Tag Archives for china.
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.
China is always ‘the next big thing.’ That was true 10 years ago and it seems like it will be true 10 years from now.
Airlines are betting big on China, since the U.S. and China don’t have Open Skies airlines have to fight for the best routes and then squat on them hoping they’ll be more valuable in the future. In a sense it’s like Havana service but with bigger stakes.
United is offering discounted coach award seats between the US and Beijing or Shanghai for just 45,000 miles. Travel must be complete by March 31. This offer can only be redeemed by phone, not online, but the standard $15 telephone booking fee is waived (good call, United).
What a great headline, “Western Plastic Breaches Great Wall”. Anyone looking for signs that China is edging its way into Western consumer culture should consider this: the Bank of China, the oldest indigenous Chinese bank, now issues a Great Wall platinum Visa credit card, and it comes with a frequent-flyer rewards program. Only 1 per cent of Chinese citizens hold Western-style credit cards; usually the wealthiest of urban sophisticates. Most people use cash for everything; they have no bank accounts or have never been offered credit by a bank. What little personal lending occurs is usually informally arranged among friends, family or business associates. Foreign banks will be allowed to offer banking services within China beginning in 2007. Currently 704 million bank cards are in circulation in China, most of which are debit cards.
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 »
