United will let you book roundtrip economy saver awards to Hawaii today for just 36,000 miles — 20% off the usual price of 45,000 miles. MileagePlus describes it as their way “of saying “mahalo” for our 70 years of service in Hawaii.”
But here’s what you should do instead.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
I was flying Hong Kong – Boston after arriving from Singapore and spending some time in The Pier first class lounge.
We boarded on time and one other passenger came onboard with me at the front of the queue. He was the other first class passenger for the evening, and as we boarded he apologized to me.
American Airlines has re-opened its terminal 4 Admirals Club. The Admirals Club is where the smaller first class lounge used to be, and the old larger Flagship Lounge has been renovated to become the new Flagship Lounge.
LAX will also feature Flagship Dining for American’s same day international and New York JFK first class passengers only, a sit down restaurant-style concept that’s a hit in both New York and Miami so far.
Briggs & Riley makes excellent luggage, their bags are usually pretty expensive though, but Amazon right now has three different sizes of the Torq hardside bags for 44% or 45% off. Each is available in multiple colors at the price. This won’t last.
The Pier offers one of the best first lounges in the world. For instance I’d rank it behind Lufthansa’s first class terminal, largely on par with the Qantas first class lounge in Sydney.
Ultimately the restaurant is fantastic. The private rooms (with curtains) are great, I just wish the temperatures there were more adjustable. The shower rooms are wonderful. And there’s modest spa service. That combines to make an incredible lounge.
After visiting the new Cathay Pacific lounge in Singapore’s brand spanking new terminal 4 it was off to Hong Kong.
Cathay offers 8 flights a day non-stop to Hong Kong from Singapore and they also fly daily to Bangkok. I was on their third flight of the day, the 8 a.m. departure on a Boeing 777-300ER. Sadly though I was on a first class award the aircraft had business as its top cabin. Still, it’s lie flat direct aisle access reverse herringbone business class, for a flight blocked at 3 hours 55 minutes.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Singapore Airlines is introducing fantastic new products for their Airbus A380s.
They have 5 new planes replacing 5 that are being returned to their lessor, and those are being delivered over the next year. They’ll be introduced into service with the new first suites and new business class that offers double beds for passengers traveling together.
Eleven people were injured on Star Alliance member EVA Air’s flight BR56 from Taipei to Chicago on Wednesday when about an hour and 20 minutes into flight severe turbulence struck over Japan.
Among the crew reportedly two flight attendants sprained their ankles, other crewmembers sought passengers qualified to provide medical assistance in response to the incident.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
