Weekly Review: February 3, 2018

Weekly Review: February 3, 2018

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Hello from Singapore! I just wrapped up a quick roundtrip journey from Singapore to Sydney, as I flew Singapore’s new A380 business class on the way out, and Singapore’s new A380 Suites on the way back. I’ve already shared my thoughts on the former, and will be sharing my thoughts on the latter shortly.

On the points & travel front, this week we’ve seen several new promos on purchased points, Lufthansa revealed their new livery, Finnair introduced a new top tier elite status, and much more.

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

Featured Stories

A Cozy Winter Stay At The W Verbier

Ford likes skiing, and I like points hotels. While I’ve stayed at many of SPG’s better US ski properties (including the St. Regis Aspen and St. Regis Deer Valley), in general you’ll find that most of the cuter ski resorts don’t belong to the major hotel groups (especially outside the US).

As someone who has been a Starwood loyalist for a long time, the W in Verbier, Switzerland, has been on my bucket list. To me it looked unlike any other W I had seen before. So when I asked Ford if he wanted to visit this hotel, he immediately pounced on the opportunity.

Verbier, like most ski towns, has highly seasonal rates. For our nights, a room would have cost $1,000 per night. This is where points come in handy. A free night redemption at the hotel costs 30,000 Starpoints per night (this is a Category 7 property), and you get a fifth night free. So we booked five nights at the cost of 120,000 Starpoints, which is 24,000 Starpoints per night. I’d consider that to be a very good deal.


The Four Chase Personal Travel Cards You Can Get If You’re “Over” 5/24

As many of you are aware, Chase has what’s referred to as the 5/24 rule, where you can’t be approved for many of their cards if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months. Nowadays this rule applies to a majority of Chase cards, including some of the most popular travel cards.

Readers often ask me which cards aren’t subjected to this rule, so in this post I wanted to recap the four personal cards that you can get if you’ve exceeded the 5/24 limit, including the current sign-up bonuses, value propositions of the cards, etc.


Non-US Residents: Remember There Are Still Creative Ways To Earn Credit Card Points

This post shares Daniel’s experience trying to maximize credit card rewards in Sweden.

While he’s lucky enough to have a US Social Security Number, giving him access to the incredibly generous sign-up bonuses and rewards in the US, there are other options and ways to take advantage of credit card offers for those of us living abroad.

As they say, if there’s a will, there’s a way.


One Week at a Time Logo

TIPS: Earning Miles & Promos

Preserving Ultimate Rewards Points While Downgrading Cards
Ending Soon: Great Citi AAdvantage Card 60K Sign-Up Bonuses
British Airways AARP Discount: Extended But Devalued
Review: Starbucks Rewards Visa Card
Revealed: Rewards Structure For New Starbucks Credit Card
Receive A $30 Statement Credit For Grocery Shopping With The Hyatt Credit Card
Delta Diamond Members Can Receive Free Spa Treatments At Select SkyClubs
Copa ConnectMiles Plan: Subscribe To Buy Miles For 12 Months
Great Deal: Starwood Is Selling Starpoints For 35% Off
Review: Capital One Spark Miles For Business Card
Non-US Residents: Remember There Are Still Creative Ways To Earn Credit Card Points
Capital One Venture Card Now Offers 10x Points At Hotels.com
American Is Selling AAdvantage Miles For About Two Cents Each
Review: Capital One Spark Cash For Business Card
Save Money In Dubai With Your Emirates Boarding Pass
Great TAP Air Portugal Business Class Fares From Europe To The US
Differences Between Chase Sapphire & Ink Preferred Cards?
How Much Is The British Airways Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus Worth?
The Four Chase Personal Travel Cards You Can Get If You’re “Over” 5/24

TRICKS: Redeeming Miles

Air France-KLM FlyingBlue Promo Awards For February 2018
Ridiculous: World of Hyatt Raising Award Rates On Two Hotels Today
Good Transpacific Qantas Business Class Award Availability
Redeem American AAdvantage Miles For Virgin America First Class
Book Now: 200+ IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks Hotels Now Available

TRAVEL With Ben (Lucky)

Singapore’s New A380 Business Class Seats: Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary
China Southern’s Unusual A320 Business Class
Dear Airports With Free Wifi: Up Your Game
The Only 3 International First Class Products I Still Need To Book
China Southern A380 Business Class In 10 Pictures (Hint: The Service Was Awful)
Swiss’ Latest Email To Me Regarding Canceled Aeroplan Award Tickets
My Hyatt Concierge (Or Lack Thereof)
My Best American Airlines Meal In A Very Long Time

REVIEWS & Trip Reports

Review: Huus Hotel Gstaad
Introduction: Qsuites To Armenia
Review: W Verbier
Review: InterContinental Geneva
Review: Qantas Lounge London Heathrow Airport
Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge London Heathrow Airport
Review: TAP Air Portugal Lounge Lisbon Airport
Review: TAP Air Portugal Business Class A330 Lisbon To Newark
Review: Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge London Heathrow Airport

NEWS & Updates

Etihad Makes Another Big Cut To Their First Class Lounge
Club Carlson’s 2018 Hotel Category Changes
Strange New(ish) Airline: Air Belgium Will Start Flying Between Brussels And Hong Kong
Hainan Airlines Is Launching Nonstop Flights To Mexico
Lufthansa Integrating Brussels Airlines Into Eurowings
Interesting: Why Many American Airlines Flight Attendants Allegedly Don’t Like Doug Parker
United Basic Economy Passengers Can Now Pay To Assign Seats In Advance
Finnair’s New Platinum Lumo Status Requires 450,000 Tier Points Per Year
Female Flight Attendants Accuse Asiana CEO Of Sexual Harassment
United Updates Policy On Emotional Support Animals
SAS Modifies Elite Benefits On “Go Light” Fares
Primera Air Is Adding Flights Between Washington & London
New TSA PreCheck Airlines: Air France, Brussels Airlines, KLM, & More!
Qantas’ New Safety Video, Showing “Aussies Being Aussies” Around The World
Lufthansa’s New Livery Revealed
Etihad & Mercedes-Benz Announce New Chauffeur Service Partnership
Emirates Launching Flights To Santiago As Of July 2018
Starbucks Credit Card Expected To Be Introduced In February
WestJet Announces Transatlantic 737 Flights From Halifax
VietJet Apologizes For Putting Scantily Clad Models On Flight With Young Football Players
Qatar Airways’ Victory, And How US Airlines Are Twisting It
La Compagnie Is Moving To Paris Orly (From Charles De Gaulle)
Ethiopian Airlines Is Adding Flights To Chicago As Of June 2018
EL AL Will Exclusively Fly 787s To NYC As Of Late 2018 (Bye Bye First Class)
US & Gulf Carriers Resolve Open Skies Dispute
SNL Parodies The Southwest Flight Attendant Rap
Serial Stowaway Found At Chicago O’Hare Twice Within Days
Qantas Will Begin Flying 787 Between Brisbane & New York (Via Los Angeles)
The Hertz Partnership With Marriott & Starwood Is Now Live
More Details On EL AL’s New Flight Between San Francisco & Tel Aviv
“Framed, Arrested, And Robbed By The Police At Frankfurt Airport”


I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!

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