Bats swarm room at Sheraton Denver, bite pilot

An airline pilot from California is suing Marriott over an incident that happened at the Sheraton Denver Downtown back on August 29, 2025, where he was staying during training. While the airline he works for isn’t named, it’s pretty clear he works for United, given that this is where the company’s pilot training center is, and that’s a hotel the airline uses for training.

Anyway, the 46-year-old man was sleeping in his room on the 22nd floor, when he suddenly woke up at around 2:30AM to “commotion.” As his lawyer explained, “imagine you’re sleeping in a hotel room and you wake up and you see bats flying around, that’s scary.”

The pilot immediately notified the hotel, and maintenance staff were sent, who removed the bats, but didn’t offer to relocate him to another room, according to the lawsuit. He noticed there was a hole in the room’s air conditioning unit, “which appeared to provide access for the bats to enter the room,” causing him to shove a towel in there to close that opening.

He eventually fell asleep again, only to wake up in the morning and still see a single bat in the room, near the top of the curtains by the window. Animal control was called in to remove the last bat, and the workers reportedly informed the pilot that several of the bats in the area had tested positive for rabies, and they advised him to get treated immediately.

The pilot later discovered that he had been bitten on his foot, so he got a series of rabies shots, with total medical bills coming out to over $100K. The pilot was terrified of getting rabies, and feared for his life.

Following the incident, the pilot had trouble sleeping in hotel rooms, which became a big issue for his job, given that pilots constantly stay overnight at hotels.

The pilot initially engaged in settlement talks with Marriott, the parent company of Sheraton, but the claim is that they offered him a small sum to “go away,” claiming that these kinds of things happen, and that no one is at fault.

So then the pilot filed a proper lawsuit, requesting compensation for his medical bills and for the trauma. As the lawyer explained:

“We believe the evidence will show that this incident was preventable and that the hotel’s response fell well below what any guest should expect. No one should have to worry about being exposed to bats while sleeping in a hotel room.”

“We attempted for months to resolve this matter before filing suit. Despite providing medical records, photographs, and other supporting evidence, Marriott’s settlement offers did not reflect the seriousness of the incident or the harm suffered by my client. As a result, we had no choice but to file this lawsuit.”

I have so many questions about this incident & lawsuit

As I see it, there are two topics here — the initial incident, and then everything that happened after the fact, from the treatment to the lawsuit.

My goodness, the thought of bats swarming a hotel room is something that’s going to give me nightmares, as it’s not even a fear I had considered… and here I was thinking that I was safe as long as I checked under the bed for monsters!

Seriously though… I get that stuff happens, but… how?! How could that even happen? I certainly wonder if the pilot asked to move rooms, but regardless of whether or not he did, how did the hotel not immediately relocate him? Was this truly an isolated incident that only happened this one time, or was this a recurring issue at the hotel? This seems absolutely bonkers.

It’s hard to imagine any world in which the hotel’s handling of this wasn’t completely unacceptable. They didn’t remove all the bats? They didn’t patch up the hole that likely allowed the bats to enter? They didn’t insist he move rooms? They didn’t immediately call animal control the first time around?

That being said, regarding the treatment, why would rabies shots cost $100K? Based on a quick search, it looks like they should cost thousands of dollars at most (more like $5K or so), rather than $100K, so what am I missing there? And would the airline not cover that kind of treatment, since he was on the job?

I have to say, this absolutely seems to me like a case where suing for negligence and trauma seems appropriate. If you’re staying in a hotel, you should expect that they’ll do everything in their power to prevent you from being bitten by bats while sleeping. Regardless of how preventable the situation was in the first place, the response here was nothing short of unacceptable.

Bottom line

A United Airlines pilot staying at the Sheraton Denver Downtown had his hotel room invaded by bats in the middle of the night while sleeping. He immediately let the hotel know, and they claimed to address the issue. However, he woke up hours later, only to find that there was still a bat in the room, and that he had been bitten in the foot.

He claims he racked up over $100K in medical bills because of this, including for rabies shots. He’s now suing Marriott, after the company refused to settle in a reasonable way.

What do you make of this bizarre Sheraton Denver pilot bat situation?

United’s “broken” Boeing 787 is still broken, even after being fixed

United Airlines is currently taking delivery of a large number of brand new Boeing 787-9s, which are in a premium configuration, and feature the carrier’s new “United Elevate” interiors, with a new experience across cabins.

N61101 is the registration code for United’s first new Boeing 787-9 with these interiors, and it also has the United 100th anniversary decal on it. On the return portion of the plane’s first-ever international flight, to Singapore (SIN), it encountered a maintenance issue, to the point that the plane had to divert, and then be ferried back to United’s maintenance facility in San Francisco (SFO) without passengers.

Unfortunately even after that, things didn’t get better. In June, I covered how the plane had issue after issue, to the point that it spent more time on the ground than in the air. The situation got so bad that on June 20, 2026, the plane flew to Moses Lake (MWH), which is a Boeing maintenance base.

Clearly United mechanics couldn’t figure out what was going on, so the plane was returned to Boeing. Well, the plane spent around 10 days with Boeing, before once again returning to San Francisco on June 30, 2026.

You’d assume things would be good from there, but on July 2, 2026, the plane flew to London (LHR). While that flight operated as planned, the return flight on July 3 was canceled due to a maintenance issue. Now the plane is expected to be once again ferried back to San Francisco empty, flying today, July 4, 2026.

This is obviously embarrassing — not for United, but for Boeing, since one assumes this somehow reflects an issue with Boeing’s production process, or something.

The issue with this Boeing 787 revolves around TCAS

What exactly is wrong with this particular United Dreamliner? The issue reportedly revolves around TCAS. For those not familiar, TCAS stands for Traffic Collision Avoidance System, and it’s supposed to help pilots avoid midair collisions.

These alerts come in the form of either TAs (Traffic Advisories), which alert pilots of other planes nearby, or RAs (Resolution Advisories), which give specific instructions about which action pilots should take. It goes without saying that this is a very important safety feature for planes, and TCAS saves lives.

As reported by JonNYC, it’s believed that both antennas were replaced by Boeing in Moses Lake, and that this would resolve the issue. However, clearly that wasn’t the case, based on how quickly the plane was taken out of service again.

Here’s something that’s beyond my area of knowledge, and which I can’t otherwise make sense of — as I understand it, airplanes have endless redundant systems in place so that pilots are alerted if something isn’t working as it should be. How is it that they performed test flights in Moses Lake and thought the plane was safe to reenter service, only to have the same problem arise again?

Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see what happens next. I imagine this plane is headed back to Moses Lake, and then we’ll see what happens from there. I don’t want to draw too many conclusions, but it sure seems like Boeing production quality isn’t what it once was.

Bottom line

One of United’s newest Dreamliners has been plagued by endless maintenance issues, ever since entering service. The carrier’s return international inaugural flight diverted for a maintenance issue, and stuff hasn’t improved since then. A couple of weeks ago, the plane was sent to Boeing to be repaired… only to once again have issues on the return portion of its first international trip.

The problem reportedly revolves round TCAS, which is a very important feature to help pilots in the most critical of situations. It’s going to be interesting to see how long it takes Boeing to fix this. I’d also be fascinated to know how exactly reimbursement works in these kinds of situations, between Boeing and United.

What do you make of the issues with this United Dreamliner?

The thing is, that cruise wasn’t specifically about Turkey, but instead, it was just one of several stops, with the primary destination being Greece. Well, OMAAT reader Sisyphus pointed me to what’s perhaps an even more interesting cruise concept, which is the first-ever gay cruise from Saudi Arabia. Hmmm…

VACAYA hosts “thrilling” LGBTQ+ Saudi Arabia cruise

VACAYA is a vacation company that creates adults-only experiences for the LGBTQ+ community. The company primarily charters cruises for this concept, but also hosts some resort experiences.

As you’d expect, most of the company’s experiences are in gay friendly destinations, but not always. From March 28 through April 7, 2027, the company will be hosting its “Arabian Nights Cruise,” described as the company’s “most thrilling adventure yet,” allowing people to “make and live history.”

The journey takes place on the new Emerald Kaia, featuring 64 cabins and suites.

The cruise visits Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, and Jordan, with Saudi Arabia stops including the origin in Jeddah, and a second stop in Yanbu. Jeddah is described as a “vibrant port city,” while Yanbi “offers pristine beaches and diving adventures in the azure depths of the Red Sea.”

As you’d expect, many people probably see this and think “huh, a gay cruise from Saudi Arabia?!” So VACAYA does have the following message about this, which I think is worth sharing:

Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a profound transformation, cautiously stepping onto the global tourism stage and inviting travelers from around the world to experience its breathtaking cultural heritage and natural beauty. For decades, LGBTQ+ visitors could scarcely imagine setting foot in the Kingdom. Yet, as the country seeks to diversify its economy and reshape its international image in anticipation of hosting the 2034 World Cup, a quiet but notable shift has emerged: visitors of all identities are being welcomed, provided they honor local customs. While full equality is still distant, this opening marks a moment of change – an acknowledgment that the world’s travelers come in every color of the rainbow. It is a delicate step, but one filled with diplomacy, hope, and the promise of a more inclusive tomorrow.

One of VACAYA’s core beliefs is that the world’s treasures belong to ALL of us, and by bringing our community into dialogue with one of the most storied regions on Earth, we celebrate our right to explore, to learn, and to connect. This isn’t just a vacation. It’s a pioneering voyage of understanding and visibility, where the joy of discovery becomes a bridge between cultures and the hope of progress sails alongside us.

My take on this bold Saudi Arabia cruise concept

At least officially, Saudi Arabia claims it’s welcoming to LGBT visitors, under what I’d describe as a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Here’s how the company addresses this on its tourism website:

Are LGBT visitors welcome to visit Saudi Arabia?

Everyone is welcome to visit Saudi Arabia and visitors are not asked to disclose such personal details.

So I’d be curious to know if any explicit permission has been given for this cruise, or if it’s more just that the cruise has been organized under the assumption that we can take Saudi Arabia at its word here.

In the past, I’ve shared my philosophy on traveling as a gay (and married) man, and I’ve also shared my take on flying Gulf carriers, and the ethics of that. People are of course more than welcome to disagree with me on those points, and I don’t think there are any wrong or right answers. Quite frankly, the only takes I don’t really respect are those from people who get on their high horse and claim that they’re doing everything right, while anyone with a different opinion is wrong.

As a gay person, I’d feel comfortable traveling to Saudi Arabia, and frankly, I’d probably act the same I do anywhere else — being gay isn’t my entire identity, I’m not into PDA in general, etc.

That being said, at least at this early stage of Saudi Arabia opening up more broadly, I’m not sure I’d like to travel on a journey that is explicitly for gay people. As I see it, VACAYA is straddling the line here a bit — the company notes that everyone is welcome in Saudi Arabia, assuming they honor local customs, and in this case, those local customs are basically not disclosing your sexual orientation.

But then VACAYA goes on to describe this as a “pioneering voyage of understanding and visibility.” The thing is, this really isn’t about visibility. Saudi Arabia is explicitly telling tourists not to be “visible” if they’re LGBT. Like, I would even assume local officials aren’t explicitly being made aware of the people on the cruise, or the type of journey this is.

Anyway, this is definitely quite the creative concept. I suspect this cruise will be a bit more “toned down” than some of the other Atlantis Events or VACAYA vacations we hear about, in terms of… well… ummm… you know.

Bottom line

LGBTQ+ vacation company VACAYA is hosting a special “Arabian Nights” cruise in early 2027, which visits Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, and Jordan. This is a first of its kind cruise. I appreciate the concept behind this, which is that Saudi Arabia claims it’s trying to modernize, and is open to all, as long as they respect local customs.

As I see it, the challenge here is that VACAYA is both promoting the concept of “visibility,” while also acknowledging that Saudi Arabia’s policy of welcoming gay travelers is based on what can best be described as a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. I get it, it’s a tough line, and I’m not sure there’s a right or wrong answer. Personally, I’d feel comfortable traveling to Saudi Arabia, but ideally independently, and not as part of a specifically gay group.

What do you make of this Saudi Arabia cruise concept?

Turkey blocks Atlantis Events cruise at the last minute

Atlantis Events organizes cruises primarily for LGBTQ+ travelers. The idea is that they essentially charter cruise ships, and then sell cabins to those who are fans of the Atlantis Events concept. Atlantis Events has a 10-night cruise departing on July 5, 2026, operated by the Scarlet Lady ship, belonging to Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages brand. The cruise is expected to have 1,900 guests, with 1,100 being from the United States.

The cruise is departing from Athens and ending in Venice, and it was supposed to make stops in Turkey, Greece, and Croatia, before ending in Italy. In the case of Turkey, planned stops included a July 7 visit to Kusadasi, and a July 8 visit to Istanbul. However, that’s no longer in the cards.

Turkish authorities have reportedly blocked this cruise from visiting Turkey at the last minute, citing “moral standards” and “family values,” claiming that the ship was chartered by groups “known for behaviors incompatible with the fabric of our society and our moral values.” Turkey has of course been becoming increasingly more conservative under Erdogan.

In place of these two ports, the ship will instead dock in Alexandria, Egypt, for a day, with tours to Cairo available. If you look at any sort of an equality index, Egypt ranks even lower than Turkey, so that’s not exactly ideal. I must also say, describing the port as “Cairo (Alexandria)” strikes me as taking quite some liberties — that’s like saying “Miami (Port Canaveral).” Anyway, there will also be a stop in the port town of Heraklion, Greece, on the island of Crete.

Rich Campbell, the CEO of Atlantis Events, stated that this is the first time in 36 years that the company has been “actively told we may not berth here because of who we are.”

My take on this unprecedented cruise ship “blocking”

To state the obvious, I’m not a fan of Erdogan, but ideologically, this is exactly what you’d expect from his administration.

Let me also say that while I’m gay, based on my understanding of these Atlantis Events cruises (and how they’re marketed), this just isn’t up my alley. I’m not saying that from some place of internalized homophobia, or anything, but instead, I’m just an introvert, and I don’t particularly enjoy “events” (whatever form they may come in — that includes sporting events, inaugural flights, etc.).

All that being said, this is indeed pretty unprecedented. Countries across the globe have different laws for all kinds of things, ranging from selling chewing gum, to same sex activity, to free speech. Virtually all countries don’t have laws against “being” gay, since you can’t arrest someone for what they’re thinking.

For more conservative countries, the laws are generally against same sex activity, the way one expresses themselves, etc. Even Saudi Arabia’s tourism webpage claims that LGBT visitors are welcome:

Are LGBT visitors welcome to visit Saudi Arabia?

Everyone is welcome to visit Saudi Arabia and visitors are not asked to disclose such personal details.

That brings me to my take here — obviously I strongly disagree with Turkey’s current administration and many of the country’s laws, but I’m kind of surprised this hasn’t come up before. Why? Well, if the cruise ship docks in Turkey and is no longer in international waters, is that essentially the equivalent of a “private venue” in that country?

For example, if the vibe on the ship’s decks were similar to what you’d find in the promotional video above, I can see how government officials (who also like to crack down on private gay venues) would argue that violates their standards.

To be clear, I strongly disagree with their “standards,” and the things they crack down on. However, if you’re going to have issues with this kind of activity on the ground, then it seems rather consistent to also have a similar approach when there’s a ship that you know will have a similar vibe.

Bottom line

An Atlantis Events cruise operated by Virgin Voyages is embarking on a journey shortly, which was supposed to stop in Turkey, Greece, and Croatia, before ending in Italy. However, authorities in Turkey have blocked the cruise, citing “moral standards” and “family values.”

Obviously I very much disagree with their standards, but if you’re a country cracking down on anything gay (including private venues, banning pride, etc.), then I am not surprised to see this happening, even though it’s the first time in 36 years that Atlantis Events has experienced something like this.

Are you surprised to see Turkey taking the unprecedented action of banning this Atlantis Events cruise?

The airline very much leans into its French roots, and along those lines, the airline is modifying its onboard drink selection. Everything that’s not French is being eliminated, with one exception.

Air France focuses on French drinks in premium cabins

Air France has updated its drink options for those traveling onboard flights in first class (La Premiere) and business class, as well as in lounges. With these updates, Air France has discontinued all foreign drinks to focus on French products, with the only exception being Coca-Cola.

As the airline describes it, “to showcase the best of France, the revamped selection exclusively features French brands, with the exception of Coca-Cola.” So with these changes, the airline is no longer serving Schweppes Tonic (owned by Suntory) or Sprite and Fuze Tea (owned by Coca-Cola).

Instead, these drinks are being replaced by organic fruit juices, iced teas, artisanal lemonades, and premium French tonics, as well as a new ginger soda.

When asked about the decision to keep Coca-Cola, the airline explained that it’s “a benchmark beverage, in high demand among our customers, particularly international ones.” However, the airline notes that even the Coca-Cola served onboard flights departing France is produced in France, even fi it’s not really a traditional French beverage.

To further improve its drink selection, Air France has also introduced a new array of cocktails by Matthias Girous, including an exclusive cognac creation in business class, and a reinterpretation of the kir cassis in premium economy and economy.

Air France has long served French wines across travel classes, and it’s one of the few airlines to serve champagne in economy.

This is great… now Air France just needs to figure out coffee!

Like I said, I think it’s fantastic that Air France is embracing its roots and trying to focus on French products, as that’s something that most customers will no doubt appreciate.

The above updates seem to be specific to wine and soft drinks, but there’s one thing that’s not addressed, and that’s coffee. After all, coffee isn’t necessarily “branded” in the same way as other drinks, even if it comes from a certain company. As I understand it, Air France has historically served illy espresso in premium cabins, and Segafredo drip coffee.

The issue here with emphasizing French products is obvious — while France certainly has a culture of visiting cafes, the country isn’t exactly known for its locally produced coffee, unlike nearby Italy. I’m sure that’s something Air France management will eventually address as well, as even in La Premiere, the cappuccinos have historically not been great.

So it’s tough to strike the right balance here, between trying to highlight local products, while also having the best quality. This is a problem that can easily be solved with all other aspects of gastronomy in France, but coffee is definitely the exception.

Bottom line

Air France is updating its premium cabin drink selection, focusing almost exclusively on French drinks, with the only exception being Coca-Cola. Given the extent to which France is known for its food & drinks, I think it’s great to see how focused the airline is on highlighting those products. I’m curious to try some of the new choices.

What do you make of Air France eliminating foreign products in premium cabins?

United CEO Scott Kirby’s July 4th message to employees

Here’s the message that United CEO Scott Kirby shared with employees for July 4th (and it’s a “special” one, as the United States is celebrating 250 years):

Happy Fourth of July everyone! I’m coming to you on our nation’s 250th birthday, standing in front of this cool airplane on what is actually my favorite holiday. And the reason it’s my favorite holiday is because I truly love this country and everything that it stands for. The level of freedom that we have here is just unprecedented around the world. And at United Airlines, we’re a huge part of what it means to be the United States of America.

We talk about connecting people and uniting the world. Every year we take millions of US citizens around the globe to see other perspectives, other cultures, and understand what the globe is like. We also bring millions of foreign citizens here into this country to see the culture the tradition, the values, the opportunity what this country truly stands for. And so what we’re doing at United Airlines isn’t just flying people around the globe, it really is spreading the culture and values that have made this the greatest nation on earth.

So all of you, thank you for everything that you’re doing in this busy summer conversation. This is the busiest season we’ve ever had in our history, doing it and all the storms and all the weather that happens every year in the summer, so thank you and I’m very proud of what you’re doing. I want to say thank you for making United Airlines not just the biggest airline, but the best airline in the history of aviation.

I’m always conflicted on Kirby’s over-the-top comments

Kirby is quite the character, and he’s extremely committed to making United as successful as it can be. While he doesn’t particularly strike me as a “people person,” I think he does as good of a job as he possibly can to connect employees with United’s mission, and make it clear how each person plays an important role there. That’s commendable, and it’s quite a contrast to the lack of vision at the top at American.

Now, when it comes to the actual substance of what Kirby is saying… well, oy. Kirby has repeatedly peddled the claim that United is the best airline in the history of aviation, and that’s just absurd. I don’t know how anyone can make such an absolute claim. By what metric does he think that’s the case? Profitability? Customer service? Passenger experience? Breadth of route network? Network out of Newark?

But I find his comments about the United States to be equally cringe. Look, I might be a liberal guy, but I’m not someone who wants to pretend that the United States is some awful place, and we should all move. Quite to the contrary, I think the United States is pretty great on balance, despite who may or may not be in office at any particular point.

That being said, Kirby’s patriotism here is just so over-the-top. He loves *everything* that America stands for? Our level of freedom is *unprecedented* compared to anywhere else in the world? And United is “spreading the culture and values that have made this the greatest nation on earth?”

The irony here is that Kirby’s comments come across exactly like what you’d expect from someone who has barely traveled outside the United States. He believes the United States is the center of the world in just about every way, with no consideration for the rest of the world.

If there’s one thing that travel has taught me, it’s that we’re all more similar than we assume, and there are pros and cons to each place. Does the United States afford a lot of freedoms to citizens? Absolutely. But it also has a lot of areas it falls short, in my opinion — freedom from gun violence, autonomy over one’s own body, a framework that somehow allows American citizens to be deported incorrectly to other countries (rare as it may be), etc.

The Human Freedom Index ranks the United States as the 15th freest country, with countries like Switzerland, Denmark, and New Zealand, ranking higher. Can I personally say “oh yeah, those places definitely have more freedom than the United States?” No, not really. But I also am not arrogant or proud enough to declare that *my* country has more freedoms than those places, when I can’t authoritatively say that…

Bottom line

United CEO Scott Kirby has sent out his July 4th message to employees, and he’s at least very consistent with the claims he makes. Kirby says that United is the world’s best airline, and that the United States is the world’s best country.

While I’m all for talking up your own airline and thinking positively of your home country, Kirby definitely takes it to the extreme.

What do you make of Kirby’s comments?

Language issues aside, I’d argue that Rousseau has been a [insert slightly nicer word than “dud”] during his tenure. He has been one of the least visible airline CEOs we’ve seen in a long time, and it sure seems like the carrier has been propped up by the two Marks (Galardo and Nasr — CCO and COO, respectively).

One big question has been who will become the next CEO. Will someone from within be promoted, or will the airline hire an outsider? Well, Bloomberg reports on who the likely next CEO of Air Canada will be, and it’s not who I would’ve expected.

SAS CEO Anko van der Werff may become next Air Canada CEO

Reports suggest that Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) CEO Anko van der Werff is the frontrunner to become the next CEO of Air Canada. van der Werff is an experienced industry executive — he has been CEO of SAS for around five years, and before that, he was CEO of Avianca for around three years. Before that, he held roles at Aeromexico, Air France-KLM, and Qatar Airways.

van der Werff has been in charge of the transformation at SAS, as the carrier has gone through bankruptcy protection, and has changed alliances, as Air France-KLM has taken a stake in the carrier.

While people can disagree on the extent to which this should matter, here’s what’s perhaps the most controversial part of van der Werff for this role — he is fluent in English, Dutch, and Spanish, and has only a basic understanding of French.

Keep in mind that when Air Canada announced it would seek a new CEO, it emphasized how the airline is “proudly headquartered in Montreal,” and that the company will “consider a number of performance criteria in assessing candidates including the ability to communicate in French.” Now, van der Werff is a smart guy, so perhaps he’d pick up more fluent French much faster than Rousseau.

Let me of course emphasize that no final decision has been made, so it remains to be seen how this actually plays out.

My take on Anko van der Werff becoming Air Canada CEO

I’ve never met van der Werff, but I’ve heard mixed things about him (which… take that with a grain of salt). It seems likely that if van der Werff were to become Air Canada CEO, we’d see some pretty radical changes. Air Canada’s stock has been trading at around half of its pre-pandemic levels, and the company’s financial guidance remains suspended.

I have to imagine that if van der Werff is selected, it would be a clear message from the board that a “turnaround” is needed. Now, what that entails would remain to be seen, but I suspect it would include some changes customers may not love.

I can’t help but find all of the industry dynamics at play here to be quite fascinating:

• Keep in mind Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith used to be president of Air Canada, and then he left to take over the top job at Air France-KLM; one wonders how differently everything would’ve played out if Smith were promoted to Air Canada CEO sooner, and the airline could’ve avoided this whole Rousseau situation
• Air Canada is an airline that has generally promoted from within, so if an outsider were appointed CEO, I have to imagine there could also be a major shakeup in terms of the overall management structure, as he may want to bring in some of his “own” people
• One wonders how much job security van der Werff has in his current role as SAS CEO; Air France-KLM wants to take a controlling stake in the airline, and the company would have more of a say in who the CEO is

I think the topic of promoting from within vs. hiring an outsider is an interesting one. For an airline that needs a major culture change (like American), hiring an outsider, visionary leader who can inspire employees is 100% the right move. Meanwhile in this case, hiring an outsider who is essentially coming in for a financial transformation seems questionable, especially when you have a couple of especially competent leaders immediately below the CEO level.

It sure feels like we’re in a period right now an a lot of airline executive turnover and changes, so it’ll be interesting to see how all of this continues to evolve.

Bottom line

With Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau having recently been fired, one big question has been who will become the next CEO. Bloomberg is reporting that SAS CEO Anko van der Werff is the frontrunner for this role. Interestingly, he doesn’t appear to be fluent in French, which was a major criteria that was being considered.

I suspect that hiring someone from outside the company for this role wouldn’t be taken too kindly by existing executives, some of whom are very good at their jobs.

What do you make of the prospect of Anko van der Werff becoming Air Canada’s next CEO?

While it doesn’t impact passengers directly, I figure some people might still be curious, especially since airport signage is currently being updated across the country. What’s the difference, exactly?

TSA introducing Crewmember Access Point (CMAP)

We’re currently seeing airports across the United States transition from the Known Crewmember (KCM) program to the Crewmember Access Point (CMAP) program. The transition from KCM to CMAP is taking place at airports between June 22 and September 30, 2026, so it recently got started, and should be available at all airports within a few months.

For context, with the Known Crewmember program, eligible pilots and flight attendants don’t have to clear security when passing through airports. Instead, there’s a special lane they can go through, where they have to scan their badge, and then they can pass right through the checkpoint, without being screened.

The exception is that employees will sometimes be randomly selected to be screened, and the number of random screenings has reportedly increased significantly in recent years.

So, what’s actually different about KCM vs. CMAP? For one, there’s a difference in who runs the program — while KCM was a joint initiative with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and Airlines for America (A4A), CMAP is entirely under the control of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Next, while KCM just required showing ID to use the planes, CMAP uses biometric data, which is intended to improve security.

CMAP also has a cost of $19 per person who registers, and that will be billed to the airline. That means between American, Delta, and United, the three airlines can expect to pay a total of $6.8 million per year for this service. That’s not a massive amount, but it’s also not nothing (I mean, keep in mind American’s profit last year was $111 million).

The crewmember screening changes aren’t that drastic

Back when there was first discussion of the move from KCM to CMAP, there was talk of this being prompted by the increase in the number of airline employees who were smuggling things through security. We’re not just talking weapons, but also drugs and large amounts of cash.

The belief was that the new program would also be flight crews have more consistent screening, rather than a vast majority just being sent through. Now, at least officially, the changes there don’t seem to be too drastic.

The TSA does note the following, but it doesn’t sound like we should expect widespread screening:

CMAP is the result of extensive collaboration with industry partners and is driven by the expiration of the current Known Crewmember (KCM) contract, operational risk considerations, and TSA’s statutory responsibility for access control to sterile areas. Along with the name change, TSA will implement new procedures to enhance the security, effectiveness, and consistency of the program.

