Weekly Review: April 7, 2018

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: April 7, 2018

19 comments

I’ve spent the past few weeks in the US, which has been nice for a change, though starting in a few days I’m going to be traveling internationally almost nonstop for the next month, which I’m excited about. Ford and I are headed to Paris and the Seychelles, and then I’ll be taking a couple of review trips upon my return. First I’ll be flying British Airways’ 787-9 first class to London, which I’m sure I’ll have a lot of thoughts on. 😉

On the points & travel front, this week we saw the introduction of two new credit cards, a devaluation of IHG’s anniversary free night certificate, Air Belgium began selling tickets, Marriott and Starwood announced a new promotion, and more.

With that out of the way, here’s a recap of this week on the blog:

Featured Stories

Dear Air Belgium: Please Take My Money

Earlier this week Air Belgium began selling tickets for their flights, which launch on April 30 between Brussels and Hong Kong. Air Belgium is a new airline operating 3x weekly flights between Brussels and Hong Kong using former Finnair A340-300s. Their long term goal is to add flights between Brussels and several points in mainland China.

I have my doubts regarding their business model, but I am super excited about flying a brand new airline, which is always an adventure. Today I was trying to book my ticket on Air Belgium to Hong Kong (one direction in business class, the other in economy).

I was hit with a couple of unpleasant surprises.

Redeeming American Miles On Air Tahiti Nui

While redeeming American AAdvantage isn’t as lucrative as it used to be (both in terms of redemption rates and in terms of partners, given the number of partners they’ve lost lately), there are still some great redemption opportunities.

For example, one of the unique partners that American has is Air Tahiti Nui, allowing you to earn and redeem miles for travel on them. Air Tahiti Nui doesn’t have that many airline partners, so this is one of the few ways to redeem miles on them.

One Week at a Time Logo

TIPS: Earning Miles & Promos

If You’re Going To Spend $150 Per Year “Out Of Pocket” On A Credit Card…
Who Is Eligible For The Chase Ink Cash Card?
New Amex Offer: Save (Or Earn Bonus Points) At Bloomingdale’s
Southwest Rapid Rewards Is Offering Double Points For Flights
Is The New IHG Premier Card Subject To 5/24?
Earn Bonus Membership Rewards Points For Using Amex Express Checkout
Great Fares In Oman Air’s New 787 First Class
Details Of The New IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card
Is The New Barclays Arrival Premier Card Worth It?
Today Only: United Is Offering Up To A 100% Bonus On Purchased Miles
New Amex Offer: Save On JW Marriott Stays
One Week Remaining For Big Delta Amex Welcome Bonuses
Review: The New Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite Mastercard (With Airline Transfer Partners!)
How To Transfer Chase Ink Cash Points
AWESOME Amex Offer: 2K Bonus Points With Amazon (Targeted)
New Marriott & SPG Promotion For Stays April 16 Through July 20, 2018
New 60K Sign-Up Bonus On Cathay Pacific Credit Card (With Big Spend Requirement)
The Intriguing Rumored Barclays Arrival Premier Card
New Amex Offer: $60 Off A $200+ Hyatt Regency Stay (Targeted)
Hilton Honors Makes Changes To Their Airline Partners
Earn 5x Chase Freedom Points Starting Today With PayPal, Chase Pay, And Grocery Stores

TRICKS: Redeeming Miles

The (Roughly) 200 IHG Hotels Where You Can’t Use Free Night Certificates
Convert Hotel Points Into LifeMiles With Up To A 25% Bonus
Redeeming American Miles On Air Tahiti Nui
IHG Honoring Uncapped Free Night Awards For Select Cardmembers
Southwest Rapid Rewards Adjusts Award Redemption Rates
Shangri-La Is Offering Up To 40% Off Award Redemptions
The 330 IHG Hotels Where You Can’t Redeem Free Night Certificates Anymore
Singapore Airlines’ Excellent First Class Award Availability To/From The US

TRAVEL With Ben (Lucky)

BOOKED: Air Belgium, Ukraine International Airlines, And Hong Kong Airlines (Maybe?)
An Uber Driver Tried To Defraud Me (Again)!
Update (Finally!) On New OMAAT Contributor(s)
Dear Air Belgium: Please Take My Money
Too Many Global Entry Credits: One Way Card Issuers Could Stand Out
I’m Booking Air Belgium Business Class!

