While I covered the details of the flight in a previous installment, in this post I wanted to talk about a feature of the carrier’s premium cabin seats that we’ve never seen before, and which I was looking forward to experiencing…

Basics of Japan Airlines’ new A350 headphone-free stereos

The Airbus A350-1000 is Japan Airlines’ new flagship aircraft, and it features an all-new passenger experience. There’s a lot of amazing tech at the seat, though arguably there’s one feature that raises the most eyebrows.

First and business class seats on the jet have the world’s first headphone-free stereo feature, in the form of built-in headrest speakers. That’s right, you can literally blast the audio for your preferred movie, TV show, or song, directly through your headrest.

This is one of three ways you can listen to audio through the inflight entertainment, with the other two options being using the airline headphones, or using your own headphones via bluetooth audio.

It’s shocking to me that a Japanese airline was the first to innovate this, given how much value is placed on respect for others in Japan, plus the general culture of silence in many public places, like trains.

This is technology you’d expect to be rolled out on an airline flying out of Miami, where we’ve just completely normalized doing anything without headphones at airports and on planes, from discussing shady business dealings, to watching a Daddy Yankee music video.

Are Japan Airlines’ in-seat speakers disruptive?

I was curious to experience these speakers firsthand. Just to give you a sense of what they look like, below is the first class headrest, and you can see the pattern, and how each of the widgets has a built-in stereo.

Then whenever you select an option from the inflight entertainment, you’ll be asked for your preferred sound output option, choosing between the headphone jack, bluetooth, or the in-seat speakers. You can then also control the volume.

So I was curious what the trick is with these headrest speakers, so that you can hear the audio, but that it’s not disruptive to others. Well, the answer is that there is none. Rather it’s just that your ears are potentially a few inches from the speaker, while the next person will be several feet away.

A few thoughts:

• For the person using the headrest speakers, at maximum volume I’d say the audio is loud enough to hear everything that you’re watching, though the sound may not be very “rich,” and those without great hearing may struggle
• You can definitely hear other peoples’ audio from a distance, though it’s at a very low volume; it’s sort of like hearing two people talking very quietly in the distance, where you feel like you might be hearing a whisper, but you can’t fully make it out
• The A350 is such a quiet jet, especially in first class, since the cabin is so far from the engines; I imagine that contributes to hearing the audio more easily from a distance
• Business class seats are much closer to one another, so I could see this being more disruptive there; however, for the business class seats near the engines, I think the engine sound might drown out any audio

I had some fun with another passenger putting this to the test. There was this adorable Japanese avgeek seated right in front of me, who was as enthusiastic about this flight as I was. So I turned on my headrest speaker to maximum volume playing J-pop, and I asked her if she could hear it in the suite in front. She said that she could, but only a little bit.

Bottom line

One unique aspect of Japan Airlines’ new A350 is that first and business class seats have built in stereos, so you can enjoy entertainment without using headphones. I was curious about this technology, and it’s more or less what I was expecting.

There’s no magic here, but rather the audio is just a decent volume when you’re a few inches from the speaker, so the further away you get, the less you hear it. This definitely isn’t fully soundproofed, in the sense that those at other seats may hear your audio. However, it’ll be more like a whisper than anything else.

Personally I think this technology is kind of unnecessary when you have the option of bluetooth audio, and it’s a bit surprising to see a Japanese airline be the one innovating in this space. But hey, it’s cool nonetheless!

What do you make of Japan Airlines’ headrest speakers?

I had high hopes for this product, but even so, my expectations were exceeded by a long shot. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s rare that a product really makes me go “WOW!” But that’s exactly what Japan Airlines did. This is an experience that pictures don’t do justice. Heck, I’m really excited to be heading home and seeing my family, but I didn’t want this flight to end.

I’ve been lucky enough to fly just about all of the world’s best first class airlines, but Japan Airlines is really raising the bar. The only other first class hard product that’s comparable is Emirates’ “Game Changer” 777 first class, but I think Emirates may have been outdone.

My biggest complaint about the flight? No one else was drinking the 2013 Salon champagne, so I felt an immense obligation to polish off the $1,200 bottle, to avoid it being wasted, even though I’m not really a drinker nowadays. And I succeeded.

Below I wanted to share some initial thoughts on the experience, and then soon I’ll have a full trip report.

Japan Airlines’ A350 first class seats are unreal

Japan Airlines’ A350-1000 first class cabin has a total of six seats, spread across two rows, in a 1-1-1 configuration.

We’ve gotten used to the concept of first class suites with doors, but Japan Airlines has raised the bar. The suite could easily seat three people, as the seat is wide enough for two people (and then some), while there’s also a massive ottoman on which you can sit. In terms of functional personal space, this can only be outdone by Etihad’s The Residence.

Now, admittedly one might conclude that a double seat is a waste of space, since it’s not like you can book two (or three) people in one suite. But that’s where the thoughtful design shines. The seat back of the second seat lowers, to create a handy console on which you can place things during the flight. There’s even an armrest, so that the seat won’t be uncomfortably wide (I know, talk about first world problems!).

You might look at the entertainment screen and not think it’s remarkable, but that’s because the scale of the suite is lost in pictures. The entertainment monitor is a massive 43″ — for context, below is my 15″ MacBook Air next to the screen. You’re literally sitting in front of a big screen TV, and it’s wild — you could watch the Taylor Swift Super Bowl on here!

Watching the A350 tail camera on a 43″ screen while you’re flying is pure avgeek euphoria. It remains me of playing Microsoft Flight Simulator in my childhood, only ten times better.

The amount of storage at the seat is also unlike anything I’ve seen. Underneath the ottoman is a huge compartment where you can store your bags — it fit my overstuffed carry-on and backpack, with room to spare.

Then there are three additional storage compartments at the seat, so there will be no shortage of space to place your personal belongings.

All the seat’s functions can be controlled via a tablet and panel next to the seat, ranging from the entertainment functions, to the lighting in the suite.

In bed mode, this seat couldn’t be more comfortable. It’s so long and wide, and on Japan Airlines you get fantastic bedding. This is comprised of two pillows, a duvet, and your choice of a firm or soft mattress pad.

Also, while Japan Airlines’ A350 first class doesn’t have floor-to-ceiling doors (as you’ll find in Emirates’ new first class), the walls are 62″ high, so they do offer an incredible amount of privacy.

Lastly, I haven’t historically been a huge fan of Japan Airlines’ cabin finishes. In renderings, I thought the cabin looked kind of ugly. However, I have to say that the burgundy color looks a lot more elegant in person. So while this isn’t how I’d choose to design a plane, the cabin looks a lot better than I was expecting.

Japan Airlines’ A350 first class tech is phenomenal

Japan Airlines has incredible tech in its Airbus A350 first class. Where do we even begin?

Each seat has an unheard of seven charging options — two USB-A outlets, two USB-C outlets, two AC power outlets, and one wireless charging station.

Japan Airlines also has an unrivaled three options for enjoying audio through the inflight entertainment — you can use the provided Bang & Olufsen headphones, you can use your own headphones via bluetooth audio, or you can use the speakers that are built into the seat.

That’s right, Japan Airlines has speakers built into the headrest, so you can enjoy entertainment without even using your headphones. I’ll share my thoughts on that in a separate post, since I have enough to share here as is.

Japan Airlines’ A350-1000 is a pleasure to fly

Currently the world’s two best first class hard products are Emirates’ 777 first class and Japan Airlines’ A350 first class. So I think it’s important to emphasize what a difference the A350 can make to the passenger experience.

The plane is just so quiet, it has a tail camera (on a 43″ screen no less — SWOON!), and it’s pressurized so that your skin doesn’t feel as dry. As much as I don’t usually buy into marketing hype, I want to mention that I 100% believe that the 787 and A350 leave you feeling more refreshed. On this trip, all my long haul flights were on the 787 and A350, and for the first time in a long time, my knuckles don’t feel super try, which otherwise seems to happen every time I take one of these wild trips.

Japan Airlines’ first class soft product is delightful

What’s not to love about flying with a Japanese airline? For one, you know service is going to be consistent and excellent, as was the case on this flight. The crew on this flight couldn’t have been better, and I was particularly impressed given that it was the entire crew’s first flight on the aircraft (this was only the plane’s second-ever flight to New York). There can often be a learning curve to new planes, but you wouldn’t have known based on the crew’s service level.

Japan Airlines’ soft product is incredible. The airline serves Salon 2013 in first class, retailing for $1,200 per bottle. Now, the airline only loads one bottle of this, which is a strange approach to take. However, when you’re the only one drinking champagne…

But Japan Airlines’ drink selection is impressive beyond that, including serving the most expensive non-alcoholic drink that you’ll find on any airline in the world, in the form of its Queen of Blue deluxe tea.

Japan Airlines offers both western and Japanese meals. I almost always go for the Japanese options on a Japanese carrier, but for the main meal, the western one sounded more appealing this time around (the Japanese menu was a bit too blowfish and herring based for my liking).

Fortunately Japanese airlines serve some of the best and most elaborate western meals of any airline, and this flight was no exception.

The meal began with an amuse bouche of goat milk bavarois.

Next up was an appetizer of shrimp and kobashira with quinoa.

Then there was yet another appetizer, comprised of vegetable and scallop mille-feuille.

Then there was the first main course, consisting of rockfish and winter vegetables a la nage, with a preparation you don’t often see on a plane. The fish literally melted in your mouth.

Then the second main course consisted of a beef sirloin with gratin dauphinois.

Lastly, for dessert was pistachio cream with chocolate cream puffs.

The quality was simply unmatched. No, this wasn’t like Emirates first class, there the star of the show is unlimited caviar, but here everything was so high quality and thoughtfully presented.

For the pre-landing meal, I had the Japanese option, consisting of salmon with lotus root and bok choy, steamed rice, miso soup, and black pickles.

Then I had the petit dessert tray.

Absolutely divine…

Where there’s room for improvement

As you can see, I’ve been raving about Japan Airlines’ A350-1000 product above, and for good reason. However, no product is perfect, so I want to be balanced, and share some areas for improvement.

To start, Japan Airlines has acknowledged that it’s not pleased with some of the work Safran did with the cabin finishes, as there have been many issues with the seats already, from scratches, to panels falling off. So while that has been widely reported, I have to say that I didn’t notice any issues whatsoever with the functionality of my seat. Then again, this was only the aircraft’s third commercial flight ever (I was flying the second A350-1000 to be delivered to Japan Airlines).

Here’s what I did notice in terms of potential areas for improvement:

• Japan Airlines’ entertainment system continues to be fairly limited in terms of the selection; however, between the tail camera and the free Wi-Fi for first class passengers, I was happy as could be
• There was an issue with the map feature, whereby it didn’t update correctly. Starting at about the halfway point of the flight, the map just suggested we were 8hr30min from arrival, with no additional updates
• There’s a tablet next to the seat that you use to control the entertainment, though I didn’t find the design to be terribly intuitive in terms of which buttons to push and when in order to make selections
• This is admittedly a very specific detail, but the lavatory doors slam loudly, so something needs to be installed so that they close more gently, and make less noise

These are all very minor points, but I want to be balanced, so there ya go…

Bottom line

I had high expectations of Japan Airlines’ new A350 first class, but despite that, they were exceeded. As I see it, this is without a doubt one of the two best first class hard products out there, along with Emirates’ 777 first class (and I’ll do a more direct comparison of the two in a different post).

Japan Airlines has taken personal space to the next level with its new first class, and the tech at the seats is spectacular. When you combine that with Japanese hospitality and amazing food and drinks, commercial aviation really doesn’t get much better than this.

What’s your take on Japan Airlines’ new A350-1000 first class?

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to talk about the airlines that serve the best non-alcoholic beverages. It seems to me like this is an area where lots of airlines drop the ball — they’ll invest in $100+ bottles of champagne, but then will have a really lackluster non-alcoholic drink list.

In this post I wanted to share some of my favorite non-alcoholic drinks served on airlines. Of course this is subjective, so these are just some of my favorites, and I’d love to hear what others like. I also want to mention that I’m avoiding “generic” drinks that you’ll find on dozens of airlines, like cappuccinos (as much as I love great coffee). Rather I’m trying to include rarer options.

Below are some of my favorites, in no particular order (note that this is an update on a previous post, to add some drinks to the list that I recently tried for the first time).

Queen of Blue Royal Blue Tea on Japan Airlines

Lets kick things off with what’s without a doubt the most expensive and exclusive non-alcoholic drink served on any airline. In first class, Japan Airlines serves Queen of Blue’s Royal Blue Tea. This isn’t your average iced tea. It’s poured out of what looks like a wine bottle, and is served in a wine glass. Don’t ask how much a bottle of this costs, as it’s more expensive than the champagne served on many airlines.

Cathay Delight on Cathay Pacific

The Cathay Delight is one of Cathay Pacific’s signature drinks in first and business class. It consists of kiwi, coconut milk, and fresh mint. It strikes a perfect balance between being refreshing and tasty, all without being overly sweet. Yum.

Lemon mint juice on Qatar Airways

As a general rule of thumb, I don’t drink juice on planes. That’s because it’s rarely fresh. On the ground, the term I generally use for bad orange juice is “airplane orange juice,” which should give you a sense of my feelings on the matter. However, I do have one favorite airplane juice, and that’s Qatar Airways’ lemon mint juice, which is incredibly refreshing. I order this on almost every Qatar Airways flight.

SKY TIME on Japan Airlines

I love the idea behind Japan Airlines’ SKY TIME drink even more than I like the drink itself. In the 1990s, Japan Airlines set out to create a special drink for the airline that passengers would remember, which promotes wellness and hydration. The result of that is SKY TIME.

Over the years, the airline has had several versions of this (including kiwi and yuzu), though the current version is a peach and grape mix. It tastes kind of like juice, but also sort of has a tea flavor to it. It’s delicious, and a lovely treat when flying with the airline. What’s great is that unlike most of the other drinks on this list, this is available to all passengers on all flights.

