One of my all-time favorite YouTube videos is about the Diamond elite guest checking into the wrong hotel, demanding the best suite available, and space for his giraffe.
In proof that life inevitably meets satire, a woman checked into a hotel in Georgetown, Kentucky… with a horse.
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.
Star Alliance member Avianca’s LifeMiles program is selling miles with up to a 125% bonus (so under 1.5 cents apiece) through tomorrow.
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.
On a Frontier flight from St. Louis to Denver a passenger went off on a “drunken tirade”.
The African American woman sitting next to him videotaped the episode in which he declared he should get what he wanted — even though “crew members allegedly refused to continue serving him alcohol” — because he was playing his ‘effing white card’. Things didn’t end well.
American Express CEO Ken Chenault will retire at then end of the year after 16 years in the role.
American Express was a strong performer for much of Chenault’s tenure but faced real challenges in recent years as it lost the Costco business and had to compete far more aggressively for premium cardholder business that was traditionally its exclusive domain.
Two months ago OTG opened a new restaurant at Newark that received fanfare like pretty much no airport restaurant ever. It’s called Classified and everyone wanted to go because it was exclusive.
Now even I — a United Silver with no travel plans through Newark and little history of the same — can make a reservation. If you want to check out the secret place, it’s worth trying to log in yourself.
I’d view this as a $50 rebate on a minimum of 3 nights’ hotel, of $16.67 per night. And after that you can earn 4000 points which I see as a $12 rebate per night on a 2-night stay.
Definitely worth registering for.
‘Real metal’ cards like the JP Morgan Palladium were cool 4 and 5 years ago for sure. But now that everyone is doing metal it’s no longer quite as exclusive.
However the chilling story of an assassination attempt on a Canadian CEO may have just made me a convert to metal credit cards.
Some programs have expiring miles. For instance, miles earned today will expire in 3 years if unused. Other programs have expiring accounts. You account becomes inactive if there’s no earning or redemption in, say, 18 or 36 months — but any activity in your account extends the life of your miles.
One airline has a policy much more draconian than this: the entire program expires.
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 »
