Marriott announces plans for its first St. Regis property in the UK
It's been a bit of a UK centric day today on Traveling For Miles with confirmation of a new Hyatt Regency for London and the news that Qantas is bringing back the Perth - London route in July and the UK-related news continues here with an announcement from Marriott that it will open its first St. Regis property in the UK next year.
Qantas brings its A380 back to London & announces restart of the Perth – London route
It's safe to say that Qantas has been one of the airlines worst hit by the chaos that the pandemic brought to world travel but with most of Australia now reopened to vaccinated travelers, it looks like the airline is getting things back to 'normal' as quickly as events allow.
Aer Lingus is restarting another US route tomorrow
In the past few months, I've written about Aer Lingus more than at any other point in the short life of this site but somehow, somewhere down the line, I appear to have missed the announcement that from tomorrow, Aer Lingus is heading back to the West Coast.
Confirmed: A new Hyatt Regency is coming to London this summer
Unofficially, we've known this for some time, but Hyatt has now finally put out an official statement confirming that it will open the Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars in the City of London later this year.
Grrr…apparently oneworld elites cannot reserve seats on the Alaska Airlines website (+ 1 more issue)
Alaska Airlines has been a member of the oneworld alliance for almost exactly a year so with that 12 month anniversary approaching, I don't think it's unreasonable for a customer to expect the airline's website to be able to deal with all of the more basic benefits that the oneworld alliance offers. Apparently, however, this is too much to ask.
Marriott.com adds lowest rates calendar to booking searches
In the past couple of days, Marriott has made a small enhancement (a real one) to its website and it now offers customers the option of accessing a property's rates across a whole month directly from the search results page. In the grand scheme of things, this isn't groundbreaking, but it's a nice addition to Marriot.com.
Huge News: Qatar Airways will adopt Avios as its loyalty currency
In an announcement that's nothing short of stunning, Qatar Airways has confirmed that it will be adopting Avios as the currency for its Privilege Club loyalty program from late next month. Qmiles are going to be history and going forward, Privilege Club program members will earn the same currency as members of the British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, and Aer Club.
Delta will offer three new routes to Hawaii next winter
The current winter season may still have over a month left to run but Delta is already getting ready for winter 2022/23 by planning a number of new routes to Hawaii. Both Oahu and Maui will be seeing new services from Delta with the new routes originating in Atlanta, Detroit, and New York.
How to combine Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (Freedom Cards to Ultimate Rewards Cards)
In this post, I set out a simple step-by-step guide that will show you how to combine the points earned by the Chase Freedom Flex® Card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card, and the legacy Chase Freedom Card (which is no longer open to new applicants) with points earned by one of Chase's Ultimate Rewards credit cards.
American Airlines will suspend 3 routes, delay 1 route and cut another
Late on Friday, a leaked American Airlines memo delivered the news that over the weekend, the airline was planning to suspend services on three of its international routes, to delay the launch of an international route it had promoted with quite a bit of fanfare, and to halve the number flights on another international route. It's unclear if all these updates have now been processed but these cuts are very real.
JetBlue’s newest route to Mexico has now launched
The JetBlue and American Airlines "Northeast Alliance" may still be facing a number of regulatory hurdles, but that doesn't appear to have slowed down the number of new routes and added route frequencies that we've seen JetBlue bring to fruition in the past year. The latest announcement sees the airline confirming that it has lauched its newest leisure route between New York JFK and Mexico's Pacific Coast.
Alaska’s Mileage Plan adds Malaysia Airlines awards…but it may as well not have bothered!
In the past 24 hours, Alaska Airlines has added another oneworld partner to its Mileage Plan program - Malaysia Airlines - but now that I've seen the levels at which the awards have been set, I can't help but wonder why the airline bothered.
British Airways announces a new service to New York
British Airways has announced plans to launch a new daily service between London Heathrow and Newark Liberty later this year as the airline continues to revive its long-haul network following two years in the doldrums.
Ignore this terrible advice from a Twitter travel chat
Yesterday, I happened upon a scheduled Twitter chat that was covering the miles and points world and I watched as various contributors answered questions that were designed to give less experienced miles & points enthusiasts some ideas on how to get good value out of their balances. Usually, I ignore these kinds of chats but on this occasion, I watched this chat long enough to see a truly terrible bit of advice being handed out.
