Windbag Miles

I should say up front that I’m doing fine in the brave new world of basic economy fares. I work for a tiny company, which means that we have some flexibility around our company travel policies. The policy now is basically “do it for cheap, within reason.” In practice, that means the company will reimburseContinue reading “Are Basic Economy fares hurting business travelers?”

After writing about American’s problem with phantom availability on Finnair, I thought I had found more of the same tonight on Delta. Delta.com is my favorite SkyTeam search engine, so I was going to be super bummed if the award prices displayed on the 5-week calendar were no longer accurate. Turns out it’s a littleContinue reading “Oh Delta, you think you’re so clever, don’t you.”

Earlier this year, Star Alliance business class opened way up to Europe, with a veritable bonanza of saver award seats available over the summer from multiple US gateways. Within a couple months, availability had dried back up, which is a reminder to always get in while the gettin’s good. The good news is that itContinue reading “Star Alliance business class to Europe is great again, if you’re flying from Chicago.”

Welp, it’s officially time to pay for my Sapphire Reserve card for another year, and since I got it on the very first day it was offered, I expect a rash of hand-wringing across the blogosphere over the next few weeks as people decided whether to cough up another $450 for their cards. I haven’tContinue reading “What’s the Chase Sapphire Reserve equivalent of getting a free Amex Gold authorized user card on your Platinum account?”

Amex has just released a new no-annual-fee Delta card, and it’s not that great. Apparently it’s for millennials, so they offer double Sky Miles on dining (because millennials want to earn double points on their avocado toast). The sign-up bonus is 10,000 Sky Miles for $500 in spend, which isn’t too bad for a no-feeContinue reading “A couple things about Amex’s Delta Blue card that I haven’t seen discussed elsewhere, although I also haven’t looked very hard”

At first, I ignored the Flight Cents program that Barclaycard is rolling out in trial form from October to March. For those that don’t have their noses buried as deep in credit card promotions as I do, Flight Cents is a new program on Barclay’s Aviator Red (American Airlines) credit card. Basically, every transaction isContinue reading “A bunch of thoughts on maximizing Barclaycard’s new Flight Cents program”

I often joke that I love everything about air travel except for actually flying. Airports are one of my favorite parts of traveling, and I get excited whenever my travels take me to a new airport I’ve never flown through before. I still haven’t seen any of the world’s crown jewel airports (Singapore, Seoul-Incheon, Dubai,Continue reading “Queen Tamar airport in Georgia… who’s gonna go with me?”

Update #2 (9/4): I don’t know if I should bother continuing to update this, but given my incendiary tone, I feel like it’s only fair to note IHG’s response. So… after waiting over a week, I heard back from IHG that they would credit me points for the first night of my stay, but thatContinue reading “I’m really mad at IHG right now, but I’ll probably get over it. (There are also quasi-reviews of Ambassador status and the Intercontinental Chicago in here if you care.)”

Update #2 (9/4): I don’t know if I should bother continuing to update this, but given my incendiary tone, I feel like it’s only fair to note IHG’s response. So… after waiting over a week, I heard back from IHG that they would credit me points for the first night of my stay, but thatContinue reading “I’m really mad at IHG right now, but I’ll probably get over it. (There are also quasi-reviews of Ambassador status and the Intercontinental Chicago in here if you care.)”

I was complaining to Justine the other day that the one thing missing in the world of premium travel is reliable access to arrival lounges. It just makes intuitive sense that you’d want a place to freshen up and maybe get a bite to eat after a long flight, especially if the flight arrives inContinue reading “There are so many reasons I should ignore Amsterdam Schiphol’s VIP Terminal, and yet…”