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.
Hertz has a problem keeping track of its fleet of cars. Customers return the cars, but staff fail to check in the vehicles. And report them stolen. Sometimes the person who returned it gets arrested, sometimes the next person who rents the car gets arrested for the theft. There are horror stories of cops with guns drawn, and long stays in jail. And Hertz, which has acknowledged the issues, doesn’t withdraw false police reports – saying that to do so would undermine their credibility with police (!).
These stories usually involve either extending a rental or swapping a car, and usually happen at the main Hertz brand, rather than at Dollar or Thrifty which they also own. So the story of a traffic stop of a father and 13 year old daughter – complete with guns and police body cam footage – is just as notable for happening on a Thrifty rental as for coming mere minutes after driving off the rental lot with contract in hand.
Many of you have never heard of Billund Airport, but it’s the second largest in Denmark. They want you to know that they’re much bigger than you’d think, and they have a way of showing it that may inspire fear, anxiety, and in some of us… envy.
Ben Schlappig from One Mile at a Time reviewed the Hyatt House/Hyatt Place LAX and offered “I wouldn’t stay again, because I have issues supporting the owner and developer of the property (Aaron Schock).” He did not explain further, so I thought I would offer ‘the rest of the story.’
Schock is a former Illinois Republican Congressman who was indicted (but paid a fine as part of a deferred-prosecution agreement) for misappropriation of campaign funds. He came out as gay in 2020, but had a zero percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign.
I absolutely love ConciergeKey. I’m hoping that since it was granted over the summer, expiring March 2023, that it will be renewed for one more year – that when granted it’s for a ‘minimum of 12 months’ – because I can’t imagine I’ll ever be able to qualify again. I’ll never be in the league of those spending $50,000 – $60,000 on high yield tickets, and without a twice in a lifetime type of promotion like last December’s deal was I’m unlikely to ever generate 5 million AAdvantage miles in a year again either. I never thought I’d have this status, and I’ll miss it once it’s gone.
Most ‘how to get upgraded’ stories are filled with half-truths, falsehoods, and urban legends. That’s especially true for airlines, but it’s also true for hotels, too. But here’s something that works, more often than not, and that I’ve used successfully in the past.
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.
Ex-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is returning to London from holiday in Punta Cana, just as shocked apparently as the rest of the world by the rapid meltdown of Liz Truss’s tenure at 10 Downing Street. He wasn’t even on the Continent.
Travel is expensive, and flights are full. So it shouldn’t be surprising that he isn’t flying business.
It seems that what is happening is that the points upgrade rate – 6000 points on top of the rate for an eligible room – is pricing at $39 perhaps instead of $390. And it’s bookable from when the hotel opens in January through the end of Hyatt’s booking window late next year.
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.
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 »
