Last week Ben wrote about the sad decline of Etihad Airways. This exact topic has been on my list of topics to write about since Day 1 of joining the team, but I couldn't have said it better myself. When they released their A380 product and their new…
Next up in our series on the best ways to use Amex Membership Rewards points by region is Europe. Without a doubt, it's one of the regions we're asked about most frequently, and there are a ton of opportunities to use miles for these transatlantic flights.…
Emirates is by far the world's largest operator of the A380. The airline has over 100 A380s in service, which represents nearly half of all A380s in service (that means they operate nearly as many A380s as the other dozen airlines with the plane combined).…
While Cathay Pacific is generally regarded as one of the best airlines in the world, I haven't been terribly impressed by their longhaul business class product. While they have excellent reverse herringbone seats throughout their longhaul fleet, there's…
Two of the most popular mid-range credit cards are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card. The cards have similar annual fees, similar welcome bonuses, and are both rewarding, though they work in very different…
In early April, Chase made some major changes to their IHG credit card portfolio. They stopped accepting applications for the old IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card, and instead started accepting applications for the all new IHG® Rewards Club Premier…
In mid-April IAG (the parent company of British Airways) acquired a 4.61% ownership stake in Norwegian. This seemed to come out of left field, as there weren’t really rumors of this leading up to the announcement. IAG also expressed interest in the possibility…
Hong Kong Airlines just recently started flying to the US using their new A350s. As of now the airline flies to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and they plan to add flights to New York soon as well. Given that Cathay Pacific historically has a stronghold…
My flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles was scheduled to depart at 12PM. However, when reviewing lounges I always like for them to be as empty as possible so I can freely take pictures, so I decided to the airport shortly before the lounge was scheduled…
I've flown Cathay Pacific a countless number of times, but had never flown Cathay Dragon, which is Cathay Pacific's subsidiary that operates many of their shorthaul flights, including flights to mainland China. While their product is very similar to…
It's rare that economy is anything to get excited about, though I do think airlines that try to differentiate their experience deserve some credit. In the US I'd argue that service in economy is getting better rather than worse at the moment (I'm referring…
I recently wrote about some of the paper backup items that I travel with, particularly when traveling to some of the more remote parts of the world. While it may feel a bit arcane to travel with a stack of printed airline reservations, I’ll probably…
Hello from Greece! We're just wrapping up a fantastic two week trip, during which we visited Italy and Greece. We had such a fun and relaxing time, and I can't wait to return soon. I look forward to sharing all the details of the trip soon. On the points…
My connection in Shanghai was supposed to be about two hours -- I was scheduled to arrive at 12:40PM, and I was scheduled to depart at 2:30PM. I know, planning a 1hr50min connection on separate tickets at Shanghai Airport was probably a bad decision,…
If you're flying in or out of San Francisco's SFO this summer, you may want to leave yourself more time than usual. According to the airport's AirTrain Alert, SFO's AirTrain will be subject to overnight closures through mid-August. More specifically,…
United's basic economy offering is one of the most punitive in the industry. When flying on one of these fares, United advises that you won't get to choose your seat, won't get a proper carry-on, won't get a chance at an upgrade, and perhaps most importantly,…
Hong Kong Airlines just recently started flying to the US using their new A350s. As of now the airline flies to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and they plan to add flights to New York soon as well. Given that Cathay Pacific historically has a stronghold…
My flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles was scheduled to depart at 12PM. However, when reviewing lounges I always like for them to be as empty as possible so I can freely take pictures, so I decided to the airport shortly before the lounge was scheduled…
I've flown Cathay Pacific a countless number of times, but had never flown Cathay Dragon, which is Cathay Pacific's subsidiary that operates many of their shorthaul flights, including flights to mainland China. While their product is very similar to…
My connection in Shanghai was supposed to be about two hours -- I was scheduled to arrive at 12:40PM, and I was scheduled to depart at 2:30PM. I know, planning a 1hr50min connection on separate tickets at Shanghai Airport was probably a bad decision,…
I was looking forward to the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison of Vietnam Airlines' 787 and A350. I boarded through the forward door of the plane, and turned right into the business class cabin. Vietnam Airlines has two A350 configurations…
My flight from London was scheduled to arrive at 5:20AM, while my flight to Shanghai was scheduled to depart at 7:50AM, so I had a 2hr30min layover. We seemed to be one of the first arrivals of the morning, and when I showed up at the international transit…
I was looking forward to the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison of Vietnam Airlines' 787 and A350. I boarded through the forward door of the plane, and turned right into the business class cabin. Vietnam Airlines has two A350 configurations…
OMAAT family, I need your advice. Later this year I am planning to commence another three (plus) month extended trip, like I did last year. There are all sorts of destinations planned, which I am looking forward to sharing with you in due course. Early…
Yesterday I shared some good Qatar Airways business class fares for travel from the US to Asia. They're not the lowest fares we've ever seen, but Qatar has an excellent business class product, they don't publish as many fare sales out of the US as they…
If you have a stash of Membership Rewards and are looking for your best award booking options within the contiguous 48 states or to Hawaii, you have a number of interesting options. Since your best option could differ based on your departure city, we'll…
Wow, Starwood is offering this promotion yet again. The last one was valid through the end of May, though this is likely to actually be the last time it's ever offered, at least before the formation of the new Marriott loyalty promotion in August. Similar…
Alitalia might be in bankruptcy and on perpetual life support, but that won't stop them from looking fashionable. In-mid 2016, Alitalia rolled out new uniforms for their employees, which were inspired by Etihad. This was part of a larger rebranding for…
Summer in Dubai can be rough (even if you're just connecting there), given how hot it gets. With Ramadan 2018 now over, Emirates has a cool treat for passengers traveling through the airport. If you're passing through Terminal 3 at Dubai International…
Per a filing with the US Department of Transportation, Sichuan Airlines wants to start operating nonstop flights between Chengdu and Boston. The airline proposes starting twice weekly flights around December 17, 2018, with the following schedule: Chengdu…
As I've written about before, at the moment IHG Rewards Club has a flash sale on the purchase of points. Through today (June 15, 2018), IHG Rewards Club is selling points for just 0.5 cents each (that's a 100% bonus), which is an excellent deal. You…
The Chase Freedom® Card is one of my favorite no annual fee credit cards, as it offers 5x points in rotating quarterly categories, for up to $1,500 of spend per quarter. Most people use this as a cashback card, meaning the 5x points really translates…
