Only through December 16, Delta is offering a 100% bonus on transferred miles. This is a better deal than buying miles but of course you need to start with a stash of miles in order to make this work (or you can transfer points in from another program such as American Express Membership Rewards and don’t forget there’s a 30% rebate on doing that currently). Delta charges 1 cent per point that you transfer, plus a $30 fee per transaction. Transferring 30,000 points costs $330, and deposits 60,000 miles into the recipient’s account (for a net increase of 30,000 between the two accounts). Which means you’re effectively buying miles at 1.1 cent apiece. And even Skypesos are worth that. In order to transfer out or receive transferred Skymiles, accounts have to have been open at…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for December 2011.
Next Media Animation’s Take on Alec Baldwin’s Twitter Feud with American
Next Media Animation says Baldwin ran into the restroom with his cellphone because he finds the game ‘Words with Friends’ addictive, and predicts a coming feud between the actor and Greyhound.
30% Rebate on Hilton Cash & Points and Premium Room Awards
Hilton HHonors is offering a 30% rebate on the points cost of their two new redemption options, “points and money” (discounted awards more commonly referred to as cash and points, spend half the points and a cash co-pay) and “premium room rewards” (which usually cost way too many points to reserve better than entry-level rooms, this deal could make the option competitive in some caes or even less than the cost of a regular reward night during the promotion period). Registration is required. Book by January 31 for travel through June 30. You need to have the full points cost of the award in your account now, and will receive the rebate 6 to 8 weeks after your stay. Time to re-book my upcoming cash and points award.. (HT: Points, Miles, and Martinis)
Free Marriott Courtyard Nights Giveaway
Reminder, I’m giving away two sets of two nights at any Marriott Courtyard in the continental U.S. Enter by leaving a comment in the giveaway thread.
Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites
Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home The hotel dropped us off curbside and we entered the impressive Hong Kong airport. It doesn’t quite compare to Singapore’s Changi but it’s certainly one of the best and most impressive airports in the world. Though our bags were already checked, and boarding…
Aeroplan Confirms Major Short-term Discounts on Awards
On Friday afternoon I wrote about Aeroplan rewards being priced below their award chart amount. There is a pricing glitch going on right now at Aeroplan where business class awards are pricing at the economy class level and first class awards are pricing at the business class level I pointed out that American Express points transfer instantly to Aeroplan, so it’s a sale that can be broadly taken advantage of (at least by folks who have Amex points). Comments on the post pointed out Aeroplan’s bonus for converting points in from other programs as well. Of course Amex now ads fuel surcharges to awards on many partners. (Update: excuse the typo!) Valerie (who registered on this site with an Aeroplan email address) adds the following: I am the social media community manager at Aeroplan. We…
Flyertalk vs. Milepoint, Media Smackdown
Okay, not a smackdown but a compare and contrast. USA Today ran a story today on Flyertalk versus Milepoint. It’s going to be pretty inside baseball for some, but they seem to come down on the side that if you’re an expert the deep reservoir of content on Flyertalk is hard to beat but if you’re not already steeped in the community the place can be daunting. Randy Petersen gives a nod to Flyetalk’s content, while Internet Brands acknowledges the challenges that the site faces in being accessible to new members. The piece offers a nod to Milepoint‘s technology platform, and its welcoming nature for new members. Of course both have value, and it’s always great to see these communities cross into the mainstream via USA Today and other popular media. I’m participating mostly in…
Free Marriott Courtyard Nights Giveaway to Celebrate Their Redesigned Lobbies
Marriott Courtyard is rolling out new re-designed lobbies to appeal especially to business travelers, and they reached out to me to see if I’d be willing to share it with my readers. The offer? I could give away 2 free nights at any Marriott Courtyard in the Continental U.S., and they’d give me free nights for myself as well. As regular visitors to View from the Wing know, when I get offers like these my first question is, “Do you mind if I just give away those nights to my readers as well?” And the answer is almost universally yes. I’ll wind up checking out the new lobbies in the normal course of my travels, I don’t need the free nights, I much enjoy giving them away to readers instead. So that’s the offer —…
50% Bonus on Buying bmi Diamond Club Miles This Week Only
British Midland is offering a 50% bonus on puchased miles this week only, through December 11. bmi miles are especially valuable and leveragable because of their attractive cash and points award chart (though they do add fuel surcharges to awards, cash and points really stretches the points, e.g. one-way business class from the US to Germany is 18,750 miles plus ~ $165 cash co-pay and then of course taxes and fuel surcharges – you could buy the miles for one-way business class cash and points for $268, or $433 cash outlay plus taxes and fees which are not insubstantial). You can buy up to 24,000 miles per account per year. Since they offer family accounts, though, you can link up to 8 accounts and combine miles as needed for redemptions. I wouldn’t be bulking up…
Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites
Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home Having bid our complimentary Bangkok Flight Services escort (thanks, Bangkok Airways!) adieu at the transfer desk, we walked around the corner to the Cathay Pacific “First and Business Class lounge.” We were originally supposed to be first class passengers on our flight to…
