She thought Marriott’s check-in emails meant her room was waiting. Instead, she arrived to find locked doors, construction crews, and no one answering the phone. Ultimate Reservation Guarantee denied.
American Airlines quietly made a smart move, dropping its awful $16 steak sandwich from coach buy-on-board and replacing it with a new Southwest-style turkey wrap. It’s served with a street-corn salad and churro bar—and against all odds, it’s actually decent.
I tore into the Strata Elite box feeling smug about my 80K bonus. Then Citi raised the offer to 100K.
Delta isn’t just flying passengers anymore — it’s flying financial strategy. The airline now designs parts of its route map around credit card economics, with flights that may lose money on tickets but generate millions through Amex-driven spending and loyalty revenue.
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.
September’s airline punctuality rankings are in, and Delta once again leads the nation in on-time performance. American, meanwhile, continues to slip—further widening the gap between the two carriers.
Kristen Bell turns her points obsession into comedy gold. Citi’s new ad makes credit-card marketing actually entertaining.
After 9/11, airline CEOs met with the White House to shape the future of air travel — and to quietly tilt new laws to their own advantage. What followed was less about safety than strategy, as rival carriers fought to design security and subsidy rules that would put each other out of business.
Marriott claims a quarter billion members in its Bonvoy program — but that doesn’t mean those guests ever return. A closer look at global hotel loyalty data reveals who’s really winning, and why the biggest programs may have the least loyal customers.
A Marriott Courtyard in Iowa had to be evacuated after a guest suffered a “bad reaction to cocaine,” stripped naked, and ran through the halls spraying fire extinguishers. Police say the man smeared blood across walls, doors, and windows before being restrained and charged with multiple felonies.
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 »
