Reader Mark O. suggests that I comment on the case Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk which the Supreme Court heard arguments in this week. It’s popularly known as the case of whether Amazon workers should be paid to stand in line, but the case isn’t about Amazon and the case has some pretty widespread implications including for travel. Employees of the staffing company in this case (Integrity Staffing Solutions) would wait in line to be security screened on their way out of Amazon warehouses. They weren’t paid for this time. The time is spent for the benefit of the employer, at least according to the workers’ brief — the point is to ensure that they aren’t stealing from the warehouse. They’re suing for back wages owed. The argument is that hourly workers are being paid…
Renew Your Comped MGM Status!
Last summer Hyatt Gold Passport and MGM M Life launched a really innovative partnership. I think of it as ‘hotel codesharing’. Each program’s members could earn points and credit towards elite status by staying in the other chain’s hotels. And there was reciprocal elite status matching, so that the best customers of each chain would be treated with status benefits when staying with the other, too. This filled a big hole for Hyatt (experienced by chains generally) in Las Vegas, and a hole for MGM by giving them broader reach. One interesting thing about how elite status was handled: it’s not your Hyatt status that MGM recognizes, MGM gives status in its own program based on your Hyatt status. Status matching began last August. And folks who had their status matched are seeing that status…
Why Airlines Aren’t Nice
Scott Mayerowitz has a piece for Associated Press that asks why Virgin America hasn’t done well as US airlines earn record profits, and why talk of a public offering of shares has so far been met with lukewarm reception. The bottom-line seems to be that you can’t succeed as a high cost, low fare airline. That’s not a new idea. When Independence Air launched at Washington Dulles, the former Atlantic Coast Airlines which had operated as a United Express carrier decided to go it alone rather than continue as a feeder when United sought contract concessions. They began as the largest carrier at the airport by number of flights, with a huge fleet of 50 seat regional jets — high per seat cost aircraft. They offered tons of flights a day, without United’s marketing muscle,…
The Best Amex Points Transfers by Destination Now That Delta Transfers are Being Capped
American Express Membership Rewards just took a hit with the news that there will be a cap on the number of points a member can transfer to Delta Skymiles each year. Now, I rarely recommended transferring to Delta. Their awards tended to be tougher to get and cost more than those of many other major currencies. But it was ‘easy’ for many — Delta was the last remaining major U.S. airline that American Express points transferred to. There are a surprising number of people out there with tons of Amex points, many hundreds of thousands and into the seven figures. And for them it’s often the case that just moving points over to the program they know was the simple solution. Nothing to figure out, or so it seemed. Starting in 2015, it will only…
Post Your Boading Passes to Social Media for Breast Cancer Awareness (Real Donations)
Fly for Pink: FlyForPink.com is a project of BoardingArea, Milepoint, Frequent Traveler University, and other frequent flyer websites. Through October 31, every boarding pass photo posted to Twitter & Instagram with the hashtag #flyforpink will donate 50 cents to cancer-related causes (up to $10,000 or 20,000 boarding passes). Don’t have a physical boarding pass to take a photo of? A screen shot of a mobile boarding pass works, too (as would a random boarding pass found in a seatback picket..). Here’s what I just tweeted: Get tweeting or posting to Instagram! It’s your opportunity to show your support, and have that translate into an actual donation. It should be a fun and unique October, an opportunity for frequent flyers to come together to support a cause in a unique way that connects all of us,…
We’re About the Get a Fourth Global Airline Alliance. Here’s Why.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has been pursuing a fascinating business strategy. In many ways the airline seems less interested in making money (though they finally eeked out a modest profit in 2013, based on reported numbers) than in building up the United Arab Emirates capital as a global aviation hub. Etihad seems to have a bit of an inferiority complex regarding its Dubai neighbor Emirates, whose hub is a mere hour’s drive away. Dubai is a clear financial center with natural traffic to and from, whereas Abu Dhabi doesn’t draw the same travel. When flying Etihad, they almost never just mention “Abu Dhabi” but always pair it with the phrase, “Our capital city, Abu DHabi” as if to remind you that they’re important, too!
The Uber of Shame, Uber $10 Off $10 (New AND Existing Customers), and Best Hotel Bathrooms
News and notes from around the interweb: Sex, Love, and Uber: the Walk of Shame Gets Replaced by the Morning After Uber: but whose Uber account should pay? USA Today partners with Frequent Traveler University! It’s going to be an awesome event in DC December 5-7! Don’t miss out! Special edition American Airlines napkins: American Express is offering a Sync promotion via twitter — get $10 off a $10+ Uber ride charged to your American Express card. This is for existing and new Uber users, here’s how to Sync your Amex card to sign up for this offer: Sync your American Express credit card to Twitter (you can do that here). If you are not sure which card is currently synced with your account, you can unsync and then re-sync. Tweet #AmexUber New customers get a first ride free up to…
This American Airlines Passenger Missed His Flight. And Went Berserk Trying to Get the Pilot’s Attention.
There are good strategies when you miss boarding a flight, and bad strategies. And then there’s this: Have you ever seen a missed flight tantrum — or thrown one? You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
The Airline That Wants To Help You Make it Home Earlier
While Delta removes the ability to stand by for an earlier flight entirely on their lowest fare, Alaska Airlines — doing battle head-on with Delta in their home market in Seattle — is making it easier to do just that. They’ve just updated their mobile app: This just seemed such an interesting juxtaposition. You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Delta Eliminating Domestic Elite Upgrades on Their Cheapest Fare
In March 2012 Delta introduced “Basic Economy” (“E” class) fares that were more restrictive than regular coach fares. The idea was to offer them only in specific markets where Delta is competing against a low cost carrier — Delta has to match the low cost carriers on price, so gosh darnit they’re only going to give the same product that those airlines do at that price. Put another way, instead of beating low cost carriers by offering better value for the price, they were going to only offer what those carriers do. Basic Economy fares were not changeable, and didn’t allow pre-assigned seating. But Delta’s elites, at least, could still receive upgrades. For tickets purchased starting February 1, 2015, Delta’s elites will no longer be eligible for upgrades on these fares. I wasn’t sure if…
