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We now know much of the changes that American AAdvantage will implement right away (to earning status during 2016 for the 2017 program year) and in a year (to mileage-earning for flights). But there are still areas where we can expect changes and American hasn’t told us what to expect. How they handle those issues will determine the value of the AAdvantage program more than the changes that have already leaked.
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.
When the Park Hyatt New York first opened it was very difficult to get an award night there. The hotel wasn’t completely finished, and the unfinished portion included some of the 12% of rooms that would be considered ‘standard’ and thus eligible for redemptions.
Six months ago it became possible to redeem Hyatt Gold Passport points there regularly.
I finally got to visit, and I was blown away.
American — after getting the DOT to take slots away from Delta — is finally publishing its schedule for Los Angeles – Tokyo Haneda flights. They’ll begin selling seats this Sunday for service which starts in February.
Here’s what you need to know about the new service, about which Delta has recently lodged new complaints with the Department of Transportation… and what you need to know about booking Japan awards through American AAdvantage.
Airport workers can get creative using their positions to extract cash. If they can’t pocket the security tax, they can blackmail passengers.
Airport security in Manila apparently will drop bullets into passengers’ bags as they go through the screening checkpoint. Passengers then have to pay a ‘fine’ or face charges of illegal possession of ammunition.
DOT filings include the amount each airline spends per passenger on meals.
We can see United, Delta, and American spending more on food than Virgin America and JetBlue. That just tells us that Virgin America operates shorter flights that the nation’s 3 biggest airlines. JetBlue is only extensive serving meals to premium cabin customers on their limited set of “Mint” routes. Blue potato chips aren’t very expensive.
More interesting is the comparison over time…
The federal government taxes miles purchased from US airline as though they are used to reduce the cost of domestic airfare, and thus the price of those miles is subject to the same 7.5% excise tax that applies to domestic airline tickets.
Did you know that if you buy miles and use them for something other than domestic travel that you can get the tax refunded?
It turns out the case for whether mergers have been good or bad for consumers isn’t so clear either way. There are some benefits to stronger airlines, though low fuel costs and the state of the economy are bigger drivers of that than consolidation. We should be careful to remember, though, that correlation isn’t causation.
To me business class is always and everywhere about the seat. Sure, I love Singapore Airlines service and pre-order meals. It’s great that I get pajamas in Virgin Australia’s long haul business. But I will always make decisions based on seat first.
It turns out that research shows I’m an anomaly, that little touches influence what customers think even about the seat — and helps explain why customers will choose an airline with an inferior hard product when it gets the little touches right.
Starwood CEO Adam Aron relayed during the company’s earnings call that he expects a sale by the end of the year. This morning I noted that Hyatt was rumored to be near an agreement to acquire Starwood. It would be interesting to see Adam Aron — who created the Gold Passport program as Hyatt’s Chief Marketing Officer — ultimately sell Starwood to his former employer.
For customers this would be the best possible outcome of any of the deal combinations Starwood is rumored to have looked at. I like this better than Wyndham, IHG, or Accor. For Hyatt and Starwood it’s not as clear how well an acquisition fills strategic gaps, however.
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 »