Now, a few years ago I posed the question of whether the Known Crewmember program should exist in the first place, given the increasing stories at the time of people smuggling drugs and other prohibited items through these checkpoints.

After all, there’s big money in smuggling drugs, and perhaps some newly minted flight attendants don’t feel like they have that much to lose career-wise. If they can make their annual salary as a flight attendant with a couple of “runs,” then they might figure it’s worth the risk.

Ultimately I get the argument that the TSA isn’t there to stop drugs, but rather to stop weapons. That being said, if someone is smuggling kilos of cocaine and fentanyl, getting that off the streets (or out of the skies) doesn’t seem like a bad thing.

Anyway, I’m curious if there’s a significant increase in the number of crewmembers being screened, or if this is just about the TSA having more direct control over the program, using biometric data, etc.

Bottom line

Pilots and flight attendants don’t have to regularly go through security in the United States, though the program that enables this is changing. For years they’ve had the Known Crewmember (KCM) program, while we’re currently seeing a transition to the Crewmember Access Point (CMAP) program.

There don’t actually seem to be that many changes here. The main difference is that the new program is entirely run by the TSA (rather than being a partnership with other enterprises), and that biometric data is used.

While there was talk of the new program also having more consistent screening for pilots and flight attendants, it doesn’t appear like that’s the case, at least based on initial reports.

What do you make of the TSA replacing Known Crewmember with Crewmember Access Point?

Delta pilots launch site to show customers they care

JonNYC flags how Delta’s chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has set up a website about Delta’s lack of operational reliability. The URL is deltapilotscare.com (which almost reads like “Delta Pilot Scare” rather than “Delta Pilots Care”), and the intent is to explain to customers why some operational issues happen, and how customers can maximize their odds of having smooth travels.

The website starts with the following message, about how Delta pilots take pride in their jobs, with an explanation of why there might be operational issues:

Delta pilots take pride in providing our customers with the safe, reliable service that you deserve. As you travel with us this summer and beyond, we ask you to please remember the following:

• Delta pilots will continue to prioritize safety – every day and on every flight.  
• We have been working on our days off in record numbers to help you get to your destination.  
• We empathize and share in your frustration over the delays, cancellations, and disrupted travel plans you experienced. We agree; it is unacceptable.  

As we welcome you aboard, we will continue to go above and beyond to get you safely to your destination. Delta prides itself on its premium product, and we want  our customers to consistently receive the operational reliability you have come to expect when flying on Delta.

The website then shares a “Smart Traveler Playbook,” with useful tips for how to minimize your odds of things going wrong.

The website even reminds passengers of their rights under the law, even pointing out how customers can complain to the Department of Transportation (DOT) when things go wrong.

That all seems quite lovely, right? So why are Delta pilots doing this?

This is very smart messaging on the part of Delta pilots

If you just read through the above site quickly, you would assume that Delta pilots are just trying to be helpful, and there’s no ulterior motive here. As you can see, pilots don’t actually directly blame anyone for these issues. However, if you go through the site a second or third time, you might notice some things, and two points stand out to me in particular:

• The pilots are saying that the irregular operations being experienced are “unacceptable,” while stating that they’re doing everything they can to operate as reliably as possible; so that’s a pretty clear dig at management, because who else could be blamed?
• There’s a whole section about government websites about operational reliability, including encouraging customers to file a complaint with the DOT if they have a negative experience (and those complaints could ultimately count against Delta, since the number of complaints airlines receive is published)

So what’s going on here, exactly? Back in the day, Delta was known for its operational reliability, and it was a major competitive advantage. The airline even called itself the “on-time machine.” While Delta is still among the most operationally reliable US carriers, it’s not nearly as good as it used to be on this front.

There are many factors that have contributed to this. For example, Delta lost a lot of talent in its operations department during the pandemic, and it never seemed to fully get that back. The airline also hasn’t been investing in technology as much as it could.

However, the biggest issue as of late has been Delta’s inability to recover from operational meltdowns. The main cause of this is Delta’s pilot scheduling software, which creates a ridiculously convoluted system for assigning pilots trips during irregular operations.

This is an interesting reality for pilots. It ends up making it very lucrative for Delta pilots to pick up trips, so they like it. Furthermore, it’s in their pilot contract, so management can’t change the system currently in place, without making it something they can negotiate.

The timing here is likely no coincidence. Delta’s pilot contract becomes amendable as of December 31, 2026, so it seems pretty clear this effort is part of the union’s overall bargaining for a better product. “Oh, you want good operational reliability and a change to the trip assigning system for pilots? That’ll cost you!”

Bottom line

Delta pilots have published a website with the URL deltapilotscare.com, to tell customers how committed they are to operating reliably, and to give tips for what customers can do when things go wrong. That’s all lovely, but what’s interesting here is what the clear motive is.

Delta pilots talk about how the carrier’s operational reliability has become “unacceptable,” and about how customers can file complaints with the DOT if they’re not happy with their experience. This definitely seems clearly targeted at management, and the timing is no coincidence, given that contracts are soon up for negotiation.

What do you make of this website from Delta’s pilot union?

This makes perfect sense, not just due to the broad travel trends we’ve seen, but also due to the premium markets that JetBlue operates in, given its particularly big presence in Boston and New York.

I’d like to take an updated look at the timeline for this product being rolled out, at least based on what we know as of now. Long story short, expect a widespread rollout starting in October 2026, and for the project to be done by late 2027… hopefully.

JetBlue will introduce first class on all planes without Mint

JetBlue will be introducing a new premium cabin on all planes that don’t currently have Mint. While there were initially rumors that this would be branded as “Mini Mint,” it seems that JetBlue has decided on the name “Blue First” for the product. That’s not terribly creative, but it’s definitely on brand.

A few months back, JetBlue confirmed it would introduce this product on a widespread basis in the second half of 2026, with around 20% of the non-Mint fleet having the product by the end of 2026, and a vast majority of planes having the product by the end of 2027.

It’s my understanding that things are running a bit behind schedule, though — currently the widespread rollout is expected to start as of October 2026, as I understand it, with around 20 planes being reconfigured per month. JonNYC has been reporting on how the certification for the seats has been underway for some time now.

JetBlue is believed to have selected the Collins Aerospace MiQ seat for this new product, which is a standard seat that you’ll find on many airlines. For example, it’s the same seat you’ll find in American’s domestic first class.

We don’t have many more details as of now, so it remains to be seen what kind of a soft product the airline will offer in its new premium cabin. JetBlue is great with food and drinks in Mint, so hopefully that general concept also expands to this cabin. However, since non-Mint planes don’t have ovens, I expect we might see cold meals (that doesn’t have to be a bad thing — cold meals can be high quality as well).

How JetBlue will reconfigure planes to add first class

Initially, JetBlue’s plan was to introduce eight first class seats on A220s, and 12 first class seats on A320s and A321s. However, the plans evolved, and in a March 2026 8K-filing, the airline disclosed that it plans to introduce three to four rows of first class on all aircraft, so it sounds like planes will be getting one more row than initially planned.

I suspect that A220s and A320s will get 12 seats, while A321s will get 16 seats, but only time will tell. I could also see A320s getting four rows of first class, depending on how efficiently the airline can install them.

JetBlue plans to be really efficient about how it installs this product, and the expectation is that the overall aircraft capacity will remain roughly the same, despite the introduction of first class.

How is that possible? Well, JetBlue will eliminate its industry leading seat pitch in economy. Currently, JetBlue has 32″ of pitch in economy, while the airline will reduce seat pitch to 30″. Meanwhile the new premium product will have 36-37″ of pitch, while EvenMore (JetBlue’s extra legroom economy) will have 35″ of pitch.

Apparently JetBlue’s plan is to first reconfigure the oldest A320s, and then work toward reconfiguring newer aircraft.

This is absolutely the right move for JetBlue

Of course reducing legroom in economy is something passengers won’t like, but this is honestly a no-brainer for JetBlue:

• JetBlue isn’t able to command a revenue premium for offering a far superior economy experience to most competitors, with more legroom, personal televisions, free Wi-Fi, and more
• The airline might as well instead invest in creating products that people are willing to pay for, including a first class cabin
• JetBlue is losing money, and needs to do something to turn its business around

Even bigger picture, I’ve talked in the past about why I think this concept makes sense:

• The demand for premium products is strong, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon
• JetBlue operates in lots of premium markets while not offering a first class product; for example, there’s huge demand for this between New York and Florida, which is a big market for JetBlue
• This would help boost JetBlue’s long haul Mint sales as well, since people could book itineraries that are in premium cabins the entire way
• This could help JetBlue increase engagement in its loyalty program, and that’s a big potential source of revenue

Now, even if JetBlue’s revenue performance improves, one wonders if the airline can avoid a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, given that the airline has almost $9 billion in debt. Servicing that amount of debt isn’t cheap! JetBlue’s CEO has ruled out a bankruptcy filing in 2026, but that’s about it. With United executives now claiming they have no interest in a merger, it seems like consolidation will be challenging as well.

Bottom line

JetBlue is planning on introducing a “Blue First” product, which will essentially be a domestic first class experience. The plan is for this to be installed across JetBlue’s fleet of planes that don’t currently have a Mint cabin.

The current expectation is that we’ll see widespread installation of this product start around October 2026, with 20 planes being reconfigured every month. Best case scenario, the project should be done by the end of 2027.

The airline intends to do this very efficiently, by reducing seat pitch in economy from 32″ to 30″. While no one likes legroom being reduced in economy, the reality is that JetBlue is losing money, and people aren’t willing to pay a premium for a better “standard” economy experience. I think this is all a smart move, and I look forward to seeing this actually rolled out.

What do you make of JetBlue’s plans for a first class product?

Sunward SA 60L Aurora crashes into Beijing’s CITIC Tower

Shortly before 6PM on Friday, June 26, 2026, a small two-seater Sunward SA 60L Aurora crashed into Beijing’s CITIC Tower, located in the central business district. This is the city’s tallest building, with 109 floors, and rising to a height of 528 meters (1,732 feet). The plane impacted the building toward the top, killing the pilot, and injuring 13 people in the building and on the ground.

The plane that crashed into the building had the registration code B-12PP, and it took off from Beijing Shifosi Airport, a general aviation airport not far from the city. The plane was owned by Shuangyue General Aviation, which rents out planes for things like flight training, aerial photography, and tours.

Fortunately the damage to the building was limited, and it appears that only the glass panels on the floors that the plane crashed into were majorly damaged, and there isn’t believed to be any structural damage. The plane basically came apart on impact, and video footage shows the plane’s parts (including the entire tail section) falling to the ground. Man, what a terrible thing to see.

As you’d expect, the building and surrounding areas were evacuated following this incident. A small fire did break out on street level, where the tail section fell, but it was quickly contained.

However, the implications of this went beyond that. Beijing has been under heightened surveillance in recent days, and we’ve even seen China suspend all general aviation flying in the country. Government officials were also clearly concerned about the security vulnerability of something like this happening, given that air traffic controllers had been trying to get in touch with the pilot.

Obviously this is all horrifying to see, and it can’t help but make many people think back to 9/11, given the concept of a plane crashing into one of the most iconic towers in a city. Thank goodness that this was at least much less serious, in terms of fatalities beyond the person onboard. A small two-seater plane can’t do nearly as much damage as a commercial aircraft.

China has blamed this crash on “personal reasons” for the pilot

The Chinese government has already completed its investigation into this incident, which is mighty fast. As you’d expect, only a limited number of details are being made public. There was one person on the aircraft, who was a 66-year-old Beijing resident.

The government claimed that the man’s diary contained “multiple expressions of ending his life,” and the claim is that “the comprehensive investigation concluded that this was “a case of endangering public safety caused by personal reasons.”

That’s all the information we have, and it sounds like that’s also all we should expect. Assuming all of this is true, I must admit that I’m surprised to see the government is acknowledging that the man had intended to end his life.

Keep in mind that in March 2022, we saw a China Eastern Boeing 737 crash. We know that both of the plane’s engines were shut off, and international authorities have suggested this was a pilot suicide. However, China has refused to reveal the reason for the accident, arguing that “disclosure may endanger national security and social stability.” 

I assumed we’d see a similar outcome here to discourage copycat incidents. Though perhaps the government found this to be less “damaging” to the country, in terms of there not being any fatalities beyond that of the pilot.

Bottom line

Last Friday, a small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest tower, making for some ghastly visuals. While the plane shattered some glass panels, it otherwise didn’t do major damage to the building, and instead, just fell to the ground in pieces. The pilot lost his life (which seemed to be the goal, sadly), though at least there were no fatalities beyond that.

The government now claims that it has completed its investigation into the accident. The pilot was a 66-year-old Beijing area resident, and the crash has been blamed on “personal reasons,” as the pilot had sadly been thinking of ending his life.

What do you make of this plane crash in Beijing?

American will once again fly from Chicago to Asia

As of March 27, 2027, American intends to launch daily nonstop flights between Chicago (ORD) and Tokyo Narita (NRT). The airline will use one of its standard Boeing 787-9s for the 6,272-mile route, featuring 305 seats, including 30 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 254 economy seats.

This service technically represents a route resumption, since American last flew this until January 2020. So this wasn’t a pandemic cut at the time, but instead, it was cut shortly before that, as American increasingly retreated out of Chicago.

American otherwise services Tokyo Narita exclusively out of Dallas (DFW), while the airline offers service to Tokyo Haneda (HND) out of Dallas, Los Angeles (LAX), and New York (JFK). This is obviously part of American’s effort to increasingly compete against United in Chicago, given the extent to which United has gained market share there in recent years, and American is trying to undo that.

We recently saw American announce it would permanently cancel its route between Philadelphia (PHL) and Doha (DOH), and would add a new long haul route to replace it. I suspect that this is the route.

More long haul service is great, but this is kind of boring

American’s long haul route network is incredibly uninspiring, especially compared to United, and even increasingly in comparison to Delta now. It’s sad, because it didn’t used to be that way.

As I’ve often said, American’s long haul route network is great for Latin America, but beyond that, the airline basically flies to joint venture hubs and does some seasonal summer flying to Europe. That’s of course a slight oversimplification, but that’s how I view it, big picture, in terms of the cohesive strategy.

What do I make of this route? Well, American is adding yet another route that’s simply to a joint venture hub, so it’s hard to get too excited about that. Keep in mind that joint venture partner Japan Airlines already flies daily to Chicago from both Tokyo Narita and Tokyo Haneda, so American is simply replicating what its joint venture partner is doing. Keep in mind the airlines can coordinate fares, schedules, etc.

What’s the upside here for passengers? I guess a new way to redeem miles and use systemwide upgrades, but in terms of passenger experience, and all else being equal, I think just about anyone would choose Japan Airlines over American.

Don’t get me wrong, something is better than nothing, but my hope is always for growth that isn’t simply duplicating a joint venture partner’s route.

Bottom line

American Airlines plans to resume daily nonstop flights between Chicago and Tokyo Narita as of March 2027. This is a route that the airline last operated in early 2020, and when it was cut, it represented the end of American’s service from Chicago to Asia.

With the battle between American and United in Chicago heating up, American clearly feels it needs to fly to Asia again from the airport. I suppose that’s fair, though this is simply another route to a joint venture hub, and it also replicates a route operated by partner Japan Airlines.

I’d love to see American actually permanently add long haul service to new destinations, but that’s not really the carrier’s strategy.

What do you make of American adding Chicago to Tokyo Narita flights?

At least two killed in Royal Jordanian crew bus accident

At around 11:45PM on Monday, June 29, 2026, two people were killed and dozens of people were injured when a bus overturned and crossed into oncoming traffic on the Long Island Expressway.

OMAAT obviously isn’t about traffic accidents, but the noteworthy detail here is that the primary vehicle involved was a crew bus, which was carrying the Royal Jordanian crew that had just operated flight RJ8261, from Amman (AMM) to New York (JFK). The flight landed at around 9:45PM, the crew cleared immigration and picked up their bags, and then they were heading to the hotel.

While traveling westbound on the Long Island Expressway, the bus first collided with two vehicles traveling in the same direction, before impacting the center divider. The bus then overturned into eastbound lanes, and crashed into additional vehicles.

The 35-year-old driver of the bus, as well as one of the passengers on the bus (believed to be a Royal Jordanian crew member) were pronounced dead. Dozens of people, including all the Royal Jordanian crew members, were taken to the hospital. While most have minor injuries, at least one other person involved in the accident is in critical condition.

This accident shut down both directions of the Long Island Express for around 10 hours, so had major traffic implications (though that pales in comparison to the loss of life).

Obviously this is incredibly tragic — my thoughts are with those involves in this accident and their families, because this is just absolutely awful. May the people who lost their lives rest in peace, and I hope the others all make a quick recovery.

The driver of the crew bus had quite the record

The cause of the accident is still being investigated, so it’s not 100% clear how this accident happened. However, the bus driver didn’t have a particularly clean record. It’s reported that he had seven prior arrests, including for burglary, sexual abuse, and forcible touching, and he was a registered sex offender.

While he had a valid driver’s license, he had seven moving violations, although none in his capacity as a professional driver. The moving violations were for speeding, for disobeying a traffic control device, and for dangerous driving.

Admittedly being a sex offender doesn’t make one a bad driver, and I’m all for giving people chances. However, between the driving violations and his criminal history, this definitely doesn’t strike me as the most professional driving service one could imagine.

Bottom line

There was a major accident on the Long Island Express in New York on Monday night, involving a van. That van happened to be a bus carrying Royal Jordanian’s crew, which had just flown from Amman to New York Kennedy. The bus ended up colliding with oncoming traffic, leading to two fatalities, including among one of the passengers (believed to be a crew member).

My thoughts are with the family of the people who lost their lives… how sad. It’s a good reminder of how getting to and from the airport is much riskier than actually flying on a commercial aircraft.

Marriott makes the switch from Pepsi to Coke

Since 1992, Marriott has had an exclusive agreement with Pepsi for providing soft drinks for its properties globally. That agreement wasn’t put in place because customers prefer Pepsi, but instead, because Pepsi was willing to give Marriott a better deal. Specifically, Coca-Cola wasn’t willing to extend Marriott a loan at the time, and that was non-negotiable for Marriott.

That will finally be changing, as Marriott will be switching to Coke for products globally, including in guest rooms, restaurants, lounges, and meeting events. The phased rollout is beginning today, and should be live at properties globally over the coming months. This includes carbonated soft drinks and a growing range of hydration and functional beverages.

It’s funny, because I specifically remember when Marriott took over Starwood, and then Starwood made the switch from Coke to Pepsi, which many of us weren’t happy about.

Here’s what Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano had to say about this development:

“This agreement brings together two iconic brands with a shared commitment to quality, consistency, and creating memorable experiences. We are focused on delivering the products our guests and Marriott Bonvoy Members know and love, better meeting guest preferences, and creating economic benefits for owners and franchise operators across our system. We’re excited to collaborate with The Coca‑Cola Company to deliver their great products in more places.”

MARRIOTT HAS A COMMITMENT TO QUALITY AND CONSISTENCY?!?!?!? Sorry, I just spat out my Diet Coke. Anyway…

Meanwhile here’s what Coca-Cola CEO Henrique Braun had to say:

“This is a great day. On behalf of the entire Coca-Cola system, we’re excited about our future with Marriott and the opportunity to provide travelers more of the brands they love. From sparkling beverages to juices, hydration and dairy, we’re offering guests options for their beverage needs throughout their entire visit.”

I’m curious what prompted this Pepsi to Coke switch

Marriott isn’t officially sharing why it’s making the switch from Pepsi to Coke. Did Marriott realize that only having Pepsi products negatively impacted the guest experience, or was Coke finally willing to give Marriott a better deal?

In an email to hotel owners about the change, Marriott stated that over 70% of Bonvoy members prefer Coke over Pepsi, which is why the change is being made. So I do think guest preference is a strong consideration here, and maybe Marriott could get a slightly better deal than in the past from Coke.

Personally I’m happy to see this change. There are definitely more people out there who prefer Coke to Pepsi, it’s just rare to see Marriott actually concerned about what customers prefer (rather than what they’ll put up with). 😉

Bottom line

Marriott is making the switch from Pepsi to Coke, after 34 years of exclusivity with the number two beverage giant. Marriott claims that 70%+ of Bonvoy members prefer Pepsi to Coke, which sounds about right. While there was obviously some bad blood between the two brands in the past, I’m sure most guests will be happy to see this.

The rollout is starting effective immediately (in July 2026), and these beverages should be found at properties globally in the coming months.

What do you make of Marriott making the switch from Pepsi to Coke?

CLEAR has just increased the price of its CLEAR+ membership, and it’s the fourth price increase we’ve seen in under four years. Fortunately for those who get a membership through an Amex card, that credit amount is being updated as well, to still cover the full amount.

CLEAR+ annual cost increases by $10 as of July 1, 2026

As of July 1, 2026, the cost of a CLEAR+ membership has been increased by $10, from $199 to $209. This time around, the cost of adding someone to a CLEAR+ family account remains the same, as it continues to be $125 (you can add up to three people to your account, and they don’t have to be related to you).

The cost of a CLEAR+ membership has increased drastically over time, both for the primary member, and for members of a family account. Just to give an example of how family plan pricing has changed, up until early 2023, adding someone to a family plan cost $60, then it was increased to $70, then it was increased to $99, then it was increased to $119, and then it was increased to $125.

Keep in mind that several Amex cards offer CLEAR+ credits, and those credits have been updated to reflect the price hike. This means an eligible card would still cover the full $219 membership cost.

These CLEAR price increases aren’t a huge deal, but…

Nobody likes price increases, though based on my own experience, CLEAR+ just isn’t worth paying cash for. So if you’re getting a CLEAR+ membership through an Amex card, then there’s no price change, since the membership cost will continue to be covered.

My bigger issue isn’t with the price of a CLEAR+ membership, but rather that I find the whole CLEAR concept to be kind of dumb, at least in terms of its current reality, and how the airport experience is evolving overall:

• When CLEAR first started, it was a huge time saver, since not many people had it, so it actually gave travelers with it an advantage
• Now we’re at the point where it feels like basically everyone has CLEAR (tens of millions of frequent travelers), and when everyone can cut the ID check, no one can cut the ID check
• The TSA ID check is really simple nowadays — in many cases you just insert your ID into a reader, and you’re sent on your way, and don’t even have to show your boarding pass
• Meanwhile the CLEAR process isn’t actually much easier, given the verification required
• Airport security checkpoints are often so small, and I feel space could be better utilized by expanding other, more efficient screening methods

As someone who has CLEAR, I find myself skipping CLEAR and just using the standard TSA PreCheck line more often than not, and that usually ends up being fastest. That’s despite the fact that I’m cut by a countless number of CLEAR members in line. That means that on average, the existence of CLEAR slows me down rather than speeding me up, and that’s despite being a member.

I can’t help but think that eventually the CLEAR concept will just be fully unnecessary. I know CLEAR is rolling out eGates at some airports for identity verification, but at the same time, we’re seeing the rollout of TSA PreCheck Touchless ID. Furthermore, the TSA is also working toward introducing eGates for identity verification. So if/when that’s rolled out, is there actually any argument to be made in favor of CLEAR anymore? What’s the value proposition at that point?

Bottom line

As of July 2026, the cost of a CLEAR+ membership has increased. The price has been upped by $10 for the primary member. Fortunately Amex cards with an eligible credit continue to cover the entire amount, so this is a non-issue for those who get their membership that way.

What do you make of this CLEAR+ price increase?

Provisions by Admirals Club comes to New York JFK

American has announced a new Provisions by Admirals Club concept for New York Kennedy Airport Terminal 8. It’s confusing, because the announcement makes it sound like this is open immediately, but then the only picture is a rendering… if it’s open, you’d think they’d have a real picture, no? Anyway, I digress.

Provisions by Admirals Club JFK is a 3,700 square foot space located in Concourse B, between gates 12 and 14. As it’s described, this concept prioritizes flow, flexibility, and speed, offering a streamlined alternative for customers who want premium food and beverage options without spending as much time in the lounge.

The space is described as being inspired by New York City’s energy and character, with local design cues, including subtle textures, tonal variation, and lighting, to create a sense of place. In other words, it looks less like a Hampton Inn conference room, unlike the Provisions by Admirals Club in Charlotte.

The lounge boasts a barista bar, which is the first time that American has offered such a concept in any lounge, featuring Lavazza crafted beverages. There are both hot and cold drinks that can be customized, intended to offer a more personalized experience. Beyond that on the drink front, there’s a self-serve beverage station with canned and bottled drink options.

When it comes to food, the lounge has a selection of both hot and cold grab & go food offerings. Breakfast (served until 11AM) features light bites, such as pastries, snack mixes, yogurt, and fruit options, along with more substantial breakfast meals. Meanwhile all-day offerings (served from 11AM until close) include a mix of salty snacks, sweet treats, and filling meals.

Here’s how American’s Chief Customer Officer, Heather Garboden, describes this:

“JFK is a busy hub where our customers make a lot of connections, and this space allows us to better match the pace of our customers’ journeys. The Provisions by Admirals Club^SM space creates a more flexible lounge experience — one that combines thoughtful design, elevated beverages and quick access to fresh options, all while helping serve more customers, more efficiently. By listening to our customers and understanding how they move through the airport, we’re adding even more convenience, bringing premium access closer to where many of them begin their travels.”

Well done American, despite the airport choice!

As a coffee junkie, I’m downright delighted to see American introduce its first lounge with barista coffee. Left to my own devices, I’d argue there’s a direct correlation between airline stock price and barista coffee or cold brew, so I couldn’t be happier to see this (I kid, but in my dream world, that’s how it would be… selfishly).

This sounds like a massive upgrade over the Provisions by Admirals Club concept in Charlotte, given that this one has barista coffee, hot food, and it also seems to actually have more of a deliberate design.

Now, on the surface, JFK seems like a strange airport to open such a facility, though I guess there’s an important detail there:

• The concept of a grab & go lounge alternative seems most valuable for airports that primarily serve domestic passengers with short connections, and JFK definitely isn’t that airport for American
• At the same time, the issue is that Concourse B at JFK doesn’t have an Admirals Club (instead, it has the Greenwich Lounge, Soho Lounge, and Chelsea Lounge), so this is at least something for Admirals Club members; if you want to visit the Admirals Club you have to go over to Concourse C, which is a bit of a trek

Bottom line

American Airlines is bringing the Provisions by Admirals Club concept to New York JFK, following the debut in Charlotte last year. This is a grab & go lounge, but this seems like a significant upgrade over the Charlotte facility. This one actually has nice design, barista coffee, hot food, etc.

Call it a small win, but I’m delighted to see an American lounge offer barista coffee for the first time… yay! Now if only American would just offer cold brew on flights, I might even start writing about what an amazing CEO Robert Isom is. 😉

What do you make of the new Provisions by Admirals Club JFK?

Emirates updating lounge concept with new design & amenities

Emirates loves to control its passenger experience as much as possible, and as a result, the airline operates a larger lounge network of lounges at foreign airports than any other airline. The airline even operates lounges in some airports that only have once daily flights, which represents a massive investment.

Anyway, Emirates’ new lounge design concept is debuting in Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC), and those lounges serve as a blueprint for the new brand standard concept going forward. After that, we’re expected to see the concept rolled out in Manchester (MAN) in July, in Mauritius (MRU) in August, and in Istanbul (IST) in October.

