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.
US airlines reported $4.9 billion in checked bag fees in 2018, up from $4.6 billion in 2017 according to data released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That’s often taken to mean money they’re making on checked bags but it’s highly misleading.
Icelandair is offering business class between the US and Reykjavik from $740 roundtrip. I frequently see US East Coast – Iceland for around $1800 round trip. This is a much better fare, and deep discounts are available even from farther West where prices are generally higher. And the great thing is this deal is even available during summer, which is a great time to visit Iceland!
You can fly from Boston ($740), Washington ($790), Montreal ($740), Chicago ($740), Orlando ($860), Tamps ($860), Vancouver ($820), Denver ($840), and Seattle ($860).
The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature is offering 40,000 Mileage Plan miles and a $100 statement credit after $2000 spend within 3 months. The card has a $75 annual fee.
The value proposition for Alaska miles of course is their myriad airline partnerships and reasonable award chart. Cathay Pacific (which Alaska admittedly has less access to award seats on than other Cathay partners do) is an especially great value as is Japan Airlines.
The National Education Association, the teachers’ union, is threatening a boycott of Delta. Their President has sent a letter to Delta President Glen Hauenstein, and they’ve tweeted “We won’t be flying Delta.”
Here’s the NEA’s letter to Delta.
There are several services that will do the heavy lifting for you if you’re owed compensation, in exchange for a percentage of the proceeds. Many customers can’t be bothered to deal with compensation on their own, or fight for it when an airline first denies a claim.
One such company is AirHelp, and they have their own ranking of airlines based one third each on on-time performance, their rating of service quality, and how good the airline is at honoring compensation claims.
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.
At the beginning of the year there was an incredible first class mistake fare on Cathay Pacific from Vietnam to the U.S. It was quickly followed by an Air New Zealand business class mistake fare from Chicago to Sydney. Both fares were honored.
But fares like these are now rare. And they rarely occur with US airlines anymore. That wasn’t always the case.
A family is suing American Express and Dallas Fort-Worth airport because their two year old was bitten by a dog in the DFW airport Centurion lounge.
It seems like the issue here ought to be between the family and the dog owner, which doesn’t likely have the deep pockets that American Express or DFW airport does. What do you think, who is at fault here and in what proportion?f
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.
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 »
