Good morning, and welcome to today's community discussion thread! Today's posts will appear here throughout the day, but this thread is for going off-topic. Did you love/hate something about today's coverage? Are you tracking other news I missed? Or, do you just have a general question about rewards travel? This is the place for your wandering thoughts.
Today's posts on OMAAT:
- Citi Strata Elite Card Review: Are The Premium Perks Worth The Fee?
- The Salon At PS LAX Review: What A Fun & Seamless Airport Experience!
- Bilt Rent Day Promotion October 2026: Up To 200% Hilton & Amtrak Transfer Bonus, Plus Status Match!
- Charge Cards Vs. Credit Cards: The Key Differences Explained
- Lame: Delta Unveils Summer 2027 Europe Expansion, Adds No New Destinations
- Qatar Airways Retires Airbus A330 Fleet, Sends Pilots To RwandAir, As Iran War Rages On
- Boeing 737 MAX 10 Certification Just Days Away, And It’s A Big Deal For Airlines
- Limited Time: Capital One Venture Card Bonus Of 75K Miles + $300 Credit
- Should I Fly Air Algerie Business Class? The Odd Routing I’m Considering…
Daily threads stay open for a week, so it's never too late to jump into a recent conversation.
Lots of chatter about this forecast nor'easter this weekend (Friday PM potentially through Monday AM).
For airlines, so far: I'm seeing United waivers for BOS, EWR, JFK, LGA, BDL, MHT, PHL, PVD, PWM, and ACK for travel between 9/25-27; American for BOS, JFK, LGA, EWR, and PHL for the same dates (plus changes through 9/29 without fare difference); jetBlue JFK, LGA, EWR, HPN, ISP, BOS, PVD, ACK, MVY, and HYA also 9/25-27, no penalty for rebooking through 9/30; Delta merely 'encouraging' passengers at BOS and NYC-area airports to 'keep a close eye on flight statuses.' (Huh, well, that's a different approach...)
Ideally, it will not be the Perfect Storm (1991) or the Storm of the Century (1993). It's still wild that there's been no hurricanes in the Atlantic this year likely due to El Niño (and it's almost October!) Safe travels, everyone.
Per Alaska Air expects Boeing 737 MAX 10 certification this month
looks like we should see the max-10 being certified early next week? seems a little ambitious given the history of Boeing...but the max-7 is certified (WN is happy now).
Ben, not sure if this is the right place to put this, but I noticed an error in your review of the Four Seasons San Francisco at Embarcadero.
https://onemileatatime.com/reviews/four-seasons-san-francisco-embarcadero/
In the gym section, you describe the gym but also say:
While the Four Seasons doesn’t directly have a gym, there’s an Equinox on the fourth floor of the building, where hotel guests can get treatments. I didn’t have a chance to check it out, but you can find all the spa treatments here.
The Equinox is located at the other Four Seasons location in San Francisco, not at Embarcadero.
I stayed there a few months go based on this glowing review, although my experience was somewhat different. Besides the stunning views, I was pretty disappointed, and it did not feel like a FS. The furniture in my room was super cheap and felt like Ikea stuff, and shoddy finishes all over (crooked electrical outlets etc). It reminded me of all these brand new "luxury" condos where they cut corners on just about everything. The single restaurant also felt a little sad, but I suspect this location is mostly targeted at the corporate folks so maybe that's why.
I thought the other Four Seasons location was way better, definitely more old school but it felt way more luxe (and the Equinox access is a huge perk!).
@clem Whoops, I'm sorry, that should've read "while the Four Seasons doesn’t directly have a spa," rather than "gym" (given that the comment was immediately underneath the pictures of the Four Seasons gym).
Regarding the Equinox being at the other Four Seasons, keep in mind my stay was toward the start of the pandemic, so I think at the time that's where they were sending people for spa treatments (admittedly that's not very practical!).
Appreciate the feedback on the stay overall, and the other FS, and I'm sorry you had a disappointing stay. Indeed, they definitely saved a bit on some finishes, including the lack of electric curtains, etc. I'm happy to hear the other property is better, at least, so I'll check that out next time.
@lucky Good point about the pandemic part, I didn't think of that!
I actually did ask the front desk at Embarcadero if they would allow me to use the Equinox at the other location, and they gave me a very firm "no" saying that because the hotel already has a gym, they can't do that (fair enough).
And if you ever stay at the other one, keep your expectations in check 😊 . It won't blow your mind, but it's pretty good given the lack of great hotels in SF in general (and pricing can be decent especially if using an Amex FHR credit).
@clem Totally get it, SF indeed isn't a great hotel market, and I feel like it has gotten considerably worse over the past decade or so, in terms of new properties, maintenance and facilities of existing properties, etc.
Not sure there's much to discuss about the latest WSJ article on mid-tier cards ("the rose-gold is pretty") but worth a skim - https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/credit/the-rise-of-the-almost-premium-credit-card-f6d22ebd?mod=hp_lead_pos3
@peter_ Fascinating article. 'targeting the not-quite-rich enough' bah! At least 'rose-gold is pretty' Zhao got to attend the US Open; so, couldn't afford $895 Platinum card, could afford $500+ tickets to see some live tennis. Atmos Summit got a mention! Woop! (And the mention of C1 lounges... "Jose Andres!" the fee "1,000% worth it." Well then, Venture X going from $395 AF to... $3,950, if true.)
@1990_ I mean, $395 for C1 lounges is underpriced compared to market, especially now that they have a few more of them. I have to imagine that AF will be going up to at least Strata Elite levels shortly if Citi is charging $200 more for 4 AC passes...
In fairness I guess, the Amex Presale had tickets in the $100-150 range for the upper deck (where that picture was surely from) and the Amex fan booth had a lot of freebies.
I do think there is a difference between a travel card and lifestyle card, and Amex Gold probably comes the closest to being a mid-tier lifestyle card with 4x dining/groceries and "decent enough" credits with $100 Resy, $120 Uber, $120 Grubhub, $84 Dunkin. Even if you just use the Resy and Uber ones, paying the extra $100 for the 4x points categories could be well worth it for many.
@peter_ Oh, it's 'mid' alright... I kid, P2 and I each have Amex Gold, but I think many of us on here are outliers, not the norm. If this is someone's only card, or one of a few, then that's a very different outlook. Other than Citi Nights (6x! Starting in less than 5 hours), Amex Gold is still pretty good for 4x dining. (I'm just hoping I can actually get a C1VX someday, so I can finally checkout LGA's lounge.)
@1990_ Today could be your day! Are you feeling... Lucky?
Hope you took advantage of those Capital One MLB Monday free drinks at least this summer. As Doc reminds us, free is free!
@peter_ That's the best verdict! "Free is free." I've taken advantage of countless Fandango and Dunkin offers (among others) thanks to DoC. (As for C1, I do use the Venture pre-qual tool, but, still, no dice.)