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…
Yearly Archives
Yearly Archives for 2006.
Continental Increases Pricing for Unrestricted Awards
Jan
16
2006
Continental posted several changes to their frequent flyer program today: You can now receive your BusinessFirst upgrade rewards until 24 hours prior to your scheduled departure. Previously, 72 hours were required. Effective February 1, 2006, you may redeem reward travel within the 48 contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada on round-trip flights of 1,500 miles or less for only 20,000 miles. Effective April 1, 2006, some Easy Pass BusinessFirst reward mileage requirements will change: Routes between: Miles requiredbefore 4/1/06 Miles required4/1/06 and after N. America and Asia 240,000 250,000 N. America and Europe 200,000 250,000 N.Amer & India/Africa/Mideast 240,000 250,000 N. America and Tel Aviv 200,000 250,000 Hawaii and Europe 220,000 270,000 Hawaii and Tel Aviv 220,000 270,000 Asia or Europe & S. Amer. 240,000 280,000 The introduction of 20,000 miles for flights under 1500…
Double United Miles for Tax Payments
Jan
16
2006
On Thursday I mentioned that the Starwood American Express is offering double points for tax payments. According to Free Frequent Flyer Miles the United Visa is offering double points on tax payments as well.
Marriott’s MegaBonus Returns in February
Jan
15
2006
Marriott’s ‘MegaBonus’ returns from February 15 through May 15. You must register to find out which bonus you’re targeted for. The possibilities: MGS61 – Earn 2,500 points/stay, beginning with 2nd stay, up to 10,000 MGS62 – Earn 5,000 points every 3rd stay, up to 25,000 pts MGS63 – Earn 10,000 points every 3rd stay, up to 30,000 pts MGS64 – Earn 25,000 points for staying 15 nights or more MGS65 – Earn 35,000 points for staying 20 nights or more (Hat tip to Flyertalk.) Since I’m not a Marriott regular I’ve been assigned 2500 bonus points per stay beginning with the second stay.
Earn Points for Donating Blood
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a blood bank with a loyalty program, but this is always one of the best stories because it seems like such a caricature. The Stewart Regional Blood Center in Tyler, Texas is launching a loyalty program to encourage frequent repeat visits by donors. Club Red allows donors to earn points for each donation that can be redeemed for rewards such as sweatshirts, briefcases, duffel bags, captain’s chairs, desks and radios. Members must promise to make at least three donations per year. The first two donations are worth 50 points each, donations 3 through 7 are worth 100 points each up to 250 points. Throughout the year, Stewart will have promotions offering double or triple points for donating. Donors who donate on Apheresis machines or ALYX will be…
Virgin Increases Award Pricing
Jan
14
2006
Virgin Atlantic is ‘refreshing’ its program earning and redemption. The upshot is that some awards are getting more expensive, for example Upper Class awards from the U.K. to the U.S. are currently 80,000 points and will be going up to 90,000 points (Boston/New York/Washington DC) or 100,000 points (Miami/Orlando/Vegas/Los Angeles/San Francisco). The old award chart is here.
Check the expiration dates of your buy-on-board meals!
Jan
13
2006
Some Flyertalkers are reporting that United’s buy-on-board snack boxes are frequently expired. Bought a minimeal yesterday DEN-BWI and noticed the salami (or whatever it is) was dated use by 1/4 – 4 days past due. I ate it anyway Its 24 hours later and so far so good So I looked on the box itself and faintly impressed on the bottom is a date which said 12/16! …which I presume is the packing date… Im not one to complain so I didn’t but you may want to check those dates before you pop it open. Surprising for coming out of a hub… they must have quite a backlog of those meals! A flight attendant suggests exchanging expired meat for fresh meat: We’ve had quite a few snackboxes with outdated items lately. We are happy to…
Don’t Throw Away Junk Mail from American Express
I got a nice card from American Express today that really did look like junk mail — bulk mail stamp, etc. — but contained the sweetest little words. It said that I’m entitled to 50% off a single award redemption for free hotel nights (5th night free and reduced-price weekend awards don’t apply). The offer includes category 1 to 4 hotels on awards booked through February 28 for stays through June 30. The redemption code on the card is 50AMX, but you have to be targeted by American Express to be able to use this. You actually can throw away the card. You can find out whether you were targeted for the offer by calling Starwood and asking if you’re registered for the promotion 5AX. Oddly enough, the cover of the note from American Express…
Changes to the Hertz #1 Club Gold Terms & Conditions
This San Francisco Chronicle piece details changes to the Hertz #1 Club Gold contract that took effect on January 1. Customers didn’t used to be responsible for damage to cars in the case of force majeur events, now they are. Hertz also reserves the right to place a hold on a customer’s credit card for $200 above the anticipated rental charges. Not included in the artcile is that Hertz’s ‘grace period’ of an hour for computing rental charges has been scaled back to 30 minutes. This last item is a big deal for me. Hertz has otherwise been the best rental company in my view. I prefer not to do business with Cendant companies like Avis though I find I do rent from them most often, and probably will do so more in the future.
Changes to the Hertz #1 Club Gold Terms & Conditions
This San Francisco Chronicle piece details changes to the Hertz #1 Club Gold contract that took effect on January 1. Customers didn’t used to be responsible for damage to cars in the case of force majeur events, now they are. Hertz also reserves the right to place a hold on a customer’s credit card for $200 above the anticipated rental charges. Not included in the artcile is that Hertz’s ‘grace period’ of an hour for computing rental charges has been scaled back to 30 minutes. This last item is a big deal for me. Hertz has otherwise been the best rental company in my view. I prefer not to do business with Cendant companies like Avis though I find I do rent from them most often, and probably will do so more in the future.
