1.3K
Hello and happy Sunday, 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.
- American Express managed to get me back as a Platinum cardholder thanks to a generous upgrade offer. Now that I have the coupon book disguising as a credit card, I need to spend most of these statement credits to make my money back. While I said that I’d use the $50 bi-yearly Saks Fifth Ave credit, I always have a problem finding a low-priced item. Thankfully, Frequent Miler dug through the website and found plenty of ways to spend $50 and not much more.
- Before COVID, we weren’t Airbnb people. We’d always prefer to stay at a hotel than at a rental property. Over the last two years, we had a change of heart and now are willing to consider using the service if the time and place are right. While we never gave much thought to how Airbnb is changing the landscape, here’s a list of the pros and cons of the lodging industry disruptor.
- When we travel, we will often go for a known quantity instead of taking a risk and trying a local establishment. It’s one of the reasons we’ll go to Starbucks for coffee. While it may not be great, we know what we’re going to get. When you’re at the airport, you’re captive to the on-site vendors. We’ll still stick to Starbs, now that many locations allow mobile ordering, but if you’re looking for a great cappuccino, here’s a review of several locations at SFO airport.
- In the past several years there have been several airplane retirements that have garnered attention. American Airlines retired their MD-80 fleet in 2019 and several airlines have retired their 747 fleets, including Delta which stopped flying the planes in 2017. Newer planes are more eco-friendly and burn less fuel, which saves airlines money. When the planes are retired, many of them are flown to the desert to use for scrap or occasionally brought back to service. However, a newer trend is to up-cycle the planes for other uses. For instance, Lufthansa turned one of its retired A340 jets into furniture and household goods. Not to be outdone, Delta Airlines and American Express introduced a limited-time Delta Reserve card made from the metal shell of a retired 747. I don’t know if this is reason enough to get the card, but at least I get the appeal more than the Rose Gold AMEX.
- We just flew into Austin Airport and as we walked to the terminal, I was reminded that two airlines don’t fly from the main building. On a previous trip, we flew on Frontier and landed at Austin’s South Terminal. The experience was underwhelming and wasn’t made better by the 20-minute bus ride back to the main terminal to rent a car. While the setup isn’t ideal, I was amazed that after opening the terminal and getting Frontier and Allegiant to use it, the airport authority is now trying to seize their own property back by claiming eminent domain.
- In February 2022, US Customs and Border Protection stopped supporting third-party apps to speed up your entry into the United States. That left the proprietary Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app as the only option if you weren’t a Global Entry member. At the time, the app was getting a terrible 2.5-star rating but it looks like things are improving. In fact, if you’re not able to get an interview for Global Entry due to the lack of appointment times, using the MPC app is the next best option.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
