Frontier is compressing down to one elite status tier in their frequent flyer program. Starting February 20, 2015, the EarlyReturns program will retire Ascent and Summit elite status and launch a brand new elite tier, Frontier Elite. Status is earned by flying 20,000 miles or 25 segments during the calendar year. Members get: Priority check-in, boarding, and security Advance seat assignments Complimentary carry on bag Extra legroom seating at checkin only The ability to redeem extra miles for better award inventory Standby and same-day confirmed fees waived Unaccompanied minor fees waived Phone booking fee waived Notice anything missing? No free checked bags for elites No more change fee waivers No more advance seat assignments for extra legroom seating Dedicated elite customer service Bonus flight miles Complimentary beverages Free name changes Guaranteed flight availability How would…
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Miami is the Airport of the Year! The Most Bizarre Passengers! The Best Korean Food..
News and notes from around the interweb: Miami wins an ‘Airport of the Year’ award from the Air Line Pilots Association. Naturally, they used a methodology that may even be worse than how US News picks the best frequent flyer program. Put it this way, I don’t trust any pilot to fly an airplane if they voted for Miami as being the best airport. I need to try this the next time I’m annoyed by an airline’s call center. 21 Photos of Bizarre Passengers on Planes (HT: Rob R.) What Makes a Good Korean Restaurant? (HT: Marginal Revolution) By the way, this one is very good. Lyft’s New Ridesharing Service is the Beginning of the End for Public Buses You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign…
Here’s American’s New Airport Lounge Strategy, and What Makes an Airline’s Lounge Indispensable (No Matter How Good the Alternatives)
I recently saw a photo cross my Facebook stream of a soda machine in the American Airlines Admirals Club in St. Louis and it somehow struck me. That was new. Pretty minor, but new. That small change anchored a sense that something was up, along with American opening a new lounge in Buenos Aires which looked pretty good. American also just opened another lounge at LAX, of all places in the midfield terminal used for regional flights. That’s something which would sure make waiting over there more pleasant, as it’s pretty barren otherwise. I spoke with Mimi Chen from American’s Premium Services to understand what was going on.
American AAdvantage Won’t Be Going Revenue-Based Any Time Soon
Yesterday I referenced an interview with Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, where he said that American and US Airways would combine frequent flyer programs in the first six months of 2015. I noted that was intriguing because American has been clear it won’t combine reservation systems until the end of 2015. Instead of a big bang, combining everything at once, it appears they’re going with a phased-in integration. That to me was news — both the timeline, and that it appears to differ for the frequent flyer program and the airlines themselves. What I didn’t highlight were Parker’s reported comments about revenue-based frequent flyer programs.
What’s Really Going on With TSA PreCheck?
One Mile at a Time writes about a frustrating TSA PreCheck phenomenon: in the rush to expand PreCheck and send as many passengers through expedited screening, the TSA has been randomly selected folks who have no idea what PreCheck is. If security matters at all, randomly not doing security seems strange. But pushing about half of all passengers through a handful of lanes when those passengers don’t pass quickly has led to frustrating PreCheck lines at times. Most reporting has suggested that the TSA plans to: Phase out the practice of randomly picking people for PreCheck, which has led to a frequent traveler happy dance — fewer uneducated passengers clogging up the lines. Rely more on paid individual signups — it’s all about the Benjamins. But that’s only partially correct. As transportation researcher Robert Poole…
How Much Do Hotel Toiletries Cost, and Should You Take Them?
Forbes carries an illuminating piece on hotel toileteries. (HT: Alan H.) Hotels want you to take the amenities: (Although they don’t want you to take a handful off the housekeeping cart…) When guests take their toiletries home with them it’s a signal to the hotel team that they’ve done a good job picking the right products. They’re also hoping you’ll think of your hotel stay when you end up using that bottle of lotion later on. “If you take it, then you must have liked it,” says Scott Mitchell, director of design and development for Marriott International Hyatt even produced a video telling you to take the toileteries. But IHG’s towel amnesty notwithstanding, hotels don’t want you to take the towels. Packaging considerations: After the brands and scents are selected, mock-ups are then made for…
A Credit Card That Rebates More Than You Spend, Save Money on Lyft, and Delta Stops Selling Duty Free Tomorrow
News and Notes from Around the Interweb: TSA employee solicits child sex using work computer. Gets arrested by a sting operation. Claims he was really just running own rogue sting operation. Just who you want running the nude-o-scopes, right? Philippine Airlines has advice for tourists visiting post-coup Thailand: don’t take selfies with solders without their permission, don’t wear red, and don’t bring copies of 1984. I stand by How Will Thailand’s Military Coup Affect Travel? (HT: Toqueville) Support TravelBlawg as an ABA Top 100 Legal Blog. I’ll be honest and say that my favorite legal blog is The Volokh Conspiracy (which, coincidentally, was the very first blog to link to mine 12 years ago). But surely TravelBlawg is in the top 100… So help a guy out. Credit card that earns 25 cents in rewards…
I Have the Secret Documents! Here’s the Food and Cocktails Menu for the New American Express Centurion Lounge at LaGuardia
Yesterday I shared a detailed pre-opening review of the new New York LaGuardia American Express Centurion Lounge. I’ve gotten hold of the opening menu, complete with food, wine, and specialty cocktail offerings. (They have a full bar as well, and all food and beverages are complimentary once in the lounge.)
A New and Totally Unexpected Approach to Integrating American and US Airways
American’s Chief Operating Officer said that American and US Airways wouldn’t combine until late 2015. American’s Chairman and CEO gave an interview where he said that the two frequent flyer programs would combine in the first half of 2015. At first I thought these two statements were in conflict. Perhaps Parker was misquoted, or misspoke, or a change in course came about just in the past two weeks. But someone at American pointed out to me that Isom was talking about the passenger service system and Parker was talking about the frequent flyer programs. Should that even matter?
American Express Will Let You Transfer Credit Between Your Accounts On Its Website
American Express used to make it really easy to transfer credit between cards online. They took away the feature several years ago, then brought it back but hid it. It’s come and go a few times. It’s currently available and easy to find. This can be really useful, for instance: You may want more credit on a card temporarily to make large purchases. It’s better to have a higher credit line that covers your purchases than to max out your credit and then pay it off (multiple times) mid-cycle. And that lets you make big purchases without split tender transactions (getting the merchants to split up a purchase across multiple cards). You may want to preserve your credit without keeping a card. You transfer the bulk of your credit off of a card that you…
