United Airlines has closed its DFW Airport Club after reports of serious sanitation problems. Photos from inside the lounge show roaches, mold, standing water, and kitchen conditions far below acceptable standards.
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.
Everyone debates which credit card is “best,” but most people are solving the wrong problem. This simple framework cuts through the noise, showing how to decide which card actually fits your spending, benefits, and goals.
Scott Kirby used this week’s Airlines Confidential podcast to lay out, in rare detail, how his thinking as a leader has changed over the past two decades — and how that shift now shapes United’s strategy. It’s the clearest explanation yet of the pivot from spreadsheet-driven tactics to a product-focused vision he once dismissed.
A reader was upgraded to the Presidential Suite at the Hilton Branson Convention Center — and found a 13-year old mattress that’s well outside the brand’s own standards. Photos he shared also showed maintenance issues and worn furnishings, raising basic questions about quality control at a full-service Hilton.
A venture founder went online to brag that he coded for 30 hours straight on multiple flights because “rest is a deprecated feature.” The internet treated it as parody, but it’s a good moment to look at what frequent flyers actually know about working in airports and onboard — and why real productivity at 35,000 feet looks very different from hustle-culture mythology.
United has raised the price of close-in saver awards without warning. Routes that were 15,000 miles just days ago now price at 20,000 miles, a one-third increase that applies only within two weeks of travel and isn’t tied to cash fares.
A flight attendant says she looked up during the safety demo and saw her own face on a passenger’s phone, enlarged and already texted to someone else. In her TikTok, she explains exactly how she responded and why crew have limited options when they’re being recorded without consent in a confined cabin.
Amex has reloaded its Business Platinum with a 200,000-point bonus and richer perks across travel, hotels, and credits. Even with an $895 annual fee, the math still makes it a no-brainer for frequent travelers.
A Delta passenger boarded a flight carrying a meat cleaver at Portland Airport, undetected by TSA screeners—who now blame inadequate training as staff still await paycheck backlogs from the recent government shutdown. Here’s exactly how the security lapse happened and what TSA says it plans to do next.
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 »
