About AnythingButCoach

About the site and me

AnythingButCoach (‘ABC’) has been set up to provide reviews of premium economy, business and first class travel on tickets paid for with both cash and miles. In addition to those there will be lounge, hotel, destination and experience reviews.

As well as the travel related reviews there will be reviews of the most popular credit cards and air mile programs interspersed with other travel related articles.

Please enjoy and feel free to leave me comments to help improve the experience.

I was born and raised in England and moved to the US, immediately after getting married, in 1994. I’ve been in the Dallas area ever since. I stumbled into the points and miles world in 2014 when I decided to go for lifetime Platinum in the American Airline AAdvantage program. Up until then, I used my AA branded Citibank credit card for everything and never considered that credit cards could be used as a tool and provide valuable travel perks. That was the first year I made Executive Platinum with American Airlines and I have requalified every year since. The difference between then and now was back then I spent the first couple of years mostly doing mileage runs on American in coach. Then I discovered the benefit of flying on partner airlines and looking for cheap business class fares originating from places like Cairo and Colombo.

I recently retired from my corporate career and decided that I wanted to share my experiences and provide reviews for flights, hotels and destinations. While flying in first and business is certainly the most comfortable way to travel, it’s not affordable for everyone, however it’s being paid for. That’s why I fly quite a bit in premium economy and will review as many of those products as I can as well as business and first class. With premium economy you’ll pretty much always be getting more legroom and a wider seat with better recline than those in coach. After that the experience can differ greatly. Some airlines give you the same food that is served in business, although usually on a single tray, while others give you the same meals that are served in coach. Then there are those little differentiators like the amenities provided, the toilets you have access to and even lounge access. I’m also doing this as a way to make myself fly airlines other than just American and their One World partners. And maybe I’ll be responsible for getting some more people interested in this hobby of mine.

Martyn Nightingale