Introduction: Constructing — and Re-constructing — the Award Trip American Eagle DC – New York and the New Nicest JFK Airport Hotel, the Hilton Cathay Pacific First Class, JFK – Hong Kong The Wing lounge in Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific Business Class Hong Kong – Kuala Lumpur Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Airlines Business Class, Kuala Lumpur – Langkawi The Andaman Langkawi Malaysia Airlines Business Class, Langkawi – Kuala Lumpur Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur Things to See and Do in Kuala Lumpur Korean Airlines First Class, Kuala Lumpur – Seoul and the Korean Airlines First Class Lounge Seoul Korean Airlines First Class, Seoul – Washington Dulles I have a love-hate relationship with Intercontinental’s Royal Ambassador elite program. I’ve had the status since 2006. It’s been responsible for the majority of the very best upgrades I’ve…
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Bits ‘n Pieces for December 13, 2012
News and notes from around the interweb: Mommy Points reports that the Hyatt Union Square in New York will open as a Gold Passport category 5 hotel. Hyatt 48 Lex is category 4, an amazing redemption value (and eligible for the Hyatt Visa annual free night) so one assumes it too will eventually become category 5. The Hyatt Place Midtown will be category 4 when it opens. Very Good Points didn’t have a very good stay in Langkawi, I’m certainly glad that I chose the Andaman rather than the Sheraton! Dan’s Deals has a 40% off discount code for the W Hotels store, which also covers beds and bedding. Better than the usual 35% discounts that float around. LufthansaFlyer reveals Lufthansa’s first class holiday duck.
Delta Goes on the Record About Revenue-Based Frequent Flyer Programs
USA Today covers the impending risk of changes to frequent flyer programs, moving from rewarding miles flown with an airline to the amount of money spent — turning the legacy frequent flyer programs of airlines like United, American, and Delta into the much more modest offerings of Southwest and JetBlue. The piece is titled Frequent-flier rewards: Change is in the air and Randy Petersen predicts this is going to happen: “I would suggest by this time next year there’ll be at least one, if not more, of the major carriers that have adopted this kind of new normal among frequent-flier programs,” says Randy Petersen, publisher of Inside Flyer magazine, which closely follows loyalty programs. “I think in five years we will have forgotten about the old system.” I’m quoted making the case, though, that the…
Starwood’s First Quarter Promo – Up to 18,000 Points (after 20 nights)
Starwood’s first quarter promotion — January 15 through April 15, — will give you 2,000 bonus points for every four eligible nights (up to 8,000 points max after staying 16 nights during the promotion period) and then an additional 10,000 bonus points after completing 20 nights. That’s a top prize of 18,000 bonus points after 20 nights. Registration is required and will open sometime in early January. You can sign up to get a text message reminder. Ultimately a bit of a snoozer for a winter promo. Every fourth night you get 500 bonus points per night retroactively. It’s not even 500 bonus points per night if you don’t hit those 4th night plateaus. For heavy stayers nights 17 through 20 are well-rewarded with 10,000 bonus points though. (HT: Notiflyer)
Do You Drink When You Fly? Do You Drink Alone? With Your Family? How Do You Compare to Your Fellow Flyers?
When I’m flying up front I enjoy a nice cocktail. In international first class a glass of champagne is especially nice. I’ve strangely never been a huge fan of Krug (the preferred bottle on ANA and Cathay Pacific), and the 2003 Dom Perignon just isn’t up to recent vintages. I greatly enjoyed the 2000 and 2002. It doesn’t have to be quite the same level of name if it’s thoughtfully chosen, but it does usually have to be a better bottle than the US airlines are willing to spring for in their premium cabins. Although there is something special about the ‘smirk’ that Singapore Airlines flight attendants do when asking if you’d like champagne. A simple ‘yes, please’ is met with, “Would you prefer Dom or Krug?” They’re clearly proud that they serve both. And…
American Airlines Has Changed the Way They Sell Tickets — And How You May Benefit
American rolled out new fare options this morning, offering add-ons like included checked bags, no charge for changes, and bonus miles for a fixed higher price. Currently the new options are available for at AA.com and travel agencies set up for direct connect (and the fare display has been updated throughout the purchase process to support the changes), but these are not just packages of ancillary services that are being bundled, these are actual fares which include add-ons as a part of the fare. That means that any travel site that chooses to offer support for showing the fares will be able to sell them. There are now three ‘categories’ of fares — outside of premium fares — at American: CHOICE: these are akin to American’s current fares. They’re the lowest price, come with a…
Bits ‘n Pieces for December 12, 2012
News and Notes from Around the Interweb: Win Virgin America 20% Off Vouchers or an Amazon Gift Card AviancaTaca increasing many of their premium cabin award prices by 2500 miles each way Trust us, your hotel duvet cover has been laundered Photos of American’s new 777-300ER.. sadly not in the airline’s new livery
More Rooms Added to the Block for April Frequent Traveler University
The event in Los Angeles was fantastic, and the 400 spots sold out long in advance. Confirmed for the spring event so far as speakers (in addition to yours truly) are Ben from the One Mile at a Time blog, Brian Kelly a.k.a. The Points Guy, Mommy Points, Daraius from Million Mile Secrets, and though I don’t think he knows it yet I intend to twist Frequent Miler’s arm to join again too. Although the event is nearly 5 months off — April 26 through 28 at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner — over 300 folks signed up right away when things were announced last month, and the room block sold out as well. Folks were reporting that rooms were coming up at the host hotel for $179 a night rather than our negotiated $89.…
What Delta’s 49% Stake in Virgin Atlantic Means for Frequent Flyers
Much rumored the past few weeks, now it’s official, Delta is acquiring a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic. Here are my initial thoughts. There were also rumors that Virgin would be joining an alliance soon. Since Singapore Airlines owned 49% of Virgin, Singapore is a member of Star Alliance, and Singapore has been tying itself up with Virgin Australia, most guesses were that Virgin would join Star Alliance. That’s clearly no longer in the cards, and any alliance talk is likely to shift to Skyteam. Many of the rumors the past week or so had Delta buying Singapore Airlines’ 49% stake in Virgin and Air France KLM buying a small portion of Richard Branson’s 51%, giving the two Skyteam airlines a controlling stake in Virgin Atlantic. That hasn’t happened yet, as now Branson’s interests still…
Suites, Treats, and Eats, a Malaysian Mileage Thanksgiving: Malaysia Airlines Business Class, Langkawi – Kuala Lumpur
Introduction: Constructing — and Re-constructing — the Award Trip American Eagle DC – New York and the New Nicest JFK Airport Hotel, the Hilton Cathay Pacific First Class, JFK – Hong Kong The Wing lounge in Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific Business Class Hong Kong – Kuala Lumpur Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Airlines Business Class, Kuala Lumpur – Langkawi The Andaman Langkawi Malaysia Airlines Business Class, Langkawi – Kuala Lumpur Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur Things to See and Do in Kuala Lumpur Korean Airlines First Class, Kuala Lumpur – Seoul and the Korean Airlines First Class Lounge Seoul Korean Airlines First Class, Seoul – Washington Dulles It was a half hour’s drive from the resort. We pulled up to the terminal and it seemed larger than I remembers from my arrival five days earlier. Upon…
