It’s been a wild week as the threat of Coronavirus has expanded, causing the need for more travel cancellations. Earlier in the week I cancelled a trip to Italy, and more recently a trip to Washington DC. I thought I’d share my experiences here in case they mirror situations you might be facing, and to […]
Avoiding Fees When Cancelling Award Travel Due to Coronavirus
We’ve been seeing a lot of questions in our Slack community and elsewhere about Coronavirus fee waivers when cancelling upcoming travel. A couple weeks ago it was more of a “Should I go?” decision. Now a lot of us are thinking, “Should I reschedule or cancel altogether?” And either way, “How can I avoid fees?” […]
What Happens When an AirPod Gets Lost in an Airplane Seat?
AirPod Lost in Airplane Seat: Quick Tips Don’t adjust your seat. If the AirPod (or any other electrical device) is in an unfortunate position, moving the seat could snap the device. If you’re having trouble locating the AirPod visually, try disabling Automatic Ear Detection under Bluetooth settings and playing music through it. Or try the […]
Airline Portal Holiday Bonuses
A new wave of airline portal holiday bonuses have appeared. United looks to be the most compelling of the bunch, but they can all be worth doing in the right situation. Here’s a summary: United Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles $750 2,500 $1,500 5,000 American $150 500 $600 1,500 $1,200 3,500 Alaska $150 300 […]
Qantas Transfer Bonuses [Targeted]
Update (Nov 1, 2019): I’m seeing a 20% transfer bonus from Amex Membership Rewards. Back in June they were running a similar promo with a 20% from Amex + a 20% bonus from Qantas for an effective 44% bonus: Dans Deals wrote that this 44% bonus may have stopped in late June. However, comments indicate […]
My Experience Stacking CNB Rewards with the $100 Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit
In this post I’ll discuss redeeming City National Bank Rewards through their Concierge, and leveraging its $100 Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit. The upshot is that for low-priced roundtrip domestic flights in Economy, this is one of the best CNB Rewards redemptions possible. We’ve discussed City National Bank and their Crystal Visa Infinite card quite […]
The Delta/Virgin Atlantic Paradox: Business Class Awards to Europe
The Delta/Virgin Atlantic partnership is one to keep in mind any time you see low-level award availability on either airline. Last April we flew on Virgin Atlantic Upper Class using Delta SkyMiles. Next April we’re planning to fly DeltaOne using Virgin Atlantic miles. Ironically, it’s almost always better to pay with the partner’s miles rather […]
Breaking Through Peak Vacation Airfare Pricing with Partner Awards
Booking windows are just opening up for the Massachusetts school break in April 2020. And as usual, the opening salvo from carriers like Delta is a bit of a gut punch. But with a Delta partner award, I was able to find great award pricing on direct flights at perfect times. Let’s work through an […]
Using British Airways Avios for Boston-Chicago Flights on AA
I’m in the market for flights from BOS-ORD around the 4th of July break. The route is served by American, United, JetBlue, and Spirit. Plus you can always fly to Midway instead of O’Hare. So it’s a very competitive route with a lot of options. Let’s see how this one shook out… Economy/First Price Compression […]
Tips and Tricks: Booking JAL Premium Cabin Awards for a Family of Four
Have you ever arrived at an event – say a theme park – right when it opened and felt like other people had been there long before you? Disney does this at their parks. People staying at their hotels get in early. And they sell tickets to events before the park opens/after it closes, effectively […]