With these updates, we’re seeing the lounge aesthetics change greatly, to reflect Emirates’ latest cabin interiors. Emirates has moved away from its “1990s Las Vegas casino chic bling” design to something a bit more understated, and we’re going to see that in lounges as well. Here’s how the airline describes that:

Inspired by the elegant palette of Emirates’ cabin interiors and the flagship lounges of Dubai, customers will benefit from more than 50 design enhancements, including distinct zones for relaxation, work, socialising and dining. The new signature lounges display an unmistakably Emirates aesthetic, with discreetly integrated lighting, herringbone floors throughout, accents of marble and gold, and the signature backlit Emirates Ghaf Tree motif – a nod to UAE culture highlighting the national tree.

In terms of changes to the guest experience, what all should we expect?

• When it comes to dining, updated Emirates lounges will feature live cooking stations with a la minute dishes, a special “Made In” area highlighting the best of local cuisine, and a dedicated bread oven where pizzas, flatbreads, and manakeesh, will be prepared
• In addition to the current beverage offerings, we’re going to see a new barista bar concept, along with a dedicated mixologist offering locally inspired cocktails, mocktails, and more
• Lounges will increasingly have more clearly defined zones, including areas for working and productivity, areas for dining, and areas for relaxing
• We’re also going to finally see power access at every seat and wireless charging, which you’d think would already be a standard, but it hasn’t been
• Emirates lounges will get updated shower suites, as well as quiet zone relaxation areas, featuring plush seating, soft lighting, and sleep amenities like blankets, eye masks, and ear plugs

Emirates has so far shared pictures of the new lounge in Munich, which you can find below.

Emirates nailed it with these changes, with one exception

In the past, I’ve often written about my confusion with Emirates’ outstation lounges. The airline invests a massive amount of money in these and really doesn’t monetize them (in terms of opening them up to those on other airlines, extending hours to open them up to Priority Pass, etc.).

Of course these lounges have been better than the typical Priority Pass or contract lounges, but that’s about all I could say. It just seems like if you’re going to invest so much money in these lounges, they should have a “wow” factor, like Qatar Airways’ out station lounges.

These lounges generally had a lot of (uninspiring) seating, and buffets with a solid selection of food. But beyond that, these lounges have been really underwhelming, in my opinion. The airline had a high end liquor selection, but then didn’t have a bartender. There was no barista coffee. The food just felt the same everywhere, with no effort made to make dining experiential. The showers were typically terrible, and were just little rooms with no toilets or sinks, inside the gender segregated restrooms.

So I have to give Emirates credit, as these changes look excellent. I think the new design aesthetic looks beautiful, and it’s distinctly Emirates while being less gaudy and more modernized. The food and drink selection seems massively improved. I love the concept of zones for relaxation, and improved shower suites. Emirates really listened to feedback here, so great job.

There’s only one thing here that I’m sort of disappointed by — why can’t Emirates add a small, separate first class section in these lounges? Emirates has by far the world’s largest first class network, so it really doesn’t seem complicated to add a separate room with improved dining, a higher end selection of alcohol, etc. This seems like an easy way to differentiate the first class experience, but it seems like that’s not happening.

Bottom line

Emirates has just unveiled an all-new lounge concept, which will over time be introduced at outstation lounges around the globe. It’s impressive how many lounges Emirates has, though I think there have been some easy misses in terms of really elevating the guest experience.

With this redesign, we’re seeing them greatly modernized, which is overdue. Beyond that, though, we’re seeing some really fantastic changes, ranging from the introduction of bartender drinks and barista coffee, to live cooking stations and a la minute dining, to dedicated rest areas, to better shower suites. These are all great changes… I just wish we’d also see a dedicated first class section!

What do you make of Emirates’ updated lounge concept?

Makeshift Delta One Lounge LAX Terminal 2 now open

Delta is known for its excellent Delta One One Lounges, and there are currently locations at four airports, in Boston (BOS), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), and Seattle (SEA).

The original Delta One Lounge LAX opened back in 2024, located in Terminal 3, and it offers a great experience. At only 10,000 square feet, it pales in comparison to the one at JFK, which is around 40,000 square feet. But still, Delta’s network at LAX also isn’t as big.

That brings us to the news — as of June 30, 2026, Delta has opened a second Delta One Lounge at LAX, in Terminal 2, which is open daily from 7AM until 10PM. However, the process by which this is happening is rather odd. We’ve just seen this Delta One Lounge open in an “initial phase.” Then in the second half of 2027 the Delta One Lounge in Terminal 2 will undergo a full renovation, before opening again in 2028, with the finished product.

The initial facility is more of a makeshift setup, which has taken over the space of the former Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Terminal 2 (before it moved to Tom Bradley International Terminal), and it’s located on the terminal’s mezzanine level. The lounge is roughly 4,000 square feet, with seating for around 75 guests.

Delta highlights how the emphasis with the new Delta One Lounge is on all things culinary, with a consistent dining experience to what customers have grown accustomed to in the other Delta One Lounge at LAX. So there’s a la carte dining throughout the lounge with a rotating menu, with current options including lamb bolognese with house-made lumache pasta, hamachi crudo, and classic French onion soup. An extensive drink list is also available, including cocktails prepared by a bartender.

The lounge also has three showers, four cabana-style bathrooms, and a bar. Then there are portable monitors and wireless chargers as well.

Passengers who choose to use this lounge can use the Delta One check-in facility at Terminal 3, including the direct security channel access. Then they can receive Delta transportation (via a golf cart) directly to the Terminal 2 Delta One Lounge. 

Among the premium international lounges of the “big three” US carriers, this is the first time that we’ve seen two of these lounges at one airport… and LAX isn’t even among Delta’s biggest hubs!

I am curious how they’re going to manage crowding between the two lounges. People will probably go to the lounge closer to their gate, or maybe to the Terminal 3 lounge, out of habit. How will Delta properly distribute guests, especially since ideally you don’t want to tell a business class passenger to schlep to Terminal 2, after they’ve arrived at the Terminal 3 lounge?

Separately, in 2027, Delta also plans to open a new Sky Club in Terminal 2, which will be roughly 11,000 square feet. This represents a renovation of the Sky Club that closed in 2024. Eventually Delta will have a total of four lounge spaces at LAX, totaling 60,000 square feet.

This is part of Delta’s huge LAX growth plans

Typically, the “big three” US carriers love their fortress hubs, where they dominate the market, and control a majority of the traffic. This allows them to efficiently funnel passengers into their larger network, and also gives them more pricing power.

LAX is unique in that it’s an airport where American, Delta, and United, all have a hub. It’s the only airport where that’s the case. Over the years, we’ve seen the airlines kind of take turns being the slightly dominant airline (I guess you could say they’re LAX vers), but it’s just a really tough market.

You’d think LAX would be super lucrative, but it’s just not anywhere close to the most profitable hubs, due to the amount of competition. On the international front, you have so much service from foreign airlines, which often have much lower cost structures than US carriers. Furthermore, given how market share is distributed pretty equally, it’s also hard for any one airline to make huge money on credit cards, or to have much pricing power.

As things currently stand, there’s no denying that the Delta One Lounge LAX gets busy late at night (before the transpacific flights), but other than that, the lounge doesn’t get that crowded.

What’s odd about Delta is that it has spent recent years building up its hub in SEA as a long haul gateway, largely as an alternative to LAX. However, with growth constraints, plus the pressure of being number two behind Alaska, we’e now seen Delta shift growth back to LAX.

We’ve just seen Delta launch flights out of LAX to Hong Kong (HKG), and the airline also plans to launch Manila (MNL) flights in 2027. Side note — that HKG route must be buh-leeding money, particularly with current oil prices.

In the time since the second Delta One Lounge LAX was announced, we’ve learned more about Delta’s goal of dominating LAX, as the airline sees a “once in a generation” opportunity. While some growth is definitely possible, I tend to think history repeats itself, and I can’t imagine any ramp-up will be terribly profitable. But perhaps Delta views it as part of a larger strategic interest.

Bottom line

As of June 30, 2026, a second Delta One Lounge at LAX Terminal 2 has opened, complementing the one that opened in Terminal 3 in 2024. The temporary Delta One Lounge in Terminal 2 will remain open until the second half of 2027, at which point it will close to undergo a full renovation, before then opening again in 2028.

Admittedly the original Delta One Lounge is rather small, but still, this is the first time we’ve seen a US carrier open two premium international business lounges at the same airport. We know Delta plans to grow at LAX, though I’m curious just how much growth is in the cards.

What do you make of a second Delta One Lounge LAX?

In recent times, we’ve seen the airline greatly invest in its fleet. A year ago, the airline placed an order for up to 50 Embraer E195-E2s, for regional fleet renewal. Now, a year later, the airline has placed an order for up to 40 Airbus A330s, for long haul fleet renewal. However, interestingly, this order isn’t entirely for new planes, and it’ll take some time for those new aircraft to be delivered.

SAS announces “largest investment in company’s history”

SAS has today announced the largest investment in the company’s history, marking a significant step in the airline’s long term ambition to strengthen connectivity between Scandinavia and the world. This includes an order for up to 40 Airbus wide body aircraft.

Interestingly, the airline is both ordering new A330-900neos, and also acquiring some used A330-300s, to enable near term growth, ahead of the arrival of the new fleet. Specifically:

• SAS has placed a firm order for 18 Airbus A330-900neos, with options for 10 more
• SAS plans to acquire 12 Airbus A330-300s, which are used aircraft, given that they’re no longer in production

The new A330neos are only expected to be delivered as of the early 2030s, so those are still a ways off. It’s not clear yet to me where the A330-300s are being sourced from or exactly when they’ll be delivered, but I imagine we’ll find out soon.

For those not familiar, the A330neo is the latest generation version of the A330, featuring improved range and fuel efficiency. The A330-900neo is the larger of the two variants (with the other being the unpopular A330-800neo). The plane has a range of 7,350 nautical miles, plus a capacity for 287 passengers in a standard three cabin configuration, so it’s a great fit for SAS.

Here’s how SAS CEO Anko van der Werff describes these plans:

“For 80 years, SAS has connected Scandinavia with the world and the world with Scandinavia. Today, we are investing in the next chapter of our story.”

“This is the largest investment in our company’s history and a clear signal of our confidence in the future. At the same time, the analysis we are presenting today demonstrates the broader value of international access. Strong global links create opportunities for businesses, support jobs, attract investment, and strengthen competitiveness across our region.” 

SAS has big global growth plans as part of Air France-KLM

SAS is developing a sharper strategy at the moment, as the airline is increasingly focusing on its Copenhagen (CPH) hub, rather than the previous three hub strategy of also splitting long haul operations with Oslo (OSL) and Stockholm (ARN). From a passenger flow perspective, that makes a lot of sense.

I also think it’s interesting to note that Air France-KLM has invested in SAS, and plans to up its stake in the airline over time. It sure seems like the company is also pursuing a three hub strategy, with Copenhagen complementing Amsterdam (AMS) and Paris (CDG).

For context, SAS’ all-Airbus long haul fleet currently consists of six A350-900s, eight A330-300s, and three A321LRs. So the firm order for 18 A330neos is basically the size of the entire current long haul fleet combined, and I imagine existing planes won’t be retired any time soon either.

What remains to be seen is what exactly the strategy is in terms of how long existing aircraft will stick around. Is the plan to eventually make SAS’ long haul fleet consist exclusively of A330neos? How long will the existing A330s stick around? What about the A350s and A321LRs?

This fleet announcement coincided with a presentation on a new analysis of the potential socio-economic impact of significant expansion in Copenhagen. The analysis showed that if SAS’ planned growth is realized, it would support an additional 25,000 jobs and contribute DKK 25 billion (3.8 billion USD) to GDP by 2030.

So there are still a lot more questions than answers here, but either way, it’s nice to see SAS developing some sort of a cohesive strategy, with a vision for how the airline could look as part of the Air France-KLM Group.

Bottom line

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has announced plans to acquire up to 40 Airbus A330s. This includes an order for up to 28 factory fresh A330-900neos (18 firm orders and 10 options), plus plans to acquire 12 used A330-300s. The A330-300s are described as supporting near term growth, given that the A330-900neos will only be delivered in the 2030s.

It’ll be very interesting to see how this all plays out. It seems like this represents a significant expansion for the carrier no matter what, though it remains to be seen just how much growth we’re talking about, based on how many existing planes stick around.

What do you make of SAS’ big wide body aircraft acquisition plans?

Just last week I wrote about how the airline “reluctantly” updated its family seating policy, after facing scrutiny in the United Kingdom. Now the airline is potentially facing an even bigger challenge in Austria, as the country’s highest court may force the airline to make several updates to its pricing structure.

Austrian supreme court rules that Ryanair’s terms are unlawful

In recent times we’ve seen the Austrian Consumer Information Association (VKI) challenge aspects of Ryanair’s terms & conditions in court, and the case went all the way to the country’s supreme court.

The court has now ruled that 14 clauses in Ryanair’s terms & conditions are unlawful, and is requiring Ryanair to stop using the contested clauses in the country within three months. The main fee that was being challenged is Ryanair’s €55 airport check-in fee, which is quite controversial, naturally. Beyond that, though, the court also ruled that the €15 boarding pass fee, €25 infant fee, €70 oversized hand baggage fee, and €100 rebooking fee for missed flights, are all unfair and not transparent.

The consumer organization claims that those who paid these fees in the past are entitled to a refund, though Ryanair denies that claim, and I imagine that this isn’t the end of litigation that we’re going to see.

This ruling all centers around Ryanair violating Section 879(3) of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB), which says the following:

“A contractual provision contained in general terms and conditions (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen, AGB) or standard contract forms, which does not determine one of the principal obligations of the parties, is void in any event if, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, it places one party at a gross disadvantage.”

Will Ryanair have to radically alter its business model?

Ryanair is the most flown airline in Europe, and while it maybe doesn’t have the best reputation, people fly with the carrier for its nonstop routes, low fares, and reliability. While Ryanair is largely villainized for how its fares are structured, I personally kind of feel like there’s a bit of over regulation with the airline.

If you ask me, Ryanair is mostly transparent about what is and isn’t included with tickets. Just because the airline has an unconventional pricing model doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it, in my opinion. Now, let me say that I’m not a fan of some of Ryanair’s labor practices to keep costs down, but that’s a different topic, separate from this debate about consumer protection.

Anyway, Ryanair has long played hardball with regulators, and has sort of gone on the offense against them. However, it sure feels to me like Ryanair is facing an increasing amount of scrutiny which might really challenge the carrier’s approach to how it sells tickets.

For example, what if Ryanair is actually forced to comply with these new regulations within three months? As I see it, there are three ways this could play out:

• The airline could simply discontinue all flights to Austria, to send a message to other regulators, viewing this as an existential “line in the sand”
• The airline could update its policies across the board for all flights, but that would represent a radical departure from the Ryanair business model that people know
• The airline could simply update its rules for flights to and from Austria, which seems like it would create even more consumer confusion, and would likely only lead to other regulators following Austria’s lead

Between this and the European Union soon updating rules around how fares can be marketed (to require a carry-on with the advertised fare), I imagine there must be some cussing going on at Ryanair headquarters in Dublin.

Bottom line

The Austrian supreme court has ruled that many aspects of Ryanair’s terms & conditions are unlawful, including fees for airport check-in, printing boarding passes, and much more. The argument is that these terms put consumers at a gross disadvantage.

While Ryanair’s fee structure is disliked by many, that’s balanced by low base fares, and I personally think the airline is fairly transparent. Ryanair now has three months to update its rules for Austrian consumers, so I’m curious to see how this goes.

What do you make of Austria’s supreme court ruling on Ryanair?

China indefinitely suspends general aviation flying nationwide

On June 26, 2026, we saw an awful incident in Beijing, where a light aircraft crashed into Beijing’s tallest tower, killing the pilot, and injuring a dozen people. While details about the incident remain limited, it’s pretty clear that this was an intentional act, given the plane’s course, flying into restricted airspace, not responding to air traffic control, etc.

As you’d expect, this has caused heightened security not only in Beijing, but throughout the entire country. However, the extent of the limitations we’re seeing are pretty wild. The Financial Times reports that China has indefinitely grounded non-essential light aircraft nationwide.

That includes private light fixed-wing flights, business jets, recreational flying, and pilot training. So that means that primarily commercial aircraft and emergency aircraft can continue operating. Even flight schools have had to suspend operations, as authorities in Beijing figure out how to handle this situation.

This situation will be hard for the Chinese government to control

It seems pretty clear that authorities in Beijing are concerned about the possibility of a copycat incident, and are trying to best figure out how to handle this. In recent years we’ve seen China greatly increase its low altitude flying economy, including for things like drones. Admittedly this comes with its own risks.

This tower crash has exposed security flaws for the government’s air defense network. Prior to the plane crashing into the tower, air traffic controllers had tried to get in touch with the pilot of the aircraft, but received no response.

The military then sent helicopters to intercept the plane, but didn’t make it in time. Of course even if they had, shooting down a small plane in a heavily populated area wouldn’t even necessarily be a much better outcome, in terms of damage, casualties and injuries, optics, etc.

Authorities are reportedly planning on requiring more mental health evaluations for prospective pilots, and also requiring new certifications for flight schools.

Of course it also has to be mentioned that in March 2022 we saw a China Eastern Boeing 737 crash — we know that both of the plane’s engines were shut off, and international authorities have suggested this was a pilot suicide. However, China has refused to reveal the reason for the accident, arguing that “disclosure may endanger national security and social stability.” 

Mental health is of course an issue globally, but having a culture where the goal is to cover things up and pretend they didn’t happen, doesn’t really make this much easier.

Bottom line

China has reportedly suspended a vast majority of general aviation flying, following Friday’s incident, where a light aircraft crashed into Beijing’s tallest tower. This sent shockwaves throughout the country, given that it was almost certainly an intentional act.

Shutting down general aviation flying in a country with 1.4 billion people is a drastic measure to take. For now we’ll mark this as “developing,” as I’m curious to see how the country moves forward. This is a major setback for the overall aviation ecosystem in the country.

How do you see this China general aviation ban playing out?

“We collided with a drone back there in the turn”

This incident happened early in the morning of Monday, June 29, 2026. JetBlue flight B6948 was operated by an Airbus A321, and was just completing a redeye flight from Las Vegas (LAS) to New York (JFK). At around 7:15AM local time, while on approach to runway 13L (at around 3,000 feet, 10-12 miles out), the plane reportedly hit a drone. According to the air traffic control audio:

JetBlue pilot: “We are cleared to land 13L. Just quickly, I couldn’t talk to approach, but we collided with a drone back there in the turn.”
Air traffic controller: “You said collided?”
JetBlue pilot: “Yep, it hit us right above the cockpit.”

The plane landed without further incident, and taxied to the gate normally. After the flight, the plane was inspected, and no evidence of damage was found. The FAA is now investigating, so here’s the statement they released:

The pilot of JetBlue Airlines Flight 948 reported striking a drone at approximately 3,000 feet altitude while on final approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport around 7:15 a.m. local time on Monday, June 29. A post-flight inspection did not reveal any damage to the aircraft. The FAA will investigate. Contact the airline for more information.

If it is confirmed that a drone hit the aircraft, it would be one of the first known instances of a commercial aircraft in the United States colliding with a drone.

This is becoming an increasingly big problem for aviation

Over time, the risks that the aviation industry faces have certainly evolved. While commercial flying remains incredibly safe, we are seeing both airport close calls and drone activity present an increasingly big challenge.

It goes without saying that there are restrictions with where drones can be flown, and they’re not supposed to be operated close to major airports. The issue is, drones can be cheap to buy, and many people use them irresponsibly, not realizing how they’re potentially putting the lives of others at risk. That says nothing of people who may actually have bad intentions.

Currently, the FAA receives around 100 reports per month of drone sightings near airports, and that number keeps increasing over time — I imagine this is only the tip of the iceberg. In most situations, a small drone wouldn’t take down a commercial aircraft, though it could do some major damage, and I imagine there’s also a sequence of events where it could potentially be fatal.

Anyway, it’s going to be interesting to see how regulators handle this over time. Should there be new regulations around buying drones? Should irresponsible idiots just be jailed for a year when they fly a drone into busy airspace? Or how do you get everyone on the same page about the risk this poses?

Bottom line

A JetBlue pilot approaching JFK reported that the Airbus A321 he was piloting was hit by a drone, with the point of impact being right above the cockpit. Interestingly, an inspection didn’t reveal any damage, though the FAA is now investigating this.

The number of drone sightings near airports keeps increasing, and this poses a major challenge for the aviation industry, given the risks. There are just too many irresponsible drone users out there who don’t understand the impacts their actions could have, and that says nothing of the potential for people with bad intentions to do something like this as well.

What do you make of the increasing issue of drones around airports?

Thai Airways employee enters Australia with 12 tote bags of heroin

The Bangkok Post reports how a 26-year-old Thai Airways flight attendant has been arrested in Australia, after attempting to enter the country with roughly one kilogram of heroin, with a street value of around 500K AUD (345K USD).

This incident involves Thai Airways flight TG465, which was operating from Bangkok (BKK) to Melbourne (MEL). Specifically, it was the Airbus A350-900 flight departing on the night of Wednesday, June 24, 2026, and landing in the early morning hours of Thursday, June 25, 2026.

While the flight attendant passed through customs, a sniffer dog alerted on her luggage. At that point the bags were put through an x-ray, which is when the drugs were uncovered. Upon inspecting her luggage, customs officials found 12 tote bags with white power concealed in the lining. Tests later confirmed that this was heroin, with a total weight of roughly one kilogram.

The Australian Federal Police reports that the woman has been charged with one count of importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, and one count of possessing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, and each charge comes with a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

The woman is expected to reappear before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on September 14, 2026.

Airline employee drug smuggling isn’t that uncommon

Obviously most flight attendants are honest people who work hard and follow the rules. However, as you’d expect, with hundreds of thousands of flight attendants around the globe, there are going to be some bad apples.

For one, flight attendants have the means to travel easily, which is conducive to moving drugs between countries. For that matter, especially in countries where wages aren’t necessarily that high, smuggling drugs seems like very “easy” money, and they probably tell themselves they’ll do it once, but never again.

I’ve seen way too many episodes of “Locked Up Abroad” over the years, and I tend to feel sympathetic for the people who end up getting caught, in turn ruining their lives. They’re often people in a tough spot who are just trying to help their family financially, or who are naive and were talked into something.

Of course that’s no excuse, and people have to take accountability for their actions. Heroin also ruins a lot of lives, so theres a real societal cost to this as well.

Even more than flight attendants, though, you’ll find that those working in airport operations are most often involved in drug smuggling. After all, they have the ability to most easily access bags, so you’ll find some ground workers involved in elaborate global schemes.

Bottom line

A Thai Airways flight attendant was caught trying to smuggle one kilogram of heroin into Australia. The 26-year-old had just worked a Bangkok to Melbourne flight, and while going through customs, a sniffer dog alerted. Once her bags were x-rayed, 12 tote bags were found, each lined with heroin.

She now faces two criminal counts, each of which could carry a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. That’s not a good situation to be in…

What do you make of this Thai Airways flight attendant being busted with heroin?

British Airways’ controversial new crew rest policy

As reported on FlyerTalk and flagged by PYOK, British Airways has a new policy when it comes to crew rest on select flights. On long haul flights, it’s common for crews to have a dedicated rest period between the services. On most wide body, long haul aircraft, there are dedicated crew rest bunks, completely separate from the passenger compartment (most passengers don’t even realize these exist).

However, British Airways also loves to cut corners where it can, and that includes with crew rest facilities. On all Boeing 787-10s delivered up until this point, and on select Boeing 777-200ERs, the airline doesn’t have dedicated crew rest facilities (they cost money to install, and also increase the weight of the aircraft, and in turn, fuel burn).

On these flights, crews are expected to rest in the galley jump seats. Essentially there are some jump seats in the galley that are separated from the cabin by a curtain, which are referred to as “high-comfort attendant seats.” However, these definitely aren’t comfortable.

So British Airways is now updating its crew rest policy on these flights. Specifically, on these aircraft, British Airways crews can now sit in any vacant seats on the aircraft, including in first and business class, as long as they don’t ask other passengers to move in order to facilitate that.

The guidance also requires crew using passenger seats for rest to remove or cover their uniform items, and to use the bedding provided in the cabin. I guess the idea is that the crews blend in more, and that it’s not obvious that crews are resting in passenger seats.

I’m all for crews resting, but this doesn’t feel “premium”

Ultimately this “solution” only exists because British Airways opted to not install dedicated crew rest facilities on some aircraft, even though it should’ve. These planes aren’t just operating short long haul flights, but they’re even operating routes like Seattle (SEA) to London (LHR). These are long flights, though not ultra long haul flights where regulators mandate dedicated crew rest facilities separate from the cabin.

I can totally appreciate that it’s really unpleasant for crew rest facilities on these aircraft to just be limited to jump seats in the galleys — what an uncomfortable way to rest.

However, optics also matter, especially when you’re selling premium products. For example, imagine you spend $10,000 on a British Airways first class ticket and there’s only one other passenger booked in the cabin, so you feel like you have a nice, private cabin. Then after the meal service, you suddenly have every seat full, with six flight attendants hanging out, watching movies, and chilling.

Is that actually a problem? Well no, not really. But it certainly takes away a little bit from the feeling of exclusivity. Honestly, you most commonly see flight attendants hanging out in passenger seats on long haul flights on poorly run government airlines, where the crew just treat the premium cabin seats as their playground.

Now, in fairness, I’m not sure British Airways is actually trying to be that premium, so perhaps that’s all fine. Ultimately British Airways’ biggest competitive advantage is that it has a large number of Heathrow slots, and that’s a valuable asset.

I should also mention that some airlines do have dedicated pilot crew rest facilities in premium cabins. However, I view that as being a bit different — in these situations where’s typically a curtain around the seat, and that seat is also blocked off on the seat map. As I see it, it’s not the same as a “take any seat you wish if it’s open” policy.

Bottom line

British Airways has updated its policy on crew rest for aircraft without dedicated crew bunks. Historically, crews have only been able to rest in their galley jump seats, which are of course not very comfortable. Now that policy has been updated, and crews can also sit in any vacant seats on the aircraft, including in first and business class.

I think British Airways was super cheap by not installing crew bunks on select 777s and 787s in the first place. While I don’t think this is a huge deal, it’s also decidedly un-premium to essentially treat the seats that people are paying thousands of dollars for as places for the crew to just hang out between services.

What do you make of British Airways’ new crew rest policy?

Delta CEO blames high fares on ATC capacity constraints

Delta CEO Ed Bastian had a roughly 15-minute interview several days ago with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business. Bastian isn’t exactly the most controversial CEO in terms of the claims he makes, so not much in there will surprise you.

He talked about how everything at Delta is great, since the airline caters to the very top end of the economy. He praised the administration for their awesomeness. He talked about how airfare has increased by around 10-15% due to the Iran conflict, and he doesn’t expect for it to go up much beyond that.

But here’s what I find interesting. Around 10min35sec into the interview, while talking about general air traffic control reform, he made the following statement, which wasn’t even in direct response to a question:

“People ask me all the time, what’s happening with prices? Prices will come down when we can fly more, when there’s more supply, it’s a supply and demand. Right now we’re kind of logjammed. There’s not a lot of supply we can bring in because the air traffic control system is congested. As you open up the skies, and you bring more flow, that’s going to help bring pricing down and enable us to bring more people to more places.”

