Frequent Miler

Recently, Avianca LifeMiles has been adding significant fuel surcharges to various award tickets. These are additional fees that, up ’til now, Avianca hasn’t passed on to its customers. We’ve had numerous messages today from folks that noticed this, wondering if it was an unannounced change with how LifeMiles was pricing award ticket fees.

No, Avianca LifeMiles isn’t adding new fuel surcharges to its awards

We’re doing something a little different for the Saturday Selection this week. As regular readers will know, we’ve just returned from our “Flying by the Seat of our Points” last minute travel challenge. So, this week, I’ve asked each FM team member to relive their favorite redemption or activity from the challenge. Their answers (and some video) are below.

A Turkish Miles & Smiles sweet spot, using LifeMiles for Thai Airways business class and relaxin’ at the fish spa (Saturday Selection)

Following on from the start of an Alaska Airlines shopping portal promo last week, three other airline portals are now offering bonus miles/points when hitting spending thresholds with them. The Deals. United shopping portal. Spend $200 & get 500 bonus miles. Spend $400 & get 1,000 bonus miles. Direct link...

American, United & Southwest portal promos: Earn up to 2,500 bonus miles/points

I’ve flown Qatar Airways several times now and have found that service seems to range from fine to extraordinary. On my recent flight from Zagreb to Doha I experienced truly extraordinary service. The great service combined with excellent food and comfortable seats made this daytime flight one of my favorite flights ever.

Qatar A320 Business Class Review (Phenomenal!)

On the way home from our recent “Flying by the Seat of Our Points” challenge, I had the opportunity to fly Japan Airlines first class both from Bangkok to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Chicago. This was aboard the 777 in JAL’s “old” first class seats. Despite being an “old” product that is clearly dated in comparison to first class aboard the likes of ANA, Emirates, or Singapore Airlines, the seats are nonetheless very good and this was a fantastic value at 80,000 American Airlines miles and $48.70 in first class from Japan to the United States (note that I separately paid 40,000 miles and $21.40 for Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok to Tokyo because I made two separate bookings based on when flights were available). I’d not necessarily prioritize JAL first class on the overnight from Bangkok to Tokyo since it is only about 6 hours long and therefore isn’t the “full” first class experience, but I’d definitely fly it again from Japan to the US.

Japan Airlines 777 “old” First Class: Bottom Line Review (BKK-HND and HND-ORD)

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Total Apex Sports & Entertainment

Have you ever met someone who is wise beyond their age? Such people are often referred to as old souls. They understand life and the world better than many zodiac signs. A soul’s age doesn’t necessarily match a person’s actual age. Instead, it advances based on the life experiences someone has.

3 Zodiac Signs Who Are Old Souls

Spend $200 via the Alaska Airlines shopping portal & earn 500 bonus Mileage Plan miles. During the “Summer Bonus” offer, which runs from 6/5/2024 through 6/14/2024 at 11:59:59 pm ET (the “Bonus Period”), Member will receive a one-time bonus of 500 Mileage Plan bonus miles on qualifying purchases made through the Mileage Plan Shopping mall or from purchases made through Mileage Plan Shopping in-store offers.

Alaska Airlines shopping portal promo: Spend $200 & earn 500 bonus miles

Air France and KLM released a new batch of Flying Blue Promo Rewards this past week. There’s a larger selection of eligible US cities this month, with half a dozen featuring discounted awards to/from Europe. The Deal. Book discounted economy award flights between the following cities and Europe with...

Flying Blue Promo Rewards for June – Boston, D.C., Houston, New York, Phoenix & Seattle

All three of the consumer Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards credit cards are now offering increased welcome offers of 85,000 Rapid Rewards points after making $3K in purchases within the first 3 months. These offers are the best, in terms of total points, that we’ve seen in at least several years. If you’re looking for a card and/or trying to earn a companion pass, these are certainly worth considering.

Southwest Personal Cards: Limited-time 85,000 Point Offers

Yesterday Hilton announced that AutoCamp properties were now bookable through Hilton for both cash and points stays. To celebrate that launch, they’re also offering 1,000 bonus points per AutoCamp stay through August 12. The Deal. Earn 1,000 bonus Hilton Honors points when booking AutoCamp stays. Direct link to offer...

