After almost two years without international travel, I finally booked a trip to Paris. One of the reasons we chose to visit was because of the vaccination mandates instituted in France. My belief is that a place with such provisions will likely avoid having to suddenly lockdown and throw travel plans into disarray. Pretty much every activity in France requires showing a QR code known as the Pass Sanitaire (Health Pass) that verifies if you’ve had a vaccine, a recent negative test, or past infection.

I’ve heard some visitors state they were able to use their CDC vaccination card they received in the United States to enter venues in France.  I don’t like carrying my CDC card around since it doesn’t fit in a wallet and can easily get lost. My state doesn’t offer a digital version. Luckily, France has made it (somewhat) simple for foreigners to apply for a French health pass if you have plans to visit. I’ll go over the steps I took to get ourselves set up.

Applying for the French health pass (Pass Sanitaire)

1. Visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and create an account (créer un compte). If you can’t read French, it’s best to do this whole process in a browser with in-line translation like Safari or Chrome.
2. Once you’ve made an account, you can submit documentation for yourself as well as others. Each applicant will get their own “folder.” I was able to apply for myself as well as my wife.
3. You’ll need to select what area of the world you’re applying from – the USA, Canada, or elsewhere. After that, it’s as simple as providing your birthday, home address, copy of your passport, copy of your vaccination card, which vaccine you received, when and where your last inoculation was, travel dates in France, copy of your itinerary to visit France, and an affirmation.  All of this is probably easier to do over a desktop computer, but I was able to fill out the application on my phone. My main piece of advice here would be to remember that USA is “États-Unis” in French for when you’re searching for your country of vaccination. 

Try to time your submission for the start of the business day in France

When I initially submitted our applications, I let them sit for a while. I actually forgot about them until checking back in three weeks later to find that they were still sitting there unreviewed. However, someone I know got an approval for their health pass the same day they applied.

I realized that I had initially submitted my applications during an evening here in the United States, which was during the middle of the night in Paris. I decided to re-do my applications and submit them around 7AM in Paris on weekday (10PM pacific or 1AM eastern). This was key, as both of our applications were approved within 5 minutes.

I don’t know why it works this way, but something about the workflow queue makes it such that newer applications are likely brought up to the top and someone manually checks the application. If you have a pending application that is more than a few days old, it’s best to make a new one, wait for approval, then delete your old application.

Penny in the comments also points out that keeping attachments under 3MB helps with timely approval.

Once I got our Health Pass PDFs, I was able to upload them into the TousAntiCovid app, where they will be ready for use when we visit in a few weeks.

Read the rest of this article at How To Get Quick Approval for a French Health Pass.

We had to check in at the Garuda Indonesia Business Class desk since we were lugging checked bags with us.

Despite the desk officially opening at 9:30pm, we are at security by 8:40pm. We had a lounge pass to the No. 69 First Class Lounge (but opted for the No. 77 China Eastern Plaza Premium Lounge instead) as well as a Fast Track immigration pass for when we landed in Bali.

A short walk from the No. 77 lounge to D79 for our boarding at 12:25am for a 1:00am departure. There were two jetways, with door 1 for business class and door 2 for economy class.

Garuda Indonesia GA859
Shanghai-Pudong (PVG) to Denpasar-Bali
Wednesday December 18, 2019
Airbus A330-200
Business Class, Seats 9D/9G
Depart 1:00am – Arrive 7:30am (6h30m) – Arrived 15 minutes late

The business class cabin features the Super Diamond seat, though the seats are closer together than on other airlines. The last time I flew this seat was on the Royal Air Maroc 787-9, which had a much more updated version of the seat. There’s actually no privacy divider so the seats in the center are perfect for a couple. This isn’t the greatest business class hard product but it’s good for an overnight flight such as this.

You know that feeling when you know it’s just going to be a good flight? Or that the trip you’re taking is going to be great? We got that feeling just a few minutes after settling in to our seats. Despite connecting in Shanghai, we flew in on Delta and I didn’t think we had left on vacation yet. As soon as we boarded, the cabin crew exhibited such great hospitality that we finally felt relaxed and on vacation. And as we were on the country’s flag carrier, I felt even more excited to fly to Indonesia.

We were promptly served a hot towel and juice as pre-departure beverage. The seat had a simple amenity kit with earplugs (unlike their SkyTeam partner on our last flight). I noticed that they had Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé on the menu and asked to have it after takeoff (likely not available on the ground due to having to pay a Chinese duty if they did).

The menu was well-presented in a book. Given the 1:00am departure, there is an optional snack service as well as a breakfast service. Since we had just eaten in the lounge, we decided to skip the snack and maximize sleep as we’d be landing in Bali at 7:30am and wanted to stay awake as long as possible once on the ground.

I am a fan of the Garuda Indonesia safety video – it showcases various parts of Indonesia and was clever but still informative.

We were delayed departing due to luggage on-loading issues. We were falling asleep and the crew pulled out duvets while we laid down for about 15 minutes before it was time to depart.

I fell asleep in the upright position as we were taxiing for takeoff and the next thing I remember was waking up about two hours later in the flat bed position. I have absolutely no clue how that happened and wouldn’t put it past a crew member to position my seat.

In fact, shortly after I woke up, a flight attendant came by and asked if I wanted the champagne I had asked about earlier. I’m glad we were taking a longer route!

I ended up going back to sleep shortly after for another two hours and woke up around 5:45am, about 1h45m before landing. The crew offered breakfast, which I made into a champagne brunch over Brunei. The coconut savory rice with chicken was fantastic.

There was WiFi available, but it was

• $5 for 15MB over 30 minutes
• $12 for 30MB over an hour
• $17 for 50MB over 3 hours
• $22 for 100MB over the course of the flight

Needless to say, those prices were not worth it. I completed a movie on the IFE and moved into seat 11A as we descended over Bali from the north. The views were divine.

We exited via door 1 into the terminal where we had an escort from the St. Regis awaiting to take us to our car.

Garuda Indonesia Business Class Conclusion

This was an abbreviated experience with Garuda Indonesia, given that we flew out of an outstation to its second hub on a 6.5-hour overnight flight (basically a red-eye). That said, it was a great introduction to the country. The service was hospitable and the seat/bed was comfortable with the opportunity for adequate rest. The only room for improvement would be lowering WiFi prices or removing the data cap. I would certainly fly them again.

Read the rest of this article at Review: Garuda Indonesia Business Class, Shanghai to Bali.

Off the bat, I’d say that the No. 77 lounge is much better than the No. 69 lounge in terms of Priority Pass options. I didn’t take photos of the No. 69 lounge because it was underwhelming, so you’ll just have to trust me ;).

All of the lounges are upstairs. There is an escalator and stairwell that feeds directly to the entrance. It’s an open plan that allows views onto the main terminal below.

For me, Priority Pass lounges serve two basic functions – a comfortable place to sit and decent array of food and refreshments to tide you over as your traverse time zones. This lounge does both well.

There are a variety of seating options which are great whether you’re traveling alone, as a couple, as a group, or as a family. The lounge was empty late on a Tuesday night. Noise and space weren’t an issue.

The food isn’t bad either. There are some western options but the key feature is the noodle bar. You can add your own additions to customize it, and even the vegetarian options tasted great. I forgot to take photos of the beverages, but there was a variety of soft drinks, waters, and alcoholic options.

Conclusion:

If you are departing internationally from Terminal 2 at Shanghai PVG and only have access to Priority Pass lounges, the No. 77 China Eastern Plaza Premium Lounge is the better option.

Read the rest of this article at No. 77 China Eastern Plaza Premium Lounge at Shanghai PVG.

We decided to bite the bullet and pay a little more — oddly enough, Delta had the cheapest non-saver price at 105,000 Skymiles per person one-way from LAX to Bali with Delta One Suites on the long-haul. For comparison, saver awards would have been around 85,000 miles. The next option was United in the 140,000-mile range per person. This was pricey, but it was the difference between taking what is now one of our favorite trips versus staying home.

We booked Los Angeles to Seattle in Delta domestic first class, Seattle to Shanghai on Delta One Suites on the A330-900, and Shanghai to Denpasar on Garuda Indonesia. I’ll skip reviewing the first segment, as not only is Delta domestic first not something I care to report on, but also because I slept the entire 3 hours after a busy weekend.

Delta Air Lines Flight 589
Seattle (SEA) to Shanghai-Pudong (PVG)
Monday December 16, 2019
Airbus A330-900neo (N404DX)
Delta One Suites, Suites 3C and 3G
Depart 1:55pm – Arrive 6:50pm (+1) (12h55m) – Arrived 20 minutes early

We boarded first at the second set of doors and turned left into the large Delta One Suites cabin. There are 29 suites between the first and second doors. Behind the second door is the Premium Economy cabin. We selected seats 3C and 3G, in the middle section. Delta currently has 4 A330-900neo aircraft and this was the most recently delivered aircraft at the time we flew, having been delivered just 3 months prior.

First, the seating arrangement:

Sitting in the middle seats has been one of the big changes for me going from solo travel to traveling with my fiancée. I usually am a window seat fan. On our basic economy jaunts up and down the east coast, we’re fine with sitting apart, but on a 12-hour flight, it’s nice to sit next to each other be able to converse without getting up.

That said, it wasn’t quite easy to converse even in this configuration. There is a white privacy screen between the two seats but it only comes down partially into the darker blue holder. It’s still better than sitting across the aisle from each other, but the Delta One Suites are private even with the screen down.

If I were a single traveler, I would absolutely grab a window seat in an even row to be near the window.

Back to the flight itself, each seat had a Westin duvet, firm pillow, and set of slipper on the seat, as well as a Tumi amenity kit and menu on the console. There was a set of noise-cancelling headphones and the classic Delta Dasani behind the console.

In the corner of the console is a power outlet, two USB ports for charging, the headphone jack, and a console to control the seat and lights in the suite. Of note, the suite door is manually operated, so there are no electronic controls for that.

There is also an abbreviated control panel in the side of the console next to the seat. It is easier to use when the seat is in bed mode.

Lastly, there is a remote control in the armrest as well as a vanity mirror. Despite the signage, the remote worked.

