News and notes from around the interweb: PIN-less debit transactions. Use your phone to create postcards and then outsource mailing of them American Airlines is apparently limiting ticket sales in Argentina, because Argentina is limiting the amount of foreign currency which can be taken out of the country (they can’t get the money from ticket sales back home). Already Venezuela is holding onto American Airlines cash (and cash of other airlines). Argentina thinks American should keep selling tickets anyway, and scapegoats American Airlines for an attack on their currency. Because those evil speculators who want their money in exchange for services are the economic problem Argentina faces. A lounge that serves drinks in plastic bags. Have you ever gone to the airport on the wrong day? first class on Spirit Airlines has legroom than some…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for September 2014.
Airline Meals Now Offered for Home Delivery!
You can get airline meals delivered to your home — premium cabin meals from LSG Skychefs. “I wish I could eat what they serve on the plane all the time” Said no one, ever. But Air Food One thinks there is a business is distributing excess airline meals. The marginal cost is low, they will go bad (eventually) if unused. And surely someone will think the food is worth the $12 or $13 cost. Unfortunately it appears that I’m outside of their delivery area (they’re currently only serving Germany), because if I had my choice of airline meals I think I’d love to order at home the American Airlines beef enchiladas (Not..! Though anything but the stuffed shells, I suppose). You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day —…
How to Get Your Hotel Stays for Free Using a Best Rate Guarantee Claim
Mommy Points yesterday has a post summarizing hotel ‘best rate guarantee’ policies. The idea is that each hotel chain wants to convince you to book directly through them. That’s because booking through a third party website like Expedia or Orbitz is expensive for them, commissions can exceed 20%. One strategy is to only offer credit towards elite status when you book directly (most chains, although they general exempt certain non-direct booking outlets) and another is to only offer benefits and points accrual when you book direct. Hyatt and Marriott will at least recognize your status if you don’t book directly, even though you cannot earn credit towards elite status under their rules if you don’t. The best rate guarantee is a marketing technique to convince you that you’ll get the best rate through the hotel’s…
The Very Strange Idea of the Frequent Flyer Weekend
Walking into a Westin lobby last night — Thursday — I was confronted with this projected onto the floor. To a frequent flyer business traveler this makes all the sense in the world. Thursday is done. The work week is, for all intents and purposes, done. If you’re walking into the Westin lobby you weren’t one of the lucky ones that got to catch a flight home Thursday night. Maybe your engagement took you through to the end of the business day and it was too late to make it to the airport and get back home to your base. There aren’t as many late evening flights as there used to be, especially late evening flights that will still connect if you aren’t headed to a major hub. But either way you probably aren’t at…
Does Boeing’s Pet Export-Import Bank Matter?
Pizza in Motion is happy to see some movement extending the Export-Import bank’s charter, even temporarily. I don’t think Ex-Im should go away. I say this narrowly from the perspective of someone who’s a Boeing supporter. Here’s a video my employer put out a month ago to explain Ex-Im winners and losers. The Export-Import Bank backs $37 billion worth of exports, which amounts to 1.6% of the U.S.’ $2.28 trillion in exports. The bank states that $12 billion of that (0.54% of total US exports) is justified based on foreign competition. The Export-Import bank itself claims to support 200,000 – 300,000 jobs each year out of ~ 10 million export-related jobs in the U.S. Now, the Export-Import bank is small as far as federal programs go. CBO projects $2 billion in losses over the coming…
How’s the American Airlines Merger Doing?
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker gave good marks for merger progress so far with plenty of work to do. He cited progress implementing “the world’s largest code-sharing arrangement” between American and US Airways; US Airways joining oneworld and the transatlantic joint venture ith British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair; and re-banking the Miami hub to make for more attractive flight connections. They’ve co-located facilities for the two airlines at 80 airports are “are negotiating for new contracts covering workers from both carriers.” (I’m not sure how it’s an accomplishment already to be negotiating as opposed to, say, ‘have negotiated’). The airlines are profitable, though there are certainly some gaps in the operation like weakness in South America that American has bet heavily on. I’d paint a slightly different picture.
This Actually Exists: the Saturday Night Live MasterCard (4x on Saturdays)
Via pfdigest, this actually exists: the Saturday Night Live MasterCard from Comenity Bank (which also issues the Virgin America card). The signup bonus? An “exclusive SNL™ leather wallet” after $500 in spend within 180 days. The card earns double points on entertainment and 4x on entertainment purchases on Saturdays. According to pfdigest, entertainment includes airlines, amusement Parks, art dealers, bakeries, casinos/gambling, cable, cruises, restaurants, hotels, movies, record stores, transportation, and video rental. It’s unclear what the points are worth, however. I’d bet not a lot (some amount not to exceed a penny per point I’d imagine, once the rewards catalog becomes accessible). This is an amazing card that’s been in the works for years. Although I always expected that the co-brand would be issued by the First CityWide Bank of Change. You can join the…
The HONEST TSA Video For Kids!
Earlier this month I shared the TSA Kids instructional cartoon. Reid F. passes along the honest TSA kids video. Realistic? You tell me. You can join the 40,000+ 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!
Free $600 Cell Phone Protection and 25,000 Bonus Miles: Today’s News You Need to Know
News and notes from around the interweb: Up to 25,000 bonus Cathay Pacific miles (HT: Frequent Flyer Bonuses) Wells Fargo will insure your phone up to $600 against damage or theft if you pay your monthly bill with one of their credit cards. Austin MegaDO schedule released I once wrote time management tips for part-time bloggers but these simple tips seem indispensable. Citibank launches two new Expedia co-brand cards. Unfortunately Expedia Rewards has become awful. Which is sad, because it didn’t used to be. But with multiple revamps in just its first two years, I don’t have a high level of confidence in the program going forward either. You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day)…
Get Up to 30,000 American Miles for a Citibank Checking Account
Citibank checking account bonus: Citibank is again offering American Airlines miles as an incentive for opening a checking account and taking various account actions. The offer is valid through September 30, and you then have 60 days from account opening to take required additional steps of debit transactions and a billpay in two calendar months. You can apply on-line, in branch, or over the phone at 866-810-9043 using promotion code DR5MG904XE. I tend to think 15,000 miles is the sweet spot with this offer since Citibank has sent out 1099 tax reporting forms on mileage offers for banking products where the value is greater than $600, as the 30,000 mile offer is likely deemed to be. I still like the 22,000 point BankDirect signup offer better. BankDirect also offers miles for average balances on an…
