It frankly shocks me that US Airways is still selling miles so cheap, but perhaps it should not—after all, Doug Parker is still running the show. I sense a steep devaluation coming, and coming soon, but until then US...
Free Boingo Internet for American Express Platinum Cardholders
American Express Platinum is on the rebound. It was right to question the value of the $450 annual fee when Continental left Membership Rewards, US Airways lounge access was lost, and Delta lounge access was severely curtailed, but in...
Scandanavian Airlines SAS Introduces New Business Class
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has trailed the competition for years in terms of longhaul business class product. I reviewed business class from Copenhagen to Washington Dulles in 2010 and four years later the seats still have not changed–SAS still does...
Why Congress Should Mandate All-In Pricing for Hotels Too
As Congress considers whether to allow airlines to hide taxes and fees from consumers until late in the booking process, perhaps a hotel anecdote will be instructive. Hotels and the online travel agencies that sell hotel rooms are not...
Can I Access An American Express Lounge Without My AMEX Card?
I was in Las Vegas today and giddy to check out the American Express Centurion Lounge that opened last year. Available to American Express Black and Platinum cardholders for free or $50 to other AMEX cardholders, the lounge offers...
An Unrealized Memorial Day Wish
U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, a man of so few words he was referred to by many as “Silent Cal”, delivered an uncharacteristically long speech at Gettysburg on May 30, 1928 to commemorate Memorial Day. The context of his speech...
Is it Safe to Travel to Thailand?
A coup d’état has taken place in Thailand with a military junta now running the show. As horrible as that sounds, is it safe to travel to Thailand during this time? In a word, yes. King Bhumibol Aduljadej has been...
United Has Tightened Routing Restrictions on Asia Awards
Exactly one month ago, I wrote a post entitled New, Stricter United MileagePlus Routing Rules for Travel Between USA and North Asia? At the time, I concluded the rumored draconian new routing restrictions on awards between North America and North Asia...
FAQs About Waitlisting a Singapore Airlines Award
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is now a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner and with that comes the possibility of reasonably priced awards in premium cabins on SQ flights. Singapore has three award pricing tiers on their own metal and often...
4 Years, 28 Countries, 1 Wedding Proposal
I hate to hear my own voice, so it is rare that I make videos when I travel. That’s a shame, really, because I’ve been to over 100 fascinating countries and though I make it a point to get...
United Airlines Increases Mileage Upgrade Co-Pay on Premium Transcon Routes
United has transformed its premium service (p.s.) fleet that operates between Los Angeles/San Francisco and New York JFK from a three-cabin configuration with older seats in business and first class to a two-cabin configuration with fully lie-flat seats in business...
Chase Ultimate Rewards Adds Singapore KrisFlyer as Transfer Partner
Chase Ultimate Rewards just got even more valuable with the introduction today of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer as a 1:1 transfer partner. KrisFlyer is not a particularly valuable program for most Star Alliance redemptions, but like any program there are...
Reaching Lufthansa Miles & More After Hours
Lufthansa Miles & More offers a great value on United Airlines redemptions within the USA, particular in business class (35K r/t). The downside is that most partner flights, including United, must be booked by telephone. Like many things German,...
Photos: Remembering United’s Bangkok City Ticket Office
I was sorting through some old pictures today and stumbled upon a series of photos of United Airlines’ former Bangkok city ticket office. United pulled out of Bangkok in March after decades of service to Thailand and left behind,...
Alitalia the Latest Carrier to Cut Service to Venezuela
The situation unfolding in Venezuela fascinates me. There you have a state on the verge of failure with hyperinflation and a government suffering from a foreign currency crunch. The result: airlines are not getting paid for their service and...
United.com Asks for Feedback
Last September we caught a sneak peak at United Airlines’ new website in a television advertisement, but eight months later it has yet to roll out. Perhaps United is still working out the kinks and has launched a new...
500 Free United MileagePlus Miles in Two Minutes
Earn 500 United miles just for signing up for the United MileagePlus Dining Program before 10 July 2014. No purchase or restaurant visit is necessary–simply complete the online profile and you will be credited the miles. You can then...
Should Members of Congress Fly in Coach?
A Congressman with far too much time on his hands who I will not even dignify by naming has introduced a bill entitled, “If Our Military Has to Fly Coach Then so Should Congress Act.” His rationale is this–...
Air France Flying Blue Promo Awards – 50% Off Business Class from Washington to Europe
Air France/KLM Flying Blue offers Promo Awards every quarter in which select worldwide destinations are discounted 25-50%. Paying only 62.5K miles r/t to fly between North America and Europe in business class makes the ~$750 fuel surcharge stomachable on...
Why I No Longer Trust TripAdvisor
A Telegraph story details how consumers are using TripAdvisor as a threat to extract freebies in favor of withholding a bad review. Though I tend to think this particular problem is not as widespread as reported, I still see...
