I'm Going to Belarus, Ellen Skewers United, Half Off Lonely Planet & More

MileValue is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.

25 Euro Flight Sale

Air Baltic has a sale for flights booked by February 14, 2017 and flown March 9 to April 10 with fares starting at 25 euros. Example fares:

Most deals are to or from Riga, Vilnius, or Tallinn. I highly recommend the Baltics because they are small countries with interesting histories that are accessible and cheap.

Within the Baltics, though, I wouldn’t fly. I’d use buses and ferries. Here’s my guide to buses and ferries for Baltic travel.

I’m Going to Belarus

I love Eastern Europe. To me, Western Europe feels basically like being in a more historic USA–hardly traveling at all. Eastern Europe is like a different world from the Stalinist architecture to the less familiar food and languages to the totally different historical influences.

I’ve been to most of the countries in Eastern Europe.

I’m missing Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Bulgaria, which I might swing through this summer; Moldova which I’m sure I’ll get to at some point; Russia where I plan to go visa free during the 2018 World Cup; and Belarus.

In many ways, Belarus is the Eastern European country I’d most like to visit. While most of Eastern Europe is rapidly westernizing, Belarus is not. It’s a country that is mostly closed from the rest of Europe and the rest of the world except Russia.

Until this year, getting a visa for Belarus was prohibitively expensive for Americans. I don’t see the old price, but I remember it being $500. Now, however, Americans can get a visa for $67 or, even better, visit Minsk for five days without one starting February 12, 2017.

I’m planning to travel visa-free to Minsk in March. Here are the requirements:

1. Passport
2. 25 euros per day of the stay
3. Medical insurance valid in Belarus (can be purchased at the Minsk airport for under 10 euros)
4. International flight to Minsk not from Russia, international flight from Minsk not to Russia.

Although I’ll be flying Belarusian national carrier Belavia from Nice, France to Minsk, there’s a 100% chance I’ll be singing “Well, you made a long journey from Milan to Minsk, Rochelle, Rochelle” upon arrival. Four days later, I’ll fly from Minsk to Prague, Czechia.

I will report back more information on arrival formalities and my stay.

Ellen DeGeneres Takes on United Basic Economy

United has been getting bad press for introducing basic economy fares that won’t allow purchasers to use the overhead bins. (Delta and American also have similar, though different Basic Economy fares that we compared here.)

Ellen DeGeneres skewers the new offering in a hilarious, absurd satire.

The video definitely didn’t go the direction I expected.

Half Off Lonely Planet Books and EBooks

Lonely Planet is my favorite guide book company. I find the writing to be consistently good across the brand, the guide books well laid out, and the special recommendations to be spot on.

Even in 2017 when lodging reviews are better found online, restaurant reviews are better found online, attraction info is easily found online, etc, I still find use for guide books to give a quick overview of a place.

Lonely Planet is offering a buy-one-get-one-free until February 14 with promo code “LOVETRAVEL.”

If purchasing four or more items, make sure to purchase them two at a time to get your second, fourth, sixth, etc most-expensive items for free instead of the cheapest half of your items for free.

If “Turkey” and “Paris” were purchased and then “Eastern Europe – Belarus” and “Best in Travel 2017” as two purchases, you’d save an extra $7 by getting “Paris” for free instead of “Best in Travel 2017.”

Hat Tip Secret Flying

Award Space to Europe Still Wide Open with AA or Delta Miles

This article from a week ago is still relevant if you missed it: All Year! 4+ Transatlantic Flat Bed Seats per Flight.

Perhaps the most interesting thing is that the award space to Europe is on a partner of both American Airlines and Delta, so you can use either type of miles to book the space.