Broadly, capacity reductions aren’t due to air traffic control

We absolutely have issues with our air traffic control system in the United States, and it desperately needs reform, because it contributes to a lot of the delays that we see. However, to suggest that airfare is expensive because of that is simply not accurate:

• At the end of the day, airfare is priced based on supply and demand, and not entirely based on the cost of providing air transport (or else many US carriers wouldn’t be stuck selling tickets at a loss)
• We’ve seen airfare increase in price by around 30% since the beginning of the year (a lot higher than the 10-15% that Bastian suggests), and nothing has changed about air traffic control during that period
• Instead, the reason airfare has increased is because airlines have strategically decreased capacity, which is the number one cause of fares increasing; let me emphasize that airlines are voluntarily decreasing capacity at the moment so that they can increase fares
• If airlines are so concerned about congested airspace, may I suggest that they not fly so many regional jets with so few seats? For that matter, Delta has the smallest mainline jets on order of any US airline, as the carrier flies a bunch of A220s with 109-130 seats, with a lot more on the way
• If we’re going to look at the baseline airfare before the recent hike in prices, passenger revenue per air seat mile at even profitable US airlines was largely lower than cost per air seat mile, with loyalty programs and other initiatives making up much of the revenue gap; costs in the industry aren’t going down, so are you going to tell me that this divide is going to increase even more?

Like I said, I agree we need air traffic control reform, in terms of making our air travel system more efficient. But to suggest this is some silver bullet that’s going to lead to lower airfare (beyond the low fares we saw before this current conflict) is just baseless.

And let me support this with one more point. When is Bastian suggesting that air traffic control was actually functional, and not the cause of higher airfare? Because if you look at the consumer price index for airfare over the years, it doesn’t seem to have any correlation to air traffic control staffing shortages.

Lastly, let me just contrast what Bastian is saying to the words of United CEO Scott Kirby (who doesn’t really hide his true intentions, or say what consumers want to hear). During the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call, Kirby made it clear that higher airfare is here to stay, and that the longer this conflict lasts, the more permanently they can keep higher pricing:

“Certainly, the longer this lasts, the higher the probability goes that the pricing increases hold. And we probably won’t hold 100% if we normalize as I told the team earlier today, and it’s just my guess that if things went back to mid-February normal, I think we get to keep 20% of the price increase next year. I think that’s going to move towards 80%. And every day, it’s ticking up longer as this goes on.”

I’m not suggesting Kirby is the most trustworthy guy in the industry, but I think that narrative is a lot more honest than Bastian suggesting that air traffic control is to blame for high airfare.

Bottom line

In recent months, we’ve seen airfare increase by an average of around 30%, among the biggest changes we’ve seen in such a short period of time in history. That’s largely fair, in the sense that airlines are facing higher costs than in the past.

However, if you’re an airline CEO and you proactively mention how people often ask you when tickets will get cheaper, it seems a bit disingenuous to say that airfare will go down when we see air traffic control reform. I agree airfare pricing is a function of capacity, but most of the capacity adjustments we see at airline are voluntary (to be able to raise airfare), rather than due to any concern for air traffic control staffing levels.

It seems a more honest answer would be that airfare might go down a bit once this conflict with Iran ends, but perhaps that’s too anti-administration for Bastian’s liking?

What do you make of Bastian’s comments about airfare pricing?

Air India plane “marginally infringed” on Pakistani airspace

The Hindustan Times reports on how India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended an Air India pilot and an air traffic controller over an incident that happened late at night on Monday, June 22, 2026.

Specifically, Air India flight AI479 was scheduled to operate the short 257-mile flight from Delhi (DEL) to Amritsar (ATQ), using an Airbus A321 with the registration code VT-PPT. The plane took off at 9:18PM local time, and was supposed to land under an hour later.

However, as the plane approached Amritsar, it was put into a holding pattern, as the runway needed to be inspected due to a bird strike involving a previous aircraft. At around 10:08PM, while the plane was getting radar vectors, it briefly entered Pakistani airspace, which was reportedly coordinated with Pakistani air traffic controllers.

The Indian air traffic controller had reportedly asked the Air India flight to continue toward the boundary, and then the plane continued and crossed into Pakistani airspace, entering by around three miles. As the airline described it in a statement, the plane “marginally infringed” on Pakistan’s airspace, and an internal investigation is being performed.

This all happened outside the hours during which surveillance services are available in Amritsar. The plane reentered Indian airspace by 10:20PM. At that point the plane returned all the way to Delhi, as it was running low on fuel. It landed in Delhi at 11:27PM, 2hr9min after it first departed.

The biggest issue here was the lack of incident reporting

Given the tension between Pakistan and India, Pakistani airspace has been closed to airlines from India for over a year now. As mentioned above, the Air India plane entering Pakistani airspace was reportedly done in coordination with air traffic control in Lahore, so it’s not like this happened without permission.

The biggest issue here isn’t that the plane entered Pakistani airspace, but instead, that both the pilot and the air traffic controller didn’t file a report with regulators after the fact, regarding what happened.

On some level, that seems fair enough. If airspace is closed to airlines from a certain country, it seems reasonable that you’d expect a report to be filed. Then again, I don’t fully have enough context to know how much of a faux pas this was.

Clearly this was all done with Pakistan’s permission, so what exactly was the emergency that necessitated entering Pakistani airspace? Was there no space to hold on the other side of the border, or is there a disconnect between the alleged airspace closure, and how things really work?

Bottom line

An Air India pilot and an air traffic controller are in trouble, after an Airbus A321 entered Pakistani airspace while holding near Amritsar’s airport. Pakistan’s airspace is closed to airlines of India, though the plane entered the airspace with the permission of Pakistani air traffic controllers.

The main issue here seems to be that the pilot and air traffic controller didn’t file a report about what happened, rather than the “marginal” airspace infringement as such… though that may have also resulted in some serious punishment?

What do you make of this Air India Pakistani airspace situation?

SWISS serving Frau Hund’s “Bastardo” hot dog in first class

SWISS is known for having a rotating seasonal menu with different options. Some times of the year you’ll find caviar. Other times of the year you’ll find truffles. And this summer, you’ll find… hot dogs?!

Yesterday, the airline put out a video on social media about this, promoting how it’s serving Frau Hund’s “Bastardo” hot dog, claiming it’s “served with all the care and elegance of a First Class meal, because why should classics be any different up here?” This is available through September 1, 2026, on all SWISS first class flights departing Switzerland.

The airline has shared the story of this collaboration, as it was SWISS that approached Frau Hund. I’m not a hot dog fan, so I can’t pretend to be too familiar with the backstory, but the claim is that the people behind Frau Hund are trained chefs who wanted to elevate a product that “has a bit of a bad reputation in society, or at least one where quality offerings have been hard to find.”

A lot of thought was then put into which product is best to be served onboard, given preparation requirements, etc.:

A product developed for a takeout kiosk has to be rethought for the cabin, at least in part. The first instinct was to bring the “Deutsche Dogge” on board, one of the classics in the Frau Hund lineup. But the product developers at Gate Gourmet flagged that something lighter would be better suited for flying. No problem: Frau Hund put forward another hot dog from their menu: the “Bastardo,” topped with coleslaw, apple chutney, sour cream, and roasted walnuts.

The product itself remained untouched. Sausage, bun, toppings, all prepared to the original recipe. What did need to be adjusted was the cut in the bun. During the tasting, Gate Gourmet’s recreation was an immediate hit in terms of flavor, but the plating raised concerns: the hot dog, which comes in a cardboard box at Frau Hund, kept tipping over on the SWISS First porcelain plate and could not be presented cleanly. For Chris and Alex, that was no small detail. “If the hot dog is smeared and things are falling out, that’s not our standard,” says Chris. The solution was pragmatic: an adjusted cut so the hot dog stands upright and can be plated neatly and appetizingly even in the SWISS First setting. “After that, all our doubts were gone.”

The same hot dog, a different setting – and that is precisely the point. “It matters to us that a hot dog can be something different,” says Chris. Many people have a cheap kiosk hot dog in mind. Frau Hund wants to show that there is another way: with carefully selected ingredients, with care and attention, with a result that genuinely surprises. The fact that this ambition now reaches people at 35,000 feet is proof that the idea was right from the very beginning.

This isn’t for me, but I appreciate the concept

This hot dog concept absolutely isn’t for me. I don’t eat pork (I love pigs too much!), and I’m also a quasi-pescatarian, and only rarely eat meat (and consistently stay away from processed meat).

So personally, this isn’t something I’d order. That being said, I commend SWISS for the concept:

• I love when airlines highlight local dishes on their menus, which reflect the culture of the home country
• It’s clear that a lot of thought went into how this hot dog is served, and this is also an elevated version of a hot dog (even if I can’t make sense of some of the ingredients, like sour cream and walnuts)
• This clearly isn’t about trying to cut costs, but instead, it’s about investing in something that’s unique and quirky
• This is only one of the many things on the menu, so this is only for those who really want a hot dog, in addition to everything else that’s available
• A lot of airline passengers do like comfort food, so I imagine a good number of people will order this

Personally, I’ll be waiting for SWISS’ seasonal first class caviar tasting. 😉

Bottom line

SWISS is mixing things up with its first class menu this summer, as the airline is serving Frau Hund’s “Bastardo” hot dog in first class, on all flights departing Switzerland through September 1, 2026. While a hot dog isn’t what you’d expect in first class, SWISS is very much acknowledging that, while highlighting the effort that goes into this dish, and how that’s the concept of Frau Hund in the first place — taking a dish that’s not typically thought of as “fancy,” and elevating it.

While I would have no interest in this if flying SWISS first class, I still respect the concept the airline is going for, and think this is creative.

What do you make of SWISS’ unique first class meal option? Would you order this if flying in first class?

Air Canada flight diverts to Boston after captain has seizure

This incident happened on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, and involves Air Canada flight AC7664, scheduled to operate from Newark (EWR) to Halifax (YHZ). The flight was marketed as Air Canada Express, operating on behalf of regional partner PAL Airlines, and it was flown by a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 with the registration code C-GPOE.

The plane took off at 12:54PM local time, expecting to have a routine 613-mile flight to the northeast. However, around 30 minutes after takeoff, as the plane reached an altitude of around 23,000 feet, the captain became incapacitated, and was reportedly having a seizure. According to a passenger on the flight:

“The moment the plane swerved, I knew something was wrong because it was not turbulence. It really felt like someone had jilted the controls and then it happened over and over again. And, you know, every thought goes through your mind, you start praying. My boys instantly started praying.”

“One of the flight attendants entered the cockpit frantically and a few moments later, he was dragging one of the pilots out of the cockpit onto the aisle way of the airplane.”

At that point the plane began an emergency diversion to Boston (BOS), where it landed at 1:56PM local time, just over an hour after departure. Once on the ground, the plane stopped on the taxiway, and the captain was met by first responders, who brought him to the hospital. Hopefully he makes a full recovery.

The ATC audio with the first officer is worth a listen

Massive credit goes to the first officer of this flight, for how professionally and calmly he handled this situation. Admittedly pilots are trained so that they can fly an aircraft alone in such circumstances, so he was doing what he needed to do.

However, I can only imagine the level of panic one feels, not because they’re exclusively in charge of the flight, but more because the person next to them suddenly becomes incapacitated. But this guy was an absolute pro, and the air traffic control audio below really paints a picture of that.

He remained calm, and he did things in the right order for pilots — aviate, navigate, and communicate. He told the controllers to stand by when he needed to focus on other tasks, and he also erred on the side of caution, rejecting a last minute runway change, since obviously he wanted to be prepared for the possibility of a go around, etc.

As we increasingly see talk of the possibility of flights eventually moving to having just one pilot, this is a good reminder of the importance of having two pilots, when something like this happens. Admittedly the systems being proposed have some redundancies, but if a plane starts “swerving” because someone at the controls is having a seizure, that’s where a second pilot is worth their weight in gold.

I hope this first officer gets the recognition he deserves for his stellar performance under pressure. And of course while I don’t know how many flight hours he had, one assumes that a first officer on a turboprop of a regional subsidiary isn’t that senior, so I imagine this was the most eventful thing to happen in his career so far.

Bottom line

An Air Canada flight operated by PAL Airlines suffered an emergency shortly after takeoff from Newark, when the captain became incapacitated. He was removed from the flight deck and taken care of by passengers and the crew, while the first officer focused on getting the plane safely on the ground. He did a fantastic job handling this stressful situation, so kudos to him. Here’s to hoping the captain makes a quick and full recovery.

What do you make of this captain incapacitation and subsequent diversion?

It’s anyone’s guess how much longer this deal sticks around, so in this post, I’d like to recap the details, for anyone who is eligible but who hasn’t yet applied.

Link: Learn more about the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card with 100K bonus points

What is the current Chase Ink Unlimited Card welcome bonus?

The Chase Ink Unlimited Card is offering a best-ever welcome bonus of 100,000 points after spending $8,000 within the first four months. You’ll see that the bonus is marketed as offering cash back, rather than points, so it’s described as a $1,000 bonus. Indeed, you could redeem the rewards as cash back.

However, if you have the card in conjunction with a card earning Ultimate Rewards points, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more) or Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more), then rewards can be transferred to Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners. Since I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, that increases the value of the points by 70% right there, as far as I’m concerned.

I consider the 100,000 points to be worth $1,700. That’s a phenomenal bonus, especially for a no annual fee card. For what it’s worth, the previous offer was for 75,000 bonus points, and otherwise we saw limited time welcome offers as high as 90,000 points. But a six-figure welcome offer on a no annual fee card is incredible, at least for a points currency that’s this valuable.

Who is eligible for the Chase Ink Unlimited Card bonus?

When it comes to getting approved for the Chase Ink Unlimited Card and earning the welcome bonus, what rules should you be aware of? Well, there are the card specific policies, and then also the more generic Chase policies. When you pull up the application, you’ll see the following terms:

The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you have ever had this card or any other Chase for Business card without an annual fee. We may also consider factors pertinent to your business in determining your bonus eligibility.

As you can see, officially the welcome bonus isn’t available to you if you’ve had this exact card, or another Chase business card without an annual fee, including the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (learn more). So there is an element of cards being mutually exclusive.

However, the key here is that you “may” not be eligible, and not that you absolutely won’t be eligible. I don’t love that level of vagueness, though the good news is that if you apply for the card and aren’t eligible for the bonus, you should receive a pop-up message informing you of this, before there’s a hard pull. So that at least means the downside of applying is limited.

The good news is that eligibility for the bonus is completely unrelated to whether you have a Chase business card with an annual fee, like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more) or Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more).

It’s fine to apply for Chase business cards as a sole proprietorship, corporation, etc. If you apply as a sole proprietorship, you can just enter your Social Security Number in the section where you’d otherwise put your EIN.

Beyond that, there are some general Chase rules to be aware of:

• This card may be subjected to Chase’s 5/24 rule, which is to say that you may not be approved if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months (this excludes many business cards); however, there are increasingly data points that this rule is no longer consistently enforced
• It’s generally considered a best practice to not apply for more than one Chase business credit card every 30 days, so I’d recommend observing that limit when applying

Why the Chase Ink Unlimited Card is worth it

The Chase Ink Unlimited Card has no annual fee, and there are several reasons to consider picking it up. The way I view it, there are a few points that are most important.

For one, the card has a solid rewards structure, as it offers a minimum of 1.5x points on all spending, making it one of the best Chase cards for everyday spending. Furthermore, the card offers primary rental car coverage, which can come in handy if you rent cars with any frequency, and is incredibly rare for a no annual fee card.

Also, since the card has no annual fee, there’s really no opportunity cost to holding onto it, and it allows you to create a great portfolio of cards to maximize rewards.

Read my review of the Chase Ink Unlimited Card.

Chase Ink Unlimited Card welcome bonus FAQs

Bottom line

The Chase Ink Unlimited Card is one of the most lucrative no annual fee cards out there, and it’s currently offering a best-ever welcome bonus of 100,000 points upon completing minimum spending.

Not only does the card have a great bonus that’s too good to turn down, but it offers rewards that can make it worth holding onto, like 1.5x points on everyday spending, plus rental car coverage. If you’re eligible for this card, I think there’s a lot of merit to picking it up. Taking advantage of this bonus is a no-brainer, if eligible.

Do you have the Chase Ink Unlimited Card, and if so, what has your experience been?

Regardless of how you feel about the changes, the good news is the card is currently offering a phenomenal welcome offer, making it the ideal time to apply. I’d like to post a reminder of this offer, as it’s anyone’s guess how much longer it sticks around. Also keep in mind that thanks to some updates to welcome bonus eligibility requirements, some people may not even realize that they’re now eligible for the bonus, even though they weren’t in the past.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

What is the current Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is currently offering a welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within the first three months. The annual fee is $95, which isn’t waived for the first year.

This is a very strong offer, in line with the best offers we’ve ever seen on the card. As a point of comparison, previously the card had a welcome offer of 75,000 points upon completing minimum spending, so this is much better.

Personally, I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me, the 100,000 bonus points are worth $1,700. If eligible, there’s absolutely no reason not to apply.

When it comes to earning the bonus, the clock starts from your account opening date, not when you receive the card, so plan accordingly. Once you hit the spending requirement, the bonus points typically post within a statement cycle, if not before.

The $5,000 threshold isn’t too high for most, in my experience, especially compared to what we’re seeing on other cards these days. If you’re planning any large purchases, timing your application around those expenses makes earning the bonus straightforward. Furthermore, try to take advantage of the card bonus categories when reaching your minimum spending, so you can truly earn as many points as possible.

Who is eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus?

When it comes to eligibility for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, here’s the official language in the application:

This credit card is unavailable to you if you currently have one open. The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you previously held this card or received a new cardmember bonus for this card. We may also consider the number of cards you have opened and closed in determining your bonus eligibility.

As you can tell, the terms here aren’t that explicit. However, you’re definitely not eligible for the bonus if you currently have this exact card, and you also may not be eligible for the bonus if you previously held this card, regardless of whether or not you received the bonus. Then there’s also the vague language about how other factors may be used in determining your eligibility for the card.

Furthermore, eligibility for the card (including the bonus) is unrelated to whether or not you have or have had the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more). Note that these restrictions are based on whether you’re the primary cardmember on one of these cards — if you’re currently an authorized user (or have been one in the past), you’d be eligible.

Also keep in mind the general rules of applying for Chase cards, including the 5/24 rule (though there are increasingly reports of people being approved in spite of being over the 5/24 limit).

Nowadays Chase will typically let you know during the application process if you’re eligible for the bonus on a card, before there’s a hard pull, so that’s good news if you want to try to apply and see if you qualify.

In terms of credit score, aim for 700 or higher, though 740+ is ideal. There’s no hard cutoff, but this is considered a premium product and Chase tends to be selective.

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth it?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great card at its price point. As I see it, here are the main selling points:

• The Sapphire Preferred has an annual fee of under $100; given the amount of credit card fee inflation we’ve seen over the years, that’s very compelling
• The Sapphire Preferred has an impressive number of bonus categories — earn 5x points on Chase Travel℠ purchases, 3x points on dining (including eligible delivery services), 3x points on online grocery stores, 3x points on vacation homes (at brands like Airbnb, VRBO, and more), 3x points on gas stations and EV charging, 3x points on select streaming services, 2x points on other travel purchases, and more
• The Sapphire Preferred offers a $100 hotel credit every anniversary year, valid for a hotel booking made through Chase Travel℠ (there’s no minimum stay required, and no minimum spending, so you could save $100 on a hotel stay costing the same amount)
• The Sapphire Preferred lets you transfer points to the Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners, though the catch is that transfers to World of Hyatt are at a 4:3 ratio rather than a 1:1 ratio, unlike on the more premium Chase Sapphire cards
• The Sapphire Preferred offers excellent travel coverage, including for flight cancelations, delays, rental cars, and more

As I see it, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a phenomenal card for beginners. It has a low annual fee, huge upfront bonus, great bonus categories, and also offers excellent travel protection, which every traveler should have. But even for those who aren’t beginners, this could be an excellent alternative to all the more premium cards out there with very high annual fees.

Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus FAQs

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering a welcome bonus of 100,000 points upon completing minimum spending, which is in line with the best offers that we’ve seen on the card. The card has recently undergone a refresh, which people will have mixed feelings about, no doubt.

It’s hard to argue with the card’s reasonable $95 annual fee, especially with the $100 annual hotel credit. On top of that, the bonus categories are now really well rounded, so many people will want to actually spend money on this card.

The only catch is that this card has a devalued transfer ratio to World of Hyatt, and points now move at a 4:3 ratio. However, in conjunction with either the personal or business version of the Sapphire Reserve, you can still get a 1:1 transfer ratio on all of your points.

Do you plan on taking advantage of the Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K bonus points offer?

Chase Sapphire Reserve Marriott Bonvoy Gold fast track

At the moment the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more) is offering Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite Status, with the opportunity to extend it in conjunction with stays:

• Register between July 1 and September 30, 2026, by logging into your Chase account and going to the benefits tab
• Once registered, you’ll receive Marriott Gold status for a period of three months
• If you stay three paid nights booked directly with Marriott during that three month period, you’ll receive status through February 2028

Is this Marriott Bonvoy Gold offer worth it?

Marriott Bonvoy Gold status isn’t the most valuable mid-tier hotel elite status (status becomes much more valuable once you reach Bonvoy Platinum status, where you start receiving free breakfast and earning Nightly Upgrade Awards). Bonvoy Gold status offers perks like 25% bonus points, 2PM late check-out, enhanced Wi-Fi, a room upgrade subject to availability (to non-suites), etc.

If you happen to have Marriott stays coming up, then this offer is obviously better than nothing, since some status is better than no status. Just keep in mind that the American Express Platinum Card® (learn more) offers Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as you’re a cardmember (Enrollment required), so that’s a much better opportunity, as there are no stays required to maintain the status.

Bottom line

For a limited time, those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card can receive complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold status. The status is valid for a period of three months, and if you stay three paid nights during that period, you can receive the status through February 2028.

This is better than nothing for those who don’t have status with Marriott, but that’s about it.

Does anyone plan on taking advantage of this Chase Sapphire Reserve Marriott Gold offer?

Atmos Rewards launches this promotion on the first Wednesday of each month (which the program calls “Atmos Members Day”), so we just saw the one for July launched. Let’s go over the opportunities, as you can save up to 50% on award tickets. There are some cool markets in which you can save miles, though unfortunately only economy travel qualifies.

Save on Atmos Rewards awards to select destinations

For the new Alaska Atmos Rewards Global Getaways promotion, you can save up to 50% on award travel to half a dozen destinations, with the following restrictions:

• This is valid for bookings made between July 1 and July 4, 2026
• This is valid for travel between September 1 and November 15, 2026
• This is valid specifically for redemptions in economy, and not for travel in first class, business class, or premium economy
• You can receive discounts as long as you’re traveling to one of the eligible destinations and are originating in the United States; while discounts aren’t 100% consistent, they are generally valid for travel on all partner airlines when there’s saver level award availability
• These awards have the same change and cancelation policies as all other Atmos Rewards awards, so they’re refundable at no cost, minus the partner award booking fee (which it’s even possible to get waived)

The theme for this Global Getaways promotion is “timeless cities right on time,” and the idea is that these are destinations that shine from September through November, mostly with cooler temperatures and seasonal experiences.

With this sale, you can save on one-way redemptions to the following destinations (these savings are up to 50%, but not always that high):

• Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS): now starting at 22,500 points
• Dublin, Ireland (DUB): now starting at 20,000 points
• Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL): now starting at 11,500 points
• London, United Kingdom (LHR): now starting at 22,500 points
• Seoul, South Korea (ICN): now starting at 20,000 points
• Tokyo, Japan (NRT/HND): now starting at 27,500 points

My take on Alaska’s Global Getaways promotion

I very much appreciate Alaska Atmos Rewards’ creativity with this promotion, as nowadays it’s pretty rare to see programs offer award sales that are also valid for travel on partner airlines. Now, admittedly I wish there weren’t quite as many restrictions in terms of the booking window, travel period, the class of service limitations, and the one-way discount, but still, there will be value here for some, and it’s better than nothing.

If you’re simply looking for the lowest cost award, some of these award prices are very tough to beat. For example, getting from the United States to South Korea for 20,000 points in economy without paying high carrier imposed surcharges is quite a value. Keep in mind that with Atmos Rewards, award flights even earn status points, so could help you qualify for status.

I do hope that over time we see some first and business class award sale as well (it’s probably not happening, but we can dream, right?). Many of us have historically loved the program for the value it offers for premium cabin travel, so this promotion doesn’t help us much with that.

This is basically Alaska’s version of Air France-KLM Flying Blue Promo Rewards or Singapore KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes, except it applies for travel on partner airlines (rather than just for travel on the program’s airline), and is exclusive to economy (while the other promotions are mixed).

Bottom line

Alaska Atmos Rewards has launched its latest Global Getaways promotion, which is a monthly redemption deal offering up to a 50% discount on awards. This time around, you can save points on economy redemptions to select destinations. You need to book by July 4, 2026, and can travel between September 1 and November 15, 2026. While this won’t be useful for everyone, I imagine some people will get value from this.

What do you make of Alaska’s Global Getaways promotion?

This isn’t the most exciting offer on earth, but if eligible, you might as well take advantage of it. It’s a repeat of an offer that we’ve seen the past three years.

Elites earn bonus rewards with Marriott & United

This new promotion is available to Marriott Bonvoy Titanium and Ambassador members, and to United MileagePlus Premier Gold, Platinum, and 1K members.

After registering for the promotion, members can earn 2,000 Bonvoy bonus points and 1,500 bonus MileagePlus miles after they fly an eligible United itinerary and make an eligible Marriott stay.

They’ve made this significantly more complex than in past years. The idea is that you earn both of those rewards when you complete at least one eligible travel “experience” with both brands, though they don’t have to be part of the same trip, as long as they’re both offer the standard eligibility window. But you can’t earn rewards if you only have activity with one program.

In other words, if you have three eligible United itineraries and five eligible Marriott stays, you’d earn the bonus with both programs three times.

To cover some of the basics:

• Registration is required between July 1 and August 31, 2026, and it’s fine if you booked your travel before registering
• All travel must commence by September 30, 2026, in order to be eligible; this means you need to have started your travel on United or completed at least one night of your Marriott hotel stay by then
• The above rewards are per eligible Marriott stay (not per night), and are per eligible United itinerary (not per flight)
• Only revenue travel qualifies, so hotel stays booked with points, or flights booked with miles, wouldn’t qualify
• Eligible members who are enrolled in the Marriott & United partnership can register at this link on Marriott’s website, or at this link on United’s website
• There’s no limit to how many bonus points and miles can be earned
• It can take up to eight weeks after completing qualifying activity before bonus rewards will post
• Members are eligible to participate in only one dual currency campaign per calendar year; it remains to be seen if another one is offered this year, but I think it’s worth noting

My take on this Marriott & United promotion

It’s nice to see the increased partnership between Marriott and United. This is the fourth time that we’ve seen a dual accrual promotion between the programs, so this gives members access to extra rewards. However, this is the first time that earning of rewards is contingent upon having activity with both programs.

Personally I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, and MileagePlus miles at 1.1 cents each. To crunch the numbers on that (and again, you need to have equal activity with both programs to unlock these rewards):

• The 2,000 Bonvoy points you get per United itinerary are worth ~$14
• The 1,500 MileagePlus miles you get per Marriott stay are worth ~$16.50

I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I can’t help but wonder if this will move the needle in any sort of a meaningful way. It’s of course great to get extra rewards if you’re already loyal to both brands, but is someone going to switch their airline or hotel loyalty over this promotion otherwise?

I should mention that while promotions like this are often done as a way to share data between companies, that’s already happening between Marriott and United. So perhaps this is intended to increase sign-ups of the partnership between the two brands.

Bottom line

Marriott Bonvoy and United MileagePlus have a new dual accrual promotion for select elite members. With this, you can earn bonus Marriott points for United flights, and bonus United miles for Marriott stays. However, you can only be rewarded based on having the same amount of activity with both brands.

