
The Gate with Brian Cohen
What Is Wrong With This Photograph? Part 336
My 22-hour sojourn to Europe and back was initially supposed to be a trip that lasted for approximately three weeks in Tbilisi in Georgia and several other countries — which included a stop in Amsterdam — but the severe winter weather in Amsterdam had other plans for us.
For this edition...
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One Mile at a Time
United Captain Runs 737 Off Runway: The Cockpit Voice Recorder Is Fascinating
In early 2024, United Airlines had a series of safety incidents that ultimately caused the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to increase oversight of the airline. Among these incidents was a March 2024 runway excursion at Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH), where a Boeing 737 MAX ran off the runway.

Frequent Miler
Amtrak offering 50% off USA Rail Pass
Amtrak has a fun sale going on for the next few days, offering a USA Rail Pass for 50% ($250 instead of $499). The pass allows you to take 10 rides within any 30-day period to ~500 destinations served by Amtrak nationwide, with no blackout dates or times. The pass...

Frequent Miler
EditMaxxer: A tool to help maximize your Chase Travel℠ The Edit credits
There’s a new free tool out last year that can help you make use of those pesky $250 Chase Travel℠ The Edit credits that come with the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve for Business cards. It’s called EditMaxxer and essentially aims to do for The Edit what MaxFHR does for Amex’s Fine...

View from the Wing
Two Days After Launch, Bilt Simplifies Its New Cards—Earn 25% More Points on Rent and Mortgage With No Fee
Bilt’s new credit cards launched Wednesday and the company has already pivoted after member confusion over Bilt Cash and the fee mechanics. The updated setup gives you a simpler choice, including a path to earn housing points with no transaction fee—and even boost rent and mortgage earning up to 25%...

Paddle Your Own Kanoo
Violent Passenger Who Threatened To Kill 80 Year Old Flight Attendant Is Sentenced To Unusually Long Prison Sentence
A Delta Air Lines passenger who hid nearly three and a half dozen Xanax pills under his scrotum and threatened to kill an 80-year-old flight attendant during a flight from Omaha, Nebraska, to Detroit, Michigan, has been sentenced to one and a half years in federal prison. Mario Nikprelaj, 24,...

Eye of the Flyer
Disappears TODAY: Earn Over a HALF-MILLION Points with This Crazy Capital One Promotion!
Looking to pad your points and miles account with up to 700,000 miles (maybe more)? Boy, oh, boy, does Capital One have an opportunity for you. And if you want to take advantage of it, hop on the offer soon. We’ve been told it won’t be available through us after...

View from the Wing
Delta First Class Seat Recline Fight — Flight Attendant Apologizes: “I Can’t Make His Legs Smaller”
Delta’s domestic “First Class” is supposed to buy you breathing room — until it doesn’t. On a Delta flight from San Antonio to Los Angeles, a tall passenger’s knees made it physically impossible for the seat in front to recline, sparking a mid-cabin standoff over a feature the airline sells...

View from the Wing
Trump Backs Credit Card Swipe Fee Crackdown—Why Rewards Get Cut and Fees Go Up
Trump has now endorsed the Durbin-Marshall swipe fee bill, pitching it as “competition” and consumer relief. In reality it shifts value from cardholders to retailers—cutting rewards, pushing issuers toward higher fees elsewhere, and shrinking credit availability—without any reason to expect lower prices.

2PAXfly
WEEKLY REVIEW: Sunday 18 January, 2026
Hello travellers, Greetings from a very wet Sydney. We’ve been hosting a number of overseas friends. But even more enjoyable is making some reciprocal plans to visit them later this year using our hard-earned Amex Rewards points. My next trip is a month or so away. It will be to a much...

Frequent Miler
What are “points farms”, WSJ and NYT think the newest cards are too confusing, and good news for F1 fans (Saturday Selection)
Throughout the week, our team shares articles they’ve stumbled upon that may interest our readers, even if they might not otherwise merit a full post. Here are some of the posts we found interesting this week: What are “points farms”, WSJ and NYT think the newest cards are too confusing,...
Reviews
Read the latest reviews for road warriors and frequent flyers.
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Hotel Review: The Time New York – JDV by Hyatt
January 17, 2026
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An Evening Cathay Pacific A330 Ride: Hong Kong to Jakarta
January 17, 2026
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Alaska Airlines North Satellite Lounge Review: Seattle’s Best Domestic Lounge?
January 16, 2026
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Review: Delta Sky Club – New York LaGuardia, Terminal C
January 16, 2026

One Mile at a Time
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Credit Card Changes Make Status Easier To Earn
The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program has a credit card in the United States, issued by Bank of America. It’s a card that I have, as someone who has Flying Blue Platinum status. We’ve just learned about some changes coming to the card, and they’re entirely positive, as I see...

