Hello from the U.K.!

I hopped the pond last night and landed just after 6 a.m. at my least favorite European airport.

I'm braving Heathrow for your benefit. I'm writing today's edition from my first-ever airshow, where I just checked out United's newest jet.

I have another 48 hours here before I’m off for another run-in with EES. Can’t wait to share that update soon.

In the meantime, here's everything you need to know, including a rare mistake story from yours truly.

Advertiser and Editorial Disclosure

I just toured United’s newest and most unique jet yet — and you’ll probably be surprised to see what’s waiting inside.

This is United’s first Airbus A321XLR (extra-long-range), of which the carrier has 50 on order.

The single-aisle jet is designed to fly medium- to long-haul missions across Europe, South America, and beyond.

The 150-seat plane features five different onboard experiences (talk about premiumification):

This is only the tip of the iceberg. I promise you’ll want to take a peek inside.

In case you missed it, I recently did something rare — I opened a new credit card. And I did it in the nick of time because this offer is officially ending soon.

Why? Three reasons.

My card just arrived, and I've already hit the minimum spend — meaning I'm days away from 100,000 Chase points posting to my account.

That's enough for nearly four long-haul business-class tickets, or nearly a week at some five-star hotels.

(Note that if you apply via my affiliate link, I’ll earn a small commission that helps keep my content free. Thanks in advance!)

On my way to London, I flew a new business-class product — for cheap.

That was American’s new Flagship Suites onboard the extra-premium Boeing 787-9P.

I haven't been on this jet since its inaugural flight to Los Angeles, but I was impressed by how much more modern the seat feels compared to the old products it replaces.

I can't tell you a thing about the food, service, or tech, because, despite the 6 p.m. departure time, I passed out from takeoff until touchdown.

Frankly, that's the single best strategy for beating jetlag and tackling a short red-eye.

But you might be wondering how I pulled this off for $395.

First, I set an ExpertFlyer alert for upgrade space. A few days before departure, I got a notification that American released three award/upgrade seats.

I quickly booked the one-way economy fare for $395 and then applied a systemwide upgrade. (Here’s how to earn those.)

Even without a systemwide upgrade, once the airline released award space, I had two other solid backup booking options:

I’ve already shared why I love the Atmos program, but those mileage rates are one of them.

Stay tuned for how I’m getting home from Europe in business class for 45,000 points, too. (No, it’s not with American.)

Even self-professed travel experts screw up sometimes.

I booked my trip to Europe a few days before departure, and I only booked my hotel the night before I arrived.

Because the Farnborough airshow is basically in the middle of nowhere, there aren't many nearby hotel options. Most attendees stay in central London and take the 1+ hour train to and from Farnborough each day.

I wanted to stay in Farnborough and had a feeling some type of last-minute availability would drop. It did.

The Holiday Inn Farnborough, an IHG property, had one room open when I'd be in town. The problem? They wanted $1,302 a night. For a Holiday Inn!

I looked at the points option and found the room available for 120,000 points, a relative steal given the paid rates.

Problem is, my account balance was only 26,000 points.

The app offered me a cash + points rate of 20,000 points + $599, which represents a phenomenal value for IHG points (over 3.5 cents each).

I quickly booked it, only to realize I massively screwed up.

When IHG processes a cash + points booking, it charges you for however many points you're missing at a fixed 0.6 cents/point rate.

The annoying parts:

So not only did I overpay, but now I'm stuck with an orphaned 6,000 IHG points that I have no idea when I'll use.

There are just a few days left of July, which means that I owe you an update on my July edit — my monthly curated collection of travel- and vacation-ready outfits and gear.

My wife decided to sit this month out, so I turned to one of our close friends instead for the ladies' picks. She might not read this newsletter, but judging by the number of replies I get from her dad, I know he does.

Women

Men

Travel tech and gear

This morning, I was able to check in to my (overpriced) Holiday Inn at 8:25 a.m.

Why? Because I picked up the phone and called.

I always recommend emailing or calling your hotel directly when you have special requests. You never know the answer until you ask, and the front desk is far more empowered than the general reservation line, especially within a few days of arrival.

Pro tip: always find something to celebrate. You never know what might be waiting for you in the room.

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From the Tray Table is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. This compensation may impact how and where links appear. Not all financial companies or all available offers are included. The opinions expressed are mine alone. Content is not reviewed or endorsed by any entity.