It was once a marvel when airline credit card bonuses hit 50,000 points. Then the ante was occasionally upped to 75,000 and only once in a blue moon did the six-figure likes of 100,000 enter the chat. They come, but more often they go.

That’s all to set the table for today’s absolutely enormous bonus of 125,000 point bonus opportunity on the Chase British Airways Visa Signature Card. Expectedly for a record offer, there’s no blogger commission on this bonus, so rest assured this is us purely sharing good news.

It’s not ever day you get a chance to grab 125,000 points just as a welcome bonus.

Valuable British Airways Benefits Beyond Points

This card is really a no-brainer for US customers who frequent Europe or the UK. One reason is that the annual fee is only $95 a year, but you can save so much more than that by utilizing the cards many perks, such as the standing 10% discount on British Airways flights. The card offers..

• 10% off British Airways flights, uncapped and in all cabins
• Travel together ticket after $30k in spend, which is a companion voucher
• Up to $600 per year in credits when you use Avios for a reward flight

In other words, $95 a year may save you up to $600 in taxes and surcharges when you actually book flights with points — and 10% off all British Airways flights from the US with cash. That’s a compelling offer, not even factoring in the 125,000 Avios.

British Airways Visa Signature Card: Avios And More

Avios is the points currency used by British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways and soon Finnair as well. They’re increasingly useful, particularly after British Airways made significant reductions earlier in the year to the taxes and surcharges added to flights with points.

Basically, you need a few more points than last year, but a lot less cash to book a reward flight with British Airways. A one way in business class from most US regions to Europe will run 80,000 points and $350 in cash.

How The 125,000 Point Bonus Works

The bonus is a two tiered offer, where you’ll unlock 75,000 Avios after $5,000 in spending within the first three months of opening the account and then an additional 50,000 Avios after a total of $20,000 in spending in the first year.

The $20,000 in a year equates to $1,666 in a month, which these days in the United States can be done on coffee purchases alone. I’m only half kidding.

Bottom Line: As Good As It Gets

If you’re finding good points uses with Avios this is a great offer. Want 10% off all the British Airways flights you book from the USA this year? This is also a great offer.

125,000 points is enough to seriously kickstart a journey and with the fee credits when you use points up to $200 per passenger it makes the already palatable taxes and fees and really makes them competitive. You can check out the offer here.

The post Huge 125,000 Point Bonus On British Airways Visa Card appeared first on God Save The Points.

If you didn’t already know, the ever lovable country known as Finland has already launched an e-Passport trial. What is an e-passport? Fair question. Basically, it means one day you’ll be able to leave the paper version with the pages you’re afraid to tear at home. If you’re Finnish and flying to London, the future is the present.

For most of us this isn’t yet a reality, but a huge push from airlines, governments and airports means that collecting stamps, like many other elements of nostalgia, will one day be just that and the airport experience may actually get better. Fewer queues for the win!

Here’s everything you need to know about e-passports, biometrics and the many fair questions being raised about privacy, data storage and everything else in this brave new digital world.

ePassports Will Replace Traditional Passports

In many countries, sending money requires the blink of an eye or a selfie with your phone to authorize the transaction. Why? Biometric data from your eyes and unique facial features are more secure than a pin code.

If we can do that, why can’t we travel with the same sort of secure validation?

Biometric personal data is regarded in the tech world as being more secure than traditional paper passport photos and pages, based on how easily physical copies can be altered and manipulated to differ from those originally installed. Secure databases for biometrics mean that in theory, they are more tamper proof and have more data points to scrutinize with real time photo capture.

As the technologies evolve the digital nature of “updates” gives the validating tools more to work with. That’s as creepy as it is cool, indeed.

Passports are next.

Finland has embarked on a trial allowing Finnish citizens on select, direct Finnair flights to register and trial its new digital passport framework. Think of your passport the way you would Google Pay or Apple Pay on your phone. You need to unlock the phone to access. This adds an extra layer of security, even if the phone is lost, unlike a wallet.

Once registered and approved for the trial, Finns were able to obtain their digital passport and were instructed to share their data with border authorities at least four hours before departure and proceed through special gates which compare the digital passport photo with the person, digitally. The idea is to save time and add confidence.

Croatia is on track for its own trial at Zagreb Airport later this year.

Alongside framework and guidance setup by IATA and the airline world, countries are exploring the viability of digital passports, creating a paper free and ideally touch point and immigration officer free validation experience.

Of course, a digital passport is only as good as the places that accept it, so don’t expect to tear your paper passport up any time soon.

Just like biometric boarding where you don’t need a boarding pass, but rather just a blink of an eye to board a flight, the big selling point is speed. Biometric boarding has seen things like 615 passenger Airbus A380’s boarded in under 20 minutes. Imagine that for passport queues.

The struggle with biometric boarding has been both with the learning curve and with those who don’t automatically match to their biometrics when going through the scan. Airline agents remain on hand to deal with these scenarios which greatly slow things.

Finland’s “world’s first” launch simply created an opportunity for Finns traveling to the UK on direct flights and back a chance to test a digital version of their passport. All who took advantage of the trial needed to jump through some additional hoops to register for the pilot. Nevertheless, it’s exciting and vital progress.

The Groundwork Is Already In Place

Those in the US who use the Global Entry program to streamline arrival back into the states will know that you can simply look at the passenger screening machines and your irises and facial data points authenticate you without whipping out a passport.

Again, many in the data and biosecurity argue that these digital markers are more tamper proof than paper passports, particularly those without e-chips that add a layer of information to the information found within each page.

e-Passports would also finally allow a use for blockchain that people might legitimately understand. Only trusted partners could access passport data from these e-passports and only they could alter or add information. This would make visas and entry records easier to scrutinize or confirm, with fewer paper forms or lost docs.

With many countries moving to United States style ESTA, ETA or other electronic travel screening systems, that’ll actually really come in handy. There’s strong indication that the EU is closely monitoring the trials in Finland in hopes of developing bloc wide trials in the near future.

