Te Department of Transportation reinforced that when airlines cancel flights they are required to give a customer back their money. They cannot keep money for services that aren’t rendered.
However it’s worth underscoring that refunds for future airline tickets aren’t just due to you in the event the flight you booked is cancelled. Refunds are also required in the event of a significant schedule change as well.
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.
Wyndham Rewards is extending all current elite member status through December 31, 2021. Many of us noted that Marriott was last to extend status, but that’s not true. Don’t forget Wyndham!
American Airlines shared a message from their CEO and their President this week, along with photos of these two executives traveling around the system meeting with employees and encouraging them during difficult times for the airline.
Supposedly the photos are examples of the airline’s leadership ‘social distancing’ but they’re sure curious photo picks for that.
As part of American’s plan to extend elite status through January 31, 2022, the airline shared that they would be offering up to $400 credits with American Airlines Vacations.
This benefit will vary from $300 to $400 depending on level of elite status held on June 30. Here’s how it will work.
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.
American Airlines is extending current elite status through January 31, 2022. They’re also making elite status easier to earn this year. They’re extending Admirals Club memberships, and they’re making Million Miler status easier to earn through the end of this year, too.
Many members were getting frustrated not hearing anything about American’s plans to extend their elite status. They earned the benefits through flying last year, and won’t have the full opportunity to use those benefits in 2020, and want to know what their travel with American will be like going forward. American has answered those concerns.
In the years following 9/11, as airlines struggled, and again during the financial crisis airlines pre-sold miles to their credit card partners at a discount in order to raise cash quickly. United and Delta each pre-sold miles, the former for about $500 million and the latter twice totaling about $1 billion. American did it too with Citibank. These ‘cheap miles’ paved the way for banks to offer big bonuses to consumers both for acquisition and for ongoing spend.
These conversations have started again as a way to raise cash.
It will take some time before international travel comes back in more than a limited way. Countries won’t open their borders all at once, and may impose quarantines or restrictions on entry with greater health checks initially when they do. More onerous procedures will mean less travel overall and fewer flights.
Europe is talking about limiting entry through September, including an especially from the United States, while Australia may not even let its citizens leave their country this year.
One reason that the economy won’t return quickly to the way that it was is that people’s preferences are shifting. It’s going to be hard to get people to return to movie theaters, concerns, and sporting arenas – places where large groups congregate, and people are forced close together. Restaurants may have to halve their capacity for some time to move people farther apart. These changes in consumer preferences, which will persist once lockdowns lift, will change what products people want to buy and change how companies need to market to them.
Cleaning is going to be an important selling point to bring back travel.
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 »
