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☆ International airlines are all-in on fancy first-class seats, even as US carriers focus only on business for long-haul flights
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-07 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They deemed business class more lucrative for long-haul flights. While these carriers still have business class, true first class remains a money-maker despite taking up the least amount of cabin real estate. Air France, Swiss International Air Lines, and Lufthansa are also in the mix, among others. "Air France is committed to having this super premium first-class product because it's Air France," Funk said. Advertisement"You're not going to have William and Kate fly business class alongside 85 other people," she said.

Persons: —, Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Tiffany Funk, Funk, Kate Organizations: Service, Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Qatar Airways, CNBC, Singapore Airlines, Air, Swiss International Air Lines, Lufthansa, monied Fortune, Google, US, Funk, British Airways, Getty Images Airlines, it's Air, Qantas, Qantas Media Locations: Europe, Asia, Air France, Swiss, monied, Singapore, Emirates, France, Australia, New York, London

☆ Travel news: Hotels reveal their wildest room service orders
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —In travel news this week: odd room service requests, the cruise passengers stranded for months at their departure port, plus how a rogue bag of Cheetos caused havoc in a New Mexico cave. Unusual guest requestsFar be it from us to say folks are getting a little entitled, but a new report from Hotels.com has revealed the oddest room service requests made to its hotel partners around the world. There’s the separate requests that were fielded for burnt toast, fresh goat milk and 2 kilos of bananas. And finally there’s the demand for a high-five from a team member to ensure their room service request was read. The nine-month itinerary of Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise was considerably less ambitious, but at least it successfully completed its journey this week.

Persons: Hotels.com, it’s, there’s, –, CNN Anne Marie Hagerty Organizations: CNN, Service, Atlanta, Delta Airbus Locations: New Mexico, York, Carlsbad, Hawaii, Oahu, Georgia, England, Argentina, British, Italy, “

☆ The world’s best airline rewards programs, according to Point.me
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Marnie Hunter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Having trouble navigating the complicated, often frustrating, world of airline loyalty programs? 1 airline rewards program, according to the rankings. Last week, the US Department of Transportation announced a consumer protection probe into US airlines’ loyalty programs. World’s top 10 airline rewards programsHere are the top 10 programs globally and their scores on a 100-point scale, according to Point.me’s analysis:1. SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesNorth America’s top 10 airline rewards programsHere are the top 10 programs in North America and their scores on a 100-point scale, according to Point.me’s analysis:1.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Tiffany Funk, Point.me, Canada’s Aeroplan, Funk, Delta, Avianca, they’re, ” Funk, SeongJoon Cho, Allegiant Organizations: CNN, Air France, KLM, Air, United, ” United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, Delta, North, Canada’s, Qatar Airways Privilege, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, US Department of Transportation, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada, British Airways Executive, Virgin Atlantic Flying, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue TrueBlue, Bloomberg, Getty, Southwest Airlines Rapid, Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cathay Locations: Alaska, Latin America, East, Africa, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Asia, Pacific, Air France, North America, Europe, Middle East, Oceania

Read Business Insider's guide to the best travel rewards credit cards. But the smartest award hounds are using these popular tools to maximize their rewardsWhy use a credit card rewards tracking app? But no such tool exists as of today, so many dedicated award hounds use a combination of the apps below to track all of their credit card rewards. Top credit card rewards tracking appsAwardWallet: Best for tracking multiple loyalty programsCardPointers: Best for managing your wallet and maximizing credit card offersTravel Freely: Best for couples earning points togetherMaxRewards: Best for monitoring credit alongside of rewardsAwardWalletCost: Freemium — Free version works for most. However, MaxRewards sets itself apart with a running progress bar of the credit card balance you're carrying, and your credit utilization ratio.

Persons: CardPointers, Chase, Amex, You'll, MaxRewards, Read, it's, you'll, point.me, Roame, Seats.aero Organizations: Read, Citi, Security, Amex, Chase, MaxRewards Gold, Google, American, American Express, Business Locations: Amex, Japan, Aeromexico, Asia, North America, Singapore, Chevron

☆ How Will A.I. Change My Vacation This Year?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Julie Weed | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is hard to believe that it has only been about a year since travelers started dabbling in ChatGPT-created itineraries. is like a teenage intern,” said Chad Burt, co-owner of the travel adviser network Outside Agents, “better, smarter, faster than you, but you need to lead them.”The expanding use of A.I. could influence how we book online, what happens when flights are canceled or delayed, and even how much we pay for tickets. For example, it could improve automatic rebooking onto new flights when customers miss connections or weather snarls runways. At United Airlines, for example, smarter software can offer rebooking options and issue food and lodging vouchers when a flight is canceled, rather than just rebooking a flight.