The post Digital Passports Are Coming, But Will They Help Travel? appeared first on God Save The Points.

For all consumers, I hope that virtually everything I’m about to say will no longer be true within two years. For now, I really believe it is for Delta and what the airline just pulled off may be one of the master strokes of the decade in air travel.

People are emotionally lamenting significant changes to the Delta SkyMiles program, mainly around how people earn perks like upgrades or lounge access. Loyalty is now less of a fuzzy feeling and more of an absolute number. Scratch that — truly a number.

The reaction is amusing and even personal friends are hitting me for reaction out of sheer amusement for the exploding heads, talking heads and threats to never ever fly again. In one of those conversations I laid out what a business wide touch of genius this was, and how o-n-l-y Delta could’ve pulled it off. I think it’ll be wildly successful.

Multi Year, Multi-Phase Stickiness

Romantic ideas of loyalty are long gone in this house, though I yearn and lust for every gesture of old world hospitality and recognition still out there. Travel should be fun, it should feel personal and if you want people to really pull out their wallet, you gotta have rewards worth the squeeze.

What I believe Delta has proven, which I believe is the crux of this master stroke I speak of, is that building something superior does not need loyalty. If you have the best of the best with your products, loyalty is an icing and cherry on top of a Michelin starred dessert.

As I say, it’s always better to earn and participate in loyalty than not, but the master stroke here is that I think most of the negative reaction about switching airlines is hot air right now. People would be masochists.

Here’s why: for now, Delta is the best in the United States.

I am not even a Delta loyalist or regular, so just shut the f*ck up a bit before we start to march down the “omg paid spokesperson” stuff. I’m a mostly Oneworld frequent flyer who dabbles in SkyTeam via Virgin Atlantic. I don’t care about Delta’s bottom line or have any personal loyalty or business connection to the airline.

But — what I believe Delta has done is use it’s entire business to create a product people won’t leave. Not easily! Let me lay out why I think Delta is the best airline in the US right now.

• truly good free WiFi on all flights for simply joins Delta SkyMiles
• typically the best on-time performance of any US airline
• currently the best business class experience among US airlines
• world leading in-app capabilities for flight changes, upgrades and more
• most choice in SkyClubs for personalizing experience (premium options)
• competitive credit card program driving butt in seat benefits
• economy offerings that don’t feel degrading or cheap
• staff that feel empowered thanks to profit sharing
• CLEAR airport security benefits for top tier elites

What I’m saying is that if every “big time” DYKWIA road warrior who thinks Delta is giving them the middle finger wants to leave, they can — but they’ve gotta check their ego versus what they’ll experience with other airlines.

None of this stuff happened overnight. WiFi rollout takes years. Seats take years. App investments and co-branded credit card deals are endlessly challenging. If Delta tried this at any time before now it probably would’ve failed. If another airline tried this now, they’d probably fail.

Delta’s FOMO Advantage

There are people who will prefer experiences with the other big US airlines that offer competitive loyalty programs and some will enjoy dabbling based purely on the price of the ticket. But that in itself means Delta won. They made it clear their airline loyalty program is for wholistic loyalty. They’re not interesting in chasing cheapest fare.

I can’t think of another airline that comes near matching Delta’s wifi capability right now. That alone is worth actual money, if faced with the choice of paying for access on another carrier. My time is certainly worth a lot to me, particularly with the arrival of a new baby boy this month, and on-time performance is always going to win a share of my coin.

Whether it was always the plan or a fortuitous circling of events, Delta really picked a master stroke time to pull these changes whether you like them or not. I really don’t personally even have an opinion.

All that matters to me is that they picked a time when they had maximum advantage with their hand, when service levels were down on other airlines and when they had launched better products and customer centric offerings than their competitors to make the big, bold move.

I’d argue if American felt like they had nailed the flying side, customer side and tech side as well as Delta, they’d have gone further with their Loyalty Points status changes in the last year.

I Hope This All Changes

I love free markets behaving properly and with all hope almost every bullet point of “why I think Delta has maximum advantage” to pull this sort of loyalty move will be challenged.

Let’s see all the other major players roll out truly fast, exceptional Viasat style wifi that delivers streaming speed to every seat. Bring on airlines racing to push out better in-app experiences. Gimme’ a US carrier launching a world’s best business class product rather than a North American best. It’s been a while.

Please, pretty please let us see airlines race out with product updates, juicy card offers and fun loyalty opportunities that challenge the status quo. It’ll come — but I reckon Delta has a year to enjoy the fruits of this move.

The master stroke played by Delta here was putting years of product and tech work into creating the best product and sharing that vision with their loyalty and co-brand card teams. Once the flying side of the business was at optimal competitive advantage, Delta hit “go” on a loyalty program that won’t please everyone, but will almost certainly bring in more money which can be reinvested in richer benefits for those who Delta thinks deserves them.

The post The Multi-Year Master Stroke Behind Delta’s SkyMiles Changes appeared first on God Save The Points.

Now look, before you grab your pitchforks – no one is saying that the Italian Riviera isn’t one of the greatest and most worthwhile destinations on earth. It unquestionably is.

All we’re saying is that an unfair amount of attention goes to the places you already know, they’re expensive, and if you’re smart – it means there are destinations worth exploring right now for less, before everyone else does.

I think this way, because my dad ruined travel for me. As an American in the 60’s, he explored Europe when you could live on $2 per day, and I’ve held a grudge ever since.

While that dream may long be over, Albania may be the closest thing – and even if it wasn’t cheap, the views, the food and the culture are worth it. Here’s everything you need to know about this underrated (and under priced) gem. But don’t wait too long, it’s getting wildly popular this year, by “cool kid” terms…

So, Where Is The Albanian Riviera

Geography lessons in Europe are always fun, in part because they’re usually surprising. The Albanian Riviera is mere miles across the water from Corfu, on the border with Greece and couldn’t be closer geographically to Puglia, Italy and places along “the boot”.

