On the outbound we flew economy. There were no business seats available, and no extra legroom coach either. It was peak season and flights were full, as many flights within Australia have been since travel re-commenced.
For this flight we’d be in Virgin Australia business, which was about $100 more than economy for the three hour flight.
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.
Better hotels offer all sorts of amenities, and have been known to go above and beyond for guests. W Hotels have the ‘Whatever Whenever’ line, claiming they’ll get anything you need at any time (for a cost). But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hotel promote ‘farts’ as an amenity let alone offer them as an optional add-on for free?
ThanksAgain is a rewards program where you register your credit card, and it scans your transactions for eligible activity and offers you points – that can be converted into frequent flyer miles or gift cards.
It began years ago as a general retail rewards program. Many dry cleaners were included. Then nearly a decade ago they pivoted to being largely rewards for airport spend.
To borrow from Marx in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, hotel fees were introduced as tragedy but have proceeded to farce. Yet somehow I’ve come across one that actually still astonishes me.
A limited-service hotel’s self-serve continental breakfast had a tip jar beside the cereal tower, and even pre-seeded the jar with cash to imply that other guests are offering tips.
Buying seats that you do not intend to fly, to keep other people from buying them, creates actual harm to the airline (it prevents them from earning revenue). They won’t sit idly by. Consequences could be even greater.
Brazilians are flying to the U.S. to buy computers and then flying home. The cost savings on their purchases more than funds the trip. And some buy more than one, sell the second at home, making the whole thing ‘free’.
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.
It can be jarring to be told to weighh your carry on as you’re about to board, not just put it in the sizer to make sure its measurements are compliant. But it’s all part of updating data for safety.
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 »
