Last year I shared one perk that most top tier elite members don’t even know that keeps me well-taken care of when flight plans go sideways. American Airlines will add a backup flight into your reservation, without having to change from your current flight
One upside of this new approach that Chase and American Express are taking is that you’d expect richer rewards and lower annual fees to be the result in a highly competitive industry. In fact we have seen much richer rewards over time – standard bonuses were smaller and points-earning was generally just one mile per dollar when I got started – but fees have also risen. There are also a lot more rewards card issuers than there used to be, and a lot more products, so the customers Chase and American Express are trying to avoid can simply look elsewhere.
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.
This group was put up in the Choice Privileges Quality Hotel Philadelphia International Airport. Any hotel that has to tell you that they’re quality probably isn’t. They put the property – and the airline – on blast
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 recent summers, Southwest Airlines has had to deal with soda cans exploding during flight service. That’s led to a significant number of flight attendant injuries. Fortunately, they think they have a solution.
Last fall, Virgin Atlantic moved to dynamic pricing for award travel. Virgin has already devalued this new proposition: they’ve doubled the cash surcharges you’ll pay on these cheapest bookings.
Now they scan cars as they’re being returned – vehicles drive through a camera‑and‑sensor tunnel and get an ‘MRI for vehicles’ to log damage in a way that rental staff never did before. It also finds hard to spot damage such as under the vehicle, uneven tire wear, hairline cracks in the windshield.
Service in the U.S. is sad, and often cabin maintenance is, too. And that gets back to the premium experience that carriers are trying to merchandise. In order to generate a revenue premium you need to offer a product that’s valued at that higher price. Is it sad to say I miss Virgin America’s domestic first class?
It looks like Southwest Airlines is going to start flying to Iceland.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said he wants to fly transatlantic from Nashville, too. And he’s talking up sprucing up the experience and offering a lounge, too.
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 »