I opened the amenity kit but didn’t notice until a few hours into the flight that it was missing a key item — earplugs! My fiancée’s kit was also missing it. I brought it up with the flight attendant, but there weren’t any others available. It’s such a cheap item that was missing from the kit, but it really worsened the experience. I have multiple noise canceling headphones, but those are not as comfortable to sleep with. And yes, I know if it’s so cheap, I should bring it, but I usually don’t bring items that I know an amenity kit should have.

We had a choice of pre-departure beverages. We went with champagne.

The 18.5″ IFE screen is crisp and filled with lots of material. Even though we’ve been flying Delta domestically quite frequently, there were enough new or novel things to watch.

I love they use Atlanta as their city for east coast time 

As I began to prepare for the next 13 hours, I realized how little storage my seat had. I noticed that there were some cubby areas in the window seats, particularly the seats next to the aisle with the console flush against the fuselage. However, there was barely any storage in the seat in the center. I ended up getting up to get my bag from the overhead bin frequently to retrieve and put away items.

As we pushed back from the gate and made our way toward Shanghai, I perused the menu, which had both Chinese and Western options.

Orders were taken shortly after takeoff. Sitting in the middle section, I found it fascinating how different service could be based on which flight attendant was on which aisle. My aisle was staffed by the purser, who seemed to be dealing with issues  in all cabins, while my fiancée on the starboard side had another Delta One flight attendant who was based out of Asia. For example, we both asked for wine with our meals. On her side, she was shown the bottle, given a small pour to taste, and served the remainder of the glass. Meanwhile, I asked for a different wine and was simply given a full glass. When we tasted it, turns out I was served the same wine as my fiancée. This is an absolute First World Problem, but there’s a reason why service standards are such. Show the bottle when you pour!

I also later noted that there was a special cocktail with Honey Peach Fizz and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. It seemed interesting and I asked if I could have one. Instead the purser replied, “Oh, it’s too sweet, there’s too much honey in it. I don’t think you’ll like it,” and ended the conversation there. It was an odd response and I really didn’t want to push it that I’d still like to try it, but you’d never get this type of response on an international carrier. I even distinctly remember a similar situation on SWISS several years ago where I ordered a dessert wine and the flight attendant responded, “I will warn you, it is very sweet, but maybe you’ll like it.”

I ordered the Western menu. The appetizer was fine – the mushroom soup tasted better than it looks.

I ordered the chicken. For an in-flight meal, it was good. I’m always impressed when there’s such colorful food like the broccolini and it tasted fresh.

Of course I ruined eating my greens with cheese, an Biscoff crumble ice cream sundae and some port.

There’s even a heart-shaped spoon for dessert!

I was pretty stuffed as we hit the Alaskan peninsula and sat back to finish watching my movie before settling in for sleep. As mentioned, the privacy screen only goes so far down. I had to sit up to converse with my travel mate. When the screen is up, you feel like you’re in your own little cocoon.

About 3 hours into the flight, I officially passed 1,000,000 miles flown according to my personal flight log. A suite in the air isn’t a bad place to spend it.

WiFi was available and pretty fast, though there were areas where it wasn’t available. I forgot to check the price because I used a Business Platinum Amex GoGo pass that made it free.

The bed is comfortable and I slept generally okay, but the lack of noise-dampening earbuds hindered that, and my Airpods were being serviced by AppleCare at the time. I have wired noise-cancelling headphones (Bose QC15) and that helped a bit. However, the main cause of my frequent awakening wasn’t sound, but vibration. Both flight attendants and passengers seemed to have heavy feet with frequent walks up and down the aisle. Every time someone passed by my seat, it shook the door, the console, and my seat. We both had issues with this.

There’s a do-not-disturb light on the suite and I had it turned off because I was waiting for the second meal. Instead, I overslept it and woke up 1h20m before landing in Shanghai as the flight attendants were completing the meal service. I inquired about getting something to eat but was told it was too late. Oh well, I had snacks and we had time in Shanghai to visit a lounge.

We had an early arrival into Shanghai, but the timing wasn’t enough to leave the airport. After arriving into Terminal 1 at 7pm, we had to enter China, retrieve our checked bags, and walk across the large bridge to Terminal 2 to check in for our Garuda Indonesia flight at 1am.

Delta One Suites Conclusion

Delta’s hard product on the A330-900neo is good – the suites are incredibly private (maybe too private if you’re traveling as a couple), though they lack storage space. I would call it better than United Polaris, a hard product I was very impressed with on my flight from Tokyo to Newark a couple years ago. That said, there’s still room for improvement on the service side.

Good stuff

• Privacy
• Dining
• In-flight entertainment and screen

Needs improvement:

• Amenity kit needs earbuds (hopefully this was a one-off)
• Seat vibrates too much when flight attendants walk by
• Need a system for flight attendants to know when to wake someone up for second meal instead of just forgoing ‘Do Not Disturb’

Read the rest of this article at Review: Delta One Suites, Seattle to Shanghai.

We spent most of our time on our connection at two lounges, one of which was near our flight at the A gates, and the other which was hidden in the F gates. There is plenty of construction going on right now, but the lounge by the F gates was by far better (although the signage was very confusing).

It was Ramadan when we flew, so there was no alcohol on offer in the lounges. The basic food options were decent though nothing to call home about.

We headed to the gate early given the debacle on our flight to Morocco. Upon arrival at the boarding area, we had to undergo a document check and a secondary security check for our flight to New York. The document check line had only one RAM agent working it, and there was a dispute with one passenger who had a temporary Visa (he explained that due to the government shutdown, his visa was delayed but he was allowed to go to the U.S.).

This dispute took about 10 minutes and held up the line since there was only one agent. She had a phone but didn’t call another RAM agent to come help her. I note this because there were several other agents standing around not really doing anything, just watching the line grow and grow. After about 15 minutes, we passed through to the secondary security as boarding was already started.

Given our experience of needlessly waiting in New York, we opted to walk around the side of the line and give our boarding passes directly to the gate agent. I heard one passenger exclaim and ask what we were doing, but the agent said “business class can go ahead” and the passenger agreed, even saying, “yeah you paid to avoid this line!” You definitely have to take initiative out here!

Royal Air Maroc 200
Casablanca (CMN) to New York (JFK)
Saturday, May 25, 2019
3:10pm-7:00pm (on time)
Duration: 7h50m
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, Seats 3D/3G

Once onboard through the second door, we took a left turn to the large business class cabin full of B/E Aerospace seats.

The purple and beige with wood accents are a great color combination for the cabin. We selected two seats in row 3 in the center section to sit next to each other. The cabin was booked 16/26 but I counted 19 people sitting in business class, and noted that a couple people seemed to know the flight crew. In any case, I still had a free window seat across the aisle to catch the view landing.

There is no SeatGuru page for the Royal Air Maroc 787-9 (as of this post), so my main notes for the business class cabin is that Row 1 does not have extra legroom in the bulkhead (as far as I can see). You’d be closer to the galley and even with a good crew, there will likely be noise emanating from there. I chose row 3 and didn’t find noise to be an issue.

If you are a solo traveler, rows 5 and 7 only have one window. The other window seats have two.

Unlike our prior crew leaving JFK, this crew was fantastic and came around very quickly to offer drinks and menus. There’s no alcohol on the ground, but the crew did offer champagne once we got in the air since they soon realized we were in a celebratory mood.

The B/E Super Diamond seat isn’t as well appointed as other carriers, but they chose a fantastic hard product to place on this aircraft. There was ample storage space as well as lighting. The tray table slides out and was large enough to work on (or watch a movie on my iPad).

The privacy divider can make the center seats pretty private, but my seat mate who received a proposal for a lifetime appointment the prior day wasn’t having any of that.

The menu was similar to the outbound flight with alcoholic drinks including spirits like Martini, Gordon’s Gin, Smirnoff, Camus Cognac, JW Black Label, and Cointreau, though we decided to stick with Laurent-Perrir Brut Rosé for the flight. There was also Beer Casablanca and a couple of Moroccan wine selections that we didn’t partake in.

The meal started with canapés of prawns skewer, cherry tomato with feta cheese, and a ‘frivolity” of pastrami with goat cheese, as well as a foie gras crumble. There was a salad course with smoked salmon. The hot dishes included a cod filet with Thermidor sauce, a teriyaki chicken skewer option, or kebab style lamb.

After a smooth climb, the meal was served rather quickly.

After the meal, I slept for a solid 4 hours (on a day flight!), which was much needed given how early we had woken up in Marrakesh and how late we’d be up in New York. After waking up, I watched a movie in the dark cabin. I love the dimming windows on the 787 since it doesn’t feel like they’re closed, but still allows less light in the cabin. The wall decor and open center area without overhead bins make the cabin feel more airy.

While the lavatory does have a window (with a shade), it was pretty sparse in terms of toiletries.

There was a Spinach lasagna snack offered mid-flight, which was fine.

Closer to the end of the flight, I moved to the window seat to catch the view landing into New York. If I were a solo traveler, I would definitely take a window seat. It’s incredibly private, as I could barely see even part of my old seat from it.

Conclusion

Overall, our trip to Morocco was great, and flying on Royal Air Maroc made it more seamless than having to connect. The 787-8 Business Class was disappointing, but the 787-9 Business Class was much more worthy of miles. Unfortunately, Etihad recently changed their program such that you’ll pay more miles to connect past Morocco to elsewhere in Africa, Europe, or Asia. However, if you’re planning a trip to Morocco and can make it to a North American gateway easily, Royal Air Maroc is a great option for a nonstop flight rather than a connection through Europe. If they could improve on their boarding process, ground staffing issues, and maybe get rid of the 787-8 business class ;), it’d be a solid choice.

Read the rest of this article at Review: Royal Air Maroc 787-9 Business Class, Casablanca to New York.

The cards are also a must if you want to chase elite status, since spending large amounts of money on them can waive the minimum ticket spending required for all elite levels plus earn your Medallion Qualification Miles.

All of the flavors of cards offer a bonus that combines both miles as well as a statement credit after your first Delta purchase. According to Doctor of Credit, some of the offers right now include a Delta Gold Delta SkyMiles card with 50,000 miles after $2,000 in spending in 3 months, an additional 25,000 miles after an additional $1,000 spend in first 6 months, and a $50 statement credit after your first Delta purchase.

I recently got a Platinum Delta Business Amex, mainly to avoid taking up a 5/24 slot in my wallet. It required $6,000 of spending for 80,000 miles, but also offered a $100 statement credit after my first Delta purchase.

