2PAXfly
RIYADH AIR: What are reviewers’ first impressions
Saudi Arabia’s new flag carrier, Riyadh Air, has now carried its first paying passengers in its own Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The early verdict from critics is fairly consistent. Riyadh Air looks exceptionally good. It is serving food, drinks and attention at a level many established airlines would struggle to match....
2PAXfly
INDONESIA/WEST PAPUA: Pilot killed and aircraft burned in remote highlands attack
An American pilot flying one of the small aircraft that keep Indonesia’s remote Papuan highlands connected has been killed after his Pilatus PC-6 Porter was attacked and burned at an isolated airstrip. This tragedy highlights the perils of flying into disputed areas, amid political turmoil. Captain Nicholas F. Gosselin was...
2PAXfly
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA: EconomyFlex fares gain free same-day Fly Ahead feature
For those whose business meetings end early and want to get back home sooner, Virgin Australia is extending its Fly Ahead feature to eligible domestic Economy Flex passengers. This allows them to move to an earlier flight on the same day without paying a change fee or fare difference. It...
2PAXfly
EMIRATES: New-generation lounges roll out globally, but Sydney is still waiting
Emirates is rolling out a new ‘signature’ lounge concept across its global network, beginning with Munich and Frankfurt and continuing to Manchester, Mauritius and Istanbul later this year. The airline says it will spend more than AED50 million (AU$20 million) on each next-generation lounge. That is a substantial sum. Passengers...
Also on BoardingArea
Your Mileage May Vary
5 Travel Hacks That Are A Waste Of Time (Yet People Still Swear By Them)
If you spend any time reading travel websites or scrolling through social media, you’ll eventually come across someone promising a travel “hack” that’ll save you money, get you an upgrade…
Miles To Memories
High Society on the Hill – The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club Highlights
The Historic Cavalier Hotel is holding up quite nicely since it's 2018 reopening. Here's how our recent stay turned out.
Paddle Your Own Kanoo
FAA Moves to Block Flight Attendants and Pilots From Claiming Mandatory Meal Breaks
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is moving to block flight attendants and pilots from claiming mandatory meal breaks under local State laws, such as California’s generous Labor Code, which grants employees who work for more than five hours an uninterrupted 30-minute meal break. Several U.S. airlines, including American Airlines and...
View from the Wing
How To Optimize Credit Card Rewards Without Driving Your Spouse Crazy
The best credit card rewards strategy is the one your household will actually follow. After years of trying to optimize every purchase, my wife and I are down to a simple two-card system for her: Amex Gold for groceries and restaurants, and Bilt Palladium for almost everything else. The alternative...
Travel Points Playbook
Manufacture Hyatt Elite Nights for 1300 Points per Night…With a Catch
World of Hyatt has several overlapping promotions running right now which could stack to enable manufacturing elite nights…
Frequent Miler
Earn $450 bonus with a new US Bank checking account
US Bank has another promotion for new Bank Smartly checking accounts that offers up to a $450 bonus with fairly simple requirements. This deal is available in states within US Bank’s footprint and requires signing up for online banking and making at least two direct deposits within the first 90...
One Mile at a Time
Unpublished Marriott Bonvoy Status Challenge For Gold & Platinum
Marriott Bonvoy is the world’s largest hotel loyalty program. What many people don’t realize is that the program has an unpublished status challenge offer. With this, you can unlock either Bonvoy Gold or Platinum status by staying a certain number of nights in around three months, and it’s definitely a...
Miles To Memories
Say What?! Get 27,500 Bilt Points For Signing Up For A No Fee Bank Of America Card
Rakuten is offering an extra bonus when you apply for two no-fee Bank of America credit cards. Earn up to $275 or 27,500 points.
Paddle Your Own Kanoo
Baggage Handler at Portland International Airport Caught Red Handed Stealing a Passenger’s Checked Firearm, Suspected in Multiple Similar Thefts
A baggage handler at Portland International Airpot (PDX) is the main suspect in the theft of multiple firearms that were stolen from passengers checked luggage. Despite being granted access to highly secure parts of the airport, the suspect has an extensive crimial history and has been convicted of a slew...
Points Miles and Bling
Scotiabank’s Updated $1,000 Bonus Chequing Bonus
Yes, we love credit cards and premium cabin travel, but we certainly won’t say no to free cash straight into…
Traveling For Miles
Review: Citi Double Cash® Card (for us, this is one of the all-time greats)
The Citi Double Cash® Card is a no-frills, no annual fee cash back card that doesn't offer any big impressive benefits or headline-grabbing earning rates in a select spending category, but is still one of the very best cash back cards that you can hold.
One Mile at a Time
Chase Sapphire Preferred Hotel Credit: Any Catch To This Easy $100 Benefit?
There’s a lot to love about the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (learn more), including the card’s great return on spending and bonus categories. One of the other awesome perks worth being aware of is the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit, which can get you up to $100 of value per...
Frequent Miler
Alaska / Atmos again allows wallet funds as payment for companion fare bookings
Alaska’s companion fare has now been almost completely untanked. The airline offers a “famous” companion fare with both the Atmos Ascent and Business credit cards, allowing a companion to travel for $99 plus taxes (totaling ~$121). It’s valid on any North American economy fare class on Hawaiian or Alaska, and...
The Bulkhead Seat
Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK Rank as Worst Airports for Fourth of July Flight Cancellations
Millions of Americans are expected to travel over the Independence Day holiday, but new…
Live and Let’s Fly
Bizarre: Lufthansa First Class Award Space Resurfaces, But Phantom?
