A quick note: For some reason this didn’t publish yesterday. Most likely user error. My apologies.

NowBoarding!  Today’s travel news in 7 minutes or less:

Don’t forget to check out the Miles To Go Podcast where we bring you the latest travel news, tips and tricks each week to help you save money and travel better.

Full Transcript

NowBoarding, your daily travel news in 7 minutes or less. This is your host, Ed Pizza, bringing you the latest travel deals and travel news you need to know Monday through Friday. No more worrying about missing out on the best deals. Give us a couple of minutes every day and we’ll give you what’s going on in the world of travel.

A quick side note, thanks to Daniel for sending some feedback my way last night. I’m going to try to make an effort to give you guys a bit more of each story as I share the news. I’m trying to balance keeping the show short so you can tune in easily every day with making sure I’m delivering enough valuable information. Please keep the feedback coming!

Look for links to all of today’s stories in the show notes on whatever podcast platform you’re listening. And, please share the show with a friend!

First up this week is word of a strike in France for transportation workers. This could obviously affect your airline travel, since Air France union ground crew workers are supposed to strike. Air traffic controllers are said to be a part of it, which would make matters much worse. And, this strike is also supposed to affect rail workers. Train is a great way to get from airports like Charles-de Gaulle to downtown Paris. And, I’ve taken the train to get to smaller cities outside of Paris. If you have a trip planned soon, it’s time to start thinking of backup plans.

Next up is the news that BankDirect will start sending 1099s for the miles you earn with their banking product. BankDirect has been around for ages. It’s a way to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles on your banking. The program is not as lucrative as it once was, but it’s still a reasonable way to earn a few miles. There are competing opinions on how bad the change from BankDirect is. One Mile at a Time thinks it’s not worth the hassle, while View From The Wing thinks this is a small cost and still a viable way to earn some miles.

One of the more popular cash back apps, Dosh, is offering a $30 cash back bonus for hotel bookings right now. This is on top of the regular cash back you’d receive on a Dosh booking. Deals We Like has more details on this easy way to pick up cash if you’re planning a hotel stay in the near future.

Richard Branson is no longer interested in selling his controlling stake in Virgin Atlantic to Air France-KLM. This was essentially a way for Delta to gain a majority control in the airline through a series of different transactions. It’s unclear how much this cost Richard Branson, or how mad Delta is. But, it’s highly likely this is better for frequent fliers than if Delta had control of the award charts.

Finally, today is the first day of United Airlines new upgrade system, PlusPoints. The system offers more flexibility to elite travelers for the upgrades they receive. PlusPoints replaces the Global Premier Upgrades and Regional Premier Upgrades, also referred to as GPU and RPU for us nerds. This is likely to be a positive change, adding a bit of flexibility for travelers. However, unless United loosens their hold on inventory, this will likely end up as a non-event for most travelers.

That’s a full wrap on today’s travel news. If you’ve got a piece of travel news that you think I should feature on NowBoarding, you can e-mail me at ed@pizzainmotion.com, or find me on social media, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And, you can find me blogging daily at pizzainmotion.com.

And, since we’re still getting started on this new format, you can do me a big favor and leave me a review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to. Reviews and ratings are a huge part of what helps us reach a larger audience. And, if you’re enjoying the show, please tell a friend. That’s your travel news in 7 minutes or less. I hope you’ll join us again on a future flight!