The key caveat to the statement credit is first Delta purchase. Some offers will specify a certain amount of spending before you get the statement credit. If your offer includes first Delta purchase, you just need to use the card to buy something from Delta.

If you’re uncreative, you’ll buy a Delta gift card or buy a Delta flight. I prefer to use either points or my Chase Sapphire Reserve for flights (due to trip delay coverage). Instead, I try to find the cheapest item I can buy from Delta.

For me, that brings us to the Buy-on-Board menu. The cheapest option on my recent flight from Atlanta to Liberia in economy class was a $3.99 can of Pringles. Since you receive 20% back on all in-flight food purchases, I actually only spent $3.19 on the chips. A couple of days later, I got the $100 statement credit.

Now, I still had to spend $195 for the annual fee, since that wasn’t waived, but with the statement credit, the fee comes closer to $100. And the card saved me $60 on my trip to check-in a bag for myself and my companion on our one-way leg just weeks after getting the card.

Can you find a cheaper way to activate the Delta Amex statement credit?

Read the rest of this article at What’s the Cheapest Way to Get the Delta Amex Statement Credit?.

We booked a taxi to the airport from our riad, arriving at about 9am for an 11:30am flight.

We checked in quickly using the Business Class line and were given directions to the Oasis Lounge run by the airline. Marrakesh’s airport is architecturally impressive, with tall ceilings, natural light, and even an outdoor courtyard with coffee shop before security.

Oddly enough, we cleared Moroccan immigration in Marrakesh, despite traveling on a domestic flight to Casablanca with an onward connection.

The terminal post-security is just as well-lit and full of shopping. The Oasis Lounge is at the end of the terminal, in a nondescript box.

We actually walked in unimpeded as the front desk was unmanned. We stayed in the lounge for perhaps 5 minutes as the only guests until someone showed up to verify our boarding passes.

The lounge had a variety of seatings options in circled off areas, though the food and drink options were limited (and that’s even for it having been Ramadan at the time).

Our flight departed from a bus gate, but as the lounge was rather ho-hum, we decided to just get on the plane early, awaiting until some of economy had boarded as there was no separate bus for business class passengers for this domestic connection.

Seats were what you’d expect in an old first class in the US, though these included footrests like many international carriers.

There was only 1 other passengers up front.  We had a small beverage service with water or juice upon boarding and that was the extent of the service. Pretty surprising, even for a short 30-minute flight. One would think that they would have at least come out to check on passengers, but no.

The 30-minute flight was pretty nondescript. We had some nice view of Marrakesh on the left side as we departed.

The main thing I was happy to see upon landing at Casablanca was a new 787-9 Dreamliner in parking position for our flight to New York!

Conclusion:

Don’t expect much from the lounge at Marrakesh or the short flight up to Casablanca. If you have business class booked as part of a larger trip, you can arrive to the airport at whatever time you deem comfortable, as both check-in and immigration formalities are quick. The airport is airy and well-kept and actually architecturally pleasing.

I promise I’ll work on getting the 787-9 Dreamliner part of this trip up soon!

Read the rest of this article at Royal Air Maroc 737 Business Class, Marrakesh to Casablanca.

Our outbound trip was simply New York-JFK to Casablanca in business class. When we booked, it was going to be a 787-9 Dreamliner, which features Royal Air Maroc’s new business class in a 1-2-1 arrangement, with direct aisle access for all.

Unfortunately, two days before my flight, I noticed on ExpertFlyer that the seat map now showed 2-2-2, which is the old business class on the 787-8 Dreamliner. Disappointing, but it provided something to compare to our return trip.

Check-In

Our flight was originally scheduled for 8pm, but was pushed back to 9pm about a month before when Morocco temporarily changed their time zone for Ramadan. Since we were checking out of our hotel in Chelsea at 4pm, we took the LIRR + AirTrain for the absolute steal of $9.50 per person and were at JFK Terminal 1 at 5pm. This was right at 4 hours before the scheduled departure time when the check-in desks opened.

It’s no TBIT at LAX, but JFK Terminal 1 exudes the aura of an international terminal since only carriers from abroad operate there. Unfortunately, no Pre-Check access on Royal Air Maroc, so we waited about 20 minutes in security. I often forget how much longer regular security can take.

Lounge Access through Air France

Business class passengers get access to the Air France Lounge at the end of the terminal near gate 1 (there is barely any signage, you simply have to look for a door that says Air France). The lounge is fine, there is a small buffet with some hot options and salad, as well the customary wine, beer, and alcohol options. There is an upper mezzanine but this is only for passengers flying Air France business class or their super top tier elites. The downstairs was rather empty since Priority Pass admissions are closed during this time.

Disorganized Boarding Process

Boarding on our ticket was timed for 7:30pm (for an 8:45pm departure!) but I noticed the inbound plane was delayed 20 minutes to a 7:20pm arrival, and so headed to the gate around 7:45pm. As expected, they were nowhere near ready, and it seemed like some extra security was greeting the flight, though I couldn’t figure out the reason behind it. We were told to return at 8:45pm for boarding. Besides waiting at the gate, there are no ways to get updates as the Air France lounge doesn’t know the status of the flight.

After a quick return to the lounge, we returned at around 8:40pm only to find a huge scrum of people in the gate house. They announced boarding group C, at which point I realized they had started boarding much earlier. We ended up waiting in line in the jetway for about 15 minutes. They also decided to board passengers requiring wheelchairs while everyone stood in line in the jetway, which just made it a bigger mess.

As we got to the door to the jetway, another business class passenger who was boarding late started scooting past people to get to the front. We followed him and let him awkwardly ask other passengers to move aside. In his defense, the holdup in the jetway was due to the holdup boarding in Economy Class, as we got to our seats immediately after turning left at door 2.

Royal Air Maroc 201
New York (JFK) to Casablanca (CMN)
Saturday, May 18, 2019
8:55pm-7:45am [+1] (actual 9:35pm-7:50am [+1])
Duration: 6h50m (actual 6h15m)
Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, Seats 2A/2C

We were welcomed to a small 3-row business class. Each seat in a set of 2 faces inward, as if you’re at a jazz club at a small circular table enjoying a show with your seatmate. When the seats go flat, they lay on 2 planes, with the window seat elevated above the aisle seat. Apart from the fact that I’m not a fan of any business class that doesn’t have direct aisle access, this is even more awkward, even if you know your seatmate.

Business class was fairly empty, even though there were only 3 rows of a 2-2-2 configuration. Every solo traveler had their own set of 2 while three sets (including ours) had a couple traveling. The flight went out with 11/18 seats filled.

We were given amenity kits, headphones, and a welcome drink (water, OJ, or apple juice).

Our neighbors across the aisle had opened the tray table to place the welcome drink, but the tray support got dislodged and was unable to be stowed for takeoff. It took several employees and several sets of waving hands almost 15 minutes to figure out how to fix it.

We eventually took off about 35 minutes after scheduled departure, which isn’t bad for JFK. Orders for drinks and dinner were taken shortly after. Given that it’s a short flight going east and there’s a lot of waiting on the ground at JFK, this really should be done before takeoff from New York, particularly in a fairly empty cabin to save time.

Menu

The glossy menu was oddly difficult to take a clear picture of, so I’ve transcribed it below:

Dinner started with salmon mousse, bresaola, and pastrami canapés, a raw vegetable salad, and an appetizer of grilled scallops with chervil sprig.

Hot dish options included (1) grilled marinated shrimp and cod, lemon cream sauce accompanied with spinach and rise with parsley, (2) stuffed chicken, creamy mushroom sauce accompanied with vegetables ratatouille, or (3) grilled beef filet, pepper corn sauce accompanied with roasted red potato and green beans.

Post main course options included a cheese plate, pastries (black forest cake, caramel cheese cake, or fresh fruit tart).

Liquor options include Martini, Gordon’s gin, Smirnoff vodka, Camus cognac, JW Black Label whisky, Cointreau, Laurent-Perrier Brut Rosé champagne, a 2014 Chateau Le Bourdieu, a 2014 Moroccan red wine, a 2013 white wine that I couldn’t figure out more of, and Casablanca beer.

Non-alcoholic drinks included Coke, Coke Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes (tonic and citron), orange/apple/mango/tomato juice, tea, coffee, or Moroccan mint tea.

My main course looked unappetizing and it only tasted slightly better than that. Meanwhile, I had ordered a vegetarian meal for my travel partner, who got a steaming plate full of biryani (so steaming, that taking a picture of it from above steamed up my camera lens). I actually wished I had ordered a vegetarian main right around then.

I was so disenchanted with the lackluster service and food that I decided to just go to sleep and try to salvage a good rest, even putting a sticker on my seat to forgo breakfast service. The crew kept the bedding in an undisclosed location and it took several call bells to get one.

In lie-flat mode, the seats are almost on top of each other, but they’re still flat beds and I slept pretty much the rest of the flight. Or at least I thought — the bedding was collected with about 20 minutes left in the air.

We landed only about 10 minutes late into Casablanca and were guided to a remote stand location. This is particularly obnoxious at an airline’s hub, though they had two dedicated vans for business class passengers, as well as a dedicated immigration line for business class. We were through to baggage claim within minutes, and out to the airport train station less than 30 minutes after landing.

Conclusion

Honestly speaking, this was one of my least memorable business class experiences. Boarding was a disorganized mess, the flight attendants were not particularly conscientious of a short overnight flight, and the downgrade to a poorer business class product just left a bad taste in my mouth (or maybe that was my “chicken”). That said, we had a much better flight on the way back, partly due to a better business class seat but also due to one of the better business class crews I’ve flown with.

I’ll post that report next.

Read the rest of this article at Review: Royal Air Maroc 787-8 Dreamliner Business Class, New York to Casablanca.

Why is Royal Air Maroc a great deal using Etihad Guest Miles? Here’s a simple reason: all long-haul trips on Royal Air Maroc cost only 44,000 Etihad Guest miles one-way for business class.

That’s an amazing value for transatlantic business class to Morocco, with onward connections to mainland Europe, the Middle East, and the heart of Africa.

I recently took a trip on Royal Air Maroc and got to experience business class on their 787-8 Dreamliner (old long-haul business product), 787-9 Dreamliner (new long-haul business product), and their domestic 737 aircraft. Those trip reports will come soon. Before then, I wanted to explain how I used Etihad Guest miles to book my flights.

