I’ve had too many flights recently without seat power — too many connections from an American Airlines MD80 to an American Airlines MD80. With enough connection time I head to the lounge and plug in, my laptop gets back to a 50% charge in under half an hour. But on a quick connection I’m hosed. Meanwhile, my 8 year old Empower adapter stopped working. American’s international 767s have seat power but they still require the adapter. It’s such an outdated technology, I didn’t want to buy a new one — but I have an upcoming 8 hour day flight and I’d want to be able to run my laptop for longer than 4 hours (likely watching movies – I bring my own inflight entertainment and don’t trust even Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific to have…
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Bits ‘n Pieces for July 30, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: I’ve been aware of refund.me but not EU Claims which reader Will M. reported got him 400 euros per person for a delay he claimed was due to crew availability and KLM claimed was due to weather. You pay a commission on successful claims but don’t have to hassle with the paperwork and back-and-forth. If your high heels are shaped like, or made from guns the TSA will consider you a threat. A United baggage worked has been charged with stealing luggage from passengers diverted from San Francisco after the Asiana crash. The US Airways mobile app is finally out. As expected, reported are: unimpressive. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just…
Get a Discounted Rimowa Carryon in Conjunction with a Fairmont Hotel Stay
Fairmont has a new promotional room rate in conjunction with Rimowa. Book and stay in a Fairmont Gold room or Suite between July 19 and August 31, 2013 at select destinations across North America and arrive in style with two RIMOWA Salsa Deluxe Cabin Multiwheel® cases. An offer this good doesn’t come around often—get ready to pack your (new) bags! Call 866 379 7700 to reserve your room today. The rate is available at: Fairmont Chateau Whistler Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, Quebec City Fairmont Royal York, Toronto Fairmont Château Laurier, Ottawa Fairmont Hamilton Princess, Bermuda Fairmont Southampton, Bermuda Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston Fairmont Battery Wharf, Boston Fairmont San Francisco Fairmont Scottsdale Princess A two-night stay is required, and you must book at least a ‘Gold’ room (at least a suite at the Fairmont San Francisco).…
American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Bookings WILL Earn Hyatt Credit at MGM Resorts in Las Vegas
Earlier in the month I sought clarity from Hyatt on whether American Express Fine Hotels ad Resorts reservations at participating M Life hotels in Las Vegas would be eligible for accruing Hyatt Gold Passport points and stay credit. (Fine Hotels and Resorts rates are available to American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders.) I was told at the time that the rate would not be eligible. However, this was mistaken. I had been told that eligible stays are defined by MGM’s program (if a stay is eligible for credit in M Life, it’ll be eligible with Gold Passport) and American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts rates were not eligible stays with M Life. A reader pointed out that the Hyatt FAQ on their partnership with MGM defines an eligible stay as “Any stay where payment is…
Bits ‘n Pieces for July 29, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Citibank as issuer of the co-branded credit card for American Airlines post-merger with US Airways isn’t actually locked down. The new Turkish flight between Boston and Istanbul is going to be really useful for award travel and inexpensive transatlantic flying alike. And don’t forget that Turkish offers complimentary hotel rooms on forced overnights in Istanbul even for coach passengers. Priceline still offers name your own price airfare. Who knew? The British Airways Visa is now available with $0 fee the first year. 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. Don’t miss out!
Embassy Suites Portland: How My Hilton HHonors Redemptions Changed After the March 28 Massacre
It used to be possible to get nearly 2 cents per point at places like the Conrad Koh Samui. This was my best redemption of Hilton HHonors points. Every room is a standalone villa with an ocean view and private pool, so even a general member of the program (no status) gets a good room on points. No upgrades needed. When I first made my booking, pre-opening, it was a category 6 hotel — 40,000 points per night, but with elite redemption discounts just 32,000 points per night for my 5 night stay. The hotel was bumped up to category 7 and I wound up re-booking my award when they were letting redemptions book into a two-bedroom villa. That upped my cost, with the elite discount, to 40,000 points per night (200,000 points for a…
Korean TV Skewers Southwest LaGuardia Landing Gear Incident: Capt. Kent Parker Wright
Reacting to a San Francisco television station identifying the pilot of the Asiana flight which crash landed earlier this month as Sum Ting Wong, a Korean TV station has ‘confirmed’ the names of crew on the Southwest flight that went down hard at LaGuardia. After the landing gear failure of the Southwest flight at LGA they showed this graphic with American pilot names “Captain Kent Parker Wright”, “Co-Captain Wyatt Wooden Workman”. They even went as far as making up fake names for people to interview. Flight instructor “Heywood U. Flye-Moore” and skeptical passenger “Macy Lawyers”. (HT: Ozaer N. on Facebook) 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.…
The Best Thai Restaurant in Las Vegas is Komol — and How to Order in a Thai Restaurant
When people think Las Vegas thai food, it’s usually Lotus of Siam. It’s a Vegas off-the-strip institution, once called the best Thai restaurant in the United States, and I’ve eaten well there although a couple of years back I had a pretty mediocre lunch. They tried to open up a New York outpost, it was pretty bad, and the place folded rather quickly. Fortunately I’ve found a Thai restaurant in Las Vegas, that’s been around for many years, that’s actually meaningfully better than Lotus of Siam, at least if you order correctly. I had lunch at Komol which is in the same strip mall as Lotus of Siam (score one for competition!). And to be clear I have not eaten at every Thai restaurant in Las Vegas, so in declaring Komol best I am saying…
Free Money Charged to Your Credit Card? Top Cash Back Offers 100% Back at GiftCard.com
Reader Jake emails that TopCashBack is offering 100% casb back at GiftCard.com. When you click through there’s a potential caveat, suggesting that there’s a ‘Visa Gift Card sale’ with the 100% listed next to that. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, as it’s hard to imagine that they intend to let you buy gift cards by credit card and give you all the money you’ve spent back — free money, essentially. While I have not had any problems getting paid by TopCashBack, several readers have reported difficulty getting credit for transactions there. Since the website flags this as a ‘Visa Gift Card sale’ I would not assume this applies to all purchases at GiftCard.com It is possible that the 100% rebate will be applied to the purchase fee only and not…
The Distance and Seclusion of the Maldives are a Feature Not a Bug (for me) – But You Can Still Go for Less
Rapid Travel Chai flags a discussion and controversy over travel to the Maldives: frankly, is it worth it? He argues no, I have researched a Maldives trip preciously and never seen the appeal and value for me. If I want to go to a beach, which is rare for me, I do not want to fly around the world and take multi-hundred dollar airport transfers. And Male gets thumbs down from just about every traveler. …some people get quite defensive. I can relate, when I put so much into a trip I don’t want to admit when it is disappointing. Others clearly genuinely love their Maldives experience. Put me down in he camp of those who love it, and it’s clearly not self-deception trying to convince myself I’ve gotten value out of the trip since…
