Pizza in Motion asks whether Delta pulling its award charts off of its website (and changing technical settings to prevent search tools like archive.org from displaying them) is really that evil?. He manages a defense of Delta. I believe that taking information and tools away from members to know how much awards are ‘supposed to’ cost — making it harder to know how many miles to save for a dream trip, to know when prices increase, or to know when awards are being priced incorrectly — is about the worst thing I’ve seen from any single airline’s frequent flyer program. Sure, airlines have gone out of business taking their miles with them (my Mexicana Frecuenta account speaks to that). But that wasn’t the frequent flyer program which did it. And LatinPass became GlobalPass, insisted that…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for February 2015.
The Southwest Companion Pass Lawsuit, the Numbers Behind the A380’s Failure, and United Almost Ready to Launch its 2013 Website!
News and notes from around the interweb: Last day to enter by leaving a comment in my big hotel points giveaway courtesy of the Mobile Suites app. Lawsuit against Southwest Airlines over the Companion Pass: Man sues because his purchases on the Southwest co-brand credit card made after his statement cutoff date in early December didn’t post until January 2015 — and didn’t count — even though his spending occurred in 2014. The new United.com, that was supposed to launch in 2013, may launch in summer 2015. “”We didn’t want to be date-driven.” Hotels putting RFID chips in their towels. Some may know when you take the towels off-property. Time for another towel amnesty? The homeless couple that live at Heathrow. Of course there’s about fifty homeless living at Frankfurt. Over the summer I asked…
Federal Investigation: United Airlines Offering Flights in Exchange for Political Favors?
Bryan S. shared this piece about federal prosecutors investigating United Airlines operating twice-weekly Newark – Columbia, South Carolina service for the possible private benefit of the David Samson, who served as Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey between 2011 and 2014. The United flight, convenient to Samson’s weekend home, offered service departing Thursday evening and returned to Newark Monday morning. Samson is said to have referred to this service as “the Chairman’s flight.” It was a money loser. The service was cancelled three days after Samson stepped down from the Port Authority. Federal prosecutors have demanded that the Port Authority turn over records related to the personal travel of the agency’s former chairman, David Samson, as well as his relationship with Newark Liberty International Airport’s largest carrier, United Airlines, according…
Delta Just Eliminated Their Award Charts Without Notice. Here’s Why That’s a Blow to the Heart of the Program.
It’s getting harder and harder to give the folks at Skymiles benefit of the doubt. What would you think of a program that: Without notice removed its published award prices from its website Told you that whatever price you were quoted at a given time was ‘the’ price Wouldn’t give you a target for how many points you’d need to save up for your dream trip? That’s what Delta just did.
Data Shows What Credit Score You Need to Be Approved for the Best Rewards Card
I receive compensation for many links on this blog. You don’t have to use these links, but I am grateful to you if you do. American Express, Citibank, Chase, and other banks are advertising partners of this site. I do not write about all credit cards that are available — instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). [Offers on this page are expired] Reader Joey M. pointed out to me that Credit Karma has a lot of data that it makes available about its member base. They know what cards members have, and what their credit scores are, and that allows us to get a window into what sorts of credit profiles are necessary to be approved for various credit cards. Many factors go into…
New Hotel Booking Site Kaligo Offering First-Time Booking Bonus of 11,000 Miles
Kaligo – 1000 Extra Bonus American Miles With Your First Booking Kaligo – 1000 Extra Bonus United Miles With Your First Booking Regular readers of this blog are familiar with PointsHound and Rocketmiles. These are hotel booking sites that reward you with miles for your reservation. Basically they’re rebating commission to you in the form of points with your favorite program. When you book through third party sites you generally don’t earn points with the hotel’s own loyalty program. You usually don’t earn credit towards elite status in that program. And with Starwood and Hilton (though not with Marriott and Hyatt) you may not have your elite status recognized. I find these sites useful for: People who aren’t elites in a frequent guest program, or aren’t chasing status. When I have to book outside my…
You Keep Using the Word ‘Paradise’ — I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means…
Fort Lauderdale airport’s terminal 3 isn’t my favorite experience. There’s no airport lounge and the best food option I’ve found is the Chili’s. Nonetheless, there are those that would call is paradise. That’s the excuse given for plenty of third world facilities in the Caribbean. Several hotels were sold out nearby the other night, and I wound up at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port Hotel. It was perfectly functional, though the decor doesn’t necessarily fit South Florida. I thought the hotel’s essence was captured perfectly the next morning. There was crashing down rain, pouring heavily, and parking is a decent walk from the front of the hotel (the lot was mostly full, so I was parked at the far end of the lot). I asked ‘Guest Services’ if it was possible to…
Hints About American’s 787, the Benefits of the New $950 Merrill Lynch Card, and Six Month Expiry Miles!
News and notes from around the interweb: Frontier Airlines miles will expire after just six months instead of the customary 18 months starting in March. They’re inching closer and closer to Spirit Air (their private equity ownership and their President come over with Spirit backgrounds). Hints about the first routes for American’s 787. The @USAirways Twitter account will close at the end of the month. One more step towards integration with American. JetBlue now offers Coursera course content through its inflight entertainment. I rarely use an airline’s entertainment system, I work instead but if I’m going to watch something it will be on my laptop. But if I were going to use there content, this is exactly what I’d want. The $950 annual fee Merrill Lynch Octave card. Way too high a price point for…
Where to Find the Biggest Savings and Best Treatment for Luxury Hotel Stays (It’s Usually Not Where You’d Think)
We’re trained to believe hotel best rate guarantees – that you really do get the best deals on a hotel’s website. That’s mostly true for US hotels compared to the major online travel agencies, but those guarantees are riddled with holes and are only for like-to-like offerings… they don’t match many kinds of bundled offerings or deals that require memberships. When we step beyond booking direct, we might think about the standard Virtuoso, American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts, Visa Signature Hotels or World MasterCard offerings — things like an upgrade if available, late checkout, perhaps breakfast and a food and beverage credit. Hotels that do participate with these higher-end booking channels will often provide a similar price, just with those amenities thrown on top. What we can miss is that – especially for the…
A 70 Year Old United Flight Attendant Rebels Against the Airline’s Uniforms in an Anonymous – and Graphic – Viral E-Mail. You Have to See What She Says…
The following e-mail has been circulating broadly. I cannot directly vouch for its authenticity, though it came to me from someone inside the industry. Considering that this is plausible regardless of the source, what does it say about labor relations, employee attitudes, and the changing nature of the profession at US airlines? As for the specifics of the claims, do you buy that flight attendants are being asked to do more with fewer tools — considering fewer meals served and cashless cabins? THE NEW “UNITED/UCO” UNIFORMS. Written by a United Flight Attendant/Anonymous During her fitting appointment for the new uniform, a friend of mine, an attractive, sophisticated, slim woman in her sixties, asked to have her new uniform skirt long enough to cover her knees. She was told that, in an effort to prevent the…
