Getting ready to head abroad? It's time for a change: Stop carrying loads of cash with you on your travels, exchanging currency at the airport, or paying exorbitant ATM fees overseas. There's...
Thrifty Traveler
12 min read
Does it feel like everyone you know has been to Japan recently? If you're tired of hearing that you “simply have to go to Japan,” let's make this your year. We're here...
After a recent refresh, holding The Platinum Card® from American Express feels more like belonging to a fancy “membership club” than carrying a card you can use to earn and redeem points...
8 min read
*amex platinum* comes with an overwhelming amount of benefits and “money-saving” credits to help justify the card's annual_fees annual fee (see rates & fees). Some perks are questionable, while others are quite...
5 min read
Call it the luck of the Irish: We found your best bet to get over to Europe later this year in lie-flat business class seats using miles. We sent our Thrifty Traveler...
7 min read
Last month, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines unveiled their new joint loyalty program, dubbed Atmos Rewards. While the name might take a little getting used to, the program is nearly identical to the...
5 min read
If you've been scheming up a trip to Machu Picchu, Patagonia, Brazil, or Argentina and want to fly in a comfy lie-flat seat, you only have a few more weeks to book...
3 min read
Love it or hate it, Emirates just made a major change that could affect traveling families – “bougie” traveling families, that is. As first noted by One Mile at a Time, the...
9 min read
Using your points and miles to travel from North America to destinations around the world is what we're all about here at Thrifty Traveler, but for the intrepid traveler who loves piecing...
9 min read
Months after flying SAS business class across the Atlantic ocean for the first time, I'm still torn. But I'm fairly certain it'll be a one-and-done … for a few reasons. Don't get...
12 min read
Travelers love their Delta SkyMiles, but one thing's for sure: The airline doesn't always make it easy to use Delta SkyMiles well. Understanding SkyMiles can be a chore because Delta stopped publishing...
4 min read
Ninety-eight times out of 100, the best way to book a Delta flight with points isn't using Delta SkyMiles but turning to a partner airline's mileage program – namely, Air France/KLM Flying...
6 min read
It may feel like forever ago that Delta riled up even its most diehard flyers by announcing some sweeping – and wildly unpopular – changes to earning Medallion status and Delta Sky...
4 min read
Just last week, we found a dirt-cheap Delta SkyMiles sale to Spain, with roundtrip flights from 22,000 SkyMiles. We called those flights “some of the lowest award rates to Europe we've ever...
4 min read
Travelers relish the thought of upgrading to a more spacious seat – and, more than ever, they're using their money or miles to bump themselves up. But you might be paying significantly...
6 min read
LifeMiles is the quirky – but highly useful – mileage program run by the Colombian airline, Avianca. Its website isn't the easiest to use and you'll pay dearly if your plans change,...
7 min read
When the airline is routinely charging $5,000 (or 500,000 SkyMiles), getting a good deal on a Delta One business class seat abroad might seem harder than ever. Trust us: It's not impossible. ...
5 min read
Take a moment to re-read that headline and really let the hilarity sink in. Yes, really: As promised last week, Southwest finally ditched their divisive open-seating model Tuesday and began assigning seats...
10 min read
After getting started with its first exclusive business class lounge in New York last summer, Delta gave the West Coast some love by opening a Delta One Lounge at its Los Angeles...
4 min read
After years of delays, travelers heading to one of 30 European countries will soon have one more thing to check off their to-do list before departure – and it’ll cost more than...
