The Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, part of the larger Baha Mar project which is said to represent 12% of its island’s GDP, is in bankruptcy. They aren’t opening as planned. And all Hyatt is offering cancelled guests is $300 towards airline change fees.
Buying Business Travel interviewed United Chairman and CEO Jeff Smisek who made several interesting comments about international first class, his competitors (!), and about the big Middle East airlines.
There’s a 50,000 point offer available for the American Airlines co-brand small business card from Citibank.
The bonus requires $3000 in purchases within 3 months, and the card has a $0 fee the first year then $95.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan has added China’s Hainan Airlines as a partner.
Mileage (including elite qualifying mileage)-earning has started, and award redemption is expected to begin in November. Award charts aren’t yet available. But this will be an option not just for travel to China, but for connections elsewhere in Asia as well.
I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
There haven’t been any changes to American policies for standby or same day confirmed. American just appears to be clearer on what official policy for same day confirmed changes is, but that’s something which isn’t always enforced by agents — and my guess is still won’t be uniformly enforced by agents.
I’m fortunate to work with some really neat people at Book Your Award. We do our best for clients and never charge unless we’re able to secure an award that meets agreed-upon parameters.
Still, there are some things we can’t do.
…At Book Your Award we’ll get you there. The rest is up to you.
One of the more frequent questions I’ve been asked about the US Airways-American Airlines merger, now that the US Airways brand is expected to go away October 17 and all flights going forward will be American flights, is what happens to US Airways companion tickets after that?
“Have you ever seen that much award space on 1 flight [British Airways, London – Boston]? 8 in [business and] 7 in [first class] on the same flight. Also lots of space in early January to all other BA locations in [North America].”
The Parable of the Happy Meal. We all want free fries and a drink. Yet there’s no such thing as free fries.
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 »
