5 sent to hospital amid 'unexpected turbulence' on American Airlines flight
Three flight attendants and two customers were aboard American Airlines Flight 1286, which departed from Miami International Airport on Sunday, June 22.
The aircraft landed safely in North Carolina "after encountering unexpected turbulence while in flight," an airline spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement.
The seat belt sign was on during the turbulence. The five people were taken to the hospital for evaluation but were later released, the spokesperson stated.
"We thank our crew members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding," the statement continued.
Air travel: Your snack could get you stopped at TSA
A passenger told local news station WRAL that the experience was like "being on top of a roller coaster and going down." Another person described it as "absolutely horrific."
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Airlines to allow certain passengers to skip customs security checkpoint for faster travel — here's who will benefit
International travel is getting easier for some passengers. American Airlines has partnered with the Transportation Security Administration to pilot a new program that allows some international travelers to skip the usual TSA and customs rescreenings. The first-of-its-kind program, known as One Stop Security, will allow passengers to go directly to their connecting flight after landing from abroad without reclaiming and rechecking their checked luggage, which will be automatically transferred to the connecting flight. Per a Fox News report, Delta Airlines is expected to follow with its own trial beginning Wednesday, July 30, for passengers flying from London Heathrow to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. OSS is expected to streamline the travel experience by 'leveraging advanced technology' to cut connection times by more than half, which typically includes clearing US Customs, claiming checked bags, rechecking bags and then clearing TSA security. 'One Stop Security is one of the most forward-thinking enhancements we can bring to international travel — and importantly, to our customers — as it delivers a level of convenience and time-savings that's never been available before to customers connecting from international flights,' David Seymour, chief operating officer at American, said in a statement. 'With this game-changing program and thanks to our federal partners at CBP and TSA, along with DFW Airport, our customers will spend significantly less time worrying about an onerous connection process and more time enjoying their travel journey.' The program is currently being tested through AA's largest hub, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, and only with flights arriving from London Heathrow Airport. Travelers traveling from London and connecting through Dallas will be able to clear customs right at the arrival gate. American is the first airline to implement OSS at a US airport and 'plans to explore opportunities to expand' the service to additional flights and airports in the future. 'One Stop Security is a smart, long-overdue step toward modernizing the travel experience, eliminating redundant screening, cutting connection times and unlocking more international air service,' US Travel President and CEO Geoff Freeman said in a separate statement. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Citi's new Strata Elite credit card has a $595 annual fee. Here's how its perks stack up against the competition.
As the premium credit-card market swells with the introduction of Citi's Strata Elite card, experts say rising annual fees and an overload of unused statement credits are leading to growing premium-cardholder fatigue. But while paying more than $500 for a credit card might seem excessive to many people, the fees on the most popular premium cards haven't risen enough to deter consumers seeking exclusive travel benefits from applying. 'Vegas is not fun anymore': $9 cups of coffee and pricier rooms are steering travelers away from the vacation mecca We're in our 70s with a $260K mortgage at 3% interest and $1.6 million in savings. Should we pay off our house in full? Citi's C Strata Elite boasts a flurry of travel and lifestyle rewards worth nearly $1,500 and gives cardholders the option to transfer points to American Airlines' AAL AAdvantage Bonus Miles, according to the company. It also comes with a $595 annual fee — putting it up there with the American Express AXP Platinum and Chase JPM Sapphire Reserve cards, which have $695 and $795 fees, respectively. Despite the high barrier to entry, demand for premium credit cards persists. 'If this trend was really having an impact on issuers' bottom lines, we likely would've seen a pullback. Instead, we've seen these cards go from $450, to $550, to $695 and now $795 with the Sapphire Reserve,' said Nick Ewen, senior editorial director at the Points Guy, a travel website. 