If you weren’t sold on the potential for beautiful coastline before, hopefully the realisation that Albania is smack-dab in the middle of many of the most iconic beach and seasides in Europe helps. Think of the best of Greece and the best of Italy, but at prices that would blow your mind.

Getting There

Getting to Albania is nowhere near as difficult as it once was.

Top European airlines like Lufthansa and British Airways now offer direct services to Tirana, Albania, and many discount airlines such as Wizz Air, Alitalia and Pegasus do as well. But that still leaves you a 4+ hour drive down to the coast.

Instead, catching one of the endless number of flights to nearby Corfu is the smart play here. Not only does it create opportunity for a little two in one trip, but it saves you hours on the ground. From Corfu, you’re just a 30 minute ferry ride from the heart of the Albanian Riviera.

Who Would Like It?

If you’re looking for a spot with gorgeous beaches, delicious food and fascinating heritage, but without a back breaking price point – probably, you.

The Albanian Riviera offers the best of clear blue waters, sandy beaches and laid back life in an area that’s still largely under developed. If you had to compare it directly to another location, it’s probably gotta be Greece. Deep blue waters, beautiful cliffs, fresh seafood and laidback lifestyle, all served with enviable charm.

If you weren’t already sold, a carafe of wine is about $5USD for good stuff. You won’t get any of the $700 a night resorts of Greece or Italy, but if you want something amazing for under $70, this is your spot.

Where To Go

Let’s be real: nothing here fits the pop culture bill of “touristy”, like say… the Cinque Terre or Mykonos, but this little gem of an Eastern European secret is getting more attention with every day.

Saranda is the most popular riviera town and is worth exploring, but areas like Ksamil, Dhermi and Vuno are the areas that tend to win over hearts and minds.

Here’s a link to some Saranda hotels on Tripadvisor. There literally isn’t a hotel over $100 per night, most are around $50, and you can find others for far less. Same goes for Ksamil too.

The hardest thing to overcome is the mentality that hotels will automatically be horrible for the price, because they’re just not.

If you want to take things a step further, to a place which almost all critics agree is simply wonderful, Ksamil is the town. It’s everything rustic, charming, authentic and unique you seek, but with actual views like this…

The seafood rivals the best in the world, the beaches are beautiful, small and often half empty and the town puts you in a virtually perfect position to explore nearby places of cultural interest, including the UNESCO World Heritage site Butrint.

It’s a near perfectly preserved area from Greek and Roman times with incredible ruins and angles that will make your Instagram following very jealous. Oh, and the bus ride is less than $1 between the towns.

Because we as tourists are drawn like moth to flame toward anything crystal blue, liquid and beautiful, another must see along the Albanian Riviera is “The Blue Eye”. It’s accessible by bus for under a buck.

This mysterious natural spring is phenomenal to witness, in part because you can’t take your eyes off the deep blue eye. Imagine a placid, beautiful river style setting worth visiting anyway, but where a 50m deep hole with the most captivating aqua-blue-turquoise water bubbling up creates an optical illusion.

Syri I Kalter (The Blue Eye) is a prized place in Albanian history, and during the communist days of the country, only the elite were allowed to visit. Some say it holds magical powers, but whether you believe that kind of crap or not, you might as well see it.

When To Visit The Albanian Riviera

This area, like the Grecian and Italian cities surrounding it, is almost perfect from May to October. Obviously, in a place with gorgeous beaches and crystal blue waters you want to be able to actually enjoy them – so going when it’s warm enough is key.

You’ll find low rainfall and hot hot heat from June through late September. If you had to pick, late May before the summer crowds or mid September after them are probably the most idyllic times to visit. Really, you can’t go wrong.

In the larger sense though, the time is now. There just aren’t that many destinations where you can experience something beautiful and unique without a price gouge, and this up and coming part of the world won’t stay under the radar for long. On that note: bring cash, because credit card machines are not yet a “thing” here.

Like all the greatest seaside escapes, it’s the natural resources which make the Albanian Riviera so special. Right now, its just perfect.

GSTP originally recommended visiting Albania in 2019…

The post Albanian Riviera: Europe’s Most Beautiful Budget Travel Secret appeared first on God Save The Points.

If you don’t speak points nerd, it means that the reward you get for engaging with Finnair from flights on the airline, its airline partners and many other non-flying activities will soon earn you this type of points currency called Avios. 

Avios initially became famous as the reward system for British Airways and Iberia, but has since grown in global appeal thanks to robust ways to earn and burn the points among global partners, including leading US credit cards. 

While the Finnair announcement is quite interesting on its own, I can’t help but look at the broader factors this news creates for loyalty, points and credit card rewards. It now feels like airlines might not be the only use case for Avios.

More Appeal For A Regional Program

Loyalty kept airlines alive during the 2008 financial crisis and also during the global health crisis of 2020. It’s a valuable part of any airline operation in good times and bad and helps airlines, hotels and other brands to generate engagement and revenue, not just for flying planes and putting heads in beds. 

People can earn points all day from home, or from their daily activities and that type of engagement and earning is good for loyalty programs.

Finnair, until now, was a relatively obscure program without much global appeal. Sorry, it’s true. Brass tax, it was what Finnish people defaulted to for their airline program of choice, but it’d be hard to name a large cohort of Americans, or even Europeans who ever signed up or meaningfully engaged. Further afield and that’s even more true.

Current Finnair Points and award charts (the rates they charge for flights from one place to another using points) will convert into Avios 3:2 when the conversion happens in 2024.

But adopting Avios brings an interesting angle.

Avios, the loyalty currency issued by IAG Loyalty has a much broader appeal, thanks to US financial partnerships with Amex, Chase, Capital One and BILT, allowing people to create Avios from other rewards they already earn.

