For a long time American AAdvantage has offered status ‘challenges’ that do not require you to already have status with another airline and that you pay for. These allow you to earn elite status more quickly with travel over a compressed period of time.
American started requiring minimum spend as part of these challenges, and is expected to increase the spend required — so if you’re interested in a status challenge you may want to request it sooner than later.
IHG has not communicated this to members, so they aren’t even giving us the 8 days notice, members have discovered this on our own. If there are any hotels going up in price you want to book, get on it since if you book future stays prior to January 14th you can do so at the lower pricing. What’s more, consider making speculative bookings, since most redemptions are cancellable.
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.
Alitalia is in the midst of restructuring, since Etihad pulled the plug and stopped subsidizing the Italian flag carrier. Before Etihad pumped money in, Air France lost their shirt on the carrier.
Two months ago it was reported that Delta had submitted a binding offer to invest in the Italian airline.
Truly Akbar al-Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, is a man for our times.
The great thing about Akbar al-Baker, and his access to the Al Thani pocketbook, is that when he wants to troll another airline CEO he can do it with a half billion dollar investment.
Delta SkyMiles eliminated award charts. They charge you whatever they happen to want to charge you for a flight on a given day. SkyMiles aren’t like money, you can’t spend them anywhere you want (say for travel on American). It’s a company town, SkyMiles are their scrip, and they make no promises about what you should expect to get for your points in the future with a published price list.
A year and a half ago United made fun of the idea. However they’ve taken down the fulll .pdf award chart, and the interactive price tool doesn’t even display premium economy award prices at all.
During the government shutdown Global Entry enrollment centers are generally closed. All that’s on the website is that the website isn’t being updated. Helpful.
However several readers have gotten emails and even personal phone calls letting them know their appointment cannot be honored. And apparently little regard is being paid to privacy.
A man flying on Qantas’ low cost carrier Jetstar on a Boeing 787 redeye from Bali to Melbourne says he slipped in water in the aircraft lavatory and is suing.
The incident bears a striking resemblance to the bullet that shot John F. Kennedy.
This week’s amazing Cathay Pacific business and first class fare deal is being honored. Following right on after that Air New Zealand offered business class between Chicago and Sydney for under $1500 roundtrip.
If you booked this and your ticket is still intact it appears the deal will be honored. Congratulations!
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 »
