Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) ditches Hyatt for Hilton
This morning, Hilton and Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) announced their new "exclusive strategic partnership." The word "exclusive" within the announcement was clearly intentional. We reached out to our Hyatt contact who...
About that Necker Island piss-poor review…
In Tim's recent Saturday Selection post where he announced that Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island is once again bookable with Virgin Atlantic points, he linked to a review of the island that concluded that it's...
Best uses of Air Canada Aeroplan points (ways to maximize that 75%-150% Bilt transfer...
Air Canada Aeroplan can be an incredibly powerful award program that is particularly appealing to people who enjoy the thrill of the hunt in terms of piecing together great awards. Aeroplan isn't a one-size-fits-all...
Delta SkyMiles Complete Guide [2024 Edition]
This post has been updated to reflect many changes to the SkyMiles program that are in effect as of January 2024.
Delta SkyMiles Overview
While Delta is often lauded for their flight performance and customer service,...
Flying Blue Multi-Stopover Experiment
In the post "Flying Blue Free Stopover Awards: The Rules," I documented the rules of Air France / KLM's free stopovers... at least to the extent that I could figure out from meager online...
Sampling Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) thanks to Citi ThankYou Rewards
Last year Citi ThankYou Rewards added Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) as a transfer partner. Points transfer 5 to 1 from Citi to LHW. And since LHW points are usually worth around 8...
What I learned watching Greg book Flying Blue awards on the Air France website
One thing I've learned about watching the fellas search for awards is that it is almost never as simple as just going to an airline's website and searching for a flight. Although having said...
(EXPIRED) 20% off Virgin Atlantic award prices (but pay full taxes)
Virgin Atlantic is currently offering 20% off of award tickets for travel on Virgin Atlantic, almost systemwide through the end of schedule (Update: Four airports are excluded and Mark in the comments claims that...
How we traveled to Cape Town and back
In my recent Qatar QSuites review, I mentioned that my wife and I flew QSuites on our way to Cape Town, South Africa. But I didn't then report how we got back or where...
American Airlines AAdvantage Complete Guide
American Airlines AAdvantage Overview
American Airlines AAdvantage is the loyalty program for American Airlines. Given American's extensive reach within the United Sates and abroad, they are the loyalty program of choice for many folks (including...
Flying Blue Free Stopover Awards: The Rules
In December 2022, Air France / KLM Flying Blue added free stopovers to Air France and KLM award tickets. Then, in July 2023, they added free stopovers to partner awards. This is potentially amazing....
(Update: Most tickets cancelled) Business class to Europe from 13,500 miles one way!
Update 12/21/23: Well, sometimes when it seems too good to be true, it is. Flying Blue has been cancelling numerous award tickets that were purchased during this unadvertised sale. The airline is blaming the...
Iberostar Resorts bookable with IHG points, but pricing is Ibero-nah
About a year ago IHG announced that they'd bought Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, a chain of all-inclusive hotels with properties in Mexico, Spain, Morocco, Dominican Republic, Brazil and more.
This was an exciting development and we've...
Cellars-Hohenort Hotel Cape Town South Africa: Now Greg’s favorite points-bookable hotel
I’ve found my happy place. The Cellars-Hohenort Hotel has just the right combination of outstanding yet down-to-earth service, luxurious rooms, excellent food, and strikingly beautiful grounds. Best of all, this Cape Town paradise can...
