I don't spend much time in hotels (here's a breakdown of where I'm sleeping as I travel 365 days this year), but I've been looking at booking some upcoming hotel stays. I carry several co-branded credit cards, but as I've crunched the numbers, my Citi Prestige® Card has come out as a better option for paying the hotel stay in almost all cases.

That's especially true if I'm looking at a four night hotel stay, since the Citi Prestige® Card offers the fourth night free on paid hotel stays, which is an ~25% rebate (more if you're doing it right.

Update: United flights have resumed.

All United flights are currently grounded for "automation issues" apparently related to a computer system malfunction. The same thing happened June 2, 2015.

If you are flying United today, check your flight status and call foreign call centers (via Google Voice) to make changes.

UK contact number: +44 0845-607-6760
Australia contact number: +61 131-777
India contact number: +91-124-4315500

Good luck out there.

Qantas has eliminated fuel surcharges on its flights that depart Australia.

This doesn't matter at all for paid tickets because $1 of fuel surcharge and $1 of base fare costs the same to you, but this is huge news for award tickets with miles that collect fuel surcharges like British Airways Avios.

American Airlines will start flying its 787-8 Dreamliners with economy and Business Class seating from Los Angeles to Shanghai on October 5, 2015 and Sao Paulo on November 5, 2015.

Award space is dismal in Business Class on both routings, which is a bummer since the product and Saver mileage price are fantastic.

American Airlines is running a sale on the purchase of their miles through Monday July 13, 2015. You can buy up to 100,000 American Airlines miles during the sale and get up to 27,500 bonus miles plus 15% off the normal price.

The discount is fixed, but the bonus miles are tiered, based on how many miles you purchase.

American Airlines miles cost 2.95 cents each plus a 7.5% excise tax, and every purchase has a $30 processing fee.

I'm in the middle of 18 months of travel. I live out of a suitcase and change beds every few days or few months. Here are some of my top travel tips that I use to enjoy my trips more. Test them out for yourself.
How to Always Stay Connected
Specifically I want data and text capability. Here's how I always have data and text for a low price:

PLAN A: Travelers Should Be T-Mobile Customers

T-Mobile's basic plans that have no contract include free data and free texting in 120+ countries.

I'm in the middle of 18 months of travel. I live out of a suitcase and change beds every few days or few months. Here are some of my top travel tips that I use to enjoy my trips more. Test them out for yourself.
How to Always Stay Connected
Specifically I want data and text capability. Here's how I always have data and text for a low price:

PLAN A: Travelers Should Be T-Mobile Customers

T-Mobile's basic plans that have no contract include free data and free texting in 120+ countries.

I just spent a completely legal week in Cuba, split between Havana and Viñales. An American in Cuba in 2015 is a six part series on the trip.

Updated July 4, 2015 because this deal is still alive, and I love reading the full Economist print edition online each week for free.

Updated August 14, 2014 because my miles were credited to my account several weeks ago, and I just got my free magazine and newspaper subscriptions today! The updates will appear throughout this post.

Complain about any airline in less than 140 characters to earn 8,000 Spirit miles, which are enough for several magazines or three free flights for some people.

This is a three-step process that takes just a few minutes.

Update: LifeMiles are now on sale for as little as 1.4 cents each through September 30, 2015, which allows you to follow the steps in this post.

Last week I published How to Consistently Buy Business Class Tickets to Europe for about $1,000, which explained how to purchase Avianca miles and use them to book award tickets, so that the total cash outlay is far less than just purchasing a ticket.

Yesterday, I had the chance to book my friend into Lufthansa Business Class from Tallinn, Estonia to Chicago for $1,050 for a flight this weekend.

Booking one