Monthly Archives

Aug 31 2015

Two weeks ago Starwood Preferred Guest added Korean Air as a transfer partner. That’s fantastic because Korean has some of the best redemptions in first class (amazing availability), to Hawaii (cheap awards on Alaska, Delta, and Hawaiian), and for business class to Europe (40,000 miles each way with fuel surcharges).

I tested a one point transfer from Starwood to Korean (no minimum transfer is a benefit of being a Starwood Platinum): a Wednesday afternoon transfer appeared the following Sunday night/Monday morning.

That same Monday when I found the points in my account I made another points transfer, looking for another data point for when points would post.

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Aug 31 2015

I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.

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Aug 31 2015

Various frequent flyer programs, and also banks, promote the ability to get VIP tickets to shows or access to experiences that would otherwise be beyond reach. Most people don’t take advantage of them, but I really like that they offer ‘life experiences’ — the ability to leverage the relationships of a big company to gain access to things you probably couldn’t do on your own.

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Aug 31 2015

You can no longer search flights at USAirways.com. Instead, when you enter search information you get redirected to the AA.com website.

Now, American and US Airways flights become one on October 17. From that date onward there will only be American Airlines flights.

For travel through October 16, though, customers have been advised that they are better off booking US Airways flights directly. That’s especially true for elites — if you book an American codeshare for a US Airways flight, you cannot upgrade until check-in.

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Aug 31 2015

Delta laid out a plan for SkyMiles several years ago. And all they’re doing now is executing on it.

When Delta rolled out the revenue-based earning part of their big overhaul of SkyMiles, I wrote that they had planned to go to revenue-based redemption too but backed off of that late in the game.

Let’s peak behind the curtain of what they were planning.

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Aug 31 2015

American was pricing Brazil-issued tickets with the wrong currency conversion. This was posted on Flyertalk on August 20, and a bunch of people purchased all kinds of tickets at ~ 90% off.

American confirmed through several sources that these fares would be honored. …Now I’m seeing a bunch of reports that several folks are having their itineraries cancelled. I reached out to American to find out what was going on.

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Aug 30 2015

I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.

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Aug 30 2015

I’m very impressed by what Delta has done with their brand new San Francisco Sky Club that opened this past week. It’s aesthetically gorgeous. And while complimentary food items remain limited (no matter how they trumpet the improvements there) they have a strong paid menu with a celebrity chef.

Delta’s Sky Club celebrity chef is Mai Pham who has two restaurants in Northern California and a Food Network show on Vietnamese food.

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Aug 30 2015

Amtrak announced their new revenue-based program which goes into effect January 24. And they laid out details that suggest points will be worth 2.56 apiece (Acela trains) or 2.9 cents apiece (all other service).

It turns out that the value of points presented is not true at all.

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Aug 30 2015

A reader asks about buying a connecting flight beyond their destination, instead of just buying a non-stop flight to their destination. They fly the same non-stop flight anyway, and just skip the connection. Good idea? Bad idea? What are the benefits, and what are the risks?

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