Weekly Review: December 14, 2019

Weekly Review: December 14, 2019

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I’ve had an incredible couple of weeks of review trips, though I’m happy to be home again, as I’m exhausted. In the past week I flew American first class to Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific first class back from Hong Kong, and look forward to sharing my comparison of the two. You guys already know how my American flight went, so I’ll for now just mention that I had the Cathay Pacific cabin all to myself on the return.

Early next year I plan to pick up with more review trips.

On the points and travel front, this week huge changes were announced to the Korean Air SkyPass program, Air France-KLM & Qantas announced a new partnership, Aeroflot’s new A350 business class seats with doors were unveiled, Qantas revealed that they selected the A350-1000 for their Project Sunrise flights, and more.

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

Featured Stories

American’s Embarrassing International First Class Service

I just flew American’s 777-300ER first class from Dallas to Hong Kong, which was a roughly 16hr30min flight. This is American’s longest route, and also one of their flagship routes, based on the fact that it features upgraded amenities and catering. Therefore one would hope that American would be putting their best foot forward on this flight.


Yotel Singapore Changi At The Jewel

I had about 27 hours in Singapore, as I arrived from Helsinki at around 5PM, and was departing the following evening at around 8PM to Hong Kong.

That should be plenty of time to go into the city and stay at a nice hotel there, but I decided to hang near the airport. Why?

I decided to book the Yotel Air Changi Airport, conveniently located inside the Jewel. Yep, I traveled halfway around the world to stay in a Yotel inside a mall!


Why I’m Falling Out Of Love With The Sapphire Preferred Card

I’ve been following the credit card rewards space for a long time (well over a decade), and I remember how excited I was when I got approved for my first credit card at the age of 18.

The space has evolved significantly, and credit cards have truly never been more rewarding, between the welcome bonuses, the perks, and the bonus categories for spending.

Nowadays I’m earning an average of more than 3x points for my everyday spending, which is something I could have never imagined a decade ago.

In this post I wanted to take a critical look at the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which is a card that changed the credit card landscape at the beginning of this decade, but that has largely been resting on its laurels since.


One Week at a Time

TIPS: Earning Miles & Promos

IHG’s Amazing 4x Points Promotion Extended
Chase Sapphire Preferred Review (2019)
Earn Up To 10x Airline Miles On Apple Purchases
Ink Business Cash Card: 8 Reasons To Apply
Buy Iberia Avios With A 50% Bonus (1.33 Cents Each)
Great Deal: 10x Amex Points With IHG (In Addition To Normal Points)
Buy Air France-KLM Flying Blue Miles With A Bonus
Earn American Status Exclusively Through Spending
Promo Code: Save 10-20% On Alaska Airlines Flights
Which Credit Card Should You Buy Points With?
Revealed: Chase Freedom Q1 2020 Bonus Categories
Marriott Offering Free Night After Two Stays For New Members
Up To 12% Cash Back (Or 12x Amex Points) With Rakuten
Promo: Earn Up To 10x Delta SkyMiles With Lyft
AMAZING American Business Class Deals To Europe
Last Chance: Virgin Atlantic Mastercard 80K Bonus
Best Uses Of Amex Green $100 LoungeBuddy Credit

TRICKS: Redeeming Miles

New Air France-KLM & Qantas Frequent Flyer Partnership
Redeem Miles For Singapore’s New Suites On A Long Haul Flight
How To Combine Marriott Points Between Accounts
Huge Changes Coming To Korean Air SkyPass
Marriott Updates Bonvoy Terms To Hint At Higher Award Costs

TRAVEL With Ben (Lucky)

What I Booked In Place Of Hainan Business Class
American’s Embarrassing International First Class Service
Chinese Visa In Expired Passport: How Does It Work?
Why I’m Falling Out Of Love With The Sapphire Preferred Card

REVIEWS & Trip Reports

Review: Finnair A321 Business Class
Review: Finnair Platinum Wing Helsinki Airport
Review: Finnair A350 Business Class
Review: Changi Lounge At The Jewel Singapore
Review: Yotel Singapore Changi At The Jewel
Review: The Jewel Changi Airport
Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Singapore Changi
Review: Qantas First Lounge Singapore Changi
Review: Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class
Review: Plaza Premium First Lounge Hong Kong
Review: Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge Hong Kong

NEWS & Updates

Unbelievable: How Gulf Air Planes Are Flying To Doha
SAS Airbus A350: Routes, Cabins, And More
Wow: Aeroflot’s New A350 Business Class With Doors
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles No Longer Expire (With Activity)
Plaza Premium Refreshes Loyalty Program
Adorable: WestJet’s 2019 Christmas Miracle Video
Hyatt Expands SLH Partnership To 300+ Hotels
Details: EL AL’s Nonstop “Trial” Flights To Melbourne, Australia
Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways Takes Delivery Of 787 With First Class Suites
Wear An Ugly Sweater And Get Priority Boarding On Alaska
Air France Orders More A350s To Replace A380s
Palm Beach Airport Getting Primeclass Lounge
Wizz Air To Launch Low Cost Carrier In Abu Dhabi
American Adds Rules To Inflight Credit Card Pitches
American Airlines Extends 737 MAX Cancelations Through April 2020
Qantas Selects A350-1000 For Project Sunrise
Emirates’ First & Business Class Plans For New Fleet
Delta’s Damaged 757 Is Back In Service!
Why Nigeria Is Threatening To Ban Turkish Airlines
FAA Chief Tells Boeing To Back Off 737 MAX Timeline
Exciting: Starlux Airlines Tickets Going On Sale!
British Airways Adds A350-1000 Routes


I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!

Conversations (3)
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  1. AK350 Guest

    Where is the Cathay Pacific A350 review
    In the A330 instalment from SIN - HKG it showed an instalment after it for Cathay Pacific A350 but when I press on it, it says page not found.

  2. JB Guest

    I see Cathay has updated their IFE in First. Any other hard product refreshes?

  3. Bails from Oz Guest

    Hey lucky a week or so ago you mentioned you would be writing a future article about a "trick" to help with booking Cathay Pacific award flights. Can you let us know when it's coming?
    Thanks

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

AK350 Guest

Where is the Cathay Pacific A350 review In the A330 instalment from SIN - HKG it showed an instalment after it for Cathay Pacific A350 but when I press on it, it says page not found.

0
JB Guest

I see Cathay has updated their IFE in First. Any other hard product refreshes?

0
Bails from Oz Guest

Hey lucky a week or so ago you mentioned you would be writing a future article about a "trick" to help with booking Cathay Pacific award flights. Can you let us know when it's coming? Thanks

0
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