United will resume its San Francisco – Melbourne route in May
United Airlines hasn't operated either of its routes between the United States and Melbourne since the pandemic put life on pause but in a move that appears to be aimed at getting a head start on Qantas, the airline has now scheduled the return of its route between San Francisco and Melbourne.
The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at London Heathrow T3 – A Review
The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at London Heathrow Terminal 3 is often talked about in the same breath as some of the best airport lounges around the world so as I was passing through T3 on a recent trip, I made some time to get some pictures of the Clubhouse and to reacquaint myself with a lounge that I seem to like more each time I visit.
Iberia confirms two new routes to the United States & returns to San Francisco
Back in November, Iberia announced that it had plans to launch two new routes between Madrid and the United States from April 2022. The new routes were to serve Dallas and Washington D.C. but at the time of the original announcement no schedule information was provided and no firm start dates were offered up either. Today, that changed.
The new Emirates lounge dedicated to unaccompanied minors
In recent years, a number of airlines have stopped offering dedicated services for unaccompanied minors but Emirates appears to be bucking that trend with the announcement of a new Dubai lounge for the exclusive use of young passengers who are traveling solo.
Time probably running out to lock-in a great IHG Rewards credit card pairing (select cardholders)
ln a little over 6 weeks' time, the IHG Rewards Club Premier Card will be getting refreshed and the good news is that the changes that are being made are almost entirely positive. The less good news is that it looks like once the changes go live, a great two-card pairing that currently remains open to holders of the legacy IHG Rewards Club Select Card will no longer be an option.
Aer Lingus is resuming non-stop flights to Miami (Business Class awards available)
Aer Lingus has announced that it plans to restart non-stop flights between Dublin and Miami later this year and as long as this plan isn't upended by an unexpected turn of events courtesy of the coronavirus, this should be good news for fans of Avios who have been burned by the latest British Airways devaluation.
Devaluation: Hyatt announces award category changes for 2022
The World of Hyatt has just announced that 146 of its properties will be changing award categories in a little over a month's time and while the changes are pretty evenly split between properties moving up a category and properties moving down, it's interesting (and a little worrying) to see that Hyatt will be moving nine of its properties into Category 8 which up until now, has been reserved for SLH properties only.
British Airways increases surcharges on most Business Class long-haul award bookings (ex. UK)
If you're a British Airways flyer based in the United States, the airline showed its disdain for your loyalty a little while ago when it increased the surcharges for award travel originating on this side of the pond without any notice. Now, in what appears to be BA's version of 'leveling up', the surcharges for Business Class award travel originating in the UK have also been increased without warning.
This is the new Finnair Premium Economy cabin
Earlier today I wrote about Finnair revealing an entirely new Business Class cabin but, arguably, the bigger news of the day was that Finnair has also said that it will be fitting a Premium Economy cabin to all of its long-haul aircraft for the first time in its history.
Alliance-wide upgrades coming to oneworld in 2022…apparently
We've been hearing rumors of alliance-wide upgrades coming to the oneworld alliance since well before the pandemic so the fact that these are being discussed isn't news. What *is* news is that we're now expecting to finally see these upgrade options become reality later this year...apparently.
United Airlines announces expanded Cape Town service (Business Class awards available)
After a long hiatus brought about by the pandemic, United Airlines restarted its route between Newark and Cape Town in December last year with the same 3x/week seasonal service that it used before the travel world closed down. Now and with passenger numbers clearly on the rise, United is keeping a promise it made in 2019 and expanding its service to the Cape.
Finnair unveils its new Business Class Cabin
Finnair has been teasing this for weeks, but today the teasing ended and the airline finally unveiled its new Business Class cabin, a reworked Economy Class cabin, and announced that it will be introducing a long-haul Premium Economy cabin for the first time in its history. This post will look a the new Business Class cabin while subsequent posts will explore the new Economy and Premium Economy cabins.
Alaska Airlines will expand & upgrade select lounges in Seattle & Portland
Alaska Airlines has just announced what it's calling "a significant, multi-million dollar renovation and expansion of [its] most popular Lounges" which will see select lounges in Seattle and Portland get a short-term makeover before, longer-term, they're moved to new locations within their respective airports.