Blueberry juice on Finnair

Finnish cuisine is known for its use of berries, and Finnair incorporates that into its onboard service with a unique juice — Finnair serves blueberry juice in both business class and economy. While this isn’t “fresh,” it’s still one of the best juice drinks you’ll find on any airline. It’s so popular that you can even buy the Finnair branded blueberry juice in select supermarkets in Finland.

Boba tea latte on Starlux Airlines

Okay, I have to admit, back in the day I was kind of a bubble tea fanatic. I try to stay away from it nowadays given how sugary it is. However, Starlux Airlines serves boba tea lattes in business class on select routes departing Taipei, and calories on a plane don’t count, right? 😉

Teh tarik on Malaysia Airlines

Teh tarik (literally translated “pulled tea,” because of how it’s made) is a hot, traditional milk tea served in Malaysia. While on the sweet side, it’s super tasty, and is available in Malaysia Airlines business class, even on short haul flights.

Hong Kong style milk tea on Cathay Pacific

Hong Kong style milk tea is traditionally made with black tea and milk. Cathay Pacific serves this in first and business class, though in reality the airline makes it with a powdered mix. So while it’s not as good as what you’ll get on the ground in Hong Kong, it’s still a treat to get on a plane. Be warned that this is rather sweet, so think of it more as a dessert-type indulgence, rather than a typical cup of tea.

Karak chai on Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways serves both saffron and cardamom flavors of karak chai, which is essentially a strong tea with some milk and sugar. Personally the saffron flavored one is my favorite, though both are good. Qatar Airways sometimes runs out of these onboard, so I recommend ordering one with the first meal service if you definitely want to try it.

Iced coffee creations on Austrian Airlines

While some other airlines serve “regular” iced coffee, Austrian Airlines has a special coffee menu, with a variety of Eiskaffee specialties. This consists of sweet dessert-like treats that typically have ice cream, some amount of coffee, and whipped cream. Mmmm….

Iced coffee on Royal Brunei, EVA Air, & Starlux Airlines

While there are plenty of airlines with decent hot coffee, there are very few airlines serving iced coffee on planes. I find that to be odd, since it seems like a pretty low cost thing to offer, and iced coffee has become increasingly popular globally (especially in the United States). Specifically, EVA Air, Starlux Airlines, and Royal Brunei, all serve iced coffee in business class.

Cold brew on Delta

Even better than iced coffee, Delta has a partnership with Explorer Cold Brew, and serves cold brew on select premium routes. This is complimentary in business class and Comfort+, and available for purchase in economy. I hope we see this expand not just to more Delta flights, but also to more US airlines.

Iced oat milk cappuccinos on JetBlue

When it comes to an impressive iced coffee game, I think nothing can compete with JetBlue Mint on transatlantic flights. The airline has iced cappuccinos and iced lattes. The airline even has oat milk, for those who prefer non-dairy options.

Bottom line

While plenty of airlines serve expensive champagne in first and business class, surprisingly few airlines invest in great non-alcoholic drinks. The above are some of my favorite hot and cold non-alcoholic drinks in the sky, though admittedly we all have different preferences.

What are your favorite non-alcoholic beverages served on planes?

The World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) is Hyatt’s personal credit card, and it’s lucrative. If you stay at Hyatt properties with any frequency, then it absolutely makes sense to have this card, as the perks more than justify the $95 annual fee. It’s a card that I’ve had for years, and one that I spend quite a bit on annually.

For those who are on the fence about this card, in this post I wanted to share seven reasons you should consider applying, in no particular order.

Limited time welcome offer of up to 50K points

At the moment, the World of Hyatt Credit Card has a limited time welcome offer, which can earn you up to 50,000 incremental World of Hyatt bonus points, as follows:

• Earn 35,000 World of Hyatt bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months
• Earn an additional one bonus point per dollar on purchases that earn one point per dollar, on up to $15,000 spent in the first six months

Objectively, this isn’t the most exciting bonus in the world, but it’s an improvement over the previous offer, and the best one we’ve seen on the card in a long time. I think ultimately Chase and Hyatt know that they don’t have to offer a massive bonus on the card, given how rewarding it is in the long run.

A Category 1-4 anniversary free night award

The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers an anniversary free night award annually, just for being a cardmember, with no spending required. This free night award can be redeemed at any Category 1-4 World of Hyatt property, and those hotels can retail for up to 18,000 points per night.

To me, this perk alone more than justifies the annual fee, and I’ve consistently been able to use this at hotels costing well over $200 per night.

A second Category 1-4 free night award with spending

Not only does the World of Hyatt Credit Card offer an anniversary free night award, but the card also offers a second Category 1-4 free night award when you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.

This is why I consider spending $15,000 on the card to be a sweet spot, since there’s lots of value to getting that second free night award. It’s even more valuable when you consider the incremental elite nights you can earn for that spending (more on that below).

Five elite nights toward status annually

If you’re going for elite status with World of Hyatt, the World of Hyatt Credit Card offers five elite nights toward status annually just for being a cardmember, with no spending required. If you’re going for World of Hyatt Explorist status or World of Hyatt Globalist status, this can be valuable.

The elite nights earned on this card also count toward the Milestone Rewards program, earning you perks like suite upgrade awards, Guest of Honor awards, and more.

Two elite nights for every $5,000 spent

If you’re going for World of Hyatt elite status, the World of Hyatt Credit Card not only offers five elite nights annually with no spending requirement, but also offers two elite nights for every $5,000 spent, with no caps. This is a great way to be able to supplement your hotel stays to earn Explorist or Globalist status.

Discoverist status as long as you have card

The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers Discoverist status for as long as you have the card. While this is only entry-level status, it still offers some valuable benefits that will enhance your Hyatt stays. The perks of World of Hyatt Discoverist status include the following:

• Upgrade to a preferred room, when available
• 2PM check-out
• Premium internet
• Daily bottled water
• 10% bonus points

4x World of Hyatt points on Hyatt stays

If you’re looking to maximize World of Hyatt points, the World of Hyatt Credit Card offers 4x points for your spending at Hyatt properties. That makes this one of the best cards for your Hyatt spending. If you spend a decent amount at Hyatt hotels every year, then this will nicely contribute to your points earning ability.

That’s only a part of the card’s elevated rewards structure, as it also offers 2x points on at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from airlines, on fitness clubs and gym memberships, and on local transit and commuting.

Bottom line

The World of Hyatt Credit Card is one of the easiest to justify hotel credit cards. The card has a reasonable $95 annual fee, and on the most basic level, offers an anniversary free night award plus five elite nights toward status annually.

That’s only part of the card’s value proposition, though. It can also be worth spending money on the card, so that you can earn a second annual free night award, and so you can earn more elite nights toward status. This is a card that I’ve had for years, and one that I spend at least $15,000 on annually. Add in the current limited time welcome offer, and this is the ideal time to apply.

What’s your take on the World of Hyatt Credit Card?

Thai Airways updating former Thai Smile Airbus A320s

As I’ve already written about, Thai Airways has eliminated its low cost subsidiary, Thai Smile, as of early 2024. Specifically, Thai Smile has been merged into Thai Airways’ mainline operations, as clearly the cost savings of running an ultra low cost carrier didn’t outweigh the downsides.

While Thai Airways might not always offer the same low fares that Thai Smile offered, this is otherwise great news, as it creates a more seamless experience.

The catch is that the passenger experience on the former Thai Smile planes doesn’t really match what you’ll find in the mainline Thai Airways fleet. These aircraft are equipped with 168-174 seats, and just feature premium economy and economy, with premium economy consisting of economy seats with blocked middles.

Thai Airways has now revealed plans to change this. As of Q4 2024, Thai Airways intends to reconfigure all of its A320s with new, standardized cabins:

• Thai Airways A320s will be reconfigured to feature 156 seats, including 12 business class seats and 144 economy class seats
• Business class seats will be in a 2-2 configuration, featuring extra seat width and pitch, comparable to what you might find in domestic first class within the United States
• Thai Airways will also install Wi-Fi on its A320s

At this link you can see pictures of what the new cabins will look like.

This will give Thai Airways a lot more flexibility

Not only is it great to see plans to update these planes from a passenger experience standpoint, but this will also allow Thai Airways to better optimize its fleet planning. Thai Airways now has a fleet of 20 Airbus A320s, all from Thai Smile.

When Thai Smile was still in operation, Thai Airways only had wide body aircraft in its mainline fleet. Once these planes have more premium interiors, Thai Airways will be able to fly these aircraft to all kinds of destinations, including premium ones, where it’s important for the airline to have high frequencies.

So fleet planning decisions will no longer be made based on whether a market is premium or not, but rather will be based on flying an aircraft that matches the demand for a market. I’d say that’s a win-win for both the airline and consumers.

Bottom line

As of late 2024, Thai Airways will reconfigure its fleet of Airbus A320s. The airline will add all new interiors, including a proper business class cabin, plus Wi-Fi. These are all planes that previously flew for low cost subsidiary Thai Smile. Now that they’re in the mainline fleet, it makes sense for Thai Airways to update them, so the airline can offer an experience more in line with what people would expect.

With new interiors, I expect we’ll also see an expansion to the types of routes these planes fly.

What’s your take on Thai Airways’ plans to update A320s?

American cutting nearly 700 US-based contact center jobs

American Airlines is reorganizing its customer service team, which will see the airline laying off at least 335 contact center employees in Phoenix, and at least 320 contact center employees in Dallas.

These non-union employees will maintain their jobs through March 30, 2024. They’ll have the chance to apply for more than 800 current job openings with the company, or otherwise American will help place them elsewhere. If employees are not able to find employment elsewhere in the company or are eligible to retire, they’ll be offered a severance payment.

If you are in touch with an American contact center employee in the coming weeks, be extra nice, because they could soon be out of a job.

How American is reorganizing its contact center

Here’s how American describes the reorganization of its contact center team in a statement:

“Today, we announced updates to our contact center organization that will help us better serve our customers. As part of these updates, we are creating a new Customer Success team that will be dedicated to providing more convenient, elevated support to American Airlines customers with some of their most complex travel needs.”

So American is creating a new “Customer Success team” that will be made up of 135 “upskilled team members,” who will handle more complex travel issues. Then American will be expanding its outsourced teams offering 24/7 support for less complex customer questions.

Presumably none of these employees will be as efficient as Gemma Flint, er, Cathy Garcia, er, whatever name American is now using for its automated customer relations.

American claims that setting up a smaller dedicated team of US agents and then outsourcing the rest of the jobs will somehow provide travelers with “an even higher level of support in the future.” American has been using its outsourced customer service teams since 2021, and claims that the airline has “seen improved customer satisfaction” with these employees.

Bottom line

American Airlines is cutting hundreds of US-based contact center positions. Instead, the airline will set up a smaller team of “upskilled” US-based customer service employees, and will outsource the rest of these positions. The airline claims that this reorganization will allow the airline to provide “an even higher level of support.” As the old Fox News slogan used to go, “we report, you decide.”

What do you make of American’s contact center reorganization?

Austrian will fly to Boston as of July 2024

As of July 1, 2024, Austrian will launch a 6x weekly flight between Vienna (VIE) and Boston (BOS). The flight will operate every day except Wednesdays, with the following schedule:

OS91 Vienna to Boston departing 10:40AM arriving 1:50PM
OS92 Boston to Vienna departing 5:10PM arriving 7:25AM (+1 day)

The 4,050-mile flight is blocked at 9hr10min westbound and 8hr15min eastbound. Currently flights are on sale through late October 2024, so it remains to be seen if this will be a seasonal route, or if the airline just hasn’t opened up bookings further out yet, as either is possible.

Austrian intends to use a Boeing 767-300 for the route, featuring a total of 211 seats, including 24 business class seats, 30 premium economy seats, and 157 economy seats. While it’s not exactly the world’s most modern plane, the 2-3-2 configuration in economy is quite comfortable, and Austrian has the same business class on the 767 and 777 anyway.

I’m a fan of Austrian in general. While I don’t love the carrier’s business class seats, I do like the carrier’s soft product, as the airline has excellent catering, including a signature coffee menu.

Austrian should soon modernize its long haul fleet, as it will take delivery of 10 Boeing 787s in the coming years. The first batch of 787s should be delivered this year, and it’s expected that some of Lufthansa’s existing 787s will simply be transferred to Austrian.

How Boston fits into Austrian’s route network

Boston will be Austrian’s sixth destination in the United States, complementing flights to Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), and Washington (IAD).

Austrian had actually initially announced flights to Boston in 2019, with plans to launch the route as of late March 2020. However, as you’d expect, that route never ended up launching due to the pandemic. It’s now finally happening, just over four years behind schedule.

Austrian is part of the Lufthansa Group, so the airline will be joining both Lufthansa and SWISS in offering service to Boston. Lufthansa flies to Boston out of both Frankfurt and Munich, while SWISS flies to Boston out of Zurich.

By the way, selfishly I hope that Austrian might restart flights to Miami (MIA) at some point. The airline used to fly there, though it wasn’t even just a victim of the pandemic — in 2019, Austrian announced that it would cut flights to Florida. However, Miami has seen a lot of growth in the past few years, so who knows, maybe it’ll make a comeback.

Bottom line

As of July 2024, Austrian Airlines will be adding a new route between Vienna and Boston using a Boeing 767. This was first supposed to launch in March 2020, but was delayed due to the pandemic. Now the route is finally happening.

What do you make of Austrian launching Boston flights?

Marriott Bonvoy 2024 promotion details

With Marriott Bonvoy’s upcoming global promotion:

• Members can earn 1,000 bonus Bonvoy points per eligible paid night
• Members can earn one bonus elite qualifying night per eligible paid night

Registration is required for this promotion, and as you’d expect, there are some details to be aware of:

• The promotion is valid for stays between February 13 and April 29, 2024, regardless of when they’re booked
• Registration is required prior to your first eligible stay, and registration closes on April 15, 2024
• Only stays paid with cash qualify toward this promotion, so award stays (including Cash + Points stays) don’t qualify
• The bonus points will post within seven business days of checking out of a hotel
• There’s no limit to how many bonus points or bonus elite nights you can earn (beyond the limit of how many nights you can stay)
• You must select Bonvoy points as your points earning preference (rather than airline miles)
• All hotels globally are participating, with the exception of stays at Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott Executive Apartments, and owner-occupied weeks at Marriott Vacation Club, Marriott Grand Residence Club, Sheraton Vacation Club Westin Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Club, St. Regis Residence Club, and Luxury Collection Residence Club

How valuable is this Marriott Bonvoy promotion?

