Several folks in comments to various posts have noted over the past few days that the application page for the American Express Platinum cards no longer list American Airlines lounge access as a benefit. The benefit for both Platinum and Centurion cardholders, as it stands, is access to: American and Delta lounges when flying those airlines same-day US Airways lounges (does not require same-day US Airways travel) Priority Pass lounges via complimentary Priority Pass Select membership American Express Centurion lounges, in the U.S. (currently Las Vegas and Dallas) and abroad But American is now conspicuously absent on the Platinum card’s benefits page. The omission is not universal, however, for instance this page describing lounge benefits for the Business Platinum card still includes American’s Admirals Clubs. Business Platinum Card Access1 To gain admission, simply present your…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for October 2013.
Using Elite Security Lines When You Aren’t Entitled to Do So
When readers shared their own travel tips and several really stood out as worth highlighting. This one simply amused me, I’ll explain why in a minute. Jacob said, If you don’t have status flash expired airline status cards at security to go through elite lane It brought back memories of perhaps the most controversial travel-related blog post I’ve ever seen, when Million Mile Secrets wrote about how to fake an entitlement to priority security lines. In the US, I’ve been able to go through the airport elite status line just by showing a card – sometimes a regular frequent flyer card which I got for free just by signing up for a program – to the agent manning the shorter elite lines!… Sometimes it is just a regular frequent flyer card for an obscure foreign…
Saudia Business Class Trip Report: Award Availability (Delta Miles!) is Amazing, But Should You Fly It?
I’ve written about how easy it is to find award availability on Saudia using Delta miles. I’ve even walked through making a booking on Saudia live, in front of hundreds of people. There’s a reasonable question that comes up, objection even, Saudia? What is that like to fly? A co-worker flew Saudia on miles — the fruits of her signup bonus for an American Express Platinum card and a small amount of additional spending — and I asked her to share her experience. The trip was to Lahore, Pakistan to visit her family — departing from New York, and returning to Washington DC. She prefers to remain anonymous, but she provided a great trip report that I think is a fascinating window into an airline that isn’t frequently written about. We’ll call her my Pakistani…
Bits ‘n Pieces Part Deux for October 19, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Wyndham Rewards is offering a 20% bonus on purchased points through November 30. (Must log into your account to see the offer.) Not that compelling, but it allows you to transfer points to airline miles at a cost of ~ 2.3 cents per mile, and they have some oddball airline partners like the Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club, Saudia, and Qatar. Vanilla Reloads can be purchased with a credit card at Family Fare grocery stores. None of those near me, and I’ve never seen one in my travels either. Qatar will be launching service from Philadelphia and from Miami next year. I’m betting that if the US Airways-American merger doesn’t go through that the Philadelphia route won’t make sense, but that Qatar’s entry into oneworld will provide the…
How a $12 Compact Power Strip Can Make Travel Easier
When readers shared their own travel tips and several really stood out as worth highlighting. Menashe said, Take a portable powerstrip with you. Monster Outlets-to-Go includes a USB outlet. Aside from the obvious benefit of having extra outlets, you also only need one adapter when in a foreign country, to plug in the adapter itself. “This room has just way too many power outlets” – said no hotel guest, ever. For past four years I’ve traveled with a power strip in my laptop bag. The one I use is compact, has three plugs well-spaced apart, and also has a USB charging port as well. And it’s just $12 at Amazon and eligible for Amazon Prime shipping. It’s the first thing I take out of my bag whenever I get into a hotel room, since almost…
25% Bonus for Transferring Hotel and Car Rental Points to United
United is offering a 25% bonus on transfers of hotel and car rental points into MileagePlus miles. The offer is valid for up to 20,000 bonus miles on transfers made through November 30, 2013. Registration is required. United’s hotel and car transfer partners are here. This bonus helps the anemic transfer rates for Starpoints to United miles (40,000 Starpoints normally yield 25,000 miles but would get you 31,250 under this offer), and Marriott transfer rates have improved slightly with the new United-Marriott tie up announced in July. Nonetheless, this offer doesn’t really tempt me. At 100% bonus I’d even be moving over my Hyatt points which I much value and possibly Starpoints as well (since it would make Starwood transfers to United as generous as to American and US Airways). But 25% won’t move the…
Bits ‘n Pieces for October 19, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Leave a comment on this linked post for a chance to win rental car status and points towards free rentals. Air Marshall arrested.. for doing something the TSA is required to do? Delta now calls its VIP service (akin to United’s Global Services and American’s Concierge Key) Delta 360. Can the inability of US Airways to properly ticket an award be even worse than United’s? (And how to make absolutely, positively sure United has actually issued your award ticket.) IHG Rewards will bring back its rewards flash sale on Monday with designated hotels requiring 50% – 75% fewer points for a reward night. TSA acknowledges there is no known active terrorism threat against US airlines or airports from any group inside the U.S. You can join the 30,000+…
Chris Elliott is Right! (Stopped Clock Edition)
First, a confession. I get Christopher Elliott’s columns in my Facebook feed. It’s a great way to get my blood boiling in the morning. It can even be a substitute for my second triple espresso. Here’s where he’s write — not in his column as much in the way he frames it on Facebook: Award tickets do have too many restrictions even though in general they’re more flexible than paid tickets. Here’s how they’re more flexible. Very few paid tickets are refundable, even with the payment of a fee. Most award tickets can be cancelled and miles redeposited with a change fee. Southwest doesn’t even charge a fee to cancel. That means award tickets make a great hedge. You can lock in a trip, and all that’s on the line is the cost of the…
So a Kangaroo Walks into an Airport Pharmacy, And… #NotAJoke #SoundsLikeAJoke
Two men are sitting at a bar. One man looks at the other and say, “A kangaroo walked into an airport pharmacy.” The other man says . . . Not a joke. It happened in Melbourne. And of course hometown carrier Qantas has a kangaroo on its tail… And it was an injured kangaroo. So naturally it was found at the pharmacy. It’s not even the first time this year that a kangaroo has been found at the airport. (HT: Joe Brancatelli) 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!
Giving Away National Car Rental Points and Executive Elite Status!
National Car Rental: Sign Up for the One Two Free Promotion With some rental companies I choose to earn miles instead of rental points. With National I want free rental credits. I’ve been renting from National mostly in recent times, and I’m a big fan of their One Two Free promotion that gives you free rentals in addition to their standard rental credits. I got a note from the PR folks asking if I’d help them promote the fact that they’re running this offer, and I told them I’d happily give away points in the promotion. As is customary, they offered points to me but as is my custom I asked if I could give away the points and they agreed. I also asked if I could give away elite status, and they agreed to…
