American’s free Wi-Fi rollout is about to go from “most planes” to the long-haul fleet too. In a leaked recording from an employee meeting after earnings, the airline says it has free Wi-Fi on 90%+ of aircraft now and plans to add it to the remaining widebodies over the next 12–24 months — while also teeing up more lounge announcements and new food and beverage partnerships.
Citi’s new Strata Elite card is handing out approvals fast — and for good reason. With a 100,000-point bonus, stacked travel and retail credits, and easy eligibility rules, it delivers first-year value few premium cards can match.
American has been spending real money on “premium” — new suites, new lounges, better champagne, better policies — but the company has lacked anything resembling a mission that connects it all. In a leaked recording from a post-earnings employee meeting, that finally changes: leadership frames Chicago as an existential fight with United, and ties winning the market directly to loyalty and credit card economics, and that easily extends to the need for a premium service culture.
United is planning a controlled overnight cutover next week that will take its key systems offline for roughly 2–3 hours — and it has already pre-canceled most departures during the window. While flights already in the air will keep moving, everything that depends on the reservation stack effectively freezes: schedules, booking, retrieving reservations, ticketing, cancellations/refunds, and check-in via United.com, the app, kiosks, call centers, and agency channels.
United told pilots it expects delivery of its first 787-9 with the new Polaris Studio in February, with entry into service in March. Also today: Starbucks is rolling out a revamped Rewards program in March that cuts earning, Hawaiian Airlines Bank of Hawaii credit cards are back and more.
The Barclays-issued AAdvantage cards are officially converting to Citi on April 24, and Citi just published the full playbook — including new cards with new account numbers and a no-login window April 24–26.
The sleeper detail is that for now your existing card’s legacy perks stay in place while you also pick up the standard Citi-version benefits, creating a temporary stacking window (especially valuable for Aviator Silver moving to Globe).
A passenger stripped down and rampaged through the cabin on a Nha Trang–Bangkok flight, threatening flight attendants and even trying to get an aircraft door opened mid-flight. The plane made an emergency landing at Bangkok Don Mueang — and once on the ground, he demanded the door be opened anyway, then jumped onto the tarmac before stairs were in place and was arrested.
A photo circulating online alleges an American Airlines flight attendant was wearing a keffiyeh in uniform to show support for Palestinian resistance. The bigger issue is power: crew members control whether you fly and whether you get labeled disruptive. Political signaling from the people in charge of the cabin is a problem. It’s also against airline rules.
ICE is using a smartphone app called “Mobile Fortify” to scan faces and capture contactless fingerprints, instantly pulling back names and biographical data — and court filings say the same encounters are being followed by revocations of Global Entry and TSA PreCheck.
That turns “trusted traveler” into chilling of speech. DHS runs both the surveillance and the program, and being “under investigation” can be enough to lose your status even if protesting itself cannot legally be a disqualifier.
It’s hard to imagine anyone that won’t find this to be incredible for a year. After that, it’s up to you.
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 »