In addition, the currency has global earn and burn partners including all the EU Oneworld alliance airlines, as well as Qatar Airways and a myriad of online travel and every day shopping online retailers. People can earn Avios by buying laptops online from Apple, or shoes from Adidas, or car rentals and even wine.

In plain English, Finnair will likely pick up new members and international interest from the play, since it’s easier for people to earn Avios with these things they already do, than Finnair’s previous loyalty currency with limited partnerships. 

What’s Next For Avios? 

With the news today, every European, Oneworld airline alliance member now uses Avios for their loyalty currency. Qatar Airways does too. That’s big.

Impressively, it feels like a virtuous circle at present, as each partner gives greater strength to the Avios currency, while the currency offers greater strength to under recognized programs that adopt it.

It’s no secret that points can be a great profit center for airlines, so I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to come. Many Oneworld airlines aren’t based in the US or EU and don’t have any penetration in these great markets.

Airlines like Malaysia have big ambitions abroad but a virtually non-existent loyalty program outside of the country. A move like adopting Avios seems like the fastest way to change that overnight with the flip of a switch.

I’d Love To See A Hotel?

Loyalty programs are so much more in focus as financial boons for travel businesses and hotels are in an interesting period of time. The “big” hotel groups have massively expanded their loyalty programs and this has really locked travelers into their system.

People with loyalty to a big group like Marriott, Hilton or Hyatt aren’t typically going to chance it with a smaller brand just to earn some one off points they’ll never be able to accumulate in larger droves. These big programs make it too easy to jump into perks, with great credit card welcome bonuses for points and strong benefits.

It feels like there could be a situation where a hotel group that has struggled to crack the US could be innovative and adopt Avios, rather than an unrecognized currency if they want to actually siphon off some loyalty.

I certainly don’t care about earning a one time amount of points from a smaller hotel group, but i’d actually be fairly open to staying with a new brand if I was earning Avios and complementing my daily credit card spend and air travel earning with my hotel stays too.

Basically, I’m less likely to stay with a small chain if I’ll earn a loyalty currency I don’t care about, but if I could earn points and or status with one I already engage in, that’s another story entirely.

Interesting Timing

For the first time in years, I’m seeing really meaningful fare discounts on transatlantic routes and a dip in hotel daily rates. It feels like the absurd once in a lifetime pricing and demand in the wake of the pandemic is waning. I don’t care what execs say to the contrary.

If that’s true, airlines and other travel businesses will undoubtedly need to get back to delivering value not only to shareholders, but customers too. Loyalty remains the best pathway to keeping people immersed in the brand. It seems like Finnair has timed this well and I’ll be curious to see if there’s more to come.

The post Finnair Adopts Avios, So Who’s Next? appeared first on God Save The Points.

I’ve been to pretty much all the nicest and most sought after airport lounges in the world from the stunning Lufthansa First Class Terminal to Qantas First in places like Sydney and Melbourne, as well, Singapore’s Private Room and the more accessible lovely places like Virgin Clubhouses.

If you fly often enough and camp out in these places when you do, the law of averages means you’ll eventually see some people with some claim to fame in the process. I’ve had some amusing interactions through the years and also learned a lot from teams which handle these clients for airlines.

Hidden Rooms Within Lounges

The first thing to know is that you’ve probably been in a lounge when a celebrity, athlete or high level government official type is there and had no idea. I’ll share more on the chameleon skills I’ve observed, but there’s also a cheat code.

Many airlines which cater to, or regularly count high profile celebrities as customers have private rooms or spaces within their lounges. Unless you see the person make a very quick entrance or exit, they’ll be virtually invisible for the duration of their stay.

Virgin Atlantic famously has curtains that provide discrete hiding places within their JFK and Heathrow Clubhouse Lounges where those with enough clout to arrange services of this sort are whisked. I’ve seen Madonna slip in and out of these a few times.

These spaces range from what look like storage cupboards to more like boardroom style setups. Some even have en-suite bathrooms. I’ve seen many of them and frankly they’re not as fun as the lounges. It’s purely a privacy play.

Chameleon Behavior: An Artform

There’s one very clever and coy move I’ve seen over and over again and when the celeb or known person isn’t dressed like something out of a Limp Bizkit video or a children’s video game, which admittedly is rare. When they pull this feat off, they hide incredibly well.

That move is basically sitting nearest the entrance to the lounge, but sitting in a direction that faces adjacent or away from those walking in and exiting.

By doing this they’re not in view of anyone really gazing around the main space at all. People tend to hurriedly walk once their boarding pass is scanned and only get nosy once they’re in and settled in.

Another strategy I’ve seen work well is the safety in numbers, where a person is dressed fairly incognito and is with others. People tend to give less scrutiny to a small group that looks like colleagues or family.

Finally, just dressing like any quasi-normal person really works well. I wouldn’t necessarily say it makes me fortunate, but I’ve been able to rub shoulders with many high profile people in life and most aren’t as big or ridiculously glamorous as movie posters make them out to be.

Those who just rock a casual outfit and don’t do the dark glasses and brooding faces thing are often left completely unnoticed. But maybe that’s the point of the dark glasses and baseball cap thing?

Private Lounges Outside Of The Terminal

As the one percent of 1%’ers — and celebrities too — increasingly find plebs harder to deal with, there’s been a meteoric rise of airport “lounges” that you won’t get into with airline status or a standard credit card. They’re also not even in the terminal.

Services like PS @ LAX have stormed the market, now expanding to places like Atlanta and Miami too. They accompany stalwarts like Heathrow VIP, Changi VIP and others which provide an extraordinary experience, bypassing the public airport terminals almost entirely.

Think a minimum of $1000 per passenger for a private space away from the public terminal with private security and a ride in a prestige level car to the plane. Some even offer private immigration so you don’t have to think about lines!

Very Little Drinking, Or A Whole Lot

This is purely anecdotal, but it’s been an interesting one to observe. In Facebook groups you actually often see similar mentions with this theme. In short, I rarely see anyone commercially famous drinking in lounges or on board. When I do, they’re on quite an enjoyment ride.