Finding Flights

I found that opening a Royal Air Maroc frequent flyer account (Safar Flyer) was helpful in finding seats, despite the kinks in the website. Once you’ve made an account, you’ll want to click, “Buy your ticket with your miles.” Search for the route. If you find a date that shows available seats in the class you want, there’s a good chance Etihad can see those seats as well. I found that Etihad saw seats on days that Royal Air Maroc’s website showed availability when I searched, and didn’t see seats on days that the RAM website didn’t show availability.

That said, I can’t guarantee that these will match, so you can always just call up Etihad Guest to see what they have available. Etihad Guest’s number is 877-690-0767. I’ve called a few times and have usually had good agents. When you request a ticket, they have to set up a dummy reservation first and request the seats, so you’ll be on hold for about 10 minutes.

Before I booked my tickets, I made “test transfers” of small amounts of Amex Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles to Etihad Guest. Both of thest posted immediately. When the Etihad agent confirmed the availability, I completed the full transfer. She instantly saw 176,000 miles in my account ready for use for 2 roundtrip tickets.

Etihad does charge the fuel surcharge on Royal Air Maroc tickets. My JFK-Casablanca ticket cost $204.40 per person in taxes. My Marrakesh-Casablanca-JFK ticket cost $289.90 in taxes (charged in Moroccan Dirham since it departed Morocco). This matches the fuel surcharges and taxes listed on a paid ticket on ITA Matrix.

I ended up getting 2.7 cents per mile out of my Etihad Guest miles, not a bad real-world value.

Summary

Etihad Guest miles can be obtained through transfers from Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Capital One Miles. You only need 44,000 miles + $200-$250 US for a one-way business class ticket from several east coast cities to Morocco with onward connections to Europe, the Middle East and much of Africa. Availability is pretty good.

Read the rest of this article at Booking Royal Air Maroc with Etihad Guest Miles.

Many Seated referral codes give you $5, but Seated recently made my referral code AMOL14 worth $15 on your first use, TRIPLE the normal amount. You can also use this direct link here.

What is Seated?

Seated is currently in several cities, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Boston.  If you live in or travel to these cities, Seated is worth looking at.

You can look for available restaurants in each city in the app, and even sort by which restaurants are offering the highest rewards. In some cities, you can find rewards of more than 30% back. I’ve also found that a lot of restaurant I’ve been interested in trying anyway are on the app, whether they be “fancy” dinners, bars, cafés, or casual sit-down places. You can usually find reservations for every day of the week, though you may get more rewards going on an off-peak day or time.

How rewards work

Once you’ve finished your meal, you take a picture of your check and upload it to the Seated App to verify how much you spent. I usually save the photo to my camera roll in case there’s an issue, but I have yet to have an issue with any submissions. You’ll get the Seated credit usually within a day.

Once you have your Seated credit, you can apply it to various rewards in the app, including gift cards to Amazon (that can be used to to buy gifts for motorcycle enthusiasts), Starbucks, Lyft, Target, Apple, and Sephora.  The Amazon gift cards are of particular value to me since I shop on the website frequently, including using my Amazon balance to buy other gift cards for other stores and services.  There are also “Experience” rewards, where you can save up Seated rewards for private wine tastings and dinners at Michelin star restaurants.

Multiple rewards dips

The best part about the Seated app is that rewards are reliant on snapping a photo of your receipt and verifying how much you spent. It’s not reliant on how you pay for your restaurant bill. That means that you can double-, triple-, or even quadruple-dip your rewards.

I’ll lay out one example: I recently planned a group dinner for 4 at a restaurant named Seven Lamps in Atlanta that just happened to be on the Seated app. It also is on several other networks, including Visa Local Offers (7% Uber cash credit) and MileagePlan Dining (3 Alaska miles per dollar).  Our bill for four was $172 ($143 before tip), for which I earned:

• $32 toward gift cards on the Seated App
• $10 toward my Uber cash account
• 516 Alaska miles (which I value at about $8.50)
• 516 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (which I value at about $7.75) from using my Sapphire Reserve card

Overall, this was about $58.25 back on a $172 bill, or over 33% return. Seated provided for more than half of that.

I could have earned more credit card points with the American Express Gold Card (4x Membership Rewards Points at restaurant) or Citi Prestige (5x Thank You Points), but neither are Visas that would have gotten me the $10 Uber credit.

Taking it to the next level

My original usage of the Seated App was in Chicago back in 2017, when I stayed at the Park Hyatt Chicago and made a Seated reservation at the NoMi restaurant for my Globalist Breakfast. I uploaded the receipt, got a $15 reward, then had the charge taken off my folio at check-out. I cannot verify if this works anymore, but it’s worth opening up the app anytime you’re planning on dining anywhere in the cities the app supports.

Bottom Line

Seated is a great way to find restaurants at which you can earn rewards toward gift cards like Amazon and Lyft in 6 major U.S. cities. The way the app works means you don’t forgo credit card rewards or mileage dining rewards.  The only thing I wish Seated had is more cities!

Reminder: the normal referral code earns you $5 on your first dine, but if you use my referral code AMOL14, you’ll earn $15 on your first use. If you’re wondering why, it’s because that tip about the hotel in Chicago and its subsequent posting on several blogs apparently made me one of the top referrers and Seated wanted to thank me for introducing so many people to the app. I get a Seated credit if you dine using my referral code. I like to be transparent. If you use my referral code, thanks!

Download the Seated app here: https://www.seatedapp.io/

Read the rest of this article at Why I Love the Seated App (And How to Get $15 on Your First Dine).

Background:

We had some time constraints to get from Bogotá to Medellín. While I was learning about the city on Wikipedia, I realized that Medellín actually has two airports — MDE, which is about 40 minutes outside of the city, and EOH, an in-town airport.

This smaller in-town airport only allows smaller aircraft. From Bogotá, only SATENA, a government-run airline, is allowed the rights to fly this route. Major carriers like Avianca and LATAM don’t even fly to EOH. I searched online and found that tickets for the times we wanted on SATENA were only about 25,000 Colombian Pesos more than on LATAM or Avianca (that’s about 8 USD). We would save that with the Uber costs from MDE (which was about a $25 difference) as well as the time on the road.

I had trouble booking on the SATENA website with my US credit cards, so ended up booking through a website called FlightNetwork. It did add a couple dollars cost to each ticket, but I was also having trouble booking with my credit card on Avianca or LATAM’s sites in Colombian Pesos as well. There were also no saver award seats for the times I needed. At least it coded as travel so I earned 3x on my Chase Sapphire Reserve.

The Flight:

SATENA is located in Terminal 2 at BOG. Terminal 1 is the nicer terminal. We made the mistake of getting dropped off at Terminal 1 and had to walk back toward Terminal 2 (the locals call it Terminal Puente Aéreo, in case you need to tell an Uber or taxi driver where to go). There are no Priority Pass options here but the terminal is clean, well kept, and large for its needs. We arrived at 9:45am for an 11am flight (that boarded at 10:20am). There was no line to check in or security. We checked our rollers since only one piece of hand baggage up to 5kg is allowed, with as many pieces up to 15kg per person allowed for check-in included in the ticket. We were at the gate easily before 10:00am.

Boarding was fairly simple for a terminal without jetways. Our aircraft was an ATR 42-500 propellor plane. Legroom was fairly minimal in our seats in row 4. If I could do it again, I’d get a bulkhead seat. Row 1 on the starboard side was actually rear facing, but no one was sitting in this seat and I couldn’t figure out a way to assign it at online check-in. The service was routine and friendly with free water but no snacks. I didn’t take a picture of the crew, but they had coats that almost looked like old Pan Am flight attendant capes which I thought to look pretty classic. I had my phone on airplane mode but was told to turn it off, despite others having headphones connected to their phones, so I don’t have many photos of the flight itself.

Our flight was under an hour and we flew over Medellín from the south. Landing here meant getting a spectacular overhead view of a gorgeous city flanked by several mountains on either side. Once landed, we were off quickly and our checked bags were delivered within 5 minutes. I had a lock on my bag but they had zip-tied another compartment on my bag that the staff took off when I showed them my claim tag.

The airport almost felt like it was the gateway to an island paradise rather than a large city in the middle of Colombia. I quickly booked an Uber on my app which arrived within 5 minutes. The best part is we were at our hotel in El Poblado within 10 minutes of leaving the airport (vs. over an hour from the main airport).

Conclusion

If flying in or out of Medellín domestically, I would highly consider SATENA simply for the use of EOH airport over MDE. We flew out of MDE to Cartagena a few days later and I greatly valued how quickly we were able to get in/out of EOH instead of MDE. If you are flying other routes on which Avianca or LATAM operate, I would choose those carriers as they tend to have larger aircraft with more legroom.

Read the rest of this article at Review: SATENA from Bogotá to Medellín.

In December, I signed up for the Capital One Spark Miles for Business card. I had two main reasons for doing so:

1) Capital One had just introduced the ability to transfer their points* to a number of airline partners. These include popular ones such as Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Avianca Lifemiles, and Singapore Krisflyer and rare ones such as Hainan Fortune Wings Club. The transfer rate for most partners is 1 Capital One point –> 0.75 airline miles. Since the card earns 2 points per dollar on all purchases, it would be like either earning 2% cash back toward travel or 1.5 miles per dollar. I thought it’d be nice to have the option.

2) The card had a huge bonus at the time, earning 200,000 Capital One points for $50,000 in spending over 6 months. Since the card earns 2x points on everything, that level of spend would earn 300,000 points. That number of points is redeemable for $3,000 toward travel (a 6% return) or up to 225,000 airline miles. It’s quite a feat to spend $50,000, but I had the ability to pay some bills that would add up to that amount in the upcoming few months, so I found it a great way to earn a good return on something that was otherwise non-bonus spend. I actually earned the initial 50,000 miles after my first $5,000 of spending within the first 3 months.

*I know that Capital One brands their rewards as “miles” but to help reduce confusion, I’ll refer to the credit card rewards as “points” and airline miles as “miles.”

My experience transferring from Capital One to Avianca Lifemiles

I had an upcoming trip to Colombia and found a flight I wanted was priced very favorably using Avianca Lifemiles (who’da thunk you could use miles from a Colombian airline for a flight in Colombia?!). I figured I’d try transferring Capital One points to Lifemiles.

