(Update: Merger Completed) Alaska / Hawaiian merger – what’s next?
Update 9/18/24: Today, Alaska announced that its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines has been completed. As of today, Alaska Lounge members have lounge access when flying Hawaiian.
Alaska says that miles will be able to be transferred...
Bloc Hotel London Gatwick Airport: Bottom Line Review
In late July, my wife and I flew to England to see my family and friends before continuing on to the Maldives for our 20th anniversary. Our flight to the Maldives (via Doha) was...
The Points Parade marches on thanks to a new round of targeted 250K offers
We've seen incredible offers on American Express cards over the past four years, but one of the hottest for those eligible has been a big targeted American Express Business Platinum card offer. We've recently...
The Best Points-Bookable Hotels in the World (2024)
The recent Citi transfer bonus to Leading Hotels of the World led me to analyze Travel & Leisure's latest list of the best hotels in the world (100 Best Hotels for 2024). My quest was...
LoungeReview: Excellent alternative to LoungeBuddy
When flying through an unfamiliar airport, it can be surprisingly difficult to know which lounges are available. Even more difficult is figuring out which lounges you can get into due to flying business/first class;...
Guide to increasing credit card spend
There are many reasons that you may want to increase credit card spend. You may need to meet spend requirements on new credit cards in order to earn big welcome offers. Or, perhaps you...
Is the Maldives really overrated? The myth of one-size-fits-all (Saturday Selection)
We're going to do something slightly different for this week's Saturday Selection. I've been on vacation for the last ten days or so and have been blessedly disciplined about keeping away from my points...
Family globe trotting, the best uses of points (and how to find them), United’s...
Whether you're looking for ways to meet spend for that next big bonus or you're looking for inspiration or tools to help you use the points you've amassed, we've got you covered this week...
My family’s 28,000 mile trip around the world for summer vacation
When my kids went back to school last week, I'm not sure what they said when their teachers asked about what they did for summer vacation. The answer is that we went to 10...
Which award search tool is best?
It's possible to fly economy class to Hawaii for 10,000 miles, or fly business class to Europe for as few as 34,000 miles, or fly business class to South Africa for 75,000 miles. It's easy...
Hilton Tokyo Bay: Bottom Line Review
The Hilton Tokyo Bay is a great place to stay if you want to visit Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea. I would not recommend this as a base from which to explore Tokyo because of...
United giving award flight discounts to Premier members & cardholders – even on partners
For a long time, United has offered improved award availability and discounted award flights for those who have Premier elite status and/or a United credit card. Historically, that increased availability and improved award pricing...
Grand Hyatt Tokyo: Bottom Line Review
The Grand Hyatt Tokyo is a very large property that provided a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. The location isn't my favorite in Tokyo, but if you can use...
United vs. Air Canada: Which is the better Chase transfer partner?
When Chase first added Air Canada Aeroplan as an Ultimate Rewards transfer partner in 2021, I compared United Airlines and Air Canada award prices on a number of routes to see which would be...
