Monthly Archives for December 2023.
Answering this question starts with looking at the transfer partners each program has (they’re all different), which partners provide the most value, and also how flexible each currency is when you want to use your points directly against a paid ticket or hotel night rather than redeeming for a free flight or free hotel award night.
Wow wow wow. On New Year’s Day “Rent Day” January 1st, Bilt Rewards is offering up to 150% bonuses on points transfers to Air France KLM, Virgin, and IHG One Rewards. They call this “2023’s Most Loved Benefits Return” a repeat of some of their best offers from the prior year, together on one day. These are bigger transfer bonus offers than we see from other programs.
Transgender actress Tommy Dorfman posted video of a Delta Air Lines employee ‘intentionally misgendering her,’ and having watched the video I’m confused because she seems to think that she’s the one who comes out looking to be in the right in this exchange.
The ‘new’ Mexicana – the former failed Star Alliance and later oneworld airline, relaunched by the government of Mexico – was set to make its first-ever flight today from Santa Lucía to the new airport in Tulum. Unfortunately flight 1788 didn’t make it as planned, but diverted to Merida instead.
This has to be the worst nightmare of any passenger seated at the window on a plane. A woman documented the man beside her in the middle seat reaching past her in order to photograph out the window. He leans. He reaches. He, in effect, took over both his middle seat and her window seat.
Following my stab at a list of the 13 best movies about travel, I thought I’d work to come up with the very best songs about travel.
That’s a very different exercise than the best travel songs, this isn’t a ‘play list for the road’ it’s about borrowing someone else’s poetry to describe the travel experience. There’s no question that George Gershwin didn’t write Rhapsody in Blue to be about travel, but it’s equally clear that the 1924 composition has become inextricably linked with United Airlines.
What songs most evoke travel for you and are missing from my list? Which ones here are new to you?
A share in my social feed reminded me of this incredible story that links Chicago O’Hare and Al Capone. It’s really two stories, but stay with me until the end.
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.
My county takes credit cards for property taxes, but they charge a 3% fee. I could have Plastiq charge my credit card for the rewards and send the county a check, but they now charge a 2.9% fee.
Property taxes in Texas are a big deal. I pay about 1.5% of my home’s assessed value each year (the assessed value is likely lower than current market).
This hotel had been ‘off my list’ for awhile. They finished renovations a little over a year ago, and they did a fantastic job of it. My priors had been stuck in 2012, when my wife stayed at the Park Hyatt Chicago and reported a dirty, dusty in-room phone with missing and stuck buttons.
That’s no longer the case. The hotel is much brighter than it used to be – no longer the same dark tones – and the service and attention to detail here were fantastic. I absolutely enjoyed my stay.
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 »
