News and notes from around the interweb:
- The worst American Airlines flight attendant ever was working Los Angeles to Dallas on Christmas Eve…
- Ctrip, China’s biggest online travel booking site, has had problems with agents not issuing tickets, and instead using brokered miles to redeem for flights. One passenger was denied boarding when the airline figured it out, so Ctrip rebooked them. Using brokered miles again, and they were denied boarding again. This is apparently not an isolated occurrence. 9 Chinese airlines have stopped working with the second largest online agency in the country over similar scams.
- More than 7.5 million rupees worth of gold was found behind a pipe beneath a seat on an Air India flight from Dubai to Shamshabad, India. This is the fifth such incident in the past six weeks on this route. (HT: Alan H.)
Gold smuggling into India and Bangladesh has been increasingly common in recent years. Apparently demand for gold in India is among the highest in the world, and there have been government controls and taxes in place that make the practice highly lucrative.
- Barclaycard has released a new gold plated credit card with a $995 annual fee.
- JetBlue elites can now use points to upgrade to extra legroom seats. Most airlines let their elites have these seats free, but the redemption rates here are pretty good and it’s a real improvement to the program.
- Trio of Club Carlson Bonuses offering up to 20,000 Bonus Gold Points & Silver Elite Status
Wow Ctrip is huge. I used them once for a hotel booking deal and it was kinda a hassle if I remember.
In regards to the worst flight attendant, THIS and the fact that AA has completely devalued their FF program into near non-existence is the REASON WHY I have started investing in Delta/United/Alaska FF programs. I used to put up with AA’s poor service (even on first!) and shoddy planes because of the deals I would get being a FF.
Is there a site which tracks your miles and keeps record of all cards one has
Thx
Yes, Reva, my favorite is called awardwallet.com . Another is points.com .
@Reva – awardwallet.com for miles and try mint.com for all your cards and balances. Hope it helps!