In Case You Missed It – A Recap Of The Week (21 January 2018)

in case you missed it

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Summaries and links for all the posts which appeared on Traveling For Miles this week. Includes details of a good hotel sale, a review of one of the best First Class airline cabins you can book, a look at why I think airlines should be penalized just like their passengers, news that Lufthansa is cutting First Class on a number of routes to the US, my travel plans for 2018 laid out and a lot more.

Click on the headlines to read more

Monday

Is This Evidence That American Went Too Far When Gutting AAdvantage?

airplanes at an airport

It’s not really a secret that the new(ish) leadership team at American Airlines has been systematically cutting benefits, devaluing the AAdvantage program and generally introducing a series of customer-unfriendly changes to services and aircraft…but are we now starting to see signs that management went too far?

Tuesday

Why Airlines Should Be Penalized Just Like Their Passengers

Passengers booking discounted fares get just 24 hours to change their minds or to notice a mistake before serious penalties kick in…so why don’t similar rules apply to airlines when they accidentally post “mistake fares”. If we as flyers are expected to notice our mistakes within a 24 hour period shouldn’t giant corporations like airlines also have to work to the same rules?

[VIDEO] Emirates’ Latest Marketing Campaign – Upgrade Your Airline, Not Just Your Seat

a woman wearing a red hat

Emirates has unveiled a new marketing campaign in which it encourages travelers to upgrade the airline they’re flying on and not just their seat. The latest campaign pokes fun at travelers who try all kinds of tricks to try to score an upgrade (we’ve all seen them!) and ends with an apparently contented traveler checking in with Emirates.

News: Lufthansa Eliminates First Class From Two US Routes, New Singapore Cabins For London & More

News that Lufthansa is eliminating First Class from two routes to the US (at least for summer 2018), news of a new Hilton opening in a beautiful part of Europe, details of an Emirates schedule change which sees an extension to the cut in service to New York and news that Singapore Airlines has scheduled its new A380 on its routes to London and Hong Kong.

American Express Announces New Centurion Lounge For JFK

a man and woman standing on a bridge

American Express has announced that it plans to open a new Centurion Lounge at New York JFK’s Terminal 4 in “early 2019”. According to Amex the lounge will have “spectacular airfield views and exceptional amenities” and will be the largest Centurion Lounge in the network.

Wednesday

Accor Hotels Worldwide Sale Is Now Live – Up To 40% Off

The Accor Hotels worldwide “Private Sale” is now live and offering a variety of discounts and promotions depending on where you’re looking to book. The deals vary from 25% to 40% and the dates for which the promotion is valid vary from region to region.

Buy Choice Privileges Points With A 40% Bonus

Choice Privileges Rewards is back with a new promotion in which it is offering members a bonus of 40% when buying points before 5 February 2018. In the past I’ve made very good use of Choice points sales so just how good is this promotion?

Norwegian Cancels A US Route & Cuts Back Two More

a red and white airplane on a runway

Norwegian is citing the failure of the Scottish parliament to follow through on a promise to cut air passenger duty as the lead reason for cancelling its route between Edinburgh and Bradley in Connecticut. With two other Norwegian routes out of Edinburgh also seeing cuts are we seeing the first signs of cracks in the low-cost carriers Business model?

40% Bonus When Buying Alaska Miles Through 7 February [Targeted]

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is currently selling miles (through a targeted offer) with a bonus of up to 40% which sees miles valued at a little over 2.11 cents each – that opens up some very good value redemptions on the likes of Cathay Pacific and JAL.

Thursday

My Travel Plans For 2018 (So Far….)

a map of the world with red lines

My travel plans for 2018 are really taking shape now and I’m pretty sure I know most of what I’ll be doing between now and October 2018. Oneworld status should be in the bag yet again but this year I’ll be earning it through an Airline other than America…that will be a first for me.

Sign Up Bonuses For The New American Express Hilton Credit Cards Announced

American Express launched the new Hilton Honors credit card range on 18 January 2018 so we now know what kinds of sign up bonuses Amex is offering on all 4 Hilton Honors co-branded credit cards that it issues.

Emirates Tentatively Orders More A380s & Potentially Saves The Aircraft

an airplane flying in the sky

Emirates and Airbus have announced that they have agreed a deal for the airline to purchase up to 36 further A380 aircraft (Emirates already has 41 A380s on backorder) with deliveries set to start in 2020.

Friday

I Wish People Would Rate Their Uber Drivers Accurately

I know from anecdotal evidence that there are people out there who do not rate their Uber drivers fairly, instead, out of fear that they may be responsible for costing a driver his/her job they inflate the rating they give….and this has to stop.

Review: Singapore Airlines A380 First Class Suites – Long Haul (SIN-LHR)

a plate of food with a fork and knife

A review of Singapore Airlines A380 Suites class (First Class) as experienced on a flight between London and Singapore. This aircraft offered the original Singapore Airlines Suites set out on the bottom deck of the A380 with 4 suites set out on either side of the cabin and a further 4 suites in the centre.

News: United To Introduce Premium Economy, Lufthansa Cuts More First Class To US, A New Hilton In Sydney & More

News roundup: Includes news that United Airlines is to introduce a long-haul Premium Economy cabin, details of Qantas’ new route to the US that has just started taking bookings, news that Lufthansa has removed First Class on another route to the US, details of Hilton’s new property in Sydney and more.