George Santos, the former New York congressman whose fraud case left him owing hundreds of thousands of dollars, bragged on social media about refusing a $900 Delta offer to give up his seat on an oversold shuttle flight.
Delta left more than 20 Comfort+ seats empty on a transcon while a Diamond couldn’t self-upgrade into them, which is exactly where their “extra legroom isn’t really an upgrade” strategy has led. In today’s roundup I look at how Delta is throttling upgrades, the new Vegas reality, airport therapy animals, boycott theater at 35,000 feet, and even a pigeon running wild on an IndiGo flight.
Citi’s new Strata Elite card is handing out approvals fast — and for good reason. With a 100,000-point bonus, stacked travel and retail credits, and easy eligibility rules, it delivers first-year value few premium cards can match.
United won’t hike the elite thresholds again for 2026, but it is quietly clawing back value by moving PlusPoints to dynamic pricing and tightening access to business-class saver awards for anyone without status or the co-brand card.
Chase’s new Sapphire Lounge in Las Vegas has just 87 seats, a wait list at the door, and still managed to be the best place in the concourse to have breakfast. I tried it during regular operations, sampled the food, found the good champagne, and came away thinking it’s worth the surprisingly short wait I experienced.
American Airlines has finally sent its first Boeing 777-300ER to Hong Kong to start the long-delayed Project Olympus retrofit, trading Flagship First for all-new business suites with doors and much bigger premium cabins.
American Airlines is paying $30 million to buy two Spirit Airlines gates at Chicago O’Hare—G8 and G10—in a previously undisclosed deal revealed through bankruptcy court filings. This comes after American recently lost four gates to United in a controversial airport reallocation.
DOT made headlines bragging about a “record” $140 million penalty against Southwest for its Christmas 2022 meltdown, but the airline was never really on the hook for that number. Now that the agency has quietly waived the final $11 million, and surprisingly that was the right move.
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.
Four premium cards dominate the space right now: Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, and Citi Strata Elite. Let’s break down lounges, credits, earn rates, and transfer partners—then show which card (or pair) actually makes sense for how you travel and spend.
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 »
