Just over a week ago I made the decision to travel during the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to fly was one that I did not take lightly. I didn’t just wake up one day and decide that it was finally time to fly for fun. Instead, after several weeks of self-isolation, I needed to fly…
With everyone staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been interesting to see how brands respond. From airlines we’ve seen added flexibility to otherwise inflexible fares. We’ve also seen certain restaurant chains giving out free meals to those in need and front-line workers. Banks have even offered to defer certain term loan payments to help…
With the COVID-19 pandemic, many travelers have been trying to figure out what to do with previously booked travel. For the most part, airlines have been fairly generous in allowing customers to move travel plans to a later date. However, getting refunds, especially cash refunds, for non-refundable travel continues to be a challenge. That makes…
Over the past few months, I’ve seen a complete change in my spending habits. For about the past three years my largest monthly expenses have been airfare, transportation, and dining out. However, with the statewide lockdown due to COVID-19, my spending habits have changed dramatically. With that change, I still want to try to earn…
Yesterday, I wrote about how American (and other airlines) have largely waived elite status requirements for 2020. Following the announcements from American and other airlines, it’s finally time for me to address some of my upcoming travel. Until now I’ve largely been holding off making changes to any previously booked travel. I’ve avoided making changes…
For the past several weeks, as frequent fliers sit grounded at home, many of us have been wondering what will happen to their beloved frequent flyer programs in 2020. Until a week ago, that question remained largely unanswered. There was of course plenty of speculation about what airlines would do based on past events, but…
It goes without saying that 2020 has been off to a rocky start. Over the past few months we’ve seen a completely drop off in demand for travel. This is of course because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because many of us are under some sort of stay-at-home order (except Sweden). As a result,…
One of the hardest parts of the world of points and miles is knowing which card to use in each scenario. As it stands today, there isn’t just a single credit card that offers the “best” return across all categories. Instead, points addicts usually maintain well over 10 credit card accounts to maximize value in…
There’s no doubt that for the past few years, Chase and American Express have dominated the rewards credit card market here in the United States. Chase obviously started things off with the introduction of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. That card helped bring high-end rewards credit cards to the masses. Next, Amex refreshed its ever…
Several years ago, when I was in college, I setup a gmail account to use on the top of my resume for hiring mangers to contact me. I created that account on a whim and never really expected to use it. At the time I still had an AOL account and a .edu account that…
