Aug 27 2016

Pex+ is a new site coming out of Beta that allows you to search for award space across a number of different airlines and data sources all at once, quickly. It offers hotel searches (points and revenue prices, so you can compare). And it even offers to email you when award prices drop (saver space opens).

It doesn’t just tell you whether saver awards are available — it shows you the mileage cost of each award so you can compare up front and it includes taxes and fuel surcharges.

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Aug 27 2016

Airfares this year have been truly unreal. The deals are amazing, with prices I haven’t seen in at least a dozen years. These aren’t mistake fares, these are fares that pop up regularly. But they don’t last long, so it’s important to pay attention.

Here are 4 fantastic fares available right now:

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Aug 27 2016

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.

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Aug 26 2016

Santa Monica is a lovely city, home to Shutters on the Beach and Casa Del Mar and of course the famous Santa Monica Pier. And Three’s Company.

Santa Monica Municipal Airport (“SMO”) is a general aviation airport six miles north of LAX. It was home to the Douglas Aircraft Company, and their DC-1 through DC-7 aircraft were built there. The airport was where the first plane to circumnavigate the world took off and landed in 1924. During World War II it was disguised as a fake town to throw off enemies who might wish to bomb it.

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Aug 26 2016

American’s small business ‘double dip program’ has its own credit card. American Airlines actually has a co-brand card issued by American Express.

I use the program and have redeemed points to gift Gold elite status in AAdvantage and Admirals Club memberships, and I usually keep a stash of (paper) upgrade certificates on hand.

I mentioned the program’s credit card several years ago. I don’t recall it ever having a signup bonus. But it does now.

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Aug 26 2016

President Obama carries the JP Morgan Select Card.

You cannot apply directly for this card any longer. When it was available it was basically a Chase Sapphire Preferred card without double miles on dining, or a signup bonus. The card continued to be available to Palladium card cardholders.

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Aug 26 2016

The Chicago Tribune asked me how to deal with someone invading your space on a plane. They wanted to know, “Should you say something to the person or to the flight attendant?”

I thought this was actually a hard question. With planes generally full there aren’t very many options, and I don’t think I had a silver bullet solution to offer so I’d love thoughts on the best way to handle it when the passenger next to you is encroaching your space?

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Aug 26 2016

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.

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Aug 25 2016

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.

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Aug 25 2016

Bill payment service Plastiq lets you pay people by check and they charge your credit card. You earn miles, and if you use you a BankDirect checking account then it’s a good way to also earn American Airlines miles ‘on the float’ because the money stays in your checking account longer.

Plastiq has a promotion where instead of their normal 2.5% fee for processing payments, they’ll charge you just 1.75% for rent or mortgage payments.

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