American Airlines just sent me a ‘year in review’ and it tells me everything I need to know about the value of Executive Platinum status. I’ve just requalified with a flight where I sat in the last row of coach, and it’s time to ponder the value I get out of my elite relationship going forward.
A 21 year old woman flying from Libreville, Congo to San Francisco via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines gave birth to a son she calls Bennel during her first flight segment this month. Her husband – who is a doctor – delivered the baby three hours into the flight.
There were 144 passengers on board when the plane took off, and 145 when it landed. The rear of the aircraft was cleared to become a “makeshift delivery suite.”
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. With Republicans in control of the US House of Representatives they had Bill Shuster (R-Airlines for America) to do their bidding. He was dating a top lobbyist from the airline industry. His Chief of Staff was married to another top airline industry lobbyist. And he hired an airline industry lobbyist to run the Transportation Committee.
Now with Democrats regaining control of the House Pete DeFazio of Oregon isn’t missing a beat.
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.
It’s often a good idea to book Delta awards to Europe as roundtrip anyway because if you book two one way tickets then the one originating in Europe will incur fuel surcharges. Delta imposes those on members because they can and because many European programs do, so why be better than their European competitors for award travel which starts on the continent?
There’s another reason to at least search roundtrip and not just one way: Delta may charge fewer miles, too.
Italian police shared video of a security checkpoint at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport where a passenger clearing security absconded with envelopes full of cash.
The thief was arrested. The money was recovered. And the Italian police didn’t even keep it for themselves. Watch:
A handful of dates in February and plenty of dates in March – still peak season – have the American Airlines non-stop flights between Los Angeles and Auckland, New Zealand pricing from $420 roundtrip.
This is an excellent opportunity to visit New Zealand at a bargain fare provided you’re amenable to making the journey in economy.
What happens when hotels change award categories without notice — right as members who have been waiting for months have been allowed to redeem? And how are some hotels ‘complying’ with Marriott’s elite breakfast benefits?
The problem I think is that the chain’s CEO describes the frustration of his best customers as noise around the edges rather than tackling the problem with open arms. Bill Marriott said the purpose of the Starwood acquisition was to give them scale and leverage. I noted at the time this included leverage over customers.
Three years ago I outlined 11 Controversial Things I Believe. The predictions which have had time to come true or be proven false have actually borne out fairly well. One though I just got flat wrong.
Here are 7 controversial things I currently believe. Tell me that you think I’m wrong.
The reason I love points in credit card programs that transfer to frequent flyer miles is flexibility. I don’t know which airline is going to offer the award that I want when I want it. When I can transfer to airlines in all of the different alliances, and to airlines that offer more availability to their own members to partners, I really multiply the chances of getting the saver award I’m looking for. And I make my miles go a lot farther.
What’s more, several foreign frequent flyer programs will give you the same awards that a US airline will — for fewer miles. They partner with the US airline, but have a more favorable award chart.
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 »
