American Airlines announces positive changes to the AAdvantage program
American Airlines has put out a press release addressing its plans for the AAdvantage program in 2024 and surprisingly, the news is actually good. Benefits are not being enhanced away, elite status is not being made harder to earn, award charts aren't being decimated, and there's no suggestion that the airline plans to hold the members of its frequent flyer program in the same contempt as Delta holds SkyMiles members.
Keep your seat belt fastened (even when the fasten seat belt light is out)
In the wake of the recent serious incident on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 where a deactivated exit door blew out leaving behind a gaping hole in the fuselage and a cabin that depresuried in seconds, this is a quick reminder that it's almost always a good idea to keep your seat belt fastened, even when the fasten seat belt light is out.
Generate up to 10,000 Avios, Miles, Points from just 0.49 cents each [Targeted]
Outside of credit card welcome bonuses, one of the easiest ways to boost a miles and points balance without going to much effort and without spending any money that you wouldn't have otherwise spent is to make use of the various shopping portals which are operated on behalf of the major loyalty programs.
Changes to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan elite status for 2024
In late 2023, Alaska Airlines announced several changes to its loyalty program that would take effect this year, so as we're now just five days into the new elite qualification year, here's a quick look at what changes have been made (and what further changes are coming) to Mileage Plan elite status in 2024 and beyond.
Four ways Hyatt should have gone further with its World of Hyatt changes
Some aspects of the World of Hyatt program (Milestone Rewards and the Guest of Honor benefit) have been refreshed for 2024 and, on the whole, the changes that Hyatt has made are positive. The fact is, however, that as far as some benefits are concerned, the changes didn't really go far enough.
Marriott Bonvoy is giving members ‘soft landings’ this year
If you had Marriott Bonvoy elite status in 2023 but didn't earn enough elite night credits to retain elite status 2024, you may be expecting to lose that status after your benefits run out at the end of February. That is, after all, what usually happens (when pandemics aren't ravaging the planet).
Is this an unethical use of one of Hyatt’s new benefit changes?
After considering one of the recent changes made to the World of Hyatt program, I can see a way to use the change in a way that could benefit our household but that isn't in the spirit of how the benefit is supposed to work, so I'm now considering the ethics behind using the change/benefit in this way.
Hyatt & Chase really need to address this frustrating issue
One of the major selling points of the World of Hyatt credit card is that cardholders can earn 2 elite night credits for every $5,000 of spending charged to their card. For big spenders, this can offer an easy pathway to World of Hyatt elite status without the need for many Hyatt stays while for the rest of us, these nights can make earning or retaining status slightly easier.
Threadneedles Autograph Collection hotel review (London)
This review of Threadneedles is based on a single night stay, but because the property isn't particularly large and because it's more a of a boutique hotel than a major tourist hotel, that was more than enough to give me a very good idea of what the hotel is like and what it offers.
Marriott Bonvoy changes to suite night awards for 2024
With the deadline for Marriott's Annual Choice Benefits approaching (7 January) and with the default option for those not meeting that deadline being 5 Suite Night Awards, this seems like an opportune time to remind TFM readers that Marriott Suite Night Awards will be getting a new name and will work in a slightly different way this year.
The promised changes to the World of Hyatt are now live
Hyatt announced a few key changes to the World of Hyatt program back in November last year and now that the new year has come around, those changes are in full effect. Fortunately, this set of changes hasn't brought about much to disappoint most Hyatt loyalists, but with Milestone Rewards and Guest of Honor benefits now looking very different to how they looked last year, now seems a good time to go over just what these changes are.
2024: Another year in travel, miles & points coming up
So, here we go again. Another year has past and another begins and that means that, for a lot of us, the the quest for the miles and points that make that our travels more comfortable and more affordable begins all over again.
Etihad is very deliberately suppressing partner award availability (take a look)
Some of the better value flight awards that are still available in the miles and points world are Etihad premium cabin awards booked with Aeroplan or American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Right now, however, it looks like Etihad is working hard to make sure that these awards aren't available to be booked and it's not even being subtle with how it's doing this.
American Airlines applies for a new Tokyo Haneda route
Following United's announcement (yesterday) that it has applied to the DoT to operate a service between Houston and Tokyo Haneda, American Airlines has now stepped up and confirmed that it has applied to operate a new service between New York JFK and Haneda.
