News and notes from around the interweb:
- What on earth am I listening to?!
I’ve never heard an ATC conversation like this before, it was like listening to the Price is right.
Audio via @theATCapp pic.twitter.com/fycgFl0YBo
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) February 5, 2026
- In December I told you to expect American Airlines to launch summer seasonal Philadephia – Porto, Portugal with an Airbus A321XLR and that’s exactly now what they’ve done commencing summer 2027 (no exact start date yet).
- What went wrong with Paypal:
A few thoughts about PayPal, nearly 12 years after I left.
I woke up this morning to dozens of messages from former PayPal colleagues. It pushed me to finally speak up.
I never spoke publicly about the company after I left. Part of that was loyalty to John Donahoe, who gave me…
— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) February 3, 2026
- Italy’s ITA Airways is now an Air Canada Aeroplan partner – so fully redeemable with points – not surprising given it’s becoming part of Lufthansa Group.
- Leave aside the earn-burn devaluation in the latest revamp of Starbucks Rewards the return to elite tiers is hardly revolutionary for them.
Sometimes reversing bad decisions and digging through the loyalty archives is exactly what’s needed…What Starbucks did here wasn’t wrong. In fact, it was probably smart. They fixed what they broke. But fixing your own mistakes isn’t innovation. It’s loyalty maintenance.
A truly reimagined Starbucks Rewards program would have reflected how customers actually live and consume Starbucks today. The brand talks endlessly about community, yet the program remains a solo experience. There’s no shared value, no network effect, no way for loyalty to extend beyond the individual.
Stephanie Meltzer-Paul goes on to suggest leaning into household accounts, gifting stars and “recognition beyond spend” like lifetime status, “routines, or engagement.”
- 5,000 free miles from Frontier Airlines by screenshotting and uploading a mileage balance from another airline of at least 5,000 miles. Runs through February 22 or whenever they give away 70 million miles.
- Some people have an easy time sleeping on planes. Passengers will pay to increase their changes – business class! Not so President Trump:
President Donald J. Trump: “You can go and sleep. We have quarters prepared for you. I said: ‘No no, I don't have to sleep. I've been on a plane sleeping for twenty… I mean, I sleep on the plane.’ I don't sleep on planes. I don't like sleeping on planes. You know, I like looking… pic.twitter.com/zfKIjyUba9
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 5, 2026
Love that ATC exchange. Must have been a quiet night. I’ve heard a few like that.
I miss the days when United had “Channel 9.”
Glad we have our best and brightest “looking out the window”… *facepalm*
I have several PayPal accounts and use them a fair amount. I looked up David Marcus. Interesting musings but he left the company instead of fighting for what he thinks would have been the right strategic moves. Possibly he was hampered in the company by not having the right educational background. I think he may be right about the new President and CEO, Enrique Lores. Time will tell.
Hi Mr. Leff I am a Barclays American Airlines affiliated credit card holder. I also have the Citi American card because of the Admirals club access. That said – I know that what Citi will propose for the takeover of the Barclays’ card holders, will be good for Citi- but what is the best option for those of us that don’t need a card with the same bank, for various reasons, one is that if the Citi cards ever have a problem, I could always turn to my Barclays’ card and vice versa.
Thank you in advance, your emails are extremely informative!
Loved the ATC exchange, a little levity goes a long way! I miss the days when you could listen to ATC on United flights.
I wonder if Dear Leader also licks the window while looking for missiles and enemies.