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.
American Express prides itself on service, and when you arrive at one of their lounges you’re checked in at the “Member Services” desk. I’ve only seen staff there checking boarding passes, American Express cards, and photo IDs (and of course in Dallas and Miami, making spa appointments).
I was curious what else they did, so I asked around, and it turns out quite a lot. You can really lean on the staff there for more than just scanning a boarding pass, which is something I suspect most guests don’t realize, so I became curious about some of the things that the staff have done recently for members in some of the various clubs across the network.
I received a letter from American Express saying they needed to verify information about my business for a small business credit card that I have (Starwood). The letter said they had been trying to reach me but had been unable to. I did not receive any phone calls or messages from American Express.
So I called the number on the letter. I wondered if this was an American Express Financial Review.
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.
Spirit Airlines is known for cleavage. They’ve done advertising like an invitation to check out the (suntan) oil on their beaches during the Gulf oil spill.
They ran Anthony Weiner and Carlos Danger sales. And they promised you More Bang for Your Buck to Cartagena during the Secret Service prostitution scandal.
Despite several recent air traffic control outages snarling the US aviation system over the past few years, the FAA is unprepared for — and even behind in trying to plan to address — the next system failure.
A year ago flatulence from goats caused a Singapore Airlines aircraft to make an emergency landing. (Hot cows caused a similar issue for a 747 near Heathrow.)
And a passenger’s gastrointestinal issues caused a British Airways flight to turn around and go back to London.
Etihad Guest offers 500 miles for joining. Their miles are valuable because you can redeem for one of the world’s best first class products but also for some outstanding value partner awards. And you can transfer points to Etihad Guest several ways.
Here’s the Etihad Guest redemption chart for travel on Czech Airlines. One way short haul awards start at 3500 points in coach and 7000 points in business class. The vast majority of the airline’s routes can be had for fewer than 10,000 points each way in business.
I’ve stayed at the Hyatt Arlington in Rosslyn, across the river from DC, several times. The property has finally been converted at a Hyatt Centric. The public space in the lobby, which is somewhat small, has been redone. The front desk has been made a bit more interesting.
I had an expiring Diamond Suite Upgrade. Those can no longer be used prior to end of February expiration to confirm travel in the future. Stays must be complete by end of February. So once I confirmed that all the rooms in the hotel had been renovated as part of the rebrand, including the suites, I decided to burn one on this three night stay.
If you have a blog that I should be reading please leave it in the comments. You might actually be surprised that I’m already reading it, but I might also have something to learn.
At one point or another every blogger offers navel gazing advice for other bloggers. However I’ve thought about it a great deal.
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 »
