The CEO of Kayak.com calls Expedia’s best price guarantee for airfare “laughable.” Of course he’d say that, he’s a competitor, but the fine print is a doozy — it doesn’t count Expedia’s booking fee (so an airline’s site offering the same fare will be cheaper) and it doesn’t count airlines that Expedia doesn’t sell (so it doesn’t matter that Southwest and JetBlue offer it for less). And since Expedia only selectively honored the $3 room nights at the Tokyo and Osaka Hilton properties, we know that some rates are too good on Expedia…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for January 2006.
The rest of the world just doesn’t understand
Suzanne Marta of the Dallas Morning News takes a clearly tongue-in-cheek look at American Airlines service cuts. While there are bigger cutbacks that have been made, she focuses on the ice cream sundaes which American stopped offering made-to-order in international business class.The piece cites some cutbacks but then offers up American’s spin:Last year, American changed the hot towels it gives elite passengers from cloth to paper. Earlier this month, business-class lunch service changed from a four-course feast to lighter fare. A spokeswoman said it’s the carrier’s first menu overhaul in seven years for domestic transcontinental flights. The changes are meant to better reflect how people eat during the midday meal. After complaints the made-to-order sundae will come back on dinner flights but remain pre-made for lunch. Marta concludes: The changes don’t apply to travelers in…
A couple of blogs
Leigh Witchel has a new ongoing series on finding the best mileage awards. So far he’s written about credit cards and also mileage programs with awards based on distance. The latter key takeaway is one of my favorites, the neat benefit of Cathay Pacific Asia Miles — awards in business class under 5000 miles are only 60,000 points. So flights on British Airways from the East Coast of the US to most destinations in Europe qualify. Similar flights would cost 100,000 British Airways miles. Separately, the new Gratis Air Blog is posting daily airfare deals, some of which are pretty good.
Elite numbers at Air Canada
A Flyertalker reports that Depending on the number of Aeroplan Status Miles collected over the year, a member can reach Air Canada Prestige, Elite or Super Elite status. To make Super Elite status a customer has to fly 100,000 miles a year. There are 9,000 Super Elite 68,000 Elite and 57,000 Prestige customers. These numbers are usually proprietary and so are interesting to learn. There’s some discussion there of how they compare to past figures, given changes in the travel industry and changes in qualifying requirements. I’ll save analysis of this for another day, but thought I’d pass along the figures.
Sick of Priority Club’s Inconsistency Awarding Points for Hotel Stays
Jan
20
2006
Priority Club (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Intercontinental, etc.) is probably worse than any other chain with respect to hotel properties complying with the terms and conditions of their loyalty program. One specific area where this manifests itself is upgrades for elite members (Platinums can never really know what to expect at a Holiday Inn, and Royal Ambassador treatment varies markedly at all Intercontinentals — is there an upgrade at all? is it to an executive room or a suite or two room categories or…?). But what bothers me most at the moment is their decision to award points and stay credit on any given rate. You just never know whether you’re going to earn points. And even if you think you should, reporting a discrepancy after the fact may or may not be met with…
It *is* possible to redeem your miles. To Chicago or Phoenix.
Jan
19
2006
I just got an email from United titled United award seats to exciting destinations. The idea is that it’s possible to get awards with United miles, there are seats available, and they’re going to help me think of places I can successfully go with my miles. You’ve earned your miles and we’d like to help you to use them for award travel. So now we have a dedicated page that will be updated every month with destinations where there are ample seats available on United®, United Express® and TedSM. Visit a favorite city, take a break to a sunnier destination or try somewhere new and exotic. Your seats are waiting. So what routes are they highlighting in the e-mail? 1. Chicago (ORD) – Washington, DC (IAD) 2. Denver (DEN) – Las Vegas (LAS) 3. Los…
$94 Vacation to Hawaii
Jan
19
2006
Northwest Vacations is offering airfare and two nights in Hawaii from $94. Choose one person. I’ve found travel between March 1 and March 31. You’re using promo code WVRQ400 and for the cheapest prices will want to pick Monday through Thursday travel. Cities other than Los Angeles for departures are slightly higher. And yes this deal earns Northwest miles. Thanks to Flyertalk. Update Jan 20: The cheapest deals are now gone and the promotion has been revised. No more $94 vacations. Here’s the new promotion in case anyone finds it useful.
QuickBook Improves Best Rate Guarantee
From Meg Mueller’s hotel blog, QuickBook has extended its best rate guarantee to allow you to find a better price within 72 hours of booking rather than the industry standard 24 hours. Internet booking site Quikbook just upped the ante in the stakes of “why book here” on the Web. The company has extended its “best-rate guarantee” to 72 hours after booking. Most hotel sites and online booking agents (Orbitz, Hotels.com, etc..) offer a refund or matching price if you find a lower rate on the same room at the same hotel, but that offer generally expires after just 24 hours. Quikbook also has one of the better cancellation policies on the Web, charging nothing if it’s a “pay when you get there” hotel. For pre-paid reservations, cancellation fees run just $10 for changes made…
Crazy New York Hotel Prices, Part 763212487
Joe Sharkey’s column today is on mid-market hotels and the absurd prices they go for in Manhattan. This subject is simply a gold mine that keeps on giving to journalists. Most of the country is shocked at what a hotel night goes for in New York, after all. But what to do? People from out of town sometimes ask me in tones of desperation where they can find a hotel for less than $150 a night. “You could try the Jersey side of the Holland Tunnel,” I joke. Please don’t actually follow this advice, because the cheap motels on that bank of the river are not particularly known for restful activities such as sleep. I dropped Joe a note about the Jersey City Hyatt which frequently goes for $179 at Hyatt.com and can be had…
The Growing Influence of a Small Number of Travel Blogs
Christopher Elliott mentions View from the Wing and several other travel blogs — inclusing some that are new to me — in a column in today’s New York Times. If there is such a thing as an established business travel blog, it probably belongs to Gary Leff, the chief financial officer of a university research center in the Washington, D.C. area. Mr. Leff’s “View from the Wing” (blogs.flyertalk.com/viewwing/) focuses on award-related news interspersed with his personal observation about travel. He rips into the Westin Sydney in Australia, for example, for adding a $1.30 fee to his bill as “a donation” to a United Nations charity, and says he is little mollified by the fact it removed the charge after he complained. But unlike political bloggers, who tend to approach their Web journals with a strong…
