This new site is a status match concierge service for customers. So far it’s just airlines but in the next few weeks they’ll add hotel programs and eventually cruise lines, casinos, and car rentals (the need here is to get agreements into place).
A lot of airlines would do status matches if they had a formal process for it. Instead customers make unprompted asks to programs and get ignored or rejected. And they have contracts or relationships with several airlines.
Two women on a delayed July 15 Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento to San Diego have been dubbed “Karen and Karen 2.0” after boarding late onto the aircraft and screaming at passengers that they should move so that the mother and daughter duo could sit together with an aisle.
The two hour delay turned into a three hour delay, with the rest of the flight’s beleaguered passengers applauding the women being escorted off the aircraft as a consequence of their flight privilege.
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.
I recently wrote about my reasons for not transferring points speculative into Air France KLM’s Flying Blue program – even when there’s a great bonus to do so – I explained that it’s because of their expiration policy.
What I failed to point out is that the official policy isn’t always enforced, in fact I was able to extend my miles by two years without taking a flight or putting a charge on their credit card.
Two men ‘huffed’ at a flight attendant when asked to put on their shoes for the plane’s takeoff as the aircraft taxied out. The crewmember appears to have escalated the encounter, and asked the pilot to head back to the gate – where police were called and armed officers entered the aircraft to remove the men who were described as “disobedient.”
Video of the incident shows other passengers objecting to what was going down. You can hear “don’t get off” and “sit down.” The men were allowed to stay, and the flight attendants were taken off.
A Southwest Airlines passenger was told she couldn’t display her “Arizonenses Con Biden” sign if she wanted to fly because, the Biden supporter said an agent told her, “many customers are offended by your sign.”
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.
Starting sometime next year Schengen Europe will make Americans get an ‘ETIAS’ (“European Travel Information and Authorization System”) which is $7 electronic travel permission. Americans will apply online in advance and pay 7 euros, and this permission will be valid for 3 years.
American Airlines has a new unpublished award chart level for flights between the U.S. and China, now charging as much as 490,000 miles one-way for a redemption. This includes American Airlines flights to Hong Kong as well.
The EU is expected to recommend against allowing American visitors, however each country still sets its own entry rules. As a result nothing may change, there could be come changes in rules leading to greater inconsistency, or several countries could ban American travelers.
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 »
