Monthly Archives for May 2019.
When Marriott acquired Starwood hotels they beat out Hyatt, which may have offered a more financially attractive package but whose complicated stock structure (the Pritzker family has outsized voting rights) created complications, and Chinese conglomerate Anbang Insurance.
Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott, says he was surprised that they won the bidding and were able to make the deal.
Good availability in business class to Asia from 75,000 miles one way without significant add-on fees is worth paying attention to. There are worthwhile Star Alliance (Europe and Mideast especially) and round-the-world awards, too.
Business class fares are available from several US cities – including New York, DC, and Los Angeles – to Moscow from $1650 roundtrip.
Maybe you weren’t satisfied with the Mueller report and want to conduct your own on-the-ground investigation. Or you’ve always wanted to trace your family’s roots back to the Tsar. Either way this is one of the best sale fares I’ve seen to Russia.
Recently Delta started adding surcharges to Virgin Atlantic awards in premium economy. Delta has acknowledged this was a mistake. They’ve fixed it — stopped charging miscellaneous surcharges on Virgin Atlantic premium economy awards departing the U.S. — and they’re refunding SkyMiles members that already paid it.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
ANA has offered the best award availability during winter. Tokyo Narita is a great place to connect onward in Asia, but winter time is low season for Japan travel. As a result they’ve tended to make first class awards available January through March.
Southwest Airlines flight WN478 from Sacramento to Los Angeles last Wednesday was in the midst of a three and a half hour delay. First a maintenance light forced the aircraft to return to the gate, and later the airline determined they needed to refuel the aircraft.
Flight attendants passed out water to passengers. A passenger “said something [like], ‘They should be passing out vodka because we’ve been waiting so long.'” And that led to an even further delay.
Hundreds of TSA staff are being redeployed to work the US border with Mexico. Six unnamed airports will bear the brunt of the staff shortage.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
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 »
