Madeleine Wagner

Madeleine Wagner is a writer and artist whose curiosity has taken her from weird basement art shows to teaching in a Master’s Degree program. Her work has appeared in The Florida Times Union, Folio Weekly, Art News, Art Pulse, and The Cleveland Plain Dealer. She’s done work as a curator, commentator, and critic. She is fascinated with the way language shapes culture, and aesthetics shape values.
security check before boarding (l) MSC cruise (r)
BoardingArea
MSC Cruise Guest Tries To Return To Ship—With Something A Little Extra From Island Excursion. It Doesn’t End Well: ‘You Really Thought?’
"Ocean Cay security will catch you every time."
cruise breakfast (l) woman shares her cruise breakfast order (c) Royal caribbean cruise (r)
BoardingArea
Woman Gets Breakfast On A Royal Caribbean Cruise. Then Commenters Point Out A Glaring Issue With Her Order: ‘Seems So Rude’
"Yep, tried that on my last cruise..."
flight attendant shares day in the job (l) Flight attendant tries to do beverage service (r)
BoardingArea
Flight Attendant Tries To Do Beverage Service. Then She Comes Across 2 People Holding Hands Across The Aisle: ‘We Cannot Let Go’
"Am I about to play London Bridges?"
shoes on plane seat (l) woman shares flight observation (c) Jetblue plane (r)
BoardingArea
Passenger Learns New Plane Hack To Have The Best Nap On Your Flight, But Flight Attendants Are Sounding The Alarm: ‘As A Flight Attendant, We Have To Stop People From Doing It’
"Yea, yea danger whatever."
Also on BoardingArea
Miles To Memories
Summer of DashPass Kicks Off with 50% Off at Lowe’s and BOGO Deals
For one day only, you can get $50 off your $100+ Lowe’s order exclusively for DashPass members. This offer is valid on Wednesday, June 17.
Traveling For Miles
Marriott launches Ask Bonvoy, an AI-powered search tool
Marriott has today announced the launch of "Ask Bonvoy", a conversational AI search tool that allows Marriott Bonvoy members to search for hotels using plain-English questions rather than the traditional filters and dropdown menus that hotel booking sites have relied on for as long as I can remember.
Frequent Miler
(Walmart & Atlantis added) Capital One Shopping adds Apple gift card redemptions (and Princess Cruises, Best Western, and more)
Update 6/16/26: Capital One Shopping has added even more gift card redemption options, but deleted a few others. Perhaps the most welcome one for many people will be the return of Walmart as an option, although not everyone is seeing that. You can also redeem your shopping portal rewards for...
Points With a Crew
Kickstarter: Solvest Cooling Vest (Back By Wednesday)
The Solvest Cooling Vest is designed for outdoors in the summer, and can get to 9 degrees Fahrenheit instantly. It's on Kickstarter, but only for a few more ...
Live and Let’s Fly
American Airlines Will Make Passengers Sit Upright Earlier Before Landing, Making Redeyes Even Worse
American Airlines is preparing cabins for landing earlier, a move meant to protect flight attendants from turbulence injuries during descent. I understand the safety concern, but I still think this is an overreaction that materially worsens the passenger experience, especially on redeye flights. However, there’s a compromise that I hope...
Points Miles and Bling
Flying Porter’s Inaugural Flight from Montreal MET Airport (YHU)
There are inaugural flights, and then there are inaugural flights. At 6 a.m. on a Monday morning, I found myself…
Your Mileage May Vary
Flying Southwest’s Independence One: A Special Plane At A Very Different Time For Southwest
Most Southwest flights are pretty ordinary. This one wasn’t. That wasn’t because of where we were going, or because Southwest suddenly started offering lie-flat seats and champagne. It was because…
Miles To Memories
Chase Guts Their Most Popular Cards, Amex Terms Change To Monitor, Half Off ChatGPT & More
Plus, do you need a Sapphire Reserve now, has Hyatt lost "it", profitable Lowe's Chase Offer is back, how to find cheaper awards & more.
View from the Wing
Marriott Owners Rebel Over Bonvoy Free Nights, And Guests May Pay With Higher Award Prices
More than 50 Marriott hotel owners, representing 1,000 hotels, say Bonvoy award nights do not reimburse them enough, even as Marriott’s credit card and loyalty revenue grows. If owners win more money for free-night stays, Bonvoy members may ultimately pay through higher award prices and weaker point value.
Frequent Miler
Delta Cars & Stays promos: Earn 5X miles, earn 1X MQDs, & get 15% off bookings with SkyMiles
Delta Cars & Stays is having quite the push at the moment with trying to get people to book hotel stays and/or car rentals through them. There are multiple different offers that can earn you 5X bonus SkyMiles, 1X Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs), or save you 15% when redeeming SkyMiles...
The Bulkhead Seat
JetBlue Revamps Mint® Dining With New York Restaurant Partners
JetBlue is upgrading its Mint® Business Class dining experience through a new partnership with…
The Bulkhead Seat
Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines Announce Premium Summer Beverage Lineup
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are refreshing their onboard beverage offerings this summer with…
Miles To Memories
(Now Live) Target Circle Deal Days: $100 Circle Card Bonus and More
Apply for a Target Circle Card between June 14-26 and, if approved, receive $100 in Target Circle Rewards. You also get 15% off your first purchase as a new Target Circle member.
Traveling For Miles
We still don’t know when key Atmos Rewards changes will go live
Alaska Airlines rebranded its Mileage Plan program as Atmos Rewards back in August 2025, unifying it with Hawaiian Airlines' HawaiianMiles into a single program. Some of the changes that came with that rebrand are already live while others are still waiting to be rolled out and as we approach the middle...