Earn 1,000 bonus Hilton Honors points on AutoCamp stays through 8/12/24

Anika Jindal

A subtle sign of low intelligence is an inability to understand or appreciate complexity. People with low intelligence may have difficulty understanding abstract concepts or thinking outside the box. They may also be more likely to believe simplistic explanations or conspiracy theories.

12 Subtle Signs Of Low Intelligence

California State

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Alameda Post

California regulators just stopped AT&T from pulling the plug. California’s Public Utilities Commission on June 20 rejected AT&T’s application to stop providing landlines and other services in areas where there is no other option.

Still Need Your Landline?

Virginia State

Writers represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program and self-verified their accounts. Writers are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

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Margaret Minnicks

Many new laws become effective in Virginia on July 1, 2024. However, a law has always existed in Virginia, but some residents might not be aware of it. According to WSET, leaving grass clippings and other debris on Virginia roads is illegal.

It is illegal to leave grass clippings and other debris on roads in Virginia

There are new, targeted Chase Offers out for both Hyatt Place and Hyatt House that are giving 10% or 15% back when spending $100 or more. Get 10% or 15% back when spending $100+ on room rate & room charges at the following brands with a targeted Chase Offer:. Hyatt...

Hyatt Place & Hyatt House Chase Offers: Get 10%-15% back on room rate & room charges

Get a status match from Enterprise. A status match will be granted upon review and approval to members with valid elite status in any one of a variety of travel loyalty programs (i.e. hotel, airlines, car rental.) Matched status is valid through February 28 of the second calendar year following...

Enterprise status match giving status through February 2026 (match from hotel, airline & car rental programs)

Pepper Rewards is again offering a targeted promotion to get 10% back on all third party gift cards, this time now through June 30, 2024. Both my wife and I received what I expect is a targeted email for this promotion. As has been the case with past promotions, you should receive 5% back in Pepper points (“coins”) right away and the additional 5% will post a couple of weeks after the promotion ends — this time on July 15, 2024.

Pepper Rewards again offering 10% back everywhere for some [Targeted]

WyoFile

Within hours of the sighting on Wednesday, Frank van Manen caught word that there was a grizzly sow with five cubs in tow spotted in Yellowstone National Park. Five cubs following mom is so unlikely that van Manen, who leads the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, pondered an explanation.

Five grizzly bear cubs make the largest litter in Yellowstone-area history

Denver, CO

David Heitz

The mother of a Denver homeless man told the City Council Monday that city-sponsored services have failed her son. Barbara Hallick Yeomans made her remarks during public comment period of the City Council meeting. She said her son grapples with substance abuse and mental illness and repeatedly has been harassed by police. She said her son also suffered verbal abuse by a guard in the Denver County Jail. Yeomans said she heard the guard harassing her son over the phone.

Mother says Denver homeless services have failed her son

This week, Greg, Tim, and I have been crisscrossing the planet on our 2024 Frequent Miler team challenge. If you haven’t been following on Instagram, see the post below about how to follow. Read on for more updates from our week on the road and find easy links in the table of contents below if you’re after the podcasts or more from this week at Frequent Miler.

Around the world in a flash: catching up on a wild week [Week in Review]

Alexandria, VA

Cheryl E Preston

The SBC has removed another church from it's fellowship. First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia, is the latest casualty in the Southern Baptist Convention's war on churches that accept women pastors. The Independent reports that on Tuesday, delegates attending the SBC annual meeting voted 6,759 to 563 to oust the congregation.

A Historic Virginia church was expeled from SBC for asserting that women can be senior pastors

NewsBreak

How Greg found awesome awards like A320 business class, new Hyatt & Delta point values, and more [Week in Review]

One of the outcomes of our recent challenge is that it gave us all a lot more practice with numerous award booking tools to help us...

How Greg found awesome awards like A320 business class, new Hyatt & Delta point values, and more [Week in Review]

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