Back in September Lufthansa became the 19th airline set up with TSA PreCheck. By joining Air Canada, Etihad, Aeromexico and WestJet, what was once US airlines only — and not even all of them at that — the massive US data-sharing, surveillance and passenger-convenience program had gone global.
The TSA’s website still lists only 19 airlines however they’ve just announced the addition of 11 more airlines including Spirit, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Avianca.
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.
The best way to get an airfare deal is to research and learn what tickets on your route usually cost and watch pricing, and buy when the cost is lower than normal.
The trick to this is to be looking far enough in advance that a sale is more likely than the price creeping up. Close to departure prices are more likely to go up than down, as tickets sell out on full planes.
American’s award chart prices increased quite a bit last March. Prices went up astronomically for international first class awards to many destinations.
As a result, many people booked award trips in first class far off into the future, figuring that they could change the dates later. The idea was to lock in the price by issuing tickets prior to March 22 of last year, and then change the award as-needed.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting on a draft executive order that would suspend the US Visa Waiver program.
Citizens of 38 countries apply online for entry to the US for up to 90 days. The ESTA is in lieu of a formal visa, which requires an interview. Suspending this program would require visitors to the US to obtain the formal visa instead, scheduling US embassy interviews.
Starting February 1 Hilton will offer 2000 bonus points per night with no minimum stays and no limits for which nights of the week.
I value Hilton points at $0.004 per point, which makes 2000 points worth $8 per night. That’s not a lot, but it’s a bonus on top of your regular earning and in percentage terms it can be a large rebate on the least expensive room rates. It’s sort of the “anti-revenue based promotion.”
It’s a sad state for Venezuelans, mostly. Stealing billions of dollars from international airlines didn’t help. The country is crumbling. Literally.
A bridge collapsed preventing the crew of yesterday’s Iberia flight IB6674 flight to Madrid from making it to the airport on time. They had to sail to the airport.
Czech is a member of SkyTeam and all paid Delta flights other than Basic Economy E fares earn one mile per mile flown regardless of price of the ticket or fare class.
Interestingly Iceland is in the same zone as the US. You can fly Delta’s seasonal service between the US and Reykjavik for 35,000 miles roundtrip in economy (60,000 in business). North America – South America is just 75,000 miles roundtrip in business class (on, say, Aeromexico or Aerolineas Argentinas). North America – Europe as well as North Africa is just 110,000 miles roundtrip in business class.
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.
American Airlines has offered power to passengers, but US Airways didn’t. In fact, after America West acquired US Airways they removed power from the US Airways planes that already had it. The idea was to reduce weight and save fuel.
It’s been over three years since the American Airlines – US Airways merger. They’ve combined frequent flyer programs and reservation systems. They’ve bought back billions of dollars worth of stock. But most US Airways planes still have the same interiors — no Main Cabin Extra (extra legroom seating in coach) and no seat power. There hasn’t even been an announced plan to change domestic Airbus aircraft other than the A319s.
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 »
