Andy Shuman

If you’re planning to fly to Japan, and especially if you want to pay for your ticket with miles, Japan Airlines can be a great choice. Known as JAL, Japan’s flag carrier offers four classes of service — economy, premium economy, business class and first class. As for Japan Airlines' U.S. routes, you’ll find JAL nonstops to Japan from airports in 11 U.S. locations: Boston, New York, Chicago, Dallas, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, Kona and Guam.

Air Canada's Aeroplan, its frequent flyer program, updated its award charts in September 2022. The resulting changes are a mixed bag. Some North American routes might increase in cost up to 10%, but economy awards aren't going up. Plus, short-haul award flights between North America and South America are decreasing by up to 33% because of a new distance band.

If you’re looking to book economy flights on Air Canada, here’s what you need to know to make the most of your booking.

The Big Apple and Gotham are not the only nicknames New York is known by. It’s also the City That Never Sleeps, the Melting Pot and even the Center of the Universe. No one who has visited New York will ever wonder if it deserves all that affection. New York is old and modern, huge and cozy, and always fascinating. Anyone who visits New York will find something to marvel at, whether they come from a small town or another megalopolis.

Many travelers consider Japan Airlines’ first class cabin among the best in the world. Its open suites don’t have doors — and yet they feel exceptionally private. The seat is very spacious and feels as if it’s been designed to conform to the contours of your body. The gastronomical marvels prepared by the hand-picked celebrity chefs will make you forget you're eating on an airplane.

If you’re flying to Japan in coach, you might want to consider a Japan Airlines economy seat. It’s a long flight, and while your JAL Sky Wider seat won't be as luxurious as the lie-flat ones in business class, the comfort and service in the airline's economy class are superior to a lot of competitors.

People often complain about economy class seats, and for good reason. Shrinking legroom, dwindling widths, disappearing padding — for decades, airlines have been using every trick in the book to reduce weight while squeezing in more passengers.

If you’re sitting on Best Western Rewards points, but you don’t feel like redeeming them for a hotel stay, you can spend them at Best Western partners. And likewise, you can earn more Best Western Rewards points through other brands that aren't just Best Western.

While partner redemptions usually don't get you the same value as redeeming points for hotel stays in the Best Western family or spending points in the program from which you actually earned them, taking advantage of Best Western Rewards transfer partners may better fit your plans.

A “stopover” is usually defined as a connection or stop that lasts for 24 hours or more for international travel and four hours or more for domestic travel (shorter connections are called layovers). Normally, passengers hate long layover flights that feel like huge time wasters. But with stopovers — and stopovers planned well — you don’t necessarily have to spend your time at the airport. You can use the downtime between transit to explore and add another adventure to your trip.

COVID-19 presents both a health and a financial crisis, and during such a difficult time, you may be looking to cut expenses you see as discretionary. Since you probably won't be traveling soon (or as much), that might include a travel credit card with an annual fee.

Closing a credit card you don’t need is fine in some circumstances, especially if it carries an annual fee and the anniversary date is looming. However, it’s not completely without risks. Closing a card may adversely affect your credit in a time when you might need it more than ever.

Air Canada recently announced a new partnership with Etihad Airways.
The two airlines had already been codeshare partners, and the rumors that they would add a partnership between their respective frequent flyer programs, Aeroplan and Etihad Guest, had been going around for some time. Now Air Canada Aeroplan members can earn and redeem miles on Etihad, and vice versa.

This is really great news. United Arab Emirates-based Etihad is one of the swankiest airlines in the world, and the ability to use Air Canada miles for an award seat on Etihad is a dream come true for a lot of travelers.

MORE LIKE THISTravel
Best Western Rewards has sweet spots on both ends of its unpublished award chart. Some of the high-value redemptions include lower-category hotels that start at just 5,000 points per night and penthouse upgrades for just 10,000 points more.
To find out if you’re getting above-average value for your Best Western points, you’ll want to compare your redemption with the baseline value. NerdWallet collected the data to find that Best Western points are worth 0.7 cent each on a...

Based in Panama City, Copa Airlines flies to dozens of destinations in the Americas. But if you have miles in its frequent flyer program, ConnectMiles, you can redeem them for flights anywhere in the world.

The ConnectMiles program has some of the most liberal routing rules in the world. There are no expressed routing restrictions, and you can have one free stopover and up to two open jaws on a round trip ticket. That means you can see more places for the same ticket price.

United is a member of the Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world. That means members of United’s frequent flyer program, MileagePlus, can earn and redeem miles not only on United flights, but also on more than two dozen other Star Alliance member airlines.

Why it's worth shopping around

United doesn’t add “fuel surcharges” (sometimes called “carrier-imposed surcharges”) to award ticket prices, no matter whether you redeem your miles for flights on United or its partner airlines.

There is no uniformity among the 1,300-plus Priority Pass airport lounges. Some are quite basic, while others can stand their ground against the most luxurious airlines’ first class lounges. If you’re a Priority Pass member headed to or through Southeast Asia, it’s good to know which lounges are worth your valuable pre-departure time. To help you choose, here are our picks for the top 10 Priority Pass lounges in Southeast Asia.

Upon entering Yankicha Island’s Crater Bay by Zodiac while on a Russian Far East cruise, you encounter a peaceful and ethereal land. Birds fly overhead and mischievous arctic foxes roam lush, emerald-hued slopes—the remnants of a devastating volcanic explosion that occurred about 10,000 years ago.

If you climb these hills, the view of Yankicha’s caldera and the inner isles that stick out of the bay becomes more stunning as you ascend. The waves that crash off the rugged Yankicha coastline con...

The Peranakan community is a remarkable and prosperous force in Singapore, faithful to the Old World’s colourful traditions and legendary culture, yet driving the future of the ultra-modern Asian city-state.
There are no ethnic connotations, although most Peranakans in Singapore are descendants of Chinese traders. Peranakan simply means “locally born” in Malay and reflects an era hundreds of years ago when traders settled down in Southeast Asia by starting families with local women.