‘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.
When President Clinton testified in front of a grand jury he suggested that his truthfulness depended on the meaning of the word ‘is’.
Precise words matter in a courtroom and — it seems — when checking bags with American Airlines.
Etihad is taking the next step towards becoming a no frills carrier like British Airways. They’re testing Hand Baggage Only fares.
This is all about “diversify[ing] its revenues in line with digital capabilities” and is a part of their overall efforts at “new ancillary products including extra legroom seats, neighbour-free seats and preferred seating.”
Rocketmiles is offering double Qatar Airways Privilege Club Qmiles on all hotel bookings — and not just for new customers, either.
The promotion for one booking made by November 5. The original terms and conditions said “limited to first time customers” but I pointed this out and Rocketmiles updated the terms to remove this restriction.
What’s really great here is that despite language suggesting the maximum earn is 20,000 miles per night, you can actually earn 30,000 miles per night.
oneworld member air berlin filed for bankruptcy in August after Etihad withdrew its support. The German government extended a loan guarantee (subsidy) to keep the airline flying while a sale of assets was arranged. Key pieces go to Lufthansa, leading to consolidation in the German market.
The airline itself is ceasing all operations October 28th. However the final transatlantic flight landed in Dusseldorf yesterday.
New Zealand’s national bird is the kiwi, and it’s Air New Zealand’s symbol as well. After all, New Zealanders are often referred to as Kiwis.
The irony for the airline of course is that kiwis can’t fly. But Air New Zealand has turned that on its head, creating a video showing that in order to fly a kiwi can fly on Air New Zealand.
A man was arrested and fined after flying from Antalya, Turkey home to Ufa, Russia. He was swearing loudly and ‘becoming violent‘ before punching his 26 year old female travel companion.
Here’s video of the man being ‘handled’ by other crew and passengers.
A man who remembers only drinking ‘at least’ 4 rum and cokes at an LAX bar and then landing at Newark was met by law enforcement when his United flight arrived.
That’s because his seat mate for United flight UA1871 reports that he was urinated on.
In Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker asks the ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi why he claimed Luke’s father was dead — when at the end of Empire Luke learned that Darth Vader was his father.
And in Delta’s earnings call they make claims about Basic Economy and about SkyMiles.
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 »