I know that people are often on their way to a premiere, interview, gig or something that requires a level of freshness and looking the part and I’ve often heard this is why there’s a pretty strict routine followed. For what it’s worth I rarely drink on board or in the lounge these days as I follow a strict jet lag routine.

Like I said, whenever someone does seem to be drinking, they’re often hitting it pretty hard which has lead to a few interesting encounters and some missed flights!

The post Celebrities In Airport Lounges: Amusing Insights appeared first on God Save The Points.

Some airlines…

Summer is supposed to be the time that airlines rip us off on price thanks to wild demand and then run to shareholders to say that they did a thing! That crass take may be crass, but it’s not wrong.

What’s surprising this year though, is that not every airline is running back from the summer with something to shout about. Many are reporting results below estimates and forecasting a bit of a cliff’s edge for upcoming shoulder season travel.

Most intriguing? Many are sharing the same point of view on why this summer hasn’t been quite the thing they dreamed of, and it’s all about aspiration.

Bucket List Travel Is Winning

If your airline flies to bucket list destinations for the US market, it’s been a good summer. British Airways is a fair example of that, with their ownership group IAG reporting a record quarter. If your airline flies to often overlooked cities in the United States, there’s been a lot less to shout about.

Airlines including Alaska, JetBlue and Frontier have each come out with explanations for their lackluster results this summer and if you synthesize it into one theme, it’s that all their customers “went to Europe” or somewhere else they’ve always dreamed of.

There are countless US cities worth a visit from Charleston to Seattle, but that kind of summer traffic just hasn’t materialized for intra-US travel. People are going big, going abroad and putting those “easier” trips off for another time.

Is this a short term shift, as people rekindle places they struggled to visit from 2020 to 2022, and were sold out of last year, or is this the new emotion in travel?

Spontaneous Travel Taking A Hit Too

Across the pond, Ryanair and EasyJet reported an excellent summer, but not one exactly as they expected. The airlines noted that the “close in” spontaneous style air travel bookings haven’t materialized.

There are plenty of ways to read this. On one hand, you could say that the stress of travel restrictions in recent years really killed the vibe for the screw it, let’s do it crowd who simply get excited and go. Another way to hypothesize would simply be price.

This will undoubtedly trigger a shift in pricing strategies and perhaps innovation as airlines look to change their fate with last minute bookings.

A Weird Time For Travel

Inflation in travel has massively outpaced inflation in other industries, so it’s possible that we’ve reached a tipping point on price. Hotels are typically giving less and charging more. A challenging summer of weather and staffing shortages have seen many dream trips marred by flight delays.

One thing is clear: patterns are shifting and if people are spending on travel right now, they’re ticking the big box items off, rather than so called anytime trips.

Are you?

The post How “Bucket List” Travel Is Killing Airlines appeared first on God Save The Points.

Let me start by saying that in a travel world governed by protecting share price and shareholder value, rather than innovation and driving hospitality standards I admire those that take big swings or find new ways to please all. I don’t think Global Airlines will deliver in either of those avenues.

I’ve never been one to shy away from opinion and I’ve seen more than my fair share of big talking egos in the travel industry over the last decade. Few of these machismo ego types have been have been more easily ignored than James Asquith, the “founder and CEO” of paper airline, Global Airlines. I’d love to be wrong about this, I just so rarely am.

Almost as if my readers know I have a nose for this sort of extreme thing, I’ve had more people get in touch begging for content than virtually any other airline topic in the decades long history of this blog.

I aim to please, so it’s my pleasure to lay out a hybrid article out below, sharing some vital and factual industry hurdles facing Global Airlines first. Then, I’ll interject my brief, juicy and amusing encounters with this ultra visionary money spinner and social count fluffer and share some real, no BS woes.

Real Industry Hurdles For Global Airlines

Seth Miller of paxex.aero fame may not be the most glass half full member of the airline press thanks to his pedantic attention to detail but by sticking to that script, it rarely make him flat-out wrong about something.

He “gets” the airline industry and its regulatory processes at a very gritty level, whether that’s seemingly simple things like certifying an airline seat for flight (not simple at all), or applying for air operator certificates (extra not simple at all) in well regulated flying markets like the US, Europe or UK. I like him for that, a lot.

In Seth’s great piece about Global Airlines, he not only lists the mountain of vital regulatory challenges facing Global, he also shares how they apparently lied about having already achieved some of these regulatory milestones via the airlines pitch deck. The airline told Seth they’ve “moved on” from that deck.

But let’s be clear: there’s no grey here. Many of these claims are black and white, true or untrue, where one claim cannot be true if the other is not. Knowing the orders and processes involved in this highly complicated dance to become a real passenger flying airline, many are simply not true, according to the article.

• Air Operator Certificate: Global will need CAA approval and some checks from the FAA for an AOC and this is a crazy complicated and stringent process in which two highly bureaucratic bodies must be satisfied over a myriad of checks.
• Landing Slots at Prime Airports: Global says they’ll fly New York-London as their big route launch. Last I knew, a pair of slots at Heathrow cost about $70 million and weren’t exactly on eBay. JFK… yeah. Gatwick isn’t exactly cheap either.
• Seats And Other…Parts: You really should read Seth’s article linked above. Many of the seats Global Airlines claims it will use were purely concepts that don’t exist, or are preexisting seats which bring zero innovation. They’re super expensive too, these airline seats. Some business class seats cost more than $100k per seat!

Some rather insane people have tried to create a narrative that these hurdles are like a young Richard Branson and the doubt he faced when launching the truly iconic Virgin Atlantic. Well done, Global PR team, and solely Global PR team.

Let me just say I’ve very been fortunate to meet Sir Richard many a’time and the man is a very serious “business first” clever machine and Virgin’s entry hurdles and scope to innovate in the year 1984 bear no resemblance to today in 2023. That’s just silly. Nice try, Global PR team — you may actually be worth keeping around.

