Delta and United now award miles for flights based on the cost of a ticket instead of distance flown.
Though the airlines would have you believe that ‘on average’ they’re awarding the same amount of miles under the new program as the old, and just redistributing those miles — more miles to big spenders, and fewer miles for less expensive tickets — that’s not really true, as a look a second quarter operational results demonstrates.
Amidst revelations that the TSA misses bombs and weapons about 95% of the time, I predicted (and feared) this would mean a crackdown at the checkpint.
And indeed the new head of the TSA declared they needed to become less efficient. Now the TSA is planning its overhaul.
I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
There’s no more ‘instant Diamond’ status offer, you actually have to stay 12 nights within 60 days for Diamond. But you don’t even need to have status with another chain to sign up, you just need to ask for the challenge.
However, Hyatt let me know this morning that registration for their Elite Tier Offer will close on July 31. If you’re considering the Hyatt Diamond challenge, you need to request it before the end of the business week. It’s going to come back, but they haven’t said when.
Christopher Elliott wrote this morning “Yes, I called credit cards a scam — wanna make something of it?”
Why yes – yes I do.
Ben Mutzabaugh has a good piece on the other really bad airports, although I suspect investments at LaGuardia won’t make it better any time soon.
The TSA doesn’t just fail to detect bombs and weapons 95% of the time, they fail to detect people, too.
I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
I’ve made the point many times in the past that despite protests about subsidies received by the Middle East airlines Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar, that Delta doesn’t actually care about subsidies. They care about scoring political points as leverage to use the power of government to shut down competition.
Now Delta is buying a $450 million stake in China Eastern — which is the most state-subsidized Chinese airline. So Delta will benefit from a chunk of those subsidies.
You get 750 United miles just for signing up for Mypoints, the online shopping portal.
If you make a purchase of $25 or more at an online retailer through the shopping portal within 30 days you get another 1000 United miles on top.
Points appear to post in about a week, despite the offer promising 6 to 8 weeks.
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 »
