I’ve see the term “phantom award space” mentioned on blogs and message boards over the years, but I’ve never personally encountered it until recently. What is phantom award space? Phantom award space is when award availability shows up on an airline’s website, but it’s a mistake and the award space really isn’t available to book. […]

This week, two airline programs announced higher award prices (i.e. miles devaluations). This news is always unwelcome, but especially so when we have no advance notice. Virgin Guts Delta One Awards to Europe with Huge Fees, Higher Rates A few days ago, Thrifty Traveler discovered a big devaluation with Virgin Atlantic awards on its partner […]

Europe 2024 Trip Report So Far: Back from 18-day Europe Trip, Review: Iberia Business Class DFW to MAD During our recent trip to Europe, my 13-year-old daughter and I sailed on MSC Euribia to the Norwegian fjords. Port stops included Copenhagen, Nordfjordeid, Alesund, Flam and Kiel, Germany. This cruise was quite different than any cruise […]

I’m not going to sugar coat this: Finding award availability to and from Asia in business class for a family is difficult. Frequently, airlines release only 1-2 saver awards per flight, and those are snatched up quickly. And, unfortunately, flying to/from Asia requires long flights. Nonstop flights from Dallas run 13+ hours depending on the […]

It’s July! Some newsworthy updates and promotions for today: TSA PreCheck Adds 4 New Airlines: It’s a bummer when you have Global Entry or TSA PreCheck when the airline that you’re flying doesn’t participate in the program. Thankfully, there are very few airlines that still don’t participate. Check out the 4 new airlines added to […]

Back in March, when my daughter and I flew on TAP Air Portugal from Chicago to Lisbon, my husband and son flew on Iberia business class to Madrid. My son said the flight was just “ok” and not as good as our experience on business class on Air France. Geez, spoiled much? Well, a few […]