Fake Followers, Ban Rumors And Angry Messages

Around the time British Airways got some A350’s delivered, James Asquith very briefly followed me on Instagram. He immediately messaged and was fuming that he wasn’t invited to the media event which saw virtually all print and television outlets in the UK alongside many bloggers and social media people onboard to tour the new delivery.

He sent me some weird messages, got angry when I didn’t agree with his tirade and then unfollowed me pretty shortly thereafter. Sorry, “bro”, I don’t do the follow for a follow thing. Good luck with that though!

I’d never heard of him and found it weird that he had “a million” followers on the platform. Someone later confirmed to me some hilarious purchases of followers and bots. That tracks, considering Global, an airline which only exists on paper right now already has 447,000 followers on Instagram.

Zero flights, zero customers, almost half a million social followers? Ok then…

Despite global recognition and routes, a famous founder and almost 40 years in the business with internationally known celebrities regularly tagging them, Virgin Atlantic only has 646,000. The biggest global US carriers hover around the 1 million mark.

Because I keep my lawyers busy enough, I certainly won’t outright claim that James’ entire online presence and that of Global is a sham, but I am not-not claiming that either?

Though I never actually saw the printed list of “banned” flyers to confirm and can’t verify myself, I have it on very good authority that at least a couple airlines temporarily banned this guy from flying because of antics aimed at drawing social attention and disrupting cabin service. Maybe that’s why he needs an airline of his own?

Follow The Money?

I am not a forensic accountant. I make no claim to prove any wrongdoing, and I am only here to ask reasonable questions. James Asquith theoretically founded something called Holiday Swap and it claims to be huge. I don’t know of a singular ‘Holiday Swap’ customer that has ever actually made a booking.

That current/former business of Mr. Asquith has always been mired by rumors. If it’s somehow part of the bankroll for this new Global Airlines, that is something regulators should probably look to understand more, along with the true origins of some of the financing.

Wouldn’t it be good to know the true investors of an airline, and the entities which they represent? I’ve heard caviar is often served!

Safety Drives Airlines More Than These People Know

There’s a lesser talked truth about success in the airline industry and it’s not how fancy a seat is, the global airlines alliances one possesses, credit card perks on offer or what booze is served on board. It’s safety.

S-a-f-e-t-y is actually really what drives airlines more than most factors. It’s not sexy to talk about nor easy or fun to message, which is why we don’t really talk about it — but it’s so real.

Corporates buy travel on airlines with impeccable safety records so that they can feel confidence that their key stakeholders are in good hands. Families choose airlines that are known to put safety first for all the obvious reasons.

Whatever you think about James Asquith, and yes many travel social media follow for follow types do love him, I ask you one thing. Do you ever feel “safety culture” when you browse his Instagram, or that of Global, even? Was Fyre Festival safe?

You tell me.

Serious airlines spend serious money, time and resource to develop safety cultures which keep them out of the news, rather than do odd things to try to gain news.

Business In The Front, Party In The Back

If you look at recent airline upstarts which went from paper, to planes flying actual passengers, they’ve been like mullets. I mean that with real love.

Business in the front, party in the back.

They’ve been founded by highly credible people like David Neeleman who has been a true innovator and business leader in travel. The guy founded JetBlue which was the first to introduce live TV, leather seats in economy and innovative f&b offerings.

His most recent airline, Breeze, which has flown millions of people has just 63K followers, by the way.

These airlines were business first approaches where all of the dense regulatory hurdles were cleared with clarity and purpose thanks to other highly credible people hired to ensure regulators knew how seriously these things are taken. You should not be able to fudge safety and standards. No one’s life should be taken for granted.

Unlike Global Airlines pitch deck, these flying upstarts were not telling investors they had air operator certificates when they didn’t, or slots when they couldn’t legally have them, because they didn’t actually have an air operator certificate.

Once the business was in place, the rest came after. It’s just impossible to take a company seriously when they don’t understand this fundamental, vital part of the airline business. You can try all the wacky stuff you want once you’re air worthy and have slots.

I firmly believe that the best investment in Global Airlines is the sweatshirts from their online store, because unlike their planes, they may actually fly one day if you wear one on another airline. And if you’re really lucky, and this turns out to be the Fyre Festival documentary I think it will be in my heart, you’ll have an eBay memorabilia piece to wear to music festivals.

If I’m wrong, I will make (1) Instagram reel, (1) Facebook post and (1) blog post for James bowing in apology and waive my usual fee.

The post Global Airlines: Officially Calling “BS” appeared first on God Save The Points.

A person who makes $50k a year, but earns credit card rewards efficiently can occasionally enjoy a first class flight worth $10k, or an out-of-sight five star hotel, by cleverly utilizing rewards points. Or maybe — just use them to buy a computer their family needs for school. On points, no problem!

Those rewards are largely funded by the circa 2% fee card issuers get from each transaction. In the free and competitive marketplace that currently is the US credit card market, virtually all of that fee gets reinvested directly into rewards and perks for cardholders, like you or me.

A bill dubiously called the “Credit Card Competition Act of 2023” is now making its way through the U.S. Senate, largely using false narratives and highly flawed data, hopes to change that — pretty much so that big box stores can save a few cents while processing your transactions. And no, those cents won’t be lowering prices for you anytime soon.

The last time a similar bill was passed, only 1% of US merchants lowered prices in any way. When in history has that old trick worked? Here’s everything you need to know about the proposal, and how it would do a lot more harm than good for consumers.

Conflating Cost Of Living Issues

Why is my cheese more expensive? Why is Netflix hiking the prices again and no longer winking and nodding about sharing passwords?

With many elements of life reaching unfamiliar territory, and pricing to go along with it, people are eager to find answers and reasons. People are tired of living through these “unprecedented” times, and would really just like to go back to precedented stuff.

Cost of living worries aren’t something to be taken lightly, but this proposal making its way through the U.S. Senate may be the most illogical, and arguably flat-out stupid way to deal. It certainly won’t help the people, but may help some greedy businesses.

