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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.
Two months ago I wrote that it’s the golden age of air travel with cheap fares all over the world. Most of those fares have been in economy, with sub-$400 roundtrips to Europe and Asia with amazing flash sales.
I certainly prefer travel in business class, and readers have been asking for those deals.
Delta eliminated award charts a couple of years ago off of their website. They tell you the price they give to you on any given day is ‘the price’. This makes it easier to raise prices without members knowing, and since they made a happen of changing their program without notice anyway it eliminates the need to bother informing members as the value of the SkyMiles currency changes (gets worse).
Of course no matter what Delta tells you, they still price off an award chart, it’s simply hidden from view. They have buckets of availability and each bucket corresponds to a price. With partners that availability is in a single bucket, and whenever it is available it is the same price — except that Delta now bumps up pricing for certain partner awards booked close to departure.
A few days ago I shared reports from the Bangkok Post and elsewhere that the military administration was pushing out street food vendors.
I suggested that some vendors rent space in front of stores rather than squatting on public streets, and that local jurisdictions were all interpreting the new edicts the same way so some street food would survive — and some of the best places are in actual hole in the wall restaurants — however limits on street vendors raise costs and create barriers to entry, reduce competition, and will limit food quality over time.
American Express Membership Rewards is offering a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic through May 22, 2017. Virgin Atlantic’s miles were among the least valuable currencies. That was true before Even Virgin Atlantic Flying Club raised redemption prices for Virgin Atlantic travel and before their partnership with Virgin America terminated. But there are some incredible sweet spots that most people don’t consider. Partner award redemptions are roundtrip These must be booked by phone, not online, and it usually seems like call center agents have never booked a partner award before They add fuel surcharges to awards where they are part of a paid ticket’s price Virgin Atlantic occasionally runs discounts on transatlantic economy awards, and even sometimes premium economy awards. Discounts combined with transfer bonuses wind up being super cheap. My favorite award is Virgin…
Given our politics in the U.S. over the last 20 years perhaps it’s not at all strange for the President of Ghana to be complaining to British Airways about specific elements of their service.
Here’s what Ghana’s President told British Airways’ head of sales for the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia when the BA sales officer came to congratulate him on his election:
As an earn and burn program — the value of a program’s miles, not its elite status — it’s hard to imagine a program that’s done more to become less useful.
Members want to fly places from their home city, usually on American and usually domestic. And what’s most striking to most members is the sheer lack of award availability — which means awards at the saver level, not awards where American wants 55,000 for a one-way first class seat from Austin to Dallas.
Reader @JayseDavid was on board United flight UA3411 from Chicago to Louisville, a United Express regional jet operated by Republic Airlines.
The flight was overbooked and United was looking for 4 volunteers to give up their seat, reportedly “for personnel that needed to be at work the next day.” There weren’t any volunteers, so United moved on to bump passengers involuntarily.
There’s an 844 mile flight between Conakry, Guinea and Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasao. It’s operated twice a week with a Boeing 737 by Turkish Airlines.
It’s a short hop, but Friday’s early morning flight was just long enough for a baby to be born onboard.
Checking lithium ion batteries as cargo is dangerous. The European Aviation Safety Agency has expressed concerned over the electronics ban for this reason.
We can’t make the world risk free (although there are fewer people trying to take down planes than we often think). All we can do is transfer risk.
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 »
