A little bit of rain throws a monkey wrench in air travel in and out of Dallas. DFW actually stands for doesn‘t function wet. However it‘s Dallas‘ Love Field that seems to be taking the brunt of today‘s storms so far, at least if flooding in the A parking garage is any indication. Continue reading Flooding in Dallas is So Bad Cars at the Airport are Submerged in Water...

It‘s usually risky to fly one itinerary on separate tickets. That‘s because when you‘re on one ticket, if you face a flight delay or cancellation the airline responsible for the irregularity has to get you to your final destination. But if you‘re on separate tickets they usually don‘t have to do anything more than get you as far as the end of the ticket you‘re flying on. Fortunately -- in a world where little

Chase and Marriott are out with their new big offer of 100,000 points which followed the rebranding of the Marriott program as Bonvoy and new name for the card. It‘s the new card that launched last year with better perks and more points, and for a short time they announced they‘d be awarding the most points ever to new cardmembers approved for the card. The initial bonus is 100,000 points after 5000 spend on purchases in the first 3 m

Nothing renews an airline like new planes but absent a giant plane order there always seems to be the thought that the airline can be refreshed by painting planes. It‘s a years-long process and costly to undertake. Ultimately though what United is unveiling is just an evolution. So for me at least it doesn‘t induce a strong reaction at all, which is good compared to so many other attempts. But that leads me to wonder why bother at al

A Brookings Institution piece argues that the ‘poor subsidize wealthier consumers‘ in financial transactions from checking accounts to credit card rewards. I do not think this is quite right, but let me first lay out the argument. Continue reading Are the Poor Subsidizing Your Credit Card Rewards?...

Last Thursday Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly express confidence in the Boeing 737 MAX and said they had no plans to alter their order for new jets. Southwest has more 737 MAX aircraft on order than any other airline. At least that‘s how his remarks were broadly reported, when he actually hedged a bit more. Now we learn that members of their team have been off in Europe evaluating the Airbus A220. Continue reading Southwest Looking at Ne

Chase is now the exclusive issuer of the primary personal Marriott card. Their Marriott Bonvoy BoundlessTM Credit Card has an offer through May 2 only to earn 100,000 Bonus Points after spending 5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. American Express still issues the premium consumer card, and issues the chain‘s small business card, the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card. The limited time offer - 100,0

The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card has a biggest-evern offer for a card with the loyalty program for Intercontinental, Kimpton, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. There are new benefits for this product launched last summer, even legacy IHG Rewards Club credit card customers can apply, and anecdotally IHG cards have been relatively easier to get approved for than some other Chase rewards cards. This best-ever offer ends May 1. Continue reading F

A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites the latest news and tips. Continue reading Trick to Save Miles When Redeeming Delta Miles and Earning Miles for Investing...

Saturday afternoon Cathay Pacific flight CX360 from Hong Kong to Shanghai took off just in advance of the worst of the region‘s storms. Lightning was filmed from inside the cabin striking one of the aircraft‘s wings. It also damaged the plane‘s nose. Reportedly the plane "was rattled by turbulence for a solid 15 minutes" flying through the storm. Continue reading Watch Lightning Strike from Inside the Cabin While Passengers En

Chase‘s points normally transfer one-to-one to their airline and hotel partners. However Chase is offering a 30% bonus on transfers to British Airways through June 16. This is significant because I believe it is the first time Chase has run a bonus on transfers to one of its loyalty program partners. Continue reading Chase Introduces its First Points-Transfer Bonus as Competition Heats Up...

Cathay Pacific is now cracking down on flight attendants stealing from their aircraft and the list of items they‘re interested in - from pens to ice cream - is surprising. Several flight attendants have been ‘caught red handed‘ in searches of employees on arrival in Hong Kong. Continue reading Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants are Being Searched to Prevent Theft of Ice Cream and Pens...

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card was the ‘it‘ card several years ago and it remains just as good. It had a generous initial bonus, earned double points on travel and dining, came with primary collision coverage when you rent cards, and points transfer to a variety of airline and hotel points programs. So why the need to increase the bonus to 60,000 points after 4000 spend in the first 3 months of cardmembership? Continue reading Why

A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites the latest news and tips. Continue reading You‘re Pronouncing Marriott Wrong and American to Improve Domestic First Class Seats...

When your miles are expiring there are plenty of ways to extend them, depending on the program. In general programs let you extend your miles by earning miles in an account or by redeeming miles. I frequently use Magazines for Miles to keep family member accounts alive without spending any money. I had forgotten there‘s a newspaper redemption option, too. And there are some options I‘m finding useful on their own merits, not just to

If you want to earn the most points for your spending -- beyond just earning a big signup bonus -- you need to pay attention to what you spend the most money on and which cards give you the best juice for that specific spending. If you drive a ton you want a card that maximizes gas spend. If you eat out a lot, there are cards that bonus restaurant spend. Since I travel a lot it‘s air, hotel, and dining. Some cards are great for multiple

In November American Airlines revamped their first class meal lineup and included a cheeseburger option at lunch. My initial reaction was that it looked very similar to United‘s cheeseburger, right down to the Sir Kensington condiments, however it appeared to have a proper bun rather than United‘s pretzel bun. On Tuesday I finally got to try the cheeseburger. Continue reading American Airlines First Class Cheeseburger Gets a C+...

A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites the latest news and tips. Continue reading The World‘s Most Secretive 737 and a Neat Trick for Old Hotel Key Cards...

How about a little real talk about staying comfortable on a long flight, when your class of service isn‘t going to do it for you? Continue reading 13 Ways to Make Flying Economy More Enjoyable...

Marriott‘s Autograph Collection Waterline Marina Resort has followed the lead of the JW Marrriott Guanacaste and declared that they do not upgrade Platinums. And they‘ve brashly done so at Marriott.com: Continue reading Marriott Resort Says They Don‘t Upgrade Elites Due to Small Size of Hotel...

Chase even suggests that getting a small business card is one of the things you should do as you start your business, that it‘s often the first resource many business owners look to as they start to grow. A small business card allow yous to separate business from personal expenses and builds the credit history and identity of your business. Continue reading 12 Reasons to Get the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card...

A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites the latest news and tips. Continue reading How Credit Will Be Approved in the Future and Which Airlines are the Largest in the World?...

There‘s a real problem that programs are facing, how to deliver award seats in a world where planes are full and airlines aren‘t growing faster than the economy? If there aren‘t unsold seats on desirable flights the model breaks down. The answer though isn‘t to move towards low value redemptions where a mile is worth a penny. That‘s giving up. Fortunately it‘s not really an either-or proposition. In fact Un

Despite marketing claims by the big chains, you can often get a better price on a hotel booking through third party websites. That‘s even more the case with independent hotels. What I‘ve found is that the more expensive the hotel the greater likelihood you can find a deal through a small online travel agency website. You‘ll usually give up hotel loyalty points and elite status credit, but you may receive other perks. At a m