Chase points are one of my favorite currencies, and their transfer partner Korean Air SkyPass is one of my favorite frequent flyer programs. Chase points will only transfer to Korean through August 24. So I have to decide how many points I want to transfer before the clock strikes midnight and I turn into a pumpkin. Continue reading How Many Points Should You Transfer to Korean Before Chase Loses Them as a Partner Next Week?...

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 Secret Shopping the New Chase Sapphire Banking and Pay to Upgrade Priority Pass Lounge Access...

Southwest Airlines is apparently going to vary the price of Early Bird check-in by route instead of charging a flat 15. Some routes will go up to 25 starting August 29th, and this will be based on two things: the length of the route (so how much getting a more desirable seat is likely to matter to you) and demand for Early Bird Check-in on the route (how many people are already buying it). This isn‘t as big a deal as it seems, especially if

There is something to standing behind the fares that you offer. There‘s something to treating consumers at least on equal footing with large corporations. That‘s not how airlines usually behave and when they do they deserve admiration and respect. Today that‘s Hong Kong Airlines. Continue reading Today One Airline Deserves More Respect Than Any Other...

Rocketmiles is one booking site for the toolkit where you earn your preferred currency for your hotel bookings (and frequently a lot of them) and where you can especially earn miles for reservations you make for other people. And the new Membership Rewards partnership is especially useful. Continue reading The New Rocketmiles-Amex Partnership is a Back Door Way Into More Miles...

Inflight disturbances frequently involve alcohol. Here‘s a Love Hip Hop star being booted from a Delta flight for coming onboard glass of wine in hand last year. UK airlines want to regulate airport sales of alcohol. Presumably restrictions on when alcohol can be served in airports would limit airline lounge costs, too. Continue reading Airlines Want the UK to Crack Down on Drinking in Airports...

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 Line to Get into a Priority Pass Lounge and Corruption at Detroit‘s Airport...

I continue to worry that airlines really haven‘t learned very much - other than to pay more involuntary denied boarding compensation - from last year‘s United Airlines David Dao fiasco. Police remain adjunct airline customer service representatives for dealing with unhappy passengers. Continue reading American Airlines Passenger Taken Down By Police at Orlando Airport. He Wanted to Make a Point About Police Brutality...

I hate non-refundable hotel rates. Even when I think my plans are firm you‘d be surprised how often something comes up and plans change. Plus I may want to stay somewhere else even if I"m going to be in the same city. Or rates will drop so I‘d rather pocket savings rather than lock myself in. Several years ago I wrote about tricks for getting out of a non-refundable hotel booking. But there‘s something I didn‘t know abo

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 Richest Frequent Flyer and New Google Hotel Discounts...

Qatar‘s old 777s don‘t have QSuites - the world‘s best business class - but offer fully flat 2-2-2 business class (which is still good especially for couples, with great food and service). Availability is especially good on flights that offer one of Qatar‘s older products. What you‘ll find right now is outstanding availability for specific months of the year on several routes. Continue reading Award Alert: 4+ Qata

The father of the White House Press Secretary flew American Airlines last night though, on American‘s Los Angeles to Nashville redeye. On arrival though passengers weren‘t allowed to enter the terminal. As a regular Delta flyer Huckabee didn‘t realize quarantine has been standard procedure for American flights whenever someone in coach bought a barbecue sandwich. Continue reading Mike Huckabee Was Quarantined in Nashville After

I visited United‘s new Polaris business class lounge in Chicago 18 months ago. At the time I thought it was the best business class lounge in the United States (and I really enjoy the outdoor deck of the Star Alliance lounge at LAX). Over the past three and a half months United has picked up the pace of new lounge openings, with Polaris lounges also now in San Francisco, Newark, and Houston. The United Polaris lounge Newark solidifies my im

Co-brand American Express cards have all been credit cards, not charge cards. Here are images of the Delta charge card and business charge card. More products are better, and these likely are ‘separate‘ cards from the existing Delta products so customers who have or have had those in the past may still be eligible for initial bonuses on these new products once they launch. Hopefully these are new cards that we‘ll see soon. Con

Just like they‘ve carved out the small business segment in a deal that lets Marriott issue cards with them as well as with Chase, they‘ve got a similar play with Amazon cards. American Express is going to be issuing Amazon small business cards and images for these new products have been leaked which tells us the cards should be on the way soon, although we don‘t yet have details of their rewards structure or acquisition offers.

While both Etihad and Jet Airways would retain stakes in the program after a deal with Blackstone it‘s not clear the relative shares each party would give up. For Etihad even a partial sale would them out of their worldwide expansion, which they‘ve retrenched from after losing their shirts in Alitalia and air berlin. For Jet Airways it would provide them desperately-needed cash. Reportedly the deal would value the program at 429 - 5

Southwest and Chase introduced a new more premium credit card product last week that‘s a nice improvement over their existing cards. I like the line from Southwest‘s chief marketing officer about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card, it has the 3 Ps... "more perks, more points, and more priority." When the card was introduced Southwest said that the record-setting launch offer for this card would only be available through

At a meeting between American Airlines employees and airline President Robert Isom last week, a sim instructor asked whether with higher fuel prices there‘s an ‘industry initiative to increase fares‘ to compensate. Isom explains that American is lagging behind on premium revenue. However he thinks that premium economy will drive higher performance, and that basic economy and segmentation will "offer our customers what they wa

No one offers a free airline ticket for answering three questions and sharing the (scam) offer with friends. Anyone offering something for free but asking you for a credit card to claim your prize is suspect. However scammers are getting good at making themselves look like the brands you know and maybe even trust. Continue reading Really Clever Fake Free Airline Ticket Scam That‘s Easy to Fall For...

American appears to have at least partially added the ability to book awards online with four more partners: Cathay Pacific, Qatar, SriLankan, and Malaysia Airlines. Continue reading American Makes 4 More Partners Available for Online Award Booking...

Chase shared with me that Ultimate Rewards would no longer partner with Korean Air SkyPass after August 24. You have through August 24 to make these transfers. Continue reading Chase Eliminating Korean Air as Transfer Partner August 25...

Ultimately I‘m going to value bonusing dining spend in points that transfer to miles more highly than 4% cash back but that‘s largely because I‘m also looking to spend my points for premium cabin international redemptions. This is a great new cash back tool for folks who spend heavily in dining and entertainment. Continue reading New: 4% Cash Back on Dining Plus 500 Reward...

Chase is now waiving the first year fee on the United Explorer Card. (After the 0 first year annual fee it is then 95.) And for a limited-time the initial bonus is 40,000 bonus miles after 2,000 spend on purchases in the first 3 months plus a 100 statement credit after first purchase. This offer explicitly ends August 15. Continue reading Last Day for United Explorer Statement Credit and Initial Bonus Offer...

American Airlines will move out of terminal 2 in March 2020 and "commence operations in our new Terminal 1 and Boarding Area B" However Alaska Airlines will not take over the Admirals Club space. The airport wants that for retail. Alaska wants to "leas[e] some of the build-back space for a potential lounge" and may be looking at a two-level club. Continue reading American Will Leave San Francisco‘s Terminal 2 and Alaska Will Build New Loun