Business stories like the one new United CEO Oscar Munoz is telling are almost always apocryphal, although they sometimes contain a kernel a truth. They can encapsulate an idea in a way that goes viral because it’s in the form of a narrative. And it seems to represent how Munoz is thinking about changing the culture at United.
United is offering a 30% bonus earning miles with their partners that you haven’t earned with during the past 12 months. They want to get you earning more broadly in the MileagePlus program than you are today.
The opportunity to earn with this promotion runs through November 20, and requires registration (you’ll only earn the bonus on transactions after you’ve registered). There is no reason not to register, just in case you wind up earning with a partner during the promotion period.
ANA is making changes to its award chart effective October 15. Historically ANA has given reasonable notice of award chart changes, so this surprises me to see.
This is especially relevant because ANA is a Star Alliance partner, and American Express Membership Rewards and Starwood points transfer to ANA’s miles.
Several sources are telling me that Marriott Rewards will be rolling out four new features to their program: cash and points, points advance, points sharing, and reward nights count towards elite status.
Barclays has been providing free credit scores to cardmembers for a couple of years.
The credit score I showed you over the weekend in my post about credit scores as a predictor of relationships was from my Barclaycard American AAdvantage Aviator Red account.
American Express has now joined the party of free credit score providers.
As a result, I’ve found Air Canada’s Aeroplan website to be the most useful tool when searching for award space on Star Alliance partner airlines. But two readers point out some interesting discrepancies.
Orbitz currently has the strongest rewards program of the Online Travel Agency websites, and is part of a great strategy for ‘quadruple dipping’ on your travel purchases. They are running a 2x rebate on airfare purchases through October 25.
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.
Denver is a very strange airport for security. PreCheck lines can be super long. The lead singer for Puddle of Mud was arrested there for riding the baggage carousel into the secure area. And it’s where TSA agents manipulated the nude-o-scopes so they could fondle attractive passengers.
It also seems that the airport was evacuated because the TSA found bath salts in a checked bag.
In August it was reported that Emirates paid Jennifer Aniston $5 million in an endorsement deal.
The first Aniston ad is out, and the conceit is that she’s having a nightmare. She’s walking around the plane looking for the shower, in her bathrobe. But there’s no shower, and no on board bar.
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 »
