I Got My First Rewards Card…What’s Next?

This past week, FTG reader Andrew sent me an email asking what credit cards he should look at to help diversify his credit portfolio and what he should do with his current card holdings. A few months ago, Andrew received the Chase Ink Plus Business Card, United MileagePlus Explorer and The US Airways Premier World […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/12/i-got-my-first-rewards-card-whats-next.html

I Admit It: al Qaeda Was Foiled By the TSA. Plus Passengers Having Sex in Airports.

News and notes from around the interweb: Your fellow passengers are having sex in airports Up to 15,000 United or Aeroplan miles for travel between the US or Canada and Europe Apple has a new credit card with terrible rewards. A Road Warrior’s Gift Guide The bill to limit TSA security fees – intentionally increased […]

The post I Admit It: al Qaeda Was Foiled By the TSA. Plus Passengers Having Sex in Airports. appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/08/admit-al-qaeda-foiled-tsa-plus-passengers-sex-airports/

Frequent Flier: Learning to Love the Simple Pleasures of Going Coach

Donna Khalife is chief executive and a founder of Surprise Ride, which provides subscription-based arts and science projects to children.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/413e022d/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C120C0A90Cbusiness0Clearning0Eto0Elove0Ethe0Esimple0Epleasures0Eof0Egoing0Ecoach0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Hotels Let Guests Borrow Items or Leave Them

Hotels are lending items like small appliances, bicycles, cars and running gear. Some let guests leave their own items behind, for return trips.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/413e0229/sc/36/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C120C0A90Cbusiness0Chotels0Elet0Eguests0Eborrow0Eitems0Eor0Eleave0Ethem0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Hilton HHonors Amex Surpass Card 80,000 Point Sign-Up Bonus

Through February 28, 2015, the Hilton HHonors Surpass Card from American Express is offering an increased 80,000 HHonors points sign-up bonus after you spend $3,000 in purchases within your first three months of card membership. The card has a $75 annual fee, which isn't waived for the first year. This is the highest publicly available sign-up bonus I've ever seen on the card.

What makes this card so valuable is that it offers Hilton HHonors Gold status for as long as you have the card, which gets you free breakfast/lounge access (based on availability) and free internet at Hilton properties. To me those are the two most valuable hotel elite perks. So I do think it's worth having a co-branded Hilton credit card long term.

Hilton's credit card portfolio is especially unique because they have two co-branded credit card issuers -- American Express and Citi. The co-branded Hilton card I have is the Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card.

The post Hilton HHonors Amex Surpass Card 80,000 Point Sign-Up Bonus appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/08/hilton-hhonors-amex-surpass-card-80000-point-sign-bonus/

Luggage shipping startup LugLess sells to Luggage Forward

Luggage shipping startup LugLess, which Tnooz covered earlier this year, has sold to Luggage Forward, a larger player in the space. The ...



from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/luggage-shipping-startup-lugless-sells-luggage-forward/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=luggage-shipping-startup-lugless-sells-luggage-forward

Go Now: Six Reasons You Should Visit Cario ASAP

My friend and I just returned from Cairo and while I’ll be writing about our weekend trip to this great city in an upcoming post, I wanted to immediately share my reasons why I think you should plan a trip to Cairo right now, especially if seeing the Pyramids is on your bucket list. 1. […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/12/go-now-six-reasons-you-should-visit-cairo.html

Lufthansa Chief Carsten Spohr Defends Airline’s No-Frills Push

Mr. Spohr said many changes were ahead for the German airline, which has experienced a rocky year of union resistance as it cuts costs.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/413d2f5a/sc/7/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C120C0A90Cbusiness0Cinternational0Clufthansa0Echief0Ecarsten0Espohr0Edefends0Eairlines0Eno0Efrills0Epush0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

In Transit Blog: Walkabout: Uber, Banned in New Delhi and Facing Competition in New York

A weekly capsule of travel news curated by our writers and editors.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/413d2f53/sc/8/l/0Lintransit0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C120C0A80Cwalkabout0Euber0Ebanned0Ein0Enew0Edelhi0Eand0Efacing0Ecompetition0Ein0Enew0Eyork0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Best Uses Of Australian American Express Points

Think about how frustrating it is to book award tickets to Australia. Now just imagine every trip you plan involving getting to or from Australia. This probably explains why PointsPros receives so many award requests from "down under." ;)

I can appreciate the frustrations many people have with Qantas Frequent Flyer points, which seems to be the general mileage currency many Australians have. In general, non-US loyalty programs tend to be more expensive, harder to navigate, and less of a bargain (i.e. fuel surcharges).

