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. is doubling the cost for visitors from close allies and security partners to come to the country. The price of an “ESTA” or Electronic System for Travel Authorization which passengers entering the United States on a visa waiver is going from $21 to $40.
American wasn’t able to get a temporary restraining order in federal court to stop this process. They voluntarily dismissed the federal claim last week and re-filed in Cook County Chancery Court.
Passengers flying from London Heathrow to Dallas – Fort Worth on American Airlines flight 51 and taking a connecting flight no longer walk to immigration, pick up their bags at customs, drop them back off to re-check them, and go through security again.
American Express still sees headroom to charge customers more, and make them feel o.k. with it by selling access to their cardmembers to adjacent brands in exchange for coupons and discounts. That strategy will work until they reach some theoretical limit – but they haven’t found it yet. As long as they keep promising you a somewhat better experience in aspirational portions of your life like travel, you will keep paying and keep spending on their cards.
The Big Beautiful Bill has more and more warts that just keep coming out, including a new $250 “Visa Integrity Fee” for most foreigners applying for U.S. nonimmigrant visas. It’s a ‘refundable deposit’ that you’re supposed to get back for leaving the U.S. on time, though no one knows yet how refunds will actually happen. Implementing a cross-agency refund system is going to take… time. The fee amount will adjust up with inflation.
There’s so much to do to improve customer experience at American that the biggest task is prioritization.
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.
Delta Air Lines flight 3788, an Embraer E-175 operated by SkyWest, nearly collided with another aircraft as it flew from Minneapolis–St. Paul to Minot, North Dakota In addition to operating as a civilian airport, Minot is home to an Air Force base where the 5th Bomb Wing’s 26 B-52 Stratofortress bombers are based. The Delta Connection flight began its descent toward Minot, and the plane suddenly performed an evasive maneuver to avoid another aircraft converging on their flight path. As relayed in video recorded by a passenger, the captain came on the PA to explain what happened. He apologized and detailed the abrupt turn to avoid a potential mid-air collision, “For those of you on the right-hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of coming at us… nobody told us about it.” @azamora616 #plane#nearmiss#flight3788…
Four years ago Hilton eliminated free breakfast as a benefit for Honors Gold and Diamond members at U.S properties. In its place they offer a small food and beverage credit that can be used at any time throughout the day.
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 »
