Why New Celebrity Chefs at Delta and American Matter for Your Next Flight

by Gary Leff

Sep 01 2016

Passengers complain that they aren’t served food anymore in coach most of the time. When I first started traveling for business (and certainly growing up), passengers complained that they were served food. Because airline food was a joke.

Back when United’s premium cabin meals were branded with celebrity chef Jacques Pepin they actually had economy meals which were chef-branded. United’s chef in economy was Sheila Lukins.

Thirty years ago of course United had an economy meals partnership with McDonalds — with happy meal toys (I have both Ronald McDonald and Grimace). United replaced the galley carts with ones specially-designed to keep the burger warm while the lettuce and bun stayed cool.

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What Credit Score it Takes to Get Approved for the Best Rewards Credit Cards

by Gary Leff

credit cards
Sep 01 2016

I’ve signed up for scores of cards over many years and I still have an excellent credit score, it was nearly 800 FICO on the three major credit bureaus when I went to get my mortgage. In part because of signing up for more cards, rather than in spite of it.

It often surprises me though how many credit cards are approved for consumers with much lower credit scores than I’d have expected. It turns out there’s data for that.

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Hyatt Devalued Redemptions at 16 Properties Without Notice: Here’s What Happened

by Gary Leff

Sep 01 2016

Hyatt used to let you book a ‘studio’ room at their Hyatt Residence Club (timeshare) properties for 12,000 points per night — flat — regardless of property. The price was the same regardless of property and had remained fixed this way for many years. Higher level rooms were available at fixed prices as well.

When Hyatt made changes to award prices at several hotels August 1 they also made changes to the redemption structure for Hyatt Residence Club properties. Only they didn’t announce those changes in advance.

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American Airlines Doesn’t Know When It Will Finish the US Airways Merger

by Gary Leff

Sep 01 2016

American Airlines was behind United and Delta in devaluing its award chart and its elite program because it had bigger fish to fry. Finishing the US Airways merger came first. The internal mantra was “integrate before we innovate.”

But key elements of backend integration are slipping, there are huge gaps in American’s IT that drive customer service costs and limit revenue growth, while American focuses on reprogramming who gets upgrades.

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GIVEAWAY: Would You Like a Free Stay in the Maldives?

by Gary Leff

Aug 31 2016

Regular readers know that I love the Maldives. I’ve been 5 years in a row. It’s the only place I’ve found where I can really unplug. The distance is a feature not a bug, by the time I get there I’m really ready to relax and the time difference helps me to do it — I can answer work emails in the morning, and everyone is gone from the office the rest of the day so I can just enjoy myself.

I’ve gone to the same place each time, because I could use points, but there are some fantastic properties that I’d love to try some day. One that’s really worth checking out is Loama Resort.

You’re going to get to stay there before me, because I’m giving a stay to a reader.

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35% Off the Most Aspiration Hotel Awards in the World

by Gary Leff

hotel pool
Aug 31 2016

One of the best things about Starwood Preferred Guest is that they have many participating properties that are really nice, aspirational places where I really want to spend my points.

I make a lot of business stays at cookie cutter hotels domestically. I like to reward myself with special, unique stays which the points I earn make possible.

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