Instant Platinum (top tier) status in the Accor Hotels loyalty program comes around with some frequency, each time it does the signup link won’t stay active for long — sometimes a couple of days, sometimes just hours. Here’s the offer for instant Platinum status. Note that the signup page is just a signup page, no indication on that page that accounts will start at the Platinum level, but indeed it’s currently working as of this writing. You must open a new account, it cannot be applied to existing accounts. And when you do so you must use an email address that’s not currently on file with them. (if you have a gmail account you can add a period ‘.’ in the email address somewhere before the ‘@gmail.com’ and it will still be delivered to you…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for December 2012.
Marriott Makes Earning Lifetime Elite Status Easier
Word last month was that Marriott would be changing the rules for lifetime elite status, removing the requirement for number of years in the program, beginning in 2013. Now Marriott has posted details of their new requirements for lifetime elite status in their Marriott Insiders forum. The new requirements are: Lifetime Milestones • Platinum Elite: 750 nights + 2 million points • Gold Elite: 500 nights + 1.6 million points • Silver Elite: 250 nights + 1.2 million points The website isn’t up yet, but they’ll be promoting lifetime status (rather than having it as an unpublished benefit of the program) at MarriottRewards.com/Lifetime. There are no changes to the number of Marriott Rewards points earned during a lifetime to earn status. Instead, they’ve dropped the requirement for 12 years in the program before being eligible…
Injuries During Sex on a Business Trip Entitle Woman to Workers Comp
So rules an Australian Federal Court: A frisky businesswoman injured having sex in a hotel is looking forward to a bumper payout after winning her battle for industrial compensation. The civil servant was making love to a friend during a work trip when a glass light fitting was torn from its mount above the bed. ..[She] later suffered depression which forced her to give up her job. Her claim for worker’s compensation for her physical and psychological injuries was initially approved by government insurer Comcare, then rejected after further investigation. A tribunal agreed with Comcare that her injuries were not suffered in the course of her employment, saying the government had not induced or encouraged the woman’s sexual conduct. The tribunal also found the sex was “not an ordinary incident of an overnight stay” such…
American Codeshares With TAM and Improves its Codesharing with LAN
As if it weren’t already all but a foregone conclusion that LATAM — the parent of South American airlines LAN and TAM — would swing towards oneworld (LAN is a oneworld member, TAM is in Star), American has announced that they’ve signed codesharing agreements with both TAM and LAN Colombia. Oneworld is already the strongest alliance between the US and South America, even though Star recently picked up AviancaTaca as a member. When I’m looking to book awards between the North and South American continents I always prefer American and British Airways points for the bookings — American’s availability is reasonably good, especially from its Miami hub, and LAN’s is good as well. Further, as part of the announcement, American indicates that they’ll be launching more South American service — Dallas – Bogota to connect…
Very Good Sentences: A Tourist Looks in on the U.A.E. Edition
Ben is there now: I visited the UAE for the first time last November, and found it fascinating. It was kind of like Las Vegas on steroids, minus the slutty clothing. …It’s like Disney World for adults, with the biggest and most expensive of everything. And what I also find fascinating about the UAE is how international it is. It’s the only place outside of the US or Germany where people don’t automatically assume I’m a visitor, because it’s a country full of temporary residents. While the US might be a “melting pot,” the UAE is a salad bowl, with all kinds of cultures that keep to themselves. I’ll be making my first visit there shortly as well and look forward to adding my own thoughts. Until then I’m strangely fascinated by takes like this.
Has Alitalia Learned an Important Discount Lesson?
Alitalia has been regularly running discounts on its flights, sometimes even 25%. Early on those discounts could be used to book Delta flights, but they figured that out and shut it down. Then in October they targeted a ~ $300 discount at the Japanese market but allowed it to be used on any flight. Including intra-European flights, which priced out in many cases as nearly free. Ultimately Alitalia wound up honoring any and all of the tickets that didn’t price literally at zero. Enter Alitalia’s latest discount offering, book by December 23 for travel from January 8 to April 13. It’s a strong discount — 250 euro discount on economy, 350 discount on premium economy, and 500 euro discount on business class. BUT… It’s only valid for Alitalia flights originating in Italy It’s only valid…
Bits ‘n Pieces for December 16, 2012
News and notes from around the interweb: Head for Points goes over the basics of upgrading with British Airways Avios points. I often say that international upgrades with miles are no longer the value that they used to be; British Airways is an exception where there’s no cash co-pay. Upgrades from premium economy to business class tend to be a very good use of points. You can buy Paypal reload cards with a credit card (and earn miles, meet minimum spend for signup bonuses) and add the money to your Paypal account. Giddy for Points talks about ways to get the money out of Paypal since you probably don’t want to just load your account and then transfer funds out to your bank account; Paypal can be quite persnickety and freeze accounts. In 2008, United…
The Hotel Rate Ethicist: Corporate Discount Codes, and Your Advice Needed on Whether I Should Renew AAA Membership?
I’ve had AAA membership for awhile, largely because I book AAA rates at hotels frequently. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked for proof of membership at check-in, however. The Hilton and Hyatt websites both ask you to enter AAA numbers when making reservations online, they don’t check that an account is currently active but presumably check to see that the digits are plausible. AAA rates aren’t always the best, for instance there are often better corporate rates where if you were an employee of a given company you’d be entitled to a lower negotiated rate — which sometimes codes with added benefits like free or discounted parking, or a much more generous cancellation policy than standard reservations (such as 6pm on day of arrival rather than day prior to check-in). I’ve never been asked…
Washington Dulles is a Very Bad Airport
I live near Washington’s National airport and will often be happy to connect if necessary in order to avoid Dulles airport. Not only is it a good 45 minute drive from downtown, but once you’re there you’re not even close to there. Public transportation options are limited; there are a couple of bus routes and those connect up to metro. (There will eventually be metro service in one of the most expensive transit projects in US history.) Taxis departing the airport are part of a monopoly franchise, which means you have double the taxi trips necessary — arriving cabs cannot pick up passengers and take them to the city, and departing cabs return mostly empty. It always amazes me that this doesn’t cause any sort of environmental uproar. You enter the main terminal and are…
Just a Few Hotel Rooms Left for Frequent Traveler University in April
The next Frequent Traveler University is April 26-28 in Northern Virginia. Lucky from One Mile at a Time, Mommy Points, Million Mile Secrets, The Points Guy, and Frequent Miler will all be speaking along with me at the event. And I’ll be putting together the rest of the program shortly. Already — still over four months out — nearly 400 people have signed up to attend. Folks have had some difficulty getting rooms at the host hotel. Co-organizer Tommy wrote over at Milepoint, The host hotel is sold out of regular rooms. I’ve gotten my hands on all the Executive Level rooms for an additional 40 dollars a night, so 139 per night, which includes full breakfast for all occupants every day and upgraded rooms on the top floors. There are only 100 of these…
