Monthly Archives for November 2021.
The Art Hotel Denver was a fantastic use of my American Express Platinum credit. Here’s how I ‘made money’ on the stay, and why I wasn’t going to be like most consumers and let credit card benefits and credits go to waste.
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.
The transportation mask mandate runs through January 18, 2022. The timing of the Delta wave hitting the Northeast and elsewhere suggests we could see one more extension of the mandate – simply because it would be awkward to end it as reported cases are at a high level, not because doing so alters the course of the pandemic in any meaningful way – but if it gets extended one more time that one will be the last. Because the pandemic is – for all intents and purposes – already over.
Marriott wants you to think that they’re in the homesharing business, and that Homes & Villas By Marriott is an Airbnb competitor. Despite the tag line, “Private Homes With The Assurances Of Marriott,” that’s not at all what it is.
Did you know that Wyndham points can be redeemed for many properties listed on the Marriott site, and this offers a better deal than Bonvoy much of the time?
A conference of Uyghurs living in exhile, who advocate for the rights of the persecuted minority in the Xinjiang region of China where over a million have been held in internment camps, was rejected by Marriott in Prague out of a desire ‘to remain neutral’ on the issue.
In the past few years we’ve seen a proliferation of merchant-funded credit card offers. Whether it’s a year of Door Dash Dash Pass from Chase or $15 per month credit at Uber from American Express Platinum, a credit with airport security fast track service CLEAR, or $50 twice a year with Saks, numerous businesses want access to a credit card company’s customers.
Banks are attracted to benefits they can deliver to customers at no or low cost (or even at a profit, the details on each deal are different). And bundle enough of these benefits and you can sell an annual fee increase, too, helping the bottom-line for a card product that may be struggling to earn a profit despite being very attractive to consumers.
Before the pandemic I wrote about how Charlotte desperately needed another American Airlines Admirals Club – or two. American had scaled to 900 flights a day at DFW – and opened a 5th club. Charlotte was up to 700 flights and had just two clubs. And the terminal itself is more crowded than Dallas.
Starting in January Charlotte is going to be down to a single Admirals Club as the main one closes for maintenance and American stands up a ‘passenger service center’ to help with ticketing.
Earlier this year we learned that Chase is launching its own airport lounge network in collaboration with Airport Dimensions, a Collinson company which brings you Priority Pass and The Club lounges.
We now know about 4 lounges in the pipeline.
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.
The U.S. federal government sets a minimum number of flight attendants on an aircraft for safety (generally, one per 50 passengers). But while many flight attendants announce that they are there “primarily for your safety” (don’t expect more than that!) they’re also the people in most direct contact with customers delivering an airline’s service.
So-called ‘full service’ airlines have historically staffed flights with more than the legal minimum. That started changing even before the pandemic, but accelerated when they weren’t providing much service at all.
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 »