In other words, if you had five eligible United itineraries and one eligible Marriott stay, you’d earn a bonus with both programs once.

What do you make of this Marriott & United promotion?

Big Amex to Virgin Atlantic transfer bonus available

Between July 1 and July 31, 2026, the American Express Membership Rewards program in the United States is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Ordinarily points transfer at a 1:1 ratio (in 1,000 point increments), while through this promotion you’d get 1,300 Flying Club points for every 1,000 Membership Rewards points transferred. Transfers are generally instant.

For context, Amex seems to offer a transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club once or twice per year. The last promotion we saw was in late 2025, so this is the first one so far in 2026. When we do see these offers, they’re typically in the range of 30-40%, so this is on the low side of that range, but could still represent a great deal.

Should you transfer Amex points to Virgin Atlantic?

Virgin Atlantic is definitely a frequent flyer program with more niche redemption opportunities. In addition to being able to redeem Flying Club points for travel on Virgin Atlantic, there’s also good value to be had for redemptions on Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, and Delta.

In late 2024 we saw Flying Club introduce dynamic award pricing for travel on Virgin Atlantic. While the changes are a mixed bag, what’s exciting is that on the low end, redemptions are cheaper than ever before. It’s now possible to fly one-way Virgin Atlantic Upper Class between the United States and the UK for under 30,000 points, and that’s before a transfer bonus.

Beyond that, Virgin Atlantic has several airline partners, some of which are more lucrative than others. Probably the best use of Flying Club points is for travel in ANA first & business class. You can find the redemption rates below.

Paying 45,000-47,500 Flying Club points for a one-way business class ticket between the United States and Japan is a phenomenal value to start with. Then when you consider the 30% transfer bonus, that means you could be paying significantly fewer Amex points. First class can also be a good deal.

All Nippon Airways’ new first & business class are amazing products as well. The major catch is that availability can be really tough to come by.

Bottom line

At the moment, Amex is offering a 30% bonus when you transfer points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This is definitely more of a niche program, but with a specific use in mind, there’s a lot of value to be had.

With the 30% bonus, award travel on Virgin Atlantic will be an even better value. There’s also lots of value to booking on partners, ranging from SkyTeam airlines, to Air New Zealand, to All Nippon Airways.

Do you plan on taking advantage of this Amex transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club?

Transfer Amex points to Hilton Honors with 20% bonus

Between July 1 and July 14, 2026, the Amex Membership Rewards program in the United States is offering a 20% bonus when you transfer points to Hilton Honors.

Points ordinarily transfer between the programs at a 1:2 ratio, meaning that during this promotion, points transfer at a 1:2.4 ratio. In other words, you get 2,400 Hilton Honors points for every 1,000 Amex Membership Rewards points transferred.

There are lots of great credit cards in the United States that earn Amex Membership Rewards points. When it comes to transferring Amex points, you can expect that conversions to Hilton Honors are typically instant. Make sure that you see the bonus at the time that you make the transfer, as it should be reflected before you confirm it.

On average we see a few transfer bonuses every year from Amex Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors. The bonuses are typically 20-40%, so this is on the low end of those bonuses. But still, any bonus is better than no bonus.

Should you transfer Amex points to Hilton with a bonus?

Personally I value Amex points at ~1.7 cents each, while I value Hilton Honors points at ~0.5 cents each. Based on my valuation of points and the 1:2.4 transfer ratio, you’re getting about 1.2 cents of value per Amex point. While not the most exciting offer, it’s also not bad, and for many it could prove to be worthwhile.

It’s worth noting that my valuation of points is intended to be conservative, and there are always ways to get hugely outsized value by using points properly. Just make sure you have a specific use in mind. Hilton does often sell points for 0.5 cents each, and I’ve written about some of the best ways to redeem Hilton Honors points.

Still, it’s not a way that I’d choose to redeem my Amex points, especially with all the Hilton Honors devaluations we’ve seen over time, and top properties now charging up to 250,000 points for a standard room.

Bottom line

For a limited time, the Amex Membership Rewards program is offering a 20% bonus when transferring points to Hilton Honors, meaning the transfer ratio is 1:2.4. This has the potential to be a good deal with a specific use in mind, though personally I’d rather acquire Hilton points in other ways, and save my Amex points for something else.

Do you plan on transferring Amex points to Hilton with a 20% bonus?

There are quite a few destinations bookable with this promotion, including several in the Americas. Business class awards to & from New York are even being discounted, and start at just 45,000 miles, so that’s an incredible redemption opportunity, assuming you can make the (limited) availability work.

What are Flying Blue Promo Rewards?

I’m a big fan of the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program, especially for long haul premium cabin redemptions. Not only does Flying Blue largely have attractive award pricing for business class travel, but the program also has access to more Air France and KLM award space than other programs.

The Promo Rewards offer is published every month by the Flying Blue program, and offers 25% discounts off select awards for travel on Air France and KLM. The Flying Blue program has dynamic award pricing, and this promotion specifically applies for the lowest, saver level award costs.

New Flying Blue Promo Rewards now live

Flying Blue has published its July 2026 Promo Rewards, valid for bookings between July 1 and July 31, 2026. Most of these Promo Rewards have long travel windows, and can be used for flights all the way through December 31, 2026.

As a reminder, Flying Blue has standardized saver award pricing, so ordinarily you’ll pay the following amounts for one-way transatlantic awards between Europe and most of North America:

• One-way economy awards cost 25,000 miles
• One-way premium economy awards cost 40,000 miles
• One-way business class awards cost 60,000 miles

Here are the awards that are available with the Promo Rewards list this month for travel between Europe and North America, along with the pricing:

• Save 25% on Air France economy awards between Europe and Denver (DEN), Montreal (YUL), and Raleigh (RDU) — starting at 18,750 miles
• Save 25% on KLM economy awards between Europe and Chicago (ORD), Miami (MIA), Montreal (YUL), Portland (PDX), and Toronto (YYZ) — starting at 18,750 miles
• Save 25% on Air France premium economy awards between Europe and Los Angeles (LAX) — starting at 30,000 miles
• Save 25% on Air France business class awards between Europe and New York (JFK) — starting at 45,000 miles
• Save 25% on Air France business class awards between Europe and Sint Maarten (SXM) — starting at 63,750 miles

Let me emphasize that the most exciting offer here is being able to get a discount on Air France business class awards to or from New York, as it’s extremely rare to see Promo Rewards options for business class on United States flights.

On top of that, the Flying Blue Extra program was recently launched (the cost starts at €379 per year), which is essentially a paid membership program that offers extra perks. One of the perks of Flying Blue Extra is access to additional Promo Rewards, so eligible members receive access to the following extra Promo Rewards availability to North America this time around:

• Save 25% on Air France economy awards between Europe and Atlanta (ATL) and Ottawa (YOW) — starting at 18,750 miles

Note that those who belong to the Flying Blue Extra program can redeem these awards for themselves or others, as long as the miles come out of their account.

All of the lowest priced awards in the above markets through December 31, 2026, should be bookable with the Promo Rewards pricing (though not necessarily the extra award availability that Flying Blue Platinum members receive). You can use all of these awards for travel to and from destinations across Europe, so you can travel beyond Amsterdam and Paris.

If you’re having trouble finding availability, remember to use Flying Blue’s secret award calendar. Also keep in mind that children ages two to 12 receive 25% off Flying Blue award tickets, including Promo Rewards.

Earning Flying Blue miles is easy

One of the things that’s awesome about the Flying Blue program is how easy it is to rack up miles:

• Flying Blue is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou, meaning you can transfer points earned from a variety of cards
• Flying Blue sells miles directly, often at an attractive cost, and also has a Subscribe to Miles scheme
• Flying Blue has a co-branded credit card in the United States

Bottom line

The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program offers a Promo Rewards promotion, whereby members can book discounted award tickets in select markets. This can be a great deal, especially when you consider how easy Flying Blue miles are to come by, and also how much award space is sometimes available through Flying Blue.

With the latest Promo Rewards, you can save 25% to several destinations in the Americas. This time around there are options in economy, premium economy, and business class, with the business class discount for Air France business class to and from New York being the most exciting option.

This has the potential to be quite a good deal, so if you have any travel you’re interested in booking, this would be a great time to do so.

Are there any Promo Rewards you’re considering booking?

There’s potentially a lot of upside here, in my opinion, given how EVA Air makes most long haul business class award space available exclusively to members of its own frequent flyer program.

Transfer Capital One miles to EVA Air with 30% bonus

Between July 1 and July 31, 2026, the Capital One mileage program in the United States is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands.

Ordinarily, Capital One miles convert into EVA Air miles at a 1,000:750 ratio, so with this 30% bonus, you’d receive 975 EVA Air miles for every 1,000 Capital One miles transferred. So to state the obvious, that gets you very close to a 1:1 transfer ratio.

It’s worth pointing out how Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards don’t partner with EVA Air. Only Citi ThankYou otherwise does, and that program has a 1:1 transfer ratio. So that would ordinarily be my first choice for EVA Air transfers.

Is this Capital One to EVA Air transfer bonus worth it?

Nowadays finding long haul business class award space has become quite difficult, especially in advance. We also increasingly see airlines restrict award space to members of their own frequent flyer program, rather than to members of partner frequent flyer programs.

EVA Air has an awesome business class product, and the airline offers most award space to members of its own Infinity MileageLands program (yes, it’s a mouthful!). A one-way business class award between the United States and Asia will cost you 75,000 to 80,000 miles, and availability is quite good, including in advance. Meanwhile if you’re trying to find EVA Air long haul business class award space through partner programs, it’s often only available at the last minute, and even then, space is very limited.

Now, before you transfer any points to the program, make sure you read my guide to redeeming for EVA Air business class. Yes, availability is good, but booking most definitely isn’t easy. The website is terrible, there are limitations on who you can redeem for, you have to annoyingly submit forms, etc.

But still, if you can find availability, it could very well be worth the effort. Just make sure you know what you’re doing, and do your research first.

Now, I should mention that since Citi to EVA Air transfers are 1:1, this isn’t some amazing value, since the bonus basically gets you very close to a 1:1 Capital One to EVA Air transfer ratio. However, this could be useful if you don’t have Citi points, or if you prefer to use your Capital One miles for this, and save your Citi points for something else.

Bottom line

Capital One is offering a 30% bonus on mileage transfers to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands. Given the standard 1,000:750 transfer ratio, this bonus gets you to a 1,000:975 ratio. While that doesn’t sound that exciting, EVA Air’s program is very useful for locking in long haul business class awards in advance, with reasonable pricing and good availability. Just do your research, because the redemption process isn’t easy.

Do you plan on taking advantage of this Capital One to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands transfer bonus?

Southwest Rapid Rewards card welcome offers

The three Southwest Rapid Rewards personal credit cards are offering welcome bonuses where you can earn a varying number of Rapid Rewards points. The bonus and spend requirements differ for each card, and are as follows:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (learn more) — Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card (learn more) — Earn 55,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (learn more) — Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

I value Rapid Rewards points at 1.2 cents each, so I value the 50,000 to 60,000 points at $600 to $720, which is solid. Put another way, based on my valuation, there’s a $60 difference between the value of each offer.

So I’d absolutely recommend factoring in the welcome offer into the overall math on deciding which card to apply for. And I won’t bury the lede — I think the most premium card is most worthwhile.

Eligibility for Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa cards

When it comes to getting approved for a personal Southwest Visa card, you’re not eligible for one of these cards if you are:

• A current cardmember of any personal Southwest Visa Card
• A previous cardmember of any personal Southwest Visa Card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 24 months

That means the welcome offers on the cards are mutually exclusive, and you’ll want to pick which card makes the most sense for you. See this post for Southwest credit card eligibility restrictions, and see this post for Chase’s general application restrictions.

How much are Rapid Rewards points worth?

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards is a revenue-based program, meaning that the number of points required for an award redemption is roughly correlated to how much a ticket would cost in cash. However, nowadays there’s a dynamic element to this, which is to say that you’ll get a higher value per point on flights that are less in demand (the idea is that Southwest wants to minimize its costs associated with Rapid Rewards redemptions.

Big picture, I’d say you’ll get an average of around 1.2 cents of value toward airfare per Southwest point, though there is some variance.

Differences between Southwest personal credit cards

The annual fees on Southwest’s co-branded credit cards range from $99 to $229. The temptation might be to go for the card with the lowest annual fee, though as I’ll explain below, the premium cards can represent a much better value, especially when you also factor in the higher value of the welcome offer.

What are the differences between these three Southwest credit cards?

Southwest credit card annual fees

The three personal Southwest Visa all have different annual fees, as follows:

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card has a $99 annual fee
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card has a $149 annual fee
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card has a $229 annual fee

Southwest credit card anniversary bonus points

As an incentive to hold onto the Southwest Visa, you earn a certain number of anniversary bonus points every year (this happens every 12 billing cycles after you open your card):

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card has a 3,000 point anniversary bonus
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card has a 6,000 point anniversary bonus
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card has a 7,500 point anniversary bonus

Based on my valuation of 1.2 cents per Rapid Rewards point, that means you’re getting roughly the following annual value in terms of points earned:

• On the $99 annual fee Plus Card you’re earning $36 worth of points
• On the $149 annual fee Premier Card you’re earning $72 worth of points
• On the $229 annual fee Priority Card you’re earning $90 worth of points

Southwest credit card seat assignment benefit

Southwest no longer has its open seating policy. Instead, the airline has assigned seating, and has even broken the cabin up into three zones, with the forward zone having extra legroom. With that in mind, credit cards are the key to making sure you get the best deals on the best seats on the plane. Specifically:

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card lets cardmembers and up to eight companions select standard seats at no cost within 48 hours of departure, when available
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card lets cardmembers and up to eight companions select standard seats at no extra cost at the time of booking, and preferred legroom seats within 48 hours of departure, when available
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card lets cardmembers and up to eight companions select preferred seats at no extra cost at the time of booking, and extra legroom seats within 48 hours of departure, when available

Southwest credit card return on spending

All three personal Southwest Airlines credit cards offer different returns on spending.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card offers:

• 2x points on Southwest purchases
• 2x points at gas stations and grocery stores on the first $5,000 in combined purchases per year
• 1x points on all other purchases

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card offers:

• 3x points on Southwest purchases
• 2x points at grocery stores and restaurants on the first $8,000 in combined purchases per year
• 1x points on all other purchases
• 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $5,000 spent on the card

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card offers:

• 4x points on Southwest purchases
• 2x points at gas stations & 2x points at restaurants
• 1x points on all other purchases
• 2,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $5,000 spent on the card

As you can see, you’ll want to get one of the two more premium cards if you want to spend your way toward Southwest status. The rewards structure also generally gets more lucrative the more premium of a card you go for.

Southwest credit card first checked bag free benefit

While Southwest no longer offers two free checked bags for all passengers, this has now become a core credit card benefits. All of Southwest’s co-branded personal cards offer one free checked bag for the primary cardmember and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation.

Given that Southwest charges up to $45 for a first checked bag, that would be a value of up to $810 on a roundtrip itinerary (of course most people aren’t traveling with a party of nine, with everyone checking bags). The point is that there’s no differentiation between cards when it comes to this perk.

Southwest credit card early boarding benefit

All of Southwest’s co-branded personal cards offer a boarding benefit. With this, cardmembers and up to eight companions on the same reservation will board no later than Group 5, giving them earlier access to overhead bins. The “no later than” language exists because if you get assigned a more premium seat that comes with priority boarding, you can of course take advantage of that as well.

Southwest credit card 25% inflight savings benefit

All of Southwest’s co-branded personal cards offer 25% savings on inflight purchases, which basically includes savings on inflight drinks. In the past this also offered savings on inflight Wi-Fi purchases, but Wi-Fi is now free for Rapid Rewards members.

Why the Southwest Priority Card is the obvious option

If you’re trying to decide which Southwest credit card to apply for, I’d highly recommend the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card, which is the most premium card, with a $229 annual fee. Yes, the annual fee is $80-130 higher than the other two cards. However:

• The card has a welcome offer that’s 5,000-10,000 points better, and I value that at an incremental $60-120 return; so it’s worth taking advantage of that, and if you decide the card doesn’t make sense after a year, you should be able to downgrade it
• On an ongoing basis, the 1,500-4,500 incremental bonus points will come in handy, in helping to offset the annual fe
• Ultimately if you fly Southwest with any frequency, you’re going to value the incremental seat assignment benefits, of being able to select preferred seats at the time of booking, and being able to select extra legroom seats within 48 hours of departure

So yeah, if I wanted to give one Southwest card a try, I’d go for the Priority one.

Southwest’s Premier & Performance Business cards

If you’re looking for a business credit card, you’re in luck, because Southwest has two excellent business cards:

• The $149 annual fee Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card (learn more) has a welcome bonus where you can earn 60,000 points after spending $3,000 within three months
• The $299 annual fee Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (learn more) has a welcome bonus where you can earn 80,000 points after spending $5,000 within three months

Bottom line

Southwest Airlines’ personal co-branded credit cards are offering welcome offers ranging from 50,000 to 60,000 bonus points upon completing minimum spending.

Of the three cards, I think the $229 annual fee Southwest Priority Card is the best option, given the extra perks it offers, which more than justify the annual fee. From a first checked bag fee, to preferred boarding, to the potential to select extra legroom seats, the card has a very strong value proposition.

Furthermore, given that it has the biggest welcome offer, there’s merit to giving the card a try. If you decide it’s not the right fit for you, you can always cancel or downgrade it after a year.

Do you plan on picking up a Chase Southwest credit card with this offer?

Link: Learn about the best credit cards for Alaska Atmos Rewards

Atmos Rewards Summit Card limited time welcome bonus

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card is currently offering a limited time welcome bonus that consists of 80,000 bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award. To qualify, spend $4,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

Personally, I value Atmos Rewards points at 1.5 cents each. I’d consider this offer to be worth 105,000 points, so to me that’s a staggering value of $1,575.

Even if you’re not convinced on the long term value proposition of the card, I absolutely think it’s worth giving a try, given all the uses of Atmos Rewards points. This is one of the best bonuses I ever recall seeing on an airline credit card.

Atmos Rewards Summit Card eligibility requirements

If you’re interested in applying for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, the good news is that the application restrictions are pretty limited. Specifically, you are eligible for this card if you have any of the other Atmos Rewards cards, whether personal or business.

Personally, I find Bank of America to be one of the most straightforward and easier card issuers to get approvals from, though that’s anecdotal, and I’ve had good luck with these cards.

Read my guide to getting approved for Atmos Rewards cards.

Why the Atmos Rewards Summit Card is worth it

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card has a $395 annual fee, though it has to be one of the most interesting and rewarding airline credit cards we’ve ever seen. As I see it, here are the main reasons to consider getting this card, beyond the welcome bonus:

• A lucrative rewards structure, including 3x points on all foreign purchases (an incredible bonus category), plus 3x points on dining
• The fastest pathway to Atmos Rewards elite status — receive an anniversary boost of 10,000 status points, plus earn one status point for every $2 spent
• The ability to earn Global Companion Awards — an anniversary 25,000-point Global Companion Award just for having the card, plus a 100,000-point Global Companion Award for spending $60,000 on the card per anniversary year
• Up to eight Alaska Lounge passes and up to eight Alaska inflight Wi-Fi passes per year, in the form of two of each pass per quarter
• A first checked bag free and 20% savings on inflight purchases on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
• Preferred boarding on Alaska flights
• Waived fees, including waived $12.50 partner award booking fees, and waived same day change fees on Alaska flights
• Upgrade priority on Alaska & Hawaiian flights, so that comes in handy for anyone with elite status
• The ability to share points with up to 10 other members at no cost (and vice versa)
• Primary rental car coverage, plus valuable travel protection for delayed flights, lost bags, and more

Read a detailed review of the Atmos Rewards Summit Card.

Bottom line

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card currently has a limited time welcome offer that can earn you 80,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points, and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award.

This card is worth getting for the offer alone, given the huge value for travel on partner airlines, even if it’s “just” for domestic flights on American. But I think the card also offers good long term value, from the annual Global Companion Award, to all the other perks. For that matter, there’s an argument to be made for spending on the card to earn oneworld status.

This is a card that I and everyone else in my family have, so I would seriously recommend considering it, if you haven’t applied already.

Anyone plan to pick up the Atmos Rewards Summit Card with this great offer?

Basics of Marriott Bonvoy’s status challenge program

Marriott Bonvoy offers a status challenge program, whereby you can receive elite status at a faster pace, upon completing eligibility activity. This isn’t a status match (meaning you don’t get the status upfront), and there’s also no need to prove that you have status with a competing loyalty program.

With Marriott Bonvoy’s status challenge:

• You can receive Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite Status when you stay eight nights within three(ish) months; this status ordinarily requires 25 elite nights
• You can receive Marriott Bonvoy® Platinum Elite Status when you stay 16 nights within three(ish) months; this status ordinarily requires 50 elite nights

As you can see above, I mention that the status challenge period is “three(ish)” months. The reason I say this is because you actually have the full month in which you sign up, plus an additional three months. In other words, if you sign-up on March 5 (or March 10, or March 15, or March 20), then you’ll have June 30 to complete the challenge. So you could have nearly up to four months to complete the challenge.

To cover some more of the basic terms:

• This is an unpublished program, so you’ll need to call your local Marriott Bonvoy number to request this; keep in mind that in some cases, agents may not be familiar with it, so hang up and call again
• Only eligible stays booked with cash count toward the promotion, and not award nights; some brands may also be excluded, so you’ll want to check at the time of registration
• This is specifically based on how many nights you stay, and not based on how many elite nights you earn; so credit card elite nights, double elite nights promotions, etc., wouldn’t earn you status at an accelerated pace
• If the challenge is successfully completed, status is generally valid for the remainder of the current membership year, and through the entire following membership year; the only exception is that if you complete the challenge in January, it’s only valid for the remainder of the current membership year
• You can only take advantage of a Marriott Bonvoy status challenge once every three years, and you can’t use a challenge if you currently have status
• The status challenge starts immediately upon enrollment, and then the status will post within a couple of days of when you complete eligibility activity
• Completing the status challenge earns you the elite status, but not the corresponding elite nights; in other words, completing a Platinum challenge wouldn’t automatically entitle you to Bonvoy Choice Benefits, like Nightly Upgrade Awards (NUA)

How worthwhile is a Marriott Bonvoy status challenge?

If you plan on making a bunch of stays with Marriott and don’t currently have status, then of course a free status challenge could make a lot of sense.

That being said, if you’re in the United States and have access to credit cards, then it’s worth remembering that Marriott Bonvoy elite status is basically handed out like candy. There are several credit cards offering hotel elite status.

Most significant is that the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (learn more) is Marriott’s most premium co-branded credit card, and there are all kinds of reasons to consider picking it up, including that it offers Platinum status for as long you have the card.

While the card has a steep $650 annual fee (Rates & Fees), I find that to be easy to justify, thanks to benefits like an anniversary free night award, a $300 annual restaurant credit, and more.

So if you are looking to pursue Marriott status and are eligible for the card, I think that’s a much more lucrative pathway to status than having to complete 16 nights. Just manage your expectations with Platinum status, given how swelled elite ranks are.

Bottom line

Marriott Bonvoy has an unpublished status challenge promotion. With this, members can earn Gold status after staying eight paid nights, and Platinum status after staying 16 paid nights, over the course of a little over three months. You need to request this by phone, and you only get status upon completion of the challenge, but it can still be a great deal.

Have you ever taken advantage of a Marriott Bonvoy status challenge?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees).

In this post, I’d like to take a close look at the details of this perk, especially since it can essentially justify the $95 annual fee in and of itself. Keep in mind the card is currently offering a phenomenal welcome bonus, making it the ideal time to apply (and many people should be eligible for the card).

Chase Sapphire Preferred $100 hotel credit details

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a $100 annual hotel credit, valid for bookings with Chase Travel. This credit used to be for less, but as part of the June 2026 card refresh, the Chase Sapphire Preferred $50 hotel credit was upped to $100, which was pretty great for cardmembers, given that the annual fee stayed the same.

So, how exactly does the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit work? The concept is that those with the card receive a $100 credit toward a hotel stay annually that’s booked through Chase Travel:

• A statement credit will automatically be applied to your account when your card is used for hotel accommodation purchases made through the Chase Travel website
• The statement credit will be issued up to an annual maximum of $100, with no minimum spending required
• There’s no registration required, but rather statement credits will post to your account within two days after your purchase posts to your account
• For the purposes of this credit, “annual” is defined as the year beginning with your account open date through the first statement date after your account anniversary, and the 12 monthly billing cycles after that each year

How to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit

To redeem your Chase Sapphire Preferred $100 hotel credit, just go to the Chase Travel portal. Once you’re logged in, go to the “Travel” section, and then select “Stays.”

Enter where and when you’d like to stay, and then on the results page, you can filter by price, location, hotel name, star rating, etc.

Once you select a hotel, just go through the booking process. Make sure you choose to pay with cash rather than points, or else you won’t receive the statement credit.

There’s nothing further required to unlock the statement credit — just make sure you charge the purchase to your Chase Sapphire Preferred, and you’ll automatically receive a credit, up to the $100 limit.

How to maximize the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit

The upside of using the Chase Sapphire Preferred annual hotel credit is obvious — you can save up to $100 on a hotel stay. That’s more than the card’s annual fee, and this makes this an incredibly compelling mid-range card (compared to the Amex Gold, Citi Premier, Capital One Venture, etc.), as you can basically recoup the entire annual fee this way.

So why wouldn’t you want to book through the Chase Travel portal? There are a couple of main downsides:

• Since the Chase Travel portal is an online travel agency, this is considered a third party booking, so you generally won’t earn points or receive elite benefits if you’re staying at a major chain hotel
• While the Chase Travel portal has competitive pricing, in some cases you’ll get better rates when booking directly with a hotel; some hotels have discounts for loyalty program members, AAA members, seniors, etc.

Personally, my strategy for using the Sapphire Preferred hotel credit would be as follows:

• Try to use it for a stay at an independent hotel, where you’re not forgoing points or elite benefits
• Try to use it for a stay that costs as close to $100 as possible, so the opportunity cost is the lowest compared to the rates you may find elsewhere
• In some cases it could still be worth using the credit at a chain hotel; for example, if you have a one night stay at a Hyatt Place that costs $120, it could be worth forgoing elite perks in order to knock $100 off the price

I absolutely think there’s value in this credit, though I also think it’s important to be strategic about how you use it. Either way, a $100 hotel credit on a $95 annual fee card is pretty awesome.

Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit FAQs

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has lots of amazing benefits, and the $100 annual credit is one of them. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit, you can get a $100 statement credit for a hotel booking through Chase Travel. Hopefully the above clarifies any questions there may have been.

I’d recommend using the hotel credit strategically, and if used correctly, this should recoup virtually the entire annual fee on the card.

What do you make of the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit, and if you’re a cardmember, how do you plan on using it?

In this post, I’d like to take a look at the program offered by United, to reflect the details of the program for 2026. In particular, now that it’s July, it’s the ideal time to complete a status match challenge, since it can potentially earn you status for the longest amount of time (through January 31, 2028).

United MileagePlus status match challenge basics

United MileagePlus has a published status challenge program, which is currently valid for requests received through December 21, 2026.

With this program, you can have your status matched for a period of 120 days, and then your status can be extended based on qualifying activity within that period. One new restriction with this status challenge is that you only receive the status after taking an “activating flight,” which is a flight on United or United Express that’s completed within 90 days of getting your status challenge approved. Alternatively, having taken an eligible flight within the past 30 days would qualify as well.

