Monthly Archives for September 2006.
The Hilton American Express comes with an offer of 10,000 points with first purchase, 2500 bonus points for each of your first four Hilton stays charged to the card, and 30,000 points for spending $5000 on the card by March 31, 2007.
As revealed on Flyertalk, United Mileage Plus members booking business class transatlantic or transpacific award flights can only be booked in coach on Singapore connecting segments. S*MPI/STAR-AWARD RULES.R:**NOTE: X/I/O IS NOT OFFERED ON ALL ROUTES. FOR SQ BUSINESS CLASS AWARDS WITH CONNECTIONS/STOPOVERS TO/FROM A TRANSOCEANIC FLIGHT BOOK *I* CLASS FOR TRANSOCEANIC FLIGHT ACROSS THE ATLANTIC/PACIFIC AND *X* FOR ONWARD FLT EXAMPLE – SQ BUSINESS CLASS AWARD LAXDPS BOOK *I* LAX-SIN AND *X* SIN-DPS SQ AWARDS THAT DO NOT INVOLVE A TRANSOCEANIC SECTOR USE *I* FOR ALL SECTORS INCLUDING 2 CABIN AIRCRAFT Lesson is that if you fly Singapore on a business award you’ll want your onward connection on another Star carrier in order to remain in business.
I’ve been meaning to blog this but Upgrade Travel beats me to the punch: United is no longer allowing its partner Star Alliance Gold members to access economy plus seating (they’re not allowing full fare passengers access to these seats either, which is bizarre). Now economy plus is available only to United elites and those who ‘buy up’ at the airport. Economy plus is the same seat as coach with no additional services, just a few extra inches of legroom. It isn’t “premium economy” as the rest of the world understands it. But United sees the ability, presumably, to upcharge. Doesn’t make me happy one bit, even though it’s a seemingly small change.
I doubt this will live up to the Thai government’s expectations (I don’t see a 20% increase in connecting traffic through Bangkok), but it’s still an interesting development that the new Suvarnabhumi Airport includes a lounge for economy passangers — not just lounges for business and first. I’m not sure what the value of a lounge where you’re supposed to get away from the masses is. A lounge for everyone is just the main terminal, isn’t it? So there must be more to the story. But at least the list of available amenities is impressive. The lounge, he said, would include televised entertainment such as films, music videos, sports, documentaries and world news, in addition to Internet services. Passengers will also have a rest area that includes plenty of seating and showers in 18,000 square…
Regular readers of this blog know that I’m not a fan of Continental Onepass. The only thing it has going for it is airline partners where you occasionally have a chance to redeem miles. Alaska Airlines has generally good award availability. They’re in Skyteam, which opens up plenty of airlines, but almost across-the-board Skyteam members offer poor award chances. Continental is in my experience terrible at making seats available at the ‘normal’ mileage requirements on most routes and best flight times, and this is especially true in premium classes of service. So when collecting Continental miles, realize that they aren’t worth as much as American miles, for instance. (Though you can transfer Onepass miles to Amtrak, and from Amtrak to Hilton, and eventually get something for your points — though Amtrak places a limit for…
Why am I not surprised this is being discussed on Flyeralk? It isn’t miles and points, but it is getting the most for your buck at an upscale merchant. The Seattle Times reports on Starbucks patrons buying less expensive drinks and upgrading themselves at the condiments counter. If someone pays $2 for espresso, then fills half the cup with milk at the condiment bar, is that stealing? People are saving $1 to $2 a cup — sometimes more, if they use half-and-half or get extra shots — with creative ordering from the complicated menus of the coffee world. …There are lots of ways to save. In one scenario, using Starbucks pricing in downtown Seattle, customers pay $2.05 before tax for three shots of espresso over ice. The same beverage with milk — also known as…
… but they’re all in really poor taste, I should just let this go unremarked on: An Amtrak passenger traveling with her ailing father waited nearly 23 hours and about 1,000 miles to tell authorities he had died so she could avoid the cost of shipping the body home, police said. The train had reached Chicago when Daniel Stepanovich’s daughter told officials that he had died in a sleeper car on Sunday evening, about the time the train was pulling into Glenwood Springs, Colo., said Chicago Police spokeswoman Jo Ann Taylor. … Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said he couldn’t recall a situation in which a passenger’s death went unreported for so long.
Not really my favorite Vegas property by a long-stretch, but admittedly Aladdin has a nice location and a good buffet. As discussed on Flyertalk, the Aladdin (‘soon to be Planet Hollywood’) is offering room rates starting at $49 with $10 in FREE SLOT PLAY or TABLE GAME MATCH PLAY 2-FOR-1 BREAKFAST OR LUNCH BUFFET (Offer valid Monday-Thursday only) 2 FREE SHOW TICKETS to a performance in the V Theater (Based on availability) Bookable online here. Nice thing is these rates qualify for Starwood stay credit and points, and elite benefits apply.
Via the MilesLink Newsletter, through October 31st transfers from American Express Membership Rewards to Aeromexico Club Premier receive 25% bonus miles.
British Airways has an interesting sale running from the U.S. to the U.K. (You may need to be logged into a British Airways Executive Club account to see the page.) Coach (“World Traveller”) from several cities for less than $400 roundtrip — okay, so far so good, this is frequently available in late October, November, and December (though the price cutting starts early this year). But perhaps more interestingly, World Traveller Plus — their premium economy product, think something like U.S. domestic first class — is available for about $585 roundtrip. That’s an upgrade that seems worth it to me. I’d guess the hassles flying in and out of London are affecting BA’s bookings…
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
