Airport food prices are frequently supposed to be capped at what you’d pay elsewhere, but investigators found Starbucks charging 54% more than a nearby location. Plus: ICE raids a Disney cruise ship, Southwest sells a window seat without a window, and a Spirit lawsuit turns tragic.
Citi new Strata Elite card delivers a surprisingly strong first-year value play. The current offer combines 75,000 points with up to $1,200 in travel credits, and those points can now transfer directly to American Airlines AAdvantage.
By the time my delayed flight from D.C. blocked into Dallas, I had just eight minutes to get from A37 to D40 — or risk losing my seat home to Austin. The move that saved me was not running harder, but knowing when to skip the Skylink and how to get American Airlines to hold a backup flight.
A boss turned an Aer Lingus business class flight into the ultimate workplace fantasy: a promotion, a $1 million check, and a cabin full of passengers realizing they may work for the wrong company.
Two percent cash back used to be the safe, boring benchmark. Tuyo is pitching something far more viral: a crypto-backed Visa card that sometimes makes your purchase free — while its terms make clear you might never get paid a dime.
First the Hyatt room was hot, dirty and broken. Then the replacement room was already occupied. The third room finally had working air conditioning — but morning sunlight revealed the kind of stained bedding no guest should ever have slept on.
GHA Discovery now lets you earn hotel elite status without staying a single night. The program’s new Blacklane partnership awards status and credits based on chauffeur rides — up to Titanium after 11 rides — and the benefits can stack with Blacklane rebates, vouchers and Citi Strata Elite’s $200 annual Blacklane credit.
American Express, Chase, Capital One, and Citi have all overhauled the premium card market, and the right answer is no longer obvious. The best card now depends less on marketing claims and more on which lounges, credits, transfer partners, and spending bonuses actually match how you travel.
An American Airlines passenger says he spent three hours contorted in a middle seat because the traveler beside him could not fit within one seat space. American responded that “customers come in all shapes and sizes,” but the airline’s own policy says passengers who need more room must buy a second seat — and if two seats are not available, move to another flight.
American Airlines premium cabin wine used to be one of the weakest parts of the onboard experience. Now the airline is rolling out real $30–$40 retail bottles in first and business class, a small but telling sign that American is finally paying attention to the details again.
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 »
