The sheer volume of changes that have to move forward to integrate the United and Continental frequent flyer programs are staggering, I’ve provided updates recently here and here on some of what we now know. In the past few days several other minor progress items and changes have revealed themselves. United Systemwide upgrades (upgrades which can be used on any United flight, including internationally, provided you buy a W coach fare or higher; given primarily to 100,000-mile flyers) can now be used on Continental. Continental Onepass members get to keep their current 8 character account numbers. Presumably United members keep their 11-digit numbers. Unclear is which number members will keep when they have both a United and Continental number and accounts are merged. (US Airways and America West members kept their own numbers with that…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for July 2011.
Changes Coming to Hyatt Gold Passport
Last night Milepoint member chanp posted an email from his Private Line Representative saying that 43 hotels would be changing award categories on August 4 — 25 will require more points, and 18 will require fewer points. So this is how it works… If you currently have a reservation at a hotel that is going up in points, it will not change how you have booked it, even if your stay is after 8/4. If you currently have a reservation at a hotel that is going down, and your stay is after 8/4, GP will be refunding you the difference in points. If you need to change your dates, you will get the better option of the two, however anything changed after 9/3 (30 days later) will have to adhere to the new point chart.…
The Freddie Awards Will Return in 2012!
The Freddie Awards were the airline, hotel, and credit card loyalty program awards. Running from 1988 through 2009, hundreds of thousands of program members cast their ballots for the most rewarding efforts in miles and points during the previous year. They created a meaningful way to answer the question of which program was actually the best, as determined by the members of the programs themselves. Randy Petersen discontinued the awards after the 2009 ceremony, and a group of frequent travelers got together to found a replacement, the Frequent Traveler Awards. The idea was that it’s important to recognize what’s good in miles, points, and loyalty. Doing so actually nudges the programs themselves at the margin to do better for members, and highlights those things which frequent flyers most value. It gives voice to the frequent…
67% Bonus on Transfers from American Express to Delta
Via The Points Guy, Delta and American Express are effectively offering a 40% rebate on Membership Rewards points transfers through September 30th (registration required). For every 50,000 points you transfer from Amex to Delta Skymiles, you’ll receive an electronic certificate to deposit 20,000 Amex points back into your account. Only 50,000 mile increments count, so if you transfer smaller amounts that total more than 50,000 points you’re out of luck. A 60,000 mile transfer and a 90,000 mile transfer won’t get (3) 20,000 point rebates, just two. The rebate doesn’t come right away, but rather 6-8 weeks “following registration in promotion” (which I assume is an error in the terms and conditions, and that they actually mean either 6-8 weeks from making the transfer or 6-8 weeks from the end of the promotion). That means…
US Airways Mastercard 40,000 Mile Signup Bonus and Fee Waived First Year
The best offer I had been aware of previously was a 35,000 mile offer. This new offer is 40,000 miles with first purchase, no fee the first year, and 10,000 miles with each account anniversary (i.e. you incur an annual fee and get the bonus miles, though presumably those would post while you could still get your fee back). As with other offers, it comes with a lounge pass per year; the ability to earn 10,000 elite qualifying miles based on spend; a $99 companion ticket for use with up to two companions as long as you meet the minimum spend requirement on the paid ticket; a 5000 mile discount when redeeming awards solely on US Airways flights; and zone 2 boarding privileges. So it’s actually a fairly rich credit card for those who fly…
Rental Car Discounts and Mileage Bonuses
Throughout 2010, my favorite car rental bonus was 3000 US Airways miles on a 3-day (or longer) Avis car rental. And even when American had a similar offer, I stuck with the US Airways bonus because it overlapped with their ‘Grand Slam’ promotion, so each Avis rental also counted towards their 100,000-mile offer. The offer was originally scheduled to run through March 31, 2011 but it was extended through March 31, 2012. The offer says it’s intended for US Airways Dividend Miles elite members, but I’m not one and can confirm that it works for anyone. You just have to use coupon code MUAA044 and provide your Dividend Miles number with the reservation. The promo also promotes the US Airways ‘discount code’ (AWD) but you do not need to use this in order to get…
36% Discount on Travelocity Hotel Stays By Stacking Discounts
Travelocity is offering 20% off a minimum $800 hotel purchase using promo code AMEX20H (purchase by August 16 for travel through December 31). Price is reduced instantly. Then, if you’re traveling by September 30, the American Express Link, Like, Love promotion can get you another 20% off in the form of a statement credit. (Minimum $350 spend and 3 nights. This can only be used once per cardmember.) These two combine for a 36% discount. Sadly, I don’t believe that the Travelocity American Express is eligible for the Amex Link, Like, Love promotion (because the card is issued by Barclays), or else you could get another 10% rebate on your actual spend. Wow. But without that, an $800 3-night stay consumed by September 30th will cost you $512. Not bad.
500 Free Hawaiian Airlines Miles
They’re offering 500 miles for connecting your Hawaiian Miles account with your Twitter handle. I figure that since you can now earn 2 Hawaiian Airlines miles per dollar spent at Amazon, for some of you every Hawaiian mile now counts. (HT: toddreg on Milepoint.)
Using Amex Gift Cards to the Meet Minimum Spend Requirements for Credit Card Signup Bonuses
Now that the US Mint has stopped allowing you to buy coins with credit cards with free shipping to earn miles (you used to then just put the coins in the bank and pay off your credit card), I’ve gotten lots of questions about cheap and easy ways to meet the minimum spending requirements for credit card signup bonuses. See, lots of those great 50,000, 75,000, and 100,000 mile signup offers don’t fully kick in until you’ve put a reasonable chunk of change on those cards. And most folks (including me!) aren’t comfortable playing games like buying diamond rings on the Costco website with a Visa or Mastercard and returning them in-store where they only process American Express. Play that game too many times and you can easily get banned from Costco. So I thought…
Where the First Class Award Seats Are
When I redeem my own awards, my strong interest is in international first class travel on better airlines. Sure, I’m on the East Coast and so Western Europe is fine in business class. That’s transportation. But the beauty of miles is that they can deliver aspirational rewards, the kinds of experiences I would never be in a position to pay for out of pocket. But thanks to miles and points, getting there can be part of the trip experience too, not just something to ‘get through’. Now, I should say that I (1) pay attention and accumulate a lot of miles, and (2) am redeeming for only two people, myself and my wife, this would be harder if we were traveling with kids (both because they aren’t usually ‘doing their fair share’ to earn the…
