A frequent flyer shared their amazement that the purchase of 127 bonsai trees could earn them Executive Platinum status. But it’s actually much easier – and cheaper – than that.
They’ve made the program fun again by creating something for members to chase. They’ve gamified their elite status to the benefit of both themselves and their members. This is new, and there will certainly need to be tweaks as they see how it works out in practice. But it’s been so long since these programs have been genuinely exciting.
You can now search for award availability with American Airlines AAdvantage and Air Canada Aeroplan inside Bilt’s app. No other transferable points program has this, and it’s fairly unprecedented in the industry. That says something about the Bilt project, and the demographic they’re reaching that’s valuable to airline loyalty programs.
Air India, which is owned by the government but due to be privatized this month in a sale to Tata Group, pulled all of its inventory from global distribution systems briefly at the end of the year – where more than half of the airline’s ticket sales occur – as a court ordered all of its funds held by IATA for settlement impounded.
On October 29 American Airlines sent an eight year old Boeing 777-300ER to their Tulsa maintenance facility for insect abatement.
A couple of weeks later the plane was out and back in service – but it flew a single Miami to Dallas – Fort Worth segment before returning to Tulsa on November 14. Aircraft N724AN was still on the ground in Tulsa when I wrote about it in early December. It is now finally flying again. Here’s where it’s going.
United Airlines has forced out flight attendant Arina Bloom for her TikTok videos. She reports that someone “made an anonymous complaint” about her, and though United had previously commented positively on her online presence it became a liability.
In the 1970s it was much easier to take on a new identity than it is today. Assume the name of someone who died young and didn’t create much of a paper trail, and won’t be using it, Perhaps someone that didn’t get a social security number when they were born (it was much more common then). Get a copy of their birth certificate, apply for a social security card.
I knew someone that did this, and not the guy in Catch Me If You Can.
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With the new American Airlines elite status-earning system going into effect for 2022 it’s super easy to keep elite status if you engage with the program across a variety of earning streams, rather than just by flying.
American has now shared the full list of activities and partners that will count towards elite status under the new program.
The Citi Prestige Card is no longer available to new applicants. It was Citi’s entry into the premium travel rewards space. Five years ago it was a great card for benefits. They re-tooled it as a strong earning card after shedding it of its best benefits (like unlimited flexible fourth night free on hotels, Admirals Club access and more). The card earns 5x at restaurants and airlines, and 3x on hotels and cruise lines. There’s still a fourth night free hotel benefit, limited to twice a year and more restrictive in its use. It comes with Priority Pass Select and an annual travel credit of up to $250. The card has a $495 annual fee. Like in 2020 and 2021 Citi is letting cardmembers use their travel credit for supermarket and restaurant purchases between January…
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 »
