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.
Promoted as a VACCation, wealthy foreigners are booking trips to the U.S. to get their vaccines. Even though getting Johnson & Johnson is cheaper (one shot means they don’t need three or four weeks of hotel stays) about 90% prefer Pfizer or Moderna.
You may save a few dollars or earn more miles when one airline sells another airline’s flights but puts its own flight number on it. But when things go wrong they can get confusing. Passengers get confused, too, about where they’re flying and where to check in. And seat assignments can be difficult to obtain.
In fact right now American Airlines can’t even assign seats to customers off of a seat map when they sell JetBlue codeshares.
There’s a fare war going on right now to Tokyo and American Airlines is selling tickets as low as $89.70 one way from Miami to Tokyo Haneda. Return flights are available for about $50 more booked as part of a roundtrip.
A new hotel in that Maldives let you book overwater villas using Marriott points, and it starts at just 24,000 points per night and is eligible for credit card free night certificates.
A tipster shares that Prospect Airport Services at Charlotte’s airport went from “300 passenger service agents to 30 because of low wages. They’re offering a signing bonus, but the $9 pay isn’t attracting qualified candidates.” That may provide some insight into challenges at Washington’s National airport, and all over the country finding someone – anyone – to help passengers in need of a wheelchair make it to their flights.
While travel shaming may have been understandable at the start of the pandemic, and getting out into the world may make sense for many that have been vaccinated, this is a time for tolerance of others’ risk profiles and preferences since we’re in an ‘in-between space’ where there’s still virus spreading and still people at great risk for it, even as an increasing number of people face very low risk to themselves and others.
Cardless gives us a glimpse into how FinTech can disrupt credit card rewards. There hasn’t been a new major issuer since 1994. Now it’s possible to issue cards with smaller brands at lower cost, and rebate more to the customer.
One of the ways that Hilton Honors award prices can vary is based on the number of guests in a room. Extra person charges for paid rooms are common in Europe but not in the U.S.
At Marriott, award nights include the cost of extra person charges (except for a handful of all-inclusive properties, since extra guests would be eating, etc.). Not so with Hilton.
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 »