JetBlue has a transatlantic problem (fares, offering, frequency, etc…)
We're now two years into JetBlue's transatlantic expansion and while we've seen the airline launch routes to London, Paris and more recently, Amsterdam, I'm not convinced that JetBlue's transatlantic offering is as compelling as a lot us hoped that it would be when it was first launched.
ITA Airways will fly between Rome and Chicago in 2024 (Business Class awards available)
ITA Airways (Italy's Alitalia in a new guise) will be operating between Rome and Chicago from April next year and seats for this new route are already on sale. From a miles & points perspective, it's good to see that Business Class awards are also now available with surcharges starting at just $5.60.
An Amex upgrade offer I was surprised to see in my account
I tend not to apply for a lot of credit cards every year so without the regular influx of points from juicy welcome offers, I'm always looking for other ways to boost my various account balances. Chase and Citi don't really make things very easy, but American Express has come to my aid on quite a few occasions by offering me a bonus to upgrade one of my cards.
Just 7 days to book before the British Airways devaluation
For flights booked from 18 October 2023 onwards, British Airways will be offering members of its Executive Club program considerably fewer Avios that it currently does as it transitions part of its rewards program to a spending-based model.
Amex has made it harder to get a welcome bonus on the American Express® Gold Card
Unfortunately, following a recent update to the terms and conditions that accompany the American Express® Gold Card, a significant number of American Express customers who do not yet hold this card, will not be eligible for a welcome bonus should they apply for the card in the future.
United Airlines slightly improves schedules on select summer 2024 transatlantic routes
In the past few days, United Airlines has pushed through a number of updates to its schedules which have seen the airline make (mostly) positive changes to a number of the transatlantic routes that it plans to operate during summer 2024.
Hyatt Place New York/Chelsea review (City View/King Bed room)
The Hyatt Place New York/Chelsea is one of the newest of Hyatt's New York properties with the hotel officially opening its doors in December 2021. The new build property sits part way between Central Park and Lower Manhattan and a few weeks ago, I got to check it out on a layover on my way back to Los Angeles.
Multiple changes made to Qatar Airways & Emirates schedules/aircraft for winter season
Qatar Airways and, to a much lesser extent, Emirates have both made updates to their winter 2023/24 schedules. These updates include flights being added and removed and changes to the aircraft that are set to operate select routes, so if you have a booking with either carrier, this would be a good time to check your bookings and your seat selections.
Now live: Hyatt ‘Bonus Journeys’ 4Q 2023 global promotion
Hyatt latest global promotion (once again called 'Bonus Journeys') is now live, so any stays made between today and the end of November will qualify for the bonus points on offer. As we've seen in previous promotions, holders of Hyatt's co-branded credit cards get the chance to earn a bonus that others don't, but no one will be ending this promotion with an enviable stack of points they wouldn't otherwise have earned.
JetBlue Mint Studio A321neo Paris – New York review
A review of the JetBlue Mint Studio suite (JetBlue's largest Business Class seat) as experienced on the airline's route between Paris Charles de Gaulle and New York JFK.
Two less well known British Airways Gold benefits that I have come to love
Since my move away from AAdvantage, British Airways Gold status has been good to me and I've come to appreciate it for more than just the oneworld Emerald benefits that it gives me. In particular, it's two of the less well known benefits of British Airways Gold status that I have come to appreciate more and more.
The best business credit card for shipping purchases
In this article we take a quick look at what credit cards offer the better returns when they're used to pay for a business' shipping purchases, and we focus on the one card that we think stands head and shoulders above them all.
Reusing pajamas? Is Japan Airlines taking sustainability just a little bit too far?
Impressive First Class cabin and in-flight dining aside, buried within the press release outlining what JAL will be offering on board it's A350-1000 aircraft was a line that caught the eyes of quite a few people.
United Airlines announces new/refreshed Polaris amenities from Therabody & Saks
United Airlines has said that it is undertaking "the largest overhaul since 2016" of United Polaris Business Class. Sadly, this only appears to refer to the amenities offered in the Lounges and in its Business Class cabins and doesn't refer to a much needed return to what Polaris was like when it was first rolled out.