REVIEWS & Trip Reports

Review: Star Alliance First Class Lounge LAX
Introduction: Swiping Left On TAAG Angola
Daily Getaways 2018 Preview List
Review: China Eastern First Class 777 Shanghai To Los Angeles

NEWS & Updates

Welcome To The OMAAT Team, Spencer!
It Looks Like American Is About To Order 47 Boeing 787s!
American Orders 787s, Defers 737s, And Cancels A350s
United Is Phasing Out International First Class As Of June 20, 2018
Pakistan International Airlines Unveils New Livery… On An A380?!
Revealed: Gulf Air’s Incredible New 787 Business Class
The Chinese Government Is Bailing Out Anbang (Which Was Going To Buy Starwood)
Alaska Airlines Increases Cost To Upgrade To First Class With Cash
It’s Official: LATAM Will Link South America & Israel As Of December 2018
HNA Group Wants To Sell Their Stake In Hilton
Hi Fly Is Getting Two A380s In The Coming Months (Featuring Suites)!
How Much Do Credit Card Companies Pay For Airline Miles?
The Hilarious Story Of How Pepperoni Got A Guy Banned From A Fairmont Hotel
Alaska Is Adding New York To San Jose Flights, Provides Update On JFK Lounge
Two New Hilton Properties Are Coming To The Maldives
Video: Emirates Follows Their Female Pilots To Five Continents
British Airways Is Canceling Flights To Oakland
Lawyer Sues Emirates For $130,000+ After Finding Insect In Salad
Ouch: IHG To Devalue Anniversary Nights
Hyatt Privé Offers Huge Benefits At Andaz, Grand Hyatt, And More!
Cathay Pacific First Class Is Getting New Champagne (Again)
Air Belgium Will Start Flying Between Brussels & Hong Kong As Of April 30, 2018
WestJet & Swoop 2018 April Fools’ Joke: Duty Not Free
An Update On Saudi Arabia’s New Tourist Visas
Emirates Cuts Capacity To Florida… Again
Hah: Emirates To Introduce New SkyLounge On 777X (April Fools’)
Awesome Video: Intern Joins KLM CEO On A Business Trip

FROM Our Guest Contributors

Maximizing Your Time In Japan with A Rail Pass

I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!

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Recent Comments

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T. Member

April 10, 2018, 11:07 am

@ The nice Paul - Not so nice, are we?...especially with someone who disagrees with you on substance... I am not Myles or Lucky for that matter, and I have been commenting on various posts here for a while - under the same monicker, same ellipses... If you must know - I find that this punctuation mimics my real life cadence when I let the end of a sentence trail a little...that's all...now, may we return back to something more valuable to other readers than someone's use of punctuation?

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The nice Paul Diamond

April 10, 2018, 4:12 am

@ T. What is this new fashion of separating every sentence with an ellipsis...?First Myles, now you... Or is it that, maybe, you are all the same person?...And simply don't know what an ellipsis is for...?... I just don't understand why people want multiple identities on an anonymised blog...Not that I care particularly...I suppose all of these commenters could in fact be Lucky himself...What do I know...?...Other than that this horrific misuse of ellipses is second in irritation value only to those people who think it's smart to use multiple exclamation marks!!!!!!! Even when it isn't an exclamation!!!!!!

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T. Member

April 9, 2018, 10:52 pm

I don't find anything wrong with not loving an airline (be it BA or any other) yet flying it because of convenience or schedule or availability... I am not a fan of BA either, but it's the only airline that offers direct flights from London to the Seychelles, so - as they say - beggars are not choosers...I am looking forward to Lucky's review of that flight (assuming they are flying to the Seychelles direct from London)... And I personally am looking forward to Lucky's reviews, even of the products he reviewed before... So what if he's done it before? ...When I am planning my trips, I always look for the most r-e-c-e-n-t reviews of a particular hotel or airline, so I wouldn't mind yet another review of BA...you don't always have to love something to review it...have an awesome trip, Lucky!

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IAC Guest

April 9, 2018, 4:58 am

I thought Lucky was flying Air Seychelles oh the way back? Our was it the way there? Either way, I REALLY want to see that review :-)

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David New Member

April 9, 2018, 1:06 am

@ bratty, as per my previous comment on here, I’ve been fortunate to travel in First class on many airlines. Although BA is definitely not the best ( in my opinion the new Emirates suite is), there is no point in reading the review when it gets published as there is a distaste of the airline from the author. That is all...

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