AirTran launches credit card for small business owners

AirTran Airways last week launched a special charge card for small business owners looking to rack up frequent-flier miles. The AirTran A-Plus Business Card offers enough points for a one-way coach flight with the first purchase and credits for balance transfers equal to another one-way ticket, with a $39 annual fee and credit line up to $50,000. More details are at AirTranBizVisa.com.

Making check-in easier
Bags Inc., the Orlando company that lets air travelers securely check their airport-bound luggage at hotels and convention centers in Boston and over a dozen other cities, last week landed its first business partner in Phoenix, the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale. Bags is hoping it's the first of several destinations around Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport where it can offer remote check-in.

We're still ugly Americans, but not like you think
Ugly Americans? Nearly two-thirds of 2,273 US adults surveyed in a new online Expedia.com poll think American tourists are "perceived more negatively" than they were five years ago, and in particular likely to be seen by Europeans as spoiled, loud, and self-centered. But another Expedia.com poll of 1,500 European hotel managers ranks Americans as the third most polite nationality of travelers, after Japanese and British, by far the best tippers -- but by far the worst dressers, especially when they're wearing sweatsuits.

PETER J. HOWE