United Airlines delays the return of three transpacific routes
United Airlines probably has the strongest international route network out of all the US carriers and that network was due to get even stronger with the reinstatement of a transpacific route that fell by the wayside when the Covid pandemic hit and two other transpacific routes that were suspended last year. With the latest schedule changes, however, that all changed.
A bit of fun: What’s wrong with this TripAdvisor review?
I don't pay any more attention to TripAdvisor reviews than I do to a person that claims to be able to see into the future or commune with the dead, but because some TA reviews can be fun (I find the ones written by less intelligent people to be the most entertaining), I found myself reading some over the weekend. That's when I noticed a review with a clear mistake that not everyone who reads TA reviews will pick up on. Can you spot it?
Emirates is bringing Premium Economy to São Paulo & Tokyo
It was only earlier this year that Emirates celebrated its first full year of offering a Premium Economy cabin on select routes (it came late to the game), but the rollout has been pretty steady and now we're told that two more of its routes will offer the airline's newest product by the end of 2023.
Moxy Paris Charles de Gaulle airport review (a Marriott Bonvoy property)
As part of a recent trip to try out JetBlue's new route between Paris CDG and New York JFK, I spent a night at the Moxy Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. This is a review of that property which sits between the airport's two main terminals.
Lufthansa confirms new A320 cabins are coming in 2025
Lufthansa operates somewhere in the region of 80 Airbus A320 aircraft on its short- and medium-haul routes and today, the airline has confirmed (it has been rumored for a while) that a sub-set of these aircraft will be retrofitted with new cabins starting in 2025.
Now JetBlue is courting disgruntled Delta SkyMiles members
The radical changes to Delta's SkyMiles program were only made public a couple of weeks ago, but already the vultures are circling. On Monday, Alaska Airlines was the first to offer SkyMiles members an alternative home and now JetBlue has joined the fray with what appears to be a very generous status match offer to Delta flyers looking for a more appropriate frequent flyer program.
Alaska Airlines is tempting Delta flyers with a new route & a generous status match
The dust may not have yet settled on the remains of the old Delta Skymiles program, but with details of the new Skymiles program already angering, upsetting or annoying what appears to be a significant number of people, Alaska Airlines is making moves to capitalize on Delta's disenchanted flyers.
Big changes coming to Delta Sky Club access rules
Delta has had a problem with overcrowding in its Sky Clubs for some time and in the past couple of years, it has brought in various measures to try and sort the problem out. Unfortunately, none of these measures have made much of a difference so far.
The Lufthansa A380’s are making their comeback on routes to the US
In 2021, Lufthansa's CEO told the world that the airline's A380 would not return from their pandemic-induced grounding and in April 2022, the same CEO reiterated that Lufthansa's A380s were gone for good. Just 3 months later, however, the narrative suddenly changed and the largest passenger aircraft around found itself with a new lease of life within the Lufthansa fleet.
Delta does what Delta does best… devalue its loyalty program (this time, in a big way)
Delta has announced that it will be moving down the path that American Airline's forged back in 2022 by revamping its frequent flyer program and using just a single metric to decide what elite status (if any) members of the program should have.
Lufthansa will operate three new routes to the US in 2024
Business travel may not be back to pre-pandemic levels, but that doesn't appear to be a major issue for Lufthansa with the airline announcing three new routes to the US from summer next year (two of which include destinations that the airline has not served in the past).
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is changing its Silver Tier seating benefits
Virgin Atlantic has announced that in a little under a week's time, the seating benefits associated with its Flying Club's Silver Tier will be changing, and while the reaction to this news will depend heavily on what fares people normally book, I suspect most people will see this as bad news.
Marriott’s 4Q 2023 worldwide promotion is now live
While the latest World of Hyatt global promotion doesn't go live until next month, Marriott's idea of a 4Q 2023 promotion is now live so if you haven't already registered, now is probably the time to do so.
Don’t cry ‘clickbait!, it’s not our fault!
Accusations of 'clickbait' are to be found all over the internet, and while it's often a term that's misused by those too lazy to think up a more relevant rebuke or by those who don't appear to know what clickbait actually is, there's no arguing with the fact that genuine clickbait can be very annoying.