My approach to international travel right now
More and more counties are now reopening their borders to vaccinated international travelers so with more options of places to visit than at any other point in the past two years, you could be forgiven for thinking that I'm busy booking trips to all corners of the world to make up for lost time. That, however, isn't the case.
Australia announces reopening date for vaccinated visitors
Just a few weeks ago, the Australian government indicated that it was using Easter as a target reopening date for vaccinated visitors so it's both surprising and gratifying to suddenly be told that the country will open up considerably earlier. Now, instead of aiming to reopen at some point in April, Australia says that it will welcome vaccinated visitors in just two weeks' time.
Time for more countries to excuse the vaccinated from all travel testing measures
A couple of days ago, the UK announced that travelers who have been fully vaccinated will no longer have to take pre-departure tests and will not be subject to post-arrival testing either and this has already kick-started a small but significant resurgence in travel bookings which is welcome news to the beleaguered industry. Now it’s time for the news to get even better and for more countries to follow suit.
Highly unexpected efficiency from ITA Airways (a status match success + what to expect)
ITA is still offering a status match to its new loyalty/rewards program and despite the fact that this offer has been available for at least a couple of months, it's one that I hadn't remembered to act upon until recently. When I finally got around to submitting my details, I fully expected to have to wait weeks (possibly months) before I heard back but much to my surprise, it looks like ITA is taking this promotion seriously.
Pictures and a quick look at the new Tommie Hollywood (LA’s newest World of Hyatt property)
The Tommie Hollywood is the latest Hyatt property to open its doors in Los Angeles so as I'm currently back home on the West Coast and as the Tommie is only three weeks old, I took the opportunity to head over to Hollywood to see what the new property offers.
How American Airlines nearly ruined my trip home before it had even started
Right now, I'm back home in LA and in the middle of a tier point run that I didn't really want to do, but it's only thanks to a stroke of good fortune that I actually got home on my planned date. Thanks to a rather incredible screw-up by American Airlines, my whole trip was nearly cancelled before I had a chance to board a single flight.
Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card 1Q 2022 Bonus Categories Revealed
With two weeks left in the last quarter of 2021, Chase has revealed the 1Q 2022 category spending bonuses for the Chase Freedom Flex credit card (review) and the legacy Chase Freedom credit card (no longer open to new applicants). Registration for the new bonus categories is now open.
Qantas Lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 3 review
After being shuttered for almost 20 months, the Qantas Lounge at London Heathrow T3 finally reopened its doors on 10 December and is welcoming oneworld flyers once again. Fortuitously, I was flying out of Heathrow Terminal 3 shortly after the lounge reopened so I paid it a visit and took a look at what it's offering as the travel world struggles to get back to some semblance of normality.
American Airlines ends Award Wallet access
For a little over 8 years, Award Wallet has had an agreement in place with American Airlines which has allowed it to access flyer data via an API that, in turn, allowed it to keep members informed of any changes to their flights and AAdvantage account balances. As of today, that access has been revoked and Award Wallet members can no longer use the application to track their American Airlines flights or AAdvantage accounts.
The tier point run I really didn’t want to do
Back in March, the news that the vaccine rollouts were gathering pace led to a moment of over-optimism on my part that resulted in me booking a multi-segment tier point run to get me back to LA for the upcoming holidays. The booking seemed like a good idea at the time, but with events unfolding as they have, the tier point run turned into a trip that I really didn't want to take.
A basic hack to get around the latest British Airways annoyance
If you've tried to get through to British Airways to deal with a booking issue, you will probably have noticed that getting to speak to a fellow human being has become almost impossible. It doesn't matter what time of day you call, the automated phone service will almost inevitably hang up on you. Fortunately, there appears to be an incredibly simple way to get around this problem and it relies on the airline's greed.
The UK was correct in how it handled the ban on travel from Southern Africa
The United Kingdom was just one of the many nations that moved to ban travel from Southern Africa when the Omicron variant first came to light and it took a lot of criticism for doing so. Yesterday, those travel bans were lifted, and despite being a staunch critic of the UK administration I have to admit that on this occasion, they got things right.
