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.
British Airways once promised “To Fly, To Serve.” Now they are surveying customers on which perks to give up next, from meals and bottled water to pajamas and amenity kits, and dressing it up as environmental responsibility. It is the latest step in a long march from “world’s favourite airline” to asking passengers to help do the cost cutting.
Turn a $95 annual fee into 100,000 points you can redeem across Star Alliance, Emirates, Etihad, Oman Air, and more airlines than any other program.
A reader spotted the Hyatt Place Phoenix Mesa rolling out housekeeping carts stocked with bulk toiletries poured into plastic condiment bottles — with a toilet brush sitting right next to the clean towels. It’s the latest in a string of Hyatts where the branding on the bottles doesn’t match what’s supposed to be used
A Delta passenger flying from Tampa to New York glanced over and caught her seatmate texting “HUGE woman sat next to me,” setting off a flood of tears she says lasted the entire flight. She’d recently lost more than 60 pounds and finally felt confident in a middle seat — until that moment. The man appeared to realize what he’d done, frantically sending blank texts to push the message off-screen, but by then she’d already recorded herself crying and posted about how painful “flying while fat” can be.
An American Airlines passenger on a five hour Airbus A321neo flight showed up in row 37 with AirPods Max for every flight attendant and pilot, and wound up in first class after a passenger up front insisted on trading seats with him. Most people see it as heartwarming holiday gratitude for crew, but others question whether a filmed, high-dollar gift like this crosses the line into performative tipping and bribery-adjacent special treatment.
CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin casually admitted on Squawk Box that he just skiplagged a ticket and saved about $1,500, blaming the trick on a travel agent and openly wondering whether he was supposed to cancel the extra legs. Throwaway ticketing is a commercial dispute over pricing, not a moral failing by consumers, even if it is something most people probably should not do often.
TSA caught a man at the Las Vegas airport trying to clear security with a woman boarding pass for a Southwest flight – and that is when everything went sideways. According to federal prosecutors he hit a TSA officer, flipped a responding cop over his back, then grabbed an officer pen and allegedly tried to stab police with it at the checkpoint. Now he is facing a five count federal indictment for interfering with security screening and entering the secure area on false pretenses.
It’s hard to imagine anyone that won’t find this to be incredible for a year. After that, it’s up to you.
Hilton has confirmed that a new invitation-only elite tier sits above its freshly launched Diamond Reserve level — an unpublished status called The Honors Society. The company isn’t sharing details yet, saying guidance will come in early Q1, but internal systems and prior leaks make clear this mirrors the secret super-elite tiers already offered by Hyatt, Marriott, and GHA. The Honors Society will be Hilton’s new top rung, available only by invitation.
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 »
