Rapid Travel Chai

Summer season I am burning rather than earning, I don’t have any great miles-related achievements in July, only workaday domestic summer seafood weekend shuttle trips for my wife and mother-in-law. I do know that the Citi ThankYou center is not able to book Greenland Air and Atlantic Air.

It’s a summer lull in miles, too. Delta continues year-round program devaluations while others are quiet.

Airlines:

• Thank You for Four Great Years! (The Flight Deal). Thank you!
• British Airways Avios Glitches—Yes, More Than One (The Lazy Traveler’s Handbook). Online award booking on American Airlines are back and even more is bookable than before, see this guide on some of the quirks of the website.
• How to ‘Activate’ Your Iberia Account for Free to Save on British Airways Fuel Surcharges (View from the Wing). More Avios.
• A New Option US-Asia With Alaska Airlines Miles: Hainan Airlines (View from the Wing). I have flown Hainan many times domestically, never long-haul or business. I like the compact Terminal 1 they use in Beijing, the closest China has to convenient domestic transfers.
• United: Goodbye International First Class; Goodbye Guam Hub? (Dan’s Deals). Would be sad for United to discard a gem of Continental’s legacy and would make things really hard for Micronesia.
• Delta Finds a Bankrupt Skymark to be Its Great Japanese Hope (The Cranky Flier). After Delta discarded Northwest’s strong legacy in Asia, and is determined to dump their Tokyo-Narita hub, now they want back in to Japan.
• How to Book a United Award Ticket and Save in Two Different Ways (Air, Land & Sea). Don’t neglect Star Alliance options to book United.
• Avianca Brazil joins Star Alliance (Wandering Aramean). When I went to Brazil in the spring on business I did a bit of research on the long-running attempts for them to join, nice that it has happened.
• Assessing the Benefits of FoundersCard (Out and Out). From time to time this pops up, I have not seen the value for myself.

Hotels:

• When La Quinta points expire: Best way to extend them (Points with a Crew). I called in myself, was able to get 10 points added, and my expiration extended.
• Best Western Credit Card and Rewards Program Review (Plane 2 Port). All the smart people think their new credit cards are poor value.
• Radisson: the Best Use of Frontier Miles? (Travel is Free). That is deep research.
• How to earn Spire status with IHG Rewards Club (Head for Points) and IHG Spire: Ideas for nabbing the new 25K Choice benefit without staying in hotels (The Frequent Miler). If I get close I might do that Virgin Altantic transfer idea for the 25k bonus.
• Magic of Miles 6 Reasons Why Your Hotel Key Card Stops Working (Magic of Miles). The most annoying to me is when they are not updated for late checkout.

Credit Cards:

• Cannot Apply for US Bank Checking Account Online with Frozen ARS/IDA Credit Reports, Must Apply In-Branch (Travel with Grant). I had this same issue. I am in Minnesota this week and will apply in branch and see about converting my FlexPerks Visa to American Express if I will get the card annual fee waiver.
• US Bank Club Carlson Targeted Spending Offer and 7,500 Bonus Points Letter (Travel with Grant). I am one of those who mildly complained the first round, got 2,500, and pleasantly surprised to now get additional 5,000.
• Enroll US Bank Credit Card in Visa Checkout- Get $20 Credit (Michael W Travels). Easy $20.
• List Of Third Party American Express Credit Cards (Doctor Of Credit). Excellent resource.
• Discover Premium Plus – What Are The Benefits & How To Get Invited (Doctor Of Credit). Quirky.

Manufactured Spend:

• Everyone in this hobby is bad at math and Stop Using The Phrase “Opportunity Cost” Poorly (both Travel is Free). I don’t let the math impede my travel fun.
• Step-by-Step Guide to Citigold Checking Bonus (Doctor Of Credit). I have not done much with checking bonuses.
• PSA: American Express Flexperks Card Doesn’t Code Kiva As A Charity (Doctor Of Credit). Important for those who rely on Kiva.
• Essential Blogs & Forums To Read If You Manufacture Spend Or Want To Learn (Doctor Of Credit). Reddit seems to have become quite important as a flexible information sharing tool.

Blogging:

• Subscribe without commenting (The Frequent Miler). The punchline, of course, is ‘subscribe.’
• Ben Schlappig’s hobby has nothing to do with mine (The Free-quent Flyer). This hobby is very different, and can be beneficial, to both those with disposable income and those without.