American Airlines will add Doha to its route map but I have no idea why
American Airlines has announced that it plans to launch a new service between New York JFK and Doha from summer 2022 but despite the fact that I've had a few days to mull over this announcement, I'm still at a loss to explain what the airline is thinking. To me, it makes no sense at all.
British Airways will finally fly to Portland from next summer (and will restart another US route)
British Airways announced that it would be the first airline to operate a year-round direct flight from the UK to Portland, Oregon, almost exactly two years ago but because of a little thing called a coronavirus, the route never launched as planned. Now the route is back on the BA map and all things being equal, it will launch almost exactly two years late.
Finnair will launch yet another new US route in 2022
As far as its US network is concerned, it has been a big six months for Finnair. In July it announced a new service between Stockholm and Miami, in September it announced new routes from Stockholm to Los Angeles and New York, and in November it announced a new route between Helsinki and Dallas Fort Worth that's set to launch in February 2022. Now the airline has gone a step further and announced yet another new US Route which will launch in summer 2022.
The United States toughens up testing rules for international travel
As has been rumored for a few days, the United States government has today announced a number of measures that it says are aimed at protecting Americans from the Delta and Omicron Covid variants this winter. Among the proposals are a tightening up of the testing requirements for all travelers entering the United States from abroad.
Reality check: Governments had no option but to ban travel from Southern Africa
We've seen a lot of complaints, anger, and outrage (faux and otherwise) coming from various quarters following the recent decision taken by a significant number of nations to ban travel from southern Africa, but a lot of it seems to be coming from people missing a few key points about how the world works and what the bans are actually about.
Chase Aeroplan® Credit Card (details in brief)
Today has seen the launch of the new Chase Aeroplan World Elite Mastercard Credit Card and after a lot of rumors and speculation, we now have confirmation of exactly what the new card offers. I'll write a full review of the credit card in good time but for now, here are the details of what the credit card offers.
It’s time to say goodbye to my Chase Sapphire Reserve® card
I've held the Chase Sapphire Reserve® since the card was first introduced, but after a number of great years during which the card never left my wallet, it's time for us to part ways. The Reserve card has been a card that I've loved for most of the years that I've held it, but the simple fact is that when I take a look at all the other cards that I hold, I cannot justify the Reserve card's place in my portfolio. It has to go.
Hilton has opened the first Warner Bros hotel in the world
Hilton has announced the opening of the WB Abu Dhabi which is the first Warner Bros. themed property in the world. The property has joined Hilton's Curio Collection and is located just steps away from Hilton's Doubletree and Warner Bros World and a very short walk from Waterworld on Abu Dhabi's Yas Island.
Hyatt Regency London The Churchill – Executive Suite & Regency Club Videos
The Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill is my go-to property in central London and on my last visit I decided to take a couple of videos showing what the property offers. The first video in this post is of a Hyatt Regency Executive suite that I was upgraded into and the second is of the part-reopened Regency Lounge on the property's 8th floor.
Lufthansa is introducing a ‘Buy Onboard’ menu on its long-haul routes
Lufthansa has today confirmed that it will be introducing a 'buy onboard' menu of snack options on its long-haul flights to mirror what it already offers in Economy Class on its short-haul routes. The airline has said that this will not impact the complimentary meals and drinks already offered in long-haul Economy Class and Premium Economy but will be offered to flyers as an additional option.
Go to Super Bowl LVI with Bonvoy Moments
Marriott Bonvoy Moments is the heir to SPG Moments and is a program that allows Marriott Bonvoy members to spend their points on sports, concerts, and experiences rather than on hotel stays. Right now (and has been the case in most recent years), Marriott is giving Bonvoy members a chance to use their points to book tickets to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.
Emirates has scheduled its A380 to return to Melbourne
It wasn't long after we started seeing signs that Australia was starting to open up that Emirates scheduled an A380 to taker over its route to Sydney and now, in a further sign that airlines are increasingly confident that travel to Oz will be a lot more 'normal' in the near future, Emirates is set to return the A380 to Melbourne as well.
The British Airways Executive Club is still down but here’s a workaround
Last Saturday, British Airways closed down access to its Executive Club and access to all Avios-related functionality as part of a planned outage that was supposed to end yesterday morning. Well, at the time of writing, access to the Executive Club is still down but there's a workaround that may be of help if you're desperate to make a reward booking or to access your account.
