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From a key tip on the Iberia business class cheap seats to the end of a popular status match, the correction pronunciation of your airline’s name, and more, here are this weekend’s reads from around the ‘net.
Oops: I’ve Been Mispronouncing “ITA Airways”
I have admittedly been making the same mistake as Ben the entire time. This post from One Mile at a Time also covers the correct pronunciation of EVA Airways, which I knew thanks to having flown them once about a decade ago. Who knew that pronouncing airline names could be so tough?
A New Quirk for Finding & Booking Iberia Business Class from 34K Points
Thrifty Traveler covers the fact that Iberia is now apparently only releasing one seat per flight to American Airlines, which means that searching for Iberia availability via AA.com may not be your best bet if you’d ultimately be looking to book for 34,000 Avios during off-peak season. Instead, you’ll need to search via British Airways or Iberia to get the full picture of availability (or use a tool like Point.me – the Bilt version should work for this.
Caesars to MGM is dead
Miles Talk covers the fact that you can no longer match from Caesars Diamond to MGM Gold. Personally, I never really considered doing that match since I had been matching MGM back and forth with Hyatt for years, though my wife fell off that bandwagon at some point and in hindsight I wish we had matched her over to MGM Gold via Caesars while it was possible.
Google Now Lets Amex Cardholders Use Virtual Card Numbers
If you’re shopping at a site that might be shady, a virtual card number could potentially be an extra layer of protection that could hopefully save you from needing to replace your physical credit card. Danny the Deal Guru reports at Miles to Memories on the new Google Chrome capability to create virtual card numbers for your Amex accounts so that you can essentially create disposable temporary card numbers.
Virgin Atlantic to join SkyTeam on March 2 — here’s what this could mean for existing elites
Virgin Atlantic has confirmed that they will officially join SkyTeam on March 2, 2023. This post from The Points Guy covers the key details — and key fears — that accompany this announcement. Personally, I don’t find much of anything exciting about this move. What makes me a fan of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is its unique partnerships and a few incredible sweet spots. TPG mentions ANA business class to Japan, though I didn’t quite understand that choice since you could book that for fewer miles direct with ANA. The true sweet spot is ANA first class since Virgin Atlantic charges just 55K each way to/from the West Coast and 60K to/from the East Coast for ANA first class to/from Japan. This announcement made me all the happier that we locked in that redemption while we could, because I wouldn’t be surprised to see Virgin Atlantic dump some of its partnerships, particularly with Star Alliance carriers.
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“TPG mentions ANA business class to Japan, though I didn’t quite understand that choice since you could book that for fewer miles direct with ANA.”
That is true, if you are booking a roundtrip ticket, which requires availability in both direction. Since Virgin does not require a roundtrip booking, it can be a better choice, especially given ANA’s often spotty award availability. Virgin also has instant points transfers, frequent transfer bonuses, and their miles don’t expire if you end up cancelling your ticket.
All great points. The TPG post specifically calls out the fact that perhaps their “favorite sweet spot” is paying “just 90,000 miles round trip” for business class from the west coast to Japan. Had it made any of your points, it would make more sense.