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.
Both Delta and United own a stake in CLEAR, and all you’ve needed was an account number with either to get a lower price and those with status paid less still. Now the airline discount is shrinking. An email went out to Delta SkyMiles members showing the change in pricing.
The Hyatt Regency Aruba has a history of playing games with free night award availability. They made it nearly impossible to spend Hyatt points, assigning only 22 out of their 357 rooms as potentially eligible for redemption. This hotel is actually owned by Hyatt, and after I brought their shenanigans to corporate’s attention they adjusted the practice.
However Aruba redemptions again became a problem. Some time in the second half of December all award night inventory at the property for 2023 zeroed.
The New York Times ran an op-ed on Friday by William J. McGee full of bizarre nonsense, arguing that it’s time to re-regulate the airlines, because Southwest Airlines melted down over the holidays and the FAA (government regulator!)’s antiquated NOTAM system failed for several hours this past week.
The author makes the case for the Civil Aeronautics Board – abolished by deregulation – because it limited competition and ensured airline profitability. That’s obviously bad for consumers.
Southwest Airlines did a bad thing. It cancelled flights affecting around two million passengers over the holidays. Southwest has talked about its IT issues for years, but never said ‘and we might wind up cancelling travel on two million people costing $825 million. Therefore investors were misled about the business’s prospects. Everything is securities fraud.
When a flight delays, airlines almost always blame weather. Factors outside of their control mean they don’t owe you anything, like a hotel to spend the night in or meals at the airport. But American Airlines CEO Robert Isom now says that when his airline fails to recover from problems, that’s on them and they owe their customers. That’s a sea change, following on the Southwest Airlines debacle over the holidays. But not everyone in the company’s customer service department may be ready to change.
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 an 8-K filing with the SEC in advance of the Delta Air Lines fourth quarter earnings call, the carrier revealed three data points about SkyMiles and the importance of their partnership with American Express. More people are getting the card than ever and American Express is the largest single contributor to their profits.
Elite frequent flyers in each airline’s program have benefits like extra legroom seats, not just the usual priority check-in, baggage and boarding benefits. And for nearly two years upper tier elites have been able to upgrade when traveling on the other airline.
Now, quietly – neither airline has sent out an announcement – the upgrade benefit has been extended to more frequent flyers.
Singapore Airlines frequently makes plenty of award space available towards the end of its booking calendar. If you’re searching 9 or more months in advance you have a good shot at finding a plethora of options, although right now there’s good close-in availability as well.
I want to make a few additional points though.
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 »
