It’s Too Dang Early for This!

The meal service standards that US Airways went to in the spring — and American adopts tomorrow — call for an ‘enhanced snack basket’ in first class on all flights from 700 to 999 miles. Fort Lauderdale – Washington National is 899 miles. So it gets an enhanced snack basket. It’s not an ‘exception market’ […]

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from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/08/31/dang-early/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dang-early

MileagePlus Explorer Card 50,000 Mile Sign-Up Bonus Last Chance

Link: United MileagePlus® Explorer Card For a while now Chase has been offering an increased sign-up bonus on their co-branded United card. They’re offering a sign-up bonus of 50,000 MileagePlus miles after spending $2,000 in the the first three months. You can also earn an additional 5,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user…

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from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/08/31/mileageplus-explorer-card-50000-mile-sign-bonus-last-chance/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mileageplus-explorer-card-50000-mile-sign-bonus-last-chance

Drone footage of surfers in SoCal

Air Reel Productions made the video "Above the Wedge," flying a drone quadcopter over California's famous surfing spot, the Wedge at Newport Beach.



from Matador NetworkMatador Network http://matadornetwork.com/sports/aerial-drone-footage-surfers-newport-beach-beautiful/

Qatar Airways 787 Business Class

After a pleasant flight in Jet Airways business class from Newark to Brussels, I was excited to fly with Qatar Airways from Brussels to Doha, which was the last portion of my 67,500 AAdvantage mile business class award between the US and the Middle East.

I've only flown Qatar Airways on one trip previously, and that was several years ago in first class, which was long before they joined oneworld. At the time I thought the product was a bit dated and wasn't really blown away by any aspect of the experience. So I was curious to see how business class on their new Dreamliner compared.

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from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/08/31/qatar-airways-787-business-class/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=qatar-airways-787-business-class

Two Rolex Watches Were Stolen From This Hotel Guest. You’ll Never Guess Where They Were Found!

News and notes from around the interweb: Simon Mall gift cards – that come with PINs and can be used to buy money orders – can now be purchased online for ~ $5 per $500 all-in. An important reminder for avoiding tourist scams: you’re not that good looking and irresistible (and expensive watches just make […]

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from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/08/31/two-rolex-watches-stolen-hotel-guest-youll-never-guess-found/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=two-rolex-watches-stolen-hotel-guest-youll-never-guess-found

How Delta Prices Award Tickets

As much as I give the program a lot of crap, there are many great uses of Delta SkyMiles, and in many ways I think SkyMiles are more valuable than several years ago, at least comparatively.

Do I find SkyMiles to be the most valuable currency? Of course not.

Would I prefer to fly first class? Absolutely.

The reality though, is that for many of the places people like to travel, SkyMiles are an effective way of getting there. And while we’ve redeemed hundreds of millions of miles for clients over the years in just about every currency out there, over a quarter of those awards have been through Delta. SkyMiles are comparatively easy to accrue, so lots of people have large balances that they struggle to use, which is a large part of why the program gets so much (well-deserved) criticism.

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from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/08/31/delta-prices-award-tickets/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=delta-prices-award-tickets

Lufthansa A380 Flights To India

In late January of this year, India lifted their bans on A380. Given what a high capacity market India is, this was welcome news for several carriers, given that there's probably not a more ideal market in the world for the aircraft.

From the beginning, Emirates, Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines were the ones considering A380 service to India.

Singapore Airlines was the first to take advantage of the new rights to fly A380s to India, and in April announced daily A380 service between Singapore and Delhi and Mumbai.

The post Lufthansa A380 Flights To India appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/08/31/lufthansa-a380-flights-india/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lufthansa-a380-flights-india

Always Enter Your Car Rental Confirmation Numbers into Autoslash for Savings – It’s Free!

Reader Brian B. offers a good reminder: Needed minivan + different city return… ended up with Budget @ [$600+] + $350 one-way fee! …I fill out Autoslash’s form. I forget about it. 10 days later (4 days before my trip) i get a response. Mid-size SUV @ $450 (instead of $950 for a minivan). Wow! […]

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from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/08/31/always-enter-car-rental-confirmation-numbers-autoslash-savings-free/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=always-enter-car-rental-confirmation-numbers-autoslash-savings-free

Combat food waste with this new app

The PareUp app will be launched in New York City first, where, according to the PareUp website, 6.5 billion pounds of food are thrown away daily.



from Matador NetworkMatador Network http://matadornetwork.com/change/combat-food-waste-new-app/

Mini City Guide: Aachen, Germany

I love big cities, and always enjoy returning to Hong Kong, New York, and Sydney—among many others. But what about those unknown gems that are off the beaten tourist path… those obscure places that are just waiting to be explored by real travelers? Our new “Mini City Guides” are here to uncover those gems, and…



from The Art of Non-Conformity http://chrisguillebeau.com/mini-city-guide-aachen-germany/

A Sneaky Test to Determine if a Hotel’s Improvements Are Real or Just for Show

Back in April I reviewed the W Austin. I led with it being a good hotel, but I had a few beefs. I’ve reviewed several hotels in the Austin area: the Hyatt Place Downtown, Westin Austin at the Domain, and Hyatt Regency (also here and here). The W is my favorite of those by far […]

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from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/08/31/sneaky-test-determine-hotels-improvements-real-just-show/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sneaky-test-determine-hotels-improvements-real-just-show

How Can I Keep Delta Medallion Status If I’m Short MQDs?

TPG reader Julie tweeted me to ask: @thepointsguy “Any ideas for someone who has enough Delta MQMs but is about $1500 short on MQDs? I want to maintain Silver Medallion Elite status and I have an Amex Platinum Delta card.” For United and Delta flyers, the elite status game got a little bit harder in […]



from The Points Guy http://thepointsguy.com/2014/08/how-can-i-keep-delta-medallion-status-if-im-short-mqds/

Iceland Raises Aviation Color Code To Red In Vicinity Of Volcano

A diminutive eruption in the Holuhraun lava field north of the Bardarbunga volcano led to the action Sunday.



from Travel Feedly http://www.ibtimes.com/bardarbunga-volcano-2014-latest-eruption-leads-iceland-again-raise-aviation-color-code-red-1674598

“I Just Need Your Paper Ticket, Please”

Yesterday I flew from Toronto to Brussels in Jet Airways business class. Despite a few hiccups, it was a pleasant flight all around, and exceeded my expectations.

From there I had a three hour layover before my connecting flight to Doha in Qatar Airways business class.

When I checked in with Jet Airways at Toronto Airport I only received a boarding pass as far as Brussels, which is what I expected given that Jet Airways and Qatar Airways don't partner.

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from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/08/31/just-need-paper-ticket-please/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=just-need-paper-ticket-please

Reader Success Story: An Ex-Pat Learns to Travel for Free

Over the past year, we’ve had many readers share their success stories with us. Folks for whom traveling domestically once a year was a luxury are now traveling the world with just a few credit card sign-up bonuses. And the best part? They are sharing their stories with us and others who benefit from knowing […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/08/reader-success-story-an-ex-pat-learns-to-travel-for-free.html