Both chains are more booking platforms than hoteliers, since they not only don’t own hotels they generally don’t run them either, preferring to franchise. Choice currently has over 7,000 properties and Wyndham over 9,000.
Chase has been planning ‘the new Chase Travel’ for some time. They even promised it would launch last year. The idea is to bring together all of the disparate assets, from booking to dining to advice, in order to become a force in lifestyle that competes with the biggest players in the space. This is supposed to appeal to affluent customers who will be stickier with Chase’s banking services, and help them grab a greater share of investable assets and card spend.
They provided some data on where they are and where they’re going as part of the bank’s investor day.
They called their bank right away to cancel the card account number, and they went ahead and cancelled the flight while it was still during its 24 hour free refund period. The person who used their stolen card texted their frustration over not being able to use the tickets. Their travel, they said, was important!
Southwest’s consumer credit cards from Chase all have an innovative new offer. They’ve increased the initial bonus off points, but have added a unique twist – a discount code for use on a future trip that can be… very valuable.
Hilton has announced a new extended stay hotel brand that’s supposed to resemble an apartment for guests planning visits of at least 20 days. They’re announcing it even before they have a name. For now, it’s Project H3.
I’ve read the release and have no idea how their concept is different, other than a lobby that “allows sight lines from the front desk to fitness, laundry, and a simple retail market” and communal grills and fire pit.
The captain of an American Airlines flight comes out into the cabin – into economy, no less – to talk to passengers about their flight delay. He explains what happened, that the aircraft had arrived late from Puerto Vallarta, and he offered that they planned to make up a few minutes in the air if they could. He even offered to take passenger questions. But talking to passengers in person isn’t all that the captain did.
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No matter how young, children still need their own approved Global Entry application in order to use Global Entry machines and lanes when going through U.S. immigration. But they don’t need it for airport security. And the TSA has increased the age from 13 to 18 for when that changes.
It’s one thing to lie down across a row of seats. It’s another to do it with your shoes and socks off. But it’s something else entirely to prop one of those bare feet up on a try table.
When one airline executive described their new domestic coach cabin – with less legroom, smaller lavatories, and no seat back TVs but faster internet – as a ‘living room experience’ I don’t think this scene from a Seattle – Orange County flight is what they had in mind. You may do this in your own living room, but hopefully not with company over – yet alone in the company of 100 strangers?
On Friday a federal judge rules that the American Airlines-JetBlue partnership violates anti-trust laws, since they go beyond frequent flyer reciprocity and divvy up which airline flies to a given destination and share revenue.
Most of the coverage of the ruling says that the partnership is over as a result of the judge’s ruling. As a matter of law that’s wrong – there’s plenty of avenue to appeal and drag this out for a long time. But maybe what kills the deal will be JetBlue?
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 »