Emirates may finally upgrade its 777 Business Class cabins
This week's Dubai Air Show had already given us a couple of pieces of good news (here & here) when we heard Emirates confirm that it will upgrade over 100 of its aircraft with its new Premium Economy cabin, but a more important piece of news (for premium cabin flyers) that came out at the same time was the news that Emirates may finally upgrade its sub-par Business Class cabins.
United Airlines is set return to Singapore in January
We've had a lot of news from United Airlines in the past few weeks and between the new flights, new routes and route reboots we heard about a month ago and the 22 daily flights that the airline says it will operate to London next year, I failed to pick up on the fact that I hadn't seen United give more than a vague update on the longest route that it served before the pandemic - the route between San Francisco and Singapore.
Emirates will add its Premium Economy cabin to 100+ aircraft
Emirates has used this week's Dubai Airshow to announce that following the success that it has seen with the limited rollout of its new Premium Economy cabin, it is committing to installing the cabin on a further 105 aircraft starting next year.
Qatar Airways & JetBlue now offer reciprocal mileage earning
Earlier this year, Qatar Airways and JetBlue announced that their "strategic partnership" would be expanding with the airlines codesharing on more routes and with reciprocal loyalty program benefits on the way for Privilege Club and TrueBlue members. As of yesterday, one of those reciprocal benefits was finally delivered with JetBlue and Qatar Airways flyers now able to earn points/miles on both airlines.
British Airways will have four more US routes operating by early December
With the US borders once again open to travelers originating in the UK, British Airways hasn't been wasting any time as it moves to increase capacity and get transatlantic services restarted. We've already seen the airline bringing back its A380s to serve four of its US routes and now BA has confirmed that it will have four more US routes back online by early December.
American Airlines announces a new Admirals Club for Austin
In the past 12 months, American Airlines has added an impressive number of routes to its Austin network but with the Austin Admirals Club already short of space before most of the new routes were added, something had to be done about the lounge situation at the airport. Well, something *is* being done and it's something that goes a lot further than the renovation project I was expecting - Austin is getting a brand new Admirals Club.
Hyatt & Exhale will end their partnership from January 2022
Hyatt purchases Exhale Spas back in 2017 and we saw the program added to the World of Hyatt a few months later. Since then, World of Hyatt members have been able to earn and burn points at Exhale Spas around the country, and World of Hyatt elites have been able to enjoy extra benefits at Exhale locations too. Sadly, not for much longer.
Singapore Airlines unveils new 737 Business Class cabin
While yesterday saw Etihad unveiling its new A350 Business Class cabin, today has seen Singapore Airlines unveil the new Business Class cabin that it will be rolling out on its new 737-8 MAX aircraft in the coming weeks and that the airline is expected to retrofit to its existing MAX aircraft too.
The ridiculousness of the US travel bans has never been more obvious
Since the very beginning of this mess, I've been a supporter of most of the measures that we've seen put in place to try to keep people safe and to keep the death rates as low as possible and I, like most people, have done my bit to adhere to whatever rules have been set down. What I've never supported, however, is the belief that the US government's approach to the pandemic has always been based on science. It hasn't.
Citi Adds Wyndham Rewards as its second hotel partner
It was only a few weeks ago that Citi announced that Choice Privileges would become the ThankYou program's first hotel partner since Hilton departed a few years ago, and now here we are seeing Wyndham Rewards being added as a ThankYou partner too.
Etihad unveils its new A350 Business Class seats in Dubai
The Dubai Airshow is currently in full swing and amidst a few impressive fly-bys and a lot of industry talk, a cabin that a lot of us have been waiting to see has made its first public appearance - the Etihad A350-1000 Business Class cabin has finally been unveiled.
Flying to England? Here are two ‘Day 2’ tests that won’t break the bank
I've been flying in and out of England reasonably frequently in the past 12 months so I have first-hand experience of how painful the cost of all the Covid tests needed to get into the country has sometimes felt. Now, however, things are a lot better, and with fully vaccinated travelers now only required to take a 'Day 2' test upon arrival, I thought that I'd take a quick look at two UK testing providers with whom I've had good experiences.
