Hello from my literal tray table. (On brand, I'd say.)

It's June, and it's another busy week in travel.

I wrapped up my Sicily trip this weekend — with a few twists at the end. And I'm on the road again today, headed to a city and airport I've never visited.

Hot off the presses: the best-ever 150,000-point public welcome bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is officially ending soon.

This isn't the edition to skim.

Advertiser and Editorial Disclosure

Most people don't realize you can pool your Chase points with another member of your household.

That means you and a partner can each grab a Chase card, earn the welcome bonus on both, and stack the points in one place.

Case in point: the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is offering its best-ever public welcome offer — earn 150,000 bonus points after $6,000 in purchases in the first three months.

I know plenty of couples (including this one!) who doubled up and now have 300,000 Chase points — enough for multiple business-class tickets. Or, in dollar terms, at least $6,000 towards travel.

This offer is officially ending soon, so here's my referral link and my review of the offer if you're thinking about it.

Questions? As always, hit reply.

Summer's practically here. New months usually bring fresh transfer bonuses, and today delivered two new ones.

Bilt is also running a 24-hour transfer bonus of up to 125% to TAP Air Portugal as part of its monthly Rent Day.

It's not the best Bilt promo ever, so I'm skipping it.

On the way to Italy, I flew Emirates first class. (No, not via Dubai — this is what's called a fifth-freedom route.)

Emirates first is a ton of fun, and this flight didn't disappoint. Lots of you asked how I snagged my seat.

These days, first-class award redemptions are off-limits to anyone without Emirates elite status. So how'd I do it?

I booked a business saver award directly with Emirates, then upgraded to first at the airport. It's the single best way to fly Emirates first right now.

Every unsold seat is generally available for upgrade at the airport, and you can upgrade with cash or points.

You can even process an upgrade onboard if someone no-shows.

I'd waitlisted my upgrade right after buying the ticket, but it only cleared at the gate.

Here's how it broke down:

First class isn't out of reach.

Remember the White Lotus hotel in Sicily?

I'd really wanted to stay there this trip. (It’s San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel.)

So did plenty of other people — it was full when we were booking. (We did have a phenomenal dinner there. The property is stunning.)

So I found what might be the best points deal in Sicily instead: the Grand Hotel San Pietro, a five-star property a few minutes' walk from the main town of Taormina.

Nightly rates start around $1,500, but the points play is strong.

The hotel participates in I Prefer (a loyalty program I'd never used before this trip). You can transfer Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou points to I Prefer at a 1:2 ratio. (Sadly, Citi recently halved the redemption value.)

Free nights start at 150,000 points.

With the current 30% transfer bonus from Citi, that worked out to roughly 57,000 Citi points a night.

It's a lot of points, but still a great redemption. And the hotel was beautiful — not as luxe as the Four Seasons, but I'd highly recommend it.

I left Sicily with an iPhone note full of recommendations.

So I compiled them all into a handy guide. This is one to bookmark for your own White Lotus trip.

It’s been a busy few days for airline network planners.

American’s 7 suspensions

American is suspending seven domestic routes for August and September. Here’s the list I found.

Delta’s new LA route

Delta will add twice-daily service from Los Angeles to Vancouver starting on Nov. 21.

Air Canada, American, Flair, United, and WestJet already operate this route, so we’ll see how Delta fares.

United’s 4 exciting new routes

United will add four new routes, two of which are international service, starting in August.

Two of them even represent new destinations for the airline.

Here’s the full list. I’m especially intrigued by the new transcon.

Southern Italy isn't the most fun place to drive (or rent) a car.

The local rental companies seem to love charging for even the most minor damage. And the driving itself isn't for the faint of heart.

We were doing great until my friend didn't see a pole on our last day. This was the condition of the car when we returned it.

The good news: I paid for the rental with my Chase Sapphire Reserve®, so now begins the process of trying to get reimbursed for the $1,700 damage charge.

I'll report back on how it unfolds.

The biggest travel scam is, hands down, dynamic currency conversion (DCC).

That's when the card terminal offers you a choice: pay in local currency or USD.

Always choose local currency. If you don't, expect a 3% service fee and a worse exchange rate.

All of my top-recommended cards have zero foreign transaction fees. Make sure you're using one abroad.

Using these links is the easiest way to support FTTT — and I only recommend what I actually use.

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