Southwest’s Companion Pass is still the best domestic perk: your companion flies for just taxes (from $5.60 each way), even on award tickets, as long as there’s an open seat. Last week my family used two passes on one trip. And right now you can get Companion Pass through Feb. 2027 via a credit card initial bonus.
The people killed in the Boeing 737 MAX crashes were the real victims. But after years of litigation, one of the strongest cases still moving forward is a shareholder fraud suit — raising the uncomfortable possibility that the biggest courtroom payday from the disaster could go not to passengers or their families, but to investors who say Boeing misled the market.
American Airlines has opened one of the best systemwide upgrade opportunities it has offered in years: buy premium economy, request the upgrade by Wednesday night, and business class can clear as long as a seat is still for sale. That makes this promotion unusually broad and unusually valuable, because it bypasses the normal scarcity of upgrade inventory and turns a hard-to-use benefit into confirmed long-haul business class for August travel.
TSA staffing is breaking down at some of the country’s biggest airports, with callouts reportedly topping 50% in at least one location and surging well above normal nationwide during the DHS shutdown. For travelers, that means brutal security lines and real risk of missed flights — but there are still a handful of ways to beat the worst of the chaos, from PreCheck and CLEAR to priority lanes, touchless screening, and knowing which shortcuts still work.
Paying thousands of dollars a year in credit card annual fees sounds irrational. But by stacking the right premium cards — and actually using the benefits — it’s possible to come out far ahead.
Capital One has built its travel app to make the things cardholders actually care about easier to handle in one place: lounge access, rebooking, flight updates, and using points at checkout. The changes will not turn every traveler into a portal loyalist, but they do make the app much more useful for people already booking through Capital One Travel or trying to navigate delays and crowded lounges on the road.
The new Bilt Palladium Card earns more valuable points faster than any other card I carry, and for everyday spend it is not even a close call. That is exactly why its messy rollout and a handful of frustrating design choices matter so much: this could be the best spend card on the market by far, and Bilt still managed to get several important pieces wrong.
Chase has a huge bonus on the IHG One Rewards Premier Card: 175,000 points after $5,000 in spend in three months. The $99 card is also a long-term keeper thanks to the annual free night (with top-off), 4th night free on award stays and Platinum status.
The FAA has now stepped in to stop the summer flight buildup at Chicago O’Hare, proposing a cap of 2,608 daily operations after airlines had scheduled roughly 3,038. Because United was trying to grow far more aggressively than American, a government freeze near 2025 levels would hit United hardest and effectively stop the carrier’s bid to overwhelm its rival in Chicago.
Austin may finally be on the verge of landing its first nonstop flight to Asia, with Delta, Korean Air, and Samsung reportedly discussing service to Seoul. Also, newly released Delta deportation footage, Spirit’s branding problem, Lufthansa’s basic business fares.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
