News and notes from around the interweb:
- I wrote that the new American AAdvantage-Shell Gas partnership isn’t very good because the miles you’d earn are worth less than the cash back you get when you sign up with Shell directly.
However I suggested it could be worthwhile for some if the partnership earns Loyalty Points (credit towards elite status) starting next year. And indeed reports are that it will.
- 2,900 Wyndham Rewards Points Free From Bakkt
- This is a really good discussion of airlines selling miles to banks, generating most of their profit from frequent flyer programs rather than flying planes. There are some issues where he talks about airlines perfecting their earning and redemption systems going revenue-based, misses that Barclays issues American AAdvantage credit cards (rather than being a bank that airlines could turn to as an alternative to Citi, Chase and Amex – and Barclays really isn’t in a position to do a solo deal that big) and a few other items.
- British Airways parent IAG abandons plans to acquire Air Europa
- Delta co-brand card spend was 22% higher in November 2021 than in November 2019. Wealth effects (stock market, real estate) and inflation? Delta CEO Ed Bastian takes that as a big endorsement of the brand, value prop, etc. but it merely tracks overall goods and services spending this weekend that Amex is seeing overall this quarter
- Qantas has re-opened its LAX business class lounge with the first class lounge re-opening in ‘early 2022’ but not later than the Airbus A380 returns to Los Angeles March 27, 2022. That’ll mean oneworld emerald will no longer be able to use the (nicer, IMHO) Star Alliance business class lounge.
@ Gary — Thw Fed needs to end QE effectively immediately and raise rates effective immediately. These crooks have enriched themselvess and destroyed our economy.
Why anyone would spend on Delta or United credit cards is beyond me. AA and AS are OK, for now…
Who are the crooks?
What person invented FFmiles 40 years ago? There should be a statue of them at all airlines headquarters!
I think that was Frank Lorenzo.
@Jorge Paez – Texas International introduced a mileage-based program in 1979. Western Airlines Travel Pass, in 1980, offered $50 off every 5 trips. But AAdvantage was the first airline loyalty program to offer free flights. And they offered upgrades to first class, too.
So I’d credit Rolfe Schellenberger (who passed away last year) and Hal Brierley with it. And Brierley sort of has a statue – the Brierly Institute at Southern Methodist University – and a whole lot of money. 🙂
Thanks Gary!
Amazing how valuable those programs are (I watched the video).
Gary, I know it ain’t up to you, but AA really needs to have a page that is our loyalty point reference. Where you get, how much you get, what counts. What doesn’t. (And where and how can we double and triple dip).
The wait is killin’ me!
@ Jorge — The crooks are the members of The Federal Reserve who have no restrictions on trading their own stock portfolio. Do a couple Google searches and you’ll see they are crooks.
@Gene
Where I live, that would require that I fly on *shudder* American to a hub that allowed me to connect to a partner airline. And they’re too much of a dumpster fire for me to consider right now.
DL is the best option for me where I live now and spend on a DL credit card put me over the top for PM this year and will help keep me PM, which I find to be useful, for the next 3-4 years.
@Gene
Very low rates have led to boom times for anyone invested in the stock market and real estate. The returns for 401Ks/IRAs/individual Accounts have been tremendous during the low rate environment. Saving Accounts are meant for the short term and 10% of your assets for safety. Currency is supposed to be current. It’s meant to be spent or invested. Otherwise, inflation eats it away. Still, inflation is overblown as a MacBook Pro was the same price in nominal dollars in 2006 as it is in 2021. Led TVs are 1/5 of what they were 15 years ago. Before Covid, air fares for all classes were never cheaper when adjusted for inflation.
The government sucks, the government is evil, democracy is no different than slavery where 51% dictate to the 49%, democracy is evil, and the fed like any institution is corrupted to the core, however, low interest rates is not a big indictment against the fed. Unlike with taxes that pay for things you don’t want, support, need, nor consent to(coercion), you can put your money in higher earning assets instead of letting it sit and rot away in a savings account.
Thanks Gene! Good to know.