News and notes from around the interweb: Not new, but @gschaer shares this Avianca concert in the sky that’s worth a view. You think that I give Delta a hard time? American’s filing seeking Delta’s near-dormant Tokyo-Haneda slot does me one better. A flight attendants union wants to force the federal government to reinstate the electronics ban during takeoff and landing. They say people don’t pay attention to the safety video, becuase you know, they always used to. (Well, maybe they did for Safety in Paradise.) United is offering 30% off purchased miles through October 20. Not nearly a good enough deal to make me a buyer. You can also get 1 Marriott point for every 3 United miles you buy at full price. This is an even worse deal. Credit card fraud alert gets…
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Is Hilton HHonors Ripe for Another Devaluation?
Several years ago Hilton told us that they thought their program was too valuable, that it didn’t get them anything to be that way, and it’s far better to keep customers on a treadmill having to earn more points. This by the way was still during the Great Recession. So it should come as no surprise that Hilton is the hotel program that devalued the most in 2013 — and that was after a fall 2009 that a competitor called the most drastic program devaluation in 17 years. Now, in the name of transparency, they just post hotel redemption category changes to a web page throughout the year instead of actually informing members of changes. With that in mind, Barbara DeLollis interviews Mark Weinstein of Hilton HiHonors, he’s the Vice President who reports up to…
$500 Gift Card Giveaway on This Blog, Easy and Quick to Enter
Frequent Traveler University: December 5-7, Hyatt Regency Crystal City The next Frequent Traveler University, in partnership with USA Today, promises to be the biggest gathering of frequent flyers ever — topping even last April’s sold out event in Northern Virginia. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City minutes from Washington’s National airport. And with Hyatt’s help I’m giving away (2) $500 Hyatt gift cards for me to give away here. Gift cards that could be used on your stay during Frequent Traveler University! Click on the official entry post. That’s where you need to leave a comment to be entered to win. The contest runs through midday tomorrow, so enter right away. And I hope to see you at the upcoming Frequent Traveler University! You can join the 40,000+ people who…
TSA Questions Scientist Trying to Bring His Nobel Prize Through Security
Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt brought his Nobel Prize to Fargo, North Dakota to show it to his grandmother. That was suspicious. When Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt was asked at airport security if anyone had given him an item to carry on board, he had confess that someone had: the King of Sweden. The astrophysicist, who won the Nobel in 2011, was stopped when his Prize medal made from $10,000 (£6,200) of gold caught the attention of staff from the US Transport Security Administration, whose agents are not known for their sense of humour. …he described what happened next: “They’re like, ‘Sir, there’s something in your bag.’ I said, ‘Yes, I think it’s this box.’ “They said, ‘What’s in the box?’ I said, ‘a large gold medal,’ as one does. “So they opened it up and…
Earn Triple Amex Membership Rewards Points at Restaurants
American Express is offering triple points at US restaurants through the end of the year to select (targeted) customers. Registration required, and if you haven’t received anything from American Express it seems worth it to me to click the link and log into your account to see if you’re eligible. I don’t know the targeting criteria, and I wasn’t eligible, but I have to imagine that they’re testing member engagement to see how popular a benefit this is and what it does to spend so that they can game plan the effects to see if it is a benefit that could make sense for one of their products. You can receive 3X Membership Rewards points when you use your enrolled Card to make a purchase at qualifying U.S. Restaurants between 10/1/2014 and 12/31/2014. You can…
A New Account You Can Fund With a Credit Card, and New Marriott Room Cancel Policy
News and notes from around the interweb: Emirates CEO blasts investigation of MH370. (HT: Alan H.) Marriott adopting new baseline cancellation policy starting January 1 Amex-Target REDcard can be funded directly with a credit card! Different members get different United shopping portal bonuses Virgin America Chairman (and former American Airlines Chairman and CEO) Don Carty thinks good customer service can be profitable. He’s probably wrong. While the guy who first sparked the legroom and knee defender controversy would use it again, another passenger in a dispute over seat recline is going to face charges. 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…
Only Hours Left to Earn Miles Through Amazon Payments
A month ago I reported that the ability to send money to people via Amazon Payments would be ending effective October 13. That means if you want to make one last stab at it — and you haven’t already sent $1000 through the service in October — you have only a few hours left. The great thing about Amazon payments is that nobody had ever heard of them. Everyone knows Paypal. And Amazon wanted to break into that market. So they made themselves super user-friendly, allowing you to send people up to $1000 per month charged to a credit card with no fee. The idea was that could help them gain traction in the marketplace. Of course plenty of people sent $1000. Those people deposited the money into their checking accounts. And sent $1000 back…
Last Day.. Ever?.. to Buy US Airways Miles at Under 1.9 Cents Apiece
A few weeks ago I wrote that US Airways will be increasing the cost of miles purchased through its bonuses, that come November American and US Airways will get aligned in how they sell miles.. which means they’ll be more expensive. US Airways is running a 100% bonus on purchased miles, it was supposed to end September 30 but it was extended through October 12. That’s today. For the past several years US Airways has been the industry leader in selling miles cheap. Offering a 100% bonus just meant, more or less, meant that it was a day of the week that ended in “day”. With this offer they sell 20,000 or more miles at 1.88 cents apiece. I’m not a buyer at this price, especially with a large account balance with both American and…
I’m Giving My Readers $500 in Gift Cards, Just Leave a Comment to Enter!
Frequent Traveler University: December 5-7, Hyatt Regency Crystal City The next Frequent Traveler University, in partnership with USA Today, promises to be the biggest gathering of frequent flyers ever — topping even last April’s sold out event in Northern Virginia. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City minutes from Washington’s National airport. It’s a fantastic venue to support us all, and Hyatt has made available (2) $250 Hyatt gift cards for me to give away here. Gift cards that could be used on your stay during Frequent Traveler University! All you need to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment on this post.
Avoid Danger on the Road By Not Doing Anything Stupid!
Two years ago I wrote a really popular post on common tourist scams and a year ago I gave consolidated simple advice on how to avoid them. Some people like chance encounters on the road, and are open to ‘strangers in a strange land’ but I tend to be skeptical. If someone approaches me, offering to help me or wanting to get to know me, I tend to be curt because I assume ill intentions at least until proven otherwise. No doubt I can be criticized for missing out on opportunities, but it’s a strategy that keeps me safe. I grew up in New York in the 1980s (and late 1970s), when it was a very different place than it is now. I never carried a wallet in my back pocket until the 1990s, having…