'To me, this demonstrates that the cardholders complaining are either doing so and then keeping the card anyway, or are being replaced by new cardholders who are excited about the benefits.' The Strata Elite card offers 12 points per every dollar spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel platform, as well as six times the points on airfare booked through Citi Travel and restaurant purchases during select days and times. The card also offers statement credits worth several hundred dollars each calendar year for a hotel stay of two nights or more booked through Citi Travel, a chauffeur service and purchases made at up to two brands from a list that includes Live Nation LYV, Best Buy BBY and American Airlines. A statement credit is money added to your account balance for making specific purchases. When they're offered in small monthly increments, a card can earn the derisive nickname of 'coupon book.' Citi seems aware that consumers have grown weary of the laundry list of statement credits that come with rewards cards. Pam Habner, Citi's head of U.S. branded cards and lending, said the company was intentional with the perks they included in the Strata Elite card, choosing 'benefits that we know our customers will want to use — because we asked them what they value.' 'You shouldn't need a math degree and a spreadsheet to track your credit-card benefits,' Habner said in a news release. ThankYou Points — Citi's name for its loyalty points — earned on the Strata Elite, Strata Premier and Prestige cards can now be transferred to the American Airlines AAdvantage program at a 1-to-1 transfer ratio, meaning 1,000 ThankYou Points equals 1,000 AAdvantage Bonus Miles. See more: I asked AI, Google Flights and a travel agent to find me the cheapest flight. Here's who won. A 1-to-1 transfer ratio is something Points Guy credit-card writer Danyal Ahmed said he hoped to see in the new Strata Elite card. 'Any ability to transfer to the program with a better rate than Marriott Bonvoy would be beneficial to cardholders,' he wrote in a January article. The Marriott MAR Bonvoy transfer rate to AAdvantage is 3 to 1. The Strata Elite card also covers the $120 application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. The release of the Strata Elite is Citi's big comeback to the premium credit-card market. The company once offered the Citi Prestige as a premium product, but the card ultimately closed to new applicants a few years ago. 'Both Amex and Chase were able to adjust their card benefits to survive COVID-19 while Citi began to scale back, removing travel protections, capping benefits and finally closing the Prestige card for new applications in 2021,' Bankrate credit-cards expert Ana Staples said. See more: You'll have to charge over $75,000 a year on the new Chase Sapphire Reserve card to get the most out of it American Express and Chase remain leaders in the market, and their high annual fees reflect that. The Sapphire Reserve card's price tag rose to nearly $800 last month, and there's a possibility that Amex Platinum could start carrying a $1,000 fee later this year. The Platinum card currently has a $695 annual fee. 'We're going to take these Cards to a new level, not only in what they offer in travel, dining and lifestyle benefits, but also in how they look and feel, to meet the evolving needs of our customers,' Howard Grosfield, group president of U.S. consumer services at American Express, said in June when the upcoming refresh to the card was announced. American Express declined to provide additional comment for this story. Past refreshes of the Platinum card seem to have paid off for Amex. Since the last one in 2021, the cardholder base has 'pretty much doubled,' Chairman and CEO Steve Squeri told analysts in the company's second quarter earnings call earlier this month. Plus, of all new accounts acquired globally in the second quarter, 71% came from fee-paying products, with the Amex Platinum and Gold cards being the largest portfolios in that category. Chase Sapphire general manager Sam Palmer said the Sapphire Reserve provides a 'unique blend of premium dining and travel rewards, [and] carefully selected lifestyle credits from our partners.' 'After nearly a decade of listening to our cardmembers, we've designed the most rewarding card out there,' Palmer said in a statement provided to MarketWatch. The Strata Elite's $595 annual fee (plus $75 for each authorized user) places Citi in between the more expensive options and Capital One's COF Venture X card, which costs users $395 annually. Capital One did not respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch. So which card offers the best deal? It depends, experts say, especially when you're comparing statement credits. Ewen recommends going through each of the cards' offerings and looking for subscriptions or perks you're already paying for without the card, rather than ones you don't have yet. For example, the Sapphire Reserve card covers Apple AAPL Music, so if you already pay to listen to music on the platform, that can offset the annual fee. If you enjoy watching shows on Hulu or Disney+ DIS or fly often on Delta Air Lines DAL, Amex's monthly digital-entertainment credit might intrigue you. If you fly American a lot, you might consider the new Strata Elite card to be a good deal. Beyond points transfers, it also offers four passes each year to Admirals Club airport lounges. These lounges have become an important perk for cardholders in recent years. They've gotten so popular that some cardholders even have to wait to get into them. See more: Why American Express and American Airlines shrunk the airport lounge Chase, Amex and Capital One each have branded lounges in airports across the globe, while Citi does not. Instead, the Strata Elite offers the four passes to the Admirals Club plus a free membership to Priority Pass Select — a nearly $500 value that allows access to lounges in 95% of the world's busiest airports. One perk that makes the Chase Sapphire Reserve stand out is its $300 flexible travel credit. It's an automatic rebate for any travel purchase, not just those made through the Chase Travel portal. 