Maximizing Your Amex Airline Credit: A Complete Guide

Jul 25, 2024 • 4 min read

Budget airlines are upending many their original business plans as increased costs wreak havoc on their bottom lines.

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Five U.S. markets have recently seen the fastest growth in business travel spending, according to American Express data.

If you were flying — or planned to fly — last week, your travel plans might have been snarled by an I.T. outage that kneecapped myriad industries and critical services worldwide. On Friday, July 19, alone, nearly 14 percent of the scheduled flights in the United States were canceled and 56 percent were delayed, according to Cirium, an aviation data company. In the days following, Delta Air Lines and other carriers continued to cancel and delay flights as they struggled with crews and planes out of position and the rebooking of thousands of passengers.

It’s been a tough week for travelers with widespread cancellations and delays after an IT issue disrupted the flight operations for some of the largest airlines in the world. Delta Airlines, in particular, has struggled to recover. Thousands of its flights have been canceled or delayed over the last few days, and the U.S. Department of Transportation launched an investigation into the airline as a result of passenger complaints.

On July 19, an IT outage caused thousands of flights to be canceled or delayed across the world, including flights with major carriers like Delta, United, and American Airlines. While it certainly caused a headache for the airlines, it absolutely wrecked the travel plans for countless passengers. However, this experience did teach us all one thing: It's critical to have easy access to your flight information. And there's no easier way than this iPhone hack. 

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate credit cards to write unbiased product reviews.

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate credit cards to write unbiased product reviews.

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate credit cards to write unbiased product reviews.

The real-life Y2K. “Blue Screen of Death.” The IT outage that has affected everything from Times Square billboards to payrolls has also led to a worldwide meltdown in the airline industry. 

American Airlines struck a tentative deal with its flight attendants union, ending years of contentious negotiations.