When readers shared their own travel tips and several really stood out as worth highlighting. VC said, Make sure to take a business card, piece of hotel statinonary, or a print out you brought from home with your Hotel’s name and address in case you need a cab later in the day. Much easier to just give the cab driver the exact name and address especially in international destinations. When I’m headed to a city I’m unfamiliar with, where the language isn’t one I can ‘fake’ I will usually print out my own copy of the hotel’s address in the local language if possible. It’s easy to get complacent and think of English as a universal language, but even in cities where business is frequently done in English taxi drivers and service workers outside of…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for October 2013.
Saudia Business Class Trip Report: Lahore – Riyadh
Pakistani Correspondent continues her guest post describing the experience flying Saudia business class, which she redeemed using American Express Membership Rewards points transferred to Delta. Here’s her previous installment: New York JFK – Jeddah Saudia Lounge, Jeddah and Jeddah-Lahore CIP Lounge in Lahore, Pakistan And now P.C. continues with her flight from Lahore to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Once again, the business class cabin was empty! I could pick any seat I wanted and have all the pillows. Apparently, they had to balance the plane so they moved 3-4 people from economy to join the cabin. The seats were spacious and this time the audio worked! The journey started with some green tea For breakfast, I got the lentil and lamb stew aka mushed up baby food (bad choice) Also, the pictures does not lie: there…
1000 United Miles for Insurance Quotes
Allstate will give you 500 United miles each for getting an auto insurance quote and getting a home insurance quote. The offer is valid through December 31, and miles for a home policy quote will not apply to condo or renter policies. Walking through the vehicle quote process it didn’t ask me for a social security number, which is good, and it pulled vehicle information from existing databases which made things easier. But the site hung up on the adding drivers page. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
United Sued for Pirating Music for its Inflight Entertainment System
Sony has filed suit: According to a complaint filed in New York federal court, the defendants are duplicating sound recordings and music videos, installing the allegedly infringed copies to servers located on board aircraft and then transmitting performances to passengers. All without paying any baggage fees. While a bit sensational, and a fluid area of law, it appears that is outsourcing relevant parts of the management of its inflight entertainment technology — such as obtaining content for its systems. The article claims a rights management company acknowledged to Sony that unlicensed content was being used, and was attempting to negotiate to make good on this. The lawsuit then may be a negotiating tactic. United is the bigger pocket here than the entertainment company they’re outsourcing to, though I’d guess there’s some sort of indemnification in…
5000 Mile Signup Bonus for New Alitalia Frequent Flyer Accounts
Skyteam airline Alitalia, a partner of Delta and of airlines such as Air France, KLM, and Korean, is offering 5000 miles as a signup bonus for new members who credit some mileage activity to their account within three months of joining. The offer runs through October 31. I presume but do not know that the requirement to earn the bonus of “Fly with Alitalia or use one of our Program Partners’ services within three months of joining” would even include transferring points into an account from a program partner such as American Express Membership Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest (in other words, that the bonus is triggered via any account activity at all). “Using program partner services” is not defined in the promotion. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis…
How to Foresee Travel Problems in Advance, and Fix Them Before They Mess Up Your Trip
When readers shared their own travel tips and several really stood out as worth highlighting. Here’s one that offers important advice. MrChu said, Always double check your reservations a few days before your scheduled travel to make sure everything is fine. It will prevent you last minute headaches and even being stranded without an airline or hotel reservation! Many things can go wrong after you make a reservation. You may never really have a confirmed reservation in the first place. A third party hotel booking site may not have properly communicated with the hotel you’re staying at, or a problem especially common to United an award ticket may never have been issued in the first place. Schedules change. Sometimes it’s a modest change but even 15 minutes could change when you’d want to leave for…
Lufthansa MasterCard 50,000 Point Signup Bonus Still Works
While my link is no longer functional for it, Lufthansa’s Miles&More 50,000 point credit card signup offer is still available. I wrote about the strategic uses of the card one week ago — United domestic first class and access to better first class award space on Lufthansa than is offered to their partners. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Bits ‘n Pieces for October 24, 2013: Duffle Bags of Gold and First Class Awards
News and Notes from around the interweb: Air Canada’s Aeroplan doesn’t appear to be seeing some Lufthansa transatlantic first class award seats that are available to other Star Alliance programs like ANA and United. I’ve noticed the same thing, and it means that I have to shift away from the Aeroplan website for searching transatlantic award space (which I’m booking using miles in other programs). Using Frequent Flyer Miles? You Need a Plan summary of WTOP radio interview I did a week and a half ago. Frequent Traveler University in the media. >Mommy Points, Pizza in Motion, and Million Mile Secrets are quotes. Here’s the conclusion: There’s so much to learn about the miles and points game that it’s just not possible to set it all out in a single online article. But in addition…
Saudia Business Class Trip Report: Is the CIP Lounge in Lahore, Pakistan the Worst in the World?
Pakistani Correspondent continues her guest post describing the experience flying Saudia business class, which she redeemed using American Express Membership Rewards points transferred to Delta. Here’s her previous installment: New York JFK – Jeddah Saudia Lounge, Jeddah and Jeddah-Lahore And now P.C. continues with the CIP lounge in Lahore: Lahore airport was very chaotic, crowded and possibly a place in hell. The ticketing agent was not helpful, and did not help me pick my seats (which I couldn’t reserve online either). I was also charged an extra airport fee which had “just gone in effect” but was not informed of this charge by Delta or Saudia. Luckily, I had some local currency because the payment was cash only and no official receipt was provided. Apparently, these new aviation taxes are only for Pakistani airports and…
How Classified TSA Documents Admitting Miniscule Threat of Terrorism Became Public
Over the weekend I noted a story about how the TSA has admitted in court documents that it does not believe there are any active terrorism threats against US airlines or airports. Courthouse News has more on how the leaked truth happened. Classified TSA documents revealed by clerical error show that the agency does not think terrorists are plotting to attack airplanes, suggesting that nude body scans are unnecessary to protect passengers. …In the course of discovery, the TSA gave Corbett classified documents, which he incorporated into the brief that he filed under seal. A clerk at the 11th Circuit somehow neglected to place the document under seal, however, allowing the public to see the redacted information. This mistake revealed the TSA’s apparent admission that terrorists are unlikely to target airports in a subsequent attack.…
