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Articles by thetravelingmillennial

Miles & Points September 3, 2016

Can NCAA D1 Football Players Earn Frequent Flier Miles?

University of Michigan — The Big House You may have heard that the Hawaii men’s football team will fly over 50,000 miles miles this season, which has already featured travel from Hawaii to Australia to Ann Arbor, Michigan for its first two football games.  50,000 miles is enough to earn a mid-tier elite status on the major airlines–Hawaiian Airlines only requires 40,000 miles for its top-tier Pualani Platinum status–but are NCAA athletes PERMITTED to earn frequent flier miles?  If so, do the universities PERMIT the students to earn miles?  One of these answers is easy and other is nuanced. NCAA Rules Despite a ban on…

The Traveling Millenial, Trip Review August 31, 2016

3 Must-See Vineyards in Sonoma, California!!

I visited Sonoma, California with several friends around the end of August and the weather was amazing!  It was 60 and foggy in the morning, and 70’s and sunny around noon.  We rented an AirBNB located in downtown Sonoma and walked downtown each evening.  Although we sampled wine from ten different wineries, I would recommend that everyone who visits Sonoma should visit at lease one of these three: 1. Benzinger Family Winery Benzinger by far offered the coolest tour which was complemented by some of the best wine, but the price was hefty.  They charged $20 for a tasting or $50 for a tour…

The Traveling Millenial, United August 10, 2016

Changes to United’s Award Flight Rules Are Coming–Not Good

United recently accounted that it is changing the rules for booking award flights to “streamline” the process.  Given that United already has a fairly good website for booking award flights, it is not clear if the changes will improve booking award flights for the average flier.  For the advanced flier, the new rules will eliminate some pretty cool quirks of the program.  Let me explain (IAD=Washington DC, CDG=Paris, FRA=Frankfurt, Germany, BKK=Bangkok, Thailand, ATH=Athens, Greece, SJU=Puerto Rico). Current State of Affairs Unlike American and Delta, United offers one stopover (extended layover) and two open jaws on a round-trip award flight.  An…

The Traveling Millenial, Trip Review July 6, 2016

Copacabana Beach (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Copacabana at sunset Earlier this year, I traveled to Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a vacation over a long weekend.  What a trip!  The city and the beach are both beautiful and there is plenty of half-day excursions for folks who do not want to lay by the beach the entire day (although there is certainly nothing wrong with that).  Round-trip flights into GIG were under $540 from Washington DC.  What makes this flight even more desirable is that it was a red-eye flight that departed after work on a Thursday (or any day of the week)…

first class, lounge, Review, The Traveling Millenial May 27, 2016

Qatar’s First Class Lounge in Doha, Qatar

I previously wrote about how American Airlines stranded me in Doha, Qatar by booking a second flight in anticipation that my first segment’s late arrival would cause me to miss my second segment.  Thankfully, I made the PHL-DOH flight which was operated by Qatar’s new A350, but my third segment was canceled before I arrived in Doha.  While the Qatar customer service representatives tried to figure out why my third segment was canceled, I was given complimentary access to Qatar’s new First Class Lounge.  Score. Entrance The entrance to the lounge is stunning.  You walk into a very large, open…

Review, The Traveling Millenial May 7, 2016

Which Airline Left Me Stranded In Doha, Qatar? It wasn’t Qatar Airlines…

Notice the desert sand blowing in the background?  Last month I traveled to Dubai (not for leisure) and I booked the ticket less than a week out.  As a result, one of the cheapest tickets left was a DCA-PHL-DOH-DWC flight which gave me an opportunity to review Qatar’s new A350 in business class.  I was pretty excited but the trip did not start off well.  Ultimately, Qatar Airlines was not responsible for stranding me in DOH. DCA-PHL I arrived at DCA before dawn because my international itinerary meant that I had to check in with an American Airlines agent instead of…

Airline, British Airways, Review, The Traveling Millenial April 27, 2016

British Airways 747-400 (Business Class) – Riding Up Top

Boeing 747-400 There are a few planes in existence that I want to fly solely because the planes themselves are cool.  For example, I redeemed airline miles to fly first class on Etihad’s A380 this upcoming winter.  That aircraft features a shower and individual couches for first class passengers, plus a bar.  Earlier this month I flew Qatar’s A350 which is one of the newest/most advanced planes in the sky. View from the upper deck of a 747-400 at 36,000 feet Another plane I really wanted to fly was the 747, specifically on the upper deck of the 747.  The…

Deal Alert, Miles & Points, The Traveling Millenial April 25, 2016

Enter to Win 90,000 United Miles (90 Winners) — United’s 90th Anniversary

[This photo was taken as I waited in a nearby park for the London Imperial War Museum to open.] Kudos to View From the Wing for Finding this Deal In celebration of it’s 90th anniversary, United Airlines is giving away 90,000 miles to 90 lucky winners.  Entry is simple, just fill out a short form (the screenshot is below).  You must enter by midnight (EST) on April 25st!  The winners will be notified on April 27th.  After entering the form, you’ll be directed to a pretty cool history of United Airlines. There are many awesome ways to use 90,000 United miles.  Here is a…

Airline, Review, The Traveling Millenial April 23, 2016

Qatar A350-900 (business class) — A Wonderful Experience

Qatar A350-900 in Philadelphia, PA I recently traveled to the Middle East and I could fly a number of aircraft for an identical price.  I opted for the Qatar A350-900, which Qatar recently started flying to the United States–January 2016.  The A350 is one of the newest commercial aircraft in the sky so I was excited to see what it had to offer.  The seats, service, and food were the best that I’ve had on an airplane to date, hands down!  I flew from Philadelphia to Doha, Qatar, and I was in the air for approximately 12 hours!  Not a terrible way…

Deal Alert, The Traveling Millenial April 16, 2016

Approx. $2,000 round-trip, business class flights to Europe!

[Deals like this tend to expire quickly so this article may be out of date after April 17, 2016] Kudos to onemileatatime.boardingarea.com for finding this deal! Various airlines are offering an excellent deal where you can fly for under $2,000 from the US to Europe.  These fares are available on several alliances including OneWorld (which can be credited to American Airlines).  American Airlines offers one of my favorite elite programs with perks that include complimentary first class upgrades and reasonable award flight redemption rates.  You can credit the flights below to American Airlines’s or Alaska Air’s frequent flier program.  In addition, you’ll want to use a…