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A couple weeks ago I booked a cheap one way flight from England to Paris on Flybe ( Virgin Atlantic is acquiring them btw ). All in, it was a $60 one way flight which promised a carry on bag and a personal item. “Promised” is the key word here, and was seemingly too good to be true. As most things in life…
The airline provides measurements for what is permissible to carry on (55x35x20 cm). As a Christmas gift, I’d just received a Rimowa Original Plus, which is slightly larger than some airlines allow, but I hadn’t had any issues flying on Alitalia or BA, and instead of paying to check the bag ahead of time, I’d wing it.
In addition to that my girlfriend was traveling with a slightly smaller Hartmann herringbone – both were far, far too big to carry on the plane. If you’re an international traveler, I can’t imagine you regularly travel with a carry on that would fit inside the restriction container…my backpack barely fit.
Flybe’s carry-on baggage restrictions ( 55x35x20 cm) are strictly enforced, and you will be required to place the item inside a metal restriction container prior to check-in, and if you make it gateside, and get caught, you could be required to pay 50 pounds vs the 40 at the check in desk. Honestly…I wish we’d just done it at the gate – it seemed they weren’t enforcing it as severely there as at check-in. A man managed to bring on a duffel bag significantly larger than either of ours. Judging by an article in the inflight magazine it sounds as if this is something they are progressively cracking down on, but to me, I’d have paid 10 pounds more to have the chance at avoiding the 40 pound fee we ultimately paid at checkin. To each their own.
Once on board you won’t get any free drinks so I’d strongly suggest buying a bottle of water, taking one from the lounge, etc if you plan on drinking anything onboard. In fact…the drinks provided were quite small. Here’s a look at the diet coke I bought in flight.
Here’s a look at the full menu if you’re interested…
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- Review: Park Hyatt Vienna
- Review: Air Lounge Vienna Airport
- Review: British Airways Business Class Vienna to London
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- Tips before flying Flybe
- Review: Intercontinental Le Grand Paris
- Review: Air France Business Class Lounge CDG
- Review: Air France Business Class 777-300ER Paris to Washington D.C.
- How I utilized the transfer desk to make a tight international connection
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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