You don’t need to speak Japanese to ‘get’ what they think is really going on. (HT: Alan H.)
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for September 2011.
United’s 2012 Mileage Plus Changes Announced, Some Bad News But Not as Bad as Expected
Scott O’Leary announced details of the new United Mileage Plus program for 2012 this morning on Milepoint. Here are the key changes, which aren’t as bad as feared but which have a couple of real key negatives from my perspective. United will go to a 4-tier elite program as expected — 25,000 miles, 50,000 miles, 75,000 miles, and 100,000 miles (plus Global Services). They will begin requiring a minimum of 4 United, Continental, or COPA flights to earn status, so both people that are earning United status from Air Canada or bmi flights alone will no longer be able to do so. They are not introducing a minimum revenue component to elite status qualification, as had been speculated. Reduced elite bonuses. Elites flying 50,000 – 99,999 miles per year will receive less than their current…
New Priority Club Point Breaks List is Out
That’s the discounted redemptions of just 5000 points per night (which can be savvily purchased for $30). Sadly the only Intercontinental properties on the list are Dallas, Malta, Bahrain, and Santo Domingo. Get ’em while they’re hot if your plans coincide. (HT: Rene d.)
Hyatt Regency Baltimore, Perfectly Serviceable
I usually don’t blog my average domestic stays, or even my average international ones, but when I snap a few photos and since I write more for myself than my readers much of the time (sorry!) sometimes I feel like it’s worth posting only to remind myself. I admit, I frequently search my own blog for links and offers. That’s one of the reasons I started the blog way back in 2002, as a way of memorializing the things I had learned about travel so that I could refer back to them later. So here I am, writing about of all things the Hyatt Regency Baltimore. This was my first US Airways hit, as I mentioned yesterday. The one-night stay would have earned less than 1000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, so I wasn’t really giving…
Chicago Frequent Flyer Seminar Over 80% Full
The event begins the evening of Friday, October 28 with some optional events, is in full swing on Saturday the 29th, and wraps up Sunday afternoon. Last year sold out. Over 400 people have registered, there are fewer than 100 spots left. Speakers include Lucky a.k.a. Ben from One Mile at a Time, Brian a.k.a The Points Guy from.. The Points Guy, Rick a.k.a. ingy the Frugal Travel Guy, plus beaubo — the guy who once hired Thai rice farmers to mileage run in the Golden Triangle — and Randy Petersen, the famous Pudding Guy and also United’s Captain Denny Flanagan. My talk on booking frequent flyer awards is completely full. Discussion and full details on the event can be found here. And here’s the page to register. If you can make it to Chicago…
My Strategy for 100,000 Bonus Miles in the US Airways Grand Slam Promo
Last month I outlined the US Airways Grand Slam promotion which began this past week. It’s come around each of the past couple of years, so lots of experience with it, every year they tweak the rules just a little bit but it still remains rather lucrative. But basic gist is bonus miles for transactions with various partners, starting at 3000 bonus miles for 4 partners and going all the way up to 110,000 bonus miles for 40 partners if you’re also a US Airways elite. And three of the milestones along the way even let you earn elite qualifying miles, too. The hard thing is this — US Airways can often be acquired so cheaply, by straight up buying them, that it often doesn’t seem like it’s worth a lot of effort to earn…
Conrad Koh Samui Available on Point Stretchers Through November 30
Earlier in the week I wrote about my plans to redeem Hilton HHonors points for the Conrad Koh Samui (and switching up the reservation to score a two-bedroom ocean villa at the Conrad Koh Samui Residences). Undoubtedly the property is one of the better reward values in the Hilton HHonors portfolio. When I first booked it, the hotel was category 6 (40,000 points per night, discounted on a 5-night elite multi-night stay award to 32,000 points per night). Then — even before the hotel opened — it was upgraded to category 7 (50,000 points per night, discounted on a 5-night elite multi-night stay award to 40,000 points per night). That’s for a $600 – $900 standalone villa with private pool overlooking the Gulf. Unwind in a stunning Oceanview Pool Villa, with 65 sqm of indoor…
What Program You Should Use Depends on the Destinations You Want to Redeem For
One of the most frequent questions I get is, “Whose miles are really the best? I have a hard time using my miles and need to switch programs.” Or a common variation is, “I really should change credit cards, what credit card should I get to have the best chance of redeeming awards?” And there isn’t one true answer. There are some rough overall rules, but the best program for you depends on the award you want to redeem (and also the number of passengers, the class of service, willingness to take additional connections for better availability, requirements for inflight product, etc). Since I found myself offering this insight to someone this morning, I thought I’d share it more broadly — there are rough and ready rules about best program based on where in the…
25,000 Delta Miles for $500 Skymall Purchase Through September 18
Skymall is offering 25,000 Delta miles for a purchase of $500 or more (not including tax, shipping) made by September 18. I admit, I could be tempted with this camera. Though the garden giraffe always seems like such an amusing idea on long flights when my laptop battery dies and I’ve already seen the movie… (Via Darcie, an editor of Inside Flyer, in this Milepoint thread.)
How Expensive Can Delta Mileage Awards Possibly Get?
Delta miles are called SkyPesos for a reason. Sure, I coined the phrase, but it stuck. Because they’re worth less than other major mileage currencies. Sure, there are uses, Air France business class to Europe is reasonably available from some gateways. And so are business class seats on V Australia, especially Los Angeles – Brisbane (though Delta adds fuel surcharges to the awards). But the hardest thing about using Delta Skymiles awards on these partners can often be the domestic segments on Delta getting to the international gateway. Delta tends to be the stingiest with award availability. And when they do release seats, it tends to be quite close to departure (but don’t count on trading your ‘high’ award of a lower priced one at the last minute, there are no changes whatsoever within 72…
