Can I Use Miles to Upgrade an Award Ticket on United?

TPG reader Dave tweeted me to ask: @thepointsguy–”Is it possible to use miles on United to upgrade to first class for a ticket that was booked using miles?” I often get asked this question in one form or another. With pretty much all airlines, if you redeem miles for an award ticket in economy, you...



from The Points Guy http://thepointsguy.com/2015/04/can-i-use-miles-to-upgrade-an-award-ticket-on-united/

Why Does Everyone Keep Trying to Smuggle Gold into Bangladesh?

A Kuwait Airways cabin crew member was arrested on Saturday in Dhaka, Bangladesh for smuggling gold in his body: Eighty two grams of gold jewellery and four gold bars weighing 10 Tola each were recovered from him. (HT: Reid F.) That’s worth about $32,300 at 1.00 BDT to 0.0129175 USD. Perhaps this is money that could have funded the down payment for a new business class seat onboard one of the airline’s Boeing 777s. What’s strange is that there’s a trend of trying to smuggle gold into Bangladesh. And people keep getting caught trying to do it. Just a month ago Bangladesh seized $1.4 million worth of gold from a North Korean diplomat. Moinul told Reuters that the diplomat was passing through the green channel from Dhaka’s international airport – Hazrat Shahjalal International airport –…

The post Why Does Everyone Keep Trying to Smuggle Gold into Bangladesh? appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/04/05/why-does-everyone-keep-trying-to-smuggle-gold-into-bangladesh/

How to piss off someone from China

“Do you really eat dogs?"



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/life/piss-off-someone-china/

A Lisbon welcome (and an update on the Word Master job)

Kicking off my Lisbon experience with a story about food.

The post A Lisbon welcome (and an update on the Word Master job) appeared first on Legal Nomads.

from Legal Nomads http://www.legalnomads.com/2015/04/welcome-to-lisbon.html

Reader Success Story: ¡Muy Barato! Hyatt All-Inclusive in Cancun

Over the years, 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 that […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2015/04/reader-success-story-muy-barato-hyatt-all-inclusive-in-cancun.html

Approaching Mos Eisley Spaceport on Tatooine

Yoga with Adriene A few months ago you guys gave me some suggestions for yoga shows on YouTube. Anyway, here’s one of my favorites – Yoga with Adriene. I like her… she’s really chill and doesn’t take it too seriously. She also has a fun 30-days-of-Yoga program that I recommend. Also, she’s from my old […]



from Stuck in Customs http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2015/04/05/approaching-mos-eisley-spaceport-on-tatooine/

Bus companies struggle with service slips and growing pains

from Elliott http://elliott.org/the-navigator/bus-companies-try-to-up-their-service-game/

1 Caver Dead, 2 Rescued In Morocco

Surviving Spanish adventurers are hospitalized after falling "several hundred meters" in an unforgiving environment.



from Travel Feedly http://www.ibtimes.com/missing-spanish-cavers-found-bottom-cliff-morocco-one-dead-two-airlifted-hospital-1869860

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XL

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

• 5 Secrets of a Successful Ted Talk — Hint: Being a famous person has little to do with giving a popular talk


• Hacking Weight Loss — What Jeff learned from losing 30 pounds


• 10 Places to Go Before They’re Gone -- Don’t miss Madagascar! I once stopped off in every domestic airport on the island/li>


• Changing Perceptions of Time While Dying (Video) -- A Stanford neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with lung cancer in his mid-30s reflects on the experience


• The Most Aspirational Miles Award -- Use your Virgin miles (a lot of them…) to book travel on Richard Branson’s Necker Island


• Gifts for Highly Productive People -- My choice would be: more iPhone cables. I leave them everywhere!

from The Art of Non-Conformity http://chrisguillebeau.com/6-discoveries-from-near-and-far-volume-xl/

One Simple Upgrade Trick I Just Learned

Mainstream articles on “how to upgrade to first class” are almost uniformly: Dead wrong Laughable At their best they usually offer some variant of: Dress nicely Be a member of the airline’s loyalty program They never explain, of everyone ‘dressed nicely’ (as though this will matter for folks who aren’t airline empoloyees) and who are members of the program, who will get the upgrade if there are seats available and how to increase your chances it’s you. No, just ask isn’t sufficient (although up until last weekend it was necessary to submit a request for a complimentary upgrade on American — so I guess asking was sort of part of it there). Via Miles Remaining comes an article pushing a totally different trick. Naturally it begins with all of the usual claptrap about dressing nicely,…

The post One Simple Upgrade Trick I Just Learned appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/04/04/one-simple-upgrade-trick-i-just-learned/

Born and raised in Mexico

Oh yes, there’s science behind tortillas:



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/life/23-signs-born-raised-mexico/

If You Want Real Consumer Protection for Frequent Flyer Programs, Here’s the One Change We Need.

I wrote earlier in the week about the shocking change American AAdvantage made to its terms and conditions: the program specifically said they have no “duty of good faith and fair dealing” with members. The scary fact is that no U.S. airline frequent flyer program does. This is a specific legal term of art, and flows from the Supreme Court’s decision in Northwest vs. Ginsberg last year. We Have Almost No Right to Sue Frequent Flyer Programs Rabbi Ginsberg was kicked out of the Northwest Worldperks for making too many complaints, he gamed the program for compensation in the extreme, and then sued for having his perks taken from him. This was the worst possible litigant to put in front of the Supreme Court with consumer protection on the line — but not for the…

The post If You Want Real Consumer Protection for Frequent Flyer Programs, Here’s the One Change We Need. appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/04/04/if-you-want-real-consumer-protection-for-frequent-flyer-programs-heres-the-one-change-we-need/

Weekly Review: April 4, 2015

Hello from Hong Kong!

I'm here for a long layover on my way to the Maldives, which sure is a logistically challenging place to visit. On the plus side, I had a lovely shower in one of the Cabanas in Cathay Pacific's The Wing Lounge, and also finally had the chance to check out the new Qantas Lounge.

The post Weekly Review: April 4, 2015 appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/04/04/weekly-review-april-4-2015/

Review: Lounge, Flight and Boat from Male to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa Maldives

Here I review the Male airport’s domestic lounge and Maldivian’s Male – Kooddoo flight to get to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa Maldives. Previous installments: Introduction, overview, and costs Star Alliance first class and business class lounges, LAX Etihad First Class, Los Angles – Abu Dhabi.. the 3rd Longest Flight in the World! Premier Inn, Abu Dhabi International Airport Etihad’s new business class lounge, Abu Dhabi Etihad Business Class, Abu Dhabi – Male When you get off of your flight to Male, you walk out on the tarmac over to the arrivals building, which is more a shack than anything else. You walk inside and queue for immigration. There’s a premium line on the far left, though it may not be especially fast. On this visit there were two lines working, although one was far faster…

The post Review: Lounge, Flight and Boat from Male to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa Maldives appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/04/04/review-lounge-flight-and-boat-from-male-to-the-park-hyatt-hadahaa-maldives/

"Sea gypsies" worlds happiest people

The nomadic Bajau people spend their entire lives working and playing in the ocean.



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/amazing-photos-show-borneos-sea-gypsies-happiest-people-planet/