IHG initially announced that they were purchasing Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants back in 2014, but up until this year the brands continued to operate separately. Earlier this year the Kimpton Karma Rewards program was integrated into the IHG Rewards Club…
The newly delivered 787 that I'm most excited about this summer belongs to Air Tanzania, as they'll be adding a single Boeing 787 to their fleet, which they plan to use for flights to Mumbai. You can bet I'll be on that flight only shortly after it launches.…
Just a quick housekeeping update as we transitioned to a new email service yesterday (the previous one has been in place since 2008, and has been causing problems). I realize everyone is already receiving too many dang emails due to GDPR compliance stuff,…
Earlier I wrote about how Qatar Airways added a new $100 per segment surcharge for those booked in their excellent Qsuites business class product. Unfortunately it looks like that's not the only new or increased surcharge we should expect from Qatar…
Qatar Airways' Qsuites business class is by far the best in the world, in my opinion, taking into account both the hard and soft product. Qatar Airways has perfected business class, plain and simple. Qsuites first debuted last summer, and Qatar Airways…
I’ve written extensively about Silvercar, including my recent rental experience with them in Orlando. Silvercar is an innovative rental car company available in over 20 US markets markets, which exclusively rents Audis (they used to just rent the A4,…
Edelweiss Air is Swiss' leisure airline, which operates a fleet of A320s, A330s and A340s, to both shorthaul and longhaul destinations. They're not a low cost carrier per se, but rather operate routes to many leisure destinations that wouldn't work for…
For as long as I can remember, Qantas has always promoted how their fares have 'everything included.' For years as I drove into little Adelaide Airport, there was a giant billboard at the entry road with a Qantas aircraft seat stacked high with luggage,…
In mid-March I wrote about how Hyatt seemed to be running a trial at some of their limited service Hyatt Place properties. It's not unusual for big companies to test out new concepts and analyze the guest feedback to decide if bigger changes might make…
In June 2016, Air Serbia began flying between Belgrade and New York. I've had the chance to fly this route from both Belgrade to New York and New York to Belgrade, and immensely enjoyed both of my flights. This route was only possible thanks to the support…
A couple of weeks ago we first learned about rumored changes coming to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card. These changes have now been confirmed, and over the past couple of days cardmembers should have received emails regarding this. Specifically, as…
Yikes. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is known for being an outspoken supporter of issues he is passionate about, whether it is standing up to union officials by grounding the entire Qantas fleet many years ago, or supporting marriage equality. This time he's…
Tiffany first wrote about Blacklane back in 2016, and about how she often finds it to be a good alternative to Uber. I'm unfortunately a creature of habit, so when I'm used to using a service I just keep using it whenever possible, and often don't want…
In mid-April I first wrote about how Zimbabwe took delivery of a Boeing 777, which used to fly for Malaysia Airlines. Zimbabwe’s government owned airline is 300 million USD in debt, so Zimbabwe did what any rational government would do, and planned to…
As I first wrote about in January, American was planning some improvements to Main Cabin Extra, which is their extra legroom economy section. Specifically, with these changes passengers seated in Main Cabin Extra will receive: -- Complimentary beer,…
A few days ago I wrote about how Starwood's 35% discount on purchased Starpoints expires on May 31, 2018. Starwood ordinarily charges 3.5 cents per purchased Starpoint. If you max out this promotion you can buy up to 30,000 Starpoints at a cost of $682.50,…
For our last night five nights in the Seychelles we visited Desroches Island, where a brand new Four Seasons opened in March. The Seychelles consists of over 100 islands, though Mahe is by far the largest, and then there are a few more populated islands.…
We were spending eight days in the Seychelles, and when we booked this trip many months ago, we initially booked five nights at the Four Seasons Desroches Island, which was going to be the "highlight" of our trip. I'll talk more about that booking process…
Before I get into this review, I just wanted to clarify that this flight was supposed to be operated by Air Seychelles. However, shortly after we booked, Air Seychelles announced a major restructuring, which would include them canceling their Paris to…
Our flight was departing Paris at 9:55PM. We had to check out of our hotel at 4PM and decided to head to the airport at around 5PM, and arrived around 6PM. Air Seychelles departs from Terminal 2. We had already checked in online, so didn't need to stop…
For our four nights in Paris we booked the Park Hyatt Vendome using points. This is typically considered to be one of the most aspirational points properties out there, and I hadn't yet stayed there. The Park Hyatt is a Category 7 World of Hyatt property,…
My layover at Heathrow was roughly five hours, as I was arriving in London around 3PM, and departing for Paris shortly after 8PM. Ford was on a different transatlantic flight, and landed in London about an hour after I did. My flight from San Jose arrived…
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…
This is pretty significant news. In July 2014, a Malaysia Airlines 777-200 crashed while enroute from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people onboard. This left the world in shock, not just because it appeared that the plane was shot down,…
While exact details haven't yet been announced, Delta revealed today that they plan to fly nonstop between the United States and Mumbai, India, as of 2019. Delta hasn't yet revealed out of which hub they'll operate this flight (my guess would be out…
Cathay Pacific's Asia Miles program has just announced some changes to their frequent flyer program, which kick in as of June 22, 2018. With these changes they're adjusting the number of miles that members will earn from flights, and are also adjusting…
A few days ago Ben wrote about some business class experiences he'd like to review. I've been just as fascinated by Condor's route from Frankfurt to the Yukon as he is – so I sent him a text asking, “When are we going to Whitehorse?” Long story short,…
South African Express (SA Express) is a regional carrier in South Africa. It's owned by the government and operates flights on behalf of South African Airways, similar to how regional carriers operate flights for major carriers in the US. The South African…
In late February a lot of companies cut ties with the NRA, following the Parkland tragedy. This came after companies that were associated in any way with the NRA got bombarded on social media with requests to cut ties with the organization. This even…
At the moment I'm in a position where I need to decide if I'm going to take a break for a few months from applying for credit cards, or if I shouldn't. I feel like I haven't put enough thought into this in the past, which is why I'm currently in this…
Last summer, Minneapolis-based Sun Country Airlines announced that they were planning on undergoing a major transformation, aligning more closely with the business model of an ultra low cost carrier. For years the airline has been surprisingly full service,…
Alaska Mileage Plan is one of my favorite programs to buy miles from, and this week they've announced their latest promotion on purchased miles. Alaska is offering a bonus of up to 40% on purchased miles through July 3, 2018. The bonus is tiered, as…
