Redeeming British Airways Avios On Alaska Airlines

For the longest time, Alaska Airlines was the strangest airline to me. I hadn't actually flown them until 2012, when I status matched to MVP Gold after I moved from Tampa to Seattle.

When I moved to Seattle it was the start of the rainy season, and I'd often find any excuse I could to escape the depressing weather. I'm not the world's best planner, so I'd rarely take advantage of any cheap advance purchase fares, but that didn't mean I wanted to pay for expensive last minute tickets either. Alaska is relatively good about releasing award space even close to departure, which made weekend jaunts possible.

While British Airways is a member of the oneworld alliance, they do separately partner with Alaska Airlines, and their distanced based award chart leads to some especially lucrative award redemptions. The unfortunate part is that British Airways prices first class redemptions on Alaska at the first class award price, which is three times the cost of an equivalent economy award.

The post Redeeming British Airways Avios On Alaska Airlines appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/03/redeeming-avios-alaska-airlines/

Marriott fined $600,000 for blocking guests' Wi-Fi

Think your hotel is deliberately blocking your personal Wi-Fi networks so you'll buy theirs?

from CNN.com - Travel http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/travel/marriott-fcc-wi-fi-fine/index.html

A part of NYC that you have never seen

Anthony Bourdain discovers the coolest area of NYC. Tune in to Parts Unknown Sunday 9pm EST.

from CNN.com - Travel http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/living/2014/10/02/here-and-there-anthony-bourdain-bronx-ts-orig.cnn.html

In Transit Blog: A New Culture-Focused Tour of Haiti

G Adventures, a small-group travel company, is offering a 10-day trip to Haiti with an emphasis on art and culture.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/3f1845ee/sc/10/l/0Lintransit0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C10A0C0A30Ca0Enew0Eculture0Efocused0Etour0Eof0Ehaiti0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Are Airlines Becoming Less Dependent On — and Even Giving the Finger to – Their Bank Partners?

When economic times were tough for the airlines, really from 2001 through 2011-2012 or thereabouts, the airlines relied on the banks and the sale of miles to keep them going. There’s long been speculation about the spinoff of frequent flyer programs like United MileagePlus (which had long ago been formed as a separate entity, UAL […]

The post Are Airlines Becoming Less Dependent On — and Even Giving the Finger to – Their Bank Partners? appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/10/03/airlines-becoming-less-dependent-even-giving-finger-bank-partners/

12 signs your girlfriend is Mexican

You're constantly pressured to join the Telenovela fandom. There is a cancer in Mexican society and it is called Telenovela.



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/nights/12-signs-girlfriend-mexican/

Uluru National Park, Australia

from Everything Everywhere Travel Blog http://everything-everywhere.com/2014/10/02/uluru-national-park-australia-2/

Introduction: Mileage Running To Hong Kong

Last October, American Airlines announced a new nonstop daily flight between Dallas and Hong Kong, which launched this June. This route was incredibly exciting to me on many levels:

-- Hong Kong is possibly my favorite city in the world

-- It’s operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, which features American’s new first and business class products, making it the only route to Asia where that’s the case

-- I love being an Executive Platinum with American since I get eight systemwide upgrades just for achieving the status, and there’s no better use of those than American’s longest route

The post Introduction: Mileage Running To Hong Kong appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/03/introduction-mileage-running-hong-kong/

8 Third World travel experiences

Suddenly the immense wealth of the First World is blatantly apparent everywhere you look, and you remember that everyone you know lives like a king without realizing it.



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/8-things-first-worlder-can-expect-trip-third-world-country/

Contest Roundup: Adventure Treks, Mexico City, Canada, France

Check out the week in travel contests and sweepstakes for your chance to win a trip to Mexico, an adventure trip to either Costa Rica, Machu Picchu, Mont Blanc or Thailand, a cruise through Canada, a chance to see Oprah in Miami or a gastronomic vacation to France. Win a Trip to Mexico City from […]



from The Points Guy http://thepointsguy.com/2014/10/contest-roundup-adventure-treks-mexico-city-canada-france/

Cultured Traveler: In Venice, Navigating Like a Native

What does it take to be a gondolier?

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/3f170e91/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C10A0C0A50Ctravel0Cin0Evenice0Enavigating0Elike0Ea0Enative0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Easy IHG Rewards Club Free Nights Via Best Rate Guarantee: No Must Claim More Than 24 Hours Out

Last month I wrote a guide to getting free one-night stays at IHG Rewards Club properrties. No points required. IHG Rewards Club (the program for Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and related brands) will give you the first night of your stay for free if you make a successful best rate guarantee claim. If you […]

The post Easy IHG Rewards Club Free Nights Via Best Rate Guarantee: No Must Claim More Than 24 Hours Out appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/10/03/easy-ihg-rewards-club-free-nights-via-best-rate-guarantee-must-claim-24-hours/

Malaysia Airlines Offers Travel Agents Rolex Watches

There's no doubt Malaysia Airlines has had a terrible year, and I feel horribly for all of their employees (and of course the families of those on MH370 and MH17). Malaysia Airlines wasn't doing well financially even prior to these tragedies, and things have only gotten worse since then.

They're about to lay off thousands of employees, and even so, it's still uncertain how they'll be able to survive.

Malaysia Airlines has been running quite a few campaigns to improve their image and get passengers flying with them again. For example, about a month ago they ran a "Bucket List" contest, which ended up backfiring a bit.

But it seems that Malaysia Airlines isn't just trying to lure customers, but also travel agents. Via WatchReport:

The post Malaysia Airlines Offers Travel Agents Rolex Watches appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/03/malaysia-airlines-offers-travel-agents-rolex-watches/

Best U.S. towns for fall colors

These are our favorite 10 towns for fall foliage from Arizona to Vermont. Can you guess which town is #1?

from CNN.com - Travel http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/travel/best-towns-fall-colors/index.html

The slowly evolving Airbnb – is it a distribution or hospitality company?

In the latter half of 2013, Airbnb began making more direct comparisons between itself and the hotel industry. Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder and ...



from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/airbnb-distribution-or-hospitality/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=airbnb-distribution-hospitality-company