The captain of yesterday’s United flight UA1212 from San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta made an announcement that many people feel the country needs to hear right now. It’s been a crazy week. We all were exhausted by the election and looked forward to our Facebook feeds returning to puppies and kittens. Now shut up about politics at least if you’re ‘in a metal tube at 35,000 feet’.
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.
A woman was set to fly from Chicago-Midway to Birmingham on Southwest Airlines. Except she didn’t. She disappeared. She was traveling with her family, and they started looking for her.
The US Department of Transportation requires airlines to offer consumers either 24 hour holds or 24 hour refunds for tickets they sell which are purchased at least a week in advance of travel.
United and Delta have offered 24 hour refunds even day of travel, not limiting the “courtesy cancel” benefit to reservations that are at least 7 days prior to departure.
United e-ticket confirmations now include a 7 day requirement describing the benefit, while United’s website does not.
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.
There are fares from New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to Delhi starting at $471 roundtrip.
There’s also New York to Bangkok or Phuket from $497 roundtrip, with travel mid-February through mid-April.
Based on reports from several readers it appears that American Airlines is in the midst of an across-the-board systems issue. It’s unclear the cause or how long it will last though I will update.
Former Congressman Aaron Schock has been indicted by the FBI, accused of a dizzying array of fraudulent transactions to enrich himself.
Politicians get special travel perks anyway and when they’re pushing the envelope, they often do it across the board, including with miles. So it’s no real surprise that former Congressman Schock dipped into campaign funds when an award redemption went awry.
The biggest tradeoff with Hyatt’s program changes for many is that top tier status becomes harder to qualify for (although everyone who made elite status under the current rules will be grandfathered through February 2018).
Since the Hyatt program has the most lucrative top tier among the major hotel loyalty offerings, there are plenty of people considering whether it makes sense to try to get in under the wire with status before the rules change.
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 »
