Korean Air Skypass has disappeared off of the Chase website as a points transfer partner. Here are the airlines I currently see listed: Friday night is the worst time for this, for me, since I can’t reach anyone at Chase in real-time to confirm the meaning of the change. Korean Air has been one of my favorite uses of Chase points. First class awards have been so darned easy to get. There are real sweet spots in their Skyteam award chart They offer cheap awards to Hawaii Although they are of course very Korean and their processes for redeeming awards are unique. If Korean is indeed gone as a Chase transfer partner, I’m personally frustrated. I have 185,000 miles in my Skypass account, and likely need 190,000 for what I’d do with the points (2…
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Will Copa’s New Star Alliance Frequent Flyer Program Add Fuel Surcharges to Award Tickets After All?
A commenter who appears to work for Copa suggests that the new program will add fuel surcharges to awards. Miguel writes, Gary, my comments dont reflect COPA Holdings, or my superiors or companywide opinions or statements. All tickets currently purchased from any venue are broken down with a fuel surcharge, future awards and tickets will also include a standard fuel surcharge. On tickets issued to depart the USA will have the regular taxes and fees. Average fuel surcharge of $160.00 Average Taces of $105.00 I will find it surprising if Copa were to add fuel surcharges to award tickets. This practice isn’t common in Central or South America. Lifemiles doesn’t do it. LAN doesn’t do it. Miguel may or may not have knowledge of internal discussions, and I’m not suggesting at all that it isn’t…
Celebrate With a New 10-Year China Visa.. at 50% Off!
This month China has started issuing visas valid for multiple entry over 10 years to US passport holders for tourism and short-term business visits. Your passport must be valid for at least a year, and you can continue to use your 10 year visa even when your passport expires and you get a new one. (You carry the old passport with you to prove the visa.) This makes things a whole lot easier, since the Chinese visa can be expensive and it can be a pain to get, so not having to get one each time you visit is a real boon for travelers. With the new 10 year China Visas, Allied Passport & Visa is offering View from the Wing readers 50% off service fees for a Chinese visa requested by the end of…
TSA Head Says Liquids Should be Allowed, A Loyalty Program for Infrequent Flyers, and How Not to Protest Uber
News and notes from around the interweb: When taxis protest Uber and Lyft by clogging traffic that means you can’t get a cab as easily and.. have no choice but to use Uber or Lyft. #ThinkAboutIt Terminals 1 and 2 are now connected at San Francisco airport An airport first and fourth amendment claim moves forward Singapore’s Tigerair has a campaign for infrequent flyers. It got quite a bit of play back in April. The idea is that there aren’t many benefits, but you still may like signing up for stuff — you even get to pick your card’s color, though you have to print it yourself. Over half a million people have signed up. (HT: Hendrik L.) The outgoing head of the TSA thinks liquid restrictions should be lifted, at least for PreCheck eligible…
Chase Sapphire Preferred Changes Confirmed, Still the Best Personal Card on the Market
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). Chase Sapphire Preferred Card As I told you to expect last week, the spending requirement to earn a signup bonus with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has gone up — but fortunately not by much, just from $3000 within 3 months of account opening to $4000. No other changes have been made at this time. Fortunately that leaves the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card as the best all-around, most…
Emirates Offering Aggressive Status Match Opportunity
Emirates has a lot of Airbus A380s. Those are big planes, with a lot of seats, and they need to send them somewhere. Like Dallas. Emirates wasn’t selling the bulk of their premium seats when they were flying a Boeing 777 on the route. Now they have even more premium seats. And they’re facing competition to and through the Middle East from both Eithad (which is an American partner, and that helps a great deal in the Dallas market) and Qatar (which as a oneworld alliance member is an American partner, and that helps a great deal in Dallas). Unsurprisingly, Emirates A380 first class award space is pretty darned wide open. A booked some seats a couple of weeks ago myself using Alaska Airlines miles. As a result, Emirates is getting aggressive and generous. Here’s…
American Express Introduces Hotel Booking Site Giving Upgrades and $75 Room Credit
American Express has long offered upscale and luxury hotels through their Fine Hotels and Resorts program — booking through them gets you benefits like a room upgrade if available, late checkout, breakfast, and another benefit like a meal or spa credit. This is offered to Platinum and to Centurion cardmembers (the Centurion version usually comes with an additional benefit for bookings as well), and reservations made through American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts are generally eligible for elite status benefits and stay credit, as well as points-earning in the relevant hotel loyalty program. American Express now appears to be rolling out a new hotel program The Hotel Collection. This one tells you to “Log in or register your Gold or Platinum Card®” so appears to be available for a broader array of cardmembers. The benefits…
How Far Can $100 Take You? And the Surprising Mileage Implications of United’s Newark Terminal C
News and notes from around the interweb: US Antarctic Program prepares to test plan for regularly scheduled winter flights to McMurdo Station, providing year-round access from Christchurch, New Zealand. A fascinating look at how impending growth at Spirit Airlines could change the competitive landscape of the US aviation industry The world’s cheapest and most expensive cities to visit: how far can US$100 go, around the world? United’s terminal C at Newark is getting a huge makeover complete with celebrity chef restaurants. I was invited to the public launch event for the project, and I do think this is a big deal for passenger experience, but couldn’t make it because of a long haul flight. The one important thing to know is: please, please please do not redeem miles for dining at these restaurants. The feature…
70% Bonus Offer for Buying Virgin America Points
Last month Virgin America offered an 80% bonus on purchased miles for 8 hours only. There’s a little bit more time, this time (up through December 12), to take advantage of an ‘up to 70% bonus’ for mileage purchases. You have to log into your account to see the offer. Virgin American points normally cost 5.2 cents apiece. This offer, maxed out at the top bonus tier, lets you buy them at ~ 3 cents (last month’s short-term offer was 2.9 cents). That’s not a good deal for Virgin America flights, where points are worth about 2.2 cents in airfare. For partner awards, which have award charts rather than pricing awards based on ticket cost, this can make some sense for a subset of folks who will have a specific use right away. For instance,…
Here’s JetBlue’s New Business Plan: Give Less to Customers, Charge Them More.. and Why That Makes Sense
JetBlue announced on Wednesday that it will add 15 seats to its 150-seat Airbus A320s in 2016. That will reduce average seat pitch from 34.7 inches to 33.1 inches, which is still more generous than the 31 – 32 inch average across the industry. In addition, JetBlue’s cheapest fares will no longer include first checked bag free. Here’s my JetBlue trip report from 2012 We don’t know yet which seats JetBlue will be reducing legroom for to accommodate additional seating (reducing their extra legroom seats, or squeezing all seats, or in what proportion a combination of the two). And we don’t know how much JetBlue’s check bag feels will be. But it’s a clear sign that being more generous to customers in economy isn’t a business model that works, which is unfortunate but probably true.…
