I guess they’ve learned some things from politics. The timestamp in my e-mail box is 3:29pm Eastern. First, Continental will charge $15 for a first checked bag within the US and Canada effective October 7th for tickets purchased from today forward. Elites (including Skyteam elites), first class passengers, and full fare passengers are exempt. Then come the changes to the frequent flyer program. Here’s the bad news. Continental is ending 500 mile minimums for short hops effective January 1. They follow US Airways and United on this change. Best strategy is to credit those short flights to another program which still offers minimum mileage. Very few flyers will find that the 200 or 350 miles will make a difference in award redemption or elite requalification. But it does require vigilance, as accruing more mileage in…
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United Will Keep Handing Out Free Delicious Meals in Transatlantic Coach.. I’ll take it, but why?
Cranky Flier thinks United’s decision to reverse course on eliminating complimentary coach meal service to and from Dulles across the Atlantic was driven by Lufthansa… Remember, Lufthansa and United have a revenue sharing agreement that makes them very tight partners on North Atlantic flying. Anything United does has the distinct possibility of significantly impacting Lufthansa’s revenue. Something tells me that charging for meals crossed the line here. Is it really possible that United didn’t bother to discuss this with Lufthansa beforehand? If so, I’d think some heads might roll over this. They’re trying to spin this change in a positive light, but it really points to a management team that pulled the trigger on something major before properly vetting it. Seems plausible. Likely, even…
250 Free Starwood Points
Via Frugal Travel Guy, Starwood Preferred Guest is offering 250 Starpoints for reviewing their new redemption option, SPG Flights.
Surely There Must Be More to Starwood’s Announcement?
Granted, the conference call is only two and a half hours away. But the Wall Street Journal came out with news of Starwood introducing a new benefit, SPG Flights, where you can redeem your points for paid airline tickets. Sure, the redemption rate is better than Amex or Diners Club offers these days, and better than Citi’s Thank You Network variable redemptions. Which is to say you get better than 1 cent in value per point. But it doesn’t look like you can ever do better than 1.5 cents, and so I can’t imagine that I would ever use or recommend this benefit to anyone. Granted, adding benefits without taking benefits away is a positive thing. I was just hoping for more from the big announcement — something game-changing to take on Hilton which has…
Northwest’s Mountains of Miles Promo
Northwest has unveiled its new mileage promotion, Mountains of Miles. Not as great as the last one, not every activity under the sun earns credits towards miles (without any meaningful activitiy with Northwest — I’m not particularly involved with their program — I still managed to bank 10,000 miles last time). Still, as always it’s worth registering for the promotion no matter what because any sort of activity at all will earn some bonus and you never know when that activity might just turn up, such as by getting re-routed from your planned carrier onto Northwest during irregular operations. Register for the promo by December 31, 2008. But, really, register right away — because only activities from the time you register count. Activities completed by January 31, 2009 count towards the promo. And sadly, Northwest…
Air New Zealand Rolls Out Their Version of Economy Plus
The Global Traveller details Air New Zealand’s introduction of a Space+ product, more legroom at the front of coach akin to United’s economy plus. They’re starting with short-haul planes, which strikes The Global Traveller as odd. But it’s a clear improvement and these seats are open to Air New Zealand elites, Koru Club members, and to Star Alliance Gold members — the latter being a benefit that United used to offer but sadly took away. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has updated its video on demand offerings. Way to go Air New Zealand!
Thai Airways Introduces Online Star Alliance Upgrade Award Redemption — United, Please Pick Up the Red Courtesy Phone….?
Last month I mentioned speculation that United would finally be re-introducing Star Alliance upgrades. Hasn’t happened yet. In the past they’ve said it was technology issues standing in their way, though other Star Alliance airlines managed to make it happen. Meanwhile, even Thai Airways has figured out how to offer these upgrade awards online. So time to get your act together, United! Or perhaps outsource your IT department to the Thai Airways web wizards?
Airtran Double Credits for Trips Originating in Atlanta
Airtran is offering double credits on trips originating in Atlanta betwee September 2 and September 30th. Registration is required.
A Different United Visa with Signup Bonus
Via Free Frequent Flyer Miles, Chase offers the United Visa Signature Gold Class free the first year with 25,000 miles after $250 in purchases. The value here is that you should be able to get the signup bonus for this card even if you’ve had a regular United Visa Signature in the past. Chase has really cracked down on churning signup bonuses with their cards, so having more, unique cards is huge. Pick up the 25,000 miles and no fee the first year Visa Signature, small business Visa, and this one and you’ve got 75,000 miles. Then there’s still the Platinum class card with a $165 fee and another 25,000 miles plus elite qualifying mileage bonuses, and you can be at 100,000 miles quite cheaply. Update: Free Frequent Flyer Miles has posted an update, hedging…
Marriott Rewards Improvements Coming?
Marriott may be on the verge of announcing an end to blackout dates and capacity controls for award night redemption, as well as other benefits. Loyalty Traveler writes that Marriott posted an announcement about changes to their program coming in 2009. In addition to an end to capacity controls (matching Starwood and Hilton), the annoncement included pay for 3 award nights and get the 4th free and an increase in Platinum elite bonus points earned for hotel spending. Loyalty Traveler wonders what will become of Marriott’s award chart which includes substantial discounts for progressively more redemption nights, speculating that 4th night free will mean more points required for the first three. The announcement was pulled from the Marriott website after a few hours, and Marriott now says they have nothing to announce at this time.…
