Rapid Travel Chai

On my mind: I have been looking at other roundup newsletters I read on the internet. Most have moved to conversational style without formal titles or sourcing. Seems easier to read. I will try that. Let me know yay/nay.

Events:

Quotes from Russia on the Syrian aid convoy bombing.

Now illegal to ask salary history during hiring process in Massachusetts. I am a fan of Nick Corcodilos at Ask the Headhunter, though I often crumble to resistance rather than using his method to the full.

Ideas:

This pre-Brexit referendum piece reflects on lessons from Europe’s battlefields.

Do we need embassies anymore? I see the importance of people on the ground, people without guns and boots. A lot of what embassies do, certainly consular services, belongs to a bygone era.

Travels:

Emirates is going to charge for seat assignments on many fares. I purposely avoid Lufthansa because they charge for advance seat assignments even for Star Alliance Gold. I do not like annoyance fees even if overall cost to me is same or better compared to alternatives.

Togo’s new airport opened back in April, shortly after my several March transits. It is the hub for ASKY whose parent airline is Ethiopian. They already have extensive codeshares to cover West Africa and the Newark-Addis Ababa flight launched in July stops in Togo.

Nomadic Matt has a new contributor covering gay travel.

I almost booked Corsica for this October. Greece instead. Here’s the NYT’s take.

Hacks:

Citi has imposed 100k in, 100k out transfer limits on ThankYou point transfers.

I didn’t know that Air Canada Aeroplan frequently blocks Air China awards. Those awards were briefly available, then not.

That Waldorf Visa Signature BOGO deal died in one day. I was on the road when I heard of it and figured it wouldn’t last long enough for me to figure out what to book.

Rick I’s return to TravelBloggerBuzz.