When I called Capital One to activate my card, I specifically asked how airline mileage transfers would work. I was told they would be instant. This isn’t unreasonable since other card issuers tend to transfer instantly as well.

One thing that’s nice about Capital One is that their credit card points post instantly after a purchase. I earned the initial 50,000 bonus points rather early after spending the initial $3,000. I transferred some Capital One points to Lifemiles and waited … and waited … and waited.

The front-line reps have no idea what mileage transfers are:

Over an hour passed and I decided to call Capital One to inquire how long it would take. I ended up spending over an hour on the phone speaking with both a front-line rep and a supervisor, both of whom had no idea what transfers to airline partners were. They both thought I was transferring points to another Capital One member. This was almost 2 months after the implementation of this mileage transfer option.

I even had the supervisor tell me that “you don’t need to wait for the miles, you can book your ticket and then redeem the miles later.” He was obviously referring to the method of using Capital One points to “erase travel purchases” at a penny per point. I tried to explain to him how mileage transfers work, but he clearly did not understand.

After over an hour on the phone, I was told I would have to wait up to a week for the transfer and to expect a follow-up phone call within that week to help explain the issue. The miles ended up posting about 30 hours later, but I never got the follow-up phone call.

I only transferred a handful of miles, and didn’t even end up using them for the flight because I found another itinerary that better fit my needs. But I also realized that transferring to Lifemiles isn’t necessarily the best use of these miles. I only earn 2 points per dollar, which is like earning 2 cents per dollar spent anywhere. If I transfer those Capital One points to Lifemiles, I earn 1.5 Lifemiles. The math comes out to 1.33 cents per Lifemile. However, Avianca frequently sells Lifemiles at 1.35 cents per mile. The difference is negligible, though credit card point transfers to Lifemiles aren’t dependent on sales.

Bottom line:

Overall, I’m happy I got the Capital One Spark Miles for Business card only for the signup bonus. I ended up getting 300,000 Capital One points for $50,000 spend. It’s still effectively a 2% cash back toward travel card for free until the annual fee comes up in December. I’d actually rather use my Chase Freedom Unlimited with 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points over the Capital One card.

Given the issues with transferring and the poor knowledge and support of the Capital One reps, I’ll likely keep using it as a travel cash fund and instead use other currencies like Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards for mileage transfers.

What have your experiences with Capital One and mileage transfers been?

Read the rest of this article at Capital One Falls Short with Its New Mileage Transfer Program.

In 2014, former Vice President Joe Biden proclaimed, “If I blindfolded someone and took them at 2:00 in the morning into the airport in Hong Kong and said ‘where do you think you are,’ they’d say, ‘this must be America, it’s a modern airport,’ but if I blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York, you must think, ‘I must be in some third world country.’ I’m not joking.”

The airport is undergoing renovations and most of it is still in progress. I don’t travel to New York as often anymore and I’ve been pretty out of the loop after starting a new job, so I was surprised to see that one concourse of Terminal B is now open for business since the beginning of December. I flew from LaGuardia to Atlanta on Southwest the night after Christmas and was stunned to see what the future holds for LaGuardia’s continued renovation.

Absolutely aghast — AGHAST — that THIS is LaGuardia. pic.twitter.com/vlZX05TpQS

— Amol (@PointsToPointB) December 27, 2018

The Eastern Concourse is served by Air Canada, complete with new Maple Leaf Lounge, and Southwest. There were a couple of American Airlines flights, but not many – the ones I saw were regional jet flights to Canada. The Centurion Lounge is nearby, but it’s still pre-security. Pre-Check closes at 7:30pm, so I went down around then to make sure I’d have an easy security experience. There’s no other lounge that a credit card membership, like Priority Pass, can get you in past security.

Still, I was amazed with the types of food, drink, and sitting options. They seem pretty “normal” for a new airport building, but it was extra special given that it was LaGuardia (and I was a bit buzzed after 2 cocktails at the Centurion).

Photos

Apologies for the poor quality – I had absolutely no idea I’d be in a new terminal and only had my iPhone.

Even the bathrooms were pretty nice! We’ll see how they do after just one month.

There were plenty of space for passengers and even an area for kids to play.

Now that I live in Atlanta, flying to New York-LGA nonstop is an option on Delta, American, or Southwest. I’m now a free agent without status on a major airline. With Southwest now fully moved to this terminal, it definitely makes me want to book them for the short 2-hour flight over the other two carriers.

If only the Centurion Lounge was post-security!

Read the rest of this article at Quick Look: LaGuardia’s New Terminal B.

Given Chile’s relatively small size, it’s cool to be able to fly a 4+ hour domestic flight with international business class product from Easter Island to Santiago.

With a departure of 2:05pm, LAN recommended that we show up to the airport at 12:05pm. Yeah … not gonna happen. We were out the hotel at 12:05pm, and waited 20 minutes to get a taxi to the airport, mostly due to a misunderstanding between the hotel owners and ourselves. We didn’t have a taxi until 12:25pm and it took, with traffic, a full 4 minutes to reach the airport! Quel horreur!

Even for a domestic flight to Santiago, there was a quick “pre-customs” check to make sure you are not taking fruits from Rapa Nui away. We had some snacks that were brought from Santiago that had to be discarded, despite their mainland origins.

I warned my friend that I was about to “geek out,” since I’m a plane-ophile, and hinted at something along the lines of, “I’m writing a sort of … ‘report’ on this.” She simply responded: “You can geek out. I’m going to conk out.” The “terminal” at IPC is simply just a semi-outdoor waiting area with some shops. I bought a shot glass for my collection, while making small talk with other tourists (it seemed that everyone I had met on the island was on this departure).

Around 1:30pm came a call for boarding. Our tour partners from the hotel, whom we had spent a lot of time with on the island, asked us where we were sitting. I stayed awkwardly silent, while my friend responded with, “toward the front.”

“Oh. We’re in the back. Where in the front are you?”

“The front front.”

Indeed, a semi-awkward moment seeing as how they were a couple decades older than us, until they realized I had mentioned using miles for this trip. I explained how a trip to Lima, Easter Island, and Santiago was the same price as a simple trip to only one of those destinations. Oh, how I miss the old British Airways award chart.

We headed toward the gate, and they followed us into the Preferente line, before realizing where we were and exclaiming, “oh bloody hell!”

LAN 842
Friday February 17, 2012
Easter Island/Isla Pascua (IPC) – Santiago (SCL)
Depart: 2:05pm
Arrive: 8:50pm
Duration: 4h45m
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300ER
Seats: 5A/5C (Premium Business – Window/Aisle)

As expected, the business cabin was booked solid, 28/30 (the last 2 were for the off-duty pilots who flew the inbound). And as expected, my partner-in-travel conked out, putting the seat in an almost flat position during boarding, before bringing it up for takeoff, and putting it back down afterward, waking up only for the lunch service. We were offered the same pre-flight beverages, and since I’d had a few Pisco sours on the island and that the champagne was the same as the previous flights, went with the usual. We also received a daytime amenity kit, though smaller than the ones I had received on previous flights, sans Bvlgari bag and lotions.

I noticed that the flight attendant serving our side of the plane was my same flight attendant from JFK to Lima. I told her I recognized her, and upon seeing my camera out, she recognized me as well. “I read the menu in advance this time, no worries.”

With a very short taxi (the runway is literally next to the “gate”), we had to wait for the safety announcement to finish while waiting at the end of the runway. As soon as we were up, I got out my laptop (to write this plus look at/edit photos), and turned on the King’s Speech on the IFE (yes, this flight was last year, it was a new movie back then).

It took about 90 minutes for the lunch service to start. Given that I had made a diet of empanadas and overpriced fried food on the island, I was looking forward to the salad. We were seated in 5 A/C since they were the only 2 seats together at the time of booking. Because of this, we were the last to be offered lunch, since the center seats are situated a bit forward of the window seats in the same row, and the off-duty pilots in 5 J/L had already eaten. Fortunately, only the lamb was gone by then, so we both got our option of the salad. Instead of the recommended wine, I went with the Casa Lapostolle Cabernet, which I had enjoyed on a previous leg.

Here’s the full menu:

LUNCH

Salad greens with seasonal vegetables

Entrées
Lamb leg, stewed in mint and rosemary, accompanied by potato and Camembert cheese gratin
Master Sommelier’s suggestion: Syrah 2008

Pan seared tuna with Provenzal dressing, broad bean mash and onion confit
Master Sommelier’s suggestion: Torrontés 2011

*Sesame chicken salad, Portobello mushrooms, roasted peppers, grilled zucchini and assorted lettuce
Master Sommelier’s suggestion: Malbec 2007

Desserts
*Cherimoya mousse with honey tuile and passion fruit sauce
Fresh seasonal fruit

After lunch, the FAs closed window shades with about 2h40m of flight time left to SCL. I got to lie down while finishing the King’s Speech (an amazing movie; I tend to watch Oscar winning flicks on planes). I also ordered a couple more glasses of the wine — LAN FAs are not proactive in asking if you’d like anything, but with a bit of passenger initiative (read: push the call button), they’ll happily honor any request.

I’ve come to the point where I’ve decided – I LOVE THE LAN BED. I discovered that if you hold the “flat bed” option on the control panel, it doesn’t go truly flat, but only to a bit of an incline. However, you can lift the seat up even more by using that specific button on the control panel to make it truly flat. The duvet is incredibly comfortable and competes with the plush covers of many other business class offerings – my friend was joking that she still had to buy a comforter for her new apartment in Santiago and was debating just stealing a couple of duvets from the plane (don’t worry, they stayed onboard).

Once again, we started approach into Santiago much earlier than I would have hoped for, about 30 minutes early. Like previous flights, the IFE was shut off (with an automated message warning) before landing.

Read the rest of this article at Adios, Avios: LAN Business Class Easter Island to Santiago.

Hello. An @AmericanExpress Centurion Lounge is coming to LAX. It’ll be in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, making it most accessible for @AmericanAir flyers and long-haul flyers, at least short-term. Airport rent is not cheap! pic.twitter.com/wYYJK9CDPj

— Brian Sumers (@BrianSumers) April 14, 2018

Rent isn’t cheap in L.A. – that’s a $33.4 million lease for 10 years!

