One of the most frustrating things for airline passengers is being forced to give up their carry-on bag at the gate. You’re supposed to be allowed a carry-on and a personal item when you fly on most airlines in the U.S. However, overhead bins fill up, and passengers getting on the plane last are often forced to ‘gate check’ their bags because the plane runs out of room.
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.
They’ve just added two new points transfer partners: Air Canada Aeroplan and SAS EuroBonus, making them the only U.S. program transferring to SAS.
Chase is revamping its Sapphire Reserve card. It’ll be more expensive, and the earning and redemption proposition will be different. There are a lot more credits than before. So what’s the next effect on cardmembers – are the changes to Sapphire Reserve good or bad?
Delta and American Express are working on a new premium credit card, positioned as higher-end than their current premium Delta Reserve card that comes with lounge access.
Monday’s KLM flight from Amsterdam to Toronto, flight 691, turned around a couple of hours into its journey. The Airbus A330-300 PH‑AKA returned to Amsterdam – because the airline realized it wasn’t legal to fly.
It seemed worth pulling out separately things like ‘what happens to my existing Sapphire Reserve points?’ and ‘when does this change actually go into effect for existing customers?’ And perhaps even more importantly, ‘is there a brief window for me to choose whether I like the old or new product better?’
Until now they haven’t had a business version of the popular Sapphire Reserve card. That’s surprising. Amex has the Business Platinum. Even Capital One has Venture X Business. Yet Chase’s small business cards focused on the entry-level Ink and the mid-tier product that was closer to Sapphire Preferred.
While some members will find reason to be disappointed, overall I think they’ve done a really great job re-engineering the economics of the card both to benefit their own book and to offer more value to cardmembers.
Gondola.ai is an AI-powered hotel search and booking platform that compares cash and points rates, provides personalized recommendations, and tracking loyalty program balances.
You earn rebates on booking hotel stays through them – even though they are just passing you through to the chain’s website to complete the reservation. And they do a nice job helping you compare hotel redemption options swiftly.
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 »
