A Delta regional pilot was killed on his wedding day after the helicopter carrying him and his new wife toward their honeymoon crashed in bad weather. Also: American gives a passenger a taped-shut tray table on a 10-hour flight, boarding times that don’t match aircraft reality, Bilt credit limits jump as high as $250,000, El Al returns to San Francisco, and Amex offers a Marriott transfer bonus you can probably ignore.
Chase Sapphire Reserve now has a record 150,000-point bonus, but the bigger story is that this is still a premium travel card built for actual spending. With strong earning on direct travel and dining, useful protections, valuable transfer partners, and better-than-usual lounge access, the $795 card is not just another coupon book with a big intro offer.
Award seats are not gone, but the way most people search for them is broken. After redeeming billions of miles over more than 25 years, the rules that still work are the same ones most travelers resist: be flexible on dates, routes, gateways, programs, and prices; book the workable trip first; and keep improving it as better space opens.
American Airlines now says that if it downgrades you from first class to coach, it may owe you just 40% of the affected segment’s fare — even when the coach seat it gives you sold for far less. A new DOT complaint argues that American’s policy lets the airline sell a premium cabin, fail to deliver it, and keep money that federal refund rules say should go back to passengers.
Aspen Airport will close for roughly seven and a half months in 2027, with no commercial flights, no private jets, and no terminal access while the runway is rebuilt and shifted west. Also: a NetJets runway incursion at SFO, Bilt’s non-card business heading toward $1 billion in revenue, a 50% Rove transfer bonus to Turkish, and why parents should think about upgrade lists before naming children.
Citi points now transfer to Qatar Airways Privilege Club with a 30% bonus through June 30, and that can be more useful than it looks. Qatar Avios can be moved 1:1 into British Airways, Finnair and other Avios programs, while Qatar itself often gives its own members better award availability than partners like American or Alaska — just don’t count on the bonus posting instantly.
Flight attendants are right that passengers should stop touching them to get attention, make a point, or treat them like part of the cabin furniture. But that rule has to run both ways: if a galley cart bumps my arm, apologizing by touching my arm again is not fixing the problem — it is repeating it.
Memphis lets certain hotels add a 5% “tourism” tax to guest bills — but unlike ordinary hotel taxes, much of the money goes back to the same hotel to fund renovations, expansion, or redevelopment. It looks like a mandatory government charge, but economically it’s a hidden room-rate increase with city approval.
United passengers are seeing a flight map ‘glitch’ where the airplane icon is replaced by the spiked stiletto from *The Devil Wears Prada*. Also: Bilt cardholders report surprise $50,000 credit limits, Chase Sapphire Lounge DFW appears closer to opening, American basic economy bag fees get worse, and oneworld Ruby members get new Iberia seat-selection benefits.
Hyatt’s CEO says members have reacted positively to the new award chart, which is an interesting way to describe top hotels costing up to 67% more points. Hyatt may still have a fixed chart, but when one night that used to require $45,000 of card spend now takes $75,000, calling that a member-friendly change requires a truly elite-tier ability to suspend disbelief.
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 »
