Happy 2021 to all our travel friends, both near and far. Here are some articles we’ve read from other bloggers (and other sources) that we think you may like, so we’re passing them along.
- Going through the TSA Checkpoint can be stressful, even at the best of times. If you’re a savvy traveler, you’ve made sure to only pack things in your carry-on bag that are allowed. There’s nothing worse than having your bag pushed to the side for secondary screening. But what if you’ve packed something in your bag that’s not allowed, like a handgun? If you do, don’t run out of the airport and hail a cab, leaving behind your shoes, bag and wallet (with your ID.) I’m left wondering how he paid for the cab, possibly with mobile payments.
- We’re unabashed fans of JetBlue. They have a great route network out of our home airport of Orlando and they offer a better experience in the economy seats than any other airline. Even during the pandemic, I’ve been collecting TrueBlue points with some great credit card sign-up bonuses. Therefore, I was thrilled to see that JetBlue took delivery of its first A220-300 aircraft on December 31st. JetBlue is going to use these aircraft to replace its fleet of Embraer 190s. Since we’re usually flying on one of their A320s, I’m not sure when we’ll ever step foot on one of these planes but boy do they sure look sharp.
- I often give American Express a hard time, because most of the time they deserve it. However, I must admit they’ve been the most aggressive of the banks about adding new benefits to all of their Membership Rewards earning cards during the pandemic. They don’t make the credits easy to use and they’ll shut down your accounts if they feel you’re abusing the benefits that they’ve added, but that’s part of the game when you deal with AMEX. Since the previous benefits expired at the end of 2020, AMEX is now giving Personal Platinum cardholders a $30 PayPal Credit per month until the end of June 2021. If you plan on using this benefit, I’d be careful about what you purchase from PayPal because this seems like another possible way for the RAT to shut down accounts if they don’t like how you use these credits.
- Before the 737-MAX had its (avoidable) problems, it wasn’t a plane that Sharon and I flew on. In fact, I actively avoided booking flights on the aircraft. After the crashes and lengthy process of fixing the problems and proving (again) that the plan was worthy to carry passengers, airlines realize that people still might not want to fly on a MAX. In July 2020, when airlines thought the plane was within weeks of getting approval, which was way off, several of them went public to say that they’d allow passengers to rebook on other flights if they didn’t want to on a MAX. American is following through on that promise and letting passengers rebook on another flight or canceling their flight altogether.
- Premium Economy is a product class that most Americans are still getting accustomed to. While a better cabin than economy but not quite business class is common on many other international carriers, it’s a new thing for us. The first time we flew on Premium Economy was on a Virgin Atlantic flight from New York to London. While the seat gave a bit more legroom, it wasn’t great for sleeping like a business class seat. My impression of Premium Economy is changed now that I see the cabin that Emirates is installing on its A380 aircraft. I’d be willing to sit in that seat for a long-haul flight. The cabin also looks AMAZING, which is something I don’t usually think about the Emirates design aesthetic.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
1 comment
Speaking of Amex, I made a trip for the first time in a while, and expected that this would be the first time I regretted not keeping my Amex Platinum card for free lounge access. Walking to my gate, I walked past the Plaza Premium Lounge I would normally use (at GIG) and the gate was down, closed tight. I was once again glad I cancelled my Platinum Card after having it for 25+ years, saving a $600 annual fee to use lounges which are in any case closed — if I had paid this year I would have felt like quite the sucker having purchased Amex’s wooden nickels.