You’ll use fewer miles flying Emirates business class roundtrip than you’d use Delta miles on a business class one way to Europe. And fewer miles than United or American charges, while avoiding the draconian fuel surcharges that American AAdvantage passes along on British Airways itineraries.
There’s some eco-friendliness in the move, along with a drive to making pandemic cost cuts permanent. Whether customers enjoy the new amenities or not is what’s ultimately key. The wine in can they’ve selected may be perfectly fine compared to what’s usually served in domestic premium cabins, but I’d rather have wine selected on the basis of its quality and drinkability in the air than on the basis of packaging.
Spirit is launching service to Delta hub Salt Lake City starting May 26, 2022 with flights to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Orlando.
British Airways is moving into the American Airlines terminal at New York JFK in December, with the two joint venture partners working more closely together not just on scheduling and pricing but also on customer experience. That means a new shared premium check-in area and revamped larger joint premium lounges.
Capital One discontinued their highly popular Spark Cash card for new business cardmembers over the summer, and at the same time introduced Spark Cash Plus as a 2% cash back card with a $150 annual fee.
A $3000 initial bonus offer with high spend requirement will certainly be attractive to many high spenders. Of course that’s exactly who they’re looking for with this offer!
Marriott is out with their first gambit: to make elite status-earning easier in 2022: double elite qualifying nights, and 1000 bonus points per night, February 8 – May 4, 2022.
If you call a U.S. airline expect to wait on hold. And depending on what’s happening that day, the wait can be hours. When you need help the most, because your flight was cancelled or you’re going to miss a connection, that’s when the hold times are likely to be longest – because everyone else probably needs help at the same time for the same reason.
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.
Shangri-La’s Vice President and Head of Shangri-La Circle Kevin Siew offered both real insight into how the chain thinks about loyalty – and what’s necessary to deliver great experiences for guests regardless of the chain. So this was a very interesting hour, spent together via Zoom since he’s based in Hong Kong. My key takeaways included the importance of treating guests well at each interaction, regardless of their reason for a stay or meal, and contra most of the industry just how much vertical integration – owning the hotels and restaurants – actually matters for a hospitality chain.
New aircraft are always exciting, even when they’re domestic planes with Oasis interiors. But we’re expecting new premium seats, more business class seats, and aircraft that allow flying to more non-stop destinations and more destinations to be served year-round.
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 »