Tell TPG to tell Amex what you think of the changes to the two Platinum Cards
A lot of people have been increasingly unhappy with the direction that American Express has been taking its two Platinum Cards and we've been seeing a lot of comments criticizing the nature of the benefits that the cards offer. Well, if you're one of the complainers, there's an outside chance that you may now have a way of telling the people responsible for the changes what you think.
United opens up bookings for its new Washington – Amman service (awards available)
October was a busy month for United Airlines from a route scheduling point of view with the airline announcing 22 daily flights to London and 10 new flights and five new destinations for Europe and the Middle East. One of those new destinations was Amman, Jordan, and today United's new route between Washington D.C and Amman finally went on sale.
Odd: Are IHG free night certificates a little better than I thought?
I have an IHG free night certificate that's expiring at the end of the year and as I was performing a few random searches to see what I could and couldn't book with it last night, I stumbled across something that I'm pretty sure I've never seen before - the free night certificates can sometimes be more useful than points.
Air France introduces a new route between the US and the Caribbean
It was back in August that Air France first mentioned that it would be adding a couple of new (and a little unusual) routes to its network and as the dates for those route launches approach, I thought that I'd follow up my earlier post on Air France's routes to the US with a reminder that we'll soon be able to use Air France to fly from the US (and Canada) to the Caribbean.
Virgin Atlantic reduces service and removes the A350 on its Los Angeles route in December
If you're booked to fly with Virgin Atlantic to Los Angeles this December it may be time to check your seat reservations, and if you're considering booking Virgin Atlantic Business Class for travel to/from Los Angeles in December, it may be time to consider other options because the airline will not be flying its A350 to LAX for a period of 31 days.
Air France brings back a US route and will offer up to 122 weekly flights to the US this winter
With the United States having finally opened its borders to travelers originating in the Schengen Area, Air France has announced that it will ramp up its transatlantic operations to levels not seen since before the pandemic. The airline has confirmed that it will operate to 11 US destinations and will offer up to 122 weekly flights this winter season and that's great news for flyers.
Is one of the best World of Hyatt award redemptions effectively dead?
Up until now, most of the research that I've been doing around the World of Hyatt program since seasonal pricing was introduced hasn't thrown up anything that's hugely negative or anything that was totally unexpected. That was until I started trying to work out just how far out I'd have to book to be able to reserve the amazing Alila Venata Big Sur at no more than 35,000 points per night (Category 7 peak rate). What I've discovered is more than a little disappointing.
Alaska Airlines will launch a new service to Miami next year
Alaska Airlines has been busy announcing new routes for most of this year with Mexico, California, Montana, Chicago, and Austin all benefiting from the airline's expansion. Its latest service announcement is probably its biggest of the year with Alaska Airline confirming that it will return to Miami for the first time in over 10 years with a non-stop service between Seattle and Miami next year.
Flying Virgin Atlantic from Los Angeles? Here’s what you need to know
Following a 20 month hiatus, travel between the UK and the United States will be restarting on Monday (8 November) and if what we're hearing is true, there will be a flood of people crossing the Atlantic in the coming weeks. If you're one of those people and you plan on flying with Virgin Atlantic out of Los Angeles, the information in this post may useful.
Purchases of United Airlines miles will now code as United Airlines purchases (apparently)
Earlier, I reported that United's latest mileage sale ends later today but it was something that I noticed in the terms and conditions that stuck out a lot more than the sale itself. According to United, purchases of Mileage Plus miles will now be recognized as United Airlines purchases and code as such with the credit card companies.
Heathrow Airport is now charging a drop-off fee (How to pay & How to avoid)
In what can only be described as a pathetic nickel & dime move, Heathrow Airport has finally started to charge the £5/$6.85 drop-off fee that it has been threatening to introduce for well over a year. This post takes a look at who has to pay the fee, how the fee can be paid, and how travelers arriving at Heathrow by car can avoid paying the fee.
Hyatt completes the purchase of ALG Group (~100 new properties coming to the World of Hyatt)
It was back in August that Hyatt confirmed that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Apple Leisure Group for $2.7 billion and we were told to expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Well, true to its word, Hyatt has now announced that the deal is done and that approximately 100 new properties have now been added to its portfolio.
