Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for September 2019.

Barclays Eliminating Travel Protections and Other Benefits From Several Cards

by Gary Leff on September 25, 2019

steward on plane

Sep 25 2019

When Citi eliminated ancillary benefits like trip delay from their cards, including their American AAdvantage cards, several readers picked up the Barclays-issued American AAdvantage card to still earn American Airlines miles while also being able to take advantage of trip delay coverage. That turns out not to have been a good strategy.

Right after American Express announced the introduction of trip delay and cancellation benefits for some of its premium cards, I’ve learned that Barclays is eliminating trip delay and other benefits from its Aviator AAdvantage card – and similar benefits from other cards too.

Class Action Filed Against Marriott Over Resort Fees

by Gary Leff on September 24, 2019

Sep 24 2019

The lead plaintiff has stayed at over 45 Marriott properties and contends resort fees are ‘drip pricing’. He claims not to have realized resort fees applied for some of his stays when he made his booking, because those fees are obscured (under “taxes and fees”).

What we can hope to gain from this and the state investigations of resort fees is a change in industry practice where mandatory charges are included in the room rate so that consumers can compare pricing.

One Hotel Employee Worked 32 Straight Hours Taking Care of Guests During Tropical Storm Imelda

by Gary Leff on September 24, 2019

Sep 24 2019

t’s the things that people do for each other when disaster hits that’s most meaningful, and in the moment, long before government programs decamp. It’s people like Satchel Smith, who works at the Homewood Suites in Beaumont, Texas, who make a real difference in people’s lives.

American Airlines Will “Absolutely” Fly to India, and Announce New South Pacific Flights Next Month

by Gary Leff on September 24, 2019

arch like building

Sep 24 2019

Based on comments by American Airlines top executives at an employee meeting last week, the airline is working on a Tokyo Haneda shuttle schedule at LAX. They’re preparing to send Boeing 787s into the Pacific. And they’re looking forward to new Boeing 787 aircraft deliveries that they intend to fly 7000 miles – to places like India and Africa.

As Delta Makes Austin a Focus City, American Airlines Talks About Its Future There

by Gary Leff on September 24, 2019

Sep 24 2019

Austin has been one of the fastest growing airports in the country in recent years. This year they increased the number of available gates at the airport by 37%. While the amount of long haul international flying is limited, there’s London service from British Airways and Norwegian and Lufthansa started flying to Frankfurt back in May.

Delta has named Austin a focus city. While the largest airlines at Austin, in order, are Southwest, American, United and then Delta the addition of new gates will allow Delta to grow – and the gap between the three large U.S. legacy airlines isn’t that large to begin with.

United is Introducing a New Confirmed Upgrade Program December 4th

by Gary Leff on September 24, 2019

Sep 24 2019

United shared this morning that they’re revamping their confirmed regional and global upgrade certificates that Platinum elites and higher are able to take advantage of effective December 4. They’re introducing a new upgrade points system to replace certificates called PlusPoints, and existing banked certificates will convert to PlusPoints at that time.

I received a briefing on the changes from Luc Bondar, United’s Vice President of Loyalty who is in charge of MileagePlus. Here’s how upgrades are changing.

One Blogger Just Finished Visiting Every Country in the World – By Using Miles

by Gary Leff on September 24, 2019

bbq euipment

Sep 24 2019

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.

American Airlines Has No Interest in 100 Seat Aircraft, Plans to Buy More Used A319s Instead

by Gary Leff on September 23, 2019

american plane in hangar

Sep 23 2019

The Airbus A220 has been a popular aircraft. Delta was able to buy a large number of them cheap before Airbus took over sales of the program from Bombardier. It has a low cost of operations and can fly surprisingly long distances. The wide fuselage makes it a passenger favorite for comfort because each seat gets extra width.

American Airlines doesn’t have an interest in the A220. Instead, American plans to pick up more Airbus A319s on the used market super cheap – a cost driven down, in part, by the growing popularity of the A220.

This Week American Airlines is Testing a New Signature Cocktail

by Gary Leff on September 23, 2019

Sep 23 2019

Monday through Friday of this week American Airlines will be testing a new signature cocktail for premium cabins. There are two different beverages they’re trying out and are soliciting customer feedback.

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker: His Boeing 737 MAXs Are Safe Today – Other Airlines’ May Not Be

by Gary Leff on September 23, 2019

inside plane

Sep 23 2019

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker says that the plane is safe to fly today – with American’s 737 MAX and using American’s pilots – suggesting that the delay in bringing the plane back into service is so that it’ll be safe even when operated by other airlines.

He dishes on how they’re scheduling the plane’s return to service, and whether or not delays have been the result of politics.

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 »