The Department of Transportation doesn’t regulate frequent flyer programs, but it has held hearings on the possibility. They aren’t likely to do anything soon. It’s another agency of government, though, that has some loyalty programs worried.
Starwood CEO Adam Aron had an interesting story to tell when I interviewed him on stage in Atlanta. He began his career at Pan Am, where he eventually launched their first frequent flyer program. When he started at the airline he was taken into a dark room and put in front of a screen where he was shown a two hour documentary on the runway collision of two Boeing 747s at Tenerife in 1977, known as the deadliest accident in aviation history. A KLM flight tried to take off while Pan Am’s 747 was on the runway. Everyone onboard the KLM 747 was killed, and 335 people onboard the Pan Am aircraft lost their lives. As the video ended his colleague walked into the room, and told him that every decision at the airline matters.…
A collection of interesting links you’ll want to see, many you’ll want to click.
Merrill Lynch has downgraded American Airlines stock to a ‘neutral’ rating just as airline CEO Doug Parker elected to take all his compensation in stock.
Remember that neutral means sell (and sell means build a shelter and accumulate canned goods and bullets). Historically an investment firm wouldn’t rate a sell (or likely even neutral, since ‘buy’ is considered neutral) if they hoped to get business from that firm in the future.
The Hyatt Visa has a fantastic new offer: no fee the first year (then $75), 2 free nights at any Hyatt, a $50 statement credit and 5000 points for adding a no fee authorized user to the account. That’s a huge improvement, and totally worth getting… even if the card is only ‘ok’ for ongoing spend.
Starting October 1 the transfer ratio for American Express to both British Airways and Iberia (whose points transfer to British Airways) will drop to 5-to-4. It will take 250 Membership Rewards points to get 200 British Airways or Iberia points. My prediction for Chase transfers is a bit different.
A Florida man allegedly made and cancelled Choice Hotels reservations, and in the process picked up enough points to redeem for nearly $50,000 in gift cards. Choice’s IT, it seems, let him do it. Instead of taking responsibility for their mistakes, they’re suing.
Sometimes mileage-earning strategies even wind up in criminal court… Should they?
In undercover tests the TSA failed to detect weapons and explosives 95% of the time.
I’ve had some time to think about this result, and what it means… and most importantly what the government’s reaction may be.
Already the TSA’s acting director has been reassigned because someone must take responsibility and goodness knows it won’t be the people who designed our current approach to security.
Etihad Guest has been a surprisingly generous program, more so than their competitors in the Middle East region in my opinion.
They’re a Citibank ThankYou rewards transfer partner, and their award availability is good (I’ve always booked my Etihad awards through American AAdvantage, however).
Effective July 8, Etihad is making some major changes to its frequent flyer program — along the lines of rewarding premium fares more than cheap ones (although rewarding everyone less overall) and becoming less generous especially for premium cabin upgrades and redemptions.
I had an opportunity to see American Express Centurion lounge Miami last night and try the food since I was invited to the pre-opening party there.
The food was outstanding, especially the beef short rib and the fried chicken. There’s a spa, a kids room, and shower room. And gorgeous floor to ceiling windows spanning much of the lounge that overlook airport operations.
For sheer contrast with the rest of the Miami airport, this lounge is an amazing respite and a real win now that it’s opened.
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 »
