During the pandemic Chase has let premium Sapphire cardmembers redeem points for groceries and at home improvement stores and restaurants at the higher ‘travel portal’ redemption value. According to a report, Chase is confirming this benefit won’t go away September 30, though the eligible categories could change.
American Express has new offers to make their cards more attractive. With the Marriott card they’re encouraging cardmembers to use the products for spend even while they’re traveling less, by making that spend more rewarding.
With the Platinum card they’re leveraging an existing Dell partnership to make their premium travel card more appealing to keep – a new temporary $100 rebate helps with the overall value proposition of the card relative to its fee at a time that people are using other card benefits less.
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.
American Airlines is running a promotion to earn double miles towards lifetime elite status with flying through end of the year. This isn’t double redeemable miles, or double elite qualifying miles, this is just double credit towards earning 1 million, 2 million, or higher tiers of lifetime status.
Here are some reasons they might choose lifetime elite status as an incentive, why American’s lifetime status has been on the decline (and how to fix it), and why you shouldn’t chase lifetime status from a loyalty program.
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.
Two men, who allegedly had been binging on vodka, refused to wear masks. They were reminded of the requirement by cabin crew. They also refused to be seated for landing. One reportedly hit a fellow passenger. Then passengers and flight attendants worked together to restrain one of the men.
Covidiots aren’t the exclusive realm of the United States. The outbreak in the U.S. is huge (though not worst in the world by confirmed cases or deaths, adjusted for population). But the U.S. is hardly alone when it comes to idiots – or dissent over the best policy response to the virus.
On Delta’s Cancun – New York JFK flight DL787 on Friday, the man sitting in 31D kept asking for help from a flight attendant. Delta has been blocking middle seats, but the man seated nearest him in 31F kept removing his face mask. Four or five times cabin crew would ask him to put it on, and he’d reportedly do so only until the crewmember had left.
January through end of schedule in July Singapore Airlines is making four business class award seats available most days in both directions for Los Angeles – Singapore non-stop. This is a great way, of course, to connect beyond in Southeast Asia.
What I keep hearing over and over from American Airlines employees is that they’re worried about bankruptcy. They’re reluctant to take early retirement, and are concerned about their pensions, because they’re afraid the promised money isn’t going to be there for them. And much of that is the fault of Congress as much as the airline itself.
Major U.S. airlines have tried to shrink their workforces to reflect the new reality of reduced airline demand, offering leaves and early retirement packages to employees in hopes of avoiding furloughs.
On Wednesday American Airlines President Robert Isom told a group of flight attendants, however, that furloughs at the airline are inevitable – even though their cross-town rival has announced they won’t need to furlough anyone this year.
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 »
