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.
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.
Fares across the Atlantic have been low for a variety of reasons: too much capacity from the major airlines, low fuel prices that support this, and increased competition from low cost airlines like Norwegian and Wow Air.
Fares were low before Brexit. But today you can book Norwegian either Los Angeles or Oakland – Stockholm for $295 roundtrip. There’s a trick to how.
My favorite thing to do in Bangkok is eat. Last time I wrote about eating during the day in the Bangrak district.
While there’s fantastic restaurants in Bangkok, an increasing high end dining scene that’s surprisingly affordable, probably half what you’d pay for fine dining elsewhere, there’s really no replacement for hole in the wall eateries and street vendors. And most of the action comes out at night.
Pakistan International Airlines has the worst financial performance per employee of any airline in the world.
Yet employees feel they aren’t well-compensated enough for their contribution, and are fighting against privatization which they fear could undermine their compensation, benefits, and no show jobs. (Pakistan is required to privatize the airline under terms of an IMF loan.)
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.
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 »
