Last September I shared some details of a trip that my cousin Heather and I were planning with our moms. We've been talking about taking our moms on a trip to Vietnam for a few years now. It's not somewhere either of them would naturally go on their…
The Companion Pass is probably the best way to get discounts on Southwest Airlines, as you're effectively getting 2-for-1 travel for as long as you have the pass. And before anyone makes a snarky comment about no one at OMAAT flying WN, the last time…
I've been fiercely evangelical about Project Fi since Google launched their cell phone service a few years ago. The plans have saved me a ton compared to a legacy mobile carrier, the un-throttled international coverage has been life-changing, and I adored…
United hilariously released their Polaris Cookbook a few weeks ago, because we clearly all want to replicate tasty partially-frozen paninis and other such delicacies in the comfort of our own kitchens. Joking aside, this is actually a decently organized…
Well this is exciting news! As of today, my favorite phone plan for international travelers is now officially available on iPhones and additional Android devices. And there are some great rebates available if you make the move today. The following Apple…
There have been rumors of China Southern leaving SkyTeam and joining oneworld for years. In ways this is logical, as oneworld doesn’t have an airline based in mainland China, while China Southern has second-rate status in SkyTeam, given Delta’s close…
Last week American Express announced a "revamp" of their Business Gold Rewards Card, rebranding it as the American Express® Business Gold Card, and launching a new slate of benefits. Rather than earn 3X, the new Amex Business Gold has 4X bonus categories.…
Whenever I'm talking with people who are just getting started with miles and points, I'm often surprised by both what miles they're accumulating, and how intimidated they are by actually using those miles. The natural instinct is to look for shortcuts…
Rewards cards in the U.S. can be extremely lucrative, particularly in the travel sector. But what are your options if you're still building your credit, or otherwise don't have those Very Good to Excellent credit scores that you need to be approved for…
One of the longest standing annual miles & points “events” is the Chicago Seminars, which has been held at the Holiday Inn in Elk Grove, Illinois (near Chicago O’Hare Airport) for the past eight years. Eight years. I'm getting old. The Chicago Seminars…
While we often see a bit of an arms race in terms of airline champagne offerings, those who enjoy other spirits are often left out. I'm always a bit surprised at the lack of thought and selection for spirits in premium cabins. It's odd to me that you'd…
The Chase Freedom is one of my favorite no annual fee credit cards, as it offers 5x points in rotating quarterly categories, for up to $1,500 of spend per quarter. Most people use this as a cashback card, meaning the 5x points really translates into…
Today marks 50 years from when the first 747 aircraft rolled off the line at the Boeing factory in Everett. That first aircraft is now an exhibit at the Museum of Flight, and Boeing spent a few minutes talking about the plane and its history earlier…
Whew this has been an exciting week! Ben is off getting hitched this weekend, and has been making an admirable effort to not work. While challenging, it's actually been extremely enjoyable for me to set aside the bulk of my usual responsibilities to…
Okay, maybe "need" is a strong word, because roughly 99% of the time you're not going to need to know this information in order to book award tickets. But there were a lot of questions earlier in the week about how I was able to get a Kenya Airways award…
There's nothing quite like a Friday afternoon announcement on the last day of the quarter to demonstrate confidence in your business decision, but that's the approach United MileagePlus has chosen to take with these updates to their elite program. In…
Buried deep in a press release on growth and optimization plans for the Lufthansa Group is an almost throwaway announcement that Lufthansa will begin serving Austin, Texas on May 3rd, 2019. British Airways began flights to Austin from London in 2014,…
A few hours ago an Air Niugini 737 on approach to Chuuk, Micronesia, appears to have undershot the runway, resulting in a water evacuation of the aircraft. The pictures, and rescue efforts, look incredible, and all 47 passengers and crew are accounted…
On the heels of British Airways' double Avios promotion, American has sent out a targeted promo to certain AAdvantage members. Because some have asked, I don't think these are related (though the two carriers have coordinated promotions in the past),…
In Spencer's guide to Amex Offers yesterday he mentioned stacking the offers with shopping portals, which reminded that I've been meaning to put together a post on how to leverage Cashback Monitor for...possibly months. If you aren't familiar with the…
This is an interesting development, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Booking Aeroflot with SkyMiles has always been complicated (though possibly not as complicated as visiting the ticket office in Minsk). Aeroflot gives painfully little award…
