In the continuing saga where I make my point about how profitable airline loyalty programs are — how they aren’t cost sink-holes, how selling miles makes them money, how the ‘problem’ isn’t that they’re ‘too generous’ printing miles and should only focus on rewarding ticket revenue — comes the news that Qantas’ frequent flyer program experiences a year of record profitability in 2009. In fact, the title of the aritcle is: Loyalty program to keep Qantas in black That is all.
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for February 2010.
Intercontinental Free Weekend Nights Becoming More Restrictive
Lucky reports that Intercontinental “BOGO” (a.k.a. free weekend night valid with a paid weekend night) certificates may be losing some value. These certificates come in the welcome kit for Intercontinental Ambassador membership ($150 per year, complimentary for downgraded Royal Ambassadors, and there are sometimes promos to earn this status through stays and there are also reportsof successfully redeeming Priority Club points for it). Details on the free weekend night certificates are here. A year ago, these certificates were restricted so that you couldn’t book a suite and receive a free night in a suite. Previously, you could book any room you wished — even a Presidential suite — for a paid Friday or Saturday night, and get the next night free. (Weekend definition varies somewhat in the Middle East.) With the new restriction you could…
Props to Qantas for Domestic Wine Selection!
Recently I’ve seen frequent Qantas ads at the top of my blog. I haven’t flown Qantas doemstic in awhile, but this Flyertalk thread makes me really want to. While some Flyertalkers poo poo the selection (I think they’re 100% wrong), real kudos to Qantas for serving Penfolds St. Henri in domestic business class. My only skepticism is that unless it’s been laid down for many years, St. Henri takes several hours decanting to really open up. But it’s an incredibly complex, interesting, flavorful Shiraz. Regardless, much nicer wine than is ever offered in domestic first class in North America.
100 Free Amtrak Guest Rewards Points
Just register here, you’ll need to provide your account number and password. The offer was promoted to their Facebook fans. I didn’t even realize they had a Facebook account. Though I haven’t friended them, I appreciate the points.
Priority Club Throwdown, At Least 1000 Free Priority Club Points
I really love this. Priority Cluib throws down the gauntlet on the Hilton HHonors devaluation (see also here). Priority Club is running the Luckiest Loser competition. Sign up and you’ll automatically receive 1000 points. If you’re one of the top 20,000 Hilton HHonors losers (you had one of the 20,000 highest Hilton HHonors points balances) you’ll receive 20% of your Hilton balance in Priority Club points, up to 20,000 Priority Club points. And the person who registers with the highest Hilton balance will receive 2 million Priority Club points and be dubbed “the Luckiest Loser.” Of course, I burned most of the Hilton points because of the devaluation. So my balance is pretty paltry, I won’t be in the top 20,000. They want current HHonors balance, not balance prior to the devaluation. They say that…
1000 Mile Air Canada Aeroplan First Flight Bonus
Air Canada is offering 1000 miles to new members (who joined Aeroplan between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010) who register for this bonus by December 31, book travel by December 31, and fly by March 31, 2011. If you’ve already taken a flight in the second half of 2010, and were an Aeroplan member at the time, you can still register to earn the bonus. (Thanks to Henrick.)
Free Trial bmi Silver Status
Via TM Travel World, bmi is offering trial silver status for new members. the status will be valid for 3 months, and all you need to do is to fly 4000 status miles(any *A flight) to keep the silver status for additional next months. BMI silver status can earn 25% bonus miles on any *A flight and they offer the lowest premium redemption chart Silver status is mostly useful for folks actually flying bmi, because it yields lounge access with bmi but not Star partners. But the bonus miles are nice, to be sure.
Marriott Credit Cards Head Start Towards Elite Status
Loyalty Traveler runs down the Marriott credit card offers that help achieve elite status. There are three credit cards which together credit 35 nights automatically. What’s more, you can now earn a qualifying night for every $3000 of spend on Marriott’s premium card. Gold status comes after 50 nights (achievable with 3 cards and $45,000 in spend) and Platinum after 75 nights (3 cards and $90,000 in spend). I’m not much of a Marriott guy, sure they’re ubiquitous and there are plenty of decent lounges. But even for Platinums — the most stringent tier to reach of any hotel loyalty program top level — there aren’t promises of suite upgrades the way one finds with Intercontinental Royal Ambassador, Hyatt Diamond, and Starwood Platinum. Still, these cards offer a real head start towards status. They underscore…
30% Bonus on Alaska Airlines Purchased or Gifted Miles
Through March 31, Alaska Airlines is offering a 30% bonus on purchased or gifted miles. That reduces the purchase price from 2.75 cents per mile (plus tax and processing fee) down to just over 2.1 cents (plus same fees). Not worth it ‘as an investment’ or general miles accumulation strategy, you’d need at least double miles for that, but helpful nonetheless if you wanted to top off towards a first class partner award (say) on British Airways or Cathay Pacific.
Flyer Sues Orbitz (and wins) Over Their Courtesy Cancellation Policy
BigFlyer posted his story on Flyertalk about why he sued Orbitz in small claims court — and won. My Orbitz adventure began with reading about Orbitz’s “courtesy cancellation policy” on its website. The site stated that one could cancel an airline reservation by 10:00 P.M. Central Time the following day and get a complete refund. The exceptions were paper tickets, tours, and “certain airlines.” I wrote to Orbitz customer service, and was told that “The two airlines that are an exception from the ‘Courtesy Cancellation’ option are Spirit Airlines and AirTran Airlines.” So, I felt safe booking Virgin America through Orbitz. The day after my booking, I needed to cancel. I went to the reservation, but there was no “courtesy cancel” button. I then called Orbitz customer service.. the first person I spoke with, and…
