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.
Just since Monday we’ve seen the amazing Cathay Pacific business and first class fare deal get honored and we’ve seen business class between Chicago and Sydney for under $1500 roundtrip. Now it looks like there’s another special fare deal out there.
There’s an Alitalia business class offer starting at $538 roundtrip between Barcelona and New York JFK — and possibly also Los Angeles and Chicago.
Are water filling stations a good idea? We all know not to drink water from a plane’s on board tanks. But do you trust your government-run airport to ensure clean water? How aboutin Detroit?
Water fountains at the Cleveland airport were shut down after at least half a dozen passengers on a Frontier flight became violently ill.
The biggest end of year miles and points news is definitely that Capital One has introduced the ability to transfer their miles to a variety of different airlines. That’s a game changer because the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is now a double threat. When you spend on the card you earn your choice of 2% back towards paid travel, or up to 1.5 airline frequent flyer miles per dollar spent.
Here are thoughts on how to best transfer your points and book award travel using this new option.
Marriott has provided additional information on their massive data breach. We’re supposed to be comforted that it’s ‘only’ 383 million and not 500 million records that were accessed.
Marriott still hasn’t told us anything about their notes on your as as a customer that were taken.
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.
Southwest Airlines was incorporated as Air Southwest Company by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. Kelleher believed that by operating solely within the State of Texas an airline could avoid federal regulation — meaning they would be free to fly without Civil Aeronautics Board permission. It would also mean they wouldn’t have to charge the high fares mandated by the CAB.
King and Kelleher, together with banker John Parker, are said to have sketched out the idea for the airline on a napkin in a San Antonio restaurant.
The US State Department has updated its travel advisory for China. That’s getting plenty of coverage but let’s keep things in perspective.
The US is advising the same level of caution for Beijing as Paris. I guess tourist scams like Chinese tea ceremonies are about on par as someone ‘finding a ring you must have dropped’ by the Eiffel Tower.
Pakistan International Airlines has sent a memo to all of its flight attendants demanding weight loss.
There’s a requirement for those that are 30 pounds over the company’s rules which demands flight attendants lose 5 pounds per month with the waiver shrinking 5 pounds each month until starting in July no ‘excess weight’ will be permitted. Instead, overweight flight attendants will be grounded and referred for medical treatment.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is increasing mileage prices for business and first class awards effective January 24, most US routes see an increase of 7000 miles each way for business class and 12,000 for first class.
They’re also making several other changes to the program.
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 »
