Hyatt says more loyalty changes are coming after its points devaluation, with elite benefits under review and a premium credit card expected next. The program is still stronger than competitors on award transparency and Globalist perks, but a new interview plus surveyed changes suggest both new opportunities and possible cost-cutting.
Banks offer huge credit card bonuses to get customers to apply, start spending, and see rewards value quickly. Consumers come out ahead by prioritizing initial bonuses first, then category bonuses, and finally everyday earning on cards worth keeping.
Cincinnati was doomed as a hub whether Delta and Northwest merged or not. It lacked sufficient lucrative high yield local traffic. It supported mostly high seat cost regional jets, and the hub was in decline for three years before the merger as oil prices rose. But all wasn’t lost, and the airport was reborn with a new mission.
American Airlines offered $4,000 travel vouchers for volunteers on an overbooked Philadelphia–Athens flight, an unusually high bid for a carrier that often caps offers much lower.
American Airlines now accepts Venmo, adds FOX One streaming passes for AAdvantage members, and will stop charging stranded passengers to recheck bags after overnight disruptions. Also: Spirit’s costly campus, United Flight 93’s passenger vote, and a flight delayed by bees on the wing.
Chase Sapphire Reserve’s 150,000-point initial bonus ends June 15, with strong travel and dining earning, Sapphire Lounge access, and credits that can outweigh the fee.
British Airways is fighting a U.K. tax demand over London hotel rooms provided to flight attendants between back-to-back trips. The dispute turns on whether the rooms were necessary operational rest or taxable lodging near the crew’s normal base. The U.K. governmnet argues flight attendants should have just gone home.
CrowdStrike’s botched software update helped trigger one of the biggest airline meltdowns in years, stranding passengers and costing Delta alone more than $500 million. Now those passengers are being told they may not be able to sue a software company because of the Airline Deregulation Act.
United Airlines confirms its new Airbus A321XLRs will use blocked middle seats in coach so the planes can fly with fewer Flight Attendants. The move copies European-style business class seating and could turn two otherwise unusable middle seats into a paid extra space product.
Crowded airport lounges are looking less premium as passengers leave behind dirty tables, used plates, and even bare feet on furniture.
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 »