View from the Wing
Bank of America Leaks Flying Blue Card Changes Early—Much Faster Air France KLM Elite Status Earning
Bank of America accidentally tipped its hand early on a revamped Air France-KLM Flying Blue credit card, with new perks that meaningfully accelerate elite status earning. The annual fee stays $89, existing cardmembers get the changes in March, and the updated XP bonuses make Silver, Gold, and even Platinum far...

Frequent Miler
Bilt 2.0 “simplified” – which option is better?
Now that Bilt has “fixed” its overly complicated Bilt 2.0 rewards program by introducing a slightly less complex option (see details here), I decided to take a quick look at which option is better. The answer? It’s complicated. Easy calculator: If you’re looking for advice about which option you should...

One Mile at a Time
Weekly Review: January 17, 2026
I hope everyone is having a nice weekend so far! We just wrapped up a family ski trip this week (which I’m still recovering from — three-year-olds are fun but exhausting when outside their usual element!), so you can expect a few hotel reviews over the coming days. On the...

Miles To Memories
The Enduring Greatness of the Citi Strata Premier
While the bank might be a punchline here and there, the Citi Strata Premier most definitely should not be. The card still uniquely delivers.
The post The Enduring Greatness of the Citi Strata Premier appeared first on Miles to Memories.

The Gate with Brian Cohen
Welcome Aboard Swan Hellenic SH Minerva: The Vessel to Antarctica.
Prior to being welcomed aboard Swan Hellenic SH Minerva — which was the ship to Antarctica — I had never really been on a cruise. The closest I had come to cruising up to that point is being aboard overnight ferries or small vessels for cruises that lasted a few...

Economy Class & Beyond
Last Week at Economy Class and Beyond (17th January)
Good news, everyone – we’re past the halfway point of January, as we head into the marketing blitz of Blue Monday and the travel deals that might not turn up. Anyway, it’s Saturday at the time of writing – it must be time for Last Week at Economy Class and...

Frequent Miler
American Airlines & United shopping portal promos: Earn up to 2,000 bonus miles
The American Airlines and United shopping portals are both offering up to 1,000 bonus miles when shopping at both in-store and online retailers. The Deals American Airlines shopping portal: Spend $200 & earn up to 400 bonus AAdvantage miles Direct link to offer Expires January 22, 2026 United shopping portal:...

View from the Wing
Airline Denies It—But Staff Accused of Stealing Aircraft Parts and Selling Them Back [Roundup]
A report claims airline employees were stealing aircraft parts and then selling the components back to the carrier—an allegation the airline is now denying. Plus: a “world record” standby list for an inaugural flight, a passenger spooked by a “JetFuelCantMeltSteelBeams” Wi-Fi network name, Southwest gate magic in Denver, and more.

View from the Wing
Readers Keep Getting Approved For Citi Strata Elite 100,000 Points And Over $2500 In First-Year Value
Citi’s new Strata Elite card is handing out approvals fast — and for good reason. With a 100,000-point bonus, stacked travel and retail credits, and easy eligibility rules, it delivers first-year value few premium cards can match.

One Mile at a Time
How To Redeem Avianca Lifemiles For Best Value: A Key Star Alliance Program
The avianca lifemiles program is one of the most useful frequent flyer programs out there for redeeming miles. The beauty of lifemiles is that it’s not just useful if you want to fly with avianca, but also if you want to travel on any Star Alliance carrier, especially in a...

Live and Let’s Fly
My SAS A350 Business Class Flight Had The Slowest Meal Service I’ve Ever Experienced
Returning from our holiday trip to Europe, we flew SAS on an A350 from Copenhagen to Chicago and encountered the most drawn-out meal service I’ve experienced in years, perhapsever. Add to that the failure to load our pre-orders, headphones that did not work, and a tepid selection of movies, and...






































