How Delta Should Have Handled Today’s IT Meltdown for Its Customers

by Gary Leff

Aug 08 2016

Delta’s operations suffered a significant IT lapse today. Ultimately hundreds of flights were cancelled and many more than that were delayed inconveniencing travelers across the globe.

While Delta’s CEO recorded an apology video and the airline updated its flight cancellation stats online throughout the day, it should have been more forthcoming with its customers about what happened (not started the day deflecting blame) and should have been more flexible with its customers as well (a travel waiver that extended to customers scheduled to fly on Tuesday, with a longer period in which to rebook travel).

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HOT: New Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite Comes with 3 Complimentary Nights and Benefits That Are Blowing Me Away

by Gary Leff

Aug 08 2016

This is a really big deal, and the most exciting new card offer I’ve seen in awhile. Chase has a brand new offer for the Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card which is now only the second Visa Infinite card in the country.

The signup bonus lets you earn 3 free nights at Ritz-Carlton hotels. And the card benefits include club lounge upgrades, Gold elite status, lounge access, and fee credits.

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Delta’s IT Systems Down, All Flights Delayed

by Gary Leff

Aug 08 2016

Delta’s IT systems went down overnight. Delta couldn’t send out flights that had boarded presumably because they couldn’t push flight plans or calculate required fuel. They couldn’t check passengers in for new flights. Customer service lines started snaking around airports.

IT staff everywhere no doubt had their emergency phones ringing and those on site furiously turned the power off and on hoping that a reboot would fix things.

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14 Tricks and Important Things You Should Know About Hyatt Gold Passport

by Gary Leff

Aug 07 2016

Hyatt Gold Passport is the most valuable hotel program that flexible bank points can be transferred into. That’s true because while a single Starpoint is worth more than a single Hyatt point, it takes 3 American Express Membership Rewards points to get one Starwood point and Chase points actually transfer one-to-one into Hyatt. That makes Hyatt an extremely useful partner.

With loyalty programs regularly offering less value for their points, I’m putting together this series with background, tips, and tricks for frequent flyer programs programs whose points can be very useful to you and that you can earn easily by transferring in from bank rewards currencies.

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