This Chase free night certificate “glitch” is annoying
Free night certificates that come as a credit card benefit are mostly pretty simple to use, but things aren't always as straightforward as they should be. I, for example, have recently had an incredibly annoying time trying to redeem one particular certificate and as a quick web search has revealed that I'm far from alone, I thought that I'd flag the issue so that anyone reading this knows what can go wrong and how I eventually got around the problem I faced.
Emirates will offer an ‘all A380’ service to/from Sydney
In the past few hours, Emirates has announced that it will be moving to offer an all-A380 service on its route between Dubai and Sydney before the end of the year. It has also confirmed that it is in talks with Adelaide airport with the aim of restarting service to South Australia once the airline's new Airbus A350s begin to arrive.
British Airways extends its double Tier Points offer through 2024
Following on from Tuesday's news that British Airways will be moving, in part, to a revenue based loyalty program, the airline has now also announced that it is again extending its offer of double tier points on bookings made through its British Airways Holidays subsidiary.
Alaska Airlines announces two new coast-to-coast routes
Alaska Airlines is probably best known for being a West Coast carrier specializing in flights out of the Pacific Northwest, but it has some transcontinental routes too and starting this winter, two new coast to coast routes will be added to the airline's schedules.
British Airways announces five more ‘Avios only’ flights for 2023/24
In recent times, Qantas is probably the best known airline to publish flights on which all seats can only be purchased using miles or points (rather than cash), but in April this year, British Airways joined in the fun when it announced 'Avios only' flights to/from Sharm El Sheikh and Geneva.
Yet another Hyatt property is playing around with award availability
When it comes to award night availability, the World of Hyatt rules are simple – if a property is selling an entry-level room for cash, that same room must also be made available for award bookings. This is part of the ‘no blackout dates’ policy enshrined in the World of Hyatt terms and conditions and it's one of the things that a lot of us really love about Hyatt's loyalty program.
The InterContinental Carlton Cannes will reopen as the Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel, on Monday
The final months of 2022 brought bad news for members of the InterContinental Ambassador program. In November, IHG confirmed that Ambassador benefits will no longer be offered at Regent Hotels & Resorts and that the programs free weekend night certificate will no longer be useable at Kimpton properties. And in December, we were told that the InterContinental Carlton Cannes would be reflagged as the Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel, following refurbishment works.
Booking IHG reward nights? Beware the hidden junk fees!
When you make an award booking with Hilton or Hyatt you don't have to worry about resort/destination/amenity fees because those chains waive their junk fees on award bookings. You don't even have to hold elite status with Hilton or Hyatt to avoid these fees because everyone gets junk fees waived when booking awards with these guys. Sadly, the same is not true of award bookings with IHG or Marriott.
Another annoying junk fee at the Andaz West Hollywood
Unlike quite a few posters over on Flyertalk, I don't have much of an issue with the Andaz West Hollywood as a property (we put friends up there on 'guest of honor' bookings reasonably frequently), but I've often railed against the ridiculous and indefensible destination fee that the property charges.
I tried out the British Airways ‘Best Price Guarantee’ earlier today
The fact that most large hotel chains offer some sort of guarantee that the price a customer will pay when they book directly through them is the lowest price available is pretty well known. What appears to be less well known is that a number of airlines offer a similar policy and earlier, I finally had a chance to see how well (or badly!) BA's best price guarantee policy can work.
The very odd booking issue with JetBlue’s new Paris route
Yesterday was the day that JetBlue opened up bookings on its new route between New York JFK and Paris and while it was nice to see the airline offering special discounted rates to publicize its new flights, it was a little odd to find that JetBlue had failed to highlight one key issue that some customers will face when trying to book.
I didn’t know that Chase Freedom bonus points can be earned retroactively (sometimes)
Something that most people reading this article will probably know is that every quarter, the Chase Freedom Flex® credit card and the Chase Freedom credit card (not open to new applicants) offer bonus points for spending in select categories to cardholders who register their cards after the quarterly categories have been announced.
World of Hyatt devaluation – these are numbers & some key movers
Last week, Hyatt announced that a significant number of properties that participate in the World of Hyatt program will be moving categories at the end of this month. Overall, the news isn't good, but a look at the numbers shows that how someone views the upcoming changes will probably depend on where in the world they most enjoy spending their points so the upcoming changes will almost certainly not be universally disliked.
