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.
I wrote that a revolt against the contract was brewing for both legitimate gripes and misunderstandings.
Ultimately 71% of voting flight attendants rejected the contract, with 92 of those eligible casting ballots.
Now we see how paid seat assignments are working out for the airline, which they’re selling now for flights starting January 27, 2026. They don’t seem to have figured out the revenue-maximizing formula yet, or they don’t have the technology fine-tuned yet to adapt seat fees by market easily.
When she called American to book the infant fare (“INF”) she was quoted $386. She expected that, so she paid up. However she was also charged $3,674 for an additional paid ticket for herself at the same time. Oops!
Without Ameircan AAdvantage, the ThankYou points program was a bit of an also-ran. It lacked a strong U.S. airline, including just JetBlue. And while it has a number of hotel programs, it doesn’t have the top tier ones.
Now, though, it’s the only bank rewards currency that transfers to American. No bank has a better oneworld partner.
Along with this new card, Citi has also brought American AAdvantage onboard as a transfer partner, which is huge. AAdvantage cards earn 1 point per dollar on most spend. Even unbonused spend with this card earns 1.5x. So you’re earning more American miles for your spend than with an American card, plus you have flexibility to move points elsewhere (or redeem directly for travel, etc.).
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.
I’ve covered the man who cooked baby back ribs in a hotel bathroom before. He took his talents to the sky, cooking up a snack of garlic shrimp and mash – in a Delta Air Lines lavatory.
He memorialized the feat with a video in which he opens declaring that he’s got a “terrible idea.” You can see him bringing his supplies through a TSA checkpoint and he is fully aware that it “looks like a bomb.”
Flying once used to be the province of the wealthy, and business men (definitely mostly men, United Airlines even used to have ‘Men Only’ flights) but now it’s become far more democratized. Airline deregulation brought lower fares, and the U.S. has become far wealthier. At the same time, being able to fly is an immense privilege.
At this point I think that Capital One has the two best credit card lounges in the United States – their JFK lounge, and their ‘Landing’ tapas restaurant at Washington National airport in D.C..
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 »
