Marriott may be offended by this. Bilt probably won’t like it either. But I’m laying down truth here, and it’s simple math. Marriott points transfers are simply a low value use of Bilt points. You can transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan, United or American, Turkish and more. Anyone paying a little bit of attention can do better than a transfer to Marriott.
American Airlines has sent a reminder to flight attendants not to go above and beyond for passengers in economy. The airline told cabin crew that they shouldn’t give economy passengers blankets, pillows, or treats from business class. American framed this as consistency, which is to say making sure that there are no occasional surprise and delight moments in the coach cabin.
A mother is suing American Airlines for negligence after her two children, flying as unaccompanied minors, were stranded overnight in Charlotte without proper care, being placed in a cold, bare room without food or water. The lawsuit claims the airline failed to provide the promised amenities for the children, and although the airline refunded the unaccompanied minor fees, she is seeking damages for their alleged recklessness and failure to adhere to their own procedures.
A United Airlines passenger’s checked luggage, containing a sealed bottle of tequila, was returned with the seal broken and the contents partially consumed, raising concerns about the security and integrity of airline baggage handling. The incident echoes previous cases, including one with a bottle of whiskey, prompting United to offer compensation and highlighting the challenges of ensuring personal items remain untouched during transit.
If you’re trying to travel somewhere without the proper authorization you shouldn’t try to do it from Singapore. And you shouldn’t then try to bribe someone in Singapore to let you do it anyway. And that bribe certainly should be just $50.
A roundup of 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.
In March 2022 Marriott officially eliminated award charts. It turns out that Marriott didn’t actually eliminate award charts they just hid them and raised prices.
Gave a Mile’s year-end campaign to raise United Airlines miles and MileagePlus is offering a 50,000 mile match.
Would you make a year-end donation of United miles for a good cause? I’d appreciate it. No need to do so, but please share in the comments if you’d like. And thank you.
Robert DeNiro says his assistant stole 5 million Delta SkyMiles from his account. A lawsuit previously claimed it was 7 million miles, valued at 4.3 cents apiece.
He says his former assistant-turned-Vice President of Production and Finance, who is suing him, misappropriated company funds including using the corporate Amex for personal trips. She says that as his $300,000 a year personal assistant he had unreasonable expectations (like ordering UberEats for him at 11 p.m.) and creepy ones (like scratching his back).
JetBlue’s consideration of a merger with Alaska Airlines before proceeding with Spirit Airlines, as revealed in an anti-trust trial, raises questions about strategic fits and anti-trust issues, given their respective strongholds on the East and West coasts. The complexities of airline mergers, such as fleet commonality and culture integration, along with the current administration’s stance against mergers, make the JetBlue-Spirit deal contentious, despite potential benefits to competition and market growth.
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 »