Was the latest United Airlines flash promotion a rip-off? What am I missing?
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Etihad will offer double daily service to New York starting this summer
Etihad has announced that with advanced bookings looking strong and with demand for travel not really showing much sign of waning (despite the economic outlook), it will increase its frequencies between Abu Dhabi and New York to offer flyers in those cities a double daily service.
British Airways is now permitting fee-free flight changes for Heathrow & Gatwick arrivals (Border Force strike dates)
A couple of days ago, British Airways announced that because Heathrow Airport was suffering significant delays and issues due to weather, it would permit some passengers to change their outbound flights. Now, the airline is saying that some passengers whose arrival dates coincide with the UK Border Force's strike days later this month, can make select fee-free changes to their bookings.
Significant changes coming to the American Airlines AAdvantage program
The AAdvantage program's current incarnation is still very new (it only came into being earlier this year) but American Airlines is already pushing through new changes which, on the whole, are probably going to be unpopular.
British Airways is offering limited free flight changes for Heathrow departures
In the past few days, southern England has seen a light dusting of snow and because most of the UK's transport infrastructure is utterly incapable of dealing with any kind of weather that isn't light rain, various services have been disrupted.
Delta is resuming flights to Cuba next year
Delta has confirmed that it plans to restart service to Havana in the first half of next year following the route's suspension in March 2022. The route will operate twice daily from Miami and will link into Delta's service from ten other US airports.
[Updated] Etihad is bringing back its A380s this summer
The rumors that Etihad would bring back at least some of its A380 grew strongest in late summer and now, after a period in which the airline hasn't been saying much about its Whale Jets, we finally have news that the rumors were true. Four Etihad A380s will be returning to the skies later this year.
[Updated] Did British Airways just slash award surcharges for US departures? (Yes & No)
British Airways appears to be pushing through some big changes to its loyalty program today and because we haven't yet had a public announcement from the airline, it's not yet clear what all the changes will look like.
These are the luxury EMEA properties that Hyatt has in the pipeline
Hyatt has issued a new update on its plans for luxury hotel openings in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and although a number of the properties included in the update have been mentioned (at one point or another) in the past, the fact that the pandemic caused so much havoc with some of these plans means that it's good to see where things now stand.
Finnair is bringing its new Business Class & Premium Economy cabins to Miami
Towards the beginning of the year, Finnair surprised quite a few people when it unveiled a new and very different Business Class seat alongside its long rumored Premium Economy Cabin. Since then, we've seen the new cabins appearing on select routes to Asia as well as on a couple of Finnair's US routes, and now they're coming to Miami.
InterContinental Ambassador members lose an important option in Europe
The past few weeks haven't brought good news for members of the InterContinental Ambassador program. Back in November, IHG confirmed that Ambassador benefits soon won't be offered at Regent Hotels & Resorts and that the programs free weekend night certificate will no longer be useable at Kimpton properties, and now we're told that a major InterContinental property in Europe is being reflagged.
Accor ALL points now convert to Flying Blue in a ratio of 1:1
Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France and KLM, has had a partnership with Accor's ALL program for some time and in the past few hours, that partnership has got a little bit more interesting as the ratio in which Accor points transfer across to Flying Blue was improved significantly.
Iberia will add more flights to Dallas & has moved into JFK T8
Iberia has confirmed that it will be increasing the number of flights that it offers on its route between Madrid and Dallas and that it has now followed in the footsteps of British Airways by moving its New York JFK operations into Terminal 8 alongside American Airlines.
Marriott will open three new high-end all-inclusive properties in Mexico
It has been a while since we heard Marriott talk about its plans for its all-inclusive collection, but the silence has now been broken with news that we can expect Marriott to open three new high-end all-inclusive properties in Mexico in the next three years.
Hyatt announces plans to buy Dream Hotel Group (more properties coming to the World of Hyatt)
Hyatt has today announced plans to purchase Dream Hotels Group, which is expected to add twelve properties to the World of Hyatt program in the short-term and a further 24 properties in the medium term.