While not the most exciting thing on earth, this is one of the better promotions we’ve seen from Marriott Bonvoy in quite some time. A few thoughts:

• I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, meaning that you’re earning an incremental $7 in points per eligible paid night; that’s obviously more lucrative for a stay at an inexpensive property than at an expensive property
• Then you earn two elite nights per eligible paid night, which can help you qualify for elite status twice as fast
• I like how you’re awarded per night rather than per stay, so it doesn’t incentivize constantly hopping around, like some other promotions we’ve seen from the program in the past
• I appreciate that the offer kicks in starting with the first stay, unlike some of Marriott’s past promotions, which only kick in starting with the second stay
• I find it strange how strongly Marriott is discouraging award stays now for the purposes of promotions, as they don’t qualify

Normal Marriott Bonvoy points earning rates

Not factoring in this promotion, Marriott Bonvoy members ordinarily earn:

• 10x Bonvoy points per dollar spent at most brands
• 5x Bonvoy points per dollar spent at Element, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites

Then there are elite bonuses:

• Silver Elite members earn 10% bonus points
• Gold Elite members earn 25% bonus points
• Platinum Elite members earn 50% bonus points
• Titanium Elite & Ambassador Elite members earn 75% bonus points

The above doesn’t include the points you can earn for credit card spending at hotels:

• You can earn up to 6x Bonvoy points per dollar spent on most co-branded Marriott cards, including the the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (review) and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review)
• Otherwise, you can earn up to 3x transferable points on hotel spending (with Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou)

As a Titanium member with a co-branded credit card, I ordinarily earn 23.5x Bonvoy points per dollar spent. At a valuation of 0.7 cents per point, that’s like a ~16% return on hotel spending.

Bottom line

Marriott Bonvoy has unveiled the details of its first global promotion of 2024, so make sure you register. With this, members can earn 1,000 bonus points plus one bonus elite night for every eligible paid night during the promotion period.

Marriott Bonvoy doesn’t historically have the most exciting promotions, so this is a pretty great offer. I think the double elite nights component of this promotion is also telling. Presumably it reflects the lack of recovery of business travel, leisure travel weakening, or maybe a combination of both.

What do you make of Marriott Bonvoy’s upcoming global promotion?

The A350-1000 is already in service on its first route. Now the airline has revealed the next few flights that will get this plane, though we don’t have an exact timeline yet. Still, let’s go over what we do know, to reflect the updates.

Let me emphasize that these A350-1000s are separate from the company’s A350-900s, which are exclusively used for domestic flights (and which have been in the news quite a bit).

Japan Airlines’ A350-1000 fleet progress

Japan Airlines has so far taken delivery of two Airbus A350-1000s, out of the 13 that the airline has on order:

• The first A350-1000 has the registration code JA01WJ, and operated its delivery flight from Toulouse (TLS) to Tokyo (HND) on December 14, 2023
• The second A350-1000 has the registration code JA02WJ, and operated its delivery flight on January 13, 2024

Japan Arlines is taking delivery of these jets progressively, and all 13 A350-1000s aren’t expected to join the oneworld carrier’s fleet until 2028, at which point the Boeing 777-300ERs will be retired. We don’t have an exact schedule for what deliveries will look like, but it’s expected that at least a couple more of these planes will join Japan Airlines’ fleet in 2024.

Japan Airlines’ current A350-1000 routes & flights

Japan Airlines is now flying the Airbus A350-1000 daily between Tokyo (HND) and New York (JFK). The airline operates two daily frequencies in the market, and the following frequency is the one to currently features this special jet:

JL6 Tokyo to New York departing 11:05AM arriving 10:50AM
JL5 New York to Tokyo departing 1:45PM arriving 5:15PM (+1 day)

Japan Airlines’ future A350-1000 routes & flights

While there’s no timeline yet, Japan Airlines has announced the next routes and flights that are expected to get the Airbus A350-1000. The next route to get the Airbus A350-1000 will be the carrier’s daily flight between Tokyo (HND) and Dallas (DFW), which operates with the following schedule:

JL12 Tokyo to Dallas departing 10:55AM arriving 8:40AM
JL11 Dallas to Tokyo departing 11:30AM arriving 2:40PM (+1 day)

However, the airline hasn’t yet announced when the route will be operated by the A350-1000, so that’s anyone’s guess as of now. Personally I wouldn’t expect it to be before the second half of 2024, and even then, don’t expect it will immediately get the A350 daily.

Now Japan Airlines has also announced the next two flights to get the Airbus A350-1000, after Dallas. Specifically:

• Japan Airlines will fly the A350-1000 on the second daily Tokyo (HND) to New York (JFK) flight, frequencies JL3/4
• Japan Airlines will fly the A350-1000 on the daily Tokyo (HND) to London flight, frequencies JL43/44

While there’s no formal timeline there, the airline states that these flights should start to see the A350-1000 as of the fiscal year 2024, which runs through March 31, 2025. Now, it seems a bit aggressive to think that all four of these frequencies would get A350-1000s daily in that timeframe, since that would probably require a an absolute minimum of six frames, and possibly even seven or eight, depending on scheduling and spare aircraft.

I don’t believe Japan Airlines intends to take delivery of that many A350s so quickly, so only time will tell. However, as of now that’s the official claim.

It’s interesting what markets aren’t getting the plane

One thing I can’t help but point out is how noteworthy it is that both Los Angeles and San Francisco aren’t among the first several routes to get the A350-1000. That’s despite the fact that these are among the carrier’s shortest long haul routes, and the airline could even operate a daily roundtrip flight to San Francisco with one frame.

People often assume that Los Angeles and San Francisco are lucrative markets across the Pacific, because of tech and Hollywood. However, these are also very competitive markets, and yields across the Pacific from those airports can be tough. Japan Airlines hasn’t even consistently been offering first class to the West Coast in recent months.

Bottom line

Japan Airlines has put its Airbus A350-1000 into commercial service. The aircraft is initially flying daily between Tokyo and New York. The next destination to get the plane will be Dallas. Then after that, we can expect the second daily frequency to New York, plus the London flight, to be the next routes to get the plane.

The timeline of all these flights getting the A350-1000 by the end of the fiscal year 2024 seems a bit aggressive, so we’ll see how this plays out.

What do you make of Japan Airlines’ Airbus A350-1000 routes?

Alaska Mileage Plan offering 2-3x elite miles

Between February 1 and February 29, 2024, Alaska Mileage Plan will be offering bonus elite qualifying miles (EQMs). There’s no registration required, but rather members will automatically earn the following:

• All Mileage Plan members will earn 2x Mileage Plan elite qualifying miles
• Mileage Plan members booking fares with corporate rates will earn 3x Mileage Plan elite qualifying miles

In order to take advantage of this, you must be flying on Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air, so travel on partner airlines doesn’t qualify. Furthermore, Saver Fares aren’t eligible for the bonus elite qualifying miles.

As a reminder, here are the Alaska Mileage Plan elite requirements:

• Mileage Plan MVP status requires 20,000 elite qualifying miles
• Mileage Plan MVP Gold status requires 40,000 elite qualifying miles
• Mileage Plan MVP Gold 75K status requires 75,000 elite qualifying miles
• Mileage Plan MVP Gold 100K status requires 100,000 elite qualifying miles

This is obviously in response to the 737 MAX 9 grounding

It’s not tough to figure out Alaska Airlines’ motive here. The airline has had a really rough start to the year, given that Boeing 737 MAX 9s were grounded for most of January, after a door plug blew off shortly after a plane departed Portland.

Alaska Airlines has 65 Boeing 737 MAX 9s, so the plane makes up more than 20% of Alaska’s mainline fleet (and an even higher percentage of overall capacity).

So not only has Alaska had a tough start in terms of capacity, but there’s also definitely concern among some with flying the 737 MAX 9, so it’s not surprising to see Alaska trying to stimulate demand.

Alaska Mileage Plan continues to be an incredibly lucrative program, so if you have any travel in February, it’s going to be quite rewarding. It’s also interesting to note that Delta has been adding promotions in the Pacific Northwest, clearly to poach Alaska flyers. The airline has been offering bonus Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) for travel to and from the region. Obviously Delta was taking advantage of the fact that the airline doesn’t fly any 737 MAXs.

Bottom line

Alaska Mileage Plan will be offering double to triple elite qualifying miles for the month of February 2024. There’s no registration required, and all revenue Alaska tickets except Saver Fares will qualify toward this. This is a great opportunity, especially if you’re a corporate traveler.

Are you taking advantage of this Alaska Mileage Plan promotion?

Get rewarded with Etihad Guest for Hyatt stays

Thanks to a new promotion, you can earn 1,000 Etihad Guest bonus miles per stay at an eligible World of Hyatt property:

• You must register prior to your first eligible stay, and between January 29 and February 29, 2024 (though it’s fine if you booked your stay prior to registering)
• You must then stay between February 1 and March 31, 2024
• Then you’ll earn 1,000 Etihad Guest bonus miles per stay at any eligible World of Hyatt property worldwide; this would be any Hyatt property where you earn elite nights, and that includes Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties
• There’s no opportunity cost to taking advantage of this, as you’ll still earn World of Hyatt points as usual
• Bonus Etihad Guest miles will post to your account within six to eight weeks of an eligible stay

Since World of Hyatt isn’t currently offering a global promotion, this is a nice added incentive for Hyatt stays. Also note that this is separate from the World of Hyatt and American AAdvantage partnership, so if your accounts are linked, you can take advantage of both opportunities.

How you can redeem Etihad Guest miles

While I absolutely love flying with Etihad Airways — especially in A350 business class and A380 first class — the Etihad Guest program as such isn’t that robust. The program has very high redemption rates in Etihad first class, while business class redemption rates are a bit more reasonable. Etihad’s partner redemption rates are also quite unattractive.

I’d say the best use of the program is redeeming for Etihad business class. While booking Etihad business class through programs (like American AAdvantage) might be a better value, the catch is that Etihad restricts a lot of award availability to its own members, which makes the program more necessary than in the past.

Note that Etihad Guest miles expire after 18 months of inactivity. However, they can be extended with any activity.

Bottom line

For the next two months, it’s possible to earn 1,000 Etihad Guest bonus miles per World of Hyatt stay. Just register for the promotion, and you’ll automatically earn these miles in addition to the World of Hyatt points you’d usually earn. There’s no reason not to take advantage of this, and hopefully the partnership between the two brands is expanded in the future.

Will you be taking advantage of this Hyatt and Etihad promotion?

Malaysia Airlines’ new business class for A330neos

Malaysia Airlines has 20 Airbus A330-900neos on order, which the airline will use to refresh its long haul fleet, and replace existing Airbus A330s. The oneworld airline is expected to take delivery of its first of these jets in Q3 2024, and the intent is for four of these planes to join the carrier’s fleet by the end of 2024.

This represents a bit of a delay compared to the initial timeline, as Malaysia Airlines was supposed to take delivery of its first A330-900neo in late 2023 (though these kinds of delays have become the norm in the industry).

Malaysia Airlines has now formally announced that the A330-900neos will feature 297 seats, including 28 business class seats and 269 economy class seats (and of those, 24 will feature extra legroom).

In business class, Malaysia Airlines plans to introduce reverse herringbone seats with doors. Specifically, the airline has selected the Collins Aerospace Elevation product, which is essentially a rebranding of the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond product. This is the same product you’ll find in British Airways’ Club Suites, as well as in Etihad’s A350 business class.

There aren’t yet any renderings of Malaysia’s new seats, though these are pretty generic, so it’s easy enough to figure out what they’ll look like. The airline notes how the seat covers will feature the signature songket motif, a homage to Malaysia’s cultural heritage, infused with a modern touch.

I’d consider this product to compare quite favorably to Malaysia’s existing A330 business class, consisting of staggered seats. The catch is that the A330neo’s fuselage isn’t as wide as that of the 777 or A350, so the reverse herringbone seats may feel pretty tight. Malaysia Airlines will be the first airline to install these seats on the A330-900neo.

Malaysia Airlines’ planned A350 product refresh

Long term, Malaysia Airlines has six Airbus A350-900s in its fleet, which the carrier uses for its flagship route to London Heathrow (LHR), and more. Malaysia also plans to refresh its product on these planes, with the same reverse herringbone seats you’ll find on A330neos.

Malaysia currently has staggered business class seats on its A350s (similar to what you’ll find on the A330s), so this new product should represent a significant upgrade.

Malaysia’s A350s also has a row of premium business class seats at the front of the plane. These used to be marketed as first class, but were then rebranded as the Business Suite. Not surprisingly, when these planes are reconfigured, the plan is to eliminate this product.

As of now, Malaysia intends to reconfigure these jets starting in 2026. Personally I’d assume these plans remain highly subject to change, because retrofitting existing aircraft definitely becomes less of a priority if there’s any sort of an economy downturn, or anything. Malaysia Airlines isn’t exactly an airline that has historically had a stable strategy. But those seem to be the plans as of now…

Note that in addition to the six permanent A350-900s that Malaysia Airlines has, the airline has an extra one of these jets that’s leased, which used to fly for Scandinavian Airlines. This plane has a different product, and to my knowledge, there are no plans to reconfigure it.

Bottom line

Malaysia Airlines will soon be refreshing its long haul fleet, with 20 new A330neos, and the first jet will be delivered in Q3 2024. The airline has formally announced that it plans to introduce Collins Aerospace Elevation seats with doors on these aircraft, similar to what you’ll find on British Airways and Etihad.

This is an excellent business class product, so I’m looking forward to seeing these in service. However, on the A330, these will probably feel pretty tight. The airline also intends to eventually reconfigure existing A350s with these cabins, but we’ll see if those plans stick.

What do you make of Malaysia’s new A330neo business class plans?

