, we're seeing companies offer a deal if you pay now for travel later. In particular, we've seen lots of hotel brands…
Australian taxpayers will no longer be footing the bill for those international travelers arriving in Australia. As part of its strategy to minimize the spread of coronavirus, Australia has more or less closed its borders. Only citizens and residents…
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.…
It's fairly rare to see an airline loyalty program offer a compelling bonus for new members nowadays, but that's exactly what we're seeing from Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways Privilege Club is offering new members who register with the promo code JOIN2020:…
One of the positive aspects of the Starwood Preferred Guest program that Marriott Bonvoy adopted is Choice Benefits. Now that some Bonvoy members have a lot of elite nights in spite of lack of travel this year, I wanted to recap how this benefit works.…
Hawaii was supposed to restart tourism as of August 1, 2020, but it looks like that will no longer be happening... unsurprisingly. In late March Hawaii introduced a 14-day quarantine for anyone coming to the state. This has been extended a few times,…
Happy weekend, and I hope everyone is continuing to hang in there! On the points & travel front, this week World of Hyatt announced a great new promotion for redeeming points, the Qatari royal family tried to sell a 747-8, Royal Air Maroc revealed plans…
We frequently see loyalty programs sell points at a discount, and for many this is an opportunity to buy points at a cost that makes sense, especially for aspirational redemptions. At the moment we're seeing many programs sell points at a discount, so…
American Express and Hilton have a suite of four co-branded credit cards. As you'd expect, each card is going after a different market segment. How do the Hilton Surpass & Hilton Business compare? Amex and Hilton have two credit cards with identical…
If you check your Marriott Bonvoy account this weekend, you may find that you have an extra five to 50 elite nights in your account, which sure is a treat. Let's talk about why, and how this should impact your Marriott strategy, if at all. This year…
In mid-June I took my first trip in well over three months. In total I flew three segments -- on the outbound I flew from Miami to Las Vegas, and on the return I flew from Grand Junction to Dallas to Miami. I've already written about some aspects of…
The British Airways Visa Signature® Card is one of the better co-branded airline credit cards out there. It's a card that's in my wallet, and that I get substantial value out of. While I've written a detailed review of the BA Visa, in this post I wanted…
Well this sure is an interesting one... American flies to London for 24 hours An American Airlines sales executive posted on his LinkedIn about a 24 hour trip he took to London to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for American Airlines' move to Heathrow…
