Virgin Atlantic and Bank of America are back with their standard biggest signup bonus. The most recent links for this offer don’t work any longer. They used to offer the card as an American Express (one of those oddball American Express cards not issued by American Express). Now it’s a MasterCard. It’s advertised as a signup bonus of up to 65,000 miles but I wouldn’t think about it that way. Reach rewards faster with up to 65,000 Flying Club bonus miles in the first year with the Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard® credit card from Bank of America. The offer is: 20,000 Flying Club bonus miles after your first retail purchase 25,000 additional Flying Club bonus miles after you spend at least $2,500 in qualifying purchases Earn up to 15,000 additional bonus miles upon anniversary…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for July 2014.
US Passport and Visa Issuance Computer Crash, Thousands Stranded Worldwide
A story that has gotten some play but not nearly enough is that the system for issuing US passports and visas has broken down. Passport issue times have slowed down, and visa issuance has broken down as a result. Foreigners looking for permission to travel to (or return to) the U.S. are stuck waiting. Problems began July 19, although it wasn’t the year’s first system crash. The Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) at the State Bureau of Consular Affairs “is currently experiencing technical problems with our passport/visa system,” …The issues, she said, have resulted in significant backlogs. Visas are approved, recorded and printed through the CCD. “Until the system comes back online, we are unable to print visas. While H1B status can be approved for 3 years (renewal once), the length of time that any given…
The Most Important Meal of the Day: the Hotel Chains and Properties that Do Breakfast Best
Among hotel chains, Hyatt Gold Passport has the best elite breakfast benefit and Hilton has the easiest breakfast benefit to get. Perhaps the most generous elite offering was the Park Hyatt Aviara which wound up comping their Mother’s Day $95 per person buffet. Here are the very best breakfasts I’ve been provided for free as a result of elite status — the hotels that are the most generous, how they do it, and the lessons we can draw.
Is Hyatt Withholding Award Inventory at One of its Best Properties?
The Park Hyatt New York is one of the more anticipated luxury hotel openings of the year. It has 210 guest rooms and is accepting reservations for August 12 and beyond. But is it ever possible to redeem points for a room here? Is Hyatt playing games?
Black’s Barbecue Opens Up in Austin, How Does it Rate in the Smoked Meat Mecca of the World?
My favorite barbecue – anywhere – is Black’s in Lockhart, Texas. I believe barbecue is all about the meat, and that meat is brisket. Sauce shouldn’t be necessary, it just hides the taste of good barbecue. I’ve had Franklin Barbecue in Austin and it is amazing. Technically perfect, even. But I find Black’s brisket more flavorful. Austin-area barbecue has to be the most densely competitive enclave in the world, and that makes nearly all of it excellent. ‘Bad’ barbecue for the region is still ‘good’ in some objective sense, or at least relative to what you’ll find in most places. I was excited to try the new Terry Black’s in Austin, only just opened. This isn’t Black’s. This is Terry Black’s. And the subtle distinction underscores a huge family dispute. The two members of the…
JetBlue Considers First Checked Bag Fee as Soon as They Can Make the Tech Work
Skift reports that JetBlue is considering a first checked bag fee. The challenge they currently face is that they need upgrade their tech to offer different fare options. A fee may be part of JetBlue’s new fare structure, Powers said yesterday, as the New York-based airline creates classes of tickets whose price would include services such as one free piece of checked luggage. While fliers could still choose a cheaper seat, they would have to start paying for any baggage, not just their second suitcase. Only in the airline industry is adding a fee considered not nickel and diming customers. “If you chose to buy a bucket without attributes and show up with a bag, you probably should pay for it,” Powers said. “It’s a terrific way, and in a JetBlue-friendly way, of monetizing all…
1000 Bonus United Miles Per Marriott Stays (on Top of Regular Points)
Registration is required and you can earn 1000 United miles per stay up to 5 stays through October 31 at JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, Gaylord Hotels and Marriott properties in the U.S., Mexico, and some Caribbean islands. One nice thing is that you don’t change your earning preference to miles, you can still earn your regular Marriott points for your stays. Only bookings made by September 5 are eligible for the bonus. This offer extends the United-Marriott tie-in that includes reciprocal elite status and seems to be meant to encourage United members to participate in Marriott Rewards. Existing Marriott members link their United and Marriott accounts and then register. New members enroll for Marriott Rewards, link their United account, and register for the promotion at the same time. (HT: Loyalty Lobby) You can join…
Get Etihad Gold Status and a New Suitcase, and Go on an Exciting European Tour
News and notes from around the interweb: The Girl and Globe (whom some may remember as ‘New Girl in the Air’ on BoardingArea) wrote about her experiences with Competitours (the ‘Amazing Race’-style adventure that my award booking partner Steve Belkin runs). A First Look At The New Briggs & Riley BRX Rolling Carry-On Etihad has opened up their Gold elite status match through July 29th. This time they only want individuals with an address in Australia. Fortunately I do have one I can use.. A new card that loads from rewards-earning debit cards and unloads easily. A new PointBreaks preview list is out. These are IHG Rewards properties that will be bookable for just 5000 points for stays through September 30th. They will become bookable on Monday. You can join the 40,000+ people who see…
Armed Gunmen Storm Canadian Plane on Toronto Tarmac
Be careful how you express yourself on board an aircraft. A 25-year-old Canadian man is in custody after two U.S. fighter jets escorted a Panama-bound flight back to Toronto on Friday. The passenger complained how much he hated Canada due to the high cost of cigarettes. (Canada increased cigarette taxes more than 20% this year, and applied the tax even to ‘duty free’ purchases.) He ended hyperbolically, “I just want to bomb Canada.” CTV news has video of law enforcement boarding the plane in the form of an armed assault. While officers stormed the plane, they yelled orders at passengers “heads down! Hands up! Show me all your hands.. Keep your hands up!” The man has been charged with “mischief to property, mischief interfering with lawful enjoyment of property, uttering threats and endangering the safety…
You Can Transfer Citibank Points to Anyone You Wish, and They Can Transfer to Miles
Citibank made Thank You points useful again, at least if yo have a Citi Thank You Premier, Prestige, or Citi Chairmans card. That’s because they now allow points transfers to airline miles. If you don’t currently have Citi Thank You points, the quickest boost to that balance is here. I really like transfers to Singapore Airlines. They have a good award chart for US domestic flights (including Hawaii) on United, and they offer much much better award availability using Singapore miles for flying on Singapore Airlines in premium cabins than they’ve ever offered to their partners. You can actually book Singapore Airlines first class awards with Singapore miles (I have Singapore Suites reserved for a trip in the near future myself). You can now transfer points from American Express, Chase, Starwood, and Citibank into Singapore…
