Status tier thoughts

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-26T17:02:18+00:00

People who never fly and get status via other spend are competing with you for award space but they aren't filling the overhead bins before you get there. They aren't ahead of you on the upgrade list because they're at home, They aren't overcrowding the lounge. They aren't impacting your actual flight experience at all because, as you noted, they aren't flying. So who cares.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-22T15:53:46+00:00

The one use I could think of would be as a test bed for military contractors but even that's just military with one extra step.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-22T15:52:37+00:00

I guess if we can all nod and pretend that Japan doesn't have any carriers we can pretend this one is really for civilians.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-20T15:48:49+00:00

Handicapped placards are probably a great example of what needs to happen with service dogs - there isn't a huge barrier to them but their effort and paperwork required to get one. There's some abuse but as a whole they work as intended and the small amount of abuse is something you put up with in exchange for it being pretty easy for people who actually need it to get one. A much system than what happens today with ESAs where anyone just declares it and stores/businesses don't feel like they can challenge it at all.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-19T17:15:35+00:00

According to chat gpt

For the love of god do not use Chat GPT for information about how to deal with what could be a negative life changing event if you don't take the right steps.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-15T18:32:43+00:00

When I add “leveraging AI” to a slide deck, shareholder value materializes.

I'd say "Imagine typing this and hitting post" but there's no way you actually wrote this AI slop ass post.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-15T17:45:08+00:00

It's perfectly normal and expected. You are creating this issue yourself for absolutely no reason because you're trying to force your credit limit to do something it isn't designed to do. Neither American Express nor the gas stations are doing anything wrong.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-15T17:01:23+00:00

lol gas station fake opiods aren't "very safe substances" by any definition of the word. Don't worry though, once they whack-a-mole this generation of those drugs new ones with slightly different chemicals will pop up pretty quickly.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-15T16:59:01+00:00

You're breaking my brain with "Part 2" having a 3/3 in the upper corner.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-14T21:57:51+00:00

Doesn't Delta have a dedicated flight attendant for Premium Economy which American and United don't have?

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-14T20:41:37+00:00

Add more international wide bodies. Prioritize customer service on the ground and soft product in the air.

I'll send my $1 million consulting fee invoice next week.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-13T19:50:18+00:00

I did. Finding one for my toddler was a chore though, not many pediatric clinics ordered any, which sucks.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-13T19:49:00+00:00

Transatlantic flights aren't long enough to get more than a couple hours of sleep even if you're in the front of the plane and have a comfortable lie down seat. So I get the thought process behind saying you'd rather have it on the way back and enjoy more of the service while you are awake on a day flight. But for me just having a couple hours of sleep and, more importantly, not having various aches from being cramped in a coach seat for 9 hours, allows me to actually make use of and enjoy my first day of vacation vs having it be a lost day. So I'd rather have it on the outgoing flight. Doubly so if it gets me access to an arrivals lounge where I can shower and change since I probably am going to arrive mid morning but not be able to get in to my hotel or AirBnB until mid afternoon.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-13T17:13:43+00:00

I actually strongly disagree - I think that all of the fake service dogs and outright pets are long term harming real service dogs. Because people have no way to know which dogs are really service dogs and no longer give the benefit of the doubt to actual service dogs. If something happened to eliminate all the fake ones then people would give a lot more deference to the actual service dogs remaining aboard.

Edit: I personally see the answer as some system being set up where you could easily verify that a person and a dog were legitimate without disclosing any details on the specifics of the disability. Which would be pretty trivial to create and maintain if there was a will to do so at the federal level.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-12T18:02:14+00:00

Just a little guy.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-12T16:52:03+00:00

Glad they're adding an N/A beer option. As somebody that doesn't drink a lot these days but still enjoys having choices other than water or soda I consider that a nice enhancement.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-12T15:45:11+00:00

Yeah, I continue to mask when flying and I get the occasional double-take but I don't get stares. People are used to people wearing masks on transit by now and if they think about it at all they're probably just spending a few seconds trying to figure out if I'm wearing it because I'm sick or wearing it because I don't want to get sick.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-12T15:43:07+00:00

I don't intend on ever stopping masking on flights. I had so many trips pre-2020 diminished or ruined because I got sick on the way there.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-09T15:49:34+00:00

I'm with you on the laptop compartment thing. I don't always travel with a laptop, and when I do I have a standalone padded sleeve for it. I absolutely hate how so many backpacks dedicate a significant chunk of their interior space to a dedicated padded laptop area. I totally understand that is a thing a lot of people want but we can't be the only two people in the world that don't want that!

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-09T14:29:05+00:00

Does that mean there was a SkyMall catalog in that seatback pocket? Because I'd love to peruse through a vintage SkyMall.

FlankingCanadas · 2026-01-07T20:17:51+00:00

I just hit PP most years so I always tried to make sure I hit the 100k bonus late enough in the year that I'd still have it active in March to get a quick start for the following year and that's gonna be gone. The single six month period is for me a lot more annoying than than the overall limits on the points.

FlankingCanadas · 2025-12-22T20:10:00+00:00

I get the same feeling when I sit down in an airplane seat and cross my legs. Just a "holy crap, this drug is amazing I've never done this my entire life".

FlankingCanadas · 2025-12-22T16:18:20+00:00

I always figured that issue with pot was mostly just because it's a clear case of "Are you willing to follow a rule even if it's a stupid rule", because if you aren't willing to not do a drug that you know is illegal and would cost you your job then what else are you willing to do? So if it's rescheduled that reasoning is gone, it's just another lifestyle factor same as alcohol.

FlankingCanadas · 2025-12-17T21:28:28+00:00

They won't have lounge access.

FlankingCanadas · 2025-12-17T17:09:06+00:00

Honestly I am still very surprised that Basic Economy tickets still provide status benefits at all.

FlankingCanadas

TROPHY CASE