For those with Australian-issued American Express cards that accrue Membership Rewards points, we have much greater success completing bookings. Australian Membership Rewards points transfer to nine airline partners, and while not all are great, I’m especially fond of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Virgin Australia Velocity. These programs tend to have the award seats clients need to take their trips in a premium cabin.

I’m going to briefly run through each of the Australian AMEX transfer partners with transfer ratios, links to their award charts (if available), and my general thoughts. It is worth mentioning that Australia has a few different Membership Rewards programs -- this is geared towards those in the Ascent or Ascent Premium programs. Ascent Premium members can technically transfer to Qantas Frequent Flyer, but there are likely better options, as I'll explain shortly.

The post Best Uses Of Australian American Express Points appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/08/best-uses-of-american-express-points-for-australians/

515,000 Points, All On One Page, to Travel the World in Luxury on the Cheap

I receive compensation for many links on this blog. You don’t have to use these links, but I am grateful to you if you do. American Express, Citibank, Chase, and other banks are advertising partners of this site. I do not write about all credit cards that are available — instead focusing on miles, points, […]

The post 515,000 Points, All On One Page, to Travel the World in Luxury on the Cheap appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/08/465000-points-one-page-travel-world-luxury/

Uninhabited Québec

I peer out of the lighthouse window, watching the wide, murky Saint Lawrence River easing past on its journey to the Atlantic Ocean. Thousands of sea birds squawk and shriek on the rocks below. I think about the men who spent years cooped up alone on this little island in the remote wilds of Québec, illuminating the way for the weary mariners who sailed by in the darkness of night.



from Intelligent Travel http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/08/uninhabited-quebec/

My Award Taxes And Fees Are How Much?!?!

Unlike Ben, I don’t have a “sixth sense” when it comes to pricing fuel surcharges. Nine times out of ten he can guess the taxes and fees on a given award within $15, which is a pretty cool party trick.

I do, however, have a good “general sense” of how much things should costs, particularly when dealing with an airline that doesn’t impose fuel surcharges. When you eliminate fuel surcharges, you’re mainly dealing with the government-imposed taxes, which are pretty consistent.

Most airlines have a computer that prices award tickets. The computer validates the routing against the published rules, calculates the taxes and fees from the published fare, and totals the final price for the agent.

Barring that, airlines have a rates desk, which is typically the powerhouse of the airline. This is a powerful component of the operation, and you generally find the best and brightest agents staffing the rates desk. What they say pretty much goes, and front line agents seem to be taught to treat their word as law.

And then there’s US Airways.

The post My Award Taxes And Fees Are How Much?!?! appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/08/award-taxes-fees-much/

Why guest blogging still matters

Guest blogging has had a rocky road over these last several months.

from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/guest-blogging-still-matters/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=guest-blogging-still-matters

Korean Air Flight Delayed Over Nuts

Well this story is just nuts! A Korean Air flight on Friday from New York to Seoul returned to the gate after an angry executive seated in first class wasn't pleased with how she was served her nuts.

Via Yahoo News:

"Heather Cho, 40, was in a first class seat on a flight bound from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport for Incheon, near Seoul, on Friday when she took issue with a flight attendant who handed her macadamia nuts in a bag and not on a dish, according to local media reports and an industry source.

Cho, a vice president at the airline, summoned the cabin crew chief to ask whether the flight attendant was following the in-flight service manual, said the industry official, who was briefed on the matter but declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter."

The post Korean Air Flight Delayed Over Nuts appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/08/korean-air-flight-delayed-nuts/