ASIA

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Will Donald Trump Save American’s Flights to Sydney and Auckland Now that DOT Ruled Against Their Qantas Joint Venture?

syndey opera house
Nov 19 2016

Although DOT wasn’t ready a year ago to approve an expanded joint venture between American and Qantas and it was possible they might ask for certain concessions in exchange for doing so (they’re asking for slots from Delta and Aeromexico at New York JFK and Mexico City in exchange for approving theirs) history suggested that American and Qantas would be able to move forward.

However — although Australia and New Zealand authorities already signed off a year ago and although DOT allowed a joint venture between US carrier Delta and Australia’s Virgin Australia — the US Department of Transportation is blocking the expanded cooperation between American and Qantas

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Citi ThankYou Transfer Bonus to Hilton is a Very. Bad. Deal.

Nov 17 2016

Citi ThankYou Rewards is offering a one-third bonus on transfers to Hilton HHonors through February 8.

Hilton points are generally worth half a cent apiece. I value Citi points at 1.6 cents each. Getting two Hilton points per ThankYou point means transferring points at a value of a penny. Not. A. Good. Deal. In many cases you’re much better off just using Citi points to straight up buy travel. But even that’s not the best use of points.

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What Is Immigration Preclearance, and Where Can You Use It?

Nov 07 2016

U.S. immigration is done outside the U.S. at 16 places around the world. When you arrive at the airport you go through US customs and immigration before getting on your flight.

That’s great for non-US citizens because the lines are usually shorter and they can make quicker connections on arrival. That’s great for the US, which is requiring that foreign governments or airports pick up the cost of immigration processing. And it’s not so good for US citizens who may face delays they wouldn’t otherwise with standard immigration.

And they may be expanding immigration preclearance to 11 new airports.

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50% Discount on Purchase of Starwood Points, Buy Your Choice of Airline Miles for 1.4 Cents Apiece

Nov 01 2016

Starwood is offering a 50% discount on purchase of Starpoints. This is the biggest discount ever on Starwood Starpoints, which I believe is the most valuable currency (one point is worth more than one of any other point).

The ‘regular’ discount that Starwood runs occasionally is 25%, and the biggest previous discount was 35% over the summer.

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I’m Staying Away from Turkey Now that the Government is Sending Workers’ Families Home

Oct 30 2016

I think Turkish Airlines is a very good airline overall. They have a great lounge in Istanbul. There’s billiards, golf, a race track, and a movie room with popcorn machine. They even provide complimentary hotel stays to economy passengers forced to overnight in Istanbul by the Turkish schedule.

Since I’ve felt it safe to travel on Turkish Airlines, I thought it was also important to share concerns about actually spending time in Turkey right now as an American now that the US has ordered families of consulate workers there to leave.

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