Covering how to prepare yourself for the turmoil of air travel this summer – since so many flights are cancelling, and there are few seats available for rebooking – I suggested booking a backup itinerary using miles for travel later in the day or the next day, and then cancelling the award ticket when your planned flight works out.
However I was asked, “Isn’t United charging for redeposit?” The answer is no, and it wouldn’t matter if they did.
Delta eliminated traditional mileage upgrades in 2019, and they no longer let top tier elite members upgrade paid coach tickets to business class. Upgrades with miles can now cost as much as one million miles roundtrip.
Back in September Oman Air announced its intention to join oneworld alliance and that it is working with Qatar Airways on its application as a sponsor.
Now joining is official.
A reader asked why I haven’t covered this past weekend’s drama. The truth is I’ve gotten numb it all because it is largely the same story week after week with passengers stranded amidst cancellations, and with flights full there’s no slack – very few seats for people to get rebooked onto – which means that the consequences of cancellations are greater than ever.
Here’s why airlines are struggling, and what you can do about it.
This is the setup to a report on my just-completed Australia trip, with Air Canada business class awards on the outbound and United The trip started with Air Canada’s brand new Austin – Vancouver flight, followed by a stopover and then a visit to Air Canada’s Signature Suite – along with their Toronto lounge, the best business class dining in North America.
Point.me lets you search award space across pretty much every airline, shows you the best way to book a flight, with the lowest prices, and which points to use, and even walks you through the process – click by click – of transferring points and creating your booking (this is the past I like the best).
The United Airlines is fundamentally intertwined with George Gershwin’s 1924 Rhapsody in Blue. It’s hard to imagine that when Continental Airlines management took over they considered dropping the song which the airline has used since the 1980s. United was the first commercial brand ever to license it, for an annual fee of $300,000 at the time.
The Gershwin piece wasn’t just used on board and in commercials but also a version was recorded for the ‘trippy tunnel’ connecting United concourses at Chicago O’Hare. But United didn’t always use this song.
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.
Delta’s Sky Clubs have been packed. Not only are they limiting club use to within 3 hours of flight departure (with one executive declaring Sky Clubs ‘aren’t a WeWork’) they’re testing fast track priority lanes for top tier elites to skip the queue to get into lounges.
I love the look of their new premium credit card design, but as far as their lounges go, when everyone has access nobody does.
When the police get involve after threats of violence over accommodations reviews that may be a one-off, rather than representative of the platform. But it’s also a reminder that you don’t really know whom you’re renting from – or to.
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 »