Interesting: Amex removes Frontier as a Platinum Card airline credit option
A number of American Express Platinum Cards offer cardholders an airline fee credit as a way of helping them offset part of their card's annual fee (or, as a way of helping them justify their card's annual fee) but at some point in the past few days, this benefit became a little weaker.
Chase’s Hyatt offers may work abroad even if they’re not meant to
Right now, a number of Chase credit cards are offering cardholders capped discounts of 10% or 15% on Hyatt spending made by the end of the month, but per the offer's terms and conditions, these savings are only available for spending made at Hyatt's domestic properties. Those terms, however, may not actually reflect how things really work.
Check if you’ll be approved for an Amex card without it impacting your credit score
American Express has confirmed that it's piloting a new "experience" for consumers, which will allow select applicants to find out if they'll be approved for their preferred Amex card without having their credit score affected (i.e. Without a hard pull on their credit file).
IHG is adding up to 70 all-inclusive properties to its portfolio
IHG is the latest of the big hotel groups to decide that it needs to increase its foothold in the all-inclusive market so in a move that will see up to 70 new properties coming under the IHG umbrella, it has announced a strategic partnership with Iberostar Hotels & Resorts.
Virgin Atlantic will fly to the Maldives and the Turks & Caicos from next year
British Airways may have announced yet another route to the US yesterday, but Virgin Atlantic has just stolen all the thunder in the UK by announcing that it plans to launch services to the Maldives and the Turks & Caicos Islands in 2023.
A mostly pointless Marriott Bonvoy elite status is getting more expensive
Ambassador Elite status is the very highest level of status that you can earn with the Marriott Bonvoy program and it's the only Bonvoy Elite status that currently comes with a spending requirement. In 2023, that spending requirement will be going up.
British Airways has just announced a new route to the United States
Speculation that British Airways was planning to announce a new route to the US has been growing for some time and the range of potential new US destinations that people have been suggesting has been impressive - Indianapolis, Hartford, Detroit, Cleveland, and Salt Lake City are just a few destinations that have been mooted. The time for speculation is now over, however, as we finally know what the new route will be.
Big news: JetBlue announces new transatlantic routes to Paris
JetBlue is obviously very happy with how its first foray into the transatlantic market has been going (the airline's London routes) because it has just announced that it will be adding two new transatlantic services to Paris next year.
British Airways is trialling biometrics for international departures
Biometrics are not exactly a new thing in the travel world - British Airways has been using biometrics to speed up boarding on domestic flights since 2017 and American Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, and others have been using biometric boarding gates at various US airports since 2018 - but now British Airways has announced a trial that will take things a step further at London Heathrow.
Another reason you should have a VPN when you travel
Safety and security are always the key reasons given when people talk about why it's a good idea to have and use a VPN when traveling but while that's clearly the correct thing to focus on, there's also another reason why it's a good idea to have access to a VPN when you're abroad.
Hyatt announces a new all-inclusive resort for Europe (new WoH properties coming this year)
Hyatt got into the all-inclusive resort business when it bought Apple Leisure Group for $2.7 billion back in November 2021 and just recently, it showed its commitment to expand on that purchase when it announced that it would open 5 new all-inclusive properties in Bulgaria over the next two years.
Today, that expansion continues with the news that Hyatt will open the Dreams Madeira Resort Spa & Marina in Portugal in 2024.
British Airways will add more flights to Pittsburgh in 2023
Pittsburgh Airport has announced that British Airways will be increasing the number of flights that it offers to/from London Heathrow once the summer 2023 schedule is in place.
British Airways A320 Club Europe (Business Class) review
Club Europe is the name that British Airways gives to the short-haul Business Class product offered on its flights within Europe and last week, I got to see what the current Club Europe product is looking like when I flew on a British Airways A320 to Sofia.
Marriott is introducing the “Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy” brand
Marriott has today put out an announcement to say that it's expanding its portfolio beyond hotels, resorts, timeshares, and home rentals and that it plans to offer apartment-style accommodations in locations around the world.
Hyatt has opened a new Unbound Collection hotel in NYC…and I’ll be avoiding it
Hyatt has confirmed that Grayson Hotel has become the first Unbound Collection property to open its doors in New York City.
