Exclusive: Marriott Revamping How Suite Upgrades Work

by Gary Leff

Jun 16 2023

When Marriott Bonvoy members stay 50 nights or more in a year, they can select a benefit of their choice, and then again when they reach 75 nights. The most popular choice, by far, is “suite night awards.” 75% of Marriott’s most frequent guests select the ability to request priority for upgrades to suites. They can choose the nights where they want their upgrades to be ahead of other guests checking in. Beginning 5 days prior to arrival, Marriott will search available room inventory to process their upgrades. However actually using these ‘Suite Night Awards’ is a huge pain point for frequent guests. If members spread out their upgrade requests evenly across the year and across all hotels, they would probably all be confirmed! But very few people want to upgrade at a Sheraton in…

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Review: American Airlines First Class, Los Angeles – Sydney

by Gary Leff

Jun 15 2023

I was actually excited to fly American Airlines Flagship first class. It’s been been several years since I’d done so. And with the introduction of new business suites with doors on new Boeing 787-9s, American will be eliminating Flagship First Class retrofitting their Boeing 777-300ERs to offer just business class. I knew this roundtrip might be my last time flying American Airlines long haul first class ever!

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FAA Reauthorization Language Would Ban Frequent Flyer Devaluations Without Notice

by Gary Leff

Jun 15 2023

There’s a tremendous amount of wrangling over what will be in the FAA’s 5-year reauthorization currently being developed in Congress.

One lesser-noticed item that’s been posted by the Senate Commerce Committee includes protections for members of frequent flyer programs stating that frequent flyer programs wouldn’t be able to devalue their miles without first giving members 90 days’ advance notice

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United May Launch Washington Dulles – Dubai And Seek Anti-Trust Immunity For Emirates Partnership

by Gary Leff

Jun 15 2023

After spending years asking the federal government to violate a treaty with the United Arab Emirates and block Emirates from flying to the U.S., several months ago they entered into a partnership with the Gulf carrier. The partnership does very little so far, but helped make the case for United to launch its own Newark – Dubai flight.

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Why United Airlines Hired A New Head Of MileagePlus With No Airline Experience

by Gary Leff

Jun 14 2023

United Airlines turned a lot of heads when they brought in a Vice President of Comcast to be the new leader of their MileagePlus frequent flyer program. He had no experience in loyalty or working with airlines. And they were tapping someone from Comcast – one of the companies in America most hated by consumers – to lead their consumer marketing.

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