Welcome to my weekly miles, points and new Omicron variant travel restrictions datapoints roundup plus other travel news from the blogosphere. Here are some topics:
- Miles expiration policies
- Here is what you have to do to earn a $40,000 fine
- How to call out hotels playing games with inventory
- New Kimpton secret password
- Chase has relaxed 5/24 rules on some cards
- Pros and cons of the Choice card with the 75,000 bonus
- New Omicron variant travel restrictions
- And more!
To access publications hidden behind the paywall, I have three words for you: Firefox. Bypass. Paywalls. Seriously, no need for any kind of trickery (beyond that 
).
Planes
Here is a nice summary of airline mile expiration policies, by Miles to Memories.
In recent years, some people have decided that cruising at a certain altitude gives them an unalienable right to act like drunk, raging lunatics. One of those individuals has received a lesson about the wrongness of his ways, and it was an expensive lesson. FAA Fines Passengers Up To $40,823 For Alcohol Related Unruly Behavior, by Loyalty Lobby.
New Aegean members can get 6,000 miles for joining the loyalty program, which is enough for a domestic flight in Greece, by Running With Miles. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger bonus for joining a frequent-flyer program
Hotels
VFTW has had two interesting hotel-related posts this week: Sometimes Hotels Play Games With Inventory, Here’s How To Call Them On It and Which Major Hotel Program Is Best? Well worth reading.
Here is a new Kimpton secret password, by Frequent Miler.
Credit cards
Multiple sources indicate that Chase might’ve relaxed its 5/24 rules on some cards.
You can get an extra 5,000 points on the JetBlue Plus card welcome bonus (regular bonus is 70,000 points), by Doctor of Credit.
Miles To Memories reports that Chase “upgrades” old Freedom cards for some people to Freedom Unlimited without warning, so check your account if you don’t want it.
And here is my own plug: 6 Reasons to Snag That Choice Hotel Credit Card 75,000-Point Welcome Bonus and 3 Reasons Not To!
Covid-19
The new Omicron variant discovered in South Africa is declared a “variant of concern” and makes everyone scared.
- U.S. imposes travel ban from eight African countries over Omicron variant
- Israel to ban entry of foreigners from all countries over Omicron
- NY Declares State of Emergency Ahead of Potential Omicron Spike
God Save the Points makes a case that sudden travel bans can exacerbate the problem even further, and he’s got a point. But considering that a new nasty Covid variant can bring the whole world to its knees, what’s the alternative?
Other tidbits
Here is an interesting trick you can use to bring outside water to the airport, by Johnny Jet.
Roads and Kingdoms city guides are different. Here is one for Edinburgh.
TBB
- Best of Web: Golden Age of Grift, Food Timeline, Notorious Mrs. Mossler, Starlings
- TBB Mini Travel Trip Reports
Here are two amazing stories:
- The Notorious Mrs. Mossler
- The Golden Age of Grift — Wow!
- So now the Losers and the Outsiders are jealous that the Winners made money so easily. Jealousy + the promise of instant wealth are a dangerous combination. An open flame next to a gas canister of FOMO.
- Maybe you can’t just have a founder with a history of fraud copy Tesla’s namesake, outright lie about technological progress, and roll a truck down a hill. (Though this dumpster fire is still worth like $5 billion, so idk.)
- Today’s markets are the wild, wild west, except the Sheriff is passed out drunk and the grifters robbed the armory.
And now just for fun
WARNING: Language(?) 🙂
Thank you for the curated links: you read some of the blogs that I no longer follow and it’s good to have some separation of the wheat from the chaff. The Aegean offer is especially good timing for P3…if he uses it, I’ll owe you an ouzo! We have friends in S. Africa who are really upset that the world shut them out after they reported omicron. Not sure what the alternative was…would they have kept it a secret and let someone else report it first? In any case, all countries that have it will be shut down until the… Read more »
It’s hard not to get upset when you’re punished for doing the right thing. But yes, I don’t know what other countries can do here other than maybe throw some money at them. It seems they know what they’re doing and might do even better with some outside support.
Andy, great post love the Roads and Kingdoms heads up. The miles expiration post is good for airlines. Here is a more detail post for both airlines and hotels:
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/mileage-expiration-guide-for-38-loyalty-programs-how-to-keep-your-points-from-expiring-and-how-to-bring-them-back-to-life-after-theyve-expired/
Sorry for missing your comment John and thank you for bringing Dan’s mammoth post to my attention!