Hawaiian Airlines will restart its Sydney Route next month
In the wake of Qantas starting to reboot a variety of long-haul routes and Singapore Airlines saying that it will operate Vaccinated Travel Lanes from Sydney and Melbourne, Hawaiian Airlines has confirmed that it will join the party and will bring back its Honolulu - Sydney service in mid-December.
My first look at the World of Hyatt post devaluation (has value remained?)
On 26 October, seasonal pricing was introduced to the World of Hyatt program meaning that while no properties moved hotel categories on that date, Hyatt stays from March 2022 onwards can now cost up to 25% more than they currently do. With Hyatt's seasonal calendars now live, I've taken a look at a few regular Hyatt properties and a few well-known and higher-end Hyatt properties to see what the calendars show and to see if I can answer three key questions that have been on my mind.
American Airlines just made Lifetime Elite status a little more valuable (in one way)
American Airlines recently ripped up the rules surrounding elite status qualification for the AAdvantage program and introduced a whole new system through which its flyers can earn elite status. For some, the fact that the new system will probably create more low-level elites means that Lifetime Gold and Lifetime Platinum status has just been devalued (more competition for benefits). For others, however, Lifetime AAdvantage Elite status will have just become more useful.
How to transfer Citi ThankYou Points to airline loyalty programs (2024)
Like all the major transferable currencies Citi ThankYou points are relatively easy to earn (if you have the right credit cards) and because they can be transferred to an impressive number of airline loyalty programs, they're a key element to most people's miles & points strategy.
This was my ‘panic’ American Airlines award booking
On Monday afternoon, I wrote that I was looking at different ways in which I could spend the 170,000 AAdvantage miles that were sitting in my account and I mentioned a number of options that I had been considering. At the time, I had no idea which option (or options) I most wanted to go for and I was prepared to keep thinking things through for a few more weeks. A tweet that I saw on Monday evening quickly changed all of that.
All British Airways 777s will have the new Club Suite by the end of 2022
British Airways has issued an update on the progress that it's making with retrofitting its new Club Suite to its long-haul fleet and while the news out today is mostly good, some information that's missing from the update may point to a longer rollout timeframe than was originally envisioned.
JetBlue LaGuardia expansion starts this Sunday
It was back in April that JetBlue first told us that it was planning to leverage its new partnership with American Airlines to help it significantly increase its presence at New York's LaGuardia airport, and now the airline has confirmed that we'll start to see that expansion roll out from this weekend.
United Airlines Business Class 787-9 Dreamliner review (LHR-SFO)
Earlier this year, I booked a fantastic Business Class deal that should have seen me flying to Los Angeles with SWISS and back to Europe with United but with airlines playing around with their schedules as much as they were, my booking got changed multiple times and I ended up having to fly with United in both directions. That wasn't ideal, but it gave me a chance to try out three of the airline's long-haul Business Class cabins and this is a review of the first cabin in my itinerary.
Could the United States ban travel from the UK again?
On 8 November, the United States is reopening its borders to travelers originating in the Schengen Area, China, India, Ireland, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, and, of course, the United Kingdom, and while this is certainly a move to be welcomed, anyone taking this as a sign that US travel bans are a thing of the past could be being a little optimistic.
United Airlines announces 22 daily flights to London in 2022 (1 new route)
Yesterday, a low-key United Airlines teaser appeared to suggest that it would be announcing at least one new international route at 08:00 today to go alongside the 10 new flights and 5 new destinations that the airline announced on 14 October. Well, 08:00 ET has now passed and we now know what United's teaser was all about.
IHG Rewards extends elite statuses through January 2023
It was the last week of April 2020 when IHG announced that it would offer elite status extensions through January 2022 and now that Hilton (in September) and Marriott (yesterday) have both announced that members of their loyalty programs will continue to enjoy their elite statuses into 2023, IHG has followed suit.
Heads up: United Airlines will add yet more international routes
United Airlines launched a big teaser earlier this month which gave us all a lot of clues as to what new international routes the airline was planning to announce. Those new routes were promptly revealed just a day later but now United is suggesting that its news doesn't end there.
