After spending a night at the Le Meridien Dubai, we headed to the airport early the next morning and had breakfast in the Emirates First Class Lounge, which I've reviewed before. One of the cool things about the A Concourse lounge is that you can board…
I have to hand it to Capital One, its marketing campaign for the Venture® from Capital One® is on point. Jennifer Garner has done a masterful job in drilling the idea of 2X points per dollar on all purchases and no blackout dates into our heads. I can’t…
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card is known for being a super card that offers a big welcome bonus, useful category bonuses, and a generous return on everyday spend. Between the $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass membership, and triple points on…
For over a year now, Alitalia has been more or less bankrupt. Last March, Alitalia announced a restructuring plan, given how much money the airline was losing. Employees voted against this plan, given that they didn't want lay-offs or pay cuts. While…
For years, IHG Rewards Club has been offering PointBreaks, which is one of the best promotions in the hotel industry. On a quarterly basis IHG has made well over a hundred hotels available for just 5,000 points per night. The hotels are available on…
American shareholders better be worried about this lawsuit. Yesterday I shared the insane story of an American Airlines non-rev who was denied boarding on an American Airlines flight due to a combination of what she was wearing and the fact that she…
I'm a sucker for a good airline marketing campaign. Singapore Airlines' ad campaigns? Love them. Air France's "France Is In The Air" campaign? Okay, I actually have no clue what's going on, but it's so chic and French, and I can't help but like it.
Since mid-June, Starwood has been offering a 35% discount on purchased Starpoints, when you buy at least 5,000 points in one transaction. This promotion is valid through July 20, 2018, so today is the last day to take advantage of this deal. More than…
Well, I think an American Airlines employee is about to lose their travel privileges, if they haven't lost them already. One of the benefits of working in the airline industry is that you get flight benefits, and in some cases you can share them with…
I was pretty excited when Timberline Steaks and Grille at Denver Airport joined the Priority Pass network last fall. I've been there probably at least a dozen times since then. Having become somewhat of a regular, I know most of the ins and outs of the…
One of the best perks of The Platinum Card® from American Express ($550 annual fee) and The Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN ($450 annual fee) is access to Centurion Lounges. These lounges are for the most part significantly better…
Chase has really been on a roll with new co-branded airline credit cards this year -- they've already released the Iberia Visa Signature Card and the Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card. Now, they have expanded the Southwest cards lineup by adding the Southwest…
Chase has one of the best portfolios of business credit cards, which offer just about everything I look for in credit cards — great welcome bonuses, big spend category bonuses, and useful perks. Last week I wrote about the excellent car rental coverage…
Malaysia Airlines operates a fleet of six new A350-900s. I find their A350 strategy fascinating, because each aircraft has a small first class cabin, using a modified Thomson Aero Vantage XL seat. This is similar to the new Delta One A350 Suites, as…
Between typical summer travel and TSA’s new regulations, airport security lines may be worse than ever. The airlines have been doing their part, sending emails with friendly reminders suggesting that fliers arrive at the airport two hours early, even…
Air France offers a phenomenal first class product on their Boeing 777-300ERs. The last time I ranked the world's best first class products, Air France scored number one on the list (though I think Emirates' new first class may have kicked them out of…
After spending a night at the Le Meridien Dubai, we headed to the airport early the next morning and had breakfast in the Emirates First Class Lounge, which I've reviewed before. One of the cool things about the A Concourse lounge is that you can board…
I was pretty excited when Timberline Steaks and Grille at Denver Airport joined the Priority Pass network last fall. I've been there probably at least a dozen times since then. Having become somewhat of a regular, I know most of the ins and outs of the…
During our layover in Dubai we took advantage of Emirates' Dubai Connect program, where you can get a free hotel stay if your transit meets certain conditions. One of the purposes of the Gulf carriers is to promote their home countries, and one of the…
Ah, Emirates! It was so nice to be back onboard Emirates, especially on a flight this long. We boarded through the forward left door on the upper deck, where we were greeted by the purser and two flight attendants, and escorted left into the first class…
Emirates offers chauffeur service for first and business class passengers on paid tickets, as well as passengers on Emirates Skywards and Qantas Frequent Flyer award tickets (though not other partner award tickets), so we took advantage of that feature.…
Welcome to my next trip report, covering our big summer trip, which had us staying at some great hotels in Italy and Greece, and spending way too many hours in Emirates first class (if that's possible). The planning for this trip started with a great…
During our layover in Dubai we took advantage of Emirates' Dubai Connect program, where you can get a free hotel stay if your transit meets certain conditions. One of the purposes of the Gulf carriers is to promote their home countries, and one of the…
Saint Helena is a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 1,200 miles off the coast of Africa. The island is a British Overseas Territory, and is known as the place of Napoleon Bonaparte's exile and death. Up until recently it could only be…
Called it. ;) Earlier I wrote about how Cathay Pacific hinted at how they'd soon launch a new flight to the US. They narrowed it down to nine cities for us, and just now they've announced what that new route will be. Cathay Pacific will launch 4x weekly…
This is a fun day at the Farnborough Airshow for African aviation. Earlier it was announced that Uganda Airlines placed an order for two A330neo aircraft. While the airline presently doesn't have any planes, they want to commence longhaul flights in…
Several days ago I wrote about a strange trend with Cathay Pacific business class award availability. Historically Cathay Pacific has been pretty good about making business class award seats available, both far in advance and also close to departure.…
Every month I make a post with what I consider to be the best credit card bonuses of the month. While there are several excellent long standing credit card offers, the specifics of the best offers are constantly changing (be it the annual fee, minimum…
It's an exciting time for African aviation. Kenya Airways is launching flights to New York later this year, RwandAir hopes to soon start flying to New York, Air Tanzania just took delivery of a single 787, and Zimbabwe Airways is keeping us entertained.…
Garuda Indonesia has one of the world's best first class products. I had the chance to fly with them between London and Jakarta thanks to a great paid first class fare, and the experience was flawless. Garuda Indonesia consistently wins awards for their…
When I hear someone mention The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express, I can't help but think of a good friend of mine. He loves using his business spend to earn tons of points that can help him travel and this card is a major part of how…
At the beginning of the month Hi Fly took delivery of their first Airbus A380, making them the first ever airline to acquire A380s on the secondhand market. Hi Fly is a Portuguese aircraft leasing company, and last year they revealed that they'd be taking…
