Monthly Archives for December 2022.
American still has an international (“Flagship”) first class. It’s not a competitive product. And they’ve basically already given up on it. American no longer even sets the table for first class passengers and now just delivers trays with flatware already on it.
Ben Lipsey, head of Air France KLM Flying Blue who got his start in the airline industry by messaging Air Canada’s President on FlyerTalk to score an internship when he was 20 years old and eventually moved over with Ben Smith when he became CEO of Air France KLM, gave an interview where he talked about the importance of the program’s value proposition for Americans.
My sense is that Hyatt clearly enforces the rules that it has, but there are loopholes a few properties drive a truck through. Marriott does have clear rules in its program guide for hotels, which largely exempts all-suite properties from minimum availability requirements. But they aren’t as strong on enforcement. And I’m trying to figure out the broader shift that seems to me to be happening at Hilton.
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.
While speaking with American AAdvantage Managing Director Heather Samp about changes to status qualifying and benefits for 2023, I asked about changes to award redemption. I wasn’t expecting to get an answer. She was more forthcoming than I expected!
American Airlines is making several changes to status-earning and adding milestones at which you’ll receive additional benefits for 2023.
They’re also removing the flight requirement to earn milestone benefits; increasing the Loyalty Points required for Gold status, while leaving all other levels the same; lifting the cap on the number of miles you can earn for a ticket; and changing mileage-earning on basic economy tickets. It’s also going to take more Loyalty Points to earn choice benefits for Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members.
Japan Airlines will introduce a new lifetime status-earning program in 2024 that is based not just on flying but co-brand credit card spend and shopping, too.
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.
Musk’s twitter has reportedly refused to pay some bills for services provided in the last days of previous management – like a $197,725 roundtrip private jet flight from Teterboro to San Francisco for the executive who served as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer and head of HR the day prior to close of the sale of the company.
The Twitter executive might have chosen one of 21 flights between New York and San Francisco offering flat business class seats instead.
A Delta Air Lines passenger was seen dozing on a thick blow up air mattress beside Orlando’s gate 94 prior to their flight to Atlanta. Based on the flight number on the board, Delta 9897, this would have been an extra section flown Atlanta to Orlando and back with a widebody Airbus A330 on Sunday evening.
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 »
