The holiday season sometimes brings so much joy that all my hopes, at least for award booking, seem possible. And with a New Year, there’s an unwritten future. So I dare to dream. And I’ll share with you, my dear readers, the content of my five wishes as we close out 2009 and usher in 2010. 1. An end to United Starnet Blocking I genuinely believe that United Mileage Plus offers the best top-tier elite level. But their award redemption is truly sub-par. They block award seats that their partners are making available, something that no other Star Alliance airline does. Their award chart isn’t cheap relative to the competition, in many cases it is more expensive than say the US Airways chart or the Air Canada chart. Both of those airlines let you book…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for December 2009.
Churning Burger King Greeting Cards for 99 Free Miles!
Lucky points to Burger King’s new promo where they will send a $1 card to someone for $1. The card lets them know you almost care. The true brilliance in the offer is keeping the dollar value so low as to make it not at all worthwhile to churn. Sadly it’s no replacement for dollar coins, Amex travelers checks, savings bonds, or prepaid debit cards. As Lucky says, you might be limited to 99 cards and might have to enter your address each time, but if you don’t value your time and are looking for all of 99 miles, this is the deal for you.
Monster Outlets-to-Go Giveaway
A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the Outlets to Go power strip. I hate that hotels, older hotels in particular, never seem to have enough power outlets. And the ones they do have are completely taken up by the lamps by the bedside. Or the lamp on the desk taking up the only outlet there. And between my laptop, cell phone, iPod, and wireless router I do have power needs. I’ve even considered carrying power strips along with me when I travel, but never did. … This item is small enough for travel, though, and designed for compactness. The power cord wraps right around the small power strip and plugs into itself. The outlets are well spaced so that they’re all usable, and it has a USB plug-in as well. The only complaint everyone…
Continental Introduces New Revenue-Based Top Elite Level
In addition to the systemwide upgrade announcement, Continental also came out with the news that they’re introducing a new top tier status above Platinum, Presidential Platinum. They’ll have upgrade priority above platinums, clear their upgrades 144 hours before departure, and their reciprocal upgrade benefits on United will have them prioritized above United Premier Executives (but behind United 1Ks). Presidential Platinum members will receive a fee waiver for the Presidential Plus Mastercard that comes with lounge membership and additional bonus miles for flying. (Members outside the lower 48 and Alaska aren’t eligible, so they get 25,000 bonus miles.) Qualification is revenue-based, and the criteria is currently $30,000 in spend in a calendar year. Furthermore, Continental announced a new lifetime status benefit — 4 million flown miles nets lifetime Presidential Platinum status.
Continental Introduces Systemwide Upgrades
CO Insider posted the news on Flyertalk. United’s 100,000 mile flyers earn six systemwide upgrades, upgrades which can confirm an international upgrade at booking (or whenever the seats become avilable) from most fares. (United 1K flyers also get 8 confirmed domestic upgrades per year.) American’s top tier flyers get 8 international upgrades per year valid on any fare. Continental is a bit stingier — 4 confirmed upgrades per year valid intenrationally (as well as domestically) and good on any fare without co-pay. So while fewer instruments than United, there’s no fare requirement (perhaps a sign that United might do away with the minimum fare rules on their systemwides?). Each systemwide upgrade on Continental will be valid one-way on Continental metal (including Continental Micronesia and Copa). They’re transferrable, and are confirmed out of R inventory (F…
Free MegaBus Tickets
According to Dan’s Deals, anyway. Not checking this one out myself, I’m not a “Geryhound’s Upscale Subsidiary” Kinda Guy. Use promo code: GETAWAY -Free ticket promo valid for travel between 01/06-03/20. The cheapest Megabus tickets are for midweek travel bought a few weeks in advance. Here are details from the press release I received earlier today by email: Megabus.com, the first city-to-city express bus service offering fares as low as $1, today joined NYC & Company, the City’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization, to announce that it is offering 100,000 free seats for travel between January 6 and March 20, 2010. Customers can begin booking today. Forty thousand of the 100,000 seats are designated for travel to New York, the nation’s largest city. The remaining seats are reserved for travel on megabus.com’s other routes…
5% Off Continental Airlines Bookings
According to Upgrade:Travel Better, promo code 9702533697 will take 5% off of bookings at Continental.com.
Hyatt Encourages Phantom Hotel Stays to Earn Faster Free Nights Credits
At the bottom of the Scott McCartney piece I linked to below, there’s an interesting add-on: Hyatt is fully aware of, and supports, the practice of booking hotel rooms just for the purpose of accumulating Faster Free Nights credits. Hyatt Hotels Corp. currently offers its Gold Passport program members a free night for every two nights at one of the chain’s properties through Jan. 31. The free nights come with no blackout dates but have to be used by March 31. Charles Witt, a facilities planner in Washington, D.C., stopped by a suburban Hyatt Place hotel on his way home from work several times this fall, swiped his credit card to buy a $50 room and went home, never opening the door to the hotel room. For every $100 he spent, he got a free…
Media Coverage for Presidential Dollar Coins Free Mileage-Earning Technique
Scott McCartney covers Presidential Dollar Coins. At least several hundred mile-junkies discovered that a free shipping offer on presidential and Native American $1 coins, sold at face value by the U.S. Mint, amounted to printing free frequent-flier miles. Mileage lovers ordered more than $1 million in coins until the Mint started identifying them and cutting them off. Coin buyers charged the purchases, sold in boxes of 250 coins, to a credit card that offers frequent-flier mile awards, then took the shipments straight to the bank. They then used the coins they deposited to pay their credit-card bills. Their only cost: the car trip to make the deposit. I’ve covered details on buying coins from the US Mint for loads of miles, such as here, here, and here. Flyertalk’s MrPickles certainly deserves his 15 minutes in…
British Airways Is Conspiring to Keep Me Out of First Class
I have a redemption booking coming up, a oneworld award using American Airlines miles. It’s a first class award, and I booked it with (4) Cathay Pacific first class segments and a final segment on British Airways from London to Toronto in First Class. One of the great frustrations of the American-British Airways partnership is that you cannot use American miles to book BA flights between the US and London, and vice versa. There really isn’t much lost for BA members, why would they want to redeem transatlantic flights on American? Award availability tends to be much better on BA, and BA offers a better inflight product. But for AA members it’s a big hole in the alliance partnership. The ‘workaround’ is to fly to London via Canada (Vancouver, Toronto) or elsewhere in North America. …
