News and notes from around the interweb:
- Seems ingenious, until it prompted a counterterrorism response.
"While speaking with officers, Hamilton, who was covered in a black oily substance, reportedly said he was running from two people in the stairwell." https://t.co/mP3L8MxqjS
— Las Vegas Locally (@LasVegasLocally) September 5, 2024
- One business class roundtrip within Asia earns Japan Airlines oneworld sapphire status when paying for the ticket with a Visa Infinite card. I don’t see any residency restrictions or country of issue restrictions in the terms.
- Canadians enter to win Rewards Canada’s 23rd anniversary contest with prizes like Porter travel vouhcers and points; Flying Blue miles and status; WestJet dollars; and Aeroplan points.
- The extra rental car fee in Mexico that isn’t disclosed with your booking, and doesn’t get collected directly by the rental agency
We went to dinner in the hotel zone & were stopped at a police checkpoint on the road back to town. They made my husband get out of the car & demanded the rental agreement. They claimed to smell alcohol on his breath (he literally only had one drink at dinner over an hour prior) & performed no sort of sobriety test whatsoever (that he would have passed), but said they were going to take him to jail, tow our rental, & ticket him for $16000 pesos if we didn’t pay them. …We ended up paying them $200 USD plus $500 pesos!
…We also had a drink in plain sight in the cup holder between us that very well could have been alcohol (but it was water), but they didn’t even care to check or even ask what was in it because they did not actually care about drinking & driving. They were just looking to fill their pockets!
- The soft bigotry of low expectations. (Even American Airlines assumes this must be a complaint.)
Our apologies for the situation, when you have a moment, kindly join us in DM with your trip confirmation code and more details about this.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) September 3, 2024
- One Mile at a Time asks why American’s economy buy on board product is so bad? His thinking is that the airline just doesn’t want to give a better product away for free to Executive Platinum (and ConciergeKey) members. I think it’s something far less strategic or intentional.
They have a product, the details of that product are beside the point when product isn’t what matters. While you’d think an airline whose CEO doesn’t want it to ‘spend a dollar they don’t have to’ would sweat the details to get the most for the money they’re spending, the reverse is actually the case. Management does not value or reward the small details, nobody advances by delivering a stellar experience.
By the way it was this management’s predecessor America West that first moved away from complimentary meals to a buy on board product in the first place.
Gary–I am pretty sure the Honey Nut Cheerios is very much a complaint?
re: Mexico: From my first trip to Puerto Vallarta decades ago, we’re checking in at the airport for the return, “Sr., you didn’t reconfirm your reservation for this flight three days prior, I can’t let you on it.” We jawed at each other for a couple minutes, he was firm, I was too young to understand the game. I mumbled something about my father being a US Senator, if I wasn’t on the flight he’d have it shot down; we walked away, he came running after us, “Sr, Sr., I have your seats on the plane …” In Spanish it’s ‘poco mordita’, a tiny bite … of the cash you have, consider it an additional surtax.
Well, that Reddit tale was breaking news for sure: Mexico is incredibly corrupt. ^Shocking! ^Who knew?
By the way, the fact that these cops got a good $270 cash out of them goes to show that they didn’t know how to negotiate. Buying your “new friends” a nice lunch (that you aren’t attending) should cost something in the $50 range. Maybe more there because they are in the tourists-who-usually-go-to-Orlando zone of Mexico.
Going to Mexico or Las Vegas is a descent into disease-land , and then becoming victims , in lands of no heros .
Better to go to Hawaii where you will merely be over-charged for everything by non-heroic hotels .
I say , even better for me to go to Israel where I will be among even fewer tourists , yet among ethical heros ..
I’ve had great trips to Mexico but the police in some areas are very corrupt. It is best to stay away from those areas including some of the tourist areas. Yes, there is la mordida.
Honey Nut Cheerios is one of the most popular cereals in America. But that’s because the “nuts” are supposed to be almond flavor, and not the metal nuts that come with bolts, as in the photo.
I can travel to many countries where the police won’t extort me. Why go to Mexico?
I smell a hoax. That nut appears to not be AN (Air Force/Navy) hardware hence, should be nowhere near an Aircraft.
I missed that there was a metal nut in her cereal
I was stopped while driving from Tulum to Cancun and told I’d need to go to the station unless I paid my “fine” on the spot. I said that’s fine, let’s go to the station. I don’t think they’d ever had anyone say that before and they tried to explain that would mean following them to the police station thinking that perhaps I didn’t understand the inconvenience of what would be necessary etc, etc. Our flight was the next day so we had plenty of time if they decided to follow through but I was pretty sure this was a shakedown and wanted my two young boys to see how to politely, but firmly, push back in such a situations so I told them I no problem, let’s go to the station.
The cops went off and chatted for a while then came back and said they’d spoken to higher ups who’d told them to just let me off with a warning. Yeah, right. Nice when it works out this way but not something I’d like to have to deal with on a regular basis, and certainly not when the other guys are carrying guns (these guys weren’t).
Tell the cop you need to go with them to the station to pay the fine. They’ll let you go.
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