I hate non-refundable hotel rates. Even when I think my plans are firm you’d be surprised how often something comes up and plans change. Plus I may want to stay somewhere else even if I”m going to be in the same city. Or rates will drop so I’d rather pocket savings rather than lock myself in.
Several years ago I wrote about tricks for getting out of a non-refundable hotel booking. But there’s something I didn’t know about Hilton reservations.
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.
Qatar’s old 777s don’t have QSuites – the world’s best business class – but offer fully flat 2-2-2 business class (which is still good especially for couples, with great food and service). Availability is especially good on flights that offer one of Qatar’s older products.
What you’ll find right now is outstanding availability for specific months of the year on several routes.
The father of the White House Press Secretary flew American Airlines last night though, on American’s Los Angeles to Nashville redeye. On arrival though passengers weren’t allowed to enter the terminal.
As a regular Delta flyer Huckabee didn’t realize quarantine has been standard procedure for American flights whenever someone in coach bought a barbecue sandwich.
Hong Kong Airlines has one of the most amazing business class fares I’ve seen in a long time. You can fly to Asia for less than $600 roundtrip. That’s a good price for coach and this is for business.
In fact you can fly Los Angeles – Shanghai between September and March for as little as $560 roundtrip in business class using Hong Kong Airlines’ daily service onboard a new Airbus A350. And Shanghai isn’t the only destination.
I visited United’s new Polaris business class lounge in Chicago 18 months ago. At the time I thought it was the best business class lounge in the United States (and I really enjoy the outdoor deck of the Star Alliance lounge at LAX).
Over the past three and a half months United has picked up the pace of new lounge openings, with Polaris lounges also now in San Francisco, Newark, and Houston.
The United Polaris lounge Newark solidifies my impression of the Polaris lounge project: this is perhaps the nicest thing that United has done. The dining is very good. The lounge amenities are top notch. And there’s a real thoughtfulness that has gone into the details.
Developing. Washington’s National airport (DCA) is currently without power.
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.
While both Etihad and Jet Airways would retain stakes in the program after a deal with Blackstone it’s not clear the relative shares each party would give up. For Etihad even a partial sale would them out of their worldwide expansion, which they’ve retrenched from after losing their shirts in Alitalia and air berlin. For Jet Airways it would provide them desperately-needed cash.
Reportedly the deal would value the program at $429 – $569 billion, which is 43% – 90% higher than in 2013. At the same time though membership in the program has grown 220% during that period so its value would be lower on a per-member basis.
At the beginning of the month Barclays increased the offer on its AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard to 60,000 bonus miles after first purchase in the first 90 days and paying the card’s $95 annual fee (the fee on this card is not waived the first year).
These are the cards flight attendants advertise onboard American. ComputerPlayerOne says flight attendants have been told this offer will last through August 31.
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 »
