Middle Seat

A Loyalty Program Is A Two-Way Street

October 12, 2016By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

Shame on you? Shame on me? Who’s to be blamed when a loyalty program decides not to honor a promotion.

Help Me Help A Reader: Downgraded On Trans-Pacific Flight

October 28, 2015By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

What happens when the seat you pay for is broken? What should the airline do to make it right? Help out a reader by weighing in here.

A (Somewhat) Typical Business Travel Day

January 22, 2015By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

Some people think that my travel life is all sunshine and roses. Sure, they think, maybe it can be a drag from time to time to travel for work, but you get to visit all these cool places! Yes, the vacations can be tons of fun. And, sometimes work travel is fun. Just not as often as you might think. I decided to log one of my recent travel days from start to finish to give a bit of an inside view to the “glamour” that is my travel life. In […]

EXTREME? I Had Five Different Tickets Booked For Our Flight Home This Week

It still amazes me how much a seemingly small change during the pandemic has come to my rescue so many times. Near the beginning of the pandemic virtually all US airlines eliminated change fees. United went first, Delta and American quickly followed suit. At the time it wasn’t something that moved the needle because nobody was traveling. But, I had the sense then that this would be a big deal. One of the biggest benefit to elite status was the ability to reduce or waive some fees that airlines typically […]

2022 Airline Status Recap & 2023 Status Goals

I’m finally getting a moment to breathe and look back on my 2022 year in travel. Let’s start with airline status. If you want to hear more about my airline status goals we had a detailed discussion this week on the pod. At a high level, 2022 was a year where I continued to choose whatever airline offered me the best itinerary to maximize my time. A nod was paid to cheap first class fares since it’s virtually impossible to be at peak productivity. It was also about trying to […]

Today Only: Easily Earn Up To 600 Free Points!

I earn affiliate credit if you sign up for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard using links in this story. It’s the first of the month which means Rent Day rewards from the folks at Bilt. If you hold the Bilt Rewards Mastercard you can earn double points on all non-rent spend today. And, even if you don’t hold the credit card you can earn up to 600 free points just by playing trivia in the Bilt Rewards App. The easiest way to earn free points is to download the Bilt Rewards […]

American Airlines Makes Changes To Their New Loyalty Program Less Than A Year After Launch

Less than a year after American Airlines launched their new loyalty program they’re tweaking the requirements to earn status as well as the benefits. This is on the heels of United Airlines finally adopting the requirements they announced in 2019 and Delta increasing their qualification requirements. I’m not surprised to see American making changes a year in. Okay, maybe a bit surprised. But, I wholeheartedly agree this is the right approach. Smart companies continue to innovate where they see opportunities. In most cases, small tweaks are more well-received by customers […]

Delta Should Proactively Offer All Sky Club Members A Refund

Delta Air Lines has what some folks might call a “good problem”. In reality, this problem is causing frustration with many of the airline’s best customers, something we discussed in detail this week. For quite some time the domestic airlines ran very mediocre lounges in the US. The lounges were a quieter place for members to catch up on work or relax in between flights. Food offerings were meager as were drink choices. Delta set out to change that, and has done an excellent job. Massive renovations and staffing increases […]

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]

Ted Lasso - January 27, 2023:
Valid concern, but IMHO not something I’d lose sleep over. Airlines overbook [...]

Edward Pizzarello - January 25, 2023:
Sadly, in the case of Delta on certain domestic routes, I'd argue [...]

Christian - January 25, 2023:
Sorry, I was really unclear. My concern isn't for the airline, it's [...]

Edward Pizzarello - January 25, 2023:
I've thought about it. Doesn't bother me personally but I get the [...]

Christian - January 25, 2023:
What about the moral implications of holding a bunch of award inventory [...]