The Upgrd Podcast is back after a several weeks’ hiatus and there’s a full cohort of panelists (including yours truly). We discuss the Continental – United merger, Continental’s new initiative of upgrades on award tickets for co-branded credit card holders, we debate the merits of the various New York airports and I advance the notion that US Airways is the Star Alliance’s designated consolidator for premium class inventory. (The fact that this got the biggest chorus of laughs in the half hour show suggests just what sort of a group this is…!)
About Gary Leff
New Priority Club PointBreaks List is out!
Priority Club discounts awards each quarter down to 5000 points per night, and the new list is up. The list includes notable properties such as Intercontinentals in Stockholm, Hanoi, O’Hare airport (hah!), Johannesburg Airport, and Miramar, Panama. If you see a property on it, jump on the chance, hotels are frequently added and then pulled from the offer relatively quickly with fewer and fewer hotels participating as a quarter wears on. I’ve discussed these awards many times in the past (e.g. here, here, here, and here). They’re great for a very limited number of properties, one can never count on being able to redeem for a PointBreaks participating hotel but it does make a small number of Priority Club points actually useful. After all, you can purchase 5000 Priority Club points for $30 – $50…
Kingfisher Progresses Towards Oneworld Membership
Kingfisher has formally become a member-elect of oneworld, has passed its alliance safety audit, and has received regulatory approval from the Indian government to join the alliance. The airline signed a Memorandum of Understanding which set in motion the process for it to join oneworld back in February. Kingfisher flies to 8 countries outside of India, but the prize is their vast network within India: The 58 destinations across India that Kingfisher Airlines will add to the oneworld map include Agartala, Agatti, Agra, Ahmedabad, Aizwal, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Bagdogra, Bhavnagar, Bhubaneswar, Bhuj, Calicut, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Dharamsala, Goa, Guwahati, Hubli, Imphal, Indore, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jammu, Jodhpur, Kandla, Khajuraho, Kochi, Kolhapur, Kolkata, Kullu, Latur, Leh, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Nagpur, Nanded, Nasik, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Raipur, Rajahmundry, Ranchi, Salem, Sholapur, Silchar, Simla, Srinagar, Tirupati, Trichy, Trivandrum, Tuticorin,…
Purchasing Money from the US Mint for Miles is Still Alive
Frugal Travel Guy reports that the US mint has lifted the per-household restriction on the purchase of coins online (which you do with your credit card to earn miles, then deposit into the bank to pay off your credit card). In its place is a limit of $1000 in purchases every 10 days. There is a 4-box $1 Coin limit for every 10-day period on any and all $1 Coin orders. Beyond that your credit card will not be authorized. If you need quantities greater than this, please send an e-mail before placing your order to directship@usmint.treas.gov explain why your order should be exempted from the limit. The above is from the US Mint website. Now the speculation begins. One caller to the Mint reports it is based on address so you can’t get 4…
Award Routing Quirks and Making the Most of Award Stopovers
I think about award booking a lot, getting the most out of miles, and piecing together available award seats to manage an itinerary that agents say isn’t otherwise available. And a couple of Flyertalk threads got me thinking about the quirks and inconsistencies of frequent flyer program rules. It’s often the case with some carriers that the rules are inconsistently applied, and while this can be frustrating for travelers it’s also an opportunity for those with patience and perseverance. US Airways is uniquely known for its flexible award routings, and also its inconsistency. Call a different agent on the phone, get a different answer almost every time. There are some rules that are clearly in the Dividend Miles Membership Guide, though not many, and those that exist aren’t always followed. You can have one stopover…
50,000 Membership Rewards Points for Small Business American Express
American Express is offering 50,000 American Express points as a signup bonus on a new Gold Rewards Amex for Business after spending $10,000 on the card by December 31, 2010. The card’s fee is waived the first year. In the past I’ve written about some of the better uses for American Express points, consider reading some of the archives to figure out what to do with your haul.
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus 500 – 2500 Bonus Miles for International Flights Through July 15
Reader David passes along a Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus bonus for flying Thai metal internationally through July 15: no registration required, 500 bonus miles for coach, 1000 for premium economy, 1500 for business class, and 2500 for first class. Fare classes V and W are ineligible for the bonus. Thai is promoting this as a celebration of the carrier’s 50th anniversary. You’d think they might throw a bit of a bigger party, especially to get folks to come in light of the recent unpleasantness in Bangkok. The bonus isn’t likely enough to generate incremental business — whether in terms of a discretionary trip, shifting business to Thai that would have gone to another carrier, or even crediting miles to Royal Orchid Plus that might have been credited elsewhere. But if you’re flying Thai internationally…
Amtrak Guest Rewards Multipartner Promo: A Chance to Earn a Whopping 1700 Points!
Amtrak Guest Rewards has a partner bonus promotion running through July 31: an activity in each of four categories earns a meagar bonus, and if you have activity in all four you earn an additional modest bonus. Registration required. The four categories are shopping, cruise, hotel and car rental. And therein actually lies the rub: cruise is an actual separate category. There’s 100 bonus points for a shopping transaction, 200 bonus points each for a transaction in the other three categories, and then 1000 additional bonus points for activity in all four. This may be the only partner bonus promotion in the history of loyalty programs where you had to book a cruise with a partner before you could earn a multi-partner bonus. Look, if you’re going to shop via the Amtrak Guest Rewards mall…
30% Bonus on Alaska Airlines Purchased and Gifted Miles
Alaska Airlines is offering a 30% bonus on purchased and gifted miles through July 15. Clearly not something worth doing just to stock up on miles, but at times worthwhile to top off towards an award, such as their 140,000 mile Cathay Pacific award from the US to Africa via Hong Kong!
US Airways 50% Bonus on Shopping
US AIrways is offering a 50% mileage bonus on purchases with participating merchants made through the Dividend Miles mall through June 30. Registration required. Up to 10 shopping transactions are eligible for the bonus, and transactions must post by August 30 with a transaction date not later than June 30 in order to be eligible. This is stackable with the shopping bonus for Dividend Miles elite members that runs through February of 2011 (25% for Silvers, 50% for Golds, 75% for Platinums, and 100% for Chairmans Preferred). A Chairmans Preferred member who registers this offer and shops at FTD by June 30 would earn 50 miles per dollar, whereas a non-elite would earn 30 miles per dollar. Since the earn rates on the underlying shopping purchases themselves aren’t stellar this isn’t an opportunity to load…