This is great news for long-haul flyers departing Bradley as well as American Airlines passengers next door in Terminal 4. There are tunnels all the way from Terminal 7 through to Terminal 4, making it possible for United flyers in Terminal 7, Alaska Airlines flyers in Terminal 6, and JetBlue et al flyers in Terminal 5 to access the lounge post-security as well.

There is also a current Delta bus that connects Terminals 2 and 3 to TBIT, though it’s not as seamless. American Express Platinum Card holders can access the Delta Sky Club there, though you will need multiple cards to bring in guests. Really, the only passengers who won’t have access to the Centurion Lounge post-security are Southwest passengers in Terminal 1.

This announcement comes on the heels of the new Centurion Lounges being built at New York-JFK and Denver International Airports. This brings us to 8 currently open domestic locations with 3 on the way, for 11 lounges total at major U.S. airports.

• Review: Centurion Lounge Seattle
• Review: Centurion Lounge San Francisco
• Review: Centurion Lounge Las Vegas
• Review: Centurion Lounge Dallas (DFW)
• Review: Centurion Lounge Philadelphia
• Review: Centurion Lounge Miami
• Centurion Lounge Houston (IAH)
• Centurion Lounge New York-Laguardia (LGA)
• Centurion Lounge New York-JFK (coming 2019)
• Centurion Lounge Denver (coming 2019)
• Centurion Lounge Los Angeles (LAX) (TBD)

Access to the Centurion Lounge requires either an American Express Platinum Card or Centurion Card. Cardmembers are allowed to enter with two complimentary guests, and additional guests cost $50 each. If you have issued additional cards to your family, they are also “cardmembers” and can use the lounge by themselves and admit their own guests. It typically costs $175 for three additional personal Platinum Cards.

I am super excited about this location, as Los Angeles seemed to be the biggest “hole” in the domestic Centurion Lounge network. These lounges are one of the reasons I always keep an American Express Platinum Card handy, whether it’s a personal card, business card, or even an authorized user card.

Read the rest of this article at American Express Centurion Lounge Coming to LAX.

First, details of the hotels (emphasis mine) as outlined in today’s press release:

Radisson Hotel Group today announced at its Americas Business Conference in Orlando, Fla., signings for two new-build hotels to its portfolio in the Americas, located in Anaheim, Calif. (Radisson Blu^®) and New York City (Radisson^®). As part of its strategic 5-year operating plan for the Americas, the company sees significant room for growth across all brands and has identified 21 key target markets where it plans to be aggressive with expanding its footprint, particularly in the U.S. with its Radisson Blu brand.

Radisson Blu Anaheim will be located at 1601 S. Anaheim Blvd, only a half-mile from Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park … expected to be open by Summer 2020 with 326 guestrooms and will be the tallest hotel in Anaheim at 12 stories. A plethora of amenities including a ground-level family activity space, rooftop pool and bar, fitness center, 6,700 square foot restaurant and 353 parking spaces, will make it the perfect family-friendly upper upscale hotel. The hotel is situated in a prime location to capture visitors to Disneyland, the Anaheim Convention Center and the numerous nearby sporting venues including Angel Stadium and the Honda Center. The hotel will also benefit from growth in the Platinum Triangle district of Anaheim, which is currently undergoing a transformation.

The Radisson Hotel in New York City will be located at 525 8^th Ave … estimated to open Spring 2019 with 320 guestrooms, a restaurant and a fitness center. Located in the heart of bustling New York City, the hotel will cater to both leisure and business travelers.

A Disneyland-adjacent Radisson Blu in 2020

The Radisson Blu Anaheim is over 2 years away from completion, but Radisson has provided renderings of the new hotel, including its rooftop patio and pool. Given its height, it might also have views of Disneyland’s nighttime fireworks.

And given the address, it is indeed near the resort, although you will have one side of the hotel alongside the 5 Freeway.

A new Manhattan Radisson option in 2019

Meanwhile, the new Radisson in Manhattan is scheduled to open in Spring 2019. I don’t see any renderings of this one, but hopefully we’ll see some photos soon. The hotel will be in the midst of Midtown Manhattan around several other hotel chains. It’ll be nice to have another option besides the Radisson Martinique, which is nearby on 32nd Street and 6th Ave/Broadway. While that one is a historic hotel, the rooms at the Martinique are rather small. My hope is that the new Radisson in Manhattan will have better use of space as a new-build.

Addendum: In the comments, Brandon noted that the Martinique hotel is due to leave Radisson for Hilton as a Curio brand. I’ve heard the news of this, but it was originally supposed to happen in Q1 2018 (which ended a few days ago). Hilton’s website now says Q3 2018, but at the moment, it is still a Radisson hotel.

Utilizing Radisson Rewards and the U.S. Bank credit cards

Despite the continuing devaluations to the Radisson Rewards program (formerly known as Club Carlson), I’ve continued to hold both the U.S. Bank personal and business credit cards. The main reason is that each provides 40,000 points each year after paying the annual fee, as well as Radisson Gold status (the 2nd highest tier). The personal card costs $75 per year while the business card costs only $60, so I’m getting 80,000 points for $135 (note: I have 2 Radisson Rewards accounts because each credit card required a unique rewards account, but points transfers between accounts are free with elite status, which each card provides).

The highest tier hotels cost 70,000 points, which is more than covered each year by both annual fees. I’ve used these points at hotels such as the Radisson Blu Royal in Copenhagen, when similar hotels cost more than $350 per night. If you have plans to travel in Europe where nicer Radisson properties are located, getting cheap Radisson points is a great move.

Possibly great uses for spending for free night certificates … but not now

The new iteration of the U.S. Bank Radisson Rewards credit cards give cardmembers the option to earn one free domestic night certificates for every $10,000 spent during a cardmember year, up to $30,000 spent per year.  I bolded domestic because this is a key restriction to the free night certificates – while they can be used at any Radisson in the United States, the brand just doesn’t have a great portfolio here. The only Radisson hotel in the United States I ever look forward to staying is the Radisson Blu Aqua in Chicago. There used to be a Radisson Blu in Philadelphia, but that hotel left the brand before I could try them out.

That said, if you’re the type of person with plans to travel to Manhattan or Anaheim, getting a U.S. Bank Radisson Rewards card and spending enough for free nights may be worth it in the future. I wouldn’t rush out and apply for the card now for these hotels, since the Manhattan location is at least a year away and the Anaheim location is at least two years away, but it’s something to consider. We’ll also have to see how many points Radisson plans to charge for each location. I would think that charging 50,000 points per night would be fair, but don’t be surprised to see either (or both) be priced at 70,000 points.

Since each card offers 5x points on general purchases, spending $10,000 on either the U.S. Bank Radisson Rewards Personal Premier or Business cards would earn you a free night as well as 50,000 points. That’s enough for a category 6 (out of 7) hotel night. If you put that on a 2% cash back card, you’d earn $200, but getting 2 potential hotel nights out of that would likely be worth more.

Conclusion

Radisson has a goal of adding 13,000 rooms across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as 56,000 more rooms across the Americas and Asia Pacific by 2022. Their portfolio is strong abroad, particularly in Europe, but has tended to be lacking in the United States. It’s good to see them adding higher end properties such as the Radisson Blu in Anaheim as well a new Manhattan location.

Read the rest of this article at Radisson Announces Radisson Blu Anaheim and New Manhattan Hotel.

United Polaris is the fairly new branding for their international business class, but it can still be a bit confusing. To me, there are 3 aspects of the Polaris experience:

1. The Polaris Lounge – at the moment, this is only available in Chicago, with lounges in San Francisco, Newark, and Houston set to open later in 2018. There are future plans for lounges in Los Angeles, Washington-Dulles, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
2. The Polaris Hard Product – right now, this is only guaranteed on United’s 777-300ER, since this aircraft type was rolled out to United at the same time Polaris was introduced. There are some 767-300ER aircraft that will get their version of Polaris, but other 777 aircraft (the -200ER variants) still have yet to get retrofitted.
3. The Polaris Soft Product – this is guaranteed for all international business class flights that are labeled as “Polaris business class.” Because of this, United often advertises Polaris business class even on flights that have the old hard product, which can understandably lead to disappointment amongst passengers.

For this flight between Tokyo and Newark, I only got the latter 2, but I’d say the onboard hard product is the key aspect of the Polaris experience.

I spent most of my connection in Tokyo in the ANA lounge – the Satellite 5 location is on the 4th floor and has windows that let in natural light. The Satellite 4 location is closer to the United gates, but is on the 2nd floor and doesn’t have any windows. Both, in my opinion, are better than the United Club. Once United has a Polaris lounge in Tokyo, I may choose to spend time there, but if you have a business class ticket, you have ANA lounge access.

The Flight

United 78
Tokyo-Narita (NRT) to Newark (EWR)
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
5:55pm-4:45pm (actual 5:41pm-4:17pm)
Duration: 12h50m (actual 12h36m)
Boeing 777-300ER, Seat 11A

I booked fairly late, so I had limited options when it came time to choosing my seat. I was glad to get an odd-row seat though, because this seat would be next to the window with my storage module next to the aisle. I’d have much more privacy than the even number rows, where the seat is next to the aisle.

If you’re a couple, I’d go for an odd-number row in the center, since you have two seats next to each other set away from the aisle. If you’re a single traveler, there is a screen that goes up that can be up for taxi/takeoff/landing, so I’d still call it better than an even-number row aisle seat.

Boarding was a quick affair, both due to Japanese efficiency, but also due to a fairly empty economy class. Both the first and second doors are used for boarding at Tokyo, so grabbing a seat in the first Polaris section would allow a bit more privacy on boarding, but with a fairly empty economy class, I didn’t mind being in the second section since every odd-number window seat in the front section was already taken. I prefer sitting further up since it’s further from the engines, but my noise canceling headphones helped with sitting just in front of the port engine at row 11.

The hard product is absolutely a winner here, at least for this particular seat next to the window. It did not feel cramped at all. The module next to the aisle had a small storage space that housed an amenity kit, welcome candies, headphones, and menu, as well as mirror within the door. There is a classy lamp there as well which adds to the ambiance. The hard surface has a faux-marble look and was fairly large. On the module, there is a power outlet and USB charging port, as well as headphone jack and IFE remote (the screen is touch-screen as well). Next to the seat is a small reading light with 3 brightness levels. There is another USB outlet next to the TV screen, which has another small storage drawer to keep a phone or battery pack to charge.

