Last weekend I shared the rumor that American is going to build a new Flagship first class lounge at DFW airport in terminal D. I also mentioned that the airport has had plans for a new shared premium lounge.
I believe that I can now confirm both of those things… According to an airport spokesperson,
American will give you 1000 miles for scrolling through a few videos about their frequent flyer program. That’s worth ~ $17 and keeps your miles from expiring for 18 months. The offer expires June 12.
A collection of interesting links you’ll want to see, many you’ll want to click.
Even though the limited-time 50,000 mile signup bonus for the United Visa has ended, it’s still possible to get 50,000 miles for the United small business credit card. Here’s how.
A cookie company sent out an unauthorized press release yesterday falsely claiming to be the exclusive cookie of American Airlines, available in first class on all domestic flights. Really.
Adam Armstrong — for some inexplicable reason — booked a Ryanair ticket under the name Adam West. And he made separate outbound and return reservations, rather than making a single booking. As a result, in order to fly, he needed to change the name on the reservation and was looking at £110 twice….
The Department of Transportation doesn’t regulate frequent flyer programs, but it has held hearings on the possibility. They aren’t likely to do anything soon. It’s another agency of government, though, that has some loyalty programs worried.
Starwood CEO Adam Aron had an interesting story to tell when I interviewed him on stage in Atlanta. He began his career at Pan Am, where he eventually launched their first frequent flyer program. When he started at the airline he was taken into a dark room and put in front of a screen where he was shown a two hour documentary on the runway collision of two Boeing 747s at Tenerife in 1977, known as the deadliest accident in aviation history. A KLM flight tried to take off while Pan Am’s 747 was on the runway. Everyone onboard the KLM 747 was killed, and 335 people onboard the Pan Am aircraft lost their lives. As the video ended his colleague walked into the room, and told him that every decision at the airline matters.…
A collection of interesting links you’ll want to see, many you’ll want to click.
Merrill Lynch has downgraded American Airlines stock to a ‘neutral’ rating just as airline CEO Doug Parker elected to take all his compensation in stock.
Remember that neutral means sell (and sell means build a shelter and accumulate canned goods and bullets). Historically an investment firm wouldn’t rate a sell (or likely even neutral, since ‘buy’ is considered neutral) if they hoped to get business from that firm in the future.
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 »