As it stands, United is offering this program in order to earn Premier Silver, Premier Gold, Premier Platinum, and Premier 1K status. Matches aren’t available to invitation-only Global Services status, as you’d expect.

What status will United match?

United Airlines is offering to match those who have status with a massive number of loyalty programs. In the past, the match was limited to Alaska Atmos Rewards, American AAdvantage, Delta SkyMiles, JetBlue TrueBlue, Southwest Rapid Rewards, British Airways Club, and Qantas Frequent Flyer. However, that has now been expanded to include virtually every major airline that United doesn’t directly partner with.

Elite tiers roughly map over as you’d expect, and below you can see a chart with an example of how some programs match over. As you can see, a match to Premier 1K status is only available for those who have American or Delta status.

How do you maintain United status?

In order to maintain your United status beyond the initial 120 day match period, you’ll have to complete a certain amount of qualifying activity within that timeframe (beyond the “activating flight”). The ability to maintain elite status is based on earning PQF and PQP:

• PQF stands for “Premier Qualifying Flights,” with each flight you take earning you one PQF
• PQP stands for “Premier Qualifying Points,” with one point being earned for each dollar spent, before taxes and fees

For 2026, standard United MileagePlus status requirements are as follows:

• Premier Silver requires 15 PQF and 5,000 PQP, OR just 6,000 PQP
• Premier Gold requires 30 PQF and 10,000 PQP, OR just 12,000 PQP
• Premier Platinum requires 45 PQF and 15,000 PQP, OR just 18,000 PQP
• Premier 1K requires 60 PQF and 22,000 PQP, OR just 28,000 PQP

With the challenge, you need to earn the following number of PQF and PQP in a 120 day period:

• Premier Silver requires five PQF and 1,700 PQP
• Premier Gold requires 10 PQF and 3,400 PQP
• Premier Platinum requires 15 PQF and 5,000 PQP
• Premier 1K requires 20 PQF and 7,500 PQP

As you can see, this status match challenge gives you the opportunity to earn status with roughly one-third of the usual requirements, which makes sense, since you have around one-third of the year to complete this. However, there has to be a segment element to it, as you can’t qualify for the match exclusively with spending.

For the purposes of the challenge, you can earn PQP either through United or United Express flights, or through eligible spending on United co-branded credit cards.

How long is matched United status valid for?

Assuming you satisfy the PQF and PQP requirements, the validity of your status is dependent on when you complete your challenge:

• If you complete the challenge before July 1, then the status is only valid for the remainder of the program year (which would be through January 31 of the following year, in this case 2027)
• If you complete the challenge after July 1, then the status is valid for the remainder of the program year, and the entire following program year (which would be through January 31 two years later, in this case 2028)

So currently if you completed a challenge, it would be valid through January 31, 2028, meaning this is a great time to start a status challenge, since it would be valid for over 18 months. To be clear, this is based on when you complete the challenge, and not based on when you start it.

How do you request a United status challenge?

To take part in a United MileagePlus status match challenge, complete this form. A few things to note:

• It can take 7-14 business days to get a response and for your account to be upgraded (however, many report being approved for this instantly, which is pretty cool)
• This program is not available to those who have participated in a status match challenge with United in the past three years, or those who have received a status exception in the past five years
• Those who hold trial or temporary status with a competitor aren’t eligible to participate
• Those who earn Premier Platinum through the match will be awarded 20 PlusPoints, while those who earn Premier 1K through the match will be awarded 100 PlusPoints
• There’s no cost to participate in a United status match

What are the benefits of United elite status?

What are United Airlines MileagePlus status perks like?

Some of the most popular benefits of Premier Silver status include:

• Complimentary upgrades in most domestic markets
• Complimentary Economy Plus seating at time of check-in
• One complimentary checked bag
• A 40% mileage bonus (7x miles per dollar spent)

Some of the most popular benefits of Premier Gold status include:

• Complimentary upgrades in most domestic markets
• Complimentary Economy Plus seating at time of booking
• Two complimentary checked bags
• A 60% mileage bonus (8x miles per dollar spent)
• Star Alliance Gold status

Some of the most popular benefits of Premier Platinum status include:

• Complimentary upgrades in most domestic markets
• Complimentary Economy Plus seating at time of booking
• Three complimentary checked bags
• An 80% mileage bonus (9x miles per dollar spent)
• Star Alliance Gold status

Upgrades are obviously the most valuable benefit, and those are prioritized by status. The higher your status, the better the odds of those clearing. Don’t expect that you’ll be seeing too many upgrades as a Premier Silver member, for example.

Is a United MileagePlus status challenge worth it?

If you’re genuinely thinking of switching your loyalty to United (whether it’s because you’re fed up with your current airline, you’re moving, your travel patterns are changing, or whatever else), then it’s absolutely worth completing a status challenge. This gives you some status upfront (well, upon completing the “activating flight”), with the potential to maintain it in the long run.

I know some people also like to status match just for the heck of it, or because they have one trip where it could come in handy. In this case I probably wouldn’t recommend taking advantage of that, since you can only request one challenge every three years.

So while United’s status challenge program isn’t the most exciting in the industry, it is your best option if switching business to United.

Bottom line

United Airlines’ MileagePlus program offers a status match promotion, open to frequent flyers with other major US airlines. You can receive status for 120 days upon taking an “activating flight,” and then you need to complete certain flying and spending requirements in order to maintain that status through January 2028.

If you want your status challenge to be valid for as long as possible, this is the ideal time for a challenge, given that it will be valid for so long. It’s also nice how you can take advantage of a challenge once very three years.

Have any OMAAT readers taken part in a United status challenge? If so, what was your experience like?

In this post, I want to take a look at the program offered by Alaska Airlines for 2026, especially with the recent introduction of the Atmos Rewards program (replacing the former Mileage Plan program). In particular, now that it’s July, it’s the ideal time to initiate a status match challenge, since it can potentially earn you status for the longest amount of time (through the end of 2027).

Alaska Atmos Rewards status match challenge basics

Alaska Atmos Rewards has a published status match challenge program. With this program, you can have your status matched from a competing airline for a period of 90 days, and then you can have your status extended by flying a certain amount on Alaska Airlines and/or Hawaiian Airlines within that period.

Alaska Atmos Rewards offers status match challenges for Silver, Gold, and Platinum (there’s no status match challenge for the Titanium tier).

What status will Alaska match?

Alaska Atmos Rewards will match status with any of the following major frequent flyer programs:

• Aeromexico Club Premier
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Delta SkyMiles
• Frontier Miles
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus

As you can see, the major airlines in the markets that Alaska Airlines serves are covered by this status match challenge, and elite status maps over as you’d expect, all the way to Platinum. However, American AAdvantage is a major exclusion, presumably because the airlines partner so closely.

Once you’ve successfully enrolled in an Alaska Atmos Rewards status match challenge, your status will be valid for 90 days, and then you can maintain your status with further qualifying activity.

How do you maintain Alaska status?

You can maintain your status with Alaska Airlines beyond the 90 day period based on how much you fly with the airline. Specifically, you can maintain the status by flying the following number of miles on Alaska Airlines and/or Hawaiian Airlines:

• Maintain Atmos Rewards Silver status by flying 5,000 miles
• Maintain Atmos Rewards Gold status by flying 10,000 miles
• Maintain Atmos Rewards Platinum status by flying 20,000 miles

Only flights on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines qualify toward this requirement, and this is truly based on revenue “butt-in-seat” miles, and not based on status points (in other words, you’d still need to fly this number of miles in paid first class).

Just to be perfectly clear, status points earned through award flights and through credit card spending don’t count toward this total. So while the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (learn more), Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card (learn more), and Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card (learn more), can be great for earning status under normal circumstances, they’re not useful for this status challenge.

For context, these status requirements are roughly one-quarter of the standard annual elite requirements, so that makes sense when you consider that you have about one-quarter of a year to complete the flying requirements.

However, the status challenge is based on actual flown miles, while elite status is ordinarily earned based on status points (you earn bonus status points for premium cabin tickets, can earn them on partner airlines, can earn them for award flights, can earn them for credit card spending, etc.).

How long is matched Alaska status valid for?

If you successfully complete an Alaska status challenge, how long is the status valid for?

• If a status challenge is initiated between January 1 and June 30 of a year, you only maintain your status through the end of that calendar year
• If a status challenge is initiated between July 1 and December 31 of a year, you maintain your status through the end of the following calendar year

In other words, you’ll maximize the value of an Alaska Airlines status challenge if you initiate it in July or later, since your status will potentially be valid for up to 18 months.

How do you request an Alaska status match?

You can request an Alaska status challenge directly on this webpage. You’ll need to share which status you’re trying to match, along with a screenshot of your online account with that program showing your name, status, and how many miles you flew with that airline the prior year.

A few more important things to note about Alaska status challenges:

• Status match challenges are only offered “once in a lifetime,” so you can’t repeat this if you’ve already taken advantage of it (this includes previous requests with the Alaska Mileage Plan program, before it was rebranded)
• Status match challenges are only valid for those who have achieved elite status through actual flight miles or segments in another program, and not those who have achieved status through credit card activity, transferred points, or other promotional offers
• Status match challenges are only available to residents of the United States and Canada
• Allow up to four weeks for verification of your status match challenge request and approval
• While the status challenge unlocks the status benefits, it doesn’t the milestone perks benefits offered by the program

What are the benefits of Alaska elite status?

What are Alaska Atmos Rewards status perks like?

Some of the most popular benefits of Atmos Rewards Silver status include:

• Complimentary upgrades to first class up to 48 hours before departure
• Complimentary upgrades to Premium Class (extra legroom economy) up to 48 hours before departure
• Priority check-in, security, and boarding
• One complimentary checked bag
• A 25% points bonus

Some of the most popular benefits of Atmos Rewards Gold status include:

• Complimentary upgrades to first class up to 72 hours before departure
• Complimentary upgrades to Premium Class up to 72 hours before departure
• Priority check-in, boarding, and security
• Two complimentary checked bags
• A 50% points bonus
• oneworld Sapphire status

Some of the most popular benefits of Atmos Rewards Platinum status include:

• Complimentary upgrades to first class up to 120 hours before departure
• Complimentary upgrades to Premium Class at time of booking
• Priority check-in, boarding, and security
• Three complimentary checked bags
• A 100% points bonus
• oneworld Emerald status

Upgrades are arguably the most valuable benefit, and those are prioritized by status. The higher your status, the better the odds of those clearing. While it’s route dependent, it’s important to be realistic, as you’re much more likely to clear as a Titanium member than a Silver member, for example.

Is an Alaska Atmos Rewards status challenge worth it?

Alaska Atmos Rewards is a great frequent flyer program, as it’s the only major program in the United States to still award miles based on distance flown rather than dollars spent. On top of that, with Alaska Airlines being a member of oneworld, there are more perks from this status when traveling on other airlines, thanks to oneworld Sapphire and oneworld Emerald benefits. Alaska elite members can even receive reciprocal upgrades on American, offering lots of flexibility.

Being loyal to Alaska Airlines could make a lot of sense, though before you request a status challenge, just remember that it’s “once in a lifetime.” So you’ll want to be strategic about when you apply for this, since you can’t just take part in a status match challenge every few years. I’d also recommend generally applying in the second half of the year, so that you can take advantage of status perks for the longest time possible.

I think Atmos Rewards is becoming an increasingly valuable program to consider, even for those who frequently fly American. Given the general value of Atmos Rewards points, plus the program offering status points for award flights, this is kind of a dream for those who redeem frequently.

Bottom line

Alaska Airlines’ Atmos Rewards program offers a lucrative status match challenge program, whereby you can receive status for a period of 90 days, and can then extend that status based on flying a certain number of revenue miles on Alaska and/or Hawaiian within that period. The biggest catch is that a status match challenge is only available to each member once, so you’ll want to save it for when you can really use it.

If you’re interested in being loyal to Atmos Rewards — and there are lots of reasons to consider doing so — this is a great opportunity.

Have any OMAAT readers taken part in an Alaska status challenge? If so, what was your experience like?

For Q3, you can earn 5x points on the first $1,500 spent on gas stations, public transit, EV charging, select live entertainment, and donations to United Way — be sure to register here between June 15 and September 14, 2026. Note that these same bonus categories are also valid for the Chase Freedom Card, which is no longer open to new applicants.

Why I love the Chase Freedom Flex Card

The Chase Freedom Flex Card is easily one of the best no annual fee cards out there, as it offers 5x points in rotating quarterly categories, for up to $1,500 of spending per quarter. Most people use this as a cashback card, meaning the 5x points really translates into 5% cashback in these categories.

The card has other bonus categories as well, as it offers 3x points (or 3% cash back) at drugstores and on dining.

The best part is that in conjunction with cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more), Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more), or Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more), rewards earned on this card can be converted into premium Ultimate Rewards points, and be transferred to the Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners.

Since I value one Ultimate Rewards point at significantly more than one cent, that’s my preferred use of those points.

Chase Freedom Flex Q3 2026 bonus categories

For the third quarter of 2026, the Freedom Flex Card is offering 5x points on the first $1,500 spent on gas stations, public transit, EV charging, select live entertainment, and donations to United Way. As far as key dates go:

• You need to register between June 15 and September 14, 2026
• If you register, you can earn 5x points between July 1 and September 30, 2026

How to register your Chase Freedom Flex for 5x points

Registration is easy — just go to the registration page and enter your last name, billing zip code, and the last four digits on your card, and you’ll be registered.

What’s included for Q3 2026 bonus categories

It’s always worth understanding how the 5x points bonus categories on the Chase Freedom Flex are defined, since there are terms and exclusions, so let’s cover those details.

Gas purchases includes the following:

Merchants in this category sell automotive gasoline that can be paid for either at the pump or inside the station and may or may not sell other goods or services at their location. Merchants that do not specialize in selling automotive gasoline are not included in this category; for example, truck stops, boat marinas, oil and propane distributors, and home heating companies.

EV charging includes the following:

Merchants in this category sell electric vehicle charging services that can be paid at the charging station, via mobile app, account/subscription or an attendant, and the merchants may or may not sell other goods or services at their location. Merchants must use the electric vehicle charging MCC for transaction to be rewarded against. If electric vehicle charging services are offered for free by a merchant or are included in their services, but other services/goods require payment, the transactions will not be rewarded against. In the event, parking facility merchants, such as valet parking, airport parking, and parking garages, charge to the MCC that results in the highest sales volume, the transaction will not be rewarded against. Residential electric vehicle charging is not included in this category. Electric vehicle charging equipment purchases and servicing for any use, including residential or commercial, are not included in this category.

Public transit includes the following:

Merchants in this category include operators of passenger trains, buses, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages. Merchants that provide transportation and related services are not included in this category, for example, airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, vacation clubs, tour operators, bike or scooter rentals and car sharing. Taxis, Limousines, and rideshares such as Lyft or Uber are not included in this category.

Select live entertainment includes the following:

Merchants in this category sell tickets for live in-person entertainment such as major sporting events, zoos and aquariums, concerts, theatrical productions, museums, tourist attractions and exhibits, amusement parks, circuses, carnivals, bands, and entertainers. Ticket agencies selling on behalf of the entertainment venue are included. Some merchants that sell tickets for in-person entertainment are not included in this category; for example, movie theaters, bowling alleys, horse racing tracks, casinos, and dance hall/clubs. Purchasing from a hotel/concierge is not included nor excursions or purchases as part of a travel package.

United Way donations include the following:

To ensure your charitable donation is eligible for the 5% Cash Back reward, be sure to donate directly through United Way’s official channels. Find your local United Way using the link provided here: www.Unitedway.org. Certain local United Ways may not be eligible due to transaction processing procedures.

My take on Q3 2026 5x points categories

Everyone has different spending patterns, so will have different takes on the quarterly bonus categories. For my own purposes, I’d consider these to be moderately useful bonus categories, but not the most useful. In other words, I’ll get some value out of this, but I don’t think I’ll be maxing out points in Q3.

For me, gas stations and public transit are the two bonus categories that will be useful there. However, those are both things I don’t spend that much on, and for that matter, a majority of my public transit spending is abroad, where the card has foreign transaction fees. So I suspect I’ll get some value out of this, but won’t reach the $1,500 cap.

Lastly, while making a donation to United Way sounds nice, I don’t typically choose where to make a donation based on the number of points I can earn.

Bottom line

The Chase Freedom Flex is one of the best no annual fee cards out there, thanks largely to the ability to earn 5x points in rotating quarterly categories. With it now being a new quarter, Chase has launched its Q3 2026 bonus categories, so be sure to register.

Between July 1 and September 30, it’s possible to earn 5x points on gas stations, public transit, EV charging, select live entertainment, and donations to United Way. These are some pretty well rounded bonus categories, and it should be possible to get some value here. However, personally those aren’t categories I spend $1,500+ in per quarter, so they’re not the most useful for me, personally.

What do you make of the Q3 2026 Chase Freedom Flex bonus categories?

There are many innovative things about Bilt, including that there’s a Bilt Rent Day promotion on the first day of each month. With it now being a new month, I’d like to post a reminder of the July 2026 Bilt Rent Day offer, as it includes a Hilton Honors transfer bonus of up to 200%, plus a gift card redemption bonus of up to 100%, and those offers might interest some people.

Details of the July 2026 Bilt Rent Day promotion

There are a couple of aspects to the Bilt Rent Day promotion, including the ability to earn bonus points (which is the same every month), plus at least one additional promotion.

Note that Bilt Rent Day promotions are generally valid from 12:00AM ET until 11:59PM PT, so technically you have around 27 hours to take advantage of them.

Earn double Bilt points on Rent Day purchases

Bilt has a portfolio of credit cards, including the no annual fee Bilt Blue Card (learn more), $95 annual fee Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more), and $495 annual fee Bilt Palladium Card (learn more) (Rates & Fees). Personally, I think the Bilt Palladium Card is by far the most lucrative.

On the first day of each month, you earn double those rewards on these cards, and earn up to 1,000 bonus points each month. It could be worth strategically making some purchases on the first day of each month to maximize this as much as possible.

For example, with double points, the Bilt Palladium Card offers 4x points on everyday spending on the first day of the month, so that’s pretty awesome (up to a cap of $500 worth of spending, since that would earn you 1,000 bonus points).

Get up to a 200% transfer bonus with Hilton Honors

Exclusively on July 1, 2026, Bilt is offering a 75-200% bonus if you transfer points to Hilton Honors. The size of the bonus that you get depends on your Bilt elite status. Specifically:

• Bilt Blue members can receive a 75% bonus
• Bilt Silver members can receive a 100% bonus
• Bilt Gold members can receive a 150% bonus
• Bilt Platinum members can receive a 175% bonus
• Members can use $150 in Bilt Cash to upgrade their transfer bonus by one elite tier, and Platinum members can get a transfer bonus of up to 200%

There’s a major restriction here, which we’re now seeing for a third month in a row — you can only transfer up to 100,000 base Bilt points during the promotion and quality for the bonus.

For context, Bilt points ordinarily transfer to Hilton Honors at a 1:1 ratio. So with this bonus, you can earn anywhere from 1.75 to 3.0 Hilton Honors points per Bilt point. I’ve written in the past about the best ways to redeem Hilton Honors points.

Frankly, I have a hard time getting excited about this promotion. I value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each, so with a 75-200% bonus, you’re getting anywhere from 0.875 cents to 1.5 cents of value per point. This isn’t a promotion I’d take advantage of, but I suppose that for some people, this could prove to be worthwhile. But still, given that Hilton Honors frequently sells points for 0.5 cents each, there are much better opportunities to be had.

Get up to a 100% gift card redemption bonus

Also exclusively on July 1, 2026, Bilt is offering a 25-100% bonus if you redeem your points for gift cards. The size of the bonus that you get depends on your Bilt elite status. Specifically:

• Bilt Blue members can receive a 25% bonus
• Bilt Silver members can receive a 50% bonus
• Bilt Gold members can receive a 75% bonus
• Bilt Platinum members can receive a 100% bonus

This bonus applies to all gift card redemptions available through Bilt. Ordinarily Bilt points can be redeemed for 0.7 cents each toward gift card redemptions, so this is an opportunity for Platinum members to get up to 1.4 cents each toward gift cards with their points. While I don’t want to suggest that’s some slam dunk offer, it’s one of the better options we’ve seen for “cashing out” Bilt points for something with a pretty direct dollar value.

Bottom line

On the first day of each month, Bilt offers a Rent Day promotion. In addition to earning up to double points for purchases, for July 2026, there’s the opportunity to take advantage of a Hilton Honors transfer bonus (of 75-200%, with a cap of moving over 100,000 base points) and a gift card redemption bonus (of 25-100%).

While such a big Hilton Honors transfer bonus sounds exciting, the reality is that Hilton Honors points are worth at most 0.5 cents each, so even with a 200% bonus (which requires redeeming Bilt Cash), you’re getting at most 1.5 cents of value per Bilt point, compared to outright buying Hilton Honors points. Meanwhile Bilt points can ordinarily be redeemed for 0.7 cents each toward gift cards, so if you were eligible for a 100% bonus, that would get you 1.4 cents of value per Bilt point.

I don’t consider this to be a terribly exciting month for these Bilt Rent Day offers, though I’m sure some people will still get value from this.

Are you taking advantage of the Bilt Rent Day promotion for July 2026?

What are hotel welcome amenities?

In a nutshell, a hotel welcome amenity is a gift that’s typically placed in your room on the first day of your stay. Sometimes you’ll find a welcome amenity in your room when you arrive, while in other cases it may be delivered on your first afternoon or evening, after checking in (which is why it could be worth not putting up your “do not disturb” sign). At more limited service properties, you may be given a gift bag upon check-in, or something along those lines.

In some cases a welcome amenity is advertised as a perk of a stay, while more often than not it’s a “surprise and delight” thing, where it’s not something that’s published, but it is common.

You’ll find that luxury hotels consistently provide these to guests. The quality can vary significantly, though. At some hotels (like the Mandarin Oriental Boston) it could be a few pieces of fruit.

At other hotels (like Cheval Blanc Paris), it could be a bottle of champagne, some amazing homemade sweets, and some fruit.

What’s offered as a welcome amenity can vary significantly, though more often than not it’s some sort of a food & beverage offering. It’s most commonly a fruit plate, cheese plate, sweets, and/or wine.

Note that in this post I’m not talking about hotel welcome amenities offered by hotel loyalty programs, where you may receive some bonus points as a “welcome amenity.” I’m talking about tangible in-room gifts provided proactively by hotels.

What impacts whether you get a hotel welcome amenity?

I find that most “true” luxury hotels offer some sort of a welcome amenity to guests. Even beyond that, though, you may find that many upscale hotels also offer welcome amenities under some circumstances.

What impacts if you get a welcome amenity, and for that matter, the quality of the welcome amenity? Potential factors include:

• The type of hotel you’re staying at
• Your elite status, if you’re staying at a hotel with a loyalty program
• Whether you’re a repeat guest at that specific hotel
• If you’re celebrating anything special, like an anniversary or birthday
• If you booked through a travel agent program that offers a welcome amenity as a published perk, including Hyatt Privé, Mandarin Oriental Fan Club, Marriott STARS, etc.

Don’t be offended if you stay at a hotel that doesn’t offer you a welcome amenity. Similarly, you may find that you stay at the same hotel twice, and are offered a welcome amenity once, but not the other time. Whether or not you’re offered one on a particular stay can come down to a variety of factors, including how busy the hotel is that day, what staffing is like, etc.

My take on hotel welcome amenities

I figured I’d share a few personal thoughts on hotel welcome amenities, of course acknowledging that this is hardly the most important aspect of a hotel stay. Then I also want to pose a question to OMAAT readers. The way I see it:

• Personally I’m a bit surprised when I don’t receive some sort of a welcome amenity at a luxury hotel, while otherwise I don’t expect one, and am pleasantly surprised when I receive one
• I admit that hotels are in a tough spot when it comes to welcome amenities, especially with alcohol; it’s nice when a bottle of wine is offered, but if it’s a $6 bottle of sparkling wine, it may leave a bad taste in some peoples’ mouth (figuratively, and maybe even literally), especially if they’re paying a lot for a stay
• While it’s always nice to receive a welcome amenity, as a frequent traveler it can be hard to “maximize” these — I hate wasting, but when I’m given a plate with about 4,000 calories of chocolate…

Now here’s a question for readers — if you’re proactively offered a welcome amenity but you don’t like what’s being offered, do you let the hotel know? Here’s my personal take:

• Unless it’s a published benefit of what I booked (like for booking through a certain program with a travel agent, or at certain luxury hotels that market a welcome amenity as a feature), I would feel weird requesting a different gift; I think the exception would be if I didn’t drink alcohol, and the amenity consisted of alcohol, or if allergies came into play
• At the same time, if you are offered a nice bottle of wine, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to request a swap to a different similarly priced bottle (for example, if you like white wine, but are offered red wine)

I know some people will even email hotels and request a specific kind of welcome amenity even if a welcome amenity isn’t an official perk. Personally I would feel sheepish and never do that, but to each their own…

Bottom line

It’s always a treat to get a welcome amenity at a hotel. The quality can vary significantly, and it could be anything from a couple of bottles of water to a nice bottle of champagne and a cheese plate. It’s most common to find welcome amenities at luxury hotels, at hotel groups you have status with, or at hotels that you frequent.

What’s your take on hotel welcome amenities? When do you expect them, and what do you expect?

I figured that sounds kind of fun, though I do have a bit of PTSD about labeling things as “worst,” following my Cairo Airport saga. Hopefully this post doesn’t lead to any airline or country bans, or to any airlines releasing video footage of me enjoying a flight! 😉

My least favorite business class seats out there

Before I start sharing what I consider to be the worst business class seats, let me clarify a few points:

• This list is intended to be relative rather than absolute, since obviously virtually any fully flat seat would be better than a non-fully flat seat; rather, I’m largely considering the competitive landscape, and/or the products that are most in need of a refresh
• I’m only including products where a large percentage of the fleet has a seat, so I’m not going to include products where an airline has imminent plans to retire a configuration, or where it’s just one or two planes with a certain configuration
• This list isn’t in any way ranked, but rather is just a collection of products that come to mind; please view this as a lighthearted post, as I’m sure I’m not remembering some products
• I’m focusing specifically on hard product here, and not on soft product, so this doesn’t factor in the overall experience offered by an airline
• For the most part I’ll be listing specific airline products, though not across the board, as you’ll see below

With that out of the way, let’s get into it… and then I’m curious to hear what OMAAT readers think.

Intra-Europe business class products

This isn’t specific to an airline, but I think we can all agree that Europe probably has the most disappointing business class standard of anywhere in the world. Business class is simply economy with a blocked middle seat, so it’s a far cry from some comfortable luxury.

People are often confused by how European airline can get away with this. Well, the reality is that since no major European carrier has tried to do better, there’s not much competitive pressure to improve. This configuration also gives airlines a lot of flexibility, since they can change the size of premium cabins with each flight.

Royal Jordanian Embraer E2 staggered business class

I appreciate when airlines get innovative, though here’s the kind of innovation I don’t love. Royal Jordanian has refreshed its fleet of Embraer aircraft, and has gone from the previous generation planes to the E2 jets. In the process, the airline went from a 1-2 configuration in business class, to a 2-2 configuration.

However, it didn’t go with a traditional 2-2 layout. Instead, Royal Jordanian’s Embraer business class has staggered seats, where the window seats are essentially halfway between the aisle seats. While I appreciate the concept of giving people a little more space, this configuration makes absolutely no sense to me. The gap for entering window seats is tiny, and if you’re seated in a window seat, you feel like the person in the aisle seat is looking over your shoulder. No thank you!