One Mile at a Time
Our Wild Austrian Flight To Skiathos: A Fall, Two Go Arounds, And A Diversion
In a previous installment, I wrote about our really bad luck flying from Miami (MIA) to Skiathos (JSI). The previous installment was about our first flight, which was delayed, then canceled, and then had a baggage situation. Oh well.
Frequent Miler
Capital One Shopping/Offers: Earn 6%/9X on Apple purchases (albeit with many exclusions)
Apple is the boosted retailer today on the Capital One Shopping and Capital One Offers shopping portals. I’m seeing rates of 6% and 9X respectively, but there might be even better targeted offers out there. The Deal Earn 6% cashback through Capital One Shopping or 9X miles through Capital One...
Economy Class & Beyond
KLM introduces its first Airbus A350 – Enter “The Night Watch”
KLM is on target to receive its first Airbus A350-900, with the paintwork laid on it. The aircraft has been named The Night Watch, after the renowned painting by Rembrandt. However, there’s a tinsy little problem. For the Airbus A350 fleet, KLM has chosen to name its aircraft after iconic...
Live and Let’s Fly
Air Canada Opens New Café Lounge At Québec City Airport With Barista Coffee, Local Specialties
Air Canada has opened a new Air Canada Café at Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, expanding a lounge concept that love this concept: good coffee and local specialities in a quiet environment ideally situated for smaller airports like YQB. Air Canada Opens New Café Lounge At Québec City Airport...
Paddle Your Own Kanoo
The Real Reason Why Flight Attendants Will Switch On the Seatbelt Signs When There’s No Turbulence… No, it’s Not Because They’re Lazy
If you’ve ever been on a plane and the seatbelt sign has been switched on despite the fact that the aircraft is flying as smoothly as a hot knife through butter, then there’s probably one of two reasons that you’re being confined to your seat for seemingly no reason: Yes,...
Miles To Memories
False Alarm! 5x Earning On Office Stores Is Marked Safe From Devaluation
I have great news to share with you, there are no changes to the Ink Plus 5x earning categories, and 5x office stores is not going anywhere.
View from the Wing
Guests Charged $16 For In-Room Coffee At W Las Vegas As Visitors Pull Back From Nickel-And-Dime Fees
W Las Vegas charges guests $16 for in-room coffee even as the hotel adds a resort fee, turning a basic amenity into another minibar-style charge. The fee captures the broader Las Vegas nickel-and-diming problem as visitors pull back from higher costs and fewer included perks.
The Gate with Brian Cohen
$50 New Member Referral Bonus With Rakuten
This is your chance to cash in on a $50 new member referral bonus when you sign up as a new member of Rakuten; and you will receive a bonus of $50.00 via referral when you spend a minimum of $50.00 within the first 90 days of your new membership, which is...
Live and Let’s Fly
Porter Airlines Launches 12 Routes From New Montréal Metropolitan Airport
Montréal has opened a new secondary airport called Montréal Metropolitan Airport, and Porter Airlines is betting big that travelers will embrace convenience over Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Porter Airlines Bets Big On New Montréal Airport With 12 Routes Porter Airlines has launched service from the new Montréal Metropolitan Airport...
Frequent Miler
Southwest shopping portal promo: Earn 2K bonus points when spending $200 (ends 6/29/26)
The Southwest shopping portal launched a new promotion yesterday and it’s far more generous than normal. If you spend a cumulative $200 in one or more transactions through the portal, you’ll earn 2,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points. The Deal Earn 2,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points when spending $200+ through the...
man looks outside flight window (l) SAS aircraft (r)
BoardingArea
Woman Flies Scandinavian Airlines. Then She Looks Out Her Window And Sees How High The Pilot Is Flying: ‘Curvature Of The Earth’
"Quite frightening to be honest."
woman shares flight experience with her partner (l) man in flight using laptop (r)
BoardingArea
Woman Says Boyfriend Bought Third Seat So They Could Have ‘More Space’ On Flight. Then She Sees The Real Reason He Bought It: ‘An Excellent Use Of Free Will’
"This man has QUESTED..."
plane coffee (l) man shares Delta flight experience (c) Delta airlines (r)
BoardingArea
Delta Diamond Passenger Flies From St. Louis To Atlanta To Florida. Then He Asks For Coffee
"Please don't put me on the no-fly list."
man shares airport observation (l) LAX airport entrance (r)
BoardingArea
Man Says Terminals At LAX Show A Clear ‘Class Divide.’ Is He Right?: ‘JetBlue…A Greyhound Station’
"Terminal 1 has an Urth Cafe..."
woman shares flight experience (l) flight attendant helping passenger (r)
BoardingArea
Woman Boards Flight After Nose Job And Realizes She Forgot Something Major. Then A Flight Attendant Steps In
"Changes in cabin pressure can lead to increased swelling."
woman walking in crowd (l) Rome tourist destination (r)
BoardingArea
Woman Tries To Visit Rome. She Can’t Even Walk In The Crowd: ‘It’s Not Even Euro Summer Yet’
"Maybe European winter doesn’t sound too bad lol."
man shares hotel chair secret (l) hotel chair in the corner (r)
BoardingArea
Man Checks Into Houston Hotel. Then He Runs A Little Experiment: ‘Do Not Sit In The Chairs’
"Ask a cop about hotel rooms."
American airlines (l) woman compares flight prices (c) southwest airlines (r)
BoardingArea
Ohio Woman Looks Up Southwest Flight From Indiana To Cancun. Then She Realizes It’s Cheaper To Fly American Airlines In First Class: ‘Why?’
"In case you needed proof that Southwest has officially lost it..."