If you don’t mind close quarters, consider booking into one of the airport Yotels opening this Spring in Heathrow’s Terminal 4 and Gatwick’s South Terminal. The rooms — inspired by first-class airline cabins on British Airways and Japanese capsule hotels — are short on space, but not on style. Moreover, they’re ideal for travelers who are short on time. The 10.5-meter rooms can be reserved for overnight stays or in a four-hour block (hourly extensions are available) with prices starting at 40 pounds for the former, 25 pounds for the latter. Standard cabins come with plenty of lovely bells and whistles, including flat-screen LCD TV, free Internet access (wired and Wi-Fi), on demand feature and classic movies, comfort cooling, luxury bedding, interactive mood lighting, luxury bathroom fittings, coffee, luggage storage, and more.
Jan
2
Below I’ve compiled all of the airline credit cards I’m aware of, how many miles you need for a domestic (contiguous 48 states) and their current mileage promotions:
- Southwest Airlines Rewards Card – $20 off your first purchase, 4 Rapid Rewards credits after your first purchase, 16 Rapid Rewards credits for a domestic ticket.
- Continental Airlines World MasterCard from Chase – 15,000 OnePass miles after your first purchase, 20,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- Continental Airlines Business MasterCard – 15,000 OnePass miles after your first purchase, 20,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage World MasterCard – 15,000 AAdvantage miles after your first purchase, 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- Citi Gold/AAdvantage World MasterCard – 12,500 AAdvantage miles after your first purchase, 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- United Mileage Plus Platinum Business Card – 17,500 miles after your first purchase, 50,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- CitiBusiness/AAdvantage MasterCard – 20,000 AAdvantage miles after your first purchase, 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage World MasterCard – 15,000 AAdvantage miles after your first purchase, 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- Citi Gold/AAdvantage World MasterCard – 12,500 AAdvantage miles after your first purchase, 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- United Mileage Plus Signature Visa Card – 17,500 miles after your first purchase, 50,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- WorldPerks Visa Signature Card – 10,000 WorldPerks (Northwest Airlines) miles after your first purchase, 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- WorldPerks® Visa® Platinum Card – 10,000 WorldPerks (Northwest Airlines) miles after your first purchase, 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card – 15,000 Delta SkyMiles after your first purchase, 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket.
- JetBlue Card from American Express – 25 TrueBlue points with first purchase, 100 TrueBlue points for a domestic ticket.
- JetBlue Business Credit Card from American Express – $50 statement credit and 25 TrueBlue points with first purchase, 100 TrueBlue points for a domestic ticket.
- Airtran A+ Visa Signature – 6 credits with your first purchase, 16 credits for a domestic ticket.
Dec
26
Why are “free” frequent flyer miles taxed.
- Why do passengers have to pay airport taxes & fees when we redeem frequent flier miles for a free air ticket, but we do not have to pay similar fees when we redeem hotel points for free stays? The math I learned was that zero multiplied by anything was zero, but somehow, the airlines don’t comprehend this concept. What gives??
Mark Ashley of UpgradeTravel says:
- “Because some taxes are NOT charged as a percentage of the ticket, but as a flat fee, such as a $5 9/11 security fee. And international tickets have more taxes than domestic tickets. The question is, why are some fees “covered” by your miles, but others aren’t. Some airlines are more generous than others. Some pick up the tab on some international taxes, while others don’t. I don’t have hard data right now, but if I remember correctly, United and American charge less in taxes on free tickets than, say, KLM / Northwest. “