
The Gate with Brian Cohen
13 Tips to Get Through Airport Security Checkpoints Faster
Queues were substantially long at security checkpoints at airports during the most recent partial shutdown of the federal government of the United States, which was the longest in history — but whether the federal government is shut down, the last thing you want to do is spend more time at...
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View from the Wing
Japan Airlines CEO Takes Another 30% Pay Cut As It Bans All 6,000 Flight Attendants From Drinking On Trips
Japan Airlines CEO Mitsuko Tottori will take another 30% pay cut after flight attendants broke pre-duty alcohol rules, forcing a Hiroshima–Tokyo flight delay. JAL fired or suspended the crew involved, banned flight attendant layover drinking, and again showed a level of executive accountability rarely seen in the airline industry.

One Mile at a Time
Our Disastrous First Flight As A Family Of Four: I’m Still Mentally Recovering
I’d like to think that I’m a pretty competent air traveler — I certainly have the experience and knowledge to navigate just about any situation, since I’ve been a frequent flyer for around two decades, have logged many millions of miles, and study this stuff endlessly.

One Mile at a Time
Thai Airways’ New Business Class For 777 & 787 Launches Mid-2027
Thai Airways has historically struggled with fleet and product consistency. That’s largely because the airline has lacked a long term strategy due to constant financial issues, and that has made it tough to actually invest in the passenger experience.

View from the Wing
Wheelchair Passenger Says British Airways Wouldn’t Let Her Fly New York – London Alone Because She Might Need Bathroom Help
Wheelchair user Samanta Bullock says British Airways denied her boarding on a New York–London flight because she was traveling alone and might need help reaching the lavatory. She says American Airlines asked a similar question but still let her fly, while BA appears to have confused required aisle-chair assistance with...

One Mile at a Time
What Are France’s Famous “Palace” Hotels? Only 33 Properties Make The List
I’ve written in the past about the general issue with hotel star ratings. Hotels can ultimately identify themselves however they’d like — while there are organizations like AAA and Forbes that award stars, personally I don’t put too much weight into those ratings. While they’re fine for giving you a...

Frequent Miler
Existing Wyndham cardholders will retain existing card earnings & benefits, with ability to optionally migrate (eventually)
Wyndham refreshed its existing card lineup today, plus they launched a new premium card. The existing cards had increases in their annual fees (although not the no annual fee Earner card), had their earning categories changed, new benefits were added, and some existing benefits enhanced. We mentioned it in the...

Frequent Miler
Wyndham cards refresh: New premium card, new welcome offers, new benefits, and new & changed earning rates for new applicants
Wyndham and Barclays have evidently been busy recently because today has brought a whole bunch of changes to the Wyndham credit card lineup. There’s a new premium card, new welcome offers, new benefits, new and changed earning categories, but no changes for existing cardholders. The Offers & Key Card Details...
Reviews
Read the latest reviews for road warriors and frequent flyers.
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Flight Review: United Airlines Boeing 777-200 First Class – ORD-SFO
June 17, 2026
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Review: Air Premia Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon
June 17, 2026
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Mercure Hotel Freiburg am Münster Review: A Practical Base For The Black Forest
June 17, 2026
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Review: United Airlines 777-200ER Domestic Polaris Business Class San Francisco – Newark
June 17, 2026

Miles To Memories
Vegas Is Changing: Crypto Bets, Vanishing Coins, a Pink Ice Cream Park & The Most Ridiculous Parade!
MTM Vegas June 17, 2026 Consider joining our Vegas Patreon to get the weekly exclusive MtM Vegas after show! You can also listen to this episode as a podcast. Learn more here. Vegas is changing fast and this week we cover all of it. The coin-op machines keep vanishing now...

View from the Wing
Pilot Announces Jerusalem Is The “Eternal Capital Of Palestine” While Flying Over Israel
A Royal Jordanian pilot told passengers while flying over Israel that they were over “Palestinian lands” and called Jerusalem the “eternal capital of Palestine.” The announcement drew anger in Israel and talk of treaty consultations, though threats to pull Jordanian overflight rights are unlikely to go anywhere.

