Money tips

American Airlines today announced its financial-performance numbers for the fourth quarter and the full year.

No cash, no tip, no hassle… When you arrive at your destination, just hop out—we’ll automatically charge the credit card on file. And there’s no need to tip.

Could Spirit, the airline everybody loves to hate, become a bit less hateful? If the company’s new CEO has his way, it will do just that.

The pending FAA reauthorization bill has served as a kind of magnifying lens on several weighty issues facing travel suppliers and their customers.

Hilton titled the news release announcing upcoming changes to its Honors loyalty program as follows: “Hilton Honors Delivers Even More to Its Members in 2018 with Industry-Leading Earn Rates and New Benefits.”

Are you a current or prospective Hilton loyalist? If so, a credit card linked to Hilton’s HHonors program is a no-brainer. And, for a limited time, one of the HHonors no-annual-fee cards comes bundled with a particularly generous sign-up bonus.

Southwest manages to succeed where most companies, and airlines in particular, fail, selling a mediocre product, at a price that is rarely the lowest, racking up an industry-leading record of profitability, all the while maintaining a firm hold on the hearts and minds of its customers. Very few companies make so many people so happy so consistently.

It would be an understatement to say that travel to Cuba hasn’t met the airlines’ expectations.

Spirit Airlines waived fees.

It’s no secret that it’s been a year of ups and downs—but one silver lining is the affordable travel possibilities it’s opened up for American travelers. Thanks to expanding air routes, a strong U.S. dollar, and tour companies catering to younger, more frugal tourists, the world is now more accessible than ever.

Say your bank sent you a credit or debit card with an embedded RFID chip. The idea sounds appealing: When you make a purchase, instead of slipping your card into a reader and waiting for a response, all you do is tap the card on a pad somewhere near the terminal. It’s the same sort of technology that many transit systems use for fare cards, where you just tap and go through the barrier.

Ancillary revenue is the amount of money an airline takes in after charging for its base airfares—also known as airline fees. It might not come as a surprise that the amount airlines get by nickel-and-diming you has been growing steadily over the past decade—but some charge (a lot) more in airline fees than others. How much? Billions.

Who will be the next president of the United States, if the airlines had their way?

Plenty of travelers prefer to just pay the listed price of the item and be done with it, but bargaining a price down is expected in many cultures—especially at flea markets and bazaars, where vendors often inflate prices and expect potential buyers to argue them down.

In the days after Britons voted in favor of leaving the European Union, England seems to be learning a lot about itself—and not in the way you’d hope. The social media hashtag #PostRefRacism emerged this week to highlight increased public expressions of racism in the U.K., ranging from xenophobic graffiti and verbal threats to public harassment.

For years, Southwest, which already flies more domestic passengers than American, Delta, or United, has been known to have aspirations to fly to Hawaii. Last night, the company made those intentions official.

If you closely followed the debate leading up to the American-US Airways merger, you’ll recall a period during which it seemed a safe bet that the Department of Justice would nix the tie-up on antitrust grounds. DOJ officials signaled that, after signing off on mergers between United and Continental, Delta and Northwest, and Southwest and AirTran, further consolidation was likely to impede competition and give the airlines outsize pricing power. And it was their duty to forestall just such an outcome.

This month saw the launch of what many in the travel blogosphere are calling the best travel-rewards credit card ever: the Sapphire Reserve Visa card from Chase.

Give all your favorite travelers the gear and gadgets they want for their world adventures–trust us, they’ll find space in even the smallest carry-on to fit these! With presents starting at $2, there’s something for every holiday budget on this list.

Fuel, one of the airlines’ two largest operating expenses, is 40 percent cheaper than it was a year ago. And airline profits are robust, in some cases at record-high levels.

At a time when the distaste of consumers and the scrutiny of lawmakers would seem sufficient to shame hotels into ending their widely derided resort fees, Caesars Entertainment is doing the opposite.