Mergers are often blamed for all manner of ills in the industry, the idea that there are fewer major airlines than there used to be and a belief that if there was more competition consumers would get a better experience. So why do we let the airlines have their way, lobbying the government to stand in the way of more competition?
When I wrote about the sharia-compliant credit card in the UAE with a built-in compass so that cardmembers would always know what direction to pray, I said that feature seemed a bit much. And then I realized it helped to solve a practical problem that would give a reason for customers to carry it — and keep it top of wallet.
There aren’t very many practical problems that credit cards can solve beyond payments, rewards, and bundled benefits that aren’t easily duplicated by a smartphone.
Then I was reminded of the 1990 Dana Carvey film, Opportunity Knocks.
The W Doha hotel is a great property, much more in line with the Ws of Asia than the US. It’s gorgeous, with friendly staff, and they treat Platinums well.
Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum members regularly receive upgrades to suites here. The breakfast benefit is the hotel’s full Market restaurant buffet. And the property is one of only 2 W hotels I know of with a club lounge.
The Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer program will give 5000 free miles just for creating a family account by September 30.
You’re thinking I’m crazy, what in the world do you need to bother with Royal Air Maroc miles for, right? Even if they’re free… Here’s the deal:
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.
Alice Wilkie spent 3 months in Dubai designing a small bank. She brought back 48 observations about finance and life in the UAE city where there are 52 different banks today.
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.
The US gets to offer 20 daily flights to Havana, and 10 daily flights to each of Cuba’s 9 other international airports. There weren’t very many requests to fly to other cities, so all of those were granted as-requested last month.
American carriers submitted their requests to the Department of Transportation for Havana flights and there were requests for nearly 60. DOT had the task of divvying out 20 flights.
Right now there’s fantastic award space available on United’s San Francisco – Auckland flight for late April through early June — with award space for 8 or more people most days in economy and many days in business class.
This morning American announced the launch date for their brand new Boeing 787-9 to go into international service. These are the first planes from a US airline with an international premium economy cabin.
Service will commence to Madrid and to Sao Paulo on November 4 with the following schedule. Dallas – Madrid is the inaugural international flight. These flights will be available for booking starting July 10.
Here’s what you want to know.
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 »