Persons: ”, Chad Burt, “, Oren Etzioni, Gilbert Ott Organizations: University of Washington, United Airlines Locations: Point.me

☆ Falling Domestic Fares and an A.I. Arms Race: What Travelers Can Expect in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Christine Chung | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

Arms Race: What Travelers Can Expect in 2024 At the start of what promises to be a very busy year, we look ahead at what you’re likely to encounter. With 2023 in the rearview mirror, we look ahead at what travelers will face in 2024. At United Airlines, for example, smarter software can offer rebooking options and issue food and lodging vouchers when a flight is canceled, rather than just rebooking a flight. United Airlines has suspended its flights indefinitely, said Josh Freed, a United spokesman. This year, travelers are expected to choose faraway places and board small ships, according to Virtuoso, the consortium of luxury travel agencies.

Persons: Chanelle, Hayley Berg, ” Ms, Berg, “, Robert W, Mann Jr, ”, Chad Burt, Oren Etzioni, Gilbert Ott, Hopper, Greg Forbes, Delta’s, Neville Pattinson, Mr, Pattinson, biometrics, Laura Lindsay, Joshua Smith, Smith, Laurel Brunvoll, Michael Zeiler, Airbnb, We’ve, Jamie Lane, ‘, ’ ”, Jan Freitag, “ We’ve, David Whiteside, Brian Kelly, Guy, Leigh Rowan, “ There’s, Kelly, Rowan, ” Mr, James Thornton, Sharm el Sheikh, Khaled Ibrahim, Harry Rubenstein, Rubenstein, Eyal Carlin, Josh Freed, Jack Ezon, Tom Marchant, Beth McGroarty Organizations: World Tourism Organization, International Air Transport Association, Analysts, Express Global, ”, airfare, University of Washington, United Airlines, Transportation, Administration, Salt Lake, International Airport, Denver International Airport, Delta Air Lines, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, La Guardia Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, biometrics, Thales, Air, American Airlines, Global, “, —, MidX Studios, LivSmart Studios, Hilton, Hyatt Studios, Accor Hotels, Boston University, Visa, Mastercard, Walmart, Target, Savanti, Chase, Intrepid Travel, Amisol Travel, East Travel Alliance, United, Consumers, Ki’ama, Wellness, Global Wellness Institute Locations: United States, Point.me, Salt, North America, London, Rome, Tokyo, Cancún, Las Vegas, Cayman Islands, Polynesia, Europe, Norway, Denmark, Air Canada, Bergen, Flam, Scandinavia, Italy, France, Malta, Slovenia, Maryland, Spain, Portugal, Britain, Egypt, India, Mexico ; Cape Girardeau, Mo, Niagara Falls, N.Y . Texas, Burnet, Sulphur Springs, New York, Vienna, Marriott, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Oman —, Tunisia, Northern Africa, Sharm, Cairo, Amisol Travel Egypt, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramle, Kimberley, Western Australia, Mitre, Patagonia, Ki’ama Bahamas, Bahamas, South Africa, Hudson, Tuxedo Park, N.Y, Malibu , Calif, Mexico

Lyft and Bilt have a new partnership that allows you to earn Bilt points whenever you make a Lyft purchase. It also offers the Bilt Mastercard®, which opens up the ability to earn Bilt Rewards points for expenses other than just rent. Lyft already partners with Delta — but you'll earn just 1 Delta mile per dollar spent with Lyft, so switching to Bilt Rewards is a no-brainer, unless you value Delta miles significantly higher than Bilt Rewards points. That means you'll get an effective return of up to 8.25% on Lyft purchases when choosing to earn Bilt Rewards. After linking your loyalty accounts, Bilt Rewards members will earn 2 points per dollar, and those with the Bilt Mastercard® will earn 5 points per dollar.

The Point.me feature in the Bilt Rewards app can help you book lie-flat business class seats to Europe with your Bilt points. $0 Annual Fee View Full Details Apply nowBilt Mastercard® 4.5 /5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.5 out of 5 Stars Intro offer N/A Rewards Earn 3X point on dining. But if you'd prefer an automated answer to your question, you can now find it inside the Bilt Rewards app thanks to its integration of the Point.me award booking service. $0 Annual Fee View Full Details Apply nowBilt Mastercard® 4.5 /5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.5 out of 5 Stars Intro offer N/A Rewards Earn 3X point on dining. With the power of Point.me now living inside the Bilt Rewards app, Bilt's value proposition continues to rise.

Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). Managing credit card rewards can be tough due to expiration dates, deadlines, and rotating bonus categories. Read Insider's guide to the best travel rewards credit cards. The best apps for tracking credit card rewardsAwardWallet: Good if you belong to lots of loyalty programsAwardWallet is kind of the holy grail of rewards tracking apps: This tool monitors nearly 700 loyalty programs. Read more: Guide to the best rewards credit cardsYou'll get a personalized yearly rewards value based on each card's rewards structure, minus its annual fee.

Persons: Read, We're, point.me, —, — Chase, you'll, You'll, MaxRewards, you've, Guy, Brian Kelly —, CardWiz, it's Organizations: Citi, Oneworld, Chase, Amex, MaxRewards Gold Locations: Amex, Uthrive

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