Starwood’s New Targeted Offer: What (If Anything) Did You Get?

by Gary Leff

Aug 31 2017

It’s always worth registering, in this case if only to find out what your offer is. I value Starpoints at 2.3 cents apiece so 7500 points is worth $172.50 to me. That’s not a bad rebate on top of usual points earning and any other quarterly promotion Starwood announces for, say, two 2 night stays (in Lucky’s case).

You want to be registered in any case because it’s easiest to do it when the offer is in front of you, you’ll never remember to go back and register later if it turns out you had more Starwood says coming up than you expected.

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Man Racks Up a $2000 Hotel Bill Without Ever Checking In

by Gary Leff

Aug 31 2017

A man took his Hunter Thompson a little too seriously to heart at the Sonesta Resort in Hilton Head recently. He wasn’t feeling well “after taking a cocktail of drugs including hallucinogenic mushrooms” so he decided to crash on property.

He proceeded to stay for three days going about his business “pretending he was with the previous guests who had already checked out, and enjoyed room service and spa treatments.”

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OUCH: Wells Fargo Reveals 1.4 Million More Fake Accounts Opened in Customer Names

by Gary Leff

Aug 31 2017

A year ago thousands of Wells Fargo employees were fired for opening 2 million fake bank and credit card accounts.

Customers who had accounts opened in their name with neither their knowledge nor their permission were hit with fees for failing to take actions (like paying bills or maintaining minimum balances) they had no idea they were on the hook for.

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Trump Says Finland Will Buy Boeing Jets. Finnish Prime Minister Calls That #FakeNews

by Gary Leff

Aug 31 2017

I usually only pay attention to Finland because Finnair business class award space is very difficult to get, and when it appears available on the American Airlines website it’s usually phantom space (“fake news”).

However Finland’s military has begun the process to replace its 62 Boeing Hornet fighter jets, with scheduled de-commissioning in 2025. There are 5 planes they’re considering including Boeing’s F-18 and Lockheed’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as well as 3 European-made jets. Finland says a decision will be made in 2021.

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Delta Adds Close-In Booking Mileage Surcharge to More Already-Expensive Partner Awards

by Gary Leff

black and white photo plane
Aug 31 2017

Since United and American are intent on copying Delta, not even trying to be better than Delta I actually want to like Delta because at least they offer a slightly better onboard product and a better on-time operation.

And yet I can’t bring myself to do it because of Delta management’s arrogance and dishonesty. And the utter contempt with which they treat frequent flyers.

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No, Cathay Pacific Isn’t Launching Dallas Service: New A, B, C Routes Revealed

by Gary Leff

Aug 31 2017

There was significant speculation about Cathay Pacific’s new route announcements, the big rumor is that cities would start with B, C, and D.

While there was a greater likelihood of a European focus than new US routes, “D” could have been “The Big D” — Dallas — a hub for American Airlines, so a city where Cathay could have some traffic feed.

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