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What’s the Worst International First Class in the World?

by Gary Leff on September 22, 2019

airline cabin

Sep 22 2019

Now that BA has finally gotten their act together on internet – fuel surcharges on award tickets aside – I’d fly them over American, though I do think Qatar Airways QSuites is better than British Airways first class (and the new ANA business class seems like it may be as well).

Since I rank both Air China (as well as China Eastern) over American, and British Airways as well, is there any airline besides TAAG Angola at the bottom of the list if we were to put together an argument for absolute worst international first class in the world?

The Great ‘Book Direct’ and Hotel ‘Best Rate Guarantee’ Scam

by Gary Leff on September 22, 2019

Sep 22 2019

The truth is that hotels do regularly sell rooms cheaper through third parties than they do on their own website, they just work really hard to disguise it and to gate off consumers from accessing those cheaper rates – because they want to fill incremental rooms that would go unsold, but without undercutting the prices they can book the rest of their rooms at.

Gold Smuggler Caught Because He Was Unwilling to Pay Overweight Checked Bag Fees

by Gary Leff on September 22, 2019

Sep 22 2019

A man running a gold smuggling ring out of Singapore has pled guilty to corruption after airline check-in counter staff flipped on the operation. Apparently he wasn’t just shipping his gold as checked luggage, he was too cheap to pay the excess baggage fees and bribed counter staff to understate the weight of the bags on Tigerair flights to Chennai.

If he had been willing to pay for his checked bags, he might not have been caught.

The British Royals Have Their Own Private Lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 5

by Gary Leff on September 22, 2019

meghan markle prince harry

Sep 22 2019

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 Passenger Smoked a Joint, So the Plane Diverted to Denver

by Gary Leff on September 21, 2019

cookie in tray

Sep 21 2019

An hour into Friday’s American Airlines AA2408 from Phoenix to Minneapolis the captain decided to divert to Denver when an “unruly passenger” who told seatmates that “he was on cocaine” locked himself in the lavatory before flight attendants got him to come out when he “eventually li[t..] up marijuana in the cabin.”

Flying While Muslim is Hard in This Country

by Gary Leff on September 21, 2019

american eagle plane

Sep 21 2019

Two Muslim men had their American Eagle flight cancelled last Saturday because one of the men – an AAdvantage Executive Platinum member – used the plane’s lavatory while the flight was delayed on the ground, and because passengers and crew don’t like flying with Muslims.

The cause of the concern? When the man visited the lavatory he flushed twice.

There Are So Many Considerations Booking Award Travel, It’s Hard to Keep All of It Straight

by Gary Leff on September 21, 2019

lie flat seat

Sep 21 2019

The six things I had to consider and three extra steps I had to take to book an upcoming trip to Paris with my wife and young daughter.

American Airlines Bereavement and Critical Illness Change Fee Waiver and Refund Policy

by Gary Leff on September 21, 2019

american airlines

Sep 21 2019

Oddly American waived my full change fee last year when my dog became critically ill, but only part of my change fee when my grandmother passed. Now I’ll know to insist on a full change fee waiver if a family funeral conflicts with travel in the future.

How American Airlines Bungled Itself Into Offering Unlimited Lifetime First Class Travel

by Gary Leff on September 21, 2019

Sep 21 2019

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.

Where Do Citibank Cards Stand With All the Recent and Upcoming Changes?

by Gary Leff on September 20, 2019

citi bank

Sep 20 2019

Their no annual fee card that earns 2% back is about to become much more useful, but travel protections are out the window from most of their cards in a matter of days. What’s the best Citi Rewards cards out there in light of these changes?

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 »