Welcome to my weekly travel, points, credit cards and other news from the blogosphere. Here are some topics:
- U.S. reopens on Nov 8
- United adds flights to a bunch of European islands
- Vacasa warnings
- Americans can get the EU COVID Certificate
- And more
To access publications hidden behind the paywall, I have three words for you: Firefox. Bypass. Paywalls (no relation 
).
Major News
U.S. will finally reopen on Nov. 8 to vaccinated travelers, by Politico.
Planes
Qatar Airways is working on Qsuite 2.0 for the upcoming 777X, as well as on new Business Class seats on other planes, by Executive Traveler.
United adds a bunch of new routes to awesome European destinations from Newark: Bergen, Majorca, The Canaries and The Azores, by Miles to Memories.
Hotels
We’ve all heard awesome things about using Wyndham points to book Vacasa rental properties. However, there is a dark side to it. 🙂 By Miles for Family.
Here is the first part of my summary of the best Hyatt values in Categories 1-4 international hotels. Plus a really good update from a reader who was able to book a room at a hotel that didn’t show online availability. How? By contacting the Hyatt Twitter team.
Speaking of Twitter teams. Here is another post by Miles for Family: this time a reader got his Hilton free certificate issue resolved by contacting the Hilton Twitter team.
Those Twitter teams seam to have some magical power, huh? No wonder the ex-POTUS is fighting so hard to get Twitter to take him back. 🙂
Credit cards
There are new perks for AmEx Platinum Business members. Most are totally useless for the majority of users, but some are reasonably good, by Frequent Miler.
Sorry, didn’t find any other useful content for this section.
Covid-19
Americans Split Over Mandatory Vaccines for Air Travel: Skift Survey.
This post offers some tips on how American travelers can get the EU covid-19 health pass, by God Save the Points.
And here is another article on getting a “Green Pass” for UAE, by Miles to Memories.
On October 24, the UK drops the negative PCR test requirement for vaccinated travelers from “non-red countries.” However, you’re still supposed to undergo a lateral flaw test within the first two days of your arrival. These tests are like rapid antigen tests; they’re very easy to use and work like a pregnancy test. They must be purchased before you enter the UK. Here are more details by Head for Points.
Other tidbits
Yemen’s “Manhattan of the Desert” — simply incredible! By BBC.
I climbed up to a seventh-floor rooftop that had been converted into a cafe; the Old Town lay below me, but the neighbouring buildings were mostly as tall as the one I was on, evoking the strange sensation of being surrounded by skyscrapers. I could almost have been in Dubai or New York, only that these constructions were somewhere between 300 and 500 years old and built from mud. Some of Yemen’s skyscrapers can reach up to around 30m in height, and the first modern skyscrapers in Chicago were only slightly taller than that.
TBB
- Best of Web: Tether Billions, mRNA Vaccine Pioneer, Searching For Mr. X, Theranos Final Chapter, 2021 Global Photo Winners
- Business Travel Woes, Most Remote Bars, Crypto Shilling, Bank Transfer Partners
My favorites:
- Anyone Seen Tether’s Billions?
- A scientific hunch. Then silence. Until the world needed a lifesaving vaccine (yeah, was I the only one who felt like they appeared out of thin air?)
- Searching For Mr. X
- Out There and Back: My Psilocybin Journey into Forgiveness (I don’t know about forgiveness, but after his journey the author lost interest in junk food. Now, that’s something to think about! 🙂 )
And now just for fun
I hate commercials — except the ones I choose to watch.
