Weekly Review: November 4, 2017

Hello from somewhere in the sky! I’m presently on a crazy, week-long mileage run. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than in the sky, so personally I’m loving it, though Ford feels differently. I dragged him along for this, and I’m quickly learning that normal people don’t like to spend a week straight in the air, no matter how comfortably you’re flying. That’s a topic for another post, though. 😉

On the points & travel front, this week we learned all about Singapore’s new A380 premium cabins, Uber introduced a new credit card, Delta had excellent discounted business class fares from New Zealand to the US, Etihad announced that they’re canceling flights to Dallas, and much more.

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

Featured Stories

The World’s 10 Best First Class Products

In this post I’ll be sharing what I consider to be the top 10 international first class inflight products. I’ll have a separate follow-up post with what I consider to be the world’s best international first class airline lounges.

Before reading this post, make sure you check-out my previous post sharing my overall approach to ranking these airlines. This is entirely subjective, given how airline experiences can vary from flight-to-flight. So if there’s something you take away from this post, make it what I consider to be the top 10, rather than the specific order in which I’ve ranked them. You could just as easily argue that I got the order wrong.

I Flew American’s Longhaul Business Class, And It Was… Industry Leading?!

Nope, this blog hasn’t been hacked. As long time readers will know, I’ve become increasingly disenchanted with American, as they’ve made negative change after negative change, including to their frequent flyer program, onboard catering, general service philosophy, etc.

Late Monday night I took my first longhaul flight on American for all of 2017. Yep, even though I have top tier status with them, I haven’t taken a longhaul flight with them all year. This flight was operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, which I’ve flown many times, and I’m a bit surprised by how I felt walking away from the experience.

Full Details Of Singapore’s New A380 Suites

The wait is finally over! As we’ve known since early September, this week Singapore Airlines had a media launch eventfor their new A380.

As part of this, Singapore Airlines is unveiling new Suites, business, premium economy, and economy products. Over the past couple of days some leaks have surfaced of the new Suites product, so it’s not quite as secret as Singapore Airlines might have hoped. As it turns out, everything we’ve seen up until now has been accurate.

In this post I specifically wanted to cover Singapore’s new A380 Suites, and I’ll have separate posts about their new business class.

TIPS: Earning Miles & Promos

Days Remaining For Big Delta Amex Sign-Up Bonuses
Last Chance: Buy IHG Points With A 100% Bonus
You Can Now Apply For The New Uber Visa Card
Great Deal: Buy Starpoints For ~2.3 Cents Each (Or Airline Miles For ~1.8 Cents Each)
AMAZING DEAL: $900 Roundtrip Business Class Tickets From Auckland To Oakland
Hilton Is Introducing A New Credit Card That Comes With Top Tier Status (And More!)
Amex Is Offering A 25% Bonus On Points Transfers To JetBlue TrueBlue
American Is Letting You Pay To Secure Elite Status For 2018
You Can Now Earn Marriott Rewards Points For Shopping
Hours Remaining For The SPG Business Amex 35K Sign-Up Bonus
It’s Back: Score Big Discounts On Vancouver Hotel Stays This Winter
7 Reasons The Ink Business Preferred Is The Best Business Credit Card
Earn Double Delta SkyMiles & MQMs For Hilton Stays — Is It Worth It?
Free Top Pot Coffee & Donuts Daily With The Delta Amex (Terms Apply)
Etihad Guest Cuts Mileage Earning Rates On American
Great British Airways First Class Fares From Europe To The US Are Now Even Cheaper
American & United Are Offering Bonus Miles For Holiday Shopping
Today Only: Earn 1,000 Free Marriott Rewards Points!
The Clock Is Ticking: 9 Reasons To Apply For The SPG Business Amex

TRICKS: Redeeming Miles

How To Redeem Miles For Singapore’s New A380 Suites & Business Class
Air France-KLM FlyingBlue Promo Awards November 2017
Last Day: Redeem Your United Miles Before They’re Devalued
The IHG Winter 2017 PointBreaks List Is Now Bookable
Garuda Indonesia Is Offering 50% Off First Class Awards

TRAVEL With Ben (Lucky)

My Experience Traveling With Ben To China
I Flew American’s Longhaul Business Class, And It Was… Industry Leading?!
American’s 777-300ER Business Class & A321T First Class — Is It The Same Seat?
The World’s 10 Best First Class Airline Lounges
The World’s 10 Best First Class Products

REVIEWS & Trip Reports

Qatar Airways A330 Business Class In 10 Pictures
Review: Hawaiian Airlines First Class 717 Maui To Honolulu
Cathay Pacific A350 Business Class In 10 Pictures
Review: Andaz Maui At Wailea
Review: Four Seasons Resort Lanai
Review: Amex Centurion Lounge Hong Kong Airport
Review: Ohana By Hawaiian ATR42 Honolulu To Lanai
Review: Four Seasons Lounge Honolulu Airport
My Visit To LAX’s Super Secret, $4,000 Per Visit “Celebrity Terminal”
Review: Hawaiian Airlines First Class A330 Los Angeles To Honolulu
Introduction: Island Hopping Around Hawaii
Sichuan Airlines A330 Business Class In 10 Pictures (Hint: It’s Really Bad)

NEWS & Updates

FlyingBlue Expected To Announce Revenue Based Program Changes On Monday
Starbucks To Introduce A Credit Card This Winter
Priority Pass Adds Restrictions On Portland “Lounges”
British Airways Reveals 747 Retirement Plans
American’s Most Senior Flight Attendant Celebrates 60 Year Work Anniversary
Priority Pass Members Can Now Eat & Drink For Free At St. Louis Airport
Is Hilton’s New Premium Credit Card Too Good To Be True?
How Much Is Amex Paying For Citi’s Hilton Card Portfolio?
Changes Coming To World of Hyatt In The Next Year
Full Details Of Singapore’s New A380 Suites
Full Details Of Singapore’s New A380 Business Class
Etihad Is Canceling Flights To Dallas, Blames American
Update On American’s Planned Opening Of Flagship Lounge In Miami
United Is Closing A Newark United Club Till Next Summer
The Surprising Reason Garuda Indonesia Is Postponing Plans To Fly To The US
The Park Hyatt St. Kitts Is Now Open
Citi Hilton Cards Will Be Converted Into American Express Hilton Cards
OMG: A Leak Of Singapore’s New A380 Suites Class?!?!
Singapore Airlines Is Now Serving Even Better Champagne In First Class
World of Hyatt Has A New Leader
Even More Leaks: Singapore’s Revealing New A380 Seatmap
The Amex Centurion Lounge Philadelphia Is Now Open
Awesome: Brazil Is Introducing E-Visas For US Citizens

Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!