I regularly hate on fuel surcharges. They’re bogus fees that have nothing to do with the cost of fuel. A full transatlantic flight – or even one 3/4ths full – will generally cover more than the full cost of gas at current prices with the surcharges alone. And surcharges are ostensibly just meant to cover the increasing cost of fuel, not the total cost and certainly not to generate a profit. Who Should Care About Fuel Surcharges — and Who Shouldn’t The only people who should worry about fuel surcharges are corporate travel buyers and award passengers. The median passenger pays a price for their ticket that’s based on supply of available seats and demand for those seats, not based on cost. Fuel surcharges are being used as a mechanism to raise and lower prices…
About Gary Leff
One Woman Who Deserves a Place in Aviation History and Another Who Attacked a Flight Attendant, Plus the Most Important Meal of the Day and Where I Really Want to Go
News and notes from around the interweb: I’ve always wanted to go here. I’m genuinely not sure why I haven’t (including when there was a $61 mistake fare..). How An Ohio Housewife Flew Around The World, Made History, And Was Then Forgotten Breakfast is the most important meal of the day… for hotels. (HT: Alan H.) For business destinations, access to quick breakfast, ideally that you can take back to your room so you can work while you get ready is ideal. For resorts, one GM that I much respect told me the first thing she does at a new property is work with the chef to plot out breakfast because it’s an indulgence people don’t get to enjoy in their daily lives. A passenger onboard a Delta flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles apparently…
New Company Will Buy Your Miles for 1.5 Cents Apiece… in Bitcoin
I’m a fan of Bitcoin, more generally though of block chain technology. It has a lot of interesting future applications that haven’t been fully fleshed out yet. Bitcoin gets a bad name when used to facilitate illicit transactions. Merely using the currency, however, doesn’t mean that illicit transactions are safe to engage in — especially once they intersect with the real world. So this piece about a new service, BitcoinForMiles.com, seems like a very bad idea. They say they’ll buy miles at 1 to 1.7 cents apiece, and that their average price so far is 1.5 cents. That’s higher than what you’ll get from most brokers. And while I believe strongly in the ‘first sale’ doctrine with respect to intellectual property, and am open to the idea that it ought to be permissible for loyalty…
Delta’s Looking for Someone New to Lead SkyMiles Strategy
A reader tweeted, Indeed, Delta’s job postings include a listing for “General Manager, SkyMiles Strategy & Analysis” … It’s understandable that someone might think, ‘they’re looking for someone to come up with a new strategy’ since the current the current strategy of slipping in changes and hoping that members don’t notice or don’t know the difference is so ill-advised. Indeed, the way I’d sum up Delta’s moves over the past year is that they seem to believe the old adage ‘no one has ever gone bankrupt by underestimating the American people.’ They believe their customers can’t do math, don’t pay attention, and won’t know the difference if they’re continually less rewarding than their competitors. The reasons to fly Delta, though, remain the same. I’m going to suggest though that attempts to read tea leaves at…
The Newest Business Class Product, Delta’s Baggage Guarantee is Only Temporary (!) and New Inflight Pillow..
News and notes from around the interweb: The most popular link I posted yesterday was the very first review of the new SAS business class, interesting because it’s a Star Alliance partner of United and will be a great new redemption option. Less than convenient (thank goodness for Google Translate) it wasn’t in English. Fortunately there’s a great English version of this review you’ll want to read. Delta has a temporary baggage delivery guarantee, through March 31 you get 2500 miles if your bags take too long to arrive, something arch-frenemy Alaska Airlines has done since July 2009. Presumably this is a test to see if Delta can deliver and if the commitment is too costly to them to make. If they can pull off matching what Alaska has done for years, it should put…
Free $25 Uber Credit for Existing Users
VNA Flyer reports that promo code ‘roamlikehome’ will add a $25 credit to existing Uber accounts. Usually credits are either: For first time users only, or City specific This one appears to work for existing users, independent of location, although no guarantees how long it will continue to work. So existing users just add promo code roamlikehome to your account. If you aren’t a current Uber user, sign up for a new account using a referral link because both you and the person referring you will get a free ride worth up to $20. Then add promo code roamlikehome to your account for another $25 to use. I’m not putting my referral link in this post, it’s pretty easy to find one if you’re interested. Normally I’d suggest readers put their own in the comments,…
The 90s Just Called, Took Away Two Hilton Redemption Methods
Hilton has updated its terms and conditions to eliminate redemption options: By email request By mail By fax This leaves online and phone redemptions as the only options for redeeming HHonors points. Here’s what the terms now say: It is solely the responsibility of the Member to be informed about the Program and to request the specific Rewards online or via Hilton Reservations and Customer Care. Rewards must be requested online via hiltonhhonors.com or by telephone. Reward requests placed by telephone will require the member to provide account verification. Some Rewards may be available to print when redeeming online. Naturally, references to having to provide your account PIN number are gone as well. Click to enlarge the ‘track changes’ version of Hilton’s terms and conditions: This all makes good sense. I’ll admit, I didn’t realize…
US Airlines Should Shut Up About Having to Compete Against Gulf Carriers. Here’s Why.
US airlines have been making loud noises over how unfair it is that they have to compete with some Gulf airlines. They want the administration to take steps against Qatar, Emirates, and Etihad. For foreign policy reasons this is highly unlikely. But the noise – and the overheated rhetoric – have been loud enough that the argument has gotten attention. One Mile at a Time runs a piece titled, “Other Carriers Can’t Compete With Gulf Airlines Under The Current System” and concludes, Open Skies is intended to eliminate government intervention and “free” markets. And there’s no arguing that the Middle Eastern airlines aren’t operating within the spirit of the agreement. …But when every aspect of an operation is being run in order to generate a loss and increase market share for the purposes of developing…
1000 Free Hilton Points for Updating Your Password
Update 9:15am Eastern: Hilton hasn’t gotten their IT ready for this, which may tell you something about the underlying problem… don’t change your password yet, it won’t ‘count’. Just wanted to share a quick update. This change has not taken effect yet due to a technical issue on our end, so please tell your readers to hold on changing their passwords for right now. We apologize for the confusion; we shared this update yesterday because we wanted members to be the first to know about this change and the Bonus Points! I will share updates with you as soon as I receive them. United, American, and Hilton all suffered recent data breaches. Indeed, Hilton points have been among the most available for sale on the DarkNet. Starwood was hacked, too. How You Can Protect Your…
Last Chance to Pay Bills With Gift Cards via Evolve Money
Evolve Money has been a site where you could pay bills online, at times using credit cards with no fee but certainly to liquidate gift cards with PIN numbers (purchased with a credit card, having earned you miles) and also with mileage-earning debit cards. Unfortunately the usefulness of the site seems as though it’s about to come to an end. They sent out the following message tonight: It’s unclear which debit cards are from ‘smaller’ banks. I don’t think my Suntrust Delta debit card counts as coming from a smaller bank. We’ll see if I still have the opportunity to earn 1 Delta mile per dollar paying bills through the site without a significant fee. But the usefulness of Evolve Money to liquidate gift cards will end. And of course you can no longer apply…
