Weekly Review: December 7, 2019

Weekly Review: December 7, 2019

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Hello from Miami! I’m spending the weekend at home after a long week of travel, and next week am embarking on my last review trip of the year. I’ve got to fly some great airline products, which I’m happy about, and look forward to sharing full reviews of the remaining flights shortly.

On the points & travel front, this week a new luxury hotel joined Hilton, Hyatt introduced peak and off-peak award pricing, Hong Kong Airlines struggled to survive, Richard Branson backtracked on selling his stake in Virgin Atlantic to Air France-KLM, United ordered 50 Airbus A321XLRs, and more.

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

Featured Stories

Sad Layover In A Subtly Unfamiliar Hong Kong

Hong Kong has long been one of my favorite cities in the world. It’s the first city in Asia I ever visited, and to this day it’s a city that I could see myself living in (and there aren’t many cities I feel that way about).

I truly love Hong Kong, and find it to be such a dynamic, international, approachable city.


British Airways NEW A350 Club Suites Business Class

To kick off this trip I flew British Airways’ A350-1000 Club Suites from Toronto to London Heathrow.

The A350 features British Airways’ brand new business class seat, which is ushering in a new era for British Airways, given their previous woefully outdated business class seats.

While I could have redeemed British Airways Avios (or other oneworld miles) for this trip, I ended up booking a discounted business class ticket instead.


Which Is Better: $2,000 or 200k Miles?

Several weeks ago Capital One rolled out new bonuses on two of their popular Spark credit cards, which I consider to be among the all-around best business credit cards.

To me, these cards are more interesting than ever before, given that in 2018 Capital One rolled out the ability to convert “miles” into airline miles.

With two Spark cards currently having increased bonuses, which of the two cards is better?


One Week at a Time

TIPS: Earning Miles & Promos

8 Reasons To Get The Alaska Airlines Business Card
Is The British Airways Card Worth It? (2019)
Up To 15% Cash Back (Or 15x Amex Points) With Rakuten
Chase Freedom Unlimited Review (2019)
Promo: Earn $60 In Best Western Gift Cards For Upcoming Stays
Buy LifeMiles With 150% Bonus (Last Chance)
Chase Freedom Card Review (2019)
Which Spark Business Card Offer Is Better?
Ends Today: Amex Business Platinum 100K Welcome Bonus
Chase Sapphire Reserve Review (2019)
Save On Alaska Airlines With Amex Offers (Targeted)
Free Executive Platinum Status For Some Hyatt Globalists
10 Best Credit Card Offers December 2019

TRICKS: Redeeming Miles

Transfer Amex Points To Virgin Atlantic With 30% Bonus (Targeted)
Zemi Beach House Anguilla Joins Hilton — Great Use Of Points!
Wide Open: Air Tahiti Nui Business Class Awards
Hyatt Introduces Peak Award Pricing, And More
How To Use American Airlines Systemwide Upgrades

TRAVEL With Ben (Lucky)

American Airlines Breakfast Musings: Avocado Toast, Egg Enchiladas, And Sadness
British Airways Mixed Fleet: What Is It?
Grrrrr: Singapore Changi’s Absurd Boarding Pass Rules
Sad Layover In A Subtly Unfamiliar Hong Kong
Help Me Understand The Uber Cancelation Scam?

REVIEWS & Trip Reports

Review: Alila Ventana Big Sur
Introduction: My Journey To The Stolen Jewel
Review: British Airways Lounge Toronto Airport
Review: British Airways A350 Club Suites Business Class
Review: British Airways Arrivals Lounge Heathrow Airport
Review: Aerotel Heathrow Terminal 3

NEWS & Updates

How One Hyatt Is Cracking Down On Club Lounge Abusers
Norwegian Air Granted London Heathrow Slots?!
BankDirect Starts Issuing 1099s For American Miles
Qatar Airways Wants To Buy Lufthansa Stake (But Probably Won’t)
Hong Kong Airlines Given Critical Saturday Deadline
Pictures: New Qantas First Class Lounge Singapore
WOW: Branson Backtracks On Virgin Atlantic Sale To Air France-KLM
Nigerian Court Orders Seizure Of Emirates 777
Delta & LATAM To Start Codesharing In Early 2020
Meh: Qatar Airways’ Humorous New Safety Video
10 LATAM Planes Now Have New Business Class Seats
United Airlines Orders 50 Airbus A321XLRs
Cathay Pacific Introduces Free First Class Wifi
Wow: Norwegian Hires Former JetBlue Executive
Air New Zealand Introduces Edible Coffee Cups
Garuda Indonesia CEO Fired For Smuggling Harley Davidson
South African Airways Enters Into “Business Rescue”
Scott Kirby Appointed United Airlines CEO
Wizz Air Shames Business Class Passengers In New Ad
SkyTeam Lounge Opens At New Istanbul Airport
American Airlines Cuts Cordoba, Argentina Route
Horizon Air VP’s Shocking Safety Memo
Hong Kong Airlines Gets Cash Injection
Hit By Hainan Airlines’ Notorious Plane Swaps
Delta Introduces Comfort+ Upgrade Seat Preferences
5 Ways To Save On Inflight Wifi
TAP Air Portugal’s Impressive Fleet Modernization
American Passenger Forced To Remove “Hail Satan” Shirt
Aman Hotel To Open In Miami In 2023
79 Year Old Delta Flight Attendant Fired In Bizarre Case


I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!

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