2019 List Of AmEx Transfer Partners And Their Award Sweet Spots

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Credit cards that earn transferable points currencies are extremely valuable because of the tremendous flexibility they provide. American Express (AmEx) partners with eighteen airlines and three major hotel chains and these partnerships are the key to unlocking the most value from your AmEx Membership Rewards Points.

Amex Airline Transfer Partners
Amex Airline Transfer Partners

A large part of what makes transferring AmEx points to airlines so valuable is that you can use award chart sweet spots to really maximize that value of your points. As you can see from the chart below, different AmEx airline Continue reading 2019 List Of AmEx Transfer Partners And Their Award Sweet Spots

Electronics Banned On Airlines That US Legacy Carriers Don’t Like

Posted on by theflyingmustache

If only it was April 1st…

Etihad cabins will now be safe from laptops on flights to the US…

We have a new addition to the seemingly ceaseless string of poorly thought out and implemented travel orders emanating from the current White House that promises to make your travel experiences less enjoyable.

Electronic devices banned on flights to the US by Middle Eastern carriers

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently issued an order banning electronics larger than a cell phone from being brought into the aircraft cabin on direct flights to the US from 10 airports in 8 Middle Eastern and African countries. Apparently, while flying nonstop to the US is a threat, CNN reported that an aviation official said that “they believe a threat to the U.S. would be negated if a passenger transferred through a secondary city with additional and more trustworthy screening procedures.”

Continue reading Electronics Banned On Airlines That US Legacy Carriers Don’t Like

Showering at Thirty-Five Thousand Feet, Emirates Style

Posted on by theflyingmustache

Showering at 35,000 feet is a sort of “holy grail” for many of us in the travel hacking game. First class travel is often incredibly luxurious to begin with, but being able to take a hot shower on a plane is equal parts awesome and absurd.

Where things get really crazy is that not only can you take a shower on a plane, but you can book that experience using your award miles! Only a couple of airlines, both based out of the middle east, have been thoughtful enough to offer their first class passengers showers on board. Thankfully, each of these airlines has one US based partner with which you can book awards.

First class shower onboard Etihad A380
First class shower room onboard Etihad A380

The two airlines that currently offer you the opportunity to join the “7-mile high shower club” are Emirates and Etihad. Both airlines offer a hot shower to their first class passengers aboard their A380 aircraft.

Continue reading Showering at Thirty-Five Thousand Feet, Emirates Style

When Buying Miles Makes Sense

Posted on by theflyingmustache

Do you have few miles or points but would still like to fly business class?

Do you have some money to spend on upcoming travel but not enough to buy those hilariously priced business class tickets?

I feel your pain!  Flying coach on long-haul trips sucks and I spend an inordinate amount of time making sure that I avoid ever having to do it again.  Mostly, my strategies revolve around using credit card sign up bonuses to build up large balances of frequent flyer miles that I can redeem for business and first class travel.  But it takes time to build up these balances.

For those with travel plans that are happening in the very near future they might benefit from another way to avoid coach that doesn’t involve taking out a second mortgage on their cat.

When Buying Miles Makes Sense

It makes sense to buy miles when A) you might otherwise have paid for the business class ticket or B) you really don’t want to fly coach and are willing to pay a little extra to avoid it.

Alaska Airlines miles can be used to book business class on Cathay and Emirates
Alaska Airlines miles can be used to book business class on Cathay and Emirates

Continue reading When Buying Miles Makes Sense