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Are you sitting on a pile of airline miles award points? You may want to use them before they lose value, as liabilities related to airline loyalty programs in the US increased during the pandemic, making a devaluation likely in 2021.

The pandemic has created a flood of unused airline miles

Current analysis by LendingTree shows that five of America’s largest airlines (Delta, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest, and JetBlue) together owe frequent flyers $ 27.5 billion in free air travel, nearly 12% more than last year. This is all understandable: Consumers continued to accumulate points during the pandemic even though they were unable to use them for travel.

These unused airline miles are an obligation to the airlines

It turns out that loyalty programs use airline credit cards even more profitable as the core business of flight sales. However, since flight revenue plummeted last year, the losses are in the American aviation industry a total of $ 35 billion. As a result, airlines have borrowed to cover costs and used their loyalty programs as collateral.

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In order to pay off this over-indebtedness quickly, the airlines would have to cut costs in the next step, which is difficult since the airlines already have high operating costs. That makes loyalty programs a juicy goal – how Bloomberg points this out, airlines looking to bolster their balance sheets could reduce the value of those awards or reintroduce policies that expire miles or points. As Jay Sorensen, president of airline consulting firm IdeaWorksCompany, write it in the Wall Street Journal, “You have return trips, catching up to do and an oversupply of miles. We are prepared for a devaluation. “

The value of airline miles tends to decrease over time

Over the years, the value of air miles has decreased as airlines have steadily increased the number of points or miles required for a free flight. As Forbes’ Dan Reed argues, argue:

In fact, airlines have been gradually devaluing their frequent flyer miles for many years. They did so before the pandemic hit, then United devalued its MileagePlus program miles in April 2020 and did it again last October. Delta did it in October and then again in February of that year. In April of this year, Southwest devalued its Rapid Reward miles by 6.5%. And there are now many experts warning that further such steps are likely, perhaps even inevitable, sometime between now and the end of the year, provided there is no further spike in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the United States United States

That’s not to say that all airlines will drastically downgrade their loyalty programs. Airlines shy away from alienating customers (which is actually loyalty), so they might instead limit when and where you can book flights. In any case, it will still hinder you from finding good deals.

Use your points when you can

In general, if you want to get the full value of your airline miles, the earlier you book, the better. Otherwise, in order to maximize your value, you should be flexible about flight dates and your destination as the good deals may be a little harder to find.

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The large upholstered furniture in your living room, on which several people can sit at the same time and which is probably modeled on the television: is it a couch or a sofa? That might sound like one of those regional language questions (like “Soda” vs. “Pop” vs. “Cola”), but in this case a couch and a sofa are actually two different pieces of furniture. Here’s what you need to know about what makes the two types of seating different.

The difference between a couch and a sofa

Although we can now use the terms interchangeably, sofas and couches were not originally the same type of furniture. Here is Meghan Overdeep from Southern Living with a short history lesson:

Historically, the couch and sofa are two different things. The term “couch” is believed to come from the French word “couch”, which is used to describe “a piece of furniture with no arms to lie on”. Merriam-Webster, on the other hand, defines a “sofa” as “a long, upholstered seat, usually with armrests and a backrest that can often be converted into a bed”.

In the old days, the difference between a couch and a sofa seems to have something to do with the arms – or the lack of them. Which means, technically speaking, “sofa” is the correct term.

But today, most people outside of the furniture and design professions make no distinction between the two items.

What you should consider when buying furniture

Although traveling to a furniture store or department store is no longer the only way to purchase couches and couches, some people prefer to try one before buying – even if they made their first purchase online. And it may seem like the options are endless when it comes to couches / couches, but once you have a particular size, style, or price range in mind, you may find that your choices are more limited than you are thought.

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So if you’re looking for a couch that suits your needs and you’re falling short, try the term “sofa” instead. At this point, even furniture makers are using the words interchangeably, so the product description may not match the distinction between historical weapons and no weapons (although this can be especially handy when buying vintage furniture).

But if you’re lucky enough to work with a professional interior designer or shop at an upscale furniture store, there’s a better chance they’ll use the word according to its original meaning.

Another tip: If you want to buy a loveseat (a small sofa for two people) or a seating group, can be listed under the category “sofa” on furniture websites.

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Not all internships are created equal. Some involve working for an exciting company or organization … but just stuffing envelopes or updating email lists. Others don’t have a flashy title or branding association, but they give you plenty of hands-on experience that you can actually use.

But a new internship opportunity does not fall into either category. Instead of organizing old files, include this one here Testing a variety of weed products, and pays nearly $ 1,000 a month. Here’s what you should know.

What does the internship include

Cannabis delivery service Emjay hires a summer intern to review every single product offering on their website. This is neither a joke nor an exercise. The internship lasts three months and includes the following according to a blog post on the company’s website:

This person is responsible for writing descriptive, unique, and creative text and reviews about a wide range of cannabis products. Edibles, vapes, flowers, and more – the types of products will cover the spectrum. The person in this role should understand cannabis culture, what drives consumers, and be able to describe Emjay’s ever-evolving product range.

The tasks of the internship include:

• Review every product on heyemjay.com (There are more than 600.)
• Communication with editors
• Write quick, scannable, and accessible bullet points with details of cannabis products and more extensive reviews

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How much does it pay

When Thrillist brought the news first the internship on June 1 was advertised at $ 1,000 per month. Then three days later Emjay has published her own blog post about the position that doesn’t mention the $ 1,000 monthly salary. Instead, it says the job pays $ 15 an hour for up to 16 hours a week – meaning someone who works a maximum of 64 hours a month would make $ 960 (which, in fairness, is pretty close to $ 1,000 Dollar lies).

The Monday to Friday position does not offer traditional benefits such as health insurance, but rather an employee discount and the opportunity to work according to a flexible schedule.

Who should apply

According to Emjay, the ideal candidate must:

• Know more than indica, sativa and hybrid. What about terpenes? What about the rainbow of cannabinoids that make each strain unique?
• Be timely and pay attention to details
• Have a passion and hunger to try the most innovative cannabis products on the market
• Be a great team member with a cooperative spirit

How to apply

To apply for Emjay’s Summer Intern, you must be at least 21 years old, a California resident, and a resident of the Los Angeles or San Diego area as the job has personal components.

Apply, Fill out this application, and send a 1-page sample of writing OR a video that is less than 4 minutes and 20 seconds to the company and let them know why you are perfect for the performance. You can do this by uploading it to Google Drive or YouTube and then emailing it to Praktika@heyemjay.com.