Boca Raton Public Library: The new Spanish River Public Library has a cafe, more flat panel screens than I’ve ever seen in one place, and what appeared to be Herman Miller office chairs in the childrens computer room. Oh, and it’s on the water. You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for June 2008.
$141 First Class Ticket Karma — Landing in Coach One Way
I’ve written about the wonders of the Alaska Airlines $50 companion ticket that comes with their Bank of America co-branded credit card. The small business version of the card comes with a $99 companion certificate which is paper and requires airport ticketing. You can’t even mail in the certificate like you can US Airways’ Bank of American or Juniper Bank $99 companion tickets. On the other hand, like its $50 cousin, the certificate is pretty much unrestricted and represents the best way to get into first class on Alaska Airlines. And for me that airport ticketing annoyance turned into a boon, as the outsourced agents at Reagan National ticketed both sides of the companion fare at $99 plus tax for first class tickets to Reno (via Seattle). Alas, the day of travel came and the…
Travel Photos – Westin Diplomat Pool and Sunrise
The Westin Diplomat offers the best Platinum elite recognition in all of Starwood. With the exception of the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and perhaps Presidents Weekend and Memorial Weekend, a suite upgrade is almost guaranteed (they have over 80 of them). In addition, the club lounge is just lovely — a 33rd floor affair with both indoor and outdoor seating and an extensive breakfast, evening canapes, and after dinner treats. I’ve written about my stays at the Diplomat several times, for example here, here, and here. Here’s the pool at the Diplomat, during the day and at night: And sunrise off the balcony of my corner suite:
Are Fuel Surcharges on Award Tickets a GOOD Thing??
One Mile at a Time thinks Delta’s new fuel surcharges on frequent flyer awards are actually a good thing. There is something of a point here: if fuel surcharges were inevitable, then Delta’s move really isn’t bad — $$50 internationally is less than the fuel surcharges one normally sees on paid tickets, so it could have been much worse… like $100 each way. Now the fuel surcharges could go up later, but it should take awhile, and other airlines aren’t likely to go full out when Delta has laid down its marker at the $50 price point. I do think this is bad, it’s a terrible precedent, and the fuel surcharges are likely to spread to other carriers and eventually go up. But as lucky points out, it could have been worse.
All the Free Things Businesses Will Give You Because You Were Born
Deals, Travel, and Family Life surveys more than 100 free things you can get on your birthday, many of which require advance signup but plenty of the restaurants on the list allow you to enjoy your free item simply around rather than just on your birthday.
3000 British Midland Miles for New Account Signup
Via Frugal Travel Guy, British Midland keeps changing up their offers for signing up for a new Diamond Club account. The current offer is 3000 miles just for creating a new account. Terms and conditions of the offer are here.
Delta Introduces Fuel Surcharges on Award Tickets Originating from the US and Canada
I don’t have a stable internet connection during my travels at the moment, and I’ll have much more to say on this later I’m sure. I predicted back in January And that’s why I fully expect US airlines to begin passing fuel surcharges on to award customers (and other ‘free’ tickets including those given as denied boarding compensation). Now Delta has announced we will add the following fuel surcharge to Award Tickets originating from the U.S. and Canada, effective August 15, 2008: $25 for Award Travel between the 50 states and Canada $50 for Award Travel between the 50 states/Canada and all international destinations (They already have fuel surcharges ex-Europe.) As my prediction suggests, I imagine others will eventually follow.
Another OpenSkies Trip Report, This Time With Photos
Yesterday I posted Online Travel Review‘s take on the new OpenSkies flight between New York-JFK and Paris-Orly. Now One Mile at a Time has a report. First is a discussion with tons of photos of the new Prem+ product. Then there’s a discussion and photos of the Intercontinental LeGrand in Paris and some touristy stuff. I anxiously await his return photo trip report of business class, Paris to New York…
12,000 bmi points for new members (flight required)
bmi is offering 12,000 bonus miles to new Diamond Club members who credit a roundtrip or two one way bmi flights to their account by August 31. bmi points can go quite a long way, since they offer one-way awards and a cash and points award chart.
Delta Elites May Need the Reserve Amex Credit Card if They Want to Upgrade…
Jeff Robertson, who runs the Delta Skymiles program, made his latest Flyertalk post yesterday. I tend to think it’s his most useful to date, and for the most part devoid of the usual marketing-speak. He confirms that Delta Reserve Amex cardholders receive priority within status and fare levels for upgrades. Delta Reserve customers receive priority upgrade status within tier and fare class. In essence, this means that if two customers who are Platinum both booked an L fare, the Platinum with the Delta Reserve card bumps the Platinum who doesn’t have the card. That’s a pretty strong reason for Delta elites to get the card. Meanwhile, he commits to website award booking improvements and predicts easier-to-use international upgrades for top tier elites post-Northwest merger (I’ll be cautiously optimistic and won’t bank on anything major).