Just hours after writing my latest update on the ongoing saga with Lufthansa Group business and first class partner award space, it appeared that Lufthansa had began releasing space again…but instead it seems like a glitch that may reveal what’s available to Miles & More members, but not partners like...
Miles To Memories
Amex’s New $1,000 Resy Credit, Marriott Status Challenge & New Southwest Debit Card Bonus
In our Around the Web series we take a look at interesting articles that cover miles, points, travel and personal finance.
View from the Wing
Las Vegas Guest Brought Their Own Toaster To The Cosmopolitan, Because $40 Avocado Toast Hits Hard
A Cosmopolitan Las Vegas guest spotted a toaster abandoned by the trash, raising the obvious question of why someone brought their own appliance to a casino hotel. One plausible answer: when avocado toast can run $40, breakfast arbitrage starts to look rational, especially for families trying to avoid Vegas resort...
The Gate with Brian Cohen
Miles and Points On Sale — July 3 2026
Sometimes you need an infusion of miles or points to your membership account for whatever reason — perhaps to have enough to redeem for a limited time award as one example — and the best time to purchase or gift miles or points is when they are on sale, as...
Frequent Miler
Rakuten American Express Credit Card: Annual 4x maximum increased by nearly 50%
Update 7/3: American Express has announced it will increase the Rakuten card’s annual limit for earning 4x on Rakuten purchases from $7K to $10K per year, starting 7/15/26. While that still will be below what many people might want, a nearly 50% increase isn’t anything to sneeze at. (h/t: DOC) ~~~...
One Mile at a Time
TSA’s Crewmember Access Point (CMAP) Replaces Known Crewmember (KCM)
Airline pilots and flight attendants are able to sign up for a program that gives them a special way to bypass security at airports, completely different from the screening process that passengers are used to. Historically, this has been referred to as the Known Crewmember (KCM) program. However, that program...
The Alviator
Flying Iberia’s A330 Economy On A Shorthaul Flight: My First Time Having Octopus In The Air!
Hello from Madrid! I’m fresh off the first leg of my trip to Singapore and Hong Kong. On…
Miles To Memories
CardPointers Running 50% Off Sale on Annual & Lifetime Plans
CardPointers is running another limited time sale, offering a 50% discount on its premium memberships. The sale applies to both annual and lifetime CardPointers+ plans.
Traveling For Miles
Three tips if you’re booking Bangkok Airways flights (inc. what to do when credit card payment fails)
Bangkok Airways isn't an airline we cover much (or ever) on TFM and that has a lot to do with the fact that I have never flown with the airline. That, however, will be changing, and as I've just booked a Bangkok Airways flight, I thought I'd share three tips...
The Bulkhead Seat
Record 72.2 Million Americans Expected to Travel for the Fourth of July Holiday
Last month, I wrote about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) preparing for one of…
2PAXfly
QANTAS: COVID credit class action means more than a million customers will receive payout notices
More than one million Qantas customers are set to receive notices explaining how to claim compensation. These customers were issued flight credits, rather than refunds, for cancelled flights during the COVID-19 pandemic. Law firm Echo Law began contacting eligible customers on Monday, 29 June. This follows Qantas’ March settlement of...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Flooding closes LAX First Lounge, premium dining moves next door
Qantas’ Los Angeles First Lounge has been temporarily closed by flooding, according to the Qantas Lounge page. That means the closure of one of the best overseas lounge experiences for premium passengers on the long trek to Australia. The airline has not set a reopening date on its lounge website....
2PAXfly
VIETJET: launching Australian airline to rival Qantas and Virgin
Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet is reportedly seeking the approvals needed to launch an Australian subsidiary, in a move that could create a new domestic competitor for Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia. According to reporting by Ayesha de Kretser in the Australian Financial Review, VietJet has approached the Civil Aviation Safety...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: No First Lounge for London. Premier dining room instead
The original plan was to have a new First Class Lounge at London’s Terminal 3. It was to be ready for the debut of the Project Sunrise flights. Qantas has quietly shelved those plans, to the indignation of premium frequent flyers and passengers. Instead, the airline will refurbish and enlarge...
2PAXfly
CHINA AIRLINES: More flights to Australia from October, 2026
Taiwan’s China Airlines is increasing flights to Australia from late October, giving travellers more non-stop choices between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Taipei. The headline act is Sydney, where China Airlines will lift its Taipei service to daily from 25 October 2026. Melbourne follows on 28 October with a fifth weekly...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Lounge pass rules change from 1 July 2026
From Wednesday 1 July, Qantas will tighten the rules governing Complimentary Lounge Invitations, ending the long-standing ability to transfer a pass to any other Frequent Flyer member, regardless of whether they are travelling with you. If you have a stash of passes, you only have days to give them away!...
Wild About Travel
concordes at last
She was the most beautiful aircraft ever created. She was the fastest passenger aircraft ever to fly. She was created through the cooperation of two countries, and the technology that came with her is still being used, with the breakthroughs she sparked continuing to impact aviation today. One fatal crash...
2PAXfly
WEEKLY REVIEW: Sunday 28 June, 2026
Hello travellers, Well, I’m in Sydney, but not quite home yet. If you have ever had a renovation done, you will understand. I have spent the last week at a Meriton Suites in central Sydney. It’s been a mixed experience. Living in central Sydney has some great advantages, especially on...