Alaska Airlines announced this week that the move to a single loyalty program with Hawaiian Airlines will come this summer, and that they’ll also launch a premium credit card at that time.
Brett Catlin, Alaska’s Vice President of Loyalty, Alliances and Sales, shared some additional details about the card’s companion award certificate with me.
Marriott reset member expectations a year ago about how upgrades work, changing the name so that an upgrade isn’t necessarily to a suite and giving out upgrades only closer to check-in. Well, they’re changing upgrades again!
I was approved for this card early in 2024 and now face a choice over whether it’s worth keeping. For now, this Hilton benefit is additive. I suspect it will be more valuable to me than benefits that we may lose – but split up quarterly, at $50 per quarter, requires somewhat regular business with Hilton to maximize and I’m not a Hilton regular. So I’ll have to factor the increased effort (compared to, for instance, making an online Dell purchase) into the equation.
The Southwest jet landed on the same runway. As the 737-700 completed its landing rollout at a speed of 17 knots, the flight crew reported seeing the DA40 on the runway ahead. The two aircraft came within 857 feet of each other.
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.
“[T]he moment someone calls you “friend” there’s a good chance they are not your friend and something is about to get shady…” And just because they’re in a uniform doesn’t mean they’re an official, plus sometimes people in uniform are in on the scam.
American Airlines announced its AAdvantage frequent flyer program changes for 2025 this morning and it’s really great news by omission. There’s nothing bad. In fact there are really just program additions. That’s not something we see often, though it was the case last year with American AAdvantage as well.
So what is changing for the new member year that starts March 1?
Southwest Airlines is turning Orlando into a mini-connecting hub for short haul intra-Florida routes, adding flights to Miami, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach and Sarasota to their existing Fort Lauderdale route.
American AAdvantage is the best program for earning status beyond simply flying. It has the best partner award redemption pricing. But there’s one area where American AAdvantage has lagged behind all of its competitors: rewarding customers with lifetime elite status.
Starting March 1, 2025 they’re revamping the AAdvantage Million Mile program.
Poor quality wifi is something that I avoid when choosing an airline. It costs airlines ticket revenue. While the cost of wifi is part of the cost of travel – airlines that bundle it in with ticket price become more competitive, while charging separately makes little sense when it’s possible to offer it at near-zero marginal cost once installed on the aircraft.
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 »
