Earning American AAdvantage elite status is going to require minimum spending next year in addition to miles flown.
Like Delta, they are making it possible to earn qualifying dollars when flying on partner airlines. American will not get the data on the fare for each segment if the flight doesn’t have an American Airlines code on it, so they’re going to award qualifying dollars based on distance and fare class.
I have a basic framework for how each of the three major US airlines operates today. The variance between them is shrinking, as Delta is the best-run overall of the three and the most admired. Both United and American executives have spoken glowingly of their rival, and clearly want to be more like them.
This framework is useful to me as I see news about an airline. Every item gets processed alongside a context for who the airline is, what’s in its DNA. That news either comports with my pre-existing model, or conflicts and requires updating the model.
This morning word leaked that Singapore Airlines would be announcing non-stop service between San Francisco and Singapore with an Airbus A350. That’s true.
But there are several new details that are known, and even the launch of an additional new route — and a route that’s losing the Airbus A380 in the process.
The no annual fee Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card which is a 2% cash back card now has a signup bonus through December 31 of $100 after $1000 spend within 90 days.
This is gold standard for cash back, but you can get a much higher effective rate of return for a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. Here’s how.
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.
United has started to fly San Francisco – Singapore non-stop with a Boeing 787-9. It’s a directly blow against erstwhile partner Singapore Airlines.
Now Singapore is apparently going to announce a return to the U.S. two years early with San Francisco – Singapore non-stop service.
TV food personality Alton Brown tweets his unhappiness with Delta SkyMiles Platinum status.
What’s going on with upgrades is that Delta now monetizes 57% of its domestic first class seats and projects getting to 70% in 2018. When there are no more ‘leftover’ first class seats, that’s the end of first class upgrades. It’s a far cry from a decade ago when only 10% of forward cabin seats were purchased directly.
Citi has offered ThankYou Rewards for many years. Although it means different things for different cardmembers, and has been revamped several times.
AT&T is launching a new program, AT&T thanks. And Citibank is suing for trademark infringement.
Marriott will give you 500 points for following them on Instagram by June 21.
Once you follow Marriott Rewards on Instagram, go to this link and enter the email address associated with your Marriott Rewards account. It took me a few minutes to realize where on the page you do this:
Costco will start accepting Visa on June 20. The Citi website for the new Costco card will be live at that time.
Chase offered ‘warehouse clubs’ as a 5x earning category in the second quarter for their Freedom product. Clearly Chase wanted to get the message out that you can use their cards at Costco, too. In fact, Chase issues almost exclusively with Visa as a result of a flat rate pricing deal for use of Visa’s network.
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 »
