Articles About Airlines and Air Travel
Canadians Can Fly From Bellingham For Cheaper Flights
Anyone who lives in lower British Columbia (Vanouver, Victoria, Kelowna, etc) should consder Bellingham when flying for the many benefits it has to offer:
Ten Tips For Cheaper Vacations
I was recently on a United Airlines flight to Las Vegas and read an article in their magazine on how to save money on travel. The article, as you might expect, was full of suggestions on why you should choose United for all your flight and travel needs. It was a mediocre article at best […]
Alaska Airlines Mastercard for Canadians
Canadians looking for a credit card that offers great rewards might want to consider the Alaska Airlines credit card. Here’s an overview of some of the benefits, perks and costs to help determine if its right for you. This is a MasterCard credit card issued by MBNA and has a $75 annual fee. Upon signing, you get a bonus 25,000 Alaska miles. I’m not normally huge on one-time bonuses, but 25,000 miles is huge. Plan members earn 1 mile for every dollar spent on the card. Say you spend $3,000 per month on average, you can earn 36,000 miles + 25,000 bonus = 61,000 miles in the first year. Travellers also get an annual companion fare, which allows you to purchase a ticket for just $99 when a regular priced ticket is bought on any of Alaska’s routes.
18 Must-Read Travel Blogs
I have to confess, I’m a travel junkie. When I’m not travelling, I’m dreaming about places I want to visit next and strategizing on how to make it happen. I also love to read, and fortunately there is no shortage of travel blogs to feed my appetite for travel content.
But finding good quality, informative, and helpful blogs can sometimes be a chore. I’ve hand selected 16 of what I consider to be 18 great travel blogs. From family travel to frequent flyer tips, spas to responsible travel, there’s something to peak your interest.
Using United MilesPlus Miles for Hotwire Hotels
It was recently announced that members of the United Airlines Mileage Plus program can use their mile points to get Hotwire hotel rooms. Is this a good deal for members or should you use your points for flights instead? This is the question I wanted to answer.
How Hotwire Works: First a quick overview of Hotwire’s unpublished hotels. With Hotwire, you don’t know the name of the hotel until after you bid (that is, unless you use the Hotwire hotel lists to match up amenities to reveal the name of the hotel). All you know about the hotel star rating, general vacinity, and the hotel amenities.
United Points for Hotwire Hotels: Now, instead of using cash to book your Hotwire hotel, you can use United miles. My instincts tell me that generally, using points to buy 3rd party goods (whether it’s a hotel room or other) is not a good thing. There’s just too many players all wanting a piece of the pie. But I’m a numbers kind of guy, so I decided to put this to the test. My objective, take a few Hotwire offerings on United and see how many points were required to purchase a hotel. Then compare the same hotel to what you would have paid on Hotwire straight up. From this, you’d be able to deduce a price per point for Hotwire hotels purchased with United points.