Scotland’s celebrity kilt-maker: The guy who makes man skirts for the cool guys
“How do you become a celebrity kilt maker? The guy who makes man skirts for the cool guys?” Howie Nicholsby, Edinburgh’s kilt maker to the stars, pours me a generous tumbler of whiskey before he answers my question.
From glen to table: Scotland’s hunter-gatherer chef
“Come here girls!!!” I leap out of the pick-up truck parked haphazardly on the side of a too narrow country road and scamper up a muddy bank. “Oh, I wasn’t talking to you,” Tom Lewis tells me. “I was yelling for the pigs. Come on girls. Get your dinner!!” Before I can return to the…
A full-time Loch Ness monster hunter in the Scottish Highlights
The Loch Ness monster hunter is making me a cup of coffee and I just can’t stop thinking about how normal he seems. It was a little over twenty-five years ago that Steve Feltham gave up his house, his girlfriend and his job to move into a camper van at the end of a parking…
Ye will sink! Bothy camping in the Scottish Highlands
Don’t call it hiking. That was the first thing I learned about hiking in the Scottish Highlands. It’s hill walking. Don’t forget it. “Hill walking! It makes more sense, love. It’s just walking in hills. Why do you Americans need another word for it?” a coffee barista in Edinburgh corrected me when I told her…
Limitless: Alaska’s new ad campaign thanks customers, focuses on the benefits of Mileage Plan
Kent Brooten will never forget the moment he hit one million miles on an Alaska Airlines flight. Two and a half years ago, as he was flying from Seattle to Los Angeles after a visit with his fiancé, the pilot came on the intercom with this message “We are 227 south of Seattle. The person…
Customer Q&A on Mileage Plan earn rates change for American Airlines flights
Beginning Aug. 1, 2016, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members will accrue miles at a new rate when they fly on American Airlines flights. As the AAdvantage program shifts to a revenue-based loyalty program, accruals on American for Alaska frequent fliers will change to better match American’s new program. The miles a flier accrues will be…
How to book a stopover on your next award
Would you rather relax on the beach or explore an urban jungle? With stopovers, you can do both on your next award trip. You’re all set to redeem your Mileage Plan miles – but wait! Did you know that Alaska Airlines allows you to include a free stopover on many award tickets? They allow you…
The savage beauty of winter in Iceland
During the deepest darkest parts of winter most people dream of a vacation somewhere warm and tropical. But me, I dream of clear cold days and dark long nights in one of the northernmost countries in the world. I’m not alone either. While Iceland’s high season still centers around its brief summer, more and more…
Strategies for booking international award tickets
If you read Mileage Plan 101 on the basics of booking award travel, then you should know that Alaska Airlines has 16 different partners that can help you get almost anywhere in the world. However, award space can be limited, and the sheer number of possible itineraries on these longer trips can sometimes make it…
Mileage Plan 101: The basics of booking award travel
Earning Mileage Plan miles is as easy as adding your member number to your ticket or when booking with Mileage Plan partners. Redeeming miles is just as easy, but if you’ve never done it before, you might not know where to start. Fortunately Alaska’s easy online search tool can find and book almost any Mileage…
A walk around Suzhou, China’s historic heart
Robert Reid is a travel writer based in Portland, Oregon, whose writings have appeared in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. He’s been the spokesperson for Lonely Planet, appearing on CNN, NBC’s Today Show and NPR to discuss travel trends. He’s currently the Digital Nomad for National Geographic Traveler. “Suzhou is Shanghai’s back…
Alaska will begin offering a more seamless travel experience on American Airlines
The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is expanding its reach with new options to earn and redeem miles on American’s full network, which will include flights that were historically US Airways flights, beginning October 17 – and other enhancements arriving even sooner. These will add value to Alaska’s frequent flyer miles and improve the benefits of…
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