Last week I posted that federal government per diem allowances for travel would stay the same in 2013 as in 2012. There was a big move afoot to reduce travel costs, in one model by excluding higher-end properties from the calculations of what hotels generally cost. The hotel industry enlisted its lobbyists, got Members of Congress to object, and the move was killed. Instead, the approach to ‘saving’ money was to ‘not spend more‘. Much to the disappointment (though relief) of members of Congress representing cities with the most hotel rooms in the world and with the most hotel rooms being sold at federal government rates in the world. This post led to some interesting comments, both in the original post and with folks over email. (Some of the ideas in this post are mine,…
About Gary Leff
Doing My Best, and Trying to Do Better With This Blog (or Why it’s Not 2002 Anymore)
When I first started blogging in May 2002 it was just sort of a way of chronicling my thoughts as I came across deals, learned more about frequent flyer miles, and wanted to share my enthusiasm with a small group of friends. I used to write something and get 30 hits a day. My ‘big break’ that led to a few HUNDRED views a day was when I started producing IMPEACH NORM MINETA bumper stickers back when he ran the Transportation department (which then had control over airport security). It was my ‘personal blog’ and I still think of it that way. And I often have the sort of filter that one expects from a blog that isn’t actually being read by anyone. Back in 2006 a New York Times piece covered me (with a…
Hotel Mistake Rate: Westin Times Square New York for $60
The Renew Your Soul package is pricing for $60+tax at the Westin Times Square. In addition to the link above which pre-fills in the relevant package, you can search for the “Renew Your Soul Package” rate in the “Promotions and Packages” section. Search for your desired dates. Pick the Westin Times Square and then “promotions and packages” and make sure you are searching one adult only. That will bring up the rate if the package is available. This is available on some but not all Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights between September and December. The package includes a $10 minibar credit, an in-room movie, a $10 Metrocard, and a $10 coffee card. As I say, this only comes up when searching for 1 person per room. If this is ultimately honored (don’t buy non-refundable…
250 Free American Airlines Miles for Signing Up With e-Rewards
e-Rewards will offer you 250 American Airlines miles for joining. 250 AAdvantage bonus miles are only available to newly enrolled members of e-Rewards in the United States and Canada. Members must complete their first survey within three months of enrolling in order to qualify for the bonus. Please allow four to six weeks for miles to post to your AAdvantage account. I have a long-standing account, that wasn’t joined through one of their partners. And that means I can redeem the points I earn for taking surveys with any of their partners. And this offer is for new members only, of course. My impression was that if you joined through a partner like American you would only be able to redeem points for American miles. That isn’t actually true, I signed up for an e-Rewards…
Using Delta Miles Successfully: Awesome Business Class Availability on Saudi Arabian Airlines
I laid out my arguments about why Delta miles are one of the least valuable currencies out there at Frequent Traveler University back in April when I debated The Points Guy. It’s no secret that I think Delta miles are worth less than miles with United, American, US Airways, or Alaska Airlines. Sometimes I think they’re worth less than Air Baltic BalticMiles and Ukraine International Airlines Panorama Club miles. I’m the guy who coined the term “Skypesos” after all. But I’m also committed to helping folks use Delta miles for business class international awards. I have a guide on how to make Delta’s miles work for you. And a couple of weeks back I outlined fantastic business class award availability on China Southern’s Airbus A380 from Los Angeles to Guangzhou. Today’s lesson: new Skyteam member…
Should We Use the Icelandair Purchased Miles Deal to… Fly to Iceland?
I mentioned yesterday that Icelandair’s award chart is really expensive for flights on Icelandair itself, it also happens to be quite pricey for flights on partner Finnair. And yet it is strangely inexpensive for flights on Alaska Airlines. (Roundtrip transatlantic business class on Finnair is 300,000 miles!) I thought, gee, I’ve kinda always wanted to visit Iceland. I shared the $61 Baltimore – Reykjavik fare about 8 years back but didn’t book it myself. It’s tough to get to with miles, Delta has a flight and up until recently there were no U.S. partners of Alaska Airlines. I could buy a ticket, and it’s a pretty short flight for ‘Europe’. I’m not going to redeem via, say, Frankfurt and then Scandinavia using Star Alliance miles just to get business class. I never went. So perhaps…
A Dirt Cheap Way to Fly Alaska Airlines First Class (Anywhere They Go!)
Yesterday I mentioned an incredible deal, you can fly Alaska Airlines first class anywhere that carrier flies for about $329 plus taxes. This is not an error or a glitch. It’s a function of: Icelandair is a partner of Alaska Airlines. Their award chart for using miles on Alaska is extremely favorable: 20,000 miles roundtrip in coach, 30,000 miles roundtrip in first class. I do not know why it is so favorable, considering redeeming for flights on Icelandair can be extremely costly. The Icelandic Krona isn’t worth much these days. So you can buy Icelandair Saga Club miles quite inexpensively. US$328 buys you 25,000 miles. There’s a 20% bonus on purchased miles running through September 28th. That means those 25,000 purchased miles actually get you 30,000 miles, enough for a roundtrip ticket in first class…
Delta’s “Unpublished Fares” Will No Longer Earn Full Mileage
Delta has announced that effective September 1, “unpublished fares” may no longer earn full miles flown, nor receive full elite qualifying miles, and shall not be subject to earning 500 miles minimum per segment. Under this scheme, only nearly full (“M”) fare coach tickets and higher earn 100% of miles flown. “Deeply discounted” U and T fares, if those U and T fares are “unpublished,” will only earn 25% of miles flown. Additionally, these fares may not (it doesn’t say ‘will not’) be eligible for elite qualifying bonuses or class of service (business/first class) bonuses. And these fares will not be eligible for bonus mile or elite promotions. The biggest problem here is uncertainty. Customers now don’t just have to know the fare they’re buying to know whether or not it earns full miles. They…
Consider Getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Before They Make Changes to it Next Week
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is easily one of the best credit cards out there. It has one of the very best signup bonuses in the market — 40,000 points after $3000 spending within 3 months. Annual fee is waived the first year. Double points on travel and dining. Points transfer quickly into your choice of United Airlines, Korean Airlines, British Airways, Southwest, Amtrak, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, and Priority Club. And points transfer into anyone’s account you wish. The card has no foreign currency transaction fees. You get access to the Chase Ultimate Rewards mall, a mileage-earning shopping portal that often has the most lucrative opportunities to earn extra points for the online purchases you’d make anyway. I love the 2 extra points per dollar on Travelocity purchases, extra point per dollar at Expedia, and…
Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Friends… Hilton HHonors Points Are Not Worth 0.8 Cents Apiece
In Ben’s initial post on the subject he argued Hilton HHonors points were really valuable because of the great hotels you can access at a strong cents per point ratio (compared to the cost of paying for that hotel room). His latest missive in the debate, though, is titled “Valuing miles and points is a futile effort.” Getting a precise value for a given currency is a futile effort, because the value is opaque. You can’t truly compare across currencies when each currency can be used for different things, rather than universally for the same things. And especially because there is also uncertainty. You don’t know which hotels will leave a brand’s portfolio. You don’t know when the points will be devalued, and by how much. When hotel programs adjust which properties are assigned to…
