Back in February I detailed Starbucks plans to gut their rewards program for many customers. As is the trend in the airline loyalty game, Starbucks is moving to a revenue-based program. High-spenders will mostly break even. Folks who just buy a cup of coffee will see their rewards slashed drastically.
Starbucks is informing members that the IT work for the changeover starts tomorrow, with new earning going into effect on Tuesday.
A British Airways flight attendant who tried to hide being drunk by keeping her nose in a book has been fired. She gave up the game because she was holding the book upside down.
She was fired by BA. She appealed. She lost her appeal. Then she took her case to an employment tribunal. One claim was that while “she was seen swaying from side to side and stumbling ..dressed in her BA uniform, before she fell over” it was actually several hours before the flight she’d be working. And the officer who questioned her really smelled alcohol from a nearby bar, not her breath.
Jillian Michaels has taken to social media to decry American Airlines for sexism over having been bumped from her seat. That wouldn’t be the Occam’s Razor explanation here, of course (just like this man wasn’t denied boarding because he was overweight and this man wasn’t denied boarding because he was a Nobel laureate).
Here’s what you’re actually entitled to when you’re denied boarding, and how to avoid being the passenger who gets bumped.
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.
Liberal commentator Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, was delayed last night flying out of Los Angeles. He started taping the delay and commenting on it from the start. As the wait creeps on, passengers start to lose it and become belligerent with each other and with American Airlines personnel.
Police were called to the gate. At one point Uygur joins in yelling at staff ‘where’s the plane? where’s the plane?’
Here’s another great deal from SecretFlying: United is offering roundtrips between many US cities (generally Delta hubs) and Australia for as little as $532.
This does not appear to be a mistake fare, just a serious fare war. And it’s as cheap as I have ever seen Australia flights. The fares appear available through at least end of November for the outbound flight.
There’s nothing as awkward in the world as a bathroom with an attendant, except a bathroom with an attendant who works for tips. Bathroom attendant tipping induces confusion, and fear.
The Charlotte airport has bathroom attendants, and those aren’t going away, but the way they get paid is changing.
Changing the way attendants are paid isn’t going to obviously change passenger expectations. It’s not going to do anything to diminish confusion and fear. So it’s important to get the word out: starting in July, no tipping required in the airport restrooms in Charlotte. Pass it on.
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.
There are some amazing fares between the US and Europe — some even less than $200 roundtrip — through the end of the calendar year with summer months excluded.
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.
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 »
