I managed to book two first class awards on Qantas, Dallas Fort-Worth – Sydney and return, on the exact dates I wanted. The flights did not show up at AA.com but American agents had no problem seeing the space when I called.
I’ve booked a lot of awards but I’ve never had occasion to book an infant through AAdvantage against a Qantas first class award. So I was surprised when successive agents told me it wasn’t possible.
As tough a criteria as Ambassador is — 100 nights isn’t enough, and indeed you could spend 250 nights at mid-level properties in Asia without spending enough to qualify — it isn’t actually the top tier in Marriott’s program. That’s because there’s an unpublished level called Cobalt.
Capital One just announced its first-ever miles transfer bonus. You receive a 100% bonus transferring Capital One miles to Emirates Skywards through March 24 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
The airline that pioneered lie flat seats in long haul business class hasn’t really refreshed their product since 2006. The current-generation British Airways seat is well past its prime, and is still going to be flying for many years.
The new ‘Club Suite’ will debut in their new Airbus A350s with 56 business class seats which start arriving in July and flying long haul October 1. They’ll be using the B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seat from Rockwell Collins (fully flat with direct aisle access) with a door added on.
A Saturday Ryanair flight (natch) from Glasgow to Tenerife in the Canary Islands saw a fight break out after a woman went to the lavatory without shoes on.
A “very drunk man pulled her up about it, saying that someone would stand on her toes” according to another passenger. Then the woman’s boyfriend got involved. And more alcohol got involved.
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.
With Southwest Airlines now selling tickets to Hawaii they should be flying high. Not only is this a new desirable market, it should support credit card acquisitions because customers can now spend their points for more aspirational destinations.
But the carrier has been hobbled by mechanics slowing down the airline and the grounding of the 737 MAX.
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.
When a property wants to split the savings for skipping housekeeping with you rebating points that’s fair. Starwood was known for their Make a Green Choice program offering 500 Starpoints per night you skipped housekeeping. Marriott still offers a similar, albeit less rewarding, program.
Hyatt is now testing 250 points for skipping housekeeping.
There are two things American Airlines believes affects premium passenger perception of service: flight attendants referring to them by name, and offering predeparture beverages.
American Airlines flight attendants are inconsistent about offering beverages prior to push back. And there’s no consequence if they don’t. If they don’t consider themselves to have time, they can skip it.
One flight, though, finally had a good reason not to offer them — and even to skip most inflight beverage service too.
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 »