Basically, big box merchants have convinced politically motivated senators to propose a new bill which would strip out credit card rewards, by forcibly potentially lowering interchange fees — aka the fees merchants, but not consumers pay — when you pay with a credit card.

It’s always been a cost of doing business, but merchants want the benefits of accepting cards — aka people spending more — without the fees. That’s called having your cake and eating it too.

With no fees to fund rewards, or create perks, many key benefits to credit cards, like car rental collision coverage, or trip delay protection could come under threat.

The proposed bill would force the best rewards cards to partner with uncompetitive card networks like Pulse or NYCE in addition to Visa, Mastercard, Amex or Discover, so that merchants could enjoy lower fees on the transaction.

After you’ve paid the same old price, of course.

Interchange fees help fund credit card rewards and that’s an example of what truly free competition brings. If a leading card issuer earns 2%, many invest that 2% right back into the customer with points or cash back because the market is so competitive. Some even invest more than they make on the transaction to win loyalty.

Taking things further, Amex, Mastercard and Visa spend countless billions learning how to manage risk, so that as many transactions as possible can be approved, rather than be denied. That learning is thanks to incredible data and investment, which would come under threat. A biased look at many of these topics can be found here.

Senators Durbin and Marshall are taking aim at the credit card industry because it’s an easy target, even if it’s the wrong target. That’s not all that surprising, considering that some of Durbin and Marshall’s largest donors and constituents are big box stores that truly hate paying any credit card fees at all, yet find credit card acceptance vital.

And fun fact, Discover is an Illinois constituent of Durbin and would be exempt from the newly proposed bill. Ha! Non-competitive networks which have never invested in significant rewards or perks for customers want to get a bite of the apple, and rather than competing in a free market, they want someone to change the rules for them.

What’s The Deal With Fees & Rewards?

From the start, know this one thing, if nothing else. Interchange fees haven’t actually changed in a significant way in about a decade, unlike other things! Businesses can’t truly argue that their economics have changed because of card processing. If anything, things like Stripe or Square have lowered processing costs for merchants.

The last time interchange fees were forcibly amended by Durbin, only 1% of merchants made any price adjustment at all. Basically, with this proposal, based on data from the last economic bill Durbin passed, 99 out of 100 stores you visit would still charge you the same or more, despite them making more money.

What’s changed — and created a soundbite these senators are conflating — is that banks and networks like Visa, Amex, Mastercard and Discover are making more money off of interchange than ever, and that’s true, but not in the way it’s been framed.

The reason it’s true is because people are spending more money on credit cards versus debit cards, thanks to the purchase protections and other perks interchange fees help bring. Not because the interchange rates have significantly changed.

If we say US consumers historically spent $100 dollars a year, and card issuers and networks got 2% of that, but now they spend $200 dollars a year and card issuers and networks still get 2%, it’s just a larger gross number. That’s what’s happened.

The gross numbers credit card issuers collect off of interchange fees are just larger because people are spending more on credit cards to earn rewards and enjoy those protections and perks that other products don’t offer. Ready for the kicker?

That’s particularly amusing, because the last Durbin sponsored government economic experiment ruined debit card rewards and forced countless people out of the banking system. A study by George Mason University estimated that the last time Durban intervened in the free market, circa 1 million people lost access to banking.

Credit Card Competition Act: A Whole Lot Of Nothing

Durbin and Marshall have dubbed their (very expensive) and ill fated bill the ‘Credit Card Competition Act’. I can’t help but L-O-L at the notion.

They want to create competition by taking a free market system which already exists, and already affords every opportunity for Pulse and others to be competitive in the space, and force a seat at the table for them at the expense of consumers who enjoy better perks and consumer protections than ever. That’s not competition. It’s strong arm tactics.

In my opinion, this isn’t about helping consumers with the cost of living. It’s about propping up businesses which refuse to compete and invest — at the expense of truly competitive credit card products and rewards, from which the public benefits.

The post The US Senate Bill Proposing To Ruin Your Credit Card Rewards appeared first on God Save The Points.

British Airways is moving to a system where you’ll earn Avios, the points currency used to fuel the loyalty program, based on how much you spend rather than how far you fly.

Air travel is a particularly emotional endeavor and that’s even true when things go on time without a hitch. It may not be new, but flying is still aspirational and vital for so many reasons.

For a long time, the way people earned miles and rewards in the British Airways Executive Club when flying was based actually on the distance flown. It matched the emotional component of more reward for longer journeys, even if it wasn’t entirely logical.

Particularly since the invention of the internet, increased airline competition and new sales technology, distance became an increasingly questioned metric for earning. This is a world where someone can fly from London to Australia for £450/$550, but fly from London to Geneva for £600/$784.

British Airways Moving To Spend Based Avios Earning: Background

The first programs to switch over to “spend based” earning were in the U.S. with programs like Delta and none have shifted course, while many have joined. That list already includes European programs like Air France/KLM’s ‘Flying Blue’ as well as Miles & More from Lufthansa and Swiss.

Spend based earning rather than distance based earning creates a tighter relationship between spend and reward points dished out. If you ask any loyalty program leader, you’ll always hear that unlocking more reward seats for members with points is a key concern. Having better economics around the points helps that cause.

It’s fair to say it’s more transactional and feels less warm and fuzzy than the emotional relationship of flying long distances to earn more points, but it’s also fair to say that it better rewards people flying shorter distances more frequently, and people flying long distances may still earn more rewards this way. Let’s dive in.

Avios Earn Rates Under British Airways New Program

Any flights booked from October 18th, 2023 will earn based on spend rather than distance. And yeah, any flights booked before that date, even for travel after that date will earn as they currently do.

To be clear, metrics for earning elite status is unchanged for the time being and this solely impacts Avios points earned which can be spent for rewards.