Frequent Miler
(Last call) IHG Premier card: Increased 185K welcome offer
Update 6/17/26: The limited time welcome offers for the IHG One Rewards Premier and IHG One Rewards Traveler credit cards will be ending on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 9am ET. ~ Today, Chase increased the welcome offer on the IHG Premier card to a whopping 185,000 IHG points, the...

2PAXfly
QANTAS: Project Sunrise announces first route, Sydney to London non-stop. Surprise, surprise!
CEO Vanessa Hudson just travelled to Airbus’ Toulouse headquarters to announce that London, from Sydney, would be the first Project Sunrise route, followed by New York. Is that really news? We knew it had to be an east coast departure, so that’s Sydney or Melbourne (Brisbane doesn’t have a First...

Frequent Miler
Save 20% on ALL Accor+ Voyager subscription with promo code ALLACCORPLUS
Accor is running a sale through the end of the month for its ALL Accor+ Voyager subscription. That drops the price to €143.20 (~$166) for the year which may or may not be worth it to you depending on how much you’ll use the benefits. The Deal Save 20% on an...

Frequent Flyer Bonuses
World of Hyatt: Earn 3x points at Hyatt Place and Hyatt Select hotels in the Americas (June 17 Bonus Offer Highlight)
Today’s bonus offer highlight provides 3x points for World of Hyatt members who have longer stays at Hyatt Place and Hyatt Select hotels in the Americas! Check out all of the new bonuses added today:

One Mile at a Time
In Defense Of The EasyJet Holidays Hotel Charging $32 Per Hour To Use The Pool…
A traveler booked an EasyJet Holidays vacation package, and was angry when he found out just how many fees the hotel had, including an alleged $32 fee per person per hour for use of the heated pool. At first I was livid when I read this story, but the more...

The Gate with Brian Cohen
Szalonej Środy With LOT Polish Airlines Means Crazy Wednesday Sale
LOT Polish Airlines has a promotion that occurs on many Wednesdays because Szalonej Środy translates from Polish into English as Crazy Wednesday, which is in effect only on Wednesdays — typically for the Polish market, as airports in Poland are usually the origination airports of the deals.
As today...

View from the Wing
JetBlue Retreats From New York-Area Airports, Closing Newark And LaGuardia Crew And Maintenance Bases
JetBlue is closing its Newark Flight Attendant base and maintenance bases at Newark and LaGuardia, signaling a smaller New York-area footprint. The move comes as the struggling airline leans harder into Fort Lauderdale after giving up JFK slots to support Newark growth through its United partnership.

Economy Class & Beyond
TRIP REPORT: Walking around the Hamburg Spring Dom Fair on a Quiet Monday Evening – More Innovations in Hamburg
Walking around the Dom Fair on a Quiet Monday Evening TRIP REPORT: More Innovations in Hamburg In this week of passenger experience fun: Back to Hamburg Again. And yes, keeping it simple To Heathrow Airport with FlixBus and Terminal 5 British Airways Galleries South, Terminal 5 BA964 London Heathrow to...

Frequent Miler
$100 inKind gift card for $64.99 at Costco.com
Costco is once again offering a $100 inKind gift card for a discount, though this time around the price has dropped to $64.99. This could be a good deal if you have upcoming plans to dine at an inKind restaurant. You can also get 20% back on all food and beverage,...

Live and Let’s Fly
Review: United Airlines 777-200ER Domestic Polaris Business Class San Francisco – Newark
I flew on a United Airlines internationally-configured 777-200ER from San Francisco to Newark in Polaris Business Class, my first time flying on a premium transcontinental flight on United Airlines since the carrier rebranded some of its domestic routes as Polaris. The flight was mostly pleasant, though the lack of functional...

Traveling For Miles
Five basic bits of advice for people new to miles & points
Everyone starts somewhere. If you're new to the miles and points game and feeling slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number of programs, currencies, and opinions out there, this one's for you.
None of what follows is complicated, but getting these basics right early could well save you a lot of frustration...

Frequent Miler
New Wyndham Rewards Earner Premier card: An unexpected new card that’s hard to make sense of
I don’t think anyone expected a premium Wyndham card to come on the market before a premium Hyatt card, but here we are. Wyndham and Barclays launched a new premium card today called the Wyndham Rewards Earner Premier card. It’s a slightly strange card because it doesn’t seem like there’d...





