Air New Zealand & Virgin Atlantic herringbone business class

When Virgin Atlantic introduced herringbone seats in 2003, it was pretty cutting edge, since very few airlines had flat beds in business class. However, well over 20 years later, this product really isn’t competitive anymore. You face the aisle (often looking at other passengers), there’s virtually no storage, and you have to get up to turn your seat into a (very hard) bed.

You’ll find this seat on Virgin Atlantic 787-9s and A330-300s, though you’ll find a much better business class product on A330-900neos and A350-1000s. Fortunately Virgin Atlantic plans to retrofit its Dreamliner cabins, though the project is only starting in 2028 (meanwhile the A330s will be retired eventually). Air New Zealand also has this product, though the airline is starting to reconfigure its aircraft.

Ethiopian Airlines 787 angled business class

Ethiopian Airlines is a powerhouse in Africa, offering an unrivaled route network. The airline has an inconsistent business class experience across its fleet. Over half of the carrier’s 787-8s have angled seats in business class. While Ethiopian was supposed to start reconfiguring these planes, that project has been delayed, and hasn’t started yet.

Even worse, these 787-8s are used for some of the carrier’s longest routes, including some 18-hour journeys to the United States (with a refueling stop in Rome).

Royal Air Maroc top/bottom business class

Top or bottom? No, this isn’t Grindr, it’s Royal Air Maroc’s 787-8 business class. I just find this configuration to be really odd, especially if you’re in the window seat and sleeping, and you’re basically on a pedestal for the person next to you. These seats also have bad padding, and it feels like sleeping on an ironing board.

Lufthansa non-Allegris business class

Admittedly Lufthansa is starting to roll out its new Allegris business class, though the carrier’s old business class will be flying around for several more years, and is what you’ll currently find on a vast majority of Lufthansa’s long haul fleet.

Lufthansa’s old business class is great if you’re traveling with family and a small child, since you can be so close to them, and enjoy the flight together. But for everyone else, this configuration offers very little privacy, and you’ll be playing footsie with your neighbor. What a contrast to compare Air France’s long haul business class fleet to that of Lufthansa in terms of direct aisle access and spaciousness.

Emirates angled 2-3-2 business class

Emirates is known for being one of the best airlines in the world, and has an amazing halo effect from its A380s, including the first class shower suites, the business class bar, etc. However, the carrier’s most common aircraft in service is the 777, and a large percentage of 777-300ERs still have angled business class seats in a 2-3-2 configuration.

In fairness, the airline is now aggressively retrofitting these aircraft, with a new product that’s much better, but still not cutting edge. The fact that one of the world’s most well regarded airlines has this as its current business class is kind of impressive in terms of how well marketing can work.

Air India 777 business class

If you think Emirates’ 777 business class is bad, Air India’s is even worse. The airline has angled seats in a 2-3-2 configuration, and they’re basically falling apart (passengers sometimes even have to sign waivers acknowledging this!), and also have way worse entertainment than Emirates. When you consider the outrageously long routes that these planes fly, it’s super disappointing.

Now, Air India does plan on reconfiguring these jets, though the project is substantially delayed. Also keep in mind that not all 777s have these seats, as Air India is leasing some planes that previously flew for other airlines, with different interiors.

Delta 767-300ER business class

Delta has an absolutely massive variance when it comes to the quality of its long haul business class seats. Delta’s 767-300ERs have what I’d consider to be the weakest wide body, international business class product, offered by any US airline.

While the seats have direct aisle access, that’s where the good news ends. The seats are super tight, and the entertainment screens are tiny and low resolution. Even worse, Delta has plans to fly these planes until at least 2030 (and until at least 2028 on international routes), with no plans to refresh the cabins. And Delta wonders why its net promoter score across the Atlantic has taken such a hit in recent years. What a massive contrast these seats are to United’s gorgeous 767 interiors.

British Airways Club World business class

To British Airways’ credit, the airline has been aggressively retrofitting its long haul aircraft to introduce the new Club Suites business class, which is an improvement over the old product. However, a majority of 787s, Gatwick-based 777s, and A380s, feature the outdated Club World business class. This has up to eight seats per row, doesn’t offer direct aisle access, and the general quality of these seats leaves a lot to be desired.

British Airways does plan to reconfigure it A380s, though that project won’t start until some point in 2026. Meanwhile Gatwick-based planes are expected to maintain these interiors.

Bottom line

Business class sure has come a long way over the years, with some absolutely amazing experiences. However, some airlines are still stuck in the past. In some cases it’s because airlines don’t think they have to invest, and in other cases it’s due to delivery delays with new aircraft, plus supply chain challenges.

The above are some of the products that don’t impress me, across a variety of airlines and regions.

What do you consider to be the worst business class seats out there, by whatever metric you’d like to use?

Long story short, if you pay rent or have a mortgage, there’s huge value to the Bilt ecosystem. And even if you don’t, there could still be value here. And so that I don’t bury the lede, I think the Bilt Palladium Card (Rates & Fees) is by far the most worthwhile option, despite its high annual fee. While the card won’t be for everyone, I think it’s much easier to get outsized value from than the other options.

In this post, I’d like to review the three cards, and compare them — since they’re substitutes and not complements, I figure it makes sense to just have one consolidated review of them, so that everyone can decide for themselves which makes the most sense.

Is it worth having a Bilt credit card in general, and if so, which of the three cards makes the most sense? Let me say upfront that the whole Bilt concept is rather confusing, so bear with me…

Link: Apply for a Bilt credit card, with three options to choose from

Bilt Palladium Card

Apply Now Rates & Fees | See Rates & Fees

Why we like this card

The Bilt Palladium Card is the crown jewel of the Bilt lineup, offering 2x points on everyday purchases, a 50,000-point welcome bonus, a Priority Pass membership, $200 in annual Bilt Cash, and up to $400 in hotel credits each year. The combination of a flat 2x earning rate with using Bilt Cash for the spending accelerator feature can push daily earning rates to a consistent 3x for a majority of purchases.

While the annual fee is steep, the math very much checks out for the right type of card holder. It’s best for high spenders and those with significant housing payments who can extract maximum value from the premium perks and the broader Bilt ecosystem.

Bilt Palladium Card Review →

50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status offer

Bilt Obsidian Card

Apply Now (Rates & Fees) | See Rates & Fees

Why we like this card

The Obsidian Card steps things up with 3x points on either dining or groceries, 2x points on travel, and a $100 annual hotel credit through the Bilt travel portal. Its $200 Bilt Cash welcome bonus is a nice touch, and authorized users can be added for $50 each. It’s best for moderate spenders who concentrate their spending heavily in dining or groceries and travel.

Bilt Obsidian Card Review →

Earn $200 Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved.

Bilt Blue Card

Apply Now (Rates & Fees) | See Rates & Fees

Why we like this card

The Bilt Blue Card is a no-frills entry point into the Bilt ecosystem, offering 1x points on everyday purchases and the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash, with a modest $100 Bilt Cash welcome bonus. Authorized users can be added at no cost, making it accessible for households. With competing cards offering 2x points on general spending, though, it’s hard to get too excited about this option. It’s best suited for those who want to try out Bilt without any heavy commitment to the ecosystem. Bilt Blue Card Review →

$100 of Bilt Cash offer

Bilt credit card annual fee comparison

To start with the very basics, Bilt has three credit cards, at three very different price points:

• The Bilt Blue Card has no annual fee, and authorized users can be added for free
• The Bilt Obsidian Card has a $95 annual fee, and authorized users can be added for $50 each
• The Bilt Palladium Card has a $495 annual fee, and authorized users can be added for $95 each (but receive some useful perks)

Up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year (Rates & Fees). While the tendency is of course to go for a card with as low of an annual fee as possible, there’s huge value to picking one of the more premium cards.

Bilt credit card welcome bonus comparison

The three Bilt credit cards have very different welcome bonuses, which will no doubt push people to apply for the most premium version of the card:

• The Bilt Blue Card has a welcome bonus of $100 in Bilt Cash upon approval
• The Bilt Obsidian Card has a welcome bonus of $200 in Bilt Cash upon approval
• The Bilt Palladium Card has a welcome bonus of 50,000 bonus points and Bilt Gold status after spending $4,000 within three first three months (on non-housing purchases), plus $300 in Bilt Cash upon approval

I’ll talk more about Bilt Cash in a bit, but obviously the incentive here is very much to apply for the most premium version of the card, given the value of the bonus. Bilt points are extremely valuable, and only the most premium version of the card offers points as part of the bonus.

Let me emphasize that you’re only eligible for one co-branded Bilt credit card, so you couldn’t pick up multiple of them (not that you’d necessarily want to do so anyway).

Bilt credit card rewards structure comparison

The three Bilt credit cards have totally different rewards structures. To start, let me mention the three things the card have in common when it comes to spending:

• All three cards have no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees)
• All three cards offer the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases, in addition to the points earned
• All three cards offer unlimited 1x points on rent and mortgage payments with no limits, when funded with Bilt Cash

With that in mind, here’s how the rewards structures otherwise compare:

• The Bilt Blue Card offers 1x points on everyday purchases
• The Bilt Obsidian Card offers 3x points on your choice of dining or groceries (dining is uncapped, groceries is capped at $25K of spending per year), 2x points on travel, and 1x points on all other purchases
• The Bilt Palladium Card offers 2x points on everyday purchases

While it’s nice that the Bilt Blue Card has no annual fee, it’s hard to get excited about that rewards structure. Meanwhile the Bilt Obsidian Card has some useful bonus categories, but otherwise, it’s nothing that’s going to stand out that much, compared to what the competition offers.

I think the Bilt Palladium Card is really where the value is at. You earn 2x points on all eligible purchases, and then on top of that, you earn 4% back in the form of Bilt Cash. That’s pretty exceptional for everyday spending.

One thing worth mentioning is that Bilt has some random exclusions of purchases that don’t earn points. For example, tax payments made by credit card don’t earn points, even though they do on a vast majority of other cards. That’s super frustrating, since paying taxes by credit card can make a lot of sense.

Bilt credit card benefits comparison

Beyond the rewards structure, what kind of benefits do Bilt credit cards offer? Not surprisingly, the no annual fee Bilt Blue Card doesn’t offer much in the way of benefits, aside from standard World Elite Mastercard perks.

Meanwhile the $95 annual fee Bilt Obsidian Card offers a $100 Bilt travel portal hotel credit every calendar year, in the form of a $50 semi-annual credit, valid for a two-night minimum stay.

Lastly, the $495 annual fee Bilt Palladium Card offers the most perks:

• A Priority Pass membership, with up to two guests allowed (authorized users can be added for $95 each, and also receive a membership)
• $200 in Bilt Cash annually, deposited at the beginning of each year, including with account opening (this is separate from the welcome bonus offer)
• A $400 Bilt travel portal hotel credit every calendar year, in the form of a $200 semi-annual credit, valid for a two-night minimum stay

While there’s potentially value with the hotel portal credits, I think many of us in the miles & points game already get so many of these kinds of hotel credits, and the minimum stay plus fairly small amounts mean most of us probably aren’t going to value these anywhere close to the credit amounts.

How can Bilt points be redeemed, and are they valuable?

Above there’s a lot of reference to Bilt points, but how valuable are they, and how can they be redeemed? Bilt has what I’d consider to be a “proper” transferable points currency, with over two dozen airline and hotel partners, most of which allow transfers at a 1:1 ratio.

Bilt partners with some valuable programs, ranging from Air Canada Aeroplan, to Air France-KLM Flying Blue, to Alaska Atmos Rewards, to Emirates Skywards, to World of Hyatt. If you’re used to earning points with Amex, Capital One, Chase, or Citi, then earning Bilt points should act as a very nice complement to that.

On the first day of each month, Bilt also has a Rent Day promotion, offering some sort of a special deal. More often than not, we see big transfer bonuses, with the size of the bonus being based on your Bilt elite status (and you can earn higher tier elite status with credit card spending). There’s even the ability to use Bilt Cash to take advantage of a bigger transfer bonus. So if you value travel rewards, you really can’t go wrong with Bilt.

What is Bilt Cash? How is that used for housing rewards?

Okay, I promise that Bilt can be rewarding, but I can’t promise it’ll be straightforward. 😉 Separate from points, there’s also the concept of Bilt Cash, which I’ve written a detailed guide to. Bilt Cash can be earned in a few ways:

• All Bilt credit cards offer 4% back on spending in the form of Bilt Cash, in addition to points rewards
• Bilt credit cards offer some Bilt Cash as part of the welcome bonus, and the Bilt Palladium Card offers $200 in Bilt Cash annually as a benefit
• All Bilt members earn $50 in Bilt Cash for every 25,000 Bilt points earned, whether they’re earned through credit cards or through other means

What about redeeming Bilt Cash? On the most basic level, Bilt Cash is the currency that allows members to earn rewards for their housing payments (rent or mortgage) at no cost. Specifically, every $30 in Bilt Cash can unlock up to 1,000 points on rent or mortgages (with a maximum of one point per dollar of housing spending). As an example:

• If you spent $15,000 on a Bilt credit card, you’d earn $600 in Bilt Cash (since you earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on all spending on all cards)
• $600 in Bilt Cash would allow you to earn rewards for $20,000 worth of rent or mortgage payments, while earning 1x points

Basically, if you want to be able to pay your rent or mortgage while earning rewards at the rate of 1x points, you’ll need to spend an average of 75% as much as your housing payment to rack up sufficient Bilt Cash (this doesn’t include things like Bilt Cash as part of welcome bonuses, or the $50 in Bilt Cash you earn for every 25,000 points earned, so the math is actually more favorable than that).

However, there are all kinds of other ways that Bilt Cash can be redeemed, either in lieu of rewards on housing payments, or in addition to that. For example, for those with the Bilt credit card, Bilt Cash can be redeemed for a points accelerator on everyday spending, which I’d consider to be pretty lucrative.

Specifically, Obsidian and Palladium cardmembers can enable an extra 1x points on everyday spending for the next $5,000 spent following activation. This is available at the cost of $200 in Bilt Cash per activation, and up to five activations are allowed each calendar year.

Put another way, this can make the Bilt Palladium Card a 3x points card for everyday spending, for up to $25,000 in spending per year, assuming you can achieve that amount of spending. What’s so nice about this is that every $5,000 in spending earns you $200 Bilt Cash, so you can unlock this several times.

Bilt is complicated, so here’s the strategy to consider

Obviously every consumer is different, though personally I think the Bilt Palladium Card is the way to go, and it’s where you can really unlock value in the Bilt ecosystem. There’s no “one size fits all” answer as to what credit card strategy is best, but let me explain my lack of enthusiasm for the two less premium cards. Long story short, it comes down to the competitive landscape.

The Bilt Blue Card is perfectly fine for a no annual fee card, but I have a hard time getting too excited about a card earning 1x points per dollar spent, when there are cards out there earning 2x points per dollar spent. Admittedly there’s also Bilt Cash, but still, I don’t think you’re going to come out that far ahead there.

Meanwhile I find the Bilt Obsidian Card to be a little too niche, since you can only earn 3x points in one spending category and 2x points in another spending category, so most people aren’t going to find that to be overwhelmingly rewarding, in my opinion. I suppose if you spend a lot in those bonus categories you can make it work, along with the value of Bilt Cash, but I wouldn’t say that’s widely appealing.

While I don’t love the annual fee on the Bilt Palladium Card, the actual rewards structure is pretty unrivaled. Let’s look at the value on an ongoing basis. Just as an example, let’s say you spend $100,000 per year on the card, and have $50,000 in housing payments per year. I realize those numbers are high for the average consumer, but I’m just trying to keep the math easy, and everyone can adjust the numbers for themselves.

In that situation, you’d earn 200,000 Bilt points from spending (at the rate of 2x points), plus you’d earn $4,600 in Bilt Cash ($4,000 from spending, $400 from the $25 in Bilt Cash for every 25,000 points earned, and $200 from the annual bonus on the card). When it comes time to redeem that Bilt Cash:

• $1,500 in Bilt Cash could be redeemed so that you earn 50,000 points on your $50,000 in housing spending
• $1,000 in Bilt Cash could be redeemed so that you earn 25,000 additional points from the spending multiplier

So at that point you’ll have earned 275,000 points for your $100,000 in spending, and you still have $2,100 in Bilt Cash to spend, on anything ranging from Walgreens and Lyft credits (in small increments), to Blacklane and BLADE credits (though both of those redemption options are still “coming soon,” frustratingly), and more.

Admittedly you have to be able to justify the $495 annual fee, which is steep, but I think the math on that very much checks out otherwise. Assuming you wouldn’t get value from the other perks on the card (like Priority Pass or the hotel credits), I’d say you’d conservatively want to earn an incremental 33,000 points above and beyond what you’d earn on other cards, to justify the annual fee. That’s just based on a simple valuation of 1.5 cents per Bilt point.

Another perk worth considering is that $50,000 worth of Bilt credit card spending per year unlocks Platinum status, which offers all kinds of additional perks. This includes everything from access to better Rent Day promotions, to Air France-KLM Flying Blue Gold status, to free flights with BLADE, and more.

Bottom line

Bilt has three Mastercard credit cards issued by Cardless — the no annual fee Bilt Blue Card, $95 annual fee Bilt Obsidian Card, and $495 Bilt Palladium Card. The cards are obviously at very different price points, and also each have a unique set of benefits.

What all four cards have in common is that they offer 4% back in the form of Bilt Cash, and that’s the currency by which you can earn rewards for your housing payments. To simplify the math as much as possible, you’ll need to spend an average of 75% as much as your housing payment in order to earn 1x points per dollar spent on housing, whether it’s a rent or mortgage payment.

I think the Bilt card ecosystem is best for those who are big spenders, and/or those who have big housing payments. In that situation, the Bilt Palladium Card is the way to go, as you earn 2x points and 4% Bilt Cash on all spending. That Bilt Cash can be used to cover your housing payments, and then you’ll still have a lot of Bilt Cash left to spend, on everything from spending accelerators to other credits.

While I think the Bilt system is ridiculously complicated, for the right type of consumer, I think there’s good value to be had. Unfortunately I have a harder time making the math work for smaller spenders, in terms of justifying the annual fee, or coming out ahead on the less premium cards.

What’s your take on Bilt’s credit cards, and which do you think is most lucrative?

Lufthansa first class awards have been blocked for weeks

Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to redeem partner airline miles for travel in Lufthansa first class. Admittedly this has been a slow and steady trend over the past 15+ years, going back to when Lufthansa had 16 first class seats on the upper deck of its Boeing 747-400s (time flies!).

Nonetheless, until recently, Lufthansa first class remained one of the best mileage values for those looking to travel in first class across the Atlantic, given the lack of options, in those situations where the airline released availability.

While Lufthansa’s own Miles & More members can book first class awards as soon as the schedule opens (subject to capacity controls), Lufthansa has long had significant restrictions for those booking first class through partner frequent flyer programs.

When it comes to redeeming partner miles for Lufthansa first class, historically it has been possible to redeem miles for first class up to 15 days before departure. In early 2024, that window was shortened significantly, and in the time since, Lufthansa seemed to open first class awards to partner programs within three days of departure, at most. As you can tell, that provides a limited period during which you can redeem for Lufthansa first class.

For what it’s worth, seats.aero is an awesome tool for searching award availability, and it has a Lufthansa first class award tracker. Tools like this are great, in terms of making it easy to find award space. At the same time, the ease with which space can be searched is probably also one of the reasons we’ve increasingly seen airlines add restrictions on many types of award tickets.

Anyway, this brings us to what’s going on at the moment — since June 1, 2026, Lufthansa has just completely stopped releasing first class award space to partners programs. It doesn’t matter which route you’re flying, or if you’re terminating in Germany or connecting. It’s the same story across the board.

In fairness, we’ve seen some quirks with Lufthansa award availability in the past, so it’s possible that this is one of those. However, this has lasted longer than any other outage, and I find it interesting that this essentially coincided with the change in calendar months, which strikes me as being deliberate.

What could explain this latest trend? As I see it, there are a few most likely explanations:

• Lufthansa has just changed its policy, and will no longer release first class award seats to partner programs; this would of course be the most drastic change
• Lufthansa is temporarily restricting award availability; this could be because we’re in the peak summer season, or it could be because Lufthansa is anticipating another employee strike soon, and doesn’t want to have even more premium passengers to rebook
• It could just be some sort of a glitch that will resolve itself very soon

I’ve reached out to contacts to get a statement on this, but they’ve had nothing to share. So while I still can’t say with certainty that this is a permanent change, it seems highly likely to me that it is.

What does the future hold for Lufthansa first class awards?

When it comes to redeeming miles for Lufthansa first class, I have to imagine that our best days are behind us:

• Lufthansa is increasingly rolling out its new Allegris cabins, including the new first class, which has only three(ish) seats, and partner first class awards are completely blocked on those flights; for that matter, the airline also recently rolled out its new first class soft product, so one wonders if this might be part of a bigger “reset” in first class
• Lufthansa Miles & More has moved to dynamic award pricing, and over time, I suspect the premium cabin pricing will become more aggressive

The fact that the new soft product was rolled out across the fleet in May, and then the change was implemented as of June, sure makes this all feel quite deliberate.

The general industry trend we’ve seen is clear, as I wrote about some time back. We’re seeing airlines increasingly restrict award space to partner programs, to focus on monetizing their own programs.

So I wouldn’t be surprised if we permanently see Lufthansa completely eliminate partner first class awards. I think the more likely direction this goes is that we increasingly see Miles & More added as a partner for international transferable points currencies, so that Lufthansa has more control over its award space.

Obviously this hobby is quite different than it used to be, but it’s not all bad news — there are also a lot of amazing opportunities that didn’t exist years ago.

Bottom line

Since June 1, 2026, Lufthansa hasn’t made any first class award seats available to partner frequent flyer programs. There’s no denying that it has become much more difficult to redeem for Lufthansa first class over the years, but blocking space completely is obviously the most extreme measure.

While we’ve seen some temporary blocks in the past, we’ve never seen them last this long. On top of that, the timing here feels quite deliberate, between the most widespread rollout of the new Allegris first class product, plus the new soft product now being offered across the fleet.

What do you make of this Lufthansa first class award availability situation?

In this post, I’d like to discuss the general trend of airlines adding doors to business class seats. Personally it’s a feature I greatly appreciate, though I’d also like to acknowledge and address some of the arguments I see against this feature — I get some of the points, but I find other arguments against them to be hard to make sense of.

The odd arguments against business class doors

I can totally appreciate if someone were to say “I don’t really care about doors at business class seats, and I don’t use them when they’re offered, so I’d rather airlines invest in their premium products in other ways.”

However, all too often when I write about business class seats with doors (whether it’s discussion of a new product being introduced, a flight review, etc.), I get a comment along these lines (this is a real comment, and of course there are a countless number of similar examples):

I don’t understand this obsession with doors. I mean, if you need privacy on a plane that badly, what on earth are you doing in your seat?? And if you need privacy so much, then why do you fly commercial? Clearly, your only solution is to rent a private jet. Then you can have all the privacy you want.

Somehow the narrative gets flipped to the point that it’s suggested that people are “obsessed” with doors, and that if they have such a need for privacy they should fly private jets. That’s quite an escalation, no?

Apparently one can’t just be appreciative of an incremental product improvement that makes the passenger experience a bit better. To be clear, I’m not trying to call out one specific comment here. Rather I just find the anti-door crowd frequently tries to create a narrative around peoples’ obsession with doors, when I don’t think that exists.

In the above quote you could just as easily replace doors with direct aisle access, flat beds, etc.

Why I like doors at business class seats

Personally I appreciate business class seats with doors. Am I obsessed with doors? No, I’d like to think I’m not. Do I choose an airline exclusively because a business class seat has a door? No.

Then again, typically if an airline does have doors on business class seats, it also means that it’s a modern product otherwise. Last I checked, all business class seats with doors have direct aisle access and are fully flat.

Why do I generally appreciate business class seats with doors? If you ask me, the two biggest luxuries in business class are personal space and privacy. There are limits to how much “real estate” will be allocated to each seat, and therefore airlines are focused on more efficient configurations that create the feeling of having more space.

And that leaves us with privacy. Privacy doesn’t mean that you can’t have anyone see you because you’re trying to join the mile high club or because you’re a drug runner. Rather to me, privacy means the ability to minimize the extent to which you’re disturbed by others. This can come in a variety of forms:

• We all have different sleeping patterns and quirks, and personally I rest much better if I’m in a cozy space where I feel like I have a cocoon, and am not having to look at a stranger (or feel like a stranger may be looking at me)
• You’re less impacted by other people turning on their lights or using a bright entertainment screen when you have a door
• We’ve all had some pretty annoying seatmates (whether they talk to you nonstop, look at your computer screen, etc.), and that’s less of a problem if you have a seat with a door
• If you’ve ever been in a staggered configuration, surely you’ll appreciate that if you’re in the seats closest to the aisle you may otherwise frequently get bumped by other passengers, and that’s not an issue when there’s a door
• This might sound minor, but I’ve sometimes ended up on flights where I’m not someone who is obviously very sick, sneezing and blowing their nose constantly, etc., a suite with a door offers a bit of separation from that
• The beauty of a seat with a door is that you can just keep the door open; there is a little more built in privacy just due to the shield to the side of the seat, but that shouldn’t make the seat claustrophobic

While some people may not like these doors, the reality is that a vast majority of passengers do. How do we know? Well, if you’ve taken a flight that has a business class cabin with doors, you’ve probably noticed that a majority of passengers use these doors. Presumably they wouldn’t use them if they didn’t like them. At least that’s my experience, though maybe others have different observations.

I sort of view business class seats with doors the same as I view high speed Wi-Fi on aircraft. Both are nice to have, and if you don’t value them, you don’t have to use them!

Bottom line

I totally understand that not everyone cares about doors on business class seats. I get it. Heck, even when I take my dad in international first class, he doesn’t like to recline his seat, but rather likes to sleep upright, as that’s just his preference (I’ll admit it gets on my nerves a bit, because I’m thinking “if you want to sit fully upright, I could’ve just booked you economy!”). 😉

I do have a preference for seats with doors over seats without doors. That simply comes down to me finding it cozy to be able to close a door and relax. It seems that most people feel similarly, based on passengers overwhelmingly using their privacy doors when they’re available.

Where do you stand on business class seats with doors — are you “obsessed,” do you like them, are you indifferent, or do you dislike them?

This is something we’ve seen time and time again over the years, and it sure seems to me like it should be easy enough for the hotel groups to spot and control.

How hotels fraudulently increase award reimbursement rates

I’ve written in the past about the economics of hotel points redemptions, and specifically, how hotels are paid when members redeem points. While the exact reimbursement policies differ by program, here’s the general concept:

• When a hotel isn’t full, the loyalty program compensates the hotel at a pre-determined rate that’s above the marginal cost of accommodating a guest, but hardly lucrative for the hotel
• When a hotel is full (think 95%+ occupancy, but the exact threshold varies), the loyalty program compensates the hotel at close to the average daily rate, in recognition of the fact that the room may have otherwise been sold to a guest paying with cash

In other words, if hotels have a lot of guests redeeming points, they also have a big incentive to have very high occupancy. I’m making up numbers here, but let’s use a 100-room hotel as an example, and let’s say the threshold to get higher reimbursement is 95% occupancy:

• If 20 rooms are booked with points and the hotel is at 94% occupancy, the hotel may only be reimbursed $50 per award room (so $1,000 total)
• If 20 rooms are booked with points and the hotel is at 95% occupancy, the hotel may be reimbursed $200 per award room (so $4,000 total)

As you can see, this can make a big difference in terms of economics. That brings us to an interesting Reddit post flagged by View from the Wing, where someone who claims to be a Hilton employee writes the following:

My hotel has been putting in fake reservations for the last few years during the summer months (June-August) if we are close to 95 percent occupancy but not quite there. They will ask night audit to check them in then 0 out the rate after the night audit is ran and checked them out. The purpose of these “threshold” reservations is to supposedly get Hilton to reimburse a higher amount for rooms staying on Hilton Honors points. They’ve been doing it for years is my understanding. Isn’t this fraud? Could it and should it be reported?

