Hyatt Gold Passport is adjusting the hotels that are in their different reward categories effective August 1.
As always you can book hotels now at the old prices to lock in savings for properties which are going up in category, and you should generally be able to get a refund starting August 1 for reservations in the future that were made at higher category prices for those properties that are going down.
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.
The Thai Airways first class lounge that most people are familiar with is on the airport’s D concourse and it’s right across the corridor from the airline’s spa.
Qatar Airways arranges lounge access through Thai, but their flight departs from the E concourse. As a result they arrange first class lounge access in the E concourse first class lounge — which is basically a big deserted room inside the Royal Orchid (business class) lounge.
While the US government hasn’t yet announced which airlines will be able to fly which routes to Havana, airlines have been allowed to fly to as many other cities in Cuba as they wish (because there’s not a lot of demand, and airlines don’t wish to fly as many routes as the US and Cuba have negotiated).
Silver Airways has grabbed onto several route authorities out of Ft. Lauderdale.
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.
About a week and a half ago Air Serbia launches its new New York JFK – Belgrade non-stop with an Airbus A330 they’ve named for Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla.
Air Serbia’s long haul business class offers fully flat seating. Seats are in a herringbone configuration similar to Virgin Atlantic’s business class.
Here’s a fantastic roundtrip fare of less than $300 between either Portland or Seattle and Beijing or Chengdu, China.
Holders of Chase Freedom credit cards can earn 10% cash back on up to $2500 in combined hotel and car rental purchases made through the Chase Ultimate Rewards online shopping portal this month. That’s a fantastic rate of return.
Most non-U.S. frequent flyer program add fuel surcharges to award tickets, and some US programs add them to some redemptions. That means your ‘free’ ticket can wind up costing several hundred dollars — or more. Here’s an American AAdvantage award with a surcharge of over $1000. And that’s for one person traveling.
All things equal you want to minimize fuel surcharges when you can!
Although marijuana is legal only in some states, and for medicinal purposes in more, pot remains illegal under federal law (but where it’s legal there are even loyalty programs with reefer-a-friend bonuses).
You have to clear a federal checkpoint to fly commercial. The TSA (T)akes (S)tinkweed (A)way. There’s a country, however, where weed isn’t just tolerated but actively promoted: Jamaica.
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 »
