News and notes from around the interweb: The US federal government spent at least $8.7 million on 1,903 premium cabin trips over 2 years. Though the report is meant to spark outrage, I’m surprised the amounts are so low. Regular readers won’t see me as a defender of the US federal government — but if you believe the government functions involved are appropriate, then premium cabin travel may sometimes be appropriate as well. I certainly don’t begrudge business class to South Africa and Kuwait. (HT: @esoskin) Lufthansa is adding premium economy to its long haul fleet. Seats will have 38 inch pitch (think domestic first class) and a bit over an extra inch of width. Conversions are expected to be complete by early 2015. Passengers will receive plated meals, an extra checked bag, and an…
About Gary Leff
100% Bonus on Transferred Miles is Back!
No, not from US Airways. Star Alliance frequent flyer program Avianca LifeMiles is offering a 100% bonus on miles transferred between accounts through March 17. They charge 1.5 cents per mile to transfer points from your account to another member, and with this bonus every mile transferred will be matched by an additional mile. That means you can combine miles between accounts and effectively buy additional miles at 1.5 cents apiece. To take advantage of this offer you need to already have miles in a LifeMiles account, and you can transfer up to 50,000 miles per year between accounts. Avianca is taking over the mantle from US Airways as the official consolidator of premium cabin Star Alliance award seats, offering their miles for sale at a discount on a regular basis and at an even…
Defending the SkyPeso: Why a SkyMiles Devaluation Won’t Change Its Unit of Measure
Reader David B emails, “Skypesos” has become an insult to the peso. Work with me on this. I think David isn’t thinking globally enough. It used to be the Mexican peso. Now it’s the Philippine peso. Besides, SkyUgandanSchillings doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. (And, for that matter, the ‘more accurate’ unit of measure probably would have been centavo rather than peso because a peso is actually worth more than a single airline mile. But sometimes elegance trumps precision.) You can join the 30,000+ 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 Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Who’s Behind the Delta’s Move to a Revenue-Based Program, and What’s His Next Target?
The people who were selling airlines on the revenue-based moves that Delta is in the process of making are now beating the drum for others to follow. Talking to Delta about their changes, they talk about Jay Sorensen’s IdeaWorks study on award availability, how they scored so badly. Sorensen is apparently one of the people they talked to as they developed their new program. Never mind that Delta’s award inventory is as much a revenue management problem, and subsidiarily a website/technology and a training problem, as it is a frequent flyer program problem. And never mind that the annual IdeaWorks study is so fatally flawed as to be useless. They take it seriously because the exposure hurt them. And Sorensen is one of the people they talk to about improving their program. And now Sorensen…
Do You Agree With Airline Lobbyists and a Big Pilots Union: Should Low Fare Carrier Norwegian Be Shut Out of the US Market?
DeltaPoints points me to the largest US pilots’ union attempt to gather signatures in opposition to Norwegian Air Shuttle operating to the United States. Here’s their headline argument: A decision to oppose Norwegian Air Shuttle’s application to fly in and out of the United States should be a no brainer for the White House. U.S. jobs and the future of the U.S. aviation industry are at stake. U.S. pilots, and the millions of American air travelers whose lives are in their hands, are watching this closely. They are expecting a decision that chooses U.S. carriers and pilots over sketchy foreign competitors. Notice they make an insinuation about safety — air travelers whose lives are in their hands “are watching this closely” but ALPA doesn’t actually say that Norwegian is any less safe. Norwegian is called…
Now We Know Just How Cheap United’s Inflight Amenity Kits Are
United will sell you its ‘city-friendly’ special edition inflight amenity kits. The market price? Just $19.99. Since they don’t contain the sort of desirable high-end toileteries offered by better international airlines, and the kits themselves aren’t designer (like Rimowa luggage or Swarovski hand bags), they’re priced reasonably … although with shipping starting at $13.89, you’d have to buy a bunch for them to be economical to purchase. (Separately, I expect the eBay price of these to fall now that they’re available direct from United.) Now you don’t actually have to fly United to get these! I’m tempted to buy a Cleveland-friendly kit… .. since United is eliminating that hub. Maybe that one will go on clearance? (HT: Rick E) You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign…
Secrets of Cartera Commerce Revealed: Inside the Company that Brings You Miles for Online Shopping
One of the best ways to earn miles is to go through an online shopping portal to make all of your purchases. That’s because it’s free miles (or in the case of cash back portals, free money) for something you’re going to do anyway. It costs you nothing and you get miles or a rebate. There are offers like 2 to 10 miles per dollar spent at whatever merchant you were going to buy from to begin with. And sometimes there are bonuses, like earning 2500 bonus miles for spending $250 through a given shopping portal in a specific period of time (amounting to an extra 10 miles per dollar). Online merchants will pay commissions on sales to websites that advertise them. The way these shopping portals work, then, is to give back a large…
Did Tina Fey Just Sell You a New American Express Card?
The announcement of American Express’ two new ‘Amex Everyday’ cards generated huge buzz yesterday — even before the public launch with three commercials during the Oscars with Tina Fey. It’s fantastic that they’re introducing a no fee full Membership Rewards-earning card. The basic ‘Amex Everyday’ card will be the only no fee card that earns at least one mile per dollar spent and lets you transfer points into a variety of loyalty programs. And the premium card is strong for ongoing everyday spend. Neither one is a premium benefits card, or a big bonus card. But many readers will find them useful… once they can finally be applied for on April 2. In the meantime, to whet your appetite and build anticipation, here are the commercials for the card. The first one I like best.…
How — And When — to Find the Cheapest Airfare
I was on ABC World News Tonight this evening talking about when to buy airline tickets in order to ge the cheapest fare. The segment was keyed off of the Cheapair.com study on when airfares are cheapest and their soundbite is that you should buy domestic airfares 54 days prior to travel. Usually these studies are pretty bad, telling you to wait until midnight on a Tuesday night. This one is actually pretty good, it’s just more nuanced than the 54 day soundbite suggests. Why 54 Days Out Is Not a Silver Bullet It isn’t as simple as waiting until 54 days prior to departure to buy, and reading through what Cheapair’s data actually says they’d agree with me. But there are simple tips on how and when to get the best deal on airfare.…
1000 Free Miles, Another Program Revamps, New Option for Using SkyMiles, and Making Airport Bathrooms Better (Bits ‘n Pieces for March 2, 2014)
News and notes from around the interweb: Sixt car rental is offering 1000 Lufthansa Miles & More miles for taking their emails. (HT: Greg L.) News on the SAS EuroBonus program revamp is out. A better way to design airport bathroom stalls? Garuda Indonesia is expected to join Skyteam this week (Wednesday), the alliance that includes Delta. This may create some interesting redemption opportunities for Skymiles. Garuda flies to Amsterdam, and several cities in Australia. There may be additional opportunities to route via Asia to Australia, and possibly to combine with Virgin Australia on a single award ticket (US – Australia – Bali on Virgin Australia, then Indonesia to North Asia and connect on a third carrier to the US on the return). We’ll see how Delta’s pricing engines treat all of this. Vienna airport…
