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.
Hyatt has quietly gone live on Rakuten, letting members earn 12× points or 12% back on stays while still receiving full Hyatt points, elite-night credit, and elite benefits. It’s one of the richest stacking opportunities Hyatt has ever had—and it pairs with Rakuten’s ability to convert earnings into Amex or Bilt points.
An internal email shared with employees indicates that New Pacific Airlines—formerly Northern Pacific—has now shut down for good. After failed Anchorage–Asia ambitions, multiple rebrands, short-lived domestic service, and the collapse of affiliated Ravn Alaska, the long-struggling startup appears to have reached the end of the line.
It’s hard to say what’s worse—the bare feet or the confidence. One Basic Economy passenger turned his neighbor’s armrest into a personal spa, opening what can only be described as The Athlete’s Foot Lounge mid-flight. If you thought you’d seen the limits of bad passenger behavior, there’s always another level.
Tara Reid was in Chicago for a celebrity signing when she says a single drink at the O’Hare DoubleTree bar left her unable to stand, captured on lobby video repeatedly slipping from a wheelchair before paramedics rushed her to a hospital. She later woke up with no memory of the night and has now filed a police report saying her drink was spiked.
A Chicago hotel is advertising rooms as low as $15 through consolidators, then attaching a staggering $125 nightly “resort fee” — the most extreme example of fee padding I’ve ever seen. The charges are buried, inconsistently disclosed, and even appear to shift when waived, raising serious questions about how these properties present their pricing.
A woman flying from New York to Zurich says her business-class seatmate erupted when her nine-month-old cried for two minutes, even trying to persuade the crew to move her to economy. The incident sparked a debate about who “belongs” in premium cabins — and what parents can realistically do to minimize disruptions when they travel with young children.
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’s returning Los Angeles–Hong Kong route is showing unusually generous award space, with more than nine Delta One seats available on nearly every flight this summer from just 93,500 miles for Amex cardholders. It’s one of the best opportunities in years to redeem SkyMiles for long-haul business class to Asia.
JSX has begun selling tickets for new Santa Monica–Las Vegas flights after securing a city operations permit, but local activists have already filed a California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit seeking to halt the service. While CEQA is unlikely to stop flights outright, it can impose enough delay and cost to run out the clock before the airport’s scheduled 2028 closure.
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 »
