American Airlines now lets customers choose a cash refund during the cancellation flow for refundable tickets, instead of canceling first and requesting money back separately. But the airline still pitches instant travel credits, which can expire, as the faster option.
A family says American Airlines forced them to buy a $793 walk-up ticket after their child turned two during the trip. The rule is real: once a child reaches their second birthday, they legally need their own seat. But there’s nuance to this!
American Airlines told a passenger who paid more than $1,600 for first class that his tray table was inoperative — and that his alternative was to sit in the back. That leads this morning’s roundup, along with a first-of-its-kind border search prosecution, Hyatt suite upgrade exclusions, an Austin airport lounge mold closure, and more.
A doctor headed to Kansas said she didn’t realize she had taken two pieces of Kate Spade jewelry at DFW. Bodycam shows police finding the matching-tag merchandise deep inside her bags—and telling her she was going to jail.
Hotel chains often pay rebates through shopping portals even when you still book direct, keep elite benefits, and earn hotel points. Current offers show up to 12% back on some stays, making it worth checking a portal before going straight to Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, or Expedia.
United cardmembers are seeing unusually good Polaris business class award space between Newark and Los Angeles or San Francisco for just 27,000 miles. These premium cross-country awards can include Polaris Lounge access before departure and on arrival, making the deal much better than the mileage price alone suggests.
Guests pay luxury-resort prices at Hotel del Coronado while unsafe ocean water and sewage-tainted air expose the scale of San Diego’s border crisis.
A traveling ER nurse headed for the pool at a West Virginia Hampton Inn and found thigh-high floodwater in the lobby, with his car swept across the lot.
Boeing wired $7.5 million for Lion Air 737 MAX families. More than $3 million vanished into Girardi Keese’s Ponzi scheme. Now an associate asks for probation.
A startup says it pitched Emirates on a passenger meal-preorder platform, shared confidential implementation details, and then watched the airline launch its own business class preorder system. A new lawsuit claims Emirates stole the technology.
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 »
