Michael

April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 3: Budapest back to Helsinki

Switching back to my April Europe trip, we have another intra-European Business Class flight on Finnair! Finnair’s strongest offerings are, like most airlines, from their main hub. Budapest is not a particularly large airport, but it does offer multiple lounges. The Skycourt lounge was the default lounge for Finnair, but there was also the PlazaContinue reading “April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 3: Budapest back to Helsinki”

American AAdvantage Executive Card

Following up on the series of comparisons of the major US airlines’ credit cards, we’re jumping to one of the top-tier cards: The American Executive Card from Citibank. This card competes with the Delta Reserve Card and the MileagePlus Club Card. Unlike Delta and United, all American Airlines credit cards earn points toward status at theContinue reading “American AAdvantage Executive Card”

Flagship First on my favorite route in reverse! BOS-LAX

After my great LAX-BOS flight in Flagship First, I decided to do it again in reverse! I’m of the opinion that upgrading on the westbound transcontinental flights is the better deal because the upgrade usually costs the same as the eastbound version but the flight time is longer, so the cost per time is lower. Continue reading “Flagship First on my favorite route in reverse! BOS-LAX”

The Chase Sapphire Lounge: Boston!

After my great LAX-BOS flight in Flagship First, I decided to do it again in reverse! Boston does not have any special American Airlines lounges, so instead I visited the Chase Sapphire Lounge. The lounge is located between terminals B and C, and American uses terminal B, so that’s convenient! Except that it’s a solidContinue reading “The Chase Sapphire Lounge: Boston!”

April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 2: Helsinki to Budapest

Upon arrival into Helsinki, I proceeded directly to Finnair’s non-Schengen Platinum Wing lounge. This was my first visit to the lounge since June of 2023, when I flew London to Berlin via Helsinki. The non-Schengen Finnair lounge is located very centrally, and I was inside the lounge within a couple minutes of deplaning. This loungeContinue reading “April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 2: Helsinki to Budapest”

American Express Delta Blue Card

This card is the last Delta credit card for us to talk about. It’s the only no annual fee Delta card in the US, but with the recent increase to the annual fees of the other Delta cards, this card is a good option for people who want to stop paying an annual fee withoutContinue reading “American Express Delta Blue Card”

April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 1: Finnair

Upon arrival into Chicago, my original plan had been to go to T3 and check out the American Flagship Lounge. That wasn’t possible because when you’re in T5, you’re trapped because you can’t take the airside bus unless you have a connection, and you can’t enter another terminal with a T5 boarding pass. So thatContinue reading “April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 1: Finnair”

American Express Gold Card Refresh – 2024

On Thursday, it was announced that the American Express Gold Card would be refreshed. At Amex, that pretty much always means a higher annual fee, and this refresh is no exception. The Amex Gold Card sits between the Amex Platinum Card and the Amex Green Card. And it’s fully distinct from the Delta Gold CardContinue reading “American Express Gold Card Refresh – 2024”

April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 0: Austin Airport

I’m doing these posts a bit out of order to keep the content varied so that I don’t post too many American Airlines flights back-to-back. I took a trip in April that somewhat spiraled out of control because more and more flights kept getting tacked onto it. The fun part of the trip (and theContinue reading “April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 0: Austin Airport”

American Express Delta Gold Card

Going down another step in annual fee from the Delta Reserve and Delta Platinum cards, it’s time to check out the Delta Gold cards. Like with the Reserve and Platinum, Amex offers both a personal and a business version of this card, and like before, I’m going to cover both flavors of the card here.Continue reading “American Express Delta Gold Card”