Beginning October 5, 2017, LATAM will fly a Boeing 787-9 three times a week on its first non-stop route to Australia, between Santiago, Chile and Melbourne, Australia.

The Business Platinum Card from American Express is offering 100,000 total bonus points through January 25, 2017 (which is just a couple weeks from now):

50,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months
50,000 more bonus points after spending another $10,000 in the first three months

Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every page of MileValue under the heading Top Travel Credit Cards.

Check out Scott's full review here.
A Short History Lesson
In October of 2016, American Express added

UPDATE 1/10/17: If you have a Virgin America Elevate account and an Alaska Mileage Plan account that were both opened prior to December 5, 2016, you should have gotten/be getting the 10k Alaska mile bonus soon. Alaska shared the following statement with The Points Guy:
"We understand that many Mileage Plan members have questions about a surprise 10,000 mile gift that started appearing in some accounts last night, and we wanted to help put some of the mystery to rest.

“Redeeming American Airlines Miles” Series Index

Part 1 — 5 Ways to Stretch American Airlines Miles on Economy Redemptions
Part 2 — 6 Ultra-Luxurious First Classes to Book with American Airlines Miles (this post)
Part 3 — Where to Search Award Space for All Partners
Part 4 — Award Rules and How Many Miles You Need
Part 5 — Taxes, Fees, and Fuel Surcharges
Part 6 — Redeeming for Domestic Awards
Part 7 — Redeeming for Hawaii
Part 8 — Redeeming for East and Southeast Asia
Part 9 — Redeeming for Middle East and Indian Subcontinent
Part 10 — Redeeming

This post is part three of a series about how to maximize value when transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards to loyalty program partners. 
Maximizing Your Ultimate Rewards Series Index

Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: United MileagePlus
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #2 (this post)
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean SkyPass #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #3
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: British Airways Avios 
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Flying Blue
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Southwest Rapid Rewards
Maximizing

In addition to my written trip report of my recent trip to the Lufthansa First Class Terminal, here is a video I shot, which shows the tarmac Porsche ride and the inside of the terminal.

Last week, I flew from Buenos Aires to Rio Gallegos, Argentina with no intention of going to Rio Gallegos, Argentina. Instead, my plan was to walk out of the airport, stick my thumb out, and try to get a ride to Puerto Natales, Chile, where I met my friend to hike Torres del Paine National Park.

Why hitchhike last week?

It was a goal of mine to try hitchhiking once in my life.
Rio Gallegos airport is 3:22 driving from Puerto Natales, Chile.

This post is part two of a series about how to maximize value when transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards to loyalty program partners. 
Maximizing Your Ultimate Rewards Series Index

Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: United MileagePlus
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #1 (this post)
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #2 
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean SkyPass #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #3
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: British Airways Avios 
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Flying Blue
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Southwest Rapid Rewards
Maximizing

What are your New Year's resolutions this year? If you've managed to stumble upon this blog, chances are somewhere in your list of goals for 2017 you've got some dream trips lined up. If you don't, you should.

Greetings from Patagonia!

With 2016 in the books, and my rundown of last year’s travel here, I thought I’d share my upcoming travel plans.

I pretty much know exactly where I’ll be in January and half of February, see a few options for the rest of February and March, and then have no idea what I’ll do from April on.