On Monday I noted that United had added language to the terms and conditions of its offer of 5000 miles after $1000 in spend on one of its co-branded credit cards. The new language — added more than 2/3rds through the promotion period which began August 1 and ends October 31 — restricted eligibility to spending on certain cards from Central and South America (!!). I noted at the time that the terms of the 5000 miles after $3000 in spend offer had not been changed, though I flagged that with a “yet.” And indeed Ron emails to let me know that the terms of that second offer have now been changed as well, restricting it, in bold, with: Eligible card for this promotion is only Standard Bank- Argentina. They say they can change the…
About Gary Leff
Earning Hotel Elite Status as a Meeting Planner Rather than on Stays/Nights
Several programs will award status based on meeting activity, not just points. Starwood offers their meeting planners Platinum status after $100,000 in spend. That’s a lot for someone to just ‘game’ the system, since it’s based on actual spend, but it’s not very much for a real meeting planner. We can easily swing a few of those in my office. Of course, since that’s Platinum status on meeting spend rather than nights, it doesn’t come with the incremental benefits (read: confirmed in advance suite upgrades) that have been awarded to 50 night platinums since March. That makes their meeting planner incentive less valuable than it used to be since meeting planner platinums are behind plenty of other platinums in the upgrade queue for a given stay. I suspect this is an unintended consequence of this…
Bits ‘n Pieces for October 10, 2012
News and Notes from Around the Interweb: Virgin America: Double points for West Coast flights (between Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle) through November 15. (Registration required.) NH Hoteles: 50% off flash sale for bookings through Saturday night Eastern time and stays through end of year. Kuwait: “Customs officers at the airport arrested an Arab expatriate for possession of a dildo.” (HT: Alan H.) Delta Small Business Bonus: Enroll in Delta’s small business SkyBonus and then credit a flight within 60 days to earn 30,000 bonus points which are not the same as bonus miles, rather the bonus is enough for 4 lounge day passes, a domestic upgrade on a full fare ticket, or 30 drink chits. Details of the offer here (.pdf) (Via Delta Points)
100 Free Amtrak Points
Amtrak Guest Rewards will give you 100 free points for linking your account with your Facebook profile by November 3. Points post instantly, and you can decouple your accounts afterward if you wish. (HT: Mooper)
One Day Reprieve on No Minimum Spend Hyatt Visa Offer, $100 Statement Credit Offer Still Available
While the new ‘public offer’ for the Hyatt Visa has switched over to be 2 free nights at any Hyatt property after $1000 in minimum spend, the affiliate link offer which gives those two free nights after first purchase (no minimum spend required) has been given a one-day reprieve. The no minimum spend offer to receive the free Hyatt nights will remain active until Wednesday morning 10am Eastern. Many will prefer the offer I detailed yesterday of two free nights after $1000 spending and a $100 statement credit. To get that offer you have to search for a Hyatt hotel, proceed to the page as though you are going to book it where you enter your personal details. There will be an advertising banner on the right hand side with the offer. The banner doesn’t…
How to Take Charge of the Situation During Flight Delays and Cancellations
A FoxBusiness.com piece on the hassles of travel quotes me extensively on how to handle the inevitable frustrations and bumps along the way. That’s why air travel expert Gary Leff, of MilePoint.com, tells people to take earlier flights when possible and avoid connection times of less than 30 minutes. Most of the time I like to travel early in the day, knowing that delays tend to stack up across the system as the day progresses. Much of the time an early delay will push back each flight that the delayed across was going to operate. And delayed crews are the ones who tend to time out later in the day as well. Additionally, in the Northeast summer thunderstorms tend to wreak havoc in the evenings. Plus the earlier in the day you travel, the more…
Southwest 40% Off Sale Through Thursday
Southwest is offering their discounted ‘Wanna Get Away’ fares at 40% off for bookings made through Thursday and travel between November 28 and December 12 and between January 7 and February 14 using promo code BIGDEAL40. Sunday travel is excluded, and the following city pairs are ineligible for the discount: Austin-Orlando Detroit-Phoenix Orlando-Phoenix Anything to or from Ft. Myers And if you’re not already a member of Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program, there’s a joining bonus currently. (HT: Frugal Travel Lawyer)
Is Delta’s Crackdown on Award Wallet a Step Too Far to Take?
Randy Petersen and I have an ongoing disagreement over whether it’s reasonable for American Airlines and Southwest to block Award Wallet from helping members track their accounts. (Randy even devoted his September editorial in Inside Flyer to refuting my arguments.) See, I believe that making it less convenient for members to track their account balances doesn’t help a program, it makes those members less engaged and ultimately less profitable. And I don’t believe excuses over security, since having more engaged members seeing changes in their balances each day is the best way to notice quickly when an account has been compromised. But now that Delta has jumped on the bandwagon and blocked Award Wallet as well, it may be a step too far. Delta miles are already the least valuable among major US frequent flyer…
Better Hyatt Visa Offer: 2 Free Nights after $1000 Spend and $100 Statement Credit
Over at Milepoint it was suggested that there’s a new Hyatt Visa offer with a statement credit. If you go to the offer directly it seems to just redirect to the Hyatt page. And when I’m logged in personally at Hyatt.com the offer doesn’t appear. Perhaps because I have a Hyatt Visa already. But when I log out, I can get the offer to show up by searching for a reservation, then selecting a room and continuing to the page where you enter your personal information. The offer then appears on the right hand side of the page. You can click through to the offer there. So you make a net of $25 for your $1000 minimum spend requirement. And it’s $100 better than the no minimum spend version of the card (that’ll go away…
It’s Official: Qatar to Join Oneworld
Here’s the press release. So I guess when Qatar’s CEO emphatically denied that they were joining oneworld less than 10 days ago — “No, we will not. It’s all rumors” — that he was just lying. The airline will be integrated into the alliance over the next 12 to 18 months. Great news for the value of American Airlines miles, Qatar offers great business class award availability (and has first class cabins on a limited number of Europe – Doha routes) and an outstanding business class product. Sadly within American’s program the Middle East — an amazing connection point for much of the world — is of limited usefulness. You can connect in Doha if you want to head to India and surrounding countries, or to the Middle East itself. But you’re not able to…
