… and I say “meh.” I’ve gotten several e-mails from readers in the past few days who have had their Citibank credit card accounts shut down. Mostly this involves people who had signed up for Citibank credit cards that would earn 5 Thank You points per dollar on specific categories of spending, who then did large dollar volume purchases of gift cards and other financial instruments that could be turned back into cash. Certainly I get that this wasn’t what Citi intended in offering the card with this benefit. And I wouldn’t have a problem with them ending the promotion early, or even ending it early for specific cardholders they feel are abusing the benefit. They’re going too far, in my view, in that they seem to be (1) confiscating previously-earned points, and (2) even…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for May 2013.
TSA Illegally Blocking Airports from Opting for Private Screeners
When the FAA was re-authorized in 2012, legislation demanded that the TSA quit bottlenecking the process for airports to opt for private screeners, the way that some like San Francisco International have already done. But according to the June Airport Policy News, the TSA is playing new games with the certification process to avoid any airports opting out of TSA screeners. Not a single new contract has been approved, and procurements that were underway have been halted with the intention of ‘starting the process over later.’ Orlando Sanford airport has an approved application allowing it to bring on private screeners, it just hasn’t been allowed to contract for them. The TSA has added a new “cost efficiency target” for which if contracts don’t hit, they won’t be awarded. Basically the TSA says they won’t let…
Club Carlson Rules for Points Transfers Between Accounts Changing TOMORROW
Club Carlson has had the most generous rules for transferring points between member accounts — no restrictions. That changes June 1. In contrast to Club Carlson’s past generosity (but still quite generous), Starwood lets members at the same residential mailing address move Starpoints between accounts. That’s useful if you want to put miles into a family member’s airline miles account (you transfer from your Starwood account to theirs, and from their Starwood account to their airline account, since the names on the Starwood account the points are coming from and the mileage account points are going to must match). Starwood has cracked down in recent times, trying to ensure that members aren’t just changing addresses to facilitate transfers. Club Carlson took no such precautions. There were no restrictions whatsoever on points transfers. You could move…
Air Canada Double Elite Qualifying Miles on Various Routes Through July 31
Air Canada is offering double elite qualifying miles with Flex, Latitude or Executive Class fares through July 31 on a variety of routes between Toronto and Montreal and Ottawa, and between Canada and 13 East Coast airports: Registration is required. Qualifying booking classes are: Flex (M,U,H,Q,V,W,S,K,L,T); Latitude (Y,B); Executive Class Lowest (D,Z); and Executive Class Flexible (J,C). And, no, I don’t expect US carriers to match. 🙂
2000 Bonus Miles for Your First Hotel Booking with Rocketmiles
.. and since their average payout is also 3000 miles per night, that may mean 11,000 miles on a 3-night stay. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about PointsHound as my new favorite hotel booking site. They rebate a good chunk of their booking commission to you in the form of airline miles, and they’ve got over 1000 hotels now where you can earn miles for the booking and still earn stay credit towards your status in the relevant hotel’s frequent guest program. Put another way, I like it better than booking direct because I still get all the same benefits and I also earn miles. They have a referral program where you get 250 bonus miles for the first stay you make booked through the site, and the person who refers you gets…
Leave a Comment for a Chance to Win a 2-Night HYATT house Stay With Very Important Resident Status
Yesterday I posted about HYATT house’s new extended stay VIP benefits and that I’d be doing a giveaway of a 2-night HYATT house stay that waives the 30 day requirement to qualify for “Very Important Resident” status on that stay and gets you the inside track on giving those benefits a spin. Here’s how to enter to win: Read about the new HYATT house ‘Very Important Resident’ benefits. Leave a comment in this current contest post, answering the question “Which new benefit is your favorite and why?” Is it the ability to pick your suite, the grocery shopping service, the personalized hotel tour, or something else? You may enter up to once a day — and I give you a bit of slack in this, I won’t disqualify any entry as long as you don’t…
Bits ‘n Pieces for May 30, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Heels First Travel and Hack My Trip have teamed up on a United/Hyatt giveaway. It’s a good idea to avoid United’s ExpressJet flights in and out of Newark, if you want to get to your destination anywhere near the scheduled time that is. Japan Airlines will install lie flat business class seats on some 767-300s with a debut on the Tokyo-Vancouver route by the end of the year and Honolulu to follow. Cranky Flier thinks more of Delta’s new terminal 4 at JFK than Wandering Aramean does. When reading any commentary or marketing on improvements, just remember that “it’s JFK” and no amount of lipstick on a pig can change that at least until the nation’s air traffic control system is fundamentally reconceptualized. A nice lounge and wide…
Hyatt’s New Extended Stay Status and Benefits, And How You Can Be a Very Important Resident Too…
I was on the road last week when new perks and amenities were announced for HYATT house, Hyatt’s extended stay brand. They’re rewarding guests staying 30 or more nights at a time (single stay at one property) with special recognition. There was some initial confusion (such as here) over whether the benefits were for ‘loyalty to a specific brand’ e.g. staying 30 or more nights in a year with HYATT house rather than with Hyatt more broadly, or whether they were for a single stay. I assumed the latter, since HYATT house is an extended-stay brand. I don’t tend to do long stays for my business travel. I’ve been fortunate not to be assigned to projects in a city for a long period of time, though I have plenty of friends who do just this…
Claiming My First American Elite Rewards Milestone
A month ago American AAdvantage announced an exceptionally generous 2013 ‘elite rewards’ program offering choices of additional rewards for reaching milestones between the various elite qualifying levels. Unlike in past years, the offerings are based on miles flown and not just the more revenue-based ‘points’ system and in addition all members are eligible to earn rewards at each milestone rather than just earning rewards for exceeding requalification for their current status level. Put another way, an Executive Platinum (100,000 mile flyer) like me can earn rewards after 40,000 and 75,000 miles — not just after 125,000 and 150,000 miles flown. This afternoon I received an email prompting me to login to the Elite Rewards page to claim my 40,000 mile threshold bonus. The choices after flying 40,000 miles, earning 40,000 points, or flying 45 segments…
Did You Win the National Car Rental #SummerOnTheGo Contest?
National Car Rental wants you to enjoy summer even though you may have to work. So they made some prizes available to give away to folks I could find that are combining leisure with their business trips. They provided iPod touches, gift cards, and swag. And I asked folks to tweet a picture of themselves adding leisure to a business trip or business meeting. The winners have been selected at random. The two winners are @Bruce_Charlotte who went to a Dodgers/Brewers game while in Milwaukee on a business trip and @barry1levine who went off to the lake while still in his suit. I think this tweet featured my favorite picture, though. He simulated a photo with some sort of stuffed animal to recreate adding leisure to a past business trip. Creative. But with random drawings…