Seat controls are a bit odd but fairly intuitive. There is a slider that moves the bed from upright to bed position. Other than that, you can only adjust the lumbar support and the legrest. I found a few comfortable reclined positions by using the “bed slider” to adjust the backrest, and then adjust the legrest after that. Lastly, I was rather amazed by how deep the footwell was. One passenger across the aisle was easily 6-foot-3 and said that his feet didn’t touch the front.

At my seat was the Saks Fifth Avenue bedding, including duvet, blanket, and pillow. There were already slippers at my seat. One can also request a foam pillow, mattress cushion pad, and – since this flight was over 12 hours – pajamas. The passenger across from me requested this from the flight attendant shortly after boarding, and I mentioned to her that I would like these as well. Little did I know that I would get them as we began taxiing, which gave me the very first-world-problem of figuring out where to put all my plush items. However, it’s worth noting that United does not provision enough mattress cushions or foam pillows for each passenger, so first come, first served!

Pre-departure beverages were served and I asked for champagne, but it was pretty terrible and served in a shoddy plastic cup on a Coca-Cola napkin. At least something reminded me this was still definitely United Airlines.

Meal orders were taken before departure. I chose the chicken entree.The flight attendant also asked what BREAKFAST OPTION I’d like to eat before the 4:45PM SCHEDULED ARRIVAL (emphasis mine) and I opined that neither of those options really made sense. The whole point of business class is to better help passengers adjust to their destination, and so the pre-arrival meal should mirror the destination’s time zone. A light lunch would make more sense.

Even for passengers connecting from Newark, other reasonable destinations are at most a 1 hour additional time difference. I asked that they keep a hot bites item on hand for me for the meal service. This seemed like a very foreign concept to her, and I decided to just skip the meal. I had dinner plans in New Jersey anyhow.

With the quick boarding, we left the gate early and settled in for the 12.5-hour flight to Newark. With all the boarding hubbub complete, I finally got to sit back and enjoy the Polaris experience. The level of privacy in the window seat is fantastic, particularly considering other flights on United’s older business class products, where it felt like you were having a sleepover with strangers.

Before the dinner service, I changed into the pajamas. I was surprised that the crew gave me a Small/Medium set – I’m usually a Medium (and quite frankly, after the cold winter that curtailed my exercise regimen, more of a Large now …). However, they fit me pretty well, and for business class pajamas, were pretty comfortable. I’d also note that the lavatories behind row 8 (well, at least the one on the left side) are much larger than the lavatories behind the flight deck, and make it much easier to change into pajamas.

Due to some turbulence departing Narita, the meal service took about an hour to get underway. As this was my first proper taste of United Polaris, I deemed it fitting to do the wine tasting. While I didn’t ask for the express service, dinner was served fairly quickly, with the salad/starter, entree, and cheese assortment coming in good time, with a decent amount of time to digest before dessert ;).

The United salt and pepper shakers reminded me of something other than a globe.

One thing I loved about the seat was the tray table – I forgot to take pictures of the entire thing, but it pulls out from under the TV rather than folding out of a console. It also had a divot in which to place a tablet. During the meal service, I was able to push it partially back in while still keeping my beverages on the table and get up to go to the lavatory. It’s little things like that which really make me enjoy the hard product.

I put down my mattress pad and duvet and watched the IFE as I dosed to sleep, waking up about 6 hours later with about 3 hours left before arrival. It was some of the best sleep I’ve had in business class in a while. When I awoke, I was approached within a few minutes to see if I wanted a hot bite and ordered a grilled cheese and tomato soup, perfect for it being shortly after noon in Newark.  Because of this, I skipped the second meal service about 90 minutes before arrival.

Conclusion

I’ve been using United (and before that, Continental) miles for years now, but I always made it a point to book on partner airlines when I could. I just wasn’t a fan of United’s old hard product, and their poor soft product made it even worse. Polaris has me rethinking that. I could have booked a similar itinerary with ANA, but I’m glad I didn’t. While the improved soft product still has some catching up to do, the hard product is simply fantastic, at least on the window seats.

Read the rest of this article at Review: United Polaris Business Class, Tokyo to Newark.

Being fond of window seats, I’ve been wanting to take this flight for several years now simply for the views of the islands from above. Many who do this take the westbound flight, as it leaves Honolulu in the early morning and reaches Guam by sunset. There are often cheap United fares to places like Manila that allow passengers to take the Island Hopper flight enroute.

Booking:

I had a week in mid-January to explore, but only had a few weeks notice to book. Fares weren’t that cheap so I decided to book an award ticket using United miles (transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards). While it’s a pretty normal 737-800 with domestic first class seats that flies the route, it’s difficult to find saver business class space. Instead, I booked economy and was able to select window seats and upgrade to Economy Plus at check-in thanks to my United Silver status (that I have via Marriott/SPG Platinum).

For the return, I found saver business class space via Tokyo on the United 777-300ER, meaning I’d be guaranteed the new Polaris seat. The economy class portions cost 35K miles, while the return cost 70K miles, making the price 105,000 miles + about $130 in taxes (this includes $70 of departure taxes combined paid on the ground at Pohnpei-20 and Koror-50). Pricey, but I have a decent balance of Ultimate Rewards points and the Polaris return flight was what made it worth it to me.

Since award tickets allow one stopover in the destination region via the Excursionist Perk, I decided to visit two islands – one was Pohnpei (PNI), while my destination was Koror in Palau (ROR). I was easily able to use the United multi-city tool to book the nonstop Newark (EWR)-Honolulu (HNL) with an overnight connection, Honolulu-Majuro (MAJ)-Kwajalein (KWA)-Kosrae (KSA)-Pohnpei with a stopover, continuing on Pohnpei-Chuuk (TKK)-Guam (GUM)-Koror all in Economy, then Koror-Guam-Tokyo (NRT)-Newark-Pittsburgh (PIT) in United Business, including the new Polaris on the 777-300ER.

Fortunately for me, I was able to secure Economy Plus seats on all the long flights, including the 10-hour Newark-Honolulu on the 767-400 and the 5-hour flight from Honolulu to Majuro. At 24 hours before my departure from Honolulu, I was able to use free wifi access to United.com on my Newark-Honolulu segment to check-in and select different seats for each segment of the Island Hopper, giving me a window seat in either Economy Plus or in the back with a middle seat open.

The Hopper!

While the flight was supposed to depart Honolulu at around 7:25am, I got a notification the night before when I landed from Newark that my flight was delayed until 11:45am due to crew timing. My first thought was that I wouldn’t reach Pohnpei until 7pm at the latest, which was after sunset. A bit disappointed, but I was at least glad that I had advance notice so that I could enjoy the morning in Waikiki. If anything I was glad that I was stopping at Pohnpei since I definitely wouldn’t see it or Chuuk during daylight.

I had seat 7A on the 5-hour long Honolulu to Majuro segment. If you’re going to try for Economy Plus, this is a great row, as you even have space under the bulkhead to store a personal item.

This is the Seat Guru page for the aircraft on this route. You’ll see that 11A has no window, while 11F’s window is slightly misaligned. I’d say 7A is certainly the best, because as you go back toward rows 12-21 in Economy Plus and up to row 28 or so in Economy minus, the wing will obstruct views. Rows 8 and 10 are fine.

As we were boarding, I noticed that the couple in 7B and 7C were giving warm greetings to almost every 5th passenger. They were from Majuro and it’s obvious that people on the atoll know each other well. This flight really is a lifeline for the residents of these islands. We tend to frame it as a Honolulu to Guam flight with stops at different islands, but I think it’s telling that when the lead flight attendant welcomes passengers on board, it’s announced as a Honolulu to Majuro flight, with continuing service to Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Guam.

We took off from the reef runway at Honolulu and immediately turned around toward the southwest. While my face was glued to the window, many passengers behind couldn’t care less, and were fast asleep with window shades down. Indeed, this 5-hour flight has great views of the open ocean, but those flying to Majuro are probably used to the view.

This is also the only segment that’s catered with actual food – while it’s normally a breakfast item, it was catered with lunch today due to the delay. An option of stir fried noodles or chicken with rice. I chose the latter. You’re well off finding food to bring onboard with you, whether it’s snacks or stuff you buy post-security.

Since the in-flight entertainment resets on each departure and is a loop, it’s also the only segment where the IFE is of any real use to you, since you’ll actually have time to watch a movie or two. There is a looping moving map channel as well.

I also fielded questions from the woman in seat 7B, like “where I was going.” She then offered to show me around Majuro in case I ever went there. Fellow passengers on this flight sure are friendly.

Landing into Majuro was absolutely gorgeous. I got off here to stretch my legs, but was unable to get a stamp for the Marshall Islands. I guess I’ll have to return another day for that.

I switched to a normal seat in the back on the right side in 34F. While it’s a tight squeeze, 34E was empty, so I was able to stretch out a bit. The remaining segments are rather short, mostly under 1 hour each. I certainly was glad I had bulkhead Economy Plus for the long segment.

Unfortunately, we had another 90-minute delay on the ground in Majuro due to a light that wasn’t supposed to be on in the cockpit. This basically meant that I wouldn’t see the island of Kosrae, which was a bit ironic since I had booked this particular day because the flight two days before skipped Kosrae.

Eventually, we took off and headed to Kwajalein. On these segments, you won’t get food, not even for purchase, so it’s important to bring snacks. You might get a 100-calorie almond pack on the final segment, but that’s pretty long to wait. Kwajalein is actually a U.S. army airfield, and I heard the stories from prior flyers that pictures of the island are strictly. Instead, I took in the view with my eyes, fortunate to at least see this island before the sunset.

While no one is allowed off the plane at Kwajalein (unless it’s your destination), I was able to stretch my legs in the aisle and move back up to 7A for the segment to Kosrae. If you can sit in 7A on any segment between Majuro and Guam, do it – that’s because the flight has an on-board mechanic in seat 7C who flies with the plane and troubleshoots any issues that come up. I asked him a few questions, but he was a quiet fella.

Like I said, I landed at Kosrae and Pohnpei in the dark, so no good photos there on arrival. I was in fact a bit lucky to have a stopover in Pohnpei, because the flight ended up overflying Chuuk and going straight to Guam after it dropped me off.