In this post I wanted to share my initial thoughts on the experience, and then I’ll have a full trip report soon.

ZIPAIR’s 787 business class is comfortable & basic

ZIPAIR is an ultra low cost carrier, so the airline includes very little with fares. What is unique about ZIPAIR is that the airline has a business class cabin with fully flat, reverse herringbone seats, referred to as “ZIP Full Flat.” The thing to understand is that this isn’t actually a separate class of service. Rather you’re just paying extra for the seat, and there are no other inclusions. There’s not even a curtain that’s closed between cabins.

Fortunately the premium for this product is shockingly reasonable. For example, for my flight, an economy ticket would have cost $177.75, while a reverse herringbone seat cost an extra ~$39.

ZIPAIR’s premium cabin is very comfortable. The reverse herringbones seats are well padded and spacious, and the cabin has 18 seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Of course the immediate thing that stands out is the lack of personal televisions, as this is the first airline in the world to install reverse herringbone seats without personal entertainment. So instead, you’ll get a great view of the safety card for the entire flight!

Personal space is the greatest thing you can have on a plane, and in that sense, ZIPAIR offers phenomenal value, as basic as the product may be.

ZIPAIR’s free Wi-Fi, limited entertainment

While ZIPAIR might not have personal seat back entertainment, the airline does offer all passengers free Wi-Fi, and it worked reasonably well on my flight. It’s always funny to see the different approaches airlines take. On a full service airline you’ll typically pay for Wi-Fi, while on this ultra low cost carrier it’s free.

Given the choice between free Wi-Fi or seat back entertainment, I’d most definitely choose the former!

Now, ZIPAIR does offer streaming entertainment, but manage your expectations, as there were a total of 10 movies to choose from.

ZIPAIR’s inflight service is very limited

ZIPAIR fares include nothing in terms of food or drinks, so if you want anything, you have to order it. You can either place an order in advance, or you can place an order through the Wi-Fi portal on your device.

What’s interesting is that unlike on other ultra low cost carriers, the crew doesn’t come through the cabin with carts, trying to tempt people to buy anything. I’ve never been on a flight where the crew was as invisible. The extent of the service was them bringing people bags with their orders, and picking up trash once. That was it. Let me be clear — I’m not knocking them, that’s totally fine, it’s just that I’ve never experienced this service flow before.

I decided to live it up and get the full ZIPAIR experience, so I had pre-ordered quite a few things, and they were all brought to me in bags maybe 15 minutes after takeoff.

For example, I ordered the amenity kit, consisting of a blanket, an inflatable pillow, slippers, eyeshades, and earplugs, which cost $18.

I also ordered some white chocolate cookies, which will make a good gift back home, and which cost $6.

Then to eat on this flight, I ordered the sukeroku sushi set, which cost ~$10, plus a Coke Zero, which cost ~$3.

While this wasn’t close to a great business class experience, the value was phenomenal, and this was a perfectly edible meal for such a short flight.

Some other ZIPAIR musings

A couple of other random notes about ZIPAIR, which I can’t help but share. First of all, is there an airline startup with an uglier livery than ZIPAIR? I mean, this airline launched operations a few years ago, and the livery looks like it’s from decades ago. It almost looks like a retro livery. Now, in fairness, the airline used to have a more interesting tail design, but they had to change it because of Russia.

Next, as someone who loves airline boarding music, I appreciate how ZIPAIR has a dedicated boarding music track. The carrier’s boarding music is super fun fun that’s upbeat, and that’s great for the carrier’s vibe (you can hear the music below, the ignore the talking — if anyone knows of a better track available online, please let me know).

Here’s the thing — the song is only 75 seconds long. I really enjoyed it the first time. Maybe even the second time. And the third time. But by the 12th time… well… it was a different story…

Bottom line

ZIPAIR offers a pleasant experience, and the carrier’s “Full Flat” business class product is an exceptional value. While it doesn’t come with any service, you get a huge amount of space for a small premium, and for many travelers, that’s going to be a good deal. While there’s no seat back entertainment, I’d say the free Wi-Fi makes up for that.

Now, I probably wouldn’t fly ZIPAIR again, and that’s simply because I have access to miles and points, so I can usually fly in a “real” premium cabin product at a great value. However, if I didn’t have access to miles, this is something that I’d book again in a heartbeat, because there’s value for money.

What do you make of ZIPAIR “Full Flat” business class?

A traveler’s New York hotel safe robbery story

Someone reached out to me with a very detailed account of what they claim happened at the Marriott Residence Inn Manhattan Midtown East in New York City. Let me emphasize that this is just an accusation, so obviously I can’t personally vouch for whether things happened exactly the way the traveler claims.

However, the traveler is being very transparent (like, wildly so), has filed a police report, and has contacted the Argentinian consulate, so he’s making very consistent claims. I think this is at least worth drawing some attention to, since the traveler says he’s getting nowhere with any Marriott channels.

For some background, this Argentinian man was traveling with his wife and two young children, and he claims to be a police officer and lawyer in Argentina. He was on a multi-week trip to the United States, starting in New York on December 28, 2023, and ending in Miami on January 17, 2024. He describes this as a special trip where they were using a significant portion of their savings.

The family was traveling with $19,000 in cash. While that might seem odd for us Americans, keep in mind that it’s common for many foreigners to pay with cash when traveling, especially those coming from countries with volatile currencies. He declared this amount with US Customs & Border Protection when entering the country, and even shared the receipt of that declaration with me.

So, here are the traveler’s version of events of what happened after the family checked into the hotel on December 28, 2023:

• On the morning of December 29, the man put $19,000 in cash, a watch, and passports, in the safe of room 827 at the hotel, and then the family went sightseeing for the day
• In the evening, the family returned to the room, but couldn’t open the safe; so he called the front desk and was told there weren’t any engineers available that night, which he found strange
• The following morning, an engineer opened the safe, but the cash was missing (while everything else was still there)
• The traveler requested that the hotel call the police, which they refused to do, so he called them himself; several cops showed up at the hotel, and then lifted fingerprints from the safe and the front door, questioned staff, and more
• The traveler shares a confirmation of a tour that they had booked well in advance for December 30, which they had to reschedule due to all of this, which the traveler describes as “further proof that this was an unexpected tragedy for us”

Here’s where it gets even more interesting. The traveler shares a picture he took of the money in the safe from the morning he placed it in there. Why would he do that? He claims to have taken it because he had a bad feeling.

The day of their arrival, they left all their bags with the front desk, since the room wasn’t yet ready. When they returned, the zip tie on one of the bags was open, and the zipper wasn’t closed correctly (though nothing was taken, since there were no valuables in the bag). The hotel had no explanation for that.

The next logical question is why the hotel would have suspected he had so much cash. The answer is because he tried to pay for the stay in cash at check-in (rather than using a credit card), but the hotel didn’t allow that. So at least some people at the hotel knew he had a significant amount of cash. The cost of the hotel stay over New Year’s Eve was over $3,000.

What do we make of this story?

As I said at the beginning of this post, I can’t personally vouch for the accuracy of any of this, which is to say that I didn’t see the traveler place the money in the safe, and I also didn’t see anyone from the hotel take the money.

That being said, this person provided an incredibly detailed account of what happened. The traveler declared the money when entering the United States, the traveler even took a picture of money in the safe, and we also have reason to believe that people at the hotel knew he had a lot of cash on him.

Now, let me of course also acknowledge that fraud happens in the world, and some might say that this traveler’s version of events are almost too perfect. He had proof of the cash, and he literally took a timestamped picture of the safe’s contents prior to leaving the room, and after that it was robbed.

This traveler also went to the Argentinian consulate about this and claims to be a police officer in the country, so making up something like this would seem like a very bad idea. He even said I could use his full name in this post (which I’m just not comfortable doing), so he’s not trying to hide behind anonymity. Perhaps it’s because he’s a cop that he’s actually taking the precautions that almost seem suspicious to the average person.

Lastly, if someone is going to commit fraud, it’s not usually going to be when their spouse and young children are there, as the traveler describes this as being incredibly traumatic for his young children, as they spent the entire day dealing with this police investigation.

I’m sharing this story in hopes that an actually thorough and transparent investigation is performed, because this person tells me that he’s just getting the silent treatment from the hotel, from Marriott corporate, etc.

The hotel presumably has cameras, so it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out whether there’s merit to this story, and whether people entered his room or not. Furthermore, presumably there would have been some level of coordination here between people — the front desk agents knew he had cash, while engineering (or someone else working in the rooms division) would have probably accessed the safe.

Bottom line

An Argentinian man taking a special family trip to New York claims to have had $19,000 in cash stolen from a hotel safe. The traveler had so much cash because the plan was to pay for everything during the trip with cash, and the hotel knew he had the money, since he tried to pay in cash at the beginning of the stay (rather than using a credit card).

At a minimum, hopefully Marriott takes this seriously and investigates. I’m inclined to believe this version of events, but of course you never know.

If nothing else, it’s a good reminder that a hotel safe isn’t quite as safe (no pun intended) as many people may assume. Yes, you’re protected from outside theft, but you’re not protected from an inside job, and most hotel robberies are the latter.

What do you make of this story?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card is one of the most popular premium credit cards on the market. While the card has a hefty annual fee, it’s easy to justify thanks to the great rewards structure, the annual travel credit, and the lounge access perk. If you travel frequently, and spend a decent amount on dining and travel, then this card is absolutely for you.

In this post, I wanted to provide an in-depth review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, and also compare it to the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve worth it?

Chase Sapphire Reserve Basics For January 2024

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a card that has it all — a great welcome bonus, excellent perks, a rewarding points structure, valuable lounge access, and much more. The Chase Sapphire Reserve was built on the fundamentals of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review), so is the higher annual fee of the Sapphire Reserve warranted?

Sapphire Reserve Welcome Bonus: 60,000 Points ($900 Worth Of Travel)

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a welcome bonus of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 within three months.

At an absolute minimum, if you have the Sapphire Reserve, then Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for 1.5 cents each toward a travel purchase, meaning that 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points will get you $900 worth of travel. As I’ll explain below, there are ways to get way more value out of the points than that.

Card Bonus Eligibility & Chase 5/24 Rule

If you’re applying for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can only be approved if you don’t currently have any Sapphire card, and haven’t received a new cardmember bonus on a Sapphire card in the past 48 months (this includes the Sapphire Preferred). On top of that, Chase’s general application rules apply, including the 5/24 rule, though anecdotal reports suggest this is no longer being consistently enforced.

How High Of A Credit Score Do You Need To Be Approved?

Credit card issuers don’t publish a minimum credit score required to be approved for a card, though you do in general, need excellent credit to get approved for this card. I wouldn’t apply for the Sapphire Reserve if my credit score were under 720, and ideally, it would be over 740.

It’s possible to get approved with a lower score, and it’s also possible to be denied with a higher score. There are many factors that go into card approval, including your income, your existing relationship with Chase, and more.

Product Changing

Chase will often let you product change from one card to another (either personal-to-personal or business-to-business), assuming you’ve had the card for at least 12 months. For example, one strategy could be to apply for the Sapphire Preferred, use it for 12 months, and then later you can upgrade to the Sapphire Reserve, if you’d like. You’ll have to call Chase to find out the options available on your account.

Sapphire Reserve $550 Annual Fee

The Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee. Among the super-premium credit cards out there, this is in line with what we have come to expect. As I’ll explain below, in reality this card shouldn’t be costing anyone even nearly that much every year, though.

$75 Authorized User Fee

You can add authorized users to the Sapphire Reserve, and there’s a $75 fee per person. This can be well worth it, because not only do authorized users get your increased points earning rates, but they also get a Priority Pass membership (including unlimited access to Chase Sapphire Lounges), Visa Infinite benefits, and more.

Earning Chase Sapphire Reserve Points

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has two very well-rounded bonus categories on spending, and some other temporary and/or more niche bonus categories.

When picking a credit card, I always recommend getting one that has bonus categories that match up with your spending profile. Some cards offer bonus points on dining, gas stations, supermarkets, etc., so pick the card that works best for you.

Sapphire Reserve 3x Points On Travel

The Sapphire Reserve offers 3x points on travel purchases globally. To me, this is the single best card when it comes to a broad travel bonus category, given all of the things that this covers. Chase’s travel category includes the following:

airlines, airports, car rental agencies (including truck, trailer, and RV), cruise ships, hotels and motels, timeshares, local and commuter transportation (including trains, buses, taxis/limos, ferries, bridges, tolls and parking), travel agencies

I value Ultimate Rewards points at ~1.7 cents each, so to me, that’s the equivalent of a 5.1% return on those purchases, which is pretty incredible.

Sapphire Reserve 3x Points On Dining

The Sapphire Reserve offers 3x points on dining purchases globally. Chase’s dining category includes the following:

merchants whose primary business is sit-down or eat-in dining, including fast food restaurants as well as fine dining establishments.

While there are other competitive cards for dining, this is a solid bonus for this spending, as I value this at a 5.1% return.

Sapphire Reserve 10x Points With Chase Dining

The Sapphire Reserve offers 10x points on dining booked through Chase Sapphire Dining. This is essentially intended to be a curated dining platform for cardmembers, that includes special events, like at-home dining events, special Michelin-star restaurant reservations, and more.

As of now, I’d say this is of limited use to most, though I hope that we see this platform expanded over time because it has potential. Fortunately, you still earn 3x points on other dining purchases.

Sapphire Reserve 10x Points With Lyft

Through March 2025, the Sapphire Reserve offers 10x points on Lyft purchases. I’ve found this to be incredibly useful, as to me that’s the equivalent of a 17% return on Lyft spending, which is awesome.

Sapphire Reserve 10x Points On Hotels & Rental Cars

The Sapphire Reserve offers 10x points on hotels and rental cars booked through the Chase Travel Portal. This doesn’t apply when you book directly, but rather only when booking a hotel or rental car through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Given that 10x points is the equivalent of a 17% return, this would make sense for some, though it is limiting.

Often hotels and car rental companies will have better prices if you book direct (and you can still earn 3x points), so personally, I don’t use this all that much.

