News and notes from around the interweb:

• Singapore Airlines introduces the option to spend their Krisflyer miles as cash towards a ticket. But at meaningfully less than a penny a point in value, the only reason ever to do this is if the miles are going to expire. While in some sense ‘more options are better,’ it represents a poor value, and underscores why I dislike “revenue-based” redemptions so much.

• From the ‘I wish they’d planned to remain a standalone airline’ file: American Airlines made money during the 2nd quarter of 2013 — $220 million even including bankruptcy expenses – the first second quarter profit for the airline since 2007. Chapter 11 cost cutting made a big difference for the airline.

• NBC covers United’s new Mercedes tarmac transfer test. The piece included a photo of mine riding behind a 747 in a Lufthansa car.

  Delta began a similar car service featuring Porsche vehicles at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in 2011 and that was likely the catalyst for United to launch its own program, said Gary Leff, a frequent flier and loyalty program expert who runs the blog, View from the Wing.

  “If you want to offer premium service and be competitive in that space … (this may be) something that makes the customers who are buying incredibly expensive tickets happy — it can expedite connections, it can make those customers feel special,” Leff said, emphasizing it’s an unexpected perk.

  It’s not something you can ever count on, even with Delta. It’s a surprise and delight kind of thing.”

• How to Change a United Ticket. United makes it much easier than American, I much wish my preferred airline waived same-day confirmed change fees for elites.

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