San Francisco airport is planning a private terminal for commercial airline passengers, letting travelers skip the main terminal, clear dedicated TSA screening, and get driven across the airfield to their plane. It is the PS-style airport experience now spreading from LAX to Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, and soon to the Bay Area.
A California hotel clerk saw Israeli passports at check-in, confronted the guests as “Zionists” and “baby killers,” filmed the exchange, and then posted it himself. The hotel says he no longer works there — but the video captures exactly why guests should not have to pass a political loyalty test to get a room.
A man died in an Uber crash on the way to Midway Airport. Now the Illinois Supreme Court is considering whether his widow can sue Uber in court — or whether her own unrelated Uber app account forces her wrongful-death claims into arbitration.
Avis wants $1,278 for a rental car dent, but its own photos allegedly do not show the damage — and the dispute site is down while the charge still looms. Plus: Air Transat flight attendants cannot use cannabis even off-duty, Delta Sky Club lines hit 30 minutes, and Minneapolis airport meetings can happen behind TSA.
This woman won’t fly private or first class with her kids. And there’s a reasonable argument here, but this one’s so over the top I’m actually not sure if it’s parody?
Hyatt’s big award chart overhaul is now live, and members are already seeing free nights price up to 67% higher at some top hotels. But Hyatt itself warned that this year’s changes are only the setup: the new five-tier pricing structure is in place now, and the broader damage doesn’t hit until next year.
American Airlines is trying to look more premium, but one passenger reports the pretzels they were served expired in 2020. Packaged pretzels that old probably are not dangerous if the bag is intact, but six year old snacks are still a ridiculous look for an airline trying to convince passengers its product is improving.
A viral video appears to show United raising a fare by $400 after a passenger enters a senior-citizen date of birth, with the website saying the price changed “based on traveler information.” But this looks like a recurring website glitch where United pulls a senior fare that is not actually the lowest eligible fare.
Hilton used to rely on promotions to make Honors earning competitive. Now the points are worth less, the bonuses are smaller, and this summer’s offer can amount to just $2 a night — or less.
British Airways already charged some of the highest cash surcharges in the award world. Now it is raising the cash element on Avios redemptions by as much as 33%, while giving members almost no detail beyond a few London-origin examples — because apparently paying hundreds of dollars on top of your points still was not enough.
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 »
