I’ve done a lot of crazy things in my life to earn miles. I had a hair loss consultation for 20,000 Delta miles (even though I am far from balding). Then there was the Lasik eye exam (I don’t wear glasses). And the Wendys-Airtran promotion which led to a rash of dumpster diving. Once upon a time you could even earn miles by donating blood. But here’s one I hadn’t seen: Earn miles for making child support payments. I had no idea this existed. Apparently Mastercard and Discover are accepted by Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. (This settles a mystery of ‘what merchants take Mastercard but not Visa..?) Visa and Mastercard are accepted by Arizona, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. The author of the Milepoint thread on this earns miles…
About Gary Leff
Exercise Caution When Using Kiva to Meet Minimum Spend Requirements and Earn Miles
Flyertalk member Rommie2k6 offers this warning to folks using Kiva.org as a way of earning points, or meeting minimum spend requirements for credit card signup bonuses. I’ve been aware that FTers are using Kiva to manufacture spend or generate points… ..I would warn all FTers that there is a risk in doing these kind of Kiva spends. Even if some of you have done your due diligence, and find that the company backing Kiva is financially sound and a legitimate operation there is always a possibility that Kiva can close down overnight. I strongly doubt that Kiva or its parent company has any credit rating, so Kiva loans are going to be akin to junk bonds. If a default happens for whatever reason, I would expect that all outstanding “loans” will be something that FTers…
Coming Collision Between Singapore’s Government and My Beloved Hawker Stalls?
Tyler Cowen points to this Financial Times piece (subscription required, or visit BugMeNot, or google the article’s headline and click through from Google to read the text). Singapore is worried about obesity, with 11% of the population considered obese under world standards compared to a 17% world average (which includes countries suffering from famine) and 35% in the U.S. Singapore plans to restrict advertising for “unhealthy” food and drink aimed at children, as countries across Asia grow increasingly concerned about obesity rates. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said “obesity rates are going up . . . with more fast foods and sedentary occupations” even as more Singaporeans are exercising and fewer are smoking. It seems odd that they’re focusing on advertising to children when it’s adult behavior identified as a key area of concern: Singapore has seen a rise…
National Opt Out Week: Speak Truth to TSA Power
Journalist Christopher Elliott is supporting National Opt-Out Week. Don’t go through the nude-o-scopes at the TSA checkpoint, insist on a good old fashioned full body run (pat down) instead. Elliott’s reason for supporting the movement are that the machines aren’t adequately tested for dangers due to radiation (applies more to the backscatter machines than to the millimeter wave machines), that they are easily fooled (so don’t provide much security at all), that they are very expensive (so a poor use of security resources that could be better deployed elsewhere), that they’ve invasive (we give up our rights and the terrorists really have won), and that they’ve never actually, you know, caught a terrorist. I don’t just opt out one week a year. I did go through one of the machines a year ago in the…
Intercontinental Times Square — a Great Points Redemption Property for Elites
One of my biggest points frustrations is Priority Club. The Intercontinental Royal Ambassador program is one of the most rewarding elite levels there is. I’ve had some of my very best upgrades as a result of that program — a ‘house’ with backyard facing a mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona; a Diplomatic Suite in Bangkok; Ambassador Suite in Singapore; Presidential Suite in Manila to name a few. The terms and conditions of the program, though, say that most elite benefits (such as guaranteed 8am checkin, upgrades, and free drinks from the minibar) do not apply to points stays. Priority Club is the only hotel chain where the benefits of status do not apply when you’re claiming the rewards for your stays. Reward nights are supposed to be more than a rebate, mind you, they are a…
Regulators in the US and Canada Try to Protect High Prices and Bad Service from Taxicabs
I wrote about on-demand car service Uber back in July in “Why Taxis Suck and What You Can Do About It” and in September on New York City’s war against Uber which was then trying to make the city’s taxi cabs more available and more efficient. It seems that regulators have their own trade group, and the International Association of Transportation Regulators has gotten together to strategize over how to put on-demand car service app Uber out of business. Taxi and limousine regulators from 15 U.S. and Canadian cities plan to release proposed guidelines Friday aimed at reining in some of the smartphone applications and online services that are radically changing how customers hail cabs. The rules were drawn up by a task force of the International Association of Transportation Regulators with members from New…
100 Free Starwood Starpoints
The first 5000 people who add their travel wish to a wish map receive 100 free Starpoints. Every little bit helps.
American and US Airways Merger: Now Just Haggling Over Price
When US Airways first started trolling around the American Airlines bankruptcy, they hoped to snatch it up cheaply. Since American has gotten labor agreements done with its various workforces (and even has had its pilots union send out a new contract with recommendation or a vote of approval), has gotten various other costs down, and has killed off several unprofitable routes, the airline has gotten much more expensive as a potential acquisition target. US Airways initially saw likely equity split as 50-50 if it merged with the larger airline. Now US Airways is looking at 70% of a combined company going to American’s creditors, while some creditors see 80% as their negotiating position. Regardless, this suggests a deal has become much more likely. Certainly American is not adamantly opposed, although any deal likely benefits current…
Lowest Price I’ve Ever Seen on American AAdvantage Purchased Miles: 50% Bonus and an Increase in the Number of Miles You’re Allowed to Buy
This is probably the best purchase miles offer I’ve seen from American in a long time. And not only is it a bigger bonus — up to 50%, through December 31 — but they’ve also temporarily increased the cap on purchases you can make. Normally they allow purchase of 40,000 miles per account in a single calendar year, but through the end of the year that’s increased to 60,000 miles. (Bonus miles earned from purchases do not count towards this limit.) The number of miles purchased in a single transaction determines your bonus: 5000 – 9999 miles purchased earns 1500 bonus miles 10,000 – 14,000 miles purchased earns 3000 bonus miles 15,000 – 19,000 miles purchased earns 4500 bonus miles 20,000 – 29,000 miles purchased earns 10,000 bonus miles 30,000 – 39,000 miles purchased earns…
Will More Frequent Flyer Programs Be Spun Off as Independent Businesses?
Colloquy has an in-depth piece on Jet Airways spinning off its frequent flyer program. Some industry insiders speculate that if not a listing, then certainly a stake sale seems to be on Jet’s agenda. “As and when negotiations with the potential knowledge partners crystallise into a concrete decision, it is proposed that some percentage of the company’s stake be offered to the knowledge partners,” Jet Airways claimed while making the announcement. Jet Airways’ latest announce-ments, however, seem to indicate that this move is in line with the company’s intent to improve its ancillary revenues up from 3% overall to 10-15% over the next few years. At present, Jet Airways’ ancillary revenues that come from sources other than ticket sales stand at $170 million. “The frequent flyer programme started as a cost centre but has started…
