Bilt’s new credit cards launched Wednesday and the company has already pivoted after member confusion over Bilt Cash and the fee mechanics. The updated setup gives you a simpler choice, including a path to earn housing points with no transaction fee—and even boost rent and mortgage earning up to 25% based on how much you use the card for everyday spend.
Delta’s domestic “First Class” is supposed to buy you breathing room — until it doesn’t. On a Delta flight from San Antonio to Los Angeles, a tall passenger’s knees made it physically impossible for the seat in front to recline, sparking a mid-cabin standoff over a feature the airline sells as part of the upgrade. A flight attendant ended the debate with an honest apology, “I can’t make his legs smaller.”
I applied for Bilt’s new Palladium card and three things didn’t match what I expected: the credit line came in far lower than my old Wells Fargo Bilt card, I got a hard pull, and I never saw the promised option to close my Wells account. Then I realized there’s also a materially better bonus offer floating around elsewhere—so here’s exactly what happened and what you should know before you apply.
Hyatt is back with a rare World of Hyatt Credit Card bonus that can earn five Category 1–4 free nights—and the spend required to unlock all five also puts you in position to earn a sixth Category 1–4 night. If you can use the certificates well (and before they expire), this is the most compelling Hyatt card offer we’ve seen in a long time.
A mom went viral after complaining she was stuck without “extra room” on a 12-hour Delta flight—because the plane was sold out. The catch: she bought two seats for herself and one child, while her second child flew as a lap infant, so she was always betting on an empty seat that never existed to begin with.
Chicago is exploring selling sponsorships and naming rights across O’Hare and Midway—everything from terminals and people-mover stations down to restrooms, trash cans, and pet relief areas. A new RFI asks brands what they’d pay for and how they’d activate it, as the city looks for ways to offset major expansion costs—while keeping the O’Hare and Midway names themselves off the table.
Trump has now endorsed the Durbin-Marshall swipe fee bill, pitching it as “competition” and consumer relief. In reality it shifts value from cardholders to retailers—cutting rewards, pushing issuers toward higher fees elsewhere, and shrinking credit availability—without any reason to expect lower prices.
An Air Canada flight out of Toronto started taxiing when passengers say they heard someone yelling from the cargo hold. The aircraft returned to the gate, the worker was freed, and the airline says no one was hurt. Now Air Canada is investigating how the doors were closed with a crew member still inside.
It’s hard to imagine anyone that won’t find this to be incredible for a year. After that, it’s up to you.
Vasu Raja is headed to United to work on monetizing passengers through inflight advertising, but that’s not the part of this story most people are getting wrong. The real mistake is the narrative about his tenure at American: he became the face of a broader strategy signed off at the top, and American’s ongoing struggles long outlasted— and outgrew —the distribution fight he was blamed for.
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 »