Sapphire Reserve 5x Points On Flights

The Sapphire Reserve offers 5x points on flights booked through the Chase Travel Portal. While earning 5x points on flights is great, it is limiting to have to book directly through Chase. Personally I prefer to book directly with airlines, since it’s then easier to change or cancel flights (and you can still earn 3x points).

Nonetheless if you’re a cardmember it’s worth keeping this in mind, since there are situations where booking through Chase could make sense.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

The Sapphire Reserve has no foreign transaction fees, so this is an excellent card to use for purchases globally, since you can earn valuable rewards while not being stuck with those fees, which are sometimes 3%.

Best of all, I find that a large percentage of my purchases abroad are in the travel and dining categories, so I can avoid foreign transaction fees while earning 3x points — that’s the best of both worlds!

Redeeming Chase Sapphire Reserve Points

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which I find to be one of the most valuable flexible points currencies. Not only that, but having the Sapphire Reserve means that you can redeem your points for more than you could if you had other cards.

As I’ll explain below, there are a couple of ways that you can most efficiently redeem your Ultimate Rewards points.

Redeem Points For 1.5 Cents Each Toward Travel

Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed toward the cost of travel purchases through the Chase Travel Portal. This means you can redeem points for all kinds of travel purchases, ranging from flights to hotels to rental cars.

The value you get per point varies based on which card you have:

• If you have the Sapphire Reserve, then all your Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for 1.5 cents each
• If you “just” have the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred, points can be redeemed for 1.25 cents each

In other words, if you get the Sapphire Reserve you could use your Ultimate Rewards points to book a $900 flight for 60,000 points. This allows you to redeem with no blackout dates, and avoid the complexity of frequent flyer programs.

Furthermore, when you redeem your points toward flights through the portal you can even accrue points for those flights.

Transfer Points To Airline & Hotel Partners

My favorite way to redeem Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to one of the Chase Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners. Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio, and this is a great option if you want to book aspirational travel, like staying at a five star hotel or redeeming for first or business class travel. Just make sure you study up on this, and learn the tips & tricks of maximizing points.

Here are the Ultimate Rewards transfer partners:

How Should You Redeem Ultimate Rewards Points?

Being able to redeem points for 1.5 cents each toward a travel purchase (and temporarily for dining) is a great option, especially when you consider that you won’t be dealing with any capacity controls or blackout dates.

Other transferable points currencies typically let you redeem points for roughly one cent each toward a travel purchase, so that’s quite a difference.

However, my favorite use of Ultimate Rewards points is still transferring them to partner airlines and hotels. My personal favorites are Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, Singapore KrisFlyer, and World of Hyatt.

Why? Because if you’re redeeming for aspirational travel, this is a way to get a lot more value. For example, the Park Hyatt Kyoto regularly costs $2,000+ per night when paying cash. Meanwhile, if you transfer points to World of Hyatt, you can book it for 35,000-45,000 points per night.

The same is true for flights. International first class tickets can cost $20,000+. Meanwhile, you transfer points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, you could book All Nippon Airways first class for 72,500-85,000 points one-way between the United States and Japan.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Lounge Access

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers excellent airport lounge access perks, and this is something that has recently become even more valuable. This could be a great reason to not only pick up the card, but also to add authorized users to the card.

Priority Pass Membership

The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with a Priority Pass membership, which gets you access to the world’s largest collection of independent lounges. Best of all, this membership allows you to take two guests with you at no additional cost.

Priority Pass has 1,300+ airport lounges around the world, so access to these lounges will prove useful to just about any traveler. It’s also worth specifically calling out that a Priority Pass membership issued through this card gets you credits at Priority Pass restaurants, as this isn’t something that’s offered with comparable cards through other issuers.

Access Chase Sapphire Lounges

The Chase Sapphire Reserve gets you access to Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club. These lounges are exceptional, among the best credit card lounges out there. While the lounges in the United States can be accessed once annually for all Priority Pass members, those with a Priority Pass membership through the Chase Sapphire Reserve receive unlimited visits annually, with the ability to bring two guests.

This new network of lounges is a huge reason to consider picking up this card, as these lounges really are a treat, especially the ones at New York LaGuardia and Boston Logan.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Benefits

What really sets the Chase Sapphire Reserve apart is the incredible benefits that it offers. These benefits help offset the annual fee, and for many will more than justify it, not even taking into account the welcome bonus, 3x points on spending, and more. The card offers all kinds of perks that will make it worthwhile.

$300 Annual Travel Credit

The Sapphire Reserve offers an incredible $300 annual travel credit. While quite a few credit cards offer credits, there are typically lots of strings attached. That’s not the case with the Sapphire Reserve.

There’s no registration required, and any purchases that are coded as travel will be reimbursed automatically. This could include flights, Uber rides, taxis, train tickets, hotels, and more. You don’t have to use the entire credit in one transaction but rather can use it across as many transactions as are needed.

Account Anniversary Year Definition

The $300 annual travel credit doesn’t reset with the calendar year, but rather resets each account anniversary year. This would be based on 12 billing cycles following when you receive the card.

How To Track Your $300 Credit

When you go to the Ultimate Rewards homepage and log into your account, click on the “Your Dashboard” section, at the top right of the page. There you should see a section that shows how much of your spending toward the credit you’ve completed, and it will also show when your anniversary year resets, which would be when you get your next credit.

Is This Really A $250 Annual Fee Card?

While the Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee, in reality, this card shouldn’t be costing anyone more than $250 per year, by the time you factor in the $300 annual travel credit.

Anyone who gets this card should spend at least $300 per year on travel. If you don’t, this probably isn’t the card for you, given that it offers travel rewards. That’s what has made this card so accessible for many — while you’re paying a much higher fee upfront, the card should only cost you at most $250 per year.

Lyft Pink All Access Membership

Not only can you receive 10x points for Lyft purchases, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve also offers a Lyft Pink All Access membership. You must activate this by December 31, 2024, and once activated, it’s valid for two years. This ordinarily retails for $199 per year, so it’s potentially a pretty significant value.

Lyft Pink All Access offers perks like free priority pickup upgrades, discounts on select rides, cancellation forgiveness, complimentary classic bike rides, ebike and scooter unlocks, and more.

DoorDash DashPass & Monthly Credit Benefit

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a DoorDash DashPass membership. The membership is valid all the way through December 31, 2024.

With DoorDash DashPass, you pay a $0 delivery fee when ordering from thousands of restaurants and grocery stores nationwide. Just place an order totaling at least $12 from an eligible restaurant or $25 from an eligible grocery store, and you’ll get a $0 delivery fee and a reduced service fee.

On top of that, through December 2024, the card is offering a $5 monthly DoorDash credit. The credit expires after three months, so you could use a $5 credit each month, or a $15 credit every three months.

Instacart+ Membership & Instacart Credits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a couple of valuable perks with Instacart, for those who who enroll.

First of all, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a 12 month Instacart+ membership, which comes with perks like waived delivery fees on most orders of over $35, reduced service fees, 5% back on eligible pickup orders, and more.

On top of that, through July 31, 2024, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a $15 monthly Instacart credit. This expires after three months, meaning you can “bank” them and could use a single $45 credit every three months, if you wanted to.

Global Entry, NEXUS, Or TSA PreCheck Credit

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years. Just charge the membership fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed (up to $100). It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card.

Why You Should Register For Global Entry Over TSA PreCheck

If you are going to take advantage of this perk, I’d highly recommend registering for Global Entry over TSA PreCheck. TSA PreCheck gets you expedited US airport security screening, while Global Entry gets you expedited US immigration clearance.

Why should you register for Global Entry and not Pre-Check? Because Global Entry also comes with TSA PreCheck, while the inverse isn’t true (signing up for TSA PreCheck doesn’t get you Global Entry). NEXUS is a program that is particularly useful if you’re doing regular land crossings at a US/Canada border.

The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection

Those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve get access to The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, offering additional benefits at 1,000+ luxury hotels around the world. When booking through the program at an eligible rate you receive breakfast for two, complimentary Wi-Fi, a room upgrade if available, early check-in and late check-out if available, and a special property amenity.

Primary Rental Car Coverage

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers primary collision damage waiver coverage against damage up to the cost of most rental car vehicles provided you decline the CDW coverage offered by the rental agency. This includes economy through luxury class vehicles, vans that carry fewer than seven passengers, and SUVs. You’ll want to check your cardmember agreement for full details.

Travel & Purchase Coverage

The Sapphire Reserve is a Visa Infinite Card, so comes with all kinds of great travel and purchase protection.

What’s especially awesome is that you earn triple points for travel with the card, so you can put your travel purchases on this card, and then automatically be covered with the benefits. Airline mileage award tickets qualify for this benefit as well, assuming you put the taxes on the Reserve Card.

Here are the basic details of the coverage, though you’ll want to consult the cardmember agreement for all the details:

Shop Through Chase

Having the Chase Sapphire Reserve gives you access to Shop Through Chase, which is the card’s online shopping portal that can really accelerate the points you earn. By “clicking-through” the portal you can earn extra points for purchases with dozens of online retailers.

I earn several thousand extra points each year on purchases I would have made anyway just by clicking through the Shop Through Chase portal first.

Is The Chase Sapphire Reserve Worth It?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has become an extremely popular card, and in many ways it sells itself. If you travel with any frequency and spend a fair amount on dining and travel, then I think yes, the Sapphire Reserve could absolutely be worth it.

The way I view it, the card really costs you $250 per year, after factoring in the value of the $300 annual travel credit. For that you’re getting a Priority Pass membership, access to amazing Chase Sapphire Lounges, 3x points on dining and travel, the ability to redeem points for 1.5 cents each, great travel coverage, amazing perks with DoorDash, Instacart, and Lyft, and much more.

All that being said, I also think the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a real competitor to the Sapphire Reserve, and I think for some cardmembers that could make more sense.

I also wanted to talk about some other considerations — how does the Sapphire Reserve compare to the Sapphire Preferred, Amex Platinum, and Capital One Venture X, what’s the best credit card complement, and more.

Tip: Get The Freedom Unlimited As Well

If you have the Sapphire Reserve then you should get the no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review) as well. Why? Because the Chase Freedom Unlimited offers points that can be pooled with the Sapphire Reserve, and it offers 1.5x points on all purchases.

The best strategy is to have both cards and put your dining and travel spending on the Sapphire Reserve (where you earn 3x points), and all your other spending on the Freedom Unlimited (which offers 1.5x points, rather than 1x points).

To me, that’s the single best credit card duo out there. Even if you just redeem points for 1.5 cents each toward a travel purchase, that means you’re earning a 4.5% return on dining and travel, and a 2.25% return on everyday spending.

Showdown: Sapphire Preferred Vs. Sapphire Reserve

The Sapphire Reserve is the evolution of the Sapphire Preferred, so which of the two cards is better? Here’s a comparison of a few factors:

• Welcome bonus: Sapphire Preferred offers 60,000 points, Sapphire Reserve offers 60,000 points with the same $4,000 spend requirement within 3 months
• Annual fee: Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee
• Points earning: Sapphire Preferred offers 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, 2x points on travel, and a 10% anniversary points bonus, while Sapphire Reserve offers 3x points on dining and travel
• Other perks: The cards have some overlap in terms of benefits, though the Sapphire Reserve has the edge by offering a $300 annual travel credit, a Priority Pass membership, access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit every four years, the ability to redeem points for 1.5 cents each, Visa Infinite perks, DoorDash perks, Instacart perks, and Lyft perks

Long-term I think the Sapphire Reserve could be worth it if you value lounge access, and if you value the benefits with DoorDash, Instacart, and Lyft. However, I think for many people, the Sapphire Preferred may be more compelling overall, and a better value — the card has some better bonus categories on spending (plus the 10% anniversary points bonus), and a $50 hotel credit, all with a lower annual fee.

How Does The Amex Platinum Compare?

Probably the most direct competitor to the Sapphire Reserve is The Platinum Card® from American Express (review), which has a $695 annual fee (Rates & Fees).

The Amex Platinum is a card I have as well, and I value it immensely. But I also don’t think it’s as well-rounded.

The card is potentially better for lounge access — it offers Amex Centurion Lounge access, Delta Sky Club access, and a Priority Pass membership (with additional restrictions). It also offers a lot of credits, from a $240 annual digital entertainment credit, to a $200 annual airline fee credit, to a $200 annual hotel credit, to a $200 annual Uber credit, to a $189 annual CLEAR Plus credit, to a $100 annual Saks credit. (Enrollment is required for select benefits)

Personally, I think the Sapphire Reserve is more well-rounded, and if you’re just going to get one of those two cards, that’s the one I’d choose. However, I also think both cards could be worth having.

How does the Capital One Venture X Compare?

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) (Rates & Fees) is another popular premium credit card. The card has a $395 annual fee, which is much lower than than you’ll find on other premium cards, and it offers a ton of value.

The Venture X offers a $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, a Priority Pass membership, access to Capital One Lounges, access to Plaza Premium Lounges, Hertz President’s Circle elite status, primary rental car coverage, cell phone protection, amazing authorized user perks, and more.

The value here is simply incredible, and I think this card is a no-brainer for anyone who is eligible. It’s an especially great card for families.

Bottom Line

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has revolutionized the premium credit card market over the past several years, and continues to be extremely compelling. The card offers a $300 annual travel credit, 3x points on dining and travel, the ability to redeem points for 1.5 cents each, a Priority Pass membership, access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, and much more.

If you want to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card or want to apply, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).

Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

There’s one promotion on online purchases right now that I think is worth being aware of.

Earn 2-6x airline miles on Apple purchases

Apple is a retailer that generally doesn’t discount much, though at the moment there are some opportunities to earn bonus miles for Apple purchases. This promotion is available for a limited time, so you’ll want to act fast.