From October 18th, 2023 British Airways Executive Club members will earn Avios based on the following rates per pound spend. For other currencies, total eligible spend will be converted into GBP.

Fare and carrier charges apply to the new Avios earn rates but government imposed charges do not. Hopefully British Airways will do a good job of displaying how many Avios you’ll earn in the sales flow, so you don’t have to do any math.

• Blue members will receive 6 Avios per qualifying* £1 spent
• Bronze members will receive 7 Avios per qualifying £1 spent
• Silver members will receive 8 Avios per qualifying £1 spent
• Gold members will receive 9 Avios per qualifying £1 spent

For a direct, apples to apples European comparison, Air France/KLM’s “Flying Blue” offers 4 points per euro spent for base members, and then 6,7 and 8 for elites. This makes British Airways changes more generous by at least one point per tier.

I find the best way to assess loyalty changes are through practical real world examples. There will always be red herring situations, but factually speaking British Airways will actually issue more points to members via this new system rather than fewer.

Take a recent trip to Geneva

On the lowest fare, which may still be quite expensive, London Geneva earns 125 Avios each way currently. Yes, a round trip would earn a measly 250 Avios. Even the most expensive economy fares only earn 500 Avios each way, for a total of 1000 round trip.

Under the new upcoming system, a base ‘Blue’ member paying just £100 each way would earn somewhere around the current high Avios total for the economy cabin. Geneva fares often trend into the £275 each way mark during key times which means base members would earn far move Avios under the new system than before.

The £275 example would yield 1500 circa Avios each way which easily surpasses the current highs. A Gold member at 9 Avios per £ spent could make off extremely well.

Winners And Losers

Spend based earn is a concept far more familiar than many people will make this out to be. Blogs including this one shout all the time about the merits of rewards credit cards. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that these are spend based earn tools.

Spend X, get Y Avios.

The British Airways Premium American Express Card has offered as much as 70,000 points as a welcome bonus in the UK this year and has defined earn rates. All partner hotels, Uber partnerships and online e-store purchases are also spend based earn.

Take a Booking.com promo of 10 Avios per £1 spent on hotels via BA and you have an identical program to the new British Airways spend based earn for flights.

For many flight distances there will be some winners and losers in the new spend based program, but again, more points will be issued by British Airways, IAG Loyalty and Avios to support this program, which means more people are being rewarded, more.

Clear Winners

Inflexible travelers with fixed dates who often purchase high fares will mostly win out with these changes. They’ll earn more Avios. The more painful the ticket cost, the more Avios you’ll earn to soften the blow.That may likely include families on school holiday schedules, business travelers and premium leisure customers.

Generally speaking, base members will be more rewarded than they were before on short haul travel with fares at current levels or higher. Any elite Bronze, Silver and Gold members will have their spend better captured.

And though no one likes paying for ancillary purchases, ancillaries like seat selection, upgrades or other fees will also be eligible for Avios earning.

Marginal Wins And Losses

Customers who typically fly longer distances like a London – New York as their primary route will win some and lose some. New York is one of the “cheaper” routes of longer distance, with fares sometimes dipping as low as £350 round trip these days, or £1500 in business class.

With high government taxes on this route, like other US routes, the earning may really fluctuate. A “Blue” member would currently earn 1729 Avios each way to New York on most economy fares currently.

Looking at a £505 round trip fare, only £310 of that fare isn’t government taxes. A blue member would earn 1510 Avios for this flight round trip, which is an unfortunate dip in earning.

In business class, I recently flew London-New York as a Gold member and earned 17,290 Avios round trip. At a rate of 9 Avios per £1 spent, a £2,300 business class ticket would earn me more Avios, hitting exactly 18,000.

And this is a key distinction: currently, there’s no benefit to spending more. It doesn’t matter whether I paid £1500 for a business class ticket and you paid £7,0000 — we’re rewarded the same. In the new program, if you spend £7,000 on a ticket as a Gold member, you’ll earn 63,000 Avios for a flight you previously earned 17,290.

Potential Losers

I would certainly never derive pleasure from calling the most pedantic spreadsheet folks in the Flyertalk crowd losers, but they’re likely targets here. People flying almost exclusively on error fares will earn fewer points than they currently do with flights earning based on distance as they do currently.

Since these types of fare typically make it to less than .0001% of customers, it’s not something for most to really factor. Don’t get me wrong, I love a generous fare, but I am also not greedy enough to think I deserve to be top tier for enjoying them.

Those who book the lowest super sale short haul fares may also earn fewer Avios. Some like to use fares like £80 round trips as an example, but there are a lot fewer of those than there are realistic fares over £250 at the moment.

It’s not like there were big hauls of earning from these flights anyway. Pre-elite-status earnings typically topped out around 1,000 Avios round trip for most short haul routes. Hardly a primary avenue for significant points earning compared to credit card spend, wine clubs or e-store purchases.

Spend Based Earn: Sustainable Economics?

The fuel needed and crew required between London and Geneva is nowhere near the cost required to fly someone between London and Sydney, yet as previously noted, it might be cheaper to fly to Sydney and you would currently earn more points. That puts an immediate strain on loyalty program economics across the business for no logical reason.

U.S. airlines have used spend based earn to invest in better loyalty perks than those available in other markets, largely because there’s better accountability for customer value. Points are issued without question. It’s a bit “show me the money” (barf), but it’s also a lot easier for finance teams to see the value that loyalty brings in real terms.

There will always be a fair element of missing the “good ole days” of loyalty being an open ended game without perfect logic, but there’s also excitement around programs actually performing better and delivering on their value promise.

Having better tech, more valuable benefits and more seat availability is arguably far more exciting than the “game” of old, however aspirational and whimsical it felt.

However you feel, British Airways is moving to spend based earn starting October 18th, and from that day forward there will be a direct relationship to what you spend with the airline and what you earn, much like you already do with credit card rewards, e-store purchases and partnerships.

The post British Airways Is Changing How You Earn Avios From Flights appeared first on God Save The Points.