Monthly Archives for February 2025.
A Southwest Airlines pilot narrowly averted disaster this morning when their Boeing 737-800 (registration N8517F) was preparing to land at Chicago Midway airport. Flight 2504 from Omaha was in the gradual pitch-up just prior to touchdown when it initiated a go around as a business jet crossed the runway. The plane climbed out, and landed safely 15 minutes later.
Hyatt is keeping an award chart, and they’re not changing the points prices of that chart. That’s the good news, I suppose. But their annual category changes are out – going into effect in one month on March 25 – and they’re heavily biased towards price increases.
This captain is a hero. Some passengers are nervous. Some captains are on ego trip, or find passengers the most inconvenient part of their job. This pilot is a servant leader.
Bilt Rewards is back with its Rent Day offers for March 1. The headline here is a Hilton Honors transfer bonus: 150% for general members, and 200% for anyone with Bilt Rewards status. A 200% transfer bonus means 3 Hilton points for every 1 Bilt point transferred.
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 Delta Air Lines Boeing 717, operating as Flight DL876 from Atlanta to Columbia, South Carolina was forced to make an emergency landing today after the cabin filled with smoke just after takeoff. The 25-year old ex-AirTran aircraft which was acquired from Southwest Airlines, had 94 passengers and 5 crew on board. Both the cockpit and passenger cabin became enveloped in thick grey haze.
The captain of an Iberia flight from Düsseldorf to Madrid was bitten by a tarantula Friday afternoon while piloting the Airbus A320 aircraft. He turned out to be allergic to spider venom, had a reaction, but managed to land the aircraft in Madrid.
I’ve cleaned out my wallet and I’m not carrying nearly as many credit cards on a daily basis any longer. Still, my wallet is a great window in the spending choices I make every day. What gets a wallet slot, and what cards I have but keep in a drawer, go a long way towards illustrating how I put my mileage and spending strategies into practice. Sharing this also adds a bit to my transparency as I cover credit card rewards.
Here’s a peek into what’s really going on behind the scenes of my daily spending life.
Last week, Delta had more passengers than seats available on flight 1668 from Seattle to Palm Springs. A passenger reported that “there was chaos” at the gate, since not everyone could be accommodated – and the airline instituted a bidding process to get 5 people to give up their seats.
On February 15, as she boarded a flight to Punta Cana, she dipped her fingers into a bottle of holy water, drawing the sign of the cross on the aircraft’s exterior near the door, and praying, “In Jesus’ name we pray…Amen!”
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 »