United announces changes coming to MileagePlus in 2023
As of next year, United's MileagePlus program will be bringing in the elite qualification criteria that it had promised to introduce before the pandemic put a halt to the program's plans. Unfortunately, that means that the lower elite status thresholds that flyers have been enjoying for the past few years will soon be nothing more than a pleasant memory but on the upside, there is at least a little bit of good news coming out of MileagePlus today.
The British Airways Avios calculator appears to be returning some odd results
The British Airways Avios calculator can be a very useful tool for anyone wanting to see how many Avios and Tier Points they'll earn from whatever bookings they're making or planning but right now, I'm not convinced that it's showing the correct information.
British Airways website not working? This workaround may be able to help
Over the weekend, British Airways was, once again, having serious issues with both its desktop site and its app and as this is becoming a common occurrence, now seems like a good time to mention that the next time you're struggling to access your British Airways account or check-in for a flight online, there is a small workaround that can sometimes come to your aid.
The Elizabeth Line: A review of the new direct service from Heathrow to central London
Part of the Elizabeth Line (formerly known as Crossrail) has been open for a few months but it was only yesterday that passengers traveling from Heathrow into the heart of London were able to do so without the need for a change of trains. As I happened to be at Heathrow anyway, I decided to take a look at the new service to see what it has to offer.
Warning: Dormant credit and debit cards are not immune from fraud
Most people are probably very aware that the debit cards and credit cards that we use in our everyday lives are targets for scammers and fraudsters who would like nothing more than to get hold of our details and make off with as much of our cash (or the credit card company's cash) as possible. But did you know that even a card that you haven't used for years can be compromised?
United Airlines opens a new Grab-and-Go “club concept” in Denver
Designed to coincide with the opening of the Concourse B expansion at Denver International Airport, United Airlines has today opened a new "club concept" at the airport which allows eligible flyers to get some food and drinks "to go" before heading to their gates to catch their flights.
Coming soon: Earn Avios on Uber rides taken in the UK
British Airways has announced that at some point later this month, members of its Executive Club loyalty program will be able to collect Avios every time they make a booking through the Uber app in the UK.
The InterContinental Ambassador program is rolling back some positive changes
There aren't many things that you can point to that got better as a result of the Covid pandemic but the rules surrounding some of the benefits offered by the InterContinental Ambassador program can be counted among them. Now, because the world is almost back to how it was in 2019 (albeit, sadly, without the low interest rates!), IHG is rolling back those positive changes.
The Platinum Card® from American Express just got improved (slightly)
Quietly and without any fanfare, two slight improvements to two of the benefits offered by the Platinum Card® from American Express have been made. Considering how much publicity Amex normally throws behind "improvements" that don't actually improve the card, it's surprising that more hasn't been made of these changes but, nevertheless, this is genuinely a little bit of good news.
How my iPad “went missing” at Heathrow security
Recently, I was catching an early flight out of London Heathrow, and because I got to terminal 5 before the security lane at the First Wing opened, I decided to use the priority security lane at the north end of the terminal rather than waiting for the First Wing line to open. In hindsight, that was a poor decision.
The inevitable British Airways Executive Club devaluation is on its way
It has been rumored for some time and now, thanks to a press release from Iberia, we know that the British Airways Executive Club will take its first step towards being a revenue-based program at some point in 2023.
Hyatt Place London City East – An in-depth review
An in-depth review of the Hyatt Place London City East - one of the newer Hyatt properties in the British capital and the most centrally located of Hyatt's select-service London properties.
Emirates brings its Airbus A380 Whale Jet back to Tokyo
Earlier this week, finally Japan caught up with the rest of the world (well, most of it) and fully reopened its doors to visitors for the first time since the pandemic first became a thing. Now, as demand for travel to Japan starts to spike, airlines are rushing to meet that demand in whatever way they can.
Aer Lingus will return to Connecticut after a 3 year hiatus
Aer Lingus has confirmed that its Dublin - Harford (CT) route will be returning next year following its suspension at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. News of the returning route is the second US announcement that Aer Lingus has made recently following the news that Cleveland will be added to the airline's network next summer.
Delta announces a new tie-up with Starbucks (earn miles & stars)
Delta and Starbucks have announced a new partnership that allows customers with SkyMiles and Starbucks accounts to earn miles and stars when they buy their morning coffee and when they fly.
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