Destination Detroit: A local’s guide to discovering beauty, history and tasty drinks in the Motor City

This month, Alaska Airlines launched daily nonstop service between Seattle and Detroit. For on-the-ground advice about things to do in Detroit, we turned to resident expert Dan Austin, a journalist at the Detroit Free Press who also runs historicdetroit.org and has written two books about the city’s legendary architecture. “Detroit is a city that is…

Secrets to finding great value in award miles

Anyone who flies should open an account with their airline’s loyalty program; it’s free, and even infrequent travelers might someday accumulate enough credit for an award flight, especially if they take advantage of the many ways to earn miles besides flying, such as staying at hotels, renting cars, using a credit card, or even sending…

The perfect shot: Northwest photographers share their secrets for taking better travel photos

We’ve all been there. You’ve planned every detail: where you’ll stay, where you’ll eat, what you’ll do. Now you want to capture those amazing moments to show friends back home. But once you start uploading pictures to share with friends and family, you realize that the photos fall short of capturing your amazing experience. They…

When do I get my MVP first class upgrade?

It’s a feeling every MVP knows all too well – that sudden leap of joy at the pre-flight email saying you’ve been upgraded. “It means a lot,” says Keith Hamilton, an MVP Gold 75k who flies anywhere from 25 to 30 times per year. He estimates that he gets upgraded on about two out of…