Michael

IHG Premier Business Card

The final card in the IHG card review series is the Premier Business Card, which is the business version of the IHG Premier Card and comes with a $99 annual fee. I haven’t yet been convinced to swap over to IHG, but by coincidence, where I’m planning to move next month is beside a HolidayContinue reading “IHG Premier Business Card”

IHG Premier Card

Next up in the IHG card review comes the Premier Card, which is the next step up from the IHG Traveler Card and comes with a $99 annual fee. After a nice stay recently at the Kimpton Marlowe in Cambridge, these cards have been on my mind, but I don’t know if I’ve been convincedContinue reading “IHG Premier Card”

2025’s big trip: India! Part 5: MAA-LHR

After a week in India, it was time to return to Europe. I don’t generally leave reviews of hotels or destinations, and this time is no different. The summary of my trip is that I really enjoyed visiting the granite temples of Mahabalipuram and really did not like the Somerset Greenways Chennai. The Leela PalaceContinue reading “2025’s big trip: India! Part 5: MAA-LHR”

IHG Traveler card (2025 update!)

We’ve covered Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton’s cards, which are some of the most valuable hotel programs in the world. The next program of note is with IHG. IHG has a wide variety of hotels, including Holiday Inn and Kimpton. Holiday Inns aren’t exciting hotels, but Kimptons often are very nice. I’m not very familiar withContinue reading “IHG Traveler card (2025 update!)”

Guest post from the other Michael: Emirates Business Class from Melbourne to Dubai

The other Michael recently completed a trip to Europe from Australia (he has now moved to Australia), which reminded him that a few years ago, he flew Emirates back from Australia to Europe and got a free operational upgrade from Melbourne to Dubai. He ended up with a (very) expensive economy ticket back from AustraliaContinue reading “Guest post from the other Michael: Emirates Business Class from Melbourne to Dubai”

Interrupting 2025’s India trip again to add in another flight: LAX-SFO

While getting working on the review for the return flight from India, I actually came across a second flight that I had missed from earlier this year. This flight is from back in July (and was, in fact, the only flight I took in either July or August). I had driven down to LA withContinue reading “Interrupting 2025’s India trip again to add in another flight: LAX-SFO”

The United Gateway Card (2025 update!)

The last United card to update in the series of comparisons of the major US airlines’ credit cards is the United Gateway Card. This card sits at the lower end of United’s credit card line-up, offering minimal perks but also no annual fee. This card competes with the Delta Blue Card and the American MileUpContinue reading “The United Gateway Card (2025 update!)”

2025’s big trip: India! Part 4: LHR-MAA

After an overnight layover in London, it was time to continue the journey to India! Because of the way the upgrade voucher works, the previous leg from Belfast was free, and this flight was simply a continuation of that ticket. I spent the night at the off-site Sheraton that is a short bus/uber ride away. Continue reading “2025’s big trip: India! Part 4: LHR-MAA”

United MileagePlus Club Infinite Card (2025 update!)

Following up on the series of comparisons of the major US airlines’ credit cards, we’re jumping to the final airline’s top-tier card: The MileagePlus Club Card. This card competes with the Delta Reserve Card and the American Executive Card. Starting in 2025, this card will offer the best earnings for United status based on credit cardContinue reading “United MileagePlus Club Infinite Card (2025 update!)”

2025’s big trip: India! Part 3: BHD-LHR

This next flight is the beginning of my ticket to India: Belfast to London. You’ll notice that I had previously flown into Dublin. I didn’t actually spend any time in Dublin but rather immediately got on a bus to Belfast. Had I booked the same Dublin-San Francisco-Dublin ticket starting instead in Belfast, it would’ve costContinue reading “2025’s big trip: India! Part 3: BHD-LHR”