On August 31, 2016 the first regularly scheduled flight in over 50 years will take off from the United States headed to Cuba. The inaugural flight will be on JetBlue, and will depart from Fort Lauderdale and arrive to Santa Clara, Cuba.

You've probably seen a lot of information in the news over the last couple of years about the United States' improving relationship with Cuba.

A month ago I wrote about ridesharing apps Uber and Lyft. If you aren't familiar with Lyft yet, it is very similar to Uber in that it is a mobile application that connects people in need of rides to drivers. Both are somewhat of a substitute for your standard taxi service.

I have a friend named Cate that used to drive for Uber, and recently made the switch to driving for Lyft.

The perpetual catch with low cost carriers are the fees they stick you with on top of the advertised price of the ticket. Everything's peachy keen until you look at the fine print and realize that's not the real price after adding the cost of checking luggage and selecting a seat ahead of time.

But I have good news. Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air has doubled their carry on luggage allowance. The previous allowance was 11 lbs, and now you can carry on 22 lbs total without paying any extra fees.

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® 60,000 mile offer has expired. Check out the current best credit card offers here.

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Seclusion from the hustle and bustle of normal airport traffic. Speedy wifi. Food. Drinks. Comfortable seating for naps. Outlets for recharging devices.

These are all things I value about airport lounges. What's the most important amenity to you?

Now, we can all agree that, generally, lounges in the United States aren't on the same level as international carriers' abroad.

If you were planning on paying your rent on a credit card for free for the rest of the year during Radpad's Android Pay promotion, don't. Radpad screwed up-- admittedly so at least.

A couple weeks ago Scott wrote about the promotion Radpad was running that enabled you to pay rent on a credit card for free through Android Pay.  It was supposed to last through the end of the year, but they greatly underestimated just how many of us would take advantage and don't have the budget to cover the subsidies.

Award space is wide open in Austrian Airlines Business Class between the United States and Europe for EIGHT people per flight over the entire Summer.

This is amazing news because normally award space over the summer is the toughest to find-- finding even four seats on the same flight in Business Class is almost unheard of.

You can book Business Class to Vienna for 70,000 United miles one way with no fuel surcharges.
Where Austrian Airlines Flies in the US
Austrian Airlines flies from Vienna to the following cities:

Chicago
Miami
Newark
New York JFK
Toronto
Washington Dulles

Award

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® 60,000 mile offer has expired. Check out the current best credit card offers here.

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Etihad First Class Apartment on the A380 currently has tons of availability between London and Abu Dhabi in April and May of 2017.

This post is aimed at all the readers out there based in the United Kingdom.

Let’s talk about transferring Starpoints to airline partners for redeeming on domestic awards. This is part three in a series that will allow you to master redeeming awards within the United States, no matter what kind of points or miles you might have.

For those of you that have already read the first three posts in this series, you will notice repeat information because some of the airline partners overlap between transferrable points programs. 
“How to Maximize Domestic Award Redemptions” Series Index

How to Maximize Domestic Award Redemptions: ThankYou Points
How to Maximize Domestic Award Redemptions: Ultimate Rewards
How to

The US Open begins August 29 in Flushing, New York. Chase customers can register here to reserve a free spot at Chase's Lounge for access to air-conditioning and complimentary snacks and beverages during the world class tennis matches.

To be clear, you still have to purchase tickets to the US Open-- this free reservation at the Chase Lounge is solely for entrance to the lounge. But with temperatures in New York climbing that time of year and pricey drinks, a lounge with air conditioning and refreshments would no doubt be appreciated.

Book any JetBlue award by 11:59 PM ET TOMORROW (August 4, 2016) for travel between September 7 and November 16, 2016, and you’ll get 25% discount off the normal award price. Unlike some past promotions we've seen from JetBlue, you don't have to wait to get the discounted points rebated to your TrueBlue account-- the discount is built in when you book.

There are blackout dates and days of the week that the discount doesn't apply to.