Delta's Basic BS First Class, a Headrest That Saves Economy & New Partnerships Galore!
• Get a $200 gift card after your first payment of $500 with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio/
• Get 3 free months of Audible - https://milestomemories.com/audible-subscription-offer-2/ A huge week of travel news, so we ran through the partnerships and new seat products that actually matter. Delta launched a basic first class following United, stripping out seat selection, upgrades, and same day changes while almost certainly charging you the same, and we explain why it is just a way to make you pay more for what you already got. The good news is United is putting a blocked empty middle seat with its own tray on its A321XLRs, a European style setup that saves them a flight attendant and that we would happily book over regular first, and Emirates is rolling out a folding UDream headrest that could finally make sleeping in economy possible. We also cover the partnership madlibs of the week, Hilton with Explora cruises, Japan Airlines with Marriott Bonvoy, and Air Canada Aeroplan with World of Hyatt, and what each is actually worth. We close with a genuinely useful one, Wyndham doubling its Caesars transfer limit to 60,000 points through September 11th, which is a great way to rescue points before Wyndham's brutal four year expiration hits. Let us know in the comments if a better headrest would get you to fly economy.
Episode Guide:
• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 1:10 Hilton x Explora Cruises
• 4:35 Delta's New Basic First Class
• 6:47 United's Genius Empty Middle Seat
• 11:02 The Emirates Headrest That Fixes Economy
• 15:14 Japan Airlines x Marriott Bonvoy
• 17:00 Why Economy Is the Real Sweet Spot
• 20:42 Air Canada Aeroplan x World of Hyatt
• 23:45 Wyndham Doubles the Caesars Transfer
• 26:30 Final Thoughts Links
• Wyndham expiration - https://travelwithgrant.boardingarea.com/2026/06/25/how-to-find-out-when-all-of-your-wyndham-rewards-points-expire/
• Hilton cruises - https://milestomemories.com/hilton-honors-launches-explora-journeys-partnership/
• United's blocked middle - https://www.united.com/en/us/newsroom/announcements/cision-125474
• Emirates headrest - https://onemileatatime.com/news/emirates-u-dream-headrest-economy/
• JAL/Marriott - https://milestomemories.com/marriott-bonvoy-japan-airlines-partnership/
• Hyatt/Aeroplan - https://milestomemories.com/world-of-hyatt-and-air-canada-aeroplan-launch-new-partnership/ ✈️ Track your travel credit cards for free
📧 Free newsletter
💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members)
🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community
🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo)
🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
📖 Miles to Memories website
• Get 3 free months of Audible - https://milestomemories.com/audible-subscription-offer-2/ A huge week of travel news, so we ran through the partnerships and new seat products that actually matter. Delta launched a basic first class following United, stripping out seat selection, upgrades, and same day changes while almost certainly charging you the same, and we explain why it is just a way to make you pay more for what you already got. The good news is United is putting a blocked empty middle seat with its own tray on its A321XLRs, a European style setup that saves them a flight attendant and that we would happily book over regular first, and Emirates is rolling out a folding UDream headrest that could finally make sleeping in economy possible. We also cover the partnership madlibs of the week, Hilton with Explora cruises, Japan Airlines with Marriott Bonvoy, and Air Canada Aeroplan with World of Hyatt, and what each is actually worth. We close with a genuinely useful one, Wyndham doubling its Caesars transfer limit to 60,000 points through September 11th, which is a great way to rescue points before Wyndham's brutal four year expiration hits. Let us know in the comments if a better headrest would get you to fly economy.
Episode Guide:
• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 1:10 Hilton x Explora Cruises
• 4:35 Delta's New Basic First Class
• 6:47 United's Genius Empty Middle Seat
• 11:02 The Emirates Headrest That Fixes Economy
• 15:14 Japan Airlines x Marriott Bonvoy
• 17:00 Why Economy Is the Real Sweet Spot
• 20:42 Air Canada Aeroplan x World of Hyatt
• 23:45 Wyndham Doubles the Caesars Transfer
• 26:30 Final Thoughts Links
• Wyndham expiration - https://travelwithgrant.boardingarea.com/2026/06/25/how-to-find-out-when-all-of-your-wyndham-rewards-points-expire/
• Hilton cruises - https://milestomemories.com/hilton-honors-launches-explora-journeys-partnership/
• United's blocked middle - https://www.united.com/en/us/newsroom/announcements/cision-125474
• Emirates headrest - https://onemileatatime.com/news/emirates-u-dream-headrest-economy/
• JAL/Marriott - https://milestomemories.com/marriott-bonvoy-japan-airlines-partnership/
• Hyatt/Aeroplan - https://milestomemories.com/world-of-hyatt-and-air-canada-aeroplan-launch-new-partnership/ ✈️ Track your travel credit cards for free
📧 Free newsletter
💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members)
🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community
🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo)
🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
📖 Miles to Memories website