Hello from Tampa! I had some domestic travel this week, including a trip to Savannah (and the cute airport pictured above), and am now visiting my mom for Mother’s Day weekend.
On the points & travel front, this week we saw Asiana start winding down their first class product, while China Eastern and Fiji Airways announced new routes for their spiffy A350 business classes. Delta will let you pause your elite status, and is also trialing free onboard Wifi, and the full details of the Daily Getaways “deals” have been revealed, plus much more.
With that out of the way, here’s a recap of this week on the blog:
Featured Stories
The Most Incredible American Flight Attendant I’ve Ever Had
While I give American its fair share of negative coverage, I also like to share positive experiences. I had one this morning that was unlike anything I’ve had before on any airline, frankly, while flying from Charlotte to Tampa in first class.
American has some excellent flight attendants. When they’re great I tend to think it’s just because they’re happy and passionate people, rather than because there’s any culture in place at the airline that causes it. So I always appreciate those flight attendants who go above and beyond.
How To Book Virtuoso Hotels Online
We’ve written in the past about the huge value to be had with Virtuoso, which typically requires booking through a qualifying travel advisor.
What many people don’t realize is that you can actually make Virtuoso bookings online as well, so in this post I wanted to outline how that works.
Virtuoso is a network of luxury travel agencies, with a total of over 15,000 advisors worldwide. Virtuoso advisors can get you extra perks when staying at over 1,300 luxury hotels around the world.
7 Great Opportunities To Buy Points
We frequently see loyalty programs sell points at a discount, and for many this is an opportunity to buy points at a cost that makes sense, especially for aspirational redemptions.
At the moment we’re seeing several loyalty programs offering great deals on purchased points, most of which I’ve written about in the past several weeks. In this post I wanted to provide a consolidated rundown of the best deals currently available for buying points.
TIPS: Earning Miles & Promos
Are Rewards Points Taxable?
Save Money In Dubai This Summer With Your Emirates Boarding Pass
Buy Hyatt Points With Up To A 40% Bonus
Today Only: Buy IHG Points For 0.5 Cents Each
7 Great Opportunities To Buy Points
75K Bonus On AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard
Buy LifeMiles With Up To A 125% Bonus
Revealed: All Five Weeks Of Daily Getaways Promotions
Hilton Honors Status Challenge: Now Valid Through March 2021
Today Only: Buy Wyndham Rewards Points For ~1.167 Cents Each
How To Book Virtuoso Hotels Online
Earn 1,150+ United Miles For Booking A $300+ Ticket On Any Airline
Great Deal: 15% Cash Back At All IHG Brands (In Addition To Normal Points)
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless 100K Bonus: One Week Left
Great Deal: Buy Fairmont Gift Cards With 20% Bonus
New AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard Bonus: 50K Miles + Companion Certificate
El Al Airlines Added As Alaska Mileage Plan Partner
Alaska Mileage Plan Offering Double Miles On Hainan
Earn & Redeem Marriott Bonvoy Points For Homes
Hawaiian Airlines Business Mastercard 70K Bonus
TRICKS: Redeeming Miles
New Targeted Amex Transfer Bonus To Aeroplan, With A Catch
Redeeming Virgin Atlantic Miles On Delta: An Amazing Value
TRAVEL With Ben (Lucky)
Yesterday’s Awful Aeroflot Crash Landing: 5 Thoughts
9 Things Delta Air Lines Does Well
Is This The Worst Timed Westbound Domestic Flight?
Spirit Airlines Operates Domestic Flights Departing At 3AM?!
The Most Incredible American Flight Attendant I’ve Ever Had
NEWS & Updates
Flying Gulf Carriers During Ramadan 2019 — What Should You Expect?
Delta’s New York To Mumbai Flight Now Bookable
Video: Aeroflot Plane Lands In Flames At Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport
Brunei Won’t Enforce Death Penalty For Gay Sex
Fiji Airways Reveals A350 Routes
Gulf Air Wants To Resume US Flights
Asiana Airlines Stops Selling First Class
Asiana Introduces “Business Suite” (First Class Replacement)
Lufthansa Interested In Condor Takeover
Now Flying: Brussels Airlines’ First A330 With New Business Class & Premium Economy
Qantas Ending 747 Service To The US Mainland
Is Ethiopian Airlines Canceling Houston Flight Before It Even Launches?
Delta Now Lets You Reclaim Status After Major Life Event
American Offering Lounge Access For Select LAX-MIA Flights
West Hollywood EDITION Hotel Now Accepting Reservations
Cathay Pacific’s (Awful?) New Slogan: “Move Beyond”
Emirates Reports $237 Million Profit (Down 69%)
BLADE Expands $195 Helicopter Rides To LaGuardia & Newark
Free Delta Wifi — Coming Soon?
Air Italy Backtracks On 787 Plans
China Eastern’s First North America A350 Route (Business Class Suites With Doors)
Hyatt Expands SLH Partnership To 200+ Hotels
Emirates Boeing 787-10 — Order Canceled?
Etihad Airways Loses Skytrax 5-Star Rating
Outrageous: Turkish Airlines Downgraded To Skytrax 3-Star Airline
I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend, and happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there.
Love Savannah too! Hope you had a chance to check out the Ice Cream shop just as you enter and to the right. Sooooo good!
Oh man - live just outside of Savannah - 6 miles from the airport! Would have loved to bumped in to you! Airport is very nice. Easy in and out of it. Hope you have a good time. Take her to The Pink House!
I have really loved this site since about 2014 however it has gotten really stale over the last couple of weeks with nothing really worth reading. It would pay to consider the direction and how to maintain the standard if travel frequency is likely to be lower. For five years there has been a good article daily but the well might have run dry.