You can pretty much find tickets from Boston on most of the major airlines starting at $343, and to other destinations besides Barcelona and Madrid for prices in the $400s.
United has been strategy discussions until Investor Day and now they’ve revealed their plan.
The most concrete thing they offered — and which customers aren’t going to like — was the full details of Basic Economy which takes away elite mileage-earning, takes away upgrades, and even takes away the ability to bring on a rollaboard bag from non-elites.
However they talked at length about broader strategy for their product, their hubs, and where their opportunities are.
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.
Delta is running a 2 day sale on business class awards between the US and Europe.
Delta increased the price of business class saver awards to Europe without notice at the end of August to 70,000 miles each way, 140,000 miles roundtrip. With this sale you can book business class roundtrips at 29% off or 99,000 miles roundtrip.
United has announced details of their Basic Economy product. In June United estimated Basic Economy would increase revenue by $150 million by 2018.
Effective with flights starting January 11, while American is still calling its premium cabin first class, they’re using business class fare buckets.
As a result British Airways appears to be going from charging 30,000 points one-way to charging just 15,000 for flights up to 1150 miles.
News broke last month that Chase would be introducing a new premium business card with a big signup bonus by the end of the year.
A month ago Alitalia doubled the price of many partner awards overnight and without notice. At the same time, they brought partner award booking online and did not increase the price of awards on Alitalia’s own flights and promise not to through the end of 2017.
However they do appear to be overcharging taxes on Alitalia awards, and misrepresenting fuel surcharges as a fee imposed on them rather than one the airline is charging itself.
A new legal challenge to mileage expiration in Europe raises interesting arguments about fairness and frequent flyer programs.
Expiring miles remove liabilities from a balance sheet, letting an airline recognize revenue while confiscating what is often seen morally (if not legally) as an asset.
Program policies have varied tremendously over time — sometimes a loyalty program doesn’t want to lose a customer, other times they value revenue recognition, and we’ve seen a see-saw across programs over time and different approaches around the world.
A British businessman was reportedly flying to South Africa in BA first class on October 14, when “after a few drinks” he placed his phone under a flight attendant’s uniform “uniform as she leaned over to serve another passenger” and took photos.
He apparently wasn’t particularly sneaky about it, being noticed by the flight attendant and by other passengers in the cabin (British Airways first class also isn’t especially private).
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 »
