Jeff Robertson, who runs the Delta Skymiles program, made his latest Flyertalk post yesterday. I tend to think it’s his most useful to date, and for the most part devoid of the usual marketing-speak. He confirms that Delta Reserve Amex cardholders receive priority within status and fare levels for upgrades. Delta Reserve customers receive priority upgrade status within tier and fare class. In essence, this means that if two customers who are Platinum both booked an L fare, the Platinum with the Delta Reserve card bumps the Platinum who doesn’t have the card. That’s a pretty strong reason for Delta elites to get the card. Meanwhile, he commits to website award booking improvements and predicts easier-to-use international upgrades for top tier elites post-Northwest merger (I’ll be cautiously optimistic and won’t bank on anything major).
About Gary Leff
OpenSkies Inaugural Report
Online Travel Review flies the inaugural JFK-Paris OpenSkies flight and shares his impressions. The three-cabin 757 offers BA’s NextGen Club World seats for business class, a Prem+ class that’s similar to most US carriers’ business, and economy. He’s struck by the value of the Prem+ cabin (currently pricing just a couple hundred bucks more than coach) and the lack of storage space in business class. The NextGen business seats on BA are excellent, true lie-flat, but storage space is one of my two issues, having flown it for the first time back in April. The other is that on the 747 in particular it’s difficult to get in and out of the seats which aren’t on the aisle, and flight attendants find it difficult to serve interior passengers without disturbing the passengers in the aisle.…
Air Tahiti Nui to Join Skyteam?
Three and a half years ago I thought that Air Tahiti Nui and Delta were working on a partnership. To date, it hasn’t materialized. Already they partner with Skyteam member Northwest (use Worldperks miles to redeem on Air Tahiti Nnui) and American (both earn and burn). The latest rumor, though, has Air Tahiti Nui joining Skyteam as well as exiting the Osaka market and turning New York-JFK into seasonal service. I’m just hoping that if they join Skyteam it doesn’t cause them to sever ties with American, that partnership is a good one. And I’m hoping they don’t learn from Skyteam members about how to limit even further the availability of premium class award seats.
What United / Continental Tie-up Means for You
I was traveling when this was announced, and quickly all the news sources and blogs picked up the story. So I’ve been pretty silent. Continental entering a codesharing, marketing, and potentially revenue sharing (on certain international routes) agreement with United. They’re leaving Skyteam and joining Star Alliance. There will be reciprocal frequent flyer earn and burn, and lounge partnerships. But all the details remain to be seen, in particular, what about reciprocal upgrades for elites of each program as Continental currently offers to Northwest elites and vice versa. Of course all this will likely take until mid-next year to come to fruition. The bottom-line, though, is this: the move is strongly positive for Continental frequent flyers, with little upside and some risk for United frequent flyers. Continental offers perhaps the best domestic premium product in the…
$99 Rooms at the Venetian
Who says there’s no off season in Vegas anymore? Summertime is hot and weekdays are lighter than weekends. Still, The Venetian is offering a promo with rooms starting at $99 and that’s the lowest I’ve seen them advertise in a long, long while.
The Decline of First Class? Hardly.
Tony France, guest-blogging for Cranky Flier, laments the decline of first class. He says it used to be about the service and the experience, the little touches, and now it’s just about the seats. As for the food: The caviar went first, a victim of conservationist activities as well as the most obvious “waste” on board the plane. One by one, everything almost down to the steak itself was removed and cost cut. Fresh eggs died an omelette with red sauce death long ago. Today’s premium passengers are essentially left to feel lucky they receive a meal at all. The entrees have become “lighter, healthier” and cheaper. The carved roasts and Maine lobsters are all in your dreams if you’re old enough to remember them at all. This seems about right for first class on…
Free United Premier Executive Status Just for Registering?
This probably won’t work for most members. But it might, and it’ll be about two weeks before we know whether it work. And the offer expires June 30th, so you need to register now, it takes just a second, so why not try? The MileMaven blog points to a United Mileage Plus offer for free 90 days of Premier Executive Status. I’m guessing it’s targeted, but we’ll see. No status matching where you have to show your elite level and activity with another carrier. Just free. If this works, the status should be reflected on your account within two weeks. (Hat tip to Upgrade: Travel Better.)
$35 off One-Day Rentals and 1700 bmi points
The British Midland $35 off weekend coupon code for Hertz is apparently working when renting for just a single weekend day, picking up your one day rental on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The Hertz rental also awards 1700 points in bmi’s program, which stretches miles further than pretty much any other with their cash and points award chart. This deal could be the first time where I’ve really thought that renting cars just for the miles could make sense, if you find a reasonably priced one weekend day rental the car should be nearly free. Of course this deal won’t last long, that’s for sure! The discount code you’ll need for the Hertz site is 121365. And if you aren’t already a bmi member, 1700 miles on a one day rental is certainly the best…
US Airways Taketh Away, Taketh Away, Giveth, and Taketh Away?
On the one hand, US Airways has been busy gutting their frequent flyer program, emphasizing the need to take away mileage earning opportunities given the current economic environment. (They taketh away other things too.) Then on the other hand, they rolled out an announcement of a generous bonus miles earning promotion for partner activity… a “Grand Slam” promo for up to 40,000 Dividend Miles and the ability to earn gold elite status for yourself and a friend. It appeared on WebFlyer’s NotiFlyer on June 9, but then was pulled. FrugalTravelGuy reproduces the details of what the promotion may entail if it actually gets released. Here’s your chance to pad your Dividend Miles account. From July 1 through Sept. 30, 2008, Dividend Miles members can earn up to 40,000 bonus miles with the Grand Slam promotion.The…
Book Those Premium Class Awards to Australia Now
One Mile at a Time notes that first class awards to Australia on United appear wide open come April and May, 2009. I noticed this over the weekend and apologize for not bringing this forward earlier. Australia can be one of the toughest redemption markets, and in a premium cabin no less. OMAT points out some flights showing 9 first class seats available as awards, which is clearly not United’s intention…. Book those Australia awards now, and you can always change the dates or redeposit the miles even for a $150 fee (or free if you’re a 100,000 mile flyer).