Luckily for me, United counted these 4 delayed flight separately, so I got to my hotel with 4 emails offering a $100 e-certificate or 5,000 miles for the first segment, and $50 or 2,500 miles for each of the 3 short segments. I ended up getting $250 back in e-Certificates, which pretty much paid for my airport taxes on this entire trip and then some.

I chose Pohnpei simply because it seemed like it had a reasonable amount of things to do in the 2 days I was scheduled there. With the delay I ended up having 1 full day and 1 morning, which was enough for me (I enjoy remote places but get bored quickly). I stayed at the 7 Stars Inn, which I would recommend in a heartbeat. This hotel as well as the Mangrove Bay Hotel offer tours in case you’d like to go around the island. I was able to visit the ruins of Nan Madol and a few waterfalls, as well as hike to the top of Sokeh’s Ridge to get a bird’s eye view of the airport and the main city. You can rent a car or hire a guide from one of the two hotels above.

After landing in Pohnpei on Saturday night, I continued onward on Monday afternoon. This was special day, as the airport was quite busy since there was both an eastbound flight from Guam as well as a westbound flight from Honolulu that would intersect here. That said, check-in was fairly easy!

Pohnpei also had the best waiting area of all the airports, including a snack vendor and a restaurant, as well as useable wifi and power outlets. It even had two gates! There was also a VIP lounge though it wasn’t open when I was there.

What I loved the most was their priority seating at the gate!

While the eastbound hopper was ready for departure by the time I got to the waiting area, it waited about 20 minutes for the westbound hopper to land and clear the runway before departing. For a brief moment, this remote island had two United 737-800s, more than I often see in Pittsburgh …

I also used this trip to get used to my new GoPro, so here’s a video of takeoff from Pohnpei!

The remaining legs to Chuuk and Guam were relatively short. The cabin crew started their days in Honolulu (on the previous day, technically), while the same mechanic sat next to me in 7C – he flew to Guam on Saturday, then back to Majuro on Sunday, and was heading back to Guam today!

The views landing into Chuuk were perhaps my favorite, and if I were to go back to another island on this trip, I’d go back here. Even their ramp was the prettiest of the bunch.

The flight to Guam was more of the same. I ended up connecting to Palau later that evening, but landed in the dark.

Conclusion and Tips!

All in all, the Island Hopper lived up to the hype. It’s such a unique route and you’ll get to see some remote parts of the Central Pacific from the air. If you can book an award that allows stopovers, I highly recommend it. I was happy to stop on Pohnpei, and Chuuk would be my next stop if I come out here again, particularly after getting a diving certification. If you’re thinking of doing the Island Hopper, here are some tips:

1. Obviously get a window seat. Status can help you get a free window seat in rows 7-10 with good legroom. At 24 hours before departure, you can select different seats on each segment when you check-in.
2. BRING SNACKS! You will get hungry and there is no food for purchase onboard. Snacks are limited even at the airports. If you do want to buy something at these airports, have cash in US dollars handy.
3. BRING A POWERBANK! Only Business Class and Economy Plus have power outlets, but they can be unreliable.
4. Bring your own entertainment. The IFE resets for each segment and is full of looping channels, so you won’t be able to finish any movies on the shorter hops.
5. Prepare to be disconnected. Only Pohnpei (PNI) had free wifi access of all the Island Hopper stops. T-Mobile international data did not work anywhere between Honolulu and Guam. If you’re a Swarm check-in addict like me, use offline check-in with your GPS on to save your spot for later.
6. The left side is generally a good side to sit on. The right side was good on the Majuro-Kwajalein segment since you take off to the east from MAJ and turn around to the west after a right-turn. Kwajalein will be on the right when you land. On the Pohnpei-Chuuk segment, takeoff was better on the left, but landing was better on the right.
7. Start a conversation with your seatmates – the locals are very friendly and may give you insight on the area!
8. Even if the flight attendants ask people to stay onboard during the stops, they can’t stop you from stretching your legs and visiting the tarmac and terminal (except at Kwajalein). That said, take all of your bags with you, since any unattended bags will be tossed off the plane! Even when you get back on, be mindful of where you put your bags in the overhead bin since they may do the check after boarding.
9. The full Island Hopper is Honolulu-Majuro-Kwajalein-Kosrae-Pohnpei-Chuuk-Guam. Not every flight stops at Kosrae – if you want all the dots and lines for your flight map, make sure you book a flight with each stop.
10. Have a blast!

Read the rest of this article at Flying the United Island Hopper with United Miles.

Philadelphia’s lounge is in terminal A, near gate A14, and joined existing U.S. locations at the following airports:

• New York (LGA)
• Miami (MIA)
• Dallas (DFW)
• Houston (IAH)
• Las Vegas (LAS)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Seattle (SEA)

To be more precise for the location, the lounge is near the A-East pier, and not too far a walk from the B gates. This is great for people flying internationally. If you’re flying domestically, it can be a 5-20 minute walk from B, C, D, or E concourses. It may not make sense to go to the lounge if you are connecting in the F concourse, since that requires a shuttle bus to the C gates.

Tour of the American Express Centurion Lounge Philadelphia

(First off, apologies for the substandard quality of the photos, I left my good camera at home and only had my old phone to take pictures. That, plus I try to be as discreet as possible in taking photos in a lounge).

The lounge is open from 5am-9pm. You’ll see the entrance near gate A14.

The lounge is actually upstairs – there’s an elevator and a set of stairs. Once you enter and present your card, you’ll see a long hallway with a couple of lounge chairs, followed by a long work table with about 9 seats overlooking the A concourse.

This hallway opens up into an open dining area with a long dining table with 10 seats, 6 free standing tables with 2 seats each, and 5 booth tables with access to power outlets.

At the far end of the dining room is a full bar with 8 seats. The bar is open from 10:30am to 8:30pm. The wine and cocktail menu are pretty standard for a Centurion Lounge, with a Philadelphia twist on the names. It was great to see some interesting beer options as well, including Great Lakes!

If you continue down the hallway past the bar, you’ll find another area with seating and work spaces. There is also a small room in the corner dubbed a “Phone Room” which really just has one chair to take phone calls. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a family room since there isn’t much for a kid to do there.

Restrooms, as well as one shower room, are in the back of the lounge. If you walk around to the windows facing the landside area of the terminal, you’ll end up on the other side of the bar, down another hallway with seating that takes you to the coffee area. Speaking of views, there are not many in the lounge in terms of plane-spotting, since one side looks out toward the road in front of Terminal A, while the other side faces out over the concourse and international arrivals walkway.

The coffee area has an espresso machine, as well as regular coffee, a sparkling/still water tap, and specialty juices.

This route will take you back into the dining room to the buffet. The buffet is the aspect of this lounge I was most excited about, since the food is curated by the chef at Zahav, an Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia. I went to this restaurant back in 2015 and it still ranks as one of the best meals I have had anywhere. The food was that good.

I was fortunate to arrive before they took breakfast away just before 11am (they switch to lunch at that time). The main breakfast area consisted of:

• Challah French toast tehina, blackberry
• Borekas, kale and potato
• Crispy potato, za’atar, kashkaval
• Shaksuka lamb merguez
• Oatmeal
• Fruits
• Greek Yogurt
• Cardamom and currant scones
• Zucchini bread

Breakfast was delicious! Lunch came out right at 11am and consisted of the following:

• Harira Moroccan Vegetable Soup
• Stuffed Pepper Pomegranate
• Beef and Lamb Meatball with White Bean Salad
• Bulgarian Kebab with Red Pepper and White Bean
• Carrot Jasmine Rice Pilaf
• Kale tabbouleh, apple, pomegranate salad
• Israeli salad with feta
• Passion fruit melabi dessert
• Cookies
• Herb flatbread

Lunch was certainly unique and tasty. I wouldn’t say it replaces an actual meal at Zahav, but it’s great to be able to eat like this in an airport lounge in the U.S. before an ordinary domestic flight to, say, Pittsburgh!

Conclusion

I think American Express did a great job with the Centurion Lounge at Philadelphia, particularly with the unique food menu. In terms of how busy the lounge was, I came on a Tuesday late morning/early afternoon (right after Thanksgiving), certainly not a busy time to fly. I imagine this would get busier in the evenings with the multitude of evening international departures to Europe in the A concourses.

Admission is free to Amex Centurion and Platinum Card members and up to two guests. These lounges are one of the reasons I always keep an American Express Platinum Card handy, whether it’s a personal card, business card, or even an authorized user card. The Philadelphia location is a great addition for those who live here as well as transit here on American Airlines.

Read the rest of this article at Review: American Express Centurion Lounge Philadelphia.

You can now book nonstop Seattle to Pittsburgh flights starting September 6, 2018. Fares for the initial flights are under $350 roundtrip.

They’ll use a Boeing 737-800 to make the 2,118-mile flights. The flight times are as such:

Alaska 198
SEA-PIT
8:25am – 4:10pm (4h45m)

Alaska 199
PIT-SEA
5:20pm – 7:50pm (5h30m)

I’ve lived in Pittsburgh for 3+ years now and have been waiting for this service to begin. In fact, Pittsburgh was the largest market in the country without a nonstop service to Seattle before this announcement. I imagine that tech companies in both cities are excited about this route.

For travel hackers, this new route now gives people in western Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas an awesome use of the Alaska Airlines companion certificate! You’ll no longer have to trek to BWI or DCA to use them.

Not only does this connect Pittsburgh to the Pacific Northwest, but it gives Alaska Airlines access to a growing area to which they otherwise didn’t have any service. The closest Alaska Airlines and Virgin America destinations to Pittsburgh are currently Indianapolis (360 miles to the west), Detroit (275 miles to the northwest), Baltimore/Washington (250 miles to the southeast), and Philadelphia (300 miles to the east).

The flight times allow for almost a full day in Pittsburgh before returning to Seattle. I’ve also been able to price out decent connection times via Seattle going from Pittsburgh to Portland, Vancouver, and destinations in Alaska. Going from Pittsburgh to Hawaii would require an overnight stay with these times, but the return flight coming east gives another option for Yinzers to connect off a redeye from Hawaii via Seattle.

Read the rest of this article at Alaska Airlines Will Fly Seattle to Pittsburgh in September 2018.