'Any travel purchase with any travel provider is eligible, and the credits generally post within a day,' Ewen said. See more: Premium travel perks like VIP lounges and rewards points offer less than they used to — but these upgrades are still worth it Despite myriad credits, points transfers and lounges that offset the annual fee, for many consumers, the hundreds of dollars a year required are just too much to cough up. But 'perhaps that's the point now,' Staples noted. 'As these cards change and increase annual fees, they aren't for the average consumer who wants to get access to luxury travel experiences on a budget anymore,' she said. 'They're for people who don't find paying a few hundred dollars in a single charge to be any real financial pain. These cardholders want luxury, and they can afford it.' 'His income is limited': Should I pay $800 a month towards my husband's $67,000 student debt? Coinbase investors should cash in. The stock has rallied too much ahead of earnings, analyst says. Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
a day ago
- Forbes
Citi ThankYou Points Take Flight With American Airlines
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. The world of travel rewards just opened up in a big way. Coinciding with the launch of the all-new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, Citi ThankYou® Points can now be transferred to American Airlines AAdvantage miles at a 1:1 ratio. Citi is a Forbes Advisor partner. That's a major upgrade for select Citi cardholders, who now have access to powerhouse awards on American Airlines and its extensive network of partners. This also shifts the playing field for flexible points in general: As the exclusive transfer option to AAdvantage, this tips the scales toward Citi credit cards as a competitive player. Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Why American Miles Matter American Airlines AAdvantage miles are highly sought after for their global reach and fair pricing. It's not uncommon to find one-way flights in economy throughout North America for 10,000 miles or less, making free travel accessible even for someone with more modest point balances. But AAdvantage also opens doors to aspirational travel. As a member of the Oneworld alliance, customers can redeem miles for experiences such as Qatar Airways Q Suites business class, Japan Airlines' exceptional new first class or trips to destinations served by nonalliance partners like Air Tahuiti Nui. The breadth of options makes AAdvantage miles a powerful currency, and its new partnership with Citi ThankYou Points extends value to your credit card points, too. Earning Citi ThankYou Points American Airlines credit cards can be a fantastic way to access benefits during travel, but the earning rates are mostly underwhelming. Earning American miles indirectly via ThankYou Points is a strategic yet easy way to increase your earning potential from card spending. The Citi Strata Premier® Card offers strong multipliers on travel and everyday spending for a mere $95 annual fee: 10 points per dollar spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on 3 points per dollar on restaurants, supermarkets, gas & EV stations, air travel and other hotel purchases 1 point per dollar on all other purchases The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card offers higher earning rates but in fewer, more niche categories: 12 points per dollar spent on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on 6 points per dollar spent on air travel booked on 6 points per dollar spent at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET; 3 points per dollar spent any other time 1.5 points per dollar spent on other purchases The annual fee on the Strata Elite is much higher ($595 per year), but comes with annual benefits that could be extremely valuable to American Airlines' flyers, including four Admirals Club day passes, up to $200 in Splurge Credit valid toward eligible American Airlines purchases and up to $300 in hotel credit when booking stays of two nights or more through Citi Travel. Transferring Citi ThankYou Points to American Airlines AAdvantage To transfer Citi ThankYou Points, you'll need a ThankYou card with full transfer capabilities, like the Strata Elite, Strata Premier or the Citi Prestige® Card (closed to new applicants). Requesting a transfer is a simple process: Log in to your Citi ThankYou account Navigate to the Points Transfer redemption section Select an American Airlines transfer and input your desired transfer amount (in increments of 1,000) and your AAdvantage member number Transfers may take up to five business days to process, though many are completed within seconds. Since transfer times are quick, you can wait to move points until you have a specific award you're ready to book. This allows you to retain maximum redemption flexibility. Here's the full list of Citi ThankYou Points transfer partners for premium cards: Airline Partners Hotel Partners Retail Partner Find the best travel credit card for your travel needs. This robust deepening of the Citi-AAdvantage partnership isn't news to sleep on. It's a major win for consumers who want to use their rewards toward global travel. If you've been sitting on a stash of Citi ThankYou Points, this could be your boarding call. With the ability to book anything from short hops and weekend getaways to once-in-a-lifetime luxury adventures, ThankYou Points just became a lot more versatile. Was this article helpful?
