Bilt just released the missing details behind its new cards: what the promised 4% “Bilt Cash” actually buys on top of points. The redemption menu is much bigger than expected—ranging from monthly Grubhub and Lyft credits to Blacklane rides, hotel portal credits, and even Blade flights—and there’s a points-accelerator option that can effectively raise your ongoing earn rate if you play it right.
NYC’s mayor says he’s banning hotel “junk fees” everywhere—not just in the city. In reality, the proposal forces all-in price disclosure (and disclosure of deposits and card holds), pretty much mirroring existing federal rules with additional fine revenue for the city.
A Canadian ex–Air Canada flight attendant allegedly spent four years posing as an airline pilot—using a forged employee ID to grab hundreds of free flights on American, United, and Hawaiian, and even asking for cockpit jumpseat access. Indicted in Hawaii after two 2024 Hawaiian flights, he was arrested in Panama, extradited to the U.S., and is now jailed in Honolulu awaiting trial on two wire-fraud counts.
Citi’s new Strata Elite card doesn’t just come with a 100,000 point bonus – its Splurge, Blacklane, and $300 hotel credits are timed to the calendar year, so you can use them twice in your first cardmember year. Here’s exactly how to stack those perks, plus Priority Pass and Admirals Club passes, to squeeze the maximum value out of year one.
Airlines used to design schedules to win the first page of flight search by minimizing elapsed time. American Airlines data suggests travelers now choose longer connections for reliability—and the Dallas-Fort Worth schedule rebuild is enabled by that shift.
Southwest is being sued by a former flight attendant who says the airline did not pay overtime required under Illinois law because its pay system focuses on flight time, not total duty time. Southwest argues the claim cannot proceed in court because flight attendants are unionized and the dispute belongs under the Railway Labor Act framework.
Syracuse airport officials approved a paid billboard from an employment law firm — then rejected it over one line about “harmless flirting.” The firm sued, the airport rewrote its advertising rules mid-case, and a federal judge still granted an injunction, calling the “misleading” rationale “nonsense.” The fight now is over a simple question: can a government airport pick which messages travelers get to see?
Just days after 526 people were listed for Alaska Airlines’ inaugural Rome flight, the standby list has ballooned to 1,145—more than the aircraft can even carry. At this point it’s turning into a meme, with staff asking people to cancel unless they’re truly planning to show up, even as seats are still for sale at higher fares.
American Airlines is touting a new app-and-website feature that can automatically book you a “free” hotel when an overnight delay strands you. The demo in its own promo is the perfect reminder of the catch: the airline room you’re offered is often the cheapest option available, not the one you’d choose to sleep in.
If you can front the cost, you can usually do better—using trip-delay coverage, distressed passenger rates, or points—without spending an hour in a voucher line.
An American Airlines passenger says the first class lavatory on a domestic Boeing 737 was so filthy—water, urine, and toilet paper everywhere—that it looked unusable after a line of coach families had been waiting to use it. When he asked the crew to address it, he says they told him it wasn’t their job and handed him towels to clean it himself.
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 »
