No, it’s not showering onboard an Emirates Airbus A380. I’m not really a destination blogger per se but it really can be all about the destination. Earlier this week I took a helicopter…. …through a rainforest… and landed on a rock. Next to a waterfall… .. where I sat and drank champagne. Business class airfare thanks to Delta SkyMiles and hotel covered by Starwood Starpoints. Brunch where only a handful of people have ever gone? Well, I suppose I could have charged it to my room and convinced the hotel to claim an Instant Award against it. But, well, those aren’t an especially good value use of Starpoints. I feel like I can take the occasional splurge when the air and hotel are covered by points. And wandering around the forest, dipping in the water,…
About Gary Leff
IHG Rewards Club Unannounced Update to Terms and Conditions
IHG Rewards Club has again updated its terms and conditions without notifying members. This isn’t the big change to points-earning they snuck in just before the clock struck midnight on the New Year. Instead it’s a change to how they reward meeting planners and corporate bookers. Roughly speaking it appears they’re aping what Starwood has done with SPG Pro but they’ve updated their terms and conditions without telling members.
Starwood Suite Night Award Upgrade Strategy: Here’s How to Get Your Upgrades.
There’s a reason Starwood has introduced new benefit choices for Platinums who stay 50 nights in a year. Instead of giving 10 ‘Suite Night Awards’, 50 night Platinums can choose from a variety of benefits. Suite Night Awards are really ‘upgrade priority’ managed centrally by Starwood out of a hotel’s room inventory. They aren’t confirmed upgrades the way Hyatt offers them, at booking, but on availability beginning 5 nights prior to check-in. Platinums who prefer something else can choose from a variety of items worth at most ~ $100 at retail. For instance, 5 free Uber rides worth $20 maximum each. Use 5 short $6 rides and the benefit won’t be nearly maximized (and you do not get to choose when to use free rides if they’re in your account, those are used on the…
Need to Book an Award With US Airways Miles, But They Haven’t Been Moved Over to American Yet? It Can Be Done!
I previously reported that US Airways accounts are ‘frozen’ with awards no longer able to be booked until miles have been transferred over to American AAdvantage. It’s true that Dividend Miles awards are no longer available. However, American apparently has a procedure in place for members with immediate travel needs who wish to book awards with their legacy US Airways miles but that haven’t had their miles show up on the American side of the ledger yet. This is for travel March 26 – 28. It’s for award travel only and not for mileage upgrades. (Upgrades are not considered emergency. Some may beg to differ!) This is for legacy US Airways members with enough miles in their US Airways account for an award, not for members of both programs who will only have enough miles…
Now that American-US Airways Has Consolidated into a Single Frequent Flyer Program It’s Time for AAdvantage to Update Its Award Rules
US Airways Dividend Miles was pretty much ‘anything goes’ as far as award routings go — the combination of flights you were allowed to use when booking an award to get from your origin to destination. There was no auto-validation of routings and no auto-pricing. Whatever region an agent thought you were traveling to determined the price they would enter. So you could ‘guide them’ (“I’d like to book a North Asia award, we’ll connect in Hong Kong in North Asia on the way to Bangkok. And now to wrap up this North Asia award let’s connect back through Tokyo and…”) I really do think American needs to liberalize their routing rules. American requires that:
The Best Awards to Australia Will Return on Saturday
Contra lots of concerns, Delta said yesterday that they’d be bringing Virgin Australia awards back online. When I wrote about the 80% bonus for purchased Virgin America miles, several readers noted they thought it was no longer possible to book Virgin Australia flights using Delta miles — and that there was speculation (fueled by Delta agents, and reported on Flyertalk) that the Delta-Virgin Australia partnership had ended. Virgin Australia business class awards are both frequently available and one of the only ways to get non-stop between North America and Australia in a premium cabin on points. They’re one of the best uses of Virgin America points, and they’re one of the best uses of Delta awards. Both Virgin America and Delta offer one-way award redemption, making it possible to pull together different sets of points…
When Mileage Award Booking Is Too Hard to Handle
Reader sarah asked, Is there a service which can assist in arranging a multi-city vacation in Europe using [American Express Membership Rewards points] and American miles… air and hotel. Appears to be too complex for my computer skills. Funny Sarah should ask this! I happen to have an award booking service. Lest you think I’m about to get all commercial on you, it’s probably worth mentioning that I do not write about it very often although there’s a link to it on the left hand side of the blog. Working to help folks redeem literally billions of miles is one major source of knowledge and experience I use in writing this blog. My approach is that you don’t ever pay unless we’re able to secure an award that meets agreed-upon parameters for the trip. We…
Is AAdvantage Encouraging You to Earn Miles at the Expense of Your Employer?
Hans M. forwards along this email from Rewards Network which runs ‘AAdvantage Dining’ and most of the airline and hotel co-brand dining programs where you earn miles for restaurant meals. It’s titled, Don’t Worry, We Won’t Tell Your Boss… He writes, I find this amusing how blunt they are about trying to bribe you into making purchasing decisions to reward yourself against the best interest of your company. I don’t think it’s troubling at all, I don’t think it says you should reward yourself by acting against the interests of your company. It says go out to eat. Don’t eat at your desk. Like the old Keith Ferrazzi business book, Never Eat Alone (well, that would double your miles if you picked up the check). This might be more troubling if the pitch was “spend…
Singapore Airlines Lets You Waitlist for Awards. Is This a Good Strategy?
Reader Brian said, I’d like to see you talk about the singapore waitlisting process (especially for the much touted suites class). There isn’t much written about it so it would be interesting to hear your analysis as a “professional” award booker. Possible areas of content: Is it ever successful? How often does it clear and on what routes? Is it worth speculatively transferring flexible miles over for the chance of getting into suites? Is there any way to predict your chances? Singapore Airlines is pretty generous with reward space for their own members, they’re just not at all generous with reward space for their partners’ members. If you have United miles you won’t be able to get long haul business and first class awards on Singapore. But if you use Singapore Airlines own miles you…
Review: the Dorm Room Where You Want to Sleep Between First Class and Paradise
This post details my airport overnight at the Premier Inn at the Abu Dhabi airport. This is my second time staying there, it just makes sense to me arriving around 8pm and departing on a flight about 12 hours later. Previous installments: Introduction, overview, and costs Star Alliance first class and business class lounges, LAX Etihad First Class, Los Angles – Abu Dhabi.. the 3rd Longest Flight in the World! Upon landing at an apron position, and taking a bus to the terminal, I had my strangest immigration experience yet. And as a result it took about an hour to get from plane to bed. That made me all the more grateful not to be heading into Abu Dhabi, and needing to head back in the morning. I wasn’t going to ‘go out’. I had…