Occupancy “gaming” is a common hotel practice

Hotels belonging to major loyalty programs are focused on that 95% occupancy threshold (or whatever the magic number is for their hotel group), especially if they get a lot of award redemptions. There are lots of ways to legitimately increase occupancy at the last minute.

For example, maybe if a hotel is running occupancy just under 95%, they might discount rooms on the day of arrival significantly, or try to sell them through an online travel agency at a huge discount, just to get to the higher reimbursement level. That’s legitimate, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

However, what’s described above is of course fraud, and isn’t okay. It impacts the economics of the loyalty program, and also impacts members, since hotels with higher reimbursement rates will also cost a lot more when redeeming points (since redemption rates reflect costs to the program more than anything else).

Perhaps the most public version of this case goes back to 2013, when Starwood sued Le Parker Meridien Palm Springs for fraudulent award reimbursement, as the hotel was accused of receiving over $1 million in fraudulent reimbursements, by falsifying records.

Both Le Parker Meridien New York and Palm Springs ended up leaving Starwood in 2017, in part due to the bad blood over this — Parker Palm Springs remains fully independent, while the New York property turned into the Thompson.

Quite honestly, I’m surprised that the major hotel groups don’t have more sophisticated systems to investigate this. After all, it seems easy enough to figure out which hotels just barely pass the 95% occupancy threshold regularly, and then see a lot of last minute bookings with folios that show a zero dollar rate.

It’s worth mentioning that reimbursement for award stays is a point of contention between hotel owners and the larger hotel groups nowadays, given the other ways that loyalty programs are centrally being monetized. The frustration is that points are no longer just issued as a reward for hotel stays, but increasingly, they’re being sold to banks and more. The hotel loyalty programs get the upside of that, while the individual hotels are stuck accommodating guests with very low reimbursement rates a majority of the time.

Bottom line

Reimbursement for hotel award stays is an interesting topic, since the amount that hotels are reimbursed differs widely based on occupancy levels. Hotels that have a large percentage of rooms booked with points have a huge incentive to get occupancy numbers higher, so they reach the maximum reimbursement thresholds.

There are legitimate ways hotels can increase occupancy at the last minute, like lowering rates or selling some rooms through online travel agencies at a steep discount. But then there are the illegitimate ways that’s sometimes done, like checking in fake guests. One Hilton employee is claiming that this is going on at their property, and they’re wondering if they should report that to Hilton corporate.

What do you make of this hotel award reimbursement occupancy threshold, and the games some hotels play?

The thing is, it seems like these kinds of initiatives lead to disappointment almost as often as they delight, so to me it raises an interesting question — what should hotels really do for guests, and what is it reasonable to expect?

Managing expectations for hotel guest special occasions

I recently had a conversation with the general manager of a luxury hotel (which shall remain nameless), and the topic of special occasions while staying at hotels came up. He revealed to me in a non-snarky way that at his property, the average length of stay is two nights, and roughly one-third of guests let the hotel know of a special occasion.

Reading between the lines, I picked up a couple of points:

• It’s hard for hotels to manage expectations, since people expect that they’re going to get some sort of special treatment when they’re celebrating something, but when so many people are “special,” it becomes harder to deliver
• There has definitely been an increasing trend of people claiming they’re celebrating an anniversary, without actually substantiating it; I mean, there are an endless number of social media posts out there telling people that a “hack” to get something for free at a hotel is to just claim it’s a special occasion (some hotels have even started asking guests to prove special occasions)

So all of this raises the question of what hotels are really expected to deliver when a guest is celebrating a special occasion. Admittedly I think the answer should vary based on the size of the hotel, the cost of the hotel, and how special of an occasion it is. However, that still leaves a lot of questions:

• Is recognizing a special occasion about just having staff wish the guest a happy [occasion] at check-in or on a card, or something else?
• Or is the expectation that a special occasion gets you something special of monetary value, whether it’s a cake, a bottle of champagne, or something along those lines?
• Is it unreasonable for a hotel to just congratulate you on your occasion, and then send you a list of paid add-ons you can add to your rate, whether it’s a cake, a bottle of champagne, or flowers?
• To what extent does the occasion matter? Should a 50th wedding anniversary be treated differently than traveling within a week of three years of when you met your spouse?

As an introvert, my opinion is probably off base here

I’m rather introverted, so personally I hate having special occasion recognized. Like, if I want to celebrate something, that’s on me, and I don’t expect anyone else to be part of it. Heck, if we go out to dinner on my birthday, I beg Ford to not tell the restaurant what day it is. And if they sing, or something, I just want to sink into my seat and disappear. I’m weird, I know.

Of course I’ll say that I feel very differently about this topic as a father. We took our older son, Miles, to the St. Regis Kanai Resort for his third birthday last year, and they did an incredible job making it special for him. They really went above and beyond, and I was very grateful for that, because obviously that means a lot to a little kid (it was his first birthday where he really understood it was his birthday).

That being said, I had no expectations of them doing that, I would’ve gladly paid for whatever they did, and since they didn’t charge, I also tipped generously for the effort.

But still, it raises the question, what’s the right way for hotels to handle these kinds of situations? Should they offer anything extra “free” at all for special occasions? Should they offer something basic for free, and then have a variety of paid options to go the extra mile? Is the expectation that they just consistently go all out?

One reason I mention this is because I’ll often see complaints online about a negative hotel stay, and people will say “they didn’t even do anything for our special occasion,” and I guess I always wonder what the realistic expectation is. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer, I’m just curious to hear how others feel.

Bottom line

Hotels seem to be dealing with an increasing number of guests celebrating special occasions, or more accurately, an increasing number of guests claiming that they’re celebrating something. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does pose a challenge for hotels, since people have expectations associated with that.

I’d be curious to hear what folks think about what hotels should realistically do in these situations. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer, but it does seem like something that’s posing a challenge for some hoteliers.

When you stay at a hotel over a special occasion, what do you think should realistically be offered?

Before I get into this, let me of course acknowledge that this is all a first world problem, so please don’t take this too seriously. There are obviously much bigger issues in the world.

Masseuse complains constantly about how her hands hurt

We’re currently on a big family trip to South Tyrol, which has been absolutely lovely (minus the heat wave, of course). South Tyrol is incredible in so many ways, with amazing scenery, food, wine, and people. The hotels here also have a big focus on wellness, all with expansive spas that have all kinds of facilities.

We’re currently staying at a beautiful boutique property, and the spa menu had been placed in our welcome pamphlets. Prices for spa treatments at luxury properties have gone through the roof over the years, and nowadays it’s not uncommon to see hour-long massages costing $200-300. So we were downright delighted when we saw that the 50-minute massages were going for €85, and there’s a 20% discount if you have your appointment before 2PM, bringing the cost down to €68.

Of course you can get cheaper massages on the streets of Thailand, but for a real spa in a nice hotel in Europe, that’s about as reasonable pricing as I’ve seen (especially in a culture where a 20% tip isn’t expected).

So I decided to go to the spa shortly after checking in to make appointments for the whole family. We had a very active trip up until this point, and relaxing a bit sounded nice. We booked Ford and his mom appointments the first day, I booked myself an appointment the next day, and I booked my dad an appointment for the day after that, just based on our schedules.

We all opted for the “sport & vitality massage,” described as “designed to relieve tension after sporting activities and provide maximum support for muscle regeneration.” Sounds great!

Ford was first into the lion’s den… I mean, to the spa… and as he finished, he sent me the below text.

As he described it, he asked for deep pressure at the beginning of the massage, and then the masseuse spent 50 minutes basically just rubbing his body with oil, with the lightest pressure imaginable. He quickly ran his hand over my arm to give an example of the pressure.

Ford’s mom was next (they had back-to-back massages). Of course we were very curious to hear her take, so once she was done, we asked what she thought. Her answer? “I wasn’t going to say anything, but that was the worst massage of my life.”

She explained she asked the therapist for harder pressure during the massage, and the therapist responded by holding up her hands and saying “my hands, they hurt, four months” (she didn’t speak much English, but I’d assume four months referred to how long she has been working in this role, or something… and that’s too long, I guess?).

My massage was the following morning, and by the time I got this feedback, it was within the 24 hour period where you couldn’t cancel for free. Honestly, I would’ve forced them to cancel my reservation, but at this point I figured I had to experience this for myself as well.

I actually didn’t make any requests at all (beyond the massage type I had booked), but instead, she just repeatedly proactively apologized:

• About 15 minutes into the massage, she held up her hands and just repeatedly rotated them at a 180-degree angle, while saying “my hands”
• About 30 minutes into the massage, she said “it’s okay? I’m sorry, my hands,” while again holding up her hands
• At the conclusion of the massage, she said “sorry, three massages yesterday, it hurts”

I don’t want to be a jerk, but even aside from pressure, this was genuinely the least skilled massage I’ve ever received:

• I’m not convinced she had any professional training, as there wasn’t really any technique to it
• She basically just spent 50 minutes lathering me in what must be toxic quantities of oil, because it just never stopped
• The pressure was closer to a Swedish massage than a deep tissue, but at least a Swedish massage has some sort of rhythm to it
• She couldn’t even time the massage correctly, because I ended up on my stomach for 15 minutes (so she did my legs and back), then she had me turn over, then she did my legs, then she did my upper body, and then she did my legs again, I guess because she still had too much time remaining
• And I won’t even talk about how she kept referring to Ford as my “brother,” and asking where my wife was, which didn’t actually bother me, but was just sort of the icing on the cake

For what it’s worth, this is a one person spa operation, so she was also the person working the spa reception, who then handed me the bill. At the end she asked “everything okay?” I mean, how do you even answer that, when the person apologized to you three times for their hands being tired during the treatment?

How does one even begin to address this situation?

Obviously I don’t know exactly what the therapist’s hand pain situation was, but I sympathize with her. I’ve had hand and wrist pain over the years from typing too much, and it has been a real struggle at times. I get it.

But also, if you’re going to work as a massage therapist, having hand pain that prevents you from performing the advertised spa treatments sort of seems like a deal breaker, no?

It’s awkward when the person performing the (poor) service is also the person who hands you the check and confirms everything was “okay,” despite her repeated apologies for not being able to properly massage. I should also note that this woman’s English was very limited (she didn’t speak German, but did speak Italian, which I don’t speak).

I know I’m a total pushover, but this is where I’m conflicted. I know I should report her to whoever the property manager is, and she should be sent packing for the season, or until this pain is no longer an issue. It can’t be that people are paying for services, and then each person is simply apologized to because they’re not getting the service they booked. Like if I’m having to say “oh, I’m sorry to hear that” three times during a 50-minute massage, something is seriously wrong.

At the same time, I imagine she relies on this job to make a living, so that’s where my sympathetic side kicks in. I think the hotel is largely responsible here for who they hired for the role, because I can’t imagine this was a sudden thing, and I can’t imagine she’s terribly qualified in the first place.

Bottom line

I never thought I’d have a hotel spa treatment that would top the “hard selling” of off-menu services I had at a Marriott in China. But I’m just wrapping up a stay at a hotel in South Tyrol where the therapist seemingly just wasn’t able to apply any pressure due to hand pain, down to the point that she brought it up three times during my short massage. I sympathize with her, but also, it seems that maybe she shouldn’t be performing these treatments?

If you’d like to just be slathered in oil and have someone lightly run their hand over your entire body, I’d highly recommend this place. Otherwise, I’d recommend saving your time and money.

How would you handle this strange spa experience, and how would you have handled it?

How Marriott’s guaranteed welcome gift works

While Marriott Bonvoy has become a pretty inconsistent loyalty program nowadays, the program does offer some elite benefit guarantees,

Marriott Bonvoy offers a few elite benefit guarantees, which cover things like getting your preferred bed type, having your reservation honored, getting access to guaranteed availability, etc.

Arguably the most interesting guarantee centers around welcome gifts. Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador members, are entitled to a welcome gift when they check-in at a Marriott property. Choices range from points, to breakfast, to a gift, to a food & beverage credit. As this policy is described:

As a Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite or Ambassador Elite member, you’ll receive a special gift upon arrival at participating hotels, with a choice of an amenity gift or points. If guarantee is not met, guest compensation applies.

If the guarantee isn’t met, Bonvoy members are entitled to compensation ranging from $25 to $100, depending on the brand (most full service brands promise $100, though this doesn’t apply at EDITION and Ritz-Carlton properties).

It’s also quite explicit in the Marriott Bonvoy terms that this is about being offered your welcome gift on arrival, rather than just being offered it at some point during your stay:

If the Elite Welcome Gift is not offered at time of arrival, compensation applies

Requesting compensation is sort of awkward, no?

One of the reasons I’m writing this post is because a reader recently found himself in a situation where he wasn’t offered the guaranteed welcome amenity, and then requesting the compensation became a bit awkward. In all my years of staying at Marriott properties, I’ve not been offered a welcome amenity at check-in maybe a handful of times.

If you’re staying at an eligible brand and aren’t offered the welcome amenity at check-in, you’re entitled to $100 cash compensation, full stop. Sounds great, right?

The issue is, how does one actually request that compensation without it being super awkward, and without coming across as a complete jerk, especially for an honest mistake? After all, most people stay at hotels to unwind, and not to feel like they’re going to battle.

The common wisdom seems to be that when people use this guarantee, front desk agents (and even managers, in some situations) are typically not familiar with this policy, or at least pretend not to be familiar with it. The discussion apparently usually goes something like this:

“Hey, so I checked in yesterday and wasn’t offered my welcome gift.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry about that, let me take care of that right now. Which did you want to select?”
“I’ll take the points, please… and $100.”
“Sorry, what?”

Most Marriott employees aren’t familiar with the policy, and those that are apparently often try to argue that they can still offer the amenity while you’re on property, or that they just “assumed” you wanted the points.

I feel like the way this is executed almost guarantees a really uncomfortable interaction, and I don’t see how a hotel won’t strongly dislike a guest after they request this. After all, the compensation isn’t really proportional to the “mistake.” As a matter of fact, there’s no difference whether I’m offered my points at check-in or later during my stay, since they’ll only post after my stay anyway.

More often than not if you aren’t offered a welcome amenity, it’s because the front desk agent might be overworked, and it was an honest mistake. I certainly don’t want to get the person checking me in trouble or penalized, but that seems like it could very well happen if the hotel has to take money out of its budget to exercise this guarantee.

To be clear, I’m not in any way judging anyone who uses the guarantee — it’s something Marriott clearly promises, and there’s nothing wrong with exercising that promised perk. It’s just something I personally struggle to exercise. Maybe it’s because I’m too much of a pushover, maybe it’s because I don’t like conflict, or maybe it’s a combination of both.

If the money were coming out of the pocket of Marriott’s CEO, I’d be first in line to request it. However, that’s not actually the case, obviously.

Bottom line

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and above are guaranteed a welcome gift. If a front desk agent doesn’t offer it at check-in, you’re entitled to cash compensation of up to $100, depending on the type of property.

While the benefit sounds great on paper, taking advantage of it is a whole different story. I can’t help but feel like a jerk for requesting the $100 I’m technically entitled to for something that’s a non-issue, and for that matter it’s probably not worth getting an evil glare for the reminder of my stay over this.

But that’s just me, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with requesting what you’re “entitled” to. It just seems like a policy that’s set up to lead to disappointment, regardless of how strongly it’s worded.

I’d love to hear how other Marriott Bonvoy members feel. Have you ever not been offered your welcome gift, and if so, did you request the compensation? How did it go?

As we approach 18 months of American’s attempted turnaround, just how far has the airline come? While I recognize some progress has been made, I think we also have to be realistic about what has actually changed vs. what has been promised, and how the current reality compares to that of competitors.

Before I get into this, let me say that I think the difference between US carriers isn’t necessarily as pronounced as some like to claim — it’s not like Delta is Singapore Airlines, and American is Ryanair. However, airlines need a bit of momentum and mojo to convince all parties (investors, employees, and customers) that things are changing, and I’m not convinced American actually has all that much to show for its efforts as of now.

Is American Airlines actually better than we think?

Gary at View from the Wing writes a post titled “American Airlines Is Better Than You Think After 18 Months Of Changes. It Still Needs A Premium Identity.” However, I think he’s being a bit too charitable in terms of how far he perceives that the airline has come so far. He’s on the one hand suggesting that the airline is already better than we think and he doesn’t think they get enough credit for what they’ve done in the past 18 months, and then goes on to highlight all of the things that American is promising to do in the future.

Look, I actually think some of American’s leadership team at the moment is pretty good (with CEO Robert Isom being the major exception, not because he isn’t a nice guy, but because he’s not a leader), and I do think they’re moving in the right direction. However, ultimately customers fly an airline because of what they’re experiencing now, and not because of what they’re being promised in the future.

For example, Gary calls American’s new lounges “absolutely gorgeous,” and then points out all the airports that will be getting new lounges in the future. Yes, Charlotte and Miami will get new Flagship Lounges, and Austin, Chicago, and Nashville, will get new Admirals Clubs… but when?

To use my home airport as an example, nobody has actually been able to share any details about this alleged new Flagship Lounge, and airport committee documents don’t show any approval for such a concept. It’s possible I’m missing something, but the “coming soon” banners all over the airport about a new Flagship Lounge strike me as a bit of a stretch.

Gary gives credit to American for its new Philadelphia Flagship Lounge. Yes, it’s good to have one at all, but it’s way too small, and design wise, it pales in comparison to a Delta One Lounge. Gary’s own review of the lounge claimed that it’s “stunning — if you can get a seat.” Seriously this is American’s “absolutely gorgeous” new creme de la creme of lounges…

…while below that is the dining area looks like at the Delta One Lounge New York. To me, one looks like an Admirals Club, the other looks like a nice hotel restaurant.

And on that topic, the above is the nicest Flagship Lounge in terms of design. Most Flagship Lounges still have the old design, where spaces look more like a waiting room in a doctor’s office.

Speaking of American’s new design aesthetic, the airline revamped its lounge design in October 2022, nearly four years ago. How many Admirals Clubs have the new design, so far? By my count, that number is four. So that’s an average of around one lounge a year, and I don’t even know of any other new Admirals Clubs opening imminently with the new design (though I could be missing some)?

By the way, during that same time period, at least eight Delta Sky Clubs have opened with the latest design motif, and with a lot more square footage. I think this basically sums up my issue with Gary’s argument — yes, American is improving, but at the same time, competitors are improving at a faster pace. So the gap isn’t really narrowing, and ultimately we judge an airline based on its competitive standing, and not by any absolute metrics.

Gary points out how American has introduced Lavazza coffee. I love coffee, and I’m happy to see that as well. At the same time, Delta and United also have coffee partnerships, with more extensive offerings, with United having illy cold brew, and Delta having Starbucks espresso-based drinks in lounges. Again, even as American improves, it’s still behind.

The introduction of Bollinger champagne in business class is great, and matches what competitors have done. As usual, American was the last of the “big three” US carriers to announce a champagne collaboration.

Similarly, Gary points out how buy on board options have improved. Yes, that’s true, but they still pale in comparison to what you’ll find on United, for example, where there’s hot pre-order food available.

I could go on and on here, but my point is simple — this feels a bit to me like just giving out participation awards. Yes, things are moving in the right direction. However, these are almost entirely initiatives intended to narrow the gap with competitors, while they continue to move forward and lead the way.

And the argument can’t be made that the airline is better than people realize based on something that’s being promised in the future. Of course we don’t realize it, because it doesn’t exist.

American has one biggest and hardest hurdle to overcome

Gary talks about “what remains to be done,” and I agree with the core of what he says:

American Airlines needs a premium vision consistently articulated by the CEO and sold to employees so they know what kind of product and service they’re supposed to deliver, so they buy into providing it, and so they understand that doing so is linked to the success of the company (they’re in an important battle) and for profit-sharing. Middle management hasn’t had the incentive for a decade to sweat the small details of product. The frontline hasn’t been told that the service they offer matters.

They need widebody aircraft, having retired international-capable Boeing 757, Boeing 767, and Airbus A330s during the pandemic in the name of ‘simplifying’ the fleet – and lost out on the boom to Europe as a result. Just offering service to South American, joint venture partner hubs, and summer seasonal Europe isn’t enough and doesn’t give members the flights that inspire them to spend on card either.

The issue I have is that I don’t think he’s doing enough to emphasize how big these two issues are. If you ask me, 90% of American’s issues aren’t about whether they have brisket in first class or which lounges they’re promising to open, but instead, about having a culture where employees genuinely feel connected to the mission of the company, and taking care of customers.

I think Gary is a little too clinical in his assessment of the culture problem. It’s essentially “the CEO has to say X, so that employees do Y.” I think the airline is too far gone on that front.

American CEO Robert Isom has lost the respect of frontline employees. That’s partly due to the lack of performance while he has been CEO, and it’s partly just a bigger symptom of how the “America West boys” have been running things for decades.

Real talk — when is the last time that we saw a culture change at an airline with a CEO who employees don’t actually respect? To be clear, that’s not me saying that employees don’t respect him, it’s employees saying it — flight attendants issued a first-ever vote of no confidence in Isom, and pilots have made it clear that leadership failures are unacceptable. This isn’t a rhetorical answer — I’d love if anyone can think of a single time in the airline industry such a culture change happened under an existing, unpopular CEO.

If Isom says tomorrow “hey guys we’re premium now, let’s all do our best, yay,” it won’t be taken seriously. After all, keep in mind that Isom’s narrative for so long has been to suggest that nothing is wrong, and employees should just keep doing what they’re doing.

Culture changes start when there’s new leadership that makes the strategic goals very clear from the beginning, and gets employees genuinely excited. We’re talking Richard Anderson at Delta, Oscar Munoz at United, etc.

I am convinced that American will not have a proper turnaround until it has a CEO who employees are excited about, and who understands the importance of culture and service. But American’s board has been asleep for years, and it doesn’t look like anything is changing there. American needs a people person as CEO, and not just a CFO or COO.

But seriously, this the single biggest thing American needs to change the passenger experience, and the longer this is pushed off, the more American’s turnaround will be delayed. All the other improvements only get you so far when a company’s culture is broken.

And yes, then there’s American’s completely uninspiring long haul route network, which is also hard to fix in the coming years, given American’s lack of aircraft on order. That’s also something that can’t be solved overnight, and will continue to put American at more of a disadvantage, as competitors take delivery of more planes.

I say all of this because I care about American — living in Miami, it’s the carrier that’s easiest for me to fly, and there’s little I’d love more than to see American actually be a great airline. American has been my primary airline for well over 15 years now. A transformation is absolutely possible, but without a culture reboot (which requires a new CEO), it’s a pipe dream.

There are so many people at American who are doing their best to turn the airline around. The issue is that they report to the CEO, and therefore they are in a situation where they’re unable or unwilling to admit that not having a CEO who motivates employees is one of the company’s biggest challenges.

Bottom line

It has now been close to 18 months since American executives laid out the vision for the airline to become more premium. Has progress been made? Absolutely. Have most of the changes simply been copying competitors, with moves that should’ve been made years ago? Yes. Are Delta and United also trying to improve at a fast pace, and arguably outpacing American? I’d say so.

But any positive changes are overshadowed by what hasn’t changed, which is American’s leadership at the very top. American needs a culture change, and when the CEO’s narrative is that everything is great and everyone should keep doing what they’re doing, it fails to address American’s single biggest disadvantage, which is service and culture.

What do you make of the progress of American’s transformation?

We constantly hear stories of security issues at hotels, but in a vast majority of cases, it’s situations that were very easily preventible. So let’s talk more specifically about that, as I’m also curious to hear how others handle this kind of stuff. And so that I don’t bury the lede, let me say the most obvious thing, which somehow seems to be the root of so many issues — always use the deadbolt when you’re in your room!

The basic safety precautions I take in hotel rooms

When it comes to hotels, I’ve written in the past about my hotel habits (from the logical to irrational), my housekeeping habits and strategy, and my biggest hotel pet peeves. So, how does security factor into all of this?

My hotel safety precautions are pretty simple:

• When I first arrive at my hotel room after checking in, I enter the room slowly, and say something like “hello,” as I’ve (on more than one occasion) been given a key to a room that was already occupied
• I do a quick walk through of the room, including checking the closets, under the bed, etc.; however, that’s perhaps partly more paranoia than anything rational, and it’s the same reason I’m sort of scared of “haunted” hotels
• I discard the little “pouch” in which the hotel gives me the key, so that if I lose my key, no one will know which room I’m in; instead, I either write down my room number in a note on my phone, or take a picture of the door
• If I get a weird feeling about someone in the elevator or like they’re following me, I’ll just go somewhere else, and not go straight to my room
• I place items in the in-room safe, but I don’t assume that’s completely safe either, because it can also be broken into, if it’s an inside job
• I always use the deadbolt when I’m in the room, whether I’m awake or asleep; always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always
• If I’m in a room with a connecting door, I always make sure that’s properly locked; I had one situation where the doors were unlocked on both sides, and then just opened mid-stay

In theory, I think the above precautions do the trick. I think using the deadbolt is the single most important thing you can do.

Let me of course acknowledge that I’m a male traveler, and I realize that female travelers often face more challenges and risks, so it’s even more important for them to be vigilant. I also know that some people are concerned about secret cameras being set up in rooms. That’s not something I’m worried about (have at it!), but I understand why others may be.

It’s also worth emphasizing that you should take different levels of precautions based on where in the world you are. Like, I’m much less concerned about hotel room safety in a place like Japan than in a place like… well, take your pick.

One last point — here’s a precaution I probably should take, but don’t. We’ve seen a fair number of stories over the years of people dying in hotels due to carbon monoxide poisoning. That can easily be counteracted by buying a cheap carbon monoxide meter, which can give quite a bit of peace of mind.

What’s reassuring about hotel safety, and what isn’t

If you ask me, there are some things that are reassuring about hotel room safety. There are typically limited entry and exit points in hotels, there are security cameras around the hallway, and there’s limited upside to someone breaking in and stealing something (since there’s usually not that much to steal). You’re also typically in close proximity to others, so a loud scream would be heard more easily than in other scenarios.

At the same time, the increased risk in hotels is that there are many people with master keys, who can potentially access all rooms. That’s why always using the deadbolt when you’re in the room is so important.

If you use the deadbolt in your room, I tend to think that addresses 90% of potential concerns. All too often we hear of someone walking in on another person sleeping in a hotel room, that happens when the deadbolt isn’t being used.

I tend to think that a vast majority of the other risks at hotels are similar to what you might find elsewhere. For example, having someone spike your drink at the hotel bar, having someone steal something from you out in the open, inviting someone with bad intentions to your room, etc.

Bottom line

It’s important to take basic safety precautions at hotels. I tend to think that simply using the deadbolt while in the room covers 90% of the potential risks, since the most common hotel crime we hear of is someone accessing a room with a master key, or something.

There are some other basic precautions I take, but I tend to think that the deadbolt is the single most important thing. Despite that, so many people don’t use it…

I’m curious how you guys feel about hotel room security — is it something that crosses your mind, and if so, what precautions do you take?