It’s another news breakdown! This week on the show, we dig into eight big news stories in travel, from Southwest’s bit lounge plans (including our suggestions for what Southwest should offer), more new lounges in Salt Lake City, the dramatic return of Australia and New Zealand business class points deals, and some surprisingly good news from both United and Hilton.
Plus, Gunnar finally finds a workaround to talk about Canada on the pod … while giving Kyle some editorial control. Teamwork!
Tune in now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts! And be sure to subscribe now to get each new episode every Thursday morning.
This week’s episode is brought to you by Bilt. Earn points on rent and around your neighborhood by visiting joinbilt.com/thrifty. Make sure to use our link so they know we sent you!
Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at [email protected].
Please consider supporting the show by spreading the word and leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts! That helps other travel lovers, like yourself, find our podcast.
Show Notes
- 00:00 – What’s a staple of a Southwest lounge? Wrong answers only
- 02:35 – Australia/New Zealand lie-flat award availability is back!
- 07:35 – A shutdown update: Ground stops, long TSA lines, and all the latest
- 10:35 – United makes some of its best MileagePlus redemptions cheaper!
- 14:00 – Southwest gets approval to open a lounge…in Hawaii
- 18:15 – A word from our sponsor: Bilt Rewards! Earn points on rent and make your entire neighborhood more rewarding with Bilt. Head to joinbilt.com/thrifty so they know we sent you!
- 19:34 – Salt Lake City opens a new SkyClub and Centurion Lounge…and Gunnar’s rant on the “Digital Immersion Wall”
- 25:22 – RIP to the best way to book vacation rentals using points
- 27:45 – Chase news: New benefits & upgrade offers
- 31:45 – Hilton lowers rates on some of its most egregiously expensive redemptions
- 34:00 – Introducing the Canada Button – our new way to control Gunnar’s obsession with Canada
- 36:40 – Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto gets more flights to the U.S., making it the best way to fly to and from Toronto
- 39:35 – Listener Question: Upgrading to Premium Economy?
- 42:55 – On the Spot: You can only visit one Canadian province forever, which one takes the Kokanee, eh?
Produced and edited by Sylvia Thomas
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot
Cruise ships park in Sydney Harbour in front of the Opera House, almost everyday. Just so you know! If staying at Park Hyatt, the only way to see the harbour is from the rooftop pool. Even then, a cruise ship could block a majority of the harbour view.
Hi guys! Very interesting discussion on the new Amex Platinum Card and the fact that you have a really cool spreadsheet to track all the benefits. My wife and have been doing some personal calculus on if that card is right for us, and it actually makes more sense to potentially get the Amex Gold Card. Do you guys have a tracking spreadsheet like this that’s specific to the Amex Gold Card?
We appreciate everything your team does and we love the podcast!
Thanks for the kind words, Marcus! Stay tuned for something for the Gold Card.
Great episode! Thanks!
My husband and I have 15-20 credit cards each and are entering retirement (i.e., much lower spending). We’d both like to get down to about 4 cards each. How do we do this without cancelling most of them and totally taking a hit to our (stellar) credit ratings?
Episode #19 – Kyle, I feel ya big time RE: standing in line for security and people are not prepared or act surprised that they need to remove metal, liquids, etc. Hello… what have you been looking at for the last 20 minutes while waiting? Paying attention to your surroundings and taking social cues helps everyone. Phew, exits soapbox! (I think this can apply to the check-out line in the grocery store too! :-))
We loved Oban. We went to Oban by train from Glasgow. We took a boat tour to Mull, Iona, Staffa, and Lunga. We went during puffin nesting season and saw so many puffins. I highly recommend this tour company.
https://westcoasttours.co.uk/tours/tour-mull-iona-and-staffa/
Fellow travel enthusiast from the Midwest here!
Just wanted to share my travel social media username/handle – @TravelSizeBudget on Facebook and Instagram. I attended Thrifty Traveler University a few years ago regularly follow TT’s amazing content. I started @TravelSizeBudget last year to offer my own unique spin on travel – from the usual (points and miles, affordable fares) to the less common (savings and convenience on food, souvenirs and more). Thanks for continuing to inspire me, Thrifty Traveler!
Great podcast! Thanks for all the great information.
Hello Gunnar,
I am enjoying and appreciating all you travel savings information. Would you please help us finding an appropriate venue to get results form lost bag by United? In June last yWe re senior citizens 1K United. Last year in June we checked 6 bags from LAX to HNL. One of the bags never arrived and we filled a claim at HNL. There was lack or no communication from United including corporate. We provided photos and invoices for 4 pro racing high end OZONE kites $12,500.00. The bag never made it “downstairs” after being check at 1K counter at LAX. I wrote countless letters , got a lots of lying and contradicting run around or no responses. Now we found out someone is selling our stolen kites on E-Bay because they all have serial numbers and person who bought one of the kites very ‘cheap” called Ozone co. to ask why is someone selling a $4,000.OO kite for $1,500.00 and the company contacted us since they have record of us paying a full price. E-Bay is not taking any responsibility. Now United finally e-mailed us claiming they do not cover “sports equipment”. Our bags were handed to United employees and they should be responsible. Would you have any suggestions how can we recover our losses? I would appreciate any suggestion you could provide. I know its not what you are about but since you have lots of travel experience maybe you know something that can help us. Keep up the good work.