Airlines like to move in lockstep with each other. Their frequent flyer programs are for the most part pretty conservative, which is why I’ve been surprised at the seeming willingness of some of them to potentially scrap their business model — which is currently very profitable — in favor of a new, more speculative one in the form of a revenue-based frequent flyer program. Programs keep up with what their competition is doing, American launched their frequent flyer program and days later United introduced theirs. One introduces bonus miles on a route and another follows. Same for double elite qualifying miles at least when programs making such an offer compete head-to-head. They blame each other as well: when one program raises their award chart prices the will often point to the changes made by their…
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25% Off Alitalia Flights
They’ve been frequently running 15% off flash sales, those used to even work when booking Delta through the Alitalia website but that little trick went away in the last round. This is the first time I’ve seen the discount at 25% Off though. E-Coupon SPECIAL will take 25% off Alitalia flights booked by October 26th for travel between November 5 and March 27. (December 20 through January 6 are blacked out for this offer.) The promo code page linked above is unlocked here by entering an email address, for those curious. (HT: Dan’s Deals)
And Now for a Little Bit of Friday (Credit Card Churning Geek) Humor
About a year and a half ago I posted about leveraging credit card signup bonuses. If it’s a great deal to get a 100,000 mile signup bonus card, why not get 5? Or 10? Sure, unless you’re Dan’s Deals himself, you may not get approved for four Starwood Preferred Guest American Express cards at the same time using the four browser ‘trick’ (submitting four applications simultaneously). But I passed along the controversial suggestion that it would be possible to corral all of your family and friends into getting the cards. You meet the minimum spend, pay off the cards, and you keep the account numbers and passwords to redeem miles later. Points Envy takes this strategy to a whole other level: why stop at people who are alive? Getting your family members involved in the…
It’s Not the Crime it’s the Coverup: Wyndham Rewards Changes Offer Details, Not Wanting to Offer 16,000 Bonus Point Promo
On Wednesday I wrote about a Wyndham Rewards offer that allowed members to earn 16,000 bonus points per stay at several new Wyndham hotels. That’s especially attractive because there are several inexpensive new hotels, where the bonus points are worth well more than the cost of the rooms (either to redeem for other hotels, or to transfer to airline miles). And since Wyndham Rewards permits points earning even when members don’t show up for the stay (if you pay for the room, you earn points for it), it was convenient for plenty of people to make reservations without actually having to check-in. Wyndham made a similar offer earlier on that was targeted, the rules said you had to receive an email invitation in order to participate although it seemed as though most folks subscribed to…
Are Delta, US Airways, and Alaska Airlines the Most Likely to Switch to a Revenue-Based Program? And What About Our Current Mileage Balances?
Yesterday I wrote about revenue-based programs and how I think it’s likely that Delta will change it’s frequent flyer program to align both earning miles and the cost of redemption with the price of airline tickets — and how I think that revenue-based programs are bad for both travelers and for the frequent flyer programs themselves. Joe Brancatelli also expects to see a revenue-based program next year — on one or more of Delta, US Airways, and Alaska Airlines. I had written about the speculation of US Airways in addition to that of Delta in the past. I hadn’t seen it written about Alaska Airlines previously, although now that I’ve seen that speculation it resonates as at least plausible (more so than if the speculation were about, say, American AAdvantage for sure). I’d have put…
Charity Auction for United Elite Status Ends 3pm Eastern
As mentioned Monday, there’s a charity auction at Milepoint where you can receive Silver, Gold, Platinum, or even United’s 1K status. That auction ends at 3pm Eastern today. Charitable funds will be directed by your fellow frequent flyers. Each person on next month’s Star MegaDO will receive a coupon for their pro-rated share of pooled charitable donations, and with the help of KULA Causes they will get to direct the organization that will receive the funds. (Anyone can bid in the auction, not just participants in the Star MegaDO.) Status will last through January 2014.
Great Transatlantic Fares on Delta and United Originating in London
I don’t write often enough for the benefit of primarily European readers. Well, this doesn’t work starting off in the U.S., you have to begin in London. But Delta has filed a £1 fare plus taxes and fuel surcharges for London to several US cities and back, I’ve found it so far to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington Dulles, Chicago, and Houston — United hubs. I did not find it for Newark, although for Newark and New York JFK I do see the lowest fare as US$68 plus taxes and fees. (I also did not find it for Cleveland or Denver.) Here’s fare basis TPRGB for roundtrip London – San Francisco. Outbound travel must be October 18 through December 14, or December 25 through March 21. Earliest return is the first Sunday after departure. Must…
Wyndham Rewards 16,000 Bonus Point Offer: Are They Looking Not to Honor It?
Yesterday I wrote about an offer of 16,000 Wyndham Rewards bonus points per stay for up to 3 stays at new hotel properties. The beauty of the deal is that Wyndham Rewards allows points to be earned if you pay for your room, even if you don’t keep the reservation. Many of these hotels are quite cheap, around $50 a night plus tax. And the bonus also coincides with a fall promotion of 5500 points after your second stay. Wyndham has plenty of airline mileage partners to transfer points to for folks who don’t want to keep the Wyndham Rewards points. For them, it’s an opportunity to buy miles very inexpensively. There was a similar promotion offered via email earlier on, most folks signed for marketing emails got one, the last time one was supposed…
Up to 50% Rebate on Starwood Award Nights at Select Top Resorts
Starwood has a great award night redemption promotion, registration required by November 30. For award stays at specific hotels between October 21 and December 20, you’ll receive a rebate of 30% to 50% of the points you redeem. (That means you do need the full amount of points in your account to begin with, and will get a portion of those points back later). Participating hotels at the 50% rebate level: St. Regis Aspen St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico St. Regis Bal Harbor Resort, Miami Beach St. Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point The Phoenician, Scottsdale W South Beach Westin Diplomat Participating hotels at the 40% rebate level: W Retreat & Spa — Vieques Westin Trillium House, Ontario Westin St. John Resort Westin Mission Hills Resort, Rancho Mirage Westin Grand Cayman Westin Resort Aruba…
Free One-Way Awards on American Using Stopovers, Just How Many Miles are You Allowed to Fly?
Back in January I wrote a post explaining that if you were booking an award where you arrived home from an international flight without any additional connections once you landed in the U.S., that you could book yourself a free one-way award ticket for later. In general I didn’t think this required a ton of explanation for most frequent flyer programs, some have very generous routing rules like United where you can have a ‘stopover’ (visit one city for awhile enroute to your final destination) and an ‘open jaw’ (fly into one city, then out of another) on an international award. So if you have a simple roundtrip to Paris, why end your trip when you make it back home? Call that your stopover, and grab a free flight to somewhere else at the end…