Today (Monday, January 29, 2024), you can earn 2-6x miles with the following portals for Apple purchases:

• Earn bonus miles with Alaska Mileage Plan Shopping
• Earn bonus miles with Delta SkyMiles Shopping
• Earn bonus miles with American AAdvantage eShopping
• Earn bonus miles with United MileagePlus Shopping

The number of bonus miles you receive depends on the type of product that you’re buying:

• Earn 6x miles on eligible iPhones
• Earn 4x miles on eligible iPads and music accessories
• Earn 2x miles on Apple Watches and all other eligible products

Of these options, I think the best value is with American AAdvantage. That’s because I value the return offered with AAdvantage miles the highest of any of those currencies, and also keep in mind that with AAdvantage you can earn Loyalty Points that count toward status.

What Apple purchases qualify for this bonus?

If you do take advantage of the opportunity to earn bonus miles on Apple purchases, note the following terms about excluded products, how many products you can purchase, etc.:

Rewards not eligible on: Apple Vision Pro, all Apple Vision Pro Accessories, Apple Pro Display XDR, MacBook Pro 14”, MacBook Pro 16”, iMac 24”, Apple Watch Ultra 2, gift wrap, Apple Developer Programs, AppleCare+ monthly subscription, Orders purchased on the Government or Veterans and Military Stores, Shipping, handling and taxes, Purchases made for resale and bulk orders, Gift cards, Gift certificates, Cash equivalents and Purchases made with coupon or discount codes not found on this site. Limits: Eligible only to a customer for up to five (5) units per eligible product, except iPhone, in which case only two (2) units within a thirty-day (30-day) period are eligible.

Bottom line

At the moment it’s possible to earn 2-6x airline miles on purchases with Apple. We see an elevated bonus through shopping portals for Apple purchases an average of once per month. This is a great opportunity if you have any eligible purchases to make.

Anyone plan to take advantage of this Apple shopping portal bonus?

As you’d expect, airlines are adding many flights to Las Vegas in the days around the Super Bowl, especially from the cities where the teams are located, for fans who want to see the game in person. Along those lines, American Airlines is having a little bit of fun with its flight numbers to and from Kansas City.

American operating AA1989 & AA87 Kansas City flights

American will be operating nonstop flights from Kansas City to Las Vegas, but the airline isn’t just using any flight numbers.

Rather, the carrier’s flight from Kansas City to Las Vegas prior to the Super Bowl will have the flight number AA1989. This is obviously in honor of Taylor Swift (and her “1989” album), as she has created a whole new kind of fan base for football…

Meanwhile American’s flight from Las Vegas to Kansas City after the Super Bowl will have the flight number AA87, honoring the jersey number of her beau, Travis Kelce.

Look, we all know the reason that the Kansas City Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl is because of Taylor Swift’s amazing support, so it’s nice to see her being recognized for that. She deserves the credit. The Kansas City Chiefs would be nowhere without her.

I’m just kidding. I have no skin in the game. I actually didn’t know who was going to be in the Super Bowl or when it was going to be until I saw the below. But for some reason, people seem really angry about Taylor Swift making their sport less manly, or something, so I’ll play along.

This kind of numbering of flights is nothing new, as I’ve written in the past about how airlines have fun with flight numbers. For example, American ordinarily has flight AA777 to Las Vegas, flight AA1492 to Columbus, and flight AA1776 to Philadelphia.

The more interesting Taylor Swift flight situation

Perhaps the more interesting Super Bowl Taylor Swift flight question involves her own schedule. Swift is performing a concert in Tokyo at 6PM on Saturday, February 10, 2024, and plans to attend the Super Bowl, which starts at 3:30PM on Sunday, February 11, 2024.

She’ll be able to make this without issue, given the 17-hour time difference between Tokyo and Las Vegas, thanks to the International Date Line. Her private jet could make that ~5,550-mile flight in around 10 hours at most, so she’ll even land seven hours before she departs (based on the local time in each place).

So she won’t even need to rush, and could even make it to Las Vegas by Saturday night, if she wanted to. For example, if she took off at 11PM on Saturday, she could be in Las Vegas by around 4PM on Saturday. You’ve gotta love time travel!

Bottom line

American Airlines is having some fun with the flight numbers for its special Super Bowl flights, as the airline is operating flight AA1989 from Kansas City to Las Vegas, and flight AA87 from Las Vegas to Kansas City. Kudos to the person at American who came up with this!

What do you make of American’s Super Bowl flight numbers?

A stunning sunrise on MIAT Mongolian Airlines

I just completed a trip on MIAT Mongolian Airlines, flying on a Boeing 787 from Frankfurt to Ulaanbaatar, and on a Boeing 737 from Ulaanbaatar to Seoul Incheon. Ulaanbaatar isn’t a place you want to visit in January, at least if you’re like me, and like warm weather. The temperatures there aren’t just freezing, they’re negative. The other day I was looking at temperatures there, and it was -20 Fahrenheit. I got lucky, as it was “only” -10 Fahrenheit while I transited, and you certainly feel it on the jet bridge!

Sometimes the harshest climates can make for the most beautiful views, though. My MIAT Mongolian Boeing 737 MAX flight departed at 7:45AM, and currently (in late January) the sunrise is at 8:25AM. As we taxied out, I could tell the sunrise could be pretty.

However, I wasn’t quite prepared for just how beautiful the scenery would be this time of year. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, because what can I really say? I felt like I was on a different planet…

It was interesting to see how the landscape transitioned as we continued our journey, initially through the Gobi Desert, and then over China. At first the landscape flatted out a bit…

And then as we got closer to China it got more mountainous again, but you can tell it wasn’t quite as cold…

You could also see the weather patterns shift as we got closer to the water, as there was no longer consistent snow cover…

For those curious, below was the route for the flight.

I’m sure the views would be pretty in summer as well, though flying in winter around sunrise made this really, really special.

There are some airplane views I’ll never forget

There’s something so special to me about views from airplanes. It’s one of the reasons that I always select a window seat, because I can’t imagine flying and not gazing out in amazement at the world.

I’ll take it a step further. There are some flights that I’ll never forget due to their views, and this flight was one of those. While I’ve flown over some gorgeous cold parts of the world (like Greenland), it’s typically at cruising altitude. So to not only take off in these conditions, but to also do that right as the sun was rising, was magical.

Heck, I almost want to plan another early morning winter flight out of Ulaanbaatar, just to be able to recreate this experience at some point. This also makes me want to visit the Gobi Desert, though perhaps that’s more of a summer activity. 😉

Bottom line

There’s something special about gazing out at the world from a plane. While looking out the window never gets old, there are some flights that have truly unforgettable views. This can be due to a combination of factors, like landscape, a sunrise or sunset, and more.

I think I enjoyed the most memorable views of my life this weekend, flying MIAT Mongolian on a cold winter morning from Ulaanbaatar to Seoul Incheon. If you have the chance to fly this route, I can’t recommend it enough for the views alone. MIAT Mongolian has great fares from Frankfurt and Istanbul to destinations across Asia, and these views might just be the biggest selling point of flying with the airline.

What are your most memorable views you’ve ever had from a plane?

While I thought MIAT Mongolian’s 787 business class was very “meh” (not very competitive in terms of passenger experience, but a good value), the carrier’s short haul 737 business class product was much better, in my opinion. Let me share some initial thoughts, and in a separate post I’ll cover my single favorite thing about this flight, which had nothing to do with the passenger experience.

MIAT Mongolian’s Sky Lounge is cool & strange

Okay, before I even get into talking about the flight, I should mention that this was my first time visiting the new Chinggis Khaan International Airport, which only opened in 2021. It’s a super charming and modern little hub, and MIAT Mongolian has its Blue Sky Lounge here.

This lounge is… kind of cool, kind of weird? MIAT Mongolian doesn’t seem to get many premium passengers, so there was no one else in the lounge, which is unusual prior to a morning bank of flights. The lounge has a modern design, with chairs in the lounge having pillows advertising Mongolian vodka. Alrighty then…

The food selection ranged from instant noodles, to some decent-looking freshly prepared items, ranging from sandwiches to cake.

It’s a nice lounge, yet somehow it doesn’t even have bathrooms, let alone showers? I don’t know, it’s all very strange!

MIAT Mongolian’s 737 business class cabin is swanky

I’m lucky that my flight ended up being operated by MIAT Mongolian’s sole Boeing 737 MAX 8, as this is a bit more modern than the carrier’s 737-800s (and the airline seems to constantly swap plane types). The cabin of this jet was gorgeous, with 12 business class seats, spread across three rows in a 2-2 configuration.

The legroom was excellent, and there were all the features you’d hope for, from power ports, to foot rests, to seat back entertainment. The cabin also had a bit of personality, thanks to the rear bulkhead and the seat finishes.

Now, while there was seat back entertainment, the selection was the same as on the 787 — all the entertainment was Mongolian, so you can catch up on all the latest episodes of Shark Tank Mongolia and The Voice Mongolia.

Meanwhile if you wanted any entertainment in English, you could use the streaming service to play movies and TV shows on your own device. I did enjoy having a map feature on this route, though, since it’s one of the more interesting routes…

MIAT Mongolian’s 737 business class soft product is decent

The soft product on the short haul flight was almost identical to the one on the long haul flight. While I was disappointed by the carrier’s long haul experience, my standards are usually a bit lower for short haul flights, so I was much more pleased on this sector.

Each business class passenger was offered a pillow and blanket, the same as on the long haul flight.

There was even a small amenity kit, containing slippers, eyeshades, and earplugs.

The meal was a bit strange, no doubt. MIAT Mongolian doesn’t have menus, and by the time the flight attendant came to my seat, there was only one option left, despite the cabin only being half full.

So I was served salmon. Mind you, this flight was departing at 7:45AM. I got the impression that the other meal option was more of a breakfast-type dish (since it had a side of fruit), while my salmon came with veggies and potatoes au gratin. Then there was a chicken caesar salad appetizer, plus… jelly?!

You’d think the airline could have a little more Mongolian-centric food when departing the country, since Mongolia isn’t exactly known for its fish. But hey, it wasn’t bad.

Once the tray was cleared, a blueberry cheesecake was offered, as well as some coffee.

MIAT Mongolian’s business class sparkling wine is Kupferberg, from Germany. At first I was confused why the airline was serving German sparkling wine, and wondered if it had to do with Frankfurt being the carrier’s “flagship” long haul destination. Well, I think I figured it out — this retails for ~$4!

Goodness, the St. Regis Deer Valley could learn a thing or two from MIAT Mongolian on cost cutting, as that $11.88 service recovery sparkling wine I was offered was way too generous!

Bottom line

MIAT Mongolian’s short haul 737 MAX business class experience is quite good, comparatively better than the carrier’s long haul 787 business class, in my opinion. The cabin is modern and spacious, significantly more so than you’ll find on US airlines. The food was decent enough, but nothing memorable.

I’m happy I had the chance to fly a more modern version of MIAT Mongolian, with a new hub airport, and new airplanes. I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with the airline again if visiting Mongolia or if the price is right, but I also wouldn’t seek out the airline.

What’s your take on MIAT Mongolian’s 737 business class?

This has certainly been controversial, and in this post I wanted to take a close look at how exactly this policy works. I’ve seen a ton of discussion about this online, so I figured it would be useful to clarify when this does and doesn’t apply, and how it could impact your upgrade chances.

Pilots commuting vs. deadheading explained

You’ll often see pilots in uniform flying in the cabin of aircraft, and this is typically for one of two reasons:

• They could be commuting, which is where they live in one city, but are based in another city, and as a result, they need to commute to work as a passenger; for example, an American pilot might live in Tampa, but be based in Dallas
• They could be deadheading, which is where they are traveling as a passenger in order to position to somewhere as part of a trip, either due to a scheduling anomaly, due to bad weather, etc.; for example, an American pilot might be based in Charlotte, but needs to deadhead to Dallas, to be able to operate a flight from there

So, are more pilots typically commuting or deadheading? It really depends on the individual pilot and the base. Some pilots never commute, as they may very well live in the city in which they’re based. Meanwhile other pilots have to commute more than once per week, as they need to do so every time they work a trip.

Meanwhile some pilots might not deadhead for months at a time, and then might have weeks where they have to deadhead a couple of times. Deadheading is especially common when there are weather events, and during very peak periods.

American Airlines’ upgrade policy for pilots

American’s new upgrade policy specifically impacts pilots who are deadheading. Commuting is a choice, and as a result, those pilots are flying on a space available basis. When it comes to getting upgraded, commuting pilots would be prioritized after all elite members on the upgrade list.

Meanwhile with American’s new pilot contract, pilots who are deadheading get quite some privileges:

• Pilots who deadhead are assigned the highest class of service for all transoceanic international flights, flights to Hawaii and Alaska, and flights that are south of the equator
• Pilots who deadhead on other routes are initially assigned in economy, in the following preference order — exit row aisle, then exit row window, then non-exit row aisle, then non-exit row window
• For those flights where they’re initially assigned economy, pilots will be at the top of the upgrade list for a first class upgrade at the time of check-in

American Airlines offers its elite members complimentary space available upgrades. So with this policy, within 24 hours of departure American pilots are even ahead of Concierge Key and Executive Platinum members for upgrades. Prior to the current contract, pilots would only get first class upgrades after all the elite members have cleared their upgrades (which would be almost never, at least on most domestic flights).

Just to be thorough, let me emphasize a few points:

• Revenue passengers still clear upgrades ahead of pilots when it’s 24 or more hours before departure; so you better hope your upgrade clears in advance, because as the departure time approaches, you could see your place on the upgrade list decrease
• Those already confirmed in first class won’t be kicked out to accommodate a pilot being upgraded
• Keep in mind that it’s also possible that you’ll see a pilot in uniform in first class who doesn’t actually work for American; lots of cargo and private jet pilots have elite status and/or get booked in paid first class when they’re positioning, and they are customers just like everyone else

Is American’s pilot upgrade policy reasonable?

I see a ton of discussions in online frequent flyer communities about this upgrade policy, and about the merits of it. Above I talked about the actual policy, but now let me try to share an objective take on the merits of this, from both sides.

First of all, it’s important to state that regardless of whether or not American frequent flyers like this policy, we have to accept it. This is a part of the pilot contract for the next four years that was negotiated between the union and pilots, and it’s not going anywhere.

So while you can absolutely express your frustration about this, it’s not even within American’s power to change this policy.

Why American pilots deserve first class upgrades

At the end of the day, airline pilot unions engage in pattern bargaining, whereby they try to match the contracts of other airlines. The reality is that American wasn’t the first airline to negotiate first class upgrades for pilots ahead of customers, as United has had this policy for a few years now.

You certainly can’t blame the union for negotiating similar benefits for its members. We have to be honest, the individual parties in the airline industry are all only looking out for themselves — executives want to get as big of a payday as they can, union members want to get as big of a payday as they can, etc. So you can’t blame them for negotiating as much money and as many benefits as they possibly can.

Furthermore, keep in mind that when pilots are deadheading, they’re often positioning to work a flight. There’s value to them being rested and comfortable prior to that. Furthermore, pilots are well trained professionals making a lot of money. So just as others may get elite status and some travel perks through their business travel, the same is now true for pilots.

Many customer focused companies (I’m not sure one could consider American to be one of those) would argue that if you take care of your employees, they’ll take care of your customers, and on some level, this is taking care of employees.

Why American elite members are understandably frustrated

I think it’s also important to acknowledge why many American AAdvantage members are frustrated by this policy. I’m sure some pilots will say “well if you want first class, pay for first class.” That’s fair enough, though context is important:

• The percentage of first class seats filled with those upgrading has decreased considerably over the years, and nowadays American sells 80%(ish) of first class
• Most quarters, American makes more money from its loyalty program than from actually flying planes, and really that’s largely what’s funding the big pay increases that pilots are getting
• One of the biggest reasons that people go for elite status (and spend money on American Airlines credit cards, which contributes to the carrier’s bottom line) is for the ability to get space available first class upgrades
• It’s one thing if this were the only thing that changed about American’s upgrade process recently, but American has also started aggressively selling upgrades to people on the upgrade waitlist, which leaves a bad taste in many peoples’ mouths
• While it’s great to take care of employees, the optics are never great when an employee in uniform takes something “away” from a customer

Is this policy materially impacting upgrade odds?

I’ve seen an increasing number of people in forums complaining about how they’ve lost out on upgrades as they were instead given to pilots. There’s no public data on just how frequently pilots are being upgraded.

The challenge is that often American has just two or so first class seats left within 24 hours, which they’re holding back, rather than clearing as upgrades. Since pilots often travel in pairs, this could indeed be the difference between the top two people on the upgrade list getting an upgrade or not. So it does indeed happen, and it’s not infrequent.

For what it’s worth, I’ve had two flights in recent months where at least one American pilot was in first class under this new policy, and I don’t fly American that much (at least compared to weekly road warriors — I don’t fly any one airline that consistently).

So in many ways, this is just yet another nail in the coffin for elite upgrades. American is doing a better job actually selling first class, then the airline is selling upgrades as the departure date approaches to elite members on the upgrade list, and now American is also upgrading pilots ahead of customers.

“If you want first class, but first class,” is really becoming the reality in many domestic markets nowadays.

Bottom line

American nowadays upgrades pilots who are deadheading ahead of customers within 24 hours of departure. This is a new policy as part of the carrier’s new pilot contract, which applies for at least the next four years. This doesn’t apply to pilots who are commuting, and if there are no first class seats left, then pilots obviously won’t get them.

There’s not much anyone can do about this policy, though it’s worth understanding. It’s one of several changes that has made upgrades at American much harder in recent times.

What do you make of American’s upgrade policy for pilots? Have you been impacted by this?

Can I start by saying that it’s absolutely freezing here? Okay, that’s not fair. It was freezing in Frankfurt, and it’s nearly 50 degrees colder here (in Fahrenheit). I’m pretty sure I got frostbites just walking down the jet bridge here. Brrrrr… anyway…

It’s an exciting time for mighty little MIAT Mongolian, as the airline is taking delivery of two Boeing 787-9s, which are being used to replace the outdated Boeing 767-300ERs. I was looking forward to checking out this product, given that I reviewed the carrier’s old long haul business class back in the day.

So, how was MIAT Mongolian business class? It offers a competitive hard product, but a really lackluster soft product, while still being well intentioned. That being said, given the fares that MIAT Mongolian charges, I’d say the airline offers exceptional value.

MIAT Mongolian’s attractive business class fares

I have to start my acknowledging that MIAT Mongolian has very reasonable business class pricing, which is more in line with what you’d pay for premium economy on other airlines. For example, my one-way ticket from Frankfurt to Seoul Incheon via Ulaanbaatar cost $1,100. It’s not just that I got some amazing once-in-a-lifetime deal, but rather this is along the lines of the carrier’s normal pricing. Nonstop tickets on the carrier’s two long haul routes — to Frankfurt and Istanbul — regularly cost under $1,000 one-way.

So I think it’s important to judge an airline based on value, and MIAT Mongolian offers phenomenal value, if you ask me. It’s also worth addressing the type of carrier that MIAT Mongolian is — the airline serves a unique destination, and then takes advantage of some connecting traffic via its hub. But it’s not like Air France or Lufthansa, where they’re competing fiercely. MIAT Mongolian doesn’t have to offer the world’s best business class, because the airline doesn’t operate in terribly competitive markets. 

MIAT Mongolian’s business class seats are generic but comfortable

MIAT Mongolian picked up its Boeing 787-9s secondhand, as these gently used jets briefly flew for China’s Suparna Airlines. The cabin has 30 reverse herringbone seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration.

These aren’t cutting edge reverse herringbone seats, like you might find on Air France or Starlux Airlines, but rather they’re somewhat outdated, and don’t have many of the bells and whistles that airlines have added to their planes in recent years. The cabin also feels quite generic, without much personality. The most exciting design feature is the headrest covers, sponsored by Trade & Development Bank.

But hey, this represents a massive improvement, as the airline previously had angled seats in long haul business class.

Unfortunately the airline still hasn’t improved its bedding, which is marginally better than what you might normally find in economy. This seems like an easy and fairly inexpensive investment for the airline to make, given its small fleet.

MIAT Mongolian’s business class meals are not great

MIAT Mongolian’s business class service felt almost more like what you’d get in premium economy than in business class. Perhaps that’s even being generous. There were no menus, and the entire service flow was mechanical, with limited interaction.

Dinner was served after takeoff. There was no initial drink service, but rather about an hour after takeoff, a cart was rolled down the aisle with drinks, followed immediately by the meals. The choices were simply described as fish, beef, or lamb. 

I selected the fish, which was served on a single tray with (sort of impressively?) two appetizers, comprised of shrimp and quinoa, as well as smoked chicken and ratatouille. The fish came with some mashed potatoes and veggies. 

Once the main tray was cleared, each passenger was brought a chocolate cake for dessert. 

Then a very basic breakfast was served before landing, consisting of fruit, yogurt, and a pastry. 

The crew was courteous and friendly, and they did their best to work with what they had. But that’s not a whole lot — just as an example, the airline doesn’t even have nuts or packaged snack mix, so there really isn’t much that they can offer you.

MIAT Mongolian’s hilarious 787 entertainment

MIAT Mongolian’s seat back entertainment system consists exclusively of Mongolian entertainment options. The system has roughly a dozen Mongolian films. On the plus side, the selection of Mongolian TV shows was much better — there were endless episodes of Shark Tank Mongolia, Dancing With The Stars Mongolia, The Apprentice Mongolia, and The Voice Mongolia. 

I had no clue what was going on, but I couldn’t help but actually watch some of these, and they were fascinating. The only other thing I watched on the seat back entertainment was the map feature, which I found interesting, given that we spent most of the flight over Russia, and that’s not airspace we usually see much of nowadays.

So, what is there for non-Mongolian passengers? While MIAT Mongolian’s 787-9s have Wi-Fi domes, they don’t actually offer Wi-Fi. Instead they just offer streaming entertainment through the Wi-Fi portal. The streaming entertainment selection was quite basic, though there were a few Hollywood movies and TV shows to choose from.

Unless you’re Mongolian, I’d definitely recommend bringing your own entertainment on the airline. Well, unless you’re like me, and enjoy watching the Mongolian versions of many US shows, while having no clue what’s going on.

Bottom line

I’m happy I had the chance to fly MIAT Mongolian’s new 787 business class. The hard product represents a huge improvement over the carrier’s old product, so it’s nice to see the airline evolve.

I have to say, though, this is the most boring long haul business class flight I’ve taken in a long time. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, there just isn’t much to report on. The cabin is basic, there aren’t many amenities, the food is okay and simple, and the service is friendly enough.

Comparatively, MIAT Mongolian’s long haul business class soft product is weak, and perhaps even uncompetitive. However, given the carrier’s pricing, I’d actually say that the airline offers great value for money.

While I kind of wish that the airline would invest a bit more in its premium experience, I’m not sure there’s actually an ROI there? You fly MIAT Mongolian business class because you want to be comfortable, and because you’re going to Mongolia or you’re looking for a cheap connecting flight. I don’t think a more intricate service will do much to stimulate additional demand.

What’s your take on MIAT Mongolian’s 787 business class?

American A321neo makes VERY hard landing in Hawaii

This incident happened on Saturday, January 27, 2024, and involves American Airlines flight AA271 from Los Angeles (LAX) to Maui (OGG). The flight was operated by a roughly three-year-old Airbus A321neo with the registration code N416AN, and it was carrying 167 passengers and seven crew members.

The flight was operating a bit behind schedule, as it left Los Angeles nearly 90 minutes late, arriving in Maui nearly 80 minutes late. However, that wasn’t a big deal compared to what happened upon landing.

The aircraft reportedly had such a hard landing that six people were treated for injuries, including five flight attendants and one passenger. Fortunately the injuries weren’t serious, and all six people were released later in the day.

American has acknowledged that the aircraft “experienced an issue upon landing,” and that it “taxied to the gate under its own power and customers deplaned normally.”

Following the incident, the aircraft was taken out of service for a hard landing inspection. The aircraft was supposed to return to Los Angeles as flight AA212, but that flight ended up getting canceled. The following morning, the aircraft is still on the ground in Maui.

Two thoughts about this hard landing story

Hard landings — even ones with injuries — happen. It’s unfortunate, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is now investigating this incident, and I’m sure we’ll find out the cause. What I find the strangest about this story, though, is that five of the six injuries were among flight attendants.

In theory, flight attendants should be best positioned for a rough landing, as they’re strapped in much tighter (with a harness) than just the average passenger with a seatbelt.

So I can’t help but wonder why they were the ones who primarily suffered injuries, while passengers didn’t? Does this relate to how flight attendant jump seats face backwards, and somehow that impacts the g-forces during a hard landing in a negative way?

Also, I’m exhausted about how the first response to basically every aviation story is to blame it on DEI. I mean, my gosh, with absolutely no information, that’s the conclusion we come to? While we’ve certainly had some incidents recently, aviation is as safe as it has ever been in terms of fatalities per number of people traveling.

Look, I’m not here to argue the merit of DEI, because that’s exhausting, especially on the internet. But are we simply going to assume that every single aviation incident is due to DEI? How are we going to justify all of the accidents that happened for decades, at a time when there was even less diversity in the cockpit? Are we going to argue that the white dude who tried to turn off the engines of a Horizon Air jet last year was also hired due to DEI? Or what are we going to blame that on?

It’s sad the extent to which reality just doesn’t matter to people anymore. “Well, someone made a mistake, let’s immediately assume it wasn’t a white guy, because they never screw up.”

Bottom line

An American Airlines Airbus A321neo had such a hard landing in Maui that six people were injured, including five flight attendants. The return flight ended up being canceled. I’m curious to see if this is just because the plane needs to be inspected, or if there’s some structural damage beyond that.

While most of us have probably experienced a landing that felt hard, it’s next level when flight attendants are injured as a result of it…

What’s your take on this American Airlines Maui landing incident?

Credit card issuers are looking for all kinds of ways to woo premium customers, and airport lounge access is one of those ways. That’s why we see similar concepts with other card issuers, like Amex Centurion Lounges and Capital One Lounges.

In this post I wanted to cover everything you need to know about the Chase Sapphire Lounge network, from locations, to entry requirements, and more. At the moment, Chase has four lounges, though that network will be expanding in the coming years.

Chase Sapphire Lounge locations (current)

There are currently four Chase Sapphire Lounge locations, with three being in the United States, and one being abroad. I’ve been lucky enough to visit all of these lounges, so let’s go over the details of each location below, and I’ll rank them starting with my favorite.

Note that these four lounges are in addition to the Chase Sapphire Terrace Austin Airport (AUS), though that’s not really comparable to a Chase Sapphire Lounge.

Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia (LGA)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia (LGA):

• The lounge opened as of January 2024
• The lounge is roughly 21,800 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 4:30AM until 9:30PM
• The lounge is located in Terminal B, near the Eastern Concourse (leading to gates 40-59)

The Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia is a two-story stunner that will make you feel like you’re not at an airport. The lounge features a great selection of food (including ready to eat and a la carte options), a huge selection of cocktails, barista coffee, and cold brew on tap.

There are also a variety of amenities, including a play room for kids, an arcade, two relaxation chairs, and a Face Haus spa, offering complimentary 30-minute treatments on a first come, first served basis.

This lounge also has the Reserve Suites by Chase, consisting of three private rooms that can be reserved in blocks of three hours. If you book this, you’ll receive a dedicated suite attendant, a special menu from Jeffrey’s Grocery, a personal bathroom with a shower, a signature caviar service upon arrival, a special wine list curated by Parcelle, a fully-stocked snack and refreshments center, and a gift prior to departing. The cost? $2,200-3,000, depending on which room you select.

Read my review of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia.

Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston Logan (BOS)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston Logan (BOS):

• The lounge opened as of May 2023
• The lounge is roughly 11,500 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 5AM until 11PM
• The lounge is located between Terminal B and Terminal C

The Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston Logan is gorgeous, easily the nicest lounge at the airport. The lounge boasts delicious food (including ready to eat and a la carte options), a huge selection of cocktails, a taproom serving beer, and cold brew on tap.

Amenities in the lounge include a play room for kids, shower suites, a relaxation area, and massage chairs.

Read my review of the Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston Logan.

Chase Sapphire Lounge New York Kennedy (JFK)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York Kennedy (JFK):

• The lounge opened as of January 2024
• The lounge is roughly 7,600 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 5AM until 11PM
• The lounge is located in Terminal 4, just past security, above gate A2

The Chase Sapphire Lounge New York Kennedy is actually operated in partnership with Etihad Airways, as the former Etihad Airways Lounge has been taken over and renovated. The lounge is a bit smaller than the others, but still has beautiful decor and an excellent selection of food, with ready to eat and a la carte options. There’s also a bar with cocktails, as well as cold brew on tap.

The lounge doesn’t have much in the way of other amenities, though. The only other major feature would be the shower rooms.

Read my review of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York Kennedy.

Chase Sapphire Lounge Hong Kong (HKG)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge Hong Kong (HKG):

• The lounge opened as of October 2022
• The lounge is roughly 12,000 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 6AM until 12AM
• The lounge is located in Terminal 1, just past security, near gate 40

The Chase Sapphire Lounge Hong Kong is excellent for a Priority Pass lounge, though perhaps isn’t quite to the same caliber as the lounges in the United States. The lounge features both a buffet with an extensive selection, plus a small menu you can order off of.

The lounge has a variety of comfortable seating options and a sprawling layout, but doesn’t have any other standout features. This is still a great lounge, but doesn’t feel quite as luxurious as the locations in the United States.

Read my review of the Chase Sapphire Lounge Hong Kong.

Chase Sapphire Lounge locations (future)

In addition to the four Chase Sapphire Lounges that are currently open, there are firm plans for at least five additional Chase Sapphire Lounge locations to open. Specifically, here are the future Chase Sapphire Lounges we can expect (unfortunately there’s no timeline for these lounges opening just yet):

• The Chase Sapphire Lounge Las Vegas (LAS), located in Terminal C; this lounge is expected to be roughly 4,500 square feet
• The Chase Sapphire Lounge Philadelphia (PHL), located in the connector between Terminal D & Terminal E; this lounge is expected to be roughly 20,000 square feet
• The Chase Sapphire Lounge Phoenix (PHX), located in Terminal 4 South 1; this lounge is expected to be roughly 3,500 square feet
• The Chase Sapphire Lounge San Diego (SAN), located in Terminal 2 West; this lounge is expected to be roughly 11,000 square feet
• The Chase Sapphire Lounge Washington (IAD), located in Terminal A; this lounge is expected to be roughly 5,200 square feet

Chase Sapphire Lounge entry requirements

The Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club portfolio has unique entry requirements. These are modified Priority Pass lounges, which are primarily intended as a perk for those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review).

There are different entry requirements for the Chase Sapphire Lounges in the United States, and those abroad (meaning the Hong Kong location).

The Chase Sapphire Lounge Hong Kong is open to all Priority Pass members, with unlimited visits permitted. This means that the lounge can’t just be accessed by those with a Priority Pass membership through a Chase card, but also by those with a membership through another premium credit card, like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) (Rates & Fees) and The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) (Enrollment required).

However, Chase Sapphire Lounges in the United States have a different set of entry requirements. This makes perfect sense, since understandably Chase wants to make access to these lounges a perk of being a cardmember, and also limit overcrowding.

So here are the entry requirements for Chase Sapphire Lounges in the United States:

• Those with a Priority Pass membership through the Chase Sapphire Reserve can access the lounge an unlimited number of times, with up to two complimentary guests; this same policy applies for those with the Ritz Carlton Credit Card, which is no longer open to new cardmembers
• Those with a Priority Pass membership issued through any other means can access any Chase Sapphire Lounge in the United States once per calendar year at no additional cost (that’s one visit across all lounges, not per lounge, and if you have multiple Priority Pass memberships, I’d assume you could use each once), and guests aren’t complimentary; subsequent visits, as well as guests, will be charged an entry fee of $75
• If you don’t have a Priority Pass membership, you can outright buy access to the lounge for $100 per person per visit, subject to availability
• Chase Sapphire Lounges are only accessible within three hours of departure, and can’t be used as arrivals lounges; the exception is if you’re connecting, in which case you can access the lounge either
• In the interest of being thorough, note that the Chase Sapphire Reserve as such won’t get you into the lounge; you need to actually present the Priority Pass card that was issued through it

This is an excellent network of lounges, and it could be a great value to add authorized users to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, as they get the same Priority Pass privileges as the primary cardmember. Lastly, I should mention that while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) is a great product, it doesn’t offer any sort of lounge access.

My take on Chase Sapphire Lounges

When details of Chase Sapphire Lounges were first announced, I was skeptical. After all, they’re run in partnership with The Club, and they’re open to Priority Pass members (to some extent), so I figured the quality of the lounges would reflect that.

Well, I sure was wrong. Chase has done an amazing job with its lounges so far, and they just keep getting better. The food and drink selection in Chase Sapphire Lounges is top notch. Food options include both individually plated options that you can grab from a buffet, plus some a la carte options.

The drink selection is equally impressive, with signature cocktails, and some lounges having barista made coffee and cold brew on tap.

Now, the entry requirements for Chase Sapphire Lounges will no doubt confuse some people, but they make sense, and primarily make this a benefit for those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It’s still nice that other Priority Pass members can access US lounge locations once per year, as these are no doubt the best Priority Pass lounges in the entire network.

Bottom line

Chase is continuing to expand its airport lounge presence, with the Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club concept. The network now has locations in Hong Kong (HKG), Boston (BOS), New York Kennedy (JFK), and New York LaGuardia (LGA), with more lounges expected in the future. It’s exciting to see this network grow.

The Chase Sapphire Lounges have quirky entry requirements, as they’re essentially modified Priority Pass lounges. You need a Priority Pass membership to enter, though the lounges are primarily intended for those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Fortunately the quality of these lounges is exceptional, and they’re among the best Priority Pass lounges that you’ll find anywhere.

What do you make of Chase’s airport lounge concept?

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus (review) is an excellent business card. The card is fantastic whether you’re looking to earn cash back or travel rewards, and it offers one of the most well-rounded returns on business spending.

If you’ve been on the fence about this card, in this post I wanted to take a look at seven reasons you should consider picking up this $150 annual fee card (Rates & Fees). In no particular order…

Welcome bonus of up to $3,000 cash back

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is offering a limited time two-part welcome bonus, of up to $3,000 cash back:

• Earn $1,500 cash back after spending $20,000 within the first three months
• Earn an additional $1,500 cash back after spending $100,000 within the first six months

This is a massive bonus, especially when you consider that the cash back can be converted into Capital One miles (as I’ll cover below).

I’ve found approval for the card to be fairly easy as well, within Capital One’s standard application guide. Note that you’re eligible for the welcome bonus on this card even if you have the Capital One Spark Miles for Business (review) (Rates & Fees), which is another useful business card.

2% cash back on all purchases

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus has a straightforward and lucrative rewards structure, as the card offers a flat 2% cash back on all purchases. This is a solid return on spending if you have a business that spends quite a bit and you want to earn cash back.

$150 annual bonus with spending

While the Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers a flat 2% cash back, there’s a further reward for big spenders. If you spend $150,000 or more on the card in an anniversary year you’ll receive an annual $150 cash bonus. Think of it as a refund of your annual fee for big spenders.

No foreign transaction fees

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus has no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees), making it a fantastic card for purchases abroad. It’s nice to not only get an industry-leading return on spending, but to get that same rate internationally without it costing you extra.

While there are some other business cards offering 2% cash back, the no foreign transaction fees on this card is a point of differentiation compared to some other products out there.

No pre-set spending limit

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a charge card rather than a credit card. The good news is that this means the card has no pre-set spending limit. If you have a business that spends a lot on credit cards, this is a valuable feature, since it means that you can often make larger purchases than you’d be able to make with other cards.

I’ve found this to be useful for situations where I needed to make a big purchase, but other cards didn’t have a big enough credit line for what I needed.

Card doesn’t count toward Chase 5/24 limit

Chase has the 5/24 rule, which is a restriction whereby you typically won’t be approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months. If this is a limit you’re trying to stay under, applying for the Capital One Spark Cash Plus shouldn’t count toward that limit.

Note that applying for most other Capital One business cards does count toward that limit, but the Spark Cash Plus is an exception, as it’s a charge card, and won’t show up on your personal credit report.

Convert rewards into Capital One miles

While the Capital One Spark Cash Plus is officially a cash back card, this is even a great card for points enthusiasts. That’s because if you have the card in conjunction with a card earning Capital One miles, like the Capital One Spark Miles for Business (review) or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) (Rates & Fees), then all rewards earned on the card be converted into miles.

Specifically, each cent of cash back earned with the card can be converted into one Capital One Venture or Spark miles, opening up all kinds of travel opportunities. Personally I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each, so to me that increases the value of the points significantly. That bumps the return on spending on the card to closer to 3.4%, by my valuation.

Bottom line

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a top notch cash back business card. The card offers a great welcome bonus, a 2% return on all spending with no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees), no pre-set spending limit, an extra bonus for big spenders, the ability to convert rewards into miles, and more.

If you’re looking for a business card with a great cash back rewards structure, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus is excellent.

Promotion on purchased Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios

Through Thursday, February 1, 2024, Qatar Airways Privilege Club is offering a bonus on purchased Avios. While different members may be eligible for different offers, it seems that the standard version of the promotion offers a tiered bonus of up to a 40% bonus, as follows:

• Buy 3,000-10,000 Avios, get a 15% bonus
• Buy 11,000-25,000 Avios, get a 25% bonus
• Buy 26,000-250,000 Avios, get a 40% bonus

How much does it cost to buy Qatar Airways Avios?

Qatar Airways Privilege Club ordinarily charges 2.3-2.8 cents per purchased Avios, with the price getting lower the more Avios you buy. That’s before any discounts or bonuses, and there are no further taxes and fees beyond that cost.

With this offer, if you’re eligible for a 40% bonus, you’d receive a total of 350,000 Avios at a cost of $5,750, which is a rate of 1.64 cents per Avios.

How many Qatar Airways Avios can you purchase?

Qatar Airways Privilege Club limits members to purchasing 250,000 Avios per account per calendar year, before any bonuses. Note that in order to be eligible to purchase Avios, you must have earned at least 1,000 Avios in your account since enrollment, though that could be through any means (like transferring points from a partner).

If you do buy Qatar Airways Avios, it can take up to 72 hours for them to post to your account, but they ordinarily post much faster than that.

Which credit card should you buy Qatar Airways Avios with?

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as an airfare purchase for the purposes of credit card spending. Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach minimum spending, or otherwise a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending.

In this case the best option is the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (review) (Rates & Fees) or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) (Rates & Fees), which offer 2x miles and have no foreign transaction fees. Usually the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review) or Citi Double Cash® Card (review) would also be good options for maximizing everyday spending, but the cards have foreign transaction fees, so wouldn’t be a good option in this case.

Is buying Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios worth it?

While I love flying Qatar Airways, historically the Privilege Club program has been uncompetitive. Fortunately this is a trend that has been changing. In 2022, we saw Qatar Airways adopt Avios as its rewards currency, and I’d say that’s great news for the value of Privilege Club.

The first thing to keep in mind is that as long as you have some account activity and have your accounts linked for a minimum amount of time, you can transfer Avios freely between Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and Qatar Airways. That gives you a lot of flexibility.

In general the best value with Qatar Airways Avios will be redeeming them directly for travel on Qatar Airways, rather than on partner airlines. To give some examples of redemption rates (note that these are starting costs, and in some cases awards cost significantly more):

• A one-way US to Doha award costs 35,000 Avios in economy or 70,000 Avios in business class
• A one-way US to Delhi award costs 40,000 Avios in economy or 80,000 Avios in business class
• A one-way US to Maldives award costs 42,500 Avios in economy or 85,000 Avios in business class
• A one-way US to Bangkok award costs 47,500 Avios in economy or 95,000 Avios in business class
• A one-way US to Auckland award costs 60,000 Avios in economy or 120,000 Avios in business class

Then again, you can always book Qatar Airways flights through American AAdvantage, and in many cases redemption rates will be lower.

One awesome Privilege Club sweet spot is the ability to route from the United States to Europe via Doha for a reasonable number of Avios. This can be great if you’re traveling to destinations in Europe that may be a bit harder to get to, from Mykonos to Tbilisi to Yerevan.

A while back, Qatar Airways Privilege Club greatly improved the value of partner awards, so there’s quite a bit of value to be had there as well. This doesn’t just get you redemptions on oneworld partners, but also on carriers like Bangkok Airways, LATAM, Middle East Airlines, RwandAir, and Virgin Australia.

How much are Qatar Airways Avios worth?

Everyone will value points currencies differently, but personally I value Qatar Airways Avios at 1.3 cents each. I tend to value points pretty conservatively, and there are many ways to get more value from Privilege Club than that.

Do Qatar Airways Avios expire?

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios expire after three years of inactivity. However, any Avios earning or redemption activity would reset the expiration of Avios, so buying Avios would give you a further 36 months.

What other ways can you earn Qatar Airways Avios?

Qatar Airways Privilege Club is transfer partners with Citi ThankYou, so there are lots of great Citi credit cards that can potentially earn you Qatar Airways Avios.

Also keep in mind that since Qatar Airways now uses Avios as its currency, you can also transfer Avios between your various accounts, including Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, and Iberia Plus. These programs also partner with other major transferable points currencies, giving you more options for accruing this currency.

This means you can indirectly earn Qatar Airways Avios with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Bottom line

Qatar Airways Privilege Club has launched its latest promotion on purchased Avios, which has the potential to be quite a good deal. With this, you can receive up to a 40% bonus on purchased Avios.

While I think the value of the Privilege Club program has improved considerably since Qatar Airways adopted Avios as its currency, there’s also less of a need to actually buy Qatar Airways Avios. That’s because there are so many other ways to acquire the different “flavors” of Avios, including with transferable points currencies.

For some people the math on this promotion might check out, though personally I’d only buy Avios with a specific use in mind.

Does anyone plan on buying Qatar Airways Avios with a 40% bonus?