Has JetBlue lost its heart?

Thank you for reading Elliott's Email, my irreverent and incredibly helpful weekly email newsletter. Here's the online version. Don't forget, you can subscribe to my daily email newsletter here. 

What you need to know this week 

Join Travelers United now. We've just launched, so why wait another minute? You can join Travelers United right now. We're making travel better for everyone. 

Has JetBlue lost its heart? As much as I love to fly on the New York-based airline, I just had to ask. I'll explain why, and I'll give you the answer in my USA Today column. 

Who are the top theme travel videographers? You can cast your vote now. Also, vote for your favorite theme park blogger, top cruise blogger and best Twitter personality in travel. 

Become the world's smartest traveler. Buy my new book, How To Be The World's Smartest Traveler, and you'll never have another bad trip. (And if you do, you know where to find me, right?) 

Thank you, Allianz Travel Insurance. The Allianz Travel Insurance company has built its reputation on partnering with agents all around the world to provide comprehensive travel insurance for their clients. They are also fearless supporters of this site. We are grateful. 

Needed: researchers. If you can find a needle in a haystack of words or unearth someone's home phone number and email address, we need you! We're just doing a little thing called saving the world. Wanna join us? Here's how. 

This week's burning question 

When "free" isn't really free.  Have you recently been offered something "free" (like "kids eat free" or "free wifi" or a "free ticket") while traveling, but discovered there were significant strings attached, rendering it not quite free. If so, I'd love to include your story in an upcoming column. Here's my email address. 

The latest news from Elliott 

Can you fix American Airlines' loyalty program? 
Joyce Zaritsky's case is almost certainly impossible to solve. But you know me – I'm a sucker for seemingly intractable problems. 

Don't be a chip-and-pinhead!
If you happen to drive down the Brenner Autobahn between Austria and Italy this summer, here's a little advice for you. 

Why are airlines redefining national borders?
Is Aruba part of the United States? I'm not the one asking. 

Hey Expedia, my flight is missing a leg!
Something's wrong with Joe Spooner's airline ticket to New Zealand, and no one can help him fix it.

Help, my water heater is a lemon!
Andre Klass's water heater is plagued by constant failures. Who's responsible for this malfunctioning appliance, and can it be fixed? 

"Is Priceline a scam?”
When David Rasmussen made a nonrefundable "name your own price” reservation through Priceline, he was in for a series of unpleasant surprises. 

Let's talk 

I'm listening. The stories you see in this newsletter are just a starting point. I hope you'll take a minute to leave a comment, whether you agree or disagree with something I've written. Let's continue the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google. I'm listening. And of course, I'm also here if you need me. Here's my email address.

Copyright © 2014 Elliott.org. Elliott's E-Mail is published more or less weekly by consumer advocate and journalist Christopher Elliott.