New Democrat House Transportation Chairman: Puppet of Big US Airlines

by Gary Leff

inside qatar plane
Dec 20 2018

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.

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New Delta Award Pricing Quirk Saves 44,000 Miles

by Gary Leff

delta plane
Dec 20 2018

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.

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New Marriott Loyalty Program Continues to Disappoint Members

by Gary Leff

breakfast food styrofoam container
Dec 19 2018

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.

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This Is How It’s Done: Saving Hundreds Of Thousands of Miles on an Award

by Gary Leff

delta plane
Dec 19 2018

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.

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Mother May I? US Reminds Europeans to Ask Permission 72 Hours in Advance to Come Here

by Gary Leff

Dec 18 2018

U.S. travelers are certainly aware of the challenges of dealing with visa applications to visit certain countries, and how much simpler it is to visit somewhere that either doesn’t require a visa for U.S. citizens or allows for visa on arrival.

The U.S. won’t allow foreigners without approved visa or ESTA to board aircraft headed for the U.S. That raises the transaction costs of coming here, which makes doing business with the U.S., spending tourism dollars, and supporting U.S. industry more difficult for little security benefit in exchange.

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