No surprise for readers of this blog, but American has filed with the bankruptcy court to “assume on a final and irrevocable basis” its agreements with Citibank, its credit-card partner. “For the avoidance of doubt, the Debtors [American, parent AMR, et al.) irrevocably and as of the date hereof waive any right to seek to reject the Citibank Agreements unless the Plan is withdrawn or the Court refuses to enter the Confirmation Order,” the settlement states. For its part, Citibank promised that it “will not object to confirmation of the Plan (or any plan of reorganization substantially similar thereto) unless the Plan or such other plan of reorganization differs from the Plan in any manner adverse to Citibank.” It increasingly seems to be last call to get the US Airways Mastercard. The best known offer…
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Attention Hotel Elite Guests: Detroit Zoo is Pricing Giraffes at $80,000
As Detroit tries to get its awful fiscal situation in order it has priced giraffes in its zoo at $80,000. Detroit’s going-out-of-business sale is looking to be quite the affair. The Detroit Free Press examined the disparate and sometimes unusual assets left in the city that may be sold in order to pay off its debts And a giraffe, of course, is the ultimate hotel status amenity. I wonder if I could get Detroit to just rent me a giraffe? $80,000 is still rather pricey, as cool as it would be to walk into a hotel with one and slap down my Diamond elite card. (No final decision has been made on what Detroit will sell off. They are simply identifying and valuing assets in order to make decisions about what to sell of at…
My Next Two Giveaways — Great New Luggage from Briggs & Riley
I’m a Briggs & Riley luggage fan. My standard carry on currently is their Baseline CX — an improvement over the 20″ baseline I was carrying previously because it’s lighter and has a new compression system — basically a design-assisted way to scrunch down the bag (the modern equivalent of putting it on the bed and sitting on it) in order to shove in more stuff. Which frankly is a key component of what I’m looking for in a carry on. Briggs & Riley bags are high quality. They have a lifetime guarantee that the reports I’ve seen are of it really being honored. I’ve never had occasion to test it, since my bags haven’t been destroyed (I did have a throwaway off-brand bag eaten once by Alaska Airlines’ baggage system in Seattle, but no…
Are Hotels Killing Room Service Because of Reduced Demand for Sex and Drugs?
Tyler Cowen refers to the story I noted on Saturday about the Hilton New York eliminating room service, calling it part of ‘the great unbundling’, concluding I believe that the argument for the continuation of room service has to involve some mix of drugs and sex. But that isn’t quite correct. The argument for room service isn’t “drugs and sex” although late night partiers will order room service (top end hotels make money on this, delivering not just snacks that wind up uneaten but heavily marked up champagne). Most hotels don’t make money on room service. Some do — top end resorts often do. Hilton’s first ‘full service’ hotel to end room service was the Hilton Hawaiian Village, a mid-scale resort. Room service was a money loser for them. Rather, the argument for room service…
Are YOU a HYATT House Very Important Resident?
This past week I ran a contest for 2 free nights at a HYATT House with ‘very important resident status’ during that stay (no 30 night stay required!). HYATT House has introduced a new recognition program for guests at these extended stay properties who will be in residence for 30 days or longer. As a VIR, you’ll enjoy things like: Pick-Your-Suite: Pick your own suite from available rooms in your room type at the time of your arrival. “Favorites” Folio: A place to make note of your likes, dislikes and special requests so HYATT house can personalize your stay. Grocery Shopping Service: Provide your grocery list to the House Host, and the staff will stock your refrigerator and cabinets even before you arrive or for when you come home. Grub Stub: Redeem for a $10…
Bits ‘n Pieces for June 3, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Matthew Klint discovered that United no longer processes Australia’s Eletronic Travel Authority free for 100,000 mile flyers. They do, however, enter those key strokes without charge for Global Services members. Conde’ Nast takes you behind the scenes of a United 777 upgrade adding their new seats and wifi. Interactive blog navigation. Some bloggers are tagging their posts by location, and letting you drill down through an interactive map to find the relevant ones. I feel so mid-90s here at View from the Wing. Man joins Mile High Club.. by himself. Seatmate sues United.
Why I’ll Be Avoiding Flying on American’s New Airbus A319s
One Mile at a Time reveals that American’s new Airbus A319s will have only 8 first class seats and limited “Main Cabin Extra” seating. There are 3 rows of Main Cabin Extra (so 18 seats) but the seat maps appear to be blocking the first (bulkhead) row. US Airways — known for offering very few first class seats, though they’ve modestly added some recently — offers 12 first class seats on their A319s. This is shockingly ungenerous — a packed-in configuration that’s weighted heavily towards standard coach — considering that these planes will generally be replacing American’s MD80 aircraft that have 16 first class seats and 40 Main Cabin Extra seats. For now the new A319s are based out of Dallas and flying to Charlotte, Cleveland, Memphis, Wichita, Dayton, Lubbock, El Paso, Huntsville, McAllen, and…
30% Bonus for Transferring Points into Aeroplan via Points.com
During the month of June, using Points.com to convert miles from various programs into Aeroplan will earn a 30% bonus. EARN 30% MORE MILES AT POINTS.COM From June 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013 Get right to the point this June! Earn 30% more miles at Points.com when you exchange or trade your points for Aeroplan Miles This is not generally a good idea. While converting from Aeroplan to some programs like US Airways can be done without too much loss of value, the reverse isn’t the case. The bonus doesn’t just apply to transferring miles from one program to another but also “trades” that occur on the site between members. Those are also not a good deal given the cash costs required to transfer.
30% Bonus on Transfers from Diners Club to British Airways
Am I the last man standing that still has a Diners Club card? I keep it because: Primary collision damage waiver on rental cars (United Explorer has that, too). It’s chip and PIN, not that I’ve ever actually needed that. It doesn’t waive foreign currency transaction fees, so I don’t want to use it outside the U.S. You can’t apply for one. I guess that makes me not want to cancel, somehow. Obscure transfer partners – like EVA Airways, SAS, South African, and Thai. You never know when you might need that! (Though, to date, I haven’t except for South African many years ago.) This used to be a great card, with two full billing cycles to pay and a restaurant savings program that morphed into iDine Prime (how crazy is it that Diners Club…
Virgin Atlantic Reduces Fuel Surcharges on Coach Awards
Two days ago NotiFlyer flagged a Virgin Atlantic sale on economy reward tickets. Through June 17, 2013, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members can redeem 25 percent fewer miles for coach award flights. For example, you can fly between the U.K. and New York for 26,000 miles roundtrip (normally 35,000 miles) or San Francisco for 35,000 miles (normally 47,500 miles). The 25 percent discount only applies to coach tickets booked by June 17, 2013. Other discounted routes include flights between the U.K. and Cancun, Mumbai, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Tokyo and the Caribbean. I didn’t pay it much mind, because Virgin’s fuel surcharges have historically made economy redemptions utterly irrational — you spend miles but still come out of pocket the bulk of a paid fare. But as Head for Points notes, Virgin has actually reduced their fuel…