The new World of Hyatt award calendars are now live
As most people reading this will probably know, the World of Hyatt introduced peak and off-peak pricing yesterday, 26 October, and while the new pricing system doesn't affect stays made before the end of February 2022, all of Hyatt's properties are now displaying their respective award calendars for all bookable dates from 1 March 2022 onwards.
Huge News: American Airlines reinvents how elite status is earned
Today looks like it's a day for surprises. I didn't expect Marriott to announce the huge Bonvoy devaluation that we've seen, while the cataclysmic changes that I was expecting American Airlines to make to its awards charts never materialized. Instead, what American Airlines announced today was a wholesale change to how AAdvantage elite status is earned.
How did I not know that Gatwick surcharges are lower than those at Heathrow?!
I like to think that I'm fairly up to speed with a lot of the more important information surrounding the topics about which I write, and I like to think that I'm (mostly) completely on top of anything that relates to the cities that I visit frequently, the airlines with whom I fly a lot, and the hotels that I stay at more than once or twice a year. Apparently, that's not always true.
Official: US ends travel bans (Testing requirements & vaccine exemptions announced)
Earlier this month, we were told that the United States would reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travelers from regions, countries, and states from where travel has been banned since the early months of the pandemic. Unsurprisingly, this news was greeted with a great deal of jubilation in various corners of the world but until now, we've had no firm idea what the opening would look like, what the specific requirements for travel would be and what exemptions would be permitted. Now we know.
Devaluation coming tomorrow: Book your 2022 Hyatt stays now
Hyatt originally planned to introduce peak and off-peak pricing back in March 2020 but the pandemic got in the way of those plans and the devaluation was postponed. Now, however, the postponements are over and Hyatt's move to peak, off-peak, and standard award pricing comes into effect tomorrow and with some bookings set to cost up to 25% more, now is the time to make any bookings that you think you may need.
Qantas has confirmed 12 international routes will return by January
With Victoria now joining New South Wales in saying said that it plans to open up to vaccinated visitors from 1 November with no quarantine requirements, and with the Australian government under increasing pressure to open up its borders to international travelers, Qantas is pushing forward with getting its global route network restored and it has now confirmed the international routes that it will start/restart in the coming months.
Cathay Pacific eliminates waitlists for standard award bookings
Earlier this year, Cathay Pacific eliminated two types of awards and brought its Miles Plus Cash option online allowing customers to pay for any available seat using a mix of Asia Miles and cash. Now, a little over 6 months later, Cathay Pacific has made a further change to its loyalty program by announcing that the ability to waitlist for a standard award is being removed with immediate effect.
Hyatt peak & off peak pricing will not affect free night awards
Yesterday was the day when we finally had official confirmation that the World of Hyatt would, after numerous postponements, finally introduce peak and off-peak season pricing from Tuesday, 26 October 2021 at 10:00 am CT for stays made on or after 1 March 2022. While clearly devaluation, this isn't as bad as it could have been, and one of the silver linings around the dark cloud of seasonal spring is that Hyatt's free night awards will not be affected by what's on the way.
Marriott has opened the Reykjavik EDITION
At the time of writing, there are just 11 EDITION properties around the world but Marriott has been promising us plenty more, and true to its word, it has now opened the doors to its newest EDITION property Reykjavik, Iceland.
Is Hyatt about to add a new Hyatt Regency in London?
A normally very reliable source has reported that an IHG property in the center of the City of London which has remained closed since the pandemic first brought life to a screeching halt, will reopen early next year. It won't, however, be reopening under its old name. Instead, it will reopen as a new Hyatt Regency.
Uh-Oh! An outlier? An overreaction? Or a sign of things to come?
COVID-19 infection rates in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, are now rising and in the UK's case, reaching levels not seen since January. And while the death rates in these countries aren't anywhere near the highs of last year (because the vaccines, for the most part, are doing their job), this isn't stopping some countries getting spooked at the way some infection rates are trending.
Hilton News: Early upgrade confirmations & digital key sharing on the way
Hilton is introducing a couple of new measures which should make the travel lives of guests and Hilton Honors elite members a little easier. Coming soon, Hilton Honors elites will get advance notice when their space-available upgrade has been cleared by a property and Hilton guests who have downloaded the Hilton app and are a room's primary occupant will be able to share their digital key with those with whom they're traveling.
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