The briefing in brief: United Airlines goes dark this week for a planned technology update. Lots of travel credit card changes ahead. Japan Airlines and Avianca add more premium cabins. United ramps up flights at Chicago/O'Hare. Waymo driverless taxis now operate at SFO. And much more.

WHO NEEDS THIS? UNITED GOES OFF-LINE FOR TECH UPDATE
Airlines historically have had awful times with computer cutovers and updates in March. (Remember the 2012 United/Continental and the 2007 USAirways disasters?) So United's got a new idea: Do one this week. According to an internal memo, United is planning a "technology upgrade which will restart our systems" on Wednesday morning, February 4, between 1:30 and 5am Central Time. What's it mean for us? You won't be able to access United reservations through any channel; make purchases; access your MileagePlus account; or, most importantly, check-in for a flight. United says that it has proactively cancelled or retimed flights to minimize the number of travelers affected by the outage. What should you do? Run for the metaphoric hills, of course. Airline computer remakes never run to plan. As so many previous ones have done, it could mean delays, cancellations and passenger inconvenience for days at a time. Plan accordingly. Rebook away if you can. This also is coming at a dreadful time. Although early February is a comparatively light travel period, there are this year's unique factors to consider: the lousy weather; the government shutdown; and American's woozy performance. Stay tuned, folks.

MESSY CHANGES IN CARDS AND CLUBS AHEAD
It's a good moment to audit your wallet since a mess of changes are coming down the loyalty pike. In the biggest news, Citibank announced this weekend that it would take over the Barclays portfolio of American AAdvantage cards on April 24. Each of the five Barclays Aviator cards will map to a different Citi AAdvantage card. There'll be new card numbers and different perks and Barclays account information will not be available on Citi. Details are here. … Meanwhile, Bank of America, which issues the Air France/KLM Flying Blue card, is changing. BofA will transition to Visa from MasterCard on March 20. Some perks will improve, others will be reduced or eliminated. Details of the new Visa are here. … Finally, Bilt, which mostly appeals to renters and people carrying mortgages, dumps Wells Fargo next week. If you're a current Bilt cardholder and do nothing, you'll receive a Wells Fargo Autograph card. Alternately, you can apply for one of three new Bilt cards from Cardless, a seven-year-old fintech. The new Bilt cards offer a convoluted series of benefits, but they're still most useful for rent and mortgage payments. Details are here.
        American Express is cutting club benefits for Platinum cardholders. Guests of the cardholder can only enter a Centurion Lounge if they are flying on the same itinerary as the cardholder. (There's a social-media game where Platinum cardholders bring random travelers in as guests.) There'll now also be a five-hour time limit to lounge access when you are on a layover. The new rules are effective July 8.

A MODEST UPSWING IN PREMIUM CLASS OPTIONS
Airlines like the "halo effect" of a swanky long-haul international business class product. But shorter hauls? Carriers have been happy to fly all coach or offer a watered-down premium class that's barely distinguishable from the back-of-the-plane product. Which is why moves this week from Japan Airlines and Avianca are notable. In JAL's case, the airline says it will operate Boeing 787-8 aircraft with a first class cabin on select flights between Osaka and Sapporo. Flights with first class begin next month. JAL already operates first class on flights between Sapporo and Tokyo/Haneda and Sapporo and Okinawa. Meanwhile, Avianca is reversing a 2022 decision to eliminate premium service on most routes. It had reconfigured its A320s to remove business class and stopped selling the up front seats on its Boeing 787s as business class. But it has restored business class perks--snacks on short-haul routes, full meals and amenities on long-haul runs--on 787s operating within the Americas. On flights using A320s, more spacious seats have been restored and the airline now offers a complimentary snack service and beverage selection.

THE KNIVES ARE OUT AT O'HARE
United and American Airlines are eternal competitors at Chicago/O'Hare and the battle got hot late last year. The latest attack comes from United, run by chief executive Scott Kirby, who was unceremoniously cashiered from American a decade ago. "We're drawing a line in the sand," at O'Hare, Kirby recently told security analysts. He says United will run flights to 222 destinations this year from ORD. That includes five more Midwest routes starting as early as the spring. The airline says its summer schedule from O'Hare will reach 750 daily flights.
        San Francisco International says driverless Waymo taxis are now operating at the airport. The service is available for pickups and drop-offs from Level 1 of the Car Rental Center.

BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
The Trump Administration said this week that it would lift restrictions on flying to Venezuela. It then took American Airlines about 40 seconds to announce it would resume flying to the country. American stopped flying to Caracas in 2019. Details? None, of course, because they are all just making this stuff up as they go along.
        Hilton Hotels says it is getting into the short-term apartment rental market. The chain is calling it--surprise!--Apartment Collection by Hilton. And, of course, this comes on the heels of the disastrous Marriott collaboration with Sonder Apartments. A rental service called Placemakr will supply Hilton with most of its apartments.