Listen, I don’t blame you for ignoring travel industry news during the pandemic. Who cares if Hilton HLT, +1.31% went bankrupt or Alaska Airlines ALK, +0.34% joined some alliance when you aren’t traveling?However, many under-the-radar changes did significantly alter the travel landscape in 2021. Beyond the obvious — more cleaning, more masks — other updates rippled throughout the industry, including smaller fees and new credit card perks.
See: Matt Landau wanted to find a rental car at a reasonable price — it was cheaper for him to rent a U-Haul truck The ol’ invisible hand of the free market should address this problem eventually, but for now: Beware rental car sticker shock.Your travel credit card had a midlife crisis In the Before Times, travelers would shell out beefy annual fees on travel credit cards that offered perks like airport lounge access and free checked bags. But those perks were rendered moot last year, and these cards scrambled to offer new benefits and features that made some semblance of sense during a global pandemic.
Some American Express AXP, +0.37% credit cards offered perks for streaming services like Netflix, NFLX, -0.88% then a $30 PayPal PYPL, +0.64% credit every month. Other Chase JPM, -0.18% bank credit cards offered bonuses on grocery spending instead of airfare and hotels. Basically, every premium travel credit card became a premium living-your-life credit card.