A few weeks ago my United flight from Houston to Buenos Aires was delayed 13 hours. United automatically offered me 7,500 miles or $100 United credit as compensation, but I was able to increase that offer to 17,500 miles or $200 credit with a simple email.
The Delay
I was heading from the Chicago Seminars to my winter home in Buenos Aires. I booked the award for 30,000 United miles the week before departure using secret United award space.

In December 2015, Norwegian launched service from New York, Baltimore, and Boston to Guadeloupe and Martinique. This month they also launch service between Fort Lauderdale and Guadeloupe.

Priority Pass--the free lounge access you get with many premium credit cards--has a rule: no card, no lounge access.

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.

There's a way around that: you can turn your phone into your membership card in just a few steps.

Download the Priority Pass app.

2. Open the menu and click Log In.

3.

You can now download Netflix shows and watch them offline. This means that you can now watch Netflix on planes or other places where wifi is expensive or non-existent.

"The new feature is included in all plans and available for phones and tablets on Android and iOS."

When I downloaded the Netflix app for my phone, an immediate pop up heralded the news.

Not all shows are available for download yet, so I clicked around to see what is.

Right now, I'm re-watching Mad Men Season 7. The entire Mad Men series is available for download.

I am writing to you now from the beautiful state of Bahia, Brazil. If you've never traveled to this area I highly recommend it.

The coast is full of paradisiacal beaches, delectable seafood and spicy stews (the best of which in my opinion is moqueca), samba music, capoeira, and inland just a few hour drive from the Salvador airport is Chapada Diamantina, a national park and wonderland of plateaus, mountains, waterfalls, and limestone caves underneath it all where you can snorkel in the subterranean lakes and rivers.

A few weeks ago I flew from Virginia to Hawaii on United with a layover in San Francisco during which I gorged in the American Express Centurion Lounge.

Anyone with any American Express Platinum or Centurion Lounge gets free access to Centurion lounges for himself and up to two guests.

A friend I met at a MileValue dinner has launched a funny web series about using miles to fly Business or First Class and then traveling on a shoestring once you arrive.

It speaks to me because I do the same thing; I remember my Emirates First Class chauffeur picking me up at my hostel in Auckland and flying Singapore First Class to Barcelona before my 5 euro bus to the city to couchsurf.

Here's the 90 second trailer.

Here's the first episode, flying EVA Business Class to Tokyo and then following the weird characters around;

Flying Blue's latest Promo Awards--click that link if you don't know what Promo Awards are--are complete stinkers for most Americans.

Through Tuesday (December 6, 2016), you can buy IHG Rewards Club points with a 100% bonus.

Delta miles can now be redeemed for Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy.

This is the first time miles issued by one of the big three legacy carriers--American, Delta, United--can be redeemed for Premium Economy.