Miami International Airport

Three travel tidbits

Loyalty programs, , ,

Miami International Airport’s MIA Galleries and the Deering Estate’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program have joined forces to host The Deering Estate AT MIA: AIR Archive at the airport.

This is a screening of four short films highlighting past and present Deering Estate AIRs John William Bailly, Andrés Cabrera-García, Giannina Dwin, and Tony Fernandez. The films, produced by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Jorge Gonzalez Graupera, are being screened until January 2026 at the airport’s MIAmi (moving images) video wall near gate J7. 

(images courtesy MIA airport)

Airline loyalty programs ranked

The world of gathering airline loyalty points – and spending them wisely – is complicated and potentially rewarding, If you pick your programs wisely and do it right.

This new ranking of airline loyalty programs from point.me may help. The site ran the numbers and identified the best programs against eight categories, including ease of earning points (even without being a frequent traveler), ease of redemption, redemption rates, award availability, customer service, and policies around award holds, changes, and cancellations.

You can geek out for hours with the World’s Best Airline Rewards Programs 2025 report, but in the meantime, here’s their report’s list of Top 10 Airline Reward Programs Globally.

TSA’s big teddy bear advice

Airport amenity of the week? MIA memory lane

Art,

A temporary art mural at Miami International Airport (MIA) offers a trip through time.

The mural is a collection of images and video content spanning from the 1920s to the present and includes home movies, travelogues, promotional films and news footage documenting growth and events that changed South Florida.

Images include photographs of the original Miami Daily News building (now Freedom Tower) and Flagler Railroad construction to more recent images of the Miami Marlins’ first World Series run and the Miami Grand Prix.

Local influential figures, historical personalities, and key events that have shaped Miami-Dade County and the state over the last century are also featured.

The images and videos are from the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives, a collection of film and video related to Florida, with a particular emphasis on television news and home movies from the twentieth century.

The exhibition, Wolfson Archives: Celebrating 40 Years of Collecting, Preserving, and Sharing South Florida’s Visual History is on view at Miami International Airport until September 2025 at the Concourse E arrivals level near Door 11, pre-security. 

All Images Courtesy of The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives & Miami International Airport.

Travel tidbits to kick off another wacky week

Airports, , ,

JetBlue plans a makeover for T5 at JFK

JetBlue opened its flagship Terminal 5 (T5) at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in 2008 with a bevy of cool amenities and lots of hip design features. The facilities expanded in 2014 and an outdoor deck with a pet relief area for dogs (the “Wooftop”) was introduced in 2015.

The facility now serves 165 JetBlue flights and more than 35,000 customers per day.

So it’s time for a makeover.

JetBlues newly announced plans include adding more than 40 new concessions along with new amenities, including art installations, a permanent art collection and a redesigned center concourse that will take inspiration from New York’s iconic parks, with greenery, park benches and concrete chess tables. There will also be a spot for pop-ups, interactive events and live performances.

The first new concessions are expected to open throughout 2025, with the terminal improvements completed by the end of 2026.

The new offerings and brands include local and national favorites, including Eataly, The Halal Guys, Shake Shack, Jacob’s Pickles, Tiki Chick, Serafina, Benetari’s, Gotham Burger, Birch Coffee, Nom Wah, Devoción, Mister Paradise, the Blind Barber, Leon’s Bagels, DiFara Pizza, Neir’s Tavern and more.

We can’t wait!!!

Private suites coming to MIA Airport


And it looks like the promised private luxury terminal at Miami International Airport is getting closer to reality. PS already operates at LAX and ATL, and the last we heard the MIA venue was supposed to open sometime in 2025.

Airport art & amenities to look for during Thanksgiving travel

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Exhibition celebrating public art at Miami Int’l Airport

From now until July 2025, Miami International Airport (MIA) is celebrating local public art with a photography exhibition in the Gate D31 Gallery.

Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places: Celebrating 50 Years features 23 images of large-scale, integrated art commissions located countywide, from MIA to PortMiami, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and several private-public partnerships on county land.

Santa’s mailbox at Lehigh Valley Int’l Airport

Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) in Allentown, PA has a mailbox set up where kids can drop off letters to Santa.

The mailbox is in the Wilfred M. “Wiley” Post, Jr. Concourse (beyond the TSA Checkpoint) until Tuesday, Dec. 3rd.

Festival of Trees at Charlotte Douglas Int’l Airport

Those 20 decorated trees on the Concourse A Expansion at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) aren’t just pretty. They’re doing some good.

CLT’s Festival of Light features trees decorated in various themes including, “Tis the Season to Travel,” “Christmas Around the World,” “White Christmas,” “Queens Court,” “A Few of Our Favorite Things,” “Construction Fit for a Queen” and “Bon Voyage.”

The tree display is coordinated by HMS Host, CLT’s food and beverage concessionaire and each tree has a QR code that passengers and employees can use to donate to a charitable organization, including Second Harvest, Big Brothers Big Sisters, American Cancer Society, Make-A-Wish and Autism Speaks.

A second QR code lets everyone vote on their favorite tree through Dec. 28. The winning team will receive a trophy.

“Made in Miami” film posters on exhibit at MIA Airport

Art, ,

Love movies?

Then be sure to look for this film-related exhibition the next time you visit Miami International Airport (MIA).

MIA Galleries and Film Miami are presenting a selection of film posters spanning seven decades of motion pictures shot in Miami and surrounding areas.

And Now, Our Feature Presentation (great title for an exhibit about movies, right?) celebrates Miami and the Miami area as both an inspiration for filmmakers and as a popular filming location.

The exhibition is at the Gates D31 Gallery and features 33 Hollywood film posters spanning eight decades of motion pictures shot in Miami-Dade County from 1941 to 2024.

Here’s a flipbook preview of the new exhibition at MIA: And Now Our Feature Presentation: Miami Film Posters, 1941 – 2024.

Check to see if your favorite films or actors are included. You may be surprised.