Hello from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport!
Today I’m one of the nearly 300,000 travelers passing through Delta’s mothership.
Last week, I mentioned I was struggling to find a great transcon option out of New York. So I did something more interesting and routed via Atlanta instead.
More on that — and why I'm heading to Los Angeles — in Wednesday's edition
Until then, catch up on the latest below.
📋 In this edition
Why I caved on this 100K-points offer
These days, I rarely open new credit cards. (I already have all of my top recommended ones and then some.)
But I just made an exception — and it’ll easily pay for itself.
I applied for the super rare 100,000-point limited-time welcome offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
I’ll earn 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months.
I decided to pull the trigger for four reasons.
For the first time ever, you can now hold both the Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® at the same time (and combine points).
This is only the third time in history that Chase has offered 100,000 bonus points on the Preferred.
The Preferred card now pays for itself with a slew of new easy-to-use credits.
The earning rates and underrated benefits make it a no-brainer for almost everyone, beginner to expert.
I was approved after three days, and my card just arrived. I'm putting spend on it immediately to hit the bonus.
Your FoundersCard questions, answered
(Full transparency, this is a paid partnership, but it's one I'm happy to vouch for.)
My FoundersCard mentions have generated tons of replies, so let me knock out the most frequently asked questions here.
Is it a credit card?
No, it's a membership, so it doesn't touch your credit or replace any of the cards you already have.
Is it actually worth $595?
That's the list price, but my link gives you a free six-month trial and then offers $200 off the annual membership. The perks tend to pay for themselves pretty quickly.
Is it only travel?
There are plenty of lifestyle perks and discounts on business tools, too.
Will it duplicate benefits I already get with my premium credit card?
It's designed to stack on top of premium cards, not compete with them.
More questions? Hit reply.
Europe's EES mess
I woke up to a text from a friend yesterday: "f*ck Athens Airport. I just waited 1 hour and 10 minutes for immigration."
Before I even replied, I knew what they were complaining about — the new Entry/Exit System (EES) lines.
This was Athens on Sunday 😮
I posted about it on Instagram and got flooded with replies. Athens, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Lisbon have all had long, chaotic EES lines over the past few days.
These reports line up with the line-predictor tool built into my free EES guide. I just pushed some more updates, so click below for the latest.
Why I picked the bulkhead
I have a love-hate relationship with the bulkhead seat.
Last night, I flew from New York to Atlanta. Because I made a last-minute switch, the only aisle seat left was the bulkhead. (I'm not insane, so I didn't take the extra-legroom middle seat a few rows back instead.)
Many travelers avoid the bulkhead because:
Fixed walls cut into your legroom and leave no under-seat storage
Fixed armrests can feel constricting. (I actually think they're a good way to demarcate your space.)
The TVs flip out from the armrest and are often smaller than normal.
The tray tables are usually smaller
Yesterday’s bulkhead
That said, I'd choose it again in a heartbeat. My only real gripe is losing under-seat storage.
But on Delta's Airbus A321, that was a non-issue, and I had a very pleasant flight.
What are you choosing: the bulkhead or a few rows back?
The definitive airport hotel test
If you've ever had to overnight at a major airport, odds are you've been spoiled for choice — even within your preferred loyalty program.
In my mind, however, there are really only three things to consider when choosing an airport hotel.
Is it connected to the terminal?
It’s usually worth the premium if it’s connected, except in Denver, where the Westin is almost always absurdly expensive.
If not, can you walk or use public transit to get to the property?
If I can avoid taking an Uber or hotel shuttle, I’m happy to pay a bit more.
When was the property built or renovated?
A Google search or Claude prompt should yield a quick answer.
With that out of the way, here's my list of top airport hotels across major U.S. airports. Bookmark this one for your next overnight connection.
Big route roundup
It was a busy weekend of airline route updates. Here's the latest.
American
American will launch flights to Naples, Florida, for the first time in 25 years. Twice-daily nonstops from Charlotte to Naples Airport (APF) kick off on Dec. 2
American is also getting closer to retiring the Airbus A321T. (A bittersweet move.)
American A321XLR
The airline will transition its premium transcon route between Boston and Los Angeles to the new Airbus A321XLR as of Sept. 8.
Delta
Delta will add new twice-daily transcon service between Newark and Los Angeles starting on April 12.
The airline will operate its standard domestic Airbus A321neo on this route — meaning that United will offer the only lie-flat seats in this market.
(The timing is no coincidence. Here’s why.)
Elsewhere, Delta will pull out of Williston, North Dakota, and cut service from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Marquette, Michigan. Both markets were supported by minimum revenue guarantees from local airports, but that seemingly wasn’t enough to keep Delta Connection in town.
There were a few other new Delta routes. Here’s the list.
United
United is adding new 4x weekly service to Cartagena, Colombia, from Houston and Washington Dulles on Dec. 17.
I love Cartagena and am shocked it’s taken United’s intrepid network planning team this long to fly there.
The airline will also add Saturday-only flights from Denver to Providenciales, Turks & Caicos on Dec. 19.
Domestically, United’s opening an outstation in Owensboro, Kentucky, thanks to Essential Air Service subsidies. Nonstop flights from Chicago and Washington Dulles start in October.
Other updates
Air Canada is suspending flights to JFK
Breeze is adding 11 new routes, including three all-new destinations
Avelo is adding six new routes
💡 Tray Table Tip: Award price-drop trick
Maybe the best part of redeeming points is that they're far more flexible than cash.
If you need to change or cancel an award trip, it's usually as easy as pressing a few buttons and collecting a full refund. (That's why I always suggest booking backup flights with points.)
It also means you can save on award tickets when prices drop. All the major U.S. airlines and hotels use dynamic award pricing, so prices aren't fixed.
Because they fluctuate so much, I always recommend tracking your award tickets the same way you'd track cash fares.
You can do it manually or use a service like Autopilot or PointsPath. (The former tracks airline and hotel redemptions for Pro members. PointsPath only supports airlines.)
When the price drops, cancel and rebook your award — and enjoy some points back in your account.
🗞️ News you can use
Alaska’s Starlink tracker: The best way to stay productive in the sky is to fly an airline with Starlink Wi-Fi. Alaska is one of the major U.S. carriers installing it, and it just rolled out a handy tracker showing the rollout status. I wish Alaska had broken it down by registration number — but if enough of you reply asking for that, I can code up my own Starlink tracker.
Use your credit card benefits: Tomorrow marks the last day of the second quarter and the first half of the year. If you hold any premium cards, odds are some credits are expiring. Here's a helpful checklist.
🔗 Links to use
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