This afternoon I received my renewal email for Expedia’s Elite Plus program. I’m not sure plus what, exactly. They offer a dedicated phone line where you don’t have to wait on hold for interminable amounts of time, and they waive their own imposed change fees (that you wouldn’t have had to pay if you’d book your travel through the airline or hotel directly anyway). At least this fee waiver used to be part of the program, I can’t seem to find it on the website any longer. And I haven’t found their ‘elite’ customer service to be better, just faster to pick up the phone. Beyond that they give you “early access to sales” and “exclusive offers.” I think I’ve been in this program as long as it’s existed, and had some sort of VIP…
About Gary Leff
Conrad Miami One-Bedroom Bay View Residence
Last weekend I stayed at the Conrad Miami. Hilton isn’t especially known for their Diamond treatment. Diamonds get full breakfast, access to a lounge when not on the executive floor, and promised upgrades aren’t meaningful (i.e. they don’t offer suite upgrades as part of the rules of the program). Then again, do I really count as a real Diamond? I made my status with a quick $40,000 churned through a Hilton Surpass American Express. In other words, it was earned quickly with a bit of credit card spend, not through loyalty to the chain. So I’ll take what I can get! And at the Conrad, I got more than I was paying for (a $220 rate, I believe): a one-bedroom bay view residence. Valet parking on arrival was excellent, a staff member read my luggage…
I’m Giving Away a Free Hilton Hotel Night
I’ll be back with y’all shortly with details. But… I’ve given Hilton quite a hard time lately, from their points devaluation to my contention that they were being insufficiently generous with program member donations to Haitian relief. But now I have something positive. A Hilton Hotel Be My Guest Certificate valid through June 30 “for “one complimentary lodging (room and tax only) at any participating Hilton Hotel in the United States.” Many thanks to the folks at BoardingArea for making this possible, as well. I’ll shortly announce rules (there really aren’t any, just instructions on how to enter and by when) for the giveaway and we’ll give this ago. There was great interest last time I did a giveaway, and that was just for a power strip. I figure a hotel night ought to be…
1000 Miles for New US Airways Dividend Miles Accounts
US Airways is offering an account signup bonus. Enter promo code E110 in the promo code box on the signup page to earn 1,000 bonus miles, which should post to your account within four weeks. Offer is valid through April 18. (HT: Frugal Travel Guy.)
Gogo Inflight Internet Discounts
GoGo Inflight Internet has a game on their website, it’s not really much of a game and not a whole lot of interactivity, but it’s quick and “everyone wins” — a code for either a free onboard internet session or an internet discount.
Frequent Flyer Programs MAKE MONEY
In the continuing saga where I make my point about how profitable airline loyalty programs are — how they aren’t cost sink-holes, how selling miles makes them money, how the ‘problem’ isn’t that they’re ‘too generous’ printing miles and should only focus on rewarding ticket revenue — comes the news that Qantas’ frequent flyer program experiences a year of record profitability in 2009. In fact, the title of the aritcle is: Loyalty program to keep Qantas in black That is all.
Intercontinental Free Weekend Nights Becoming More Restrictive
Lucky reports that Intercontinental “BOGO” (a.k.a. free weekend night valid with a paid weekend night) certificates may be losing some value. These certificates come in the welcome kit for Intercontinental Ambassador membership ($150 per year, complimentary for downgraded Royal Ambassadors, and there are sometimes promos to earn this status through stays and there are also reportsof successfully redeeming Priority Club points for it). Details on the free weekend night certificates are here. A year ago, these certificates were restricted so that you couldn’t book a suite and receive a free night in a suite. Previously, you could book any room you wished — even a Presidential suite — for a paid Friday or Saturday night, and get the next night free. (Weekend definition varies somewhat in the Middle East.) With the new restriction you could…
Props to Qantas for Domestic Wine Selection!
Recently I’ve seen frequent Qantas ads at the top of my blog. I haven’t flown Qantas doemstic in awhile, but this Flyertalk thread makes me really want to. While some Flyertalkers poo poo the selection (I think they’re 100% wrong), real kudos to Qantas for serving Penfolds St. Henri in domestic business class. My only skepticism is that unless it’s been laid down for many years, St. Henri takes several hours decanting to really open up. But it’s an incredibly complex, interesting, flavorful Shiraz. Regardless, much nicer wine than is ever offered in domestic first class in North America.
100 Free Amtrak Guest Rewards Points
Just register here, you’ll need to provide your account number and password. The offer was promoted to their Facebook fans. I didn’t even realize they had a Facebook account. Though I haven’t friended them, I appreciate the points.
Priority Club Throwdown, At Least 1000 Free Priority Club