One Mile at a Time

Alaska Atmos Rewards (formerly Alaska Mileage Plan) has long been a favorite points currency among miles & points geeks, given the carrier’s unique array of airline partners, generous stopover policy, and attractive redemption rates. In this post, I’d like to take an in-depth look at how to redeem Atmos Rewards points. How do you earn Atmos Rewards points, what are the rules around redeeming them, and what are the best uses? How to earn Alaska Atmos Rewards points There are several

Among hotel loyalty programs, one thing that makes Marriott Bonvoy unique is the ability to (fairly) efficiently convert hotel points into airline miles. While most major hotel loyalty programs allow some sort of opportunity to convert hotel points into airline miles, it typically represents a very bad value. In this post, I’d like to take a look at the opportunity to convert Marriott points into airline miles. Which airline programs can you move your Marriott points to, what’s the transfer r

The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is the most premium card in the Chase and Southwest co-brand card portfolio. This card currently has a $299 annual fee and comes with many helpful perks when you fly Southwest, including a free checked bag, complimentary upgrades to Preferred seating when available, and an anniversary bonus of 9,000 points every year. If you frequently travel with Southwest and qualify for a small business credit card, this card is worth a closer

In 2027, we’re going to see the launch of a new ultra-luxury cruise line, as hotel group Aman is getting into the cruising industry, with the Aman at Sea concept, and its Amangati “superyacht,” as it’s called. I’d like to provide an update about this concept, as sailings are now bookable well into 2028, so we have a sense of both the summer sailings in Europe and winter sailings in the Caribbean. If you think the recent entrants into the market are expensive, wait until you learn the details

Capital One has just introduced its latest points transfer promotion, whereby members can receive a 20% bonus when moving rewards to Air France-KLM Flying Blue. This has the potential to be an excellent deal. Capital One offering 20% Flying Blue transfer bonus Capital One is offering a bonus when you transfer points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue. Between 12AM ET on November 1, 2026, and 11:59PM ET on November 30, 2026, members can receive a 20% bonus when moving points. Earn a 20% bonus

Chase Ultimate Rewards has just launched its latest airline transfer bonus. Actually, it’s a trio of transfer bonuses, as it’s valid for British Airways Club, Iberia Club, and Aer Lingus AerClub. This is a popular bonus when available, so I think some members will find this to be worthwhile. Chase offering 30% bonus on Avios points transfers Chase Ultimate Rewards is offering a bonus when you transfer points to British Airways Club, Iberia Club, or Aer Lingus AerClub. Between 12AM ET on No

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend so far, and happy Halloween to those “celebrating!” On the points & travel front, this week South African Airways faced a new round of financial issues, the FTC started investigating airlines over personalized pricing, United launched “basic” first class, Hyatt announced plans for its biggest-ever hotel in New York, Aircalin pulled back the curtain on its new A350, and more. With that out of the way, here’s a recap of this week on the blog:

The $395 annual fee Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card is the premium credit card of Atmos Rewards, which is the combined loyalty program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. I’d argue that this is one of the best airline credit cards we’ve seen in a long time, and there are many reasons to pick up this card, from the ability to earn 3x points on foreign purchases, to the Global Companion Awards offered by the card, to the waived partner award booking fees, to the free poin

We know that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby thinks that one of the carrier’s biggest mistakes in the past was pulling out of New York Kennedy Airport (JFK). He’s committed to changing that, and the airline still seems to think that it’s on track to return to the airport in 2027. A lot has changed since this was initially a big topic of conversation, including United seemingly no longer being interested in any sort of merger with JetBlue. So with United potentially within a year of returning

The Waldorf Astoria brand has been on an impressive growth trajectory in recent times, and has opened several new flagship properties. This Hilton luxury brand has just opened its latest hotel, in Kuala Lumpur. It looks beautiful, but I can’t help but wonder if it will succeed. Let me explain… 268-key, all-suite Waldorf Astoria Kuala Lumpur opens The Waldorf Astoria Kuala Lumpur has opened as of late October 2026. The residential-style, all-suite property features 268 accommodations, rangi

When you’re staying at a Marriott property, what’s the best credit card to use to maximize your return on Marriott hotel spending? Should you use a co-branded Marriott credit card, or are you better off using another credit card offering bonus points on travel? This is a question that comes up every so often, so I’d like to address it in this post… Best credit card to use for Marriott hotel stays I’ve written in the past about the best credit cards to use for hotel stays. However, more spe

Chase and Southwest have a great portfolio of personal credit cards at three different price points. This is my in-depth review of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, the Southwest personal card with a $149 annual fee (which is neither the highest nor lowest annual fee product). Now is an especially good time to consider this card, both because it’s offering an elevated welcome bonus, and because it’s your last chance to use credit card welcome bonuses to qualify for Southwest’s

For the long haul segment of the return portion of my first class quest to Japan, I flew Philippine Airlines’ Airbus A350-1000 business class on the 11hr55min flight from Manila (MNL) to San Francisco (SFO). I was very much looking forward to this flight, given that this is the carrier’s new flagship aircraft, featuring all-new cabins. Ultimately my Philippine Airlines business class flight was good, especially when you account for value, given that Philippine Airlines tends to undercut the

Discover Airlines is Lufthansa Group’s long haul leisure carrier based in Germany. The airline has been growing in recent years, as Lufthansa Group (unsurprisingly) sees a lot of potential with its low cost operations. As a matter of fact, Lufthansa Group seems committed to growing everything except its flagship brand, Lufthansa. In 2024, we first learned that the Discover Airlines fleet will grow in the coming years, and that we’ll eventually see the introduction of a new business class prod

A cruise line that sold lifetime residences onboard a ship has suddenly halted operations, giving residents just hours of notice, and kicking them off in Cambodia. I feel bad, but just realistically, is anyone surprised by this outcome? Villa Vie Residences sold the dream of lifetime cruising Before we get into the drama, let’s talk a bit about Villa Vie Residences. Cruising has of course become incredibly popular, and we’ve even seen some people just move onto cruise ships “permanently,”

South African Airways (SAA) has had pretty consistent financial issues for the past 15 or so years. In 2021, the airline emerged from “business rescue” with a clean balance sheet (and as a shell of its former self), and it has sort of been chugging along ever since. However, the airline once again seems to be in a dire situation, as a large percentage of staff aren’t being paid. It’s anyone’s guess how this plays out, though executives at the company insist everything is fine. South Afric

In April 2026, news broke about how United CEO Scott Kirby reportedly approached the Trump administration about the concept of merging with American, and forming a “flag” carrier for the United States. Days later, American management publicly rejected this concept, which caused Kirby to publicly make his case for a merger with American. Months later, it came out that Kirby had also approached Delta about the concept of a merger. There’s now an interesting update on this — Kirby is still hell

EXTRA PERKS AVAILABLE Enjoy breakfast, upgrades, & more Want to take advantage of Rosewood Elite benefits, including a space available room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford (ford@fordbtravel.com) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked. Email Ford Luxury hotel group Rosewood has just started accepting reservations for its newest property in the

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it’s investigating airlines (among other businesses), to determine to what extent they’re using personalized pricing. I know social media would have us believe that this is the most worthwhile effort ever, but don’t expect anything to come of this. FTC launches personalized pricing inquiry into airlines The FTC has just ordered Delta, United, and JetBlue, to provide detailed information that will allow the agency to study the use of per

At this point, just about all passengers are familiar with the concept of “basic economy,” whereby the cheapest economy tickets in many markets come with a lot of restrictions, in an effort to get people to buy-up to more expensive fares. In recent times, we’ve increasingly seen that also spread to premium cabins. This spring, United Airlines introduced a basic product for its Polaris business class, and now the airline has rolled out a “basic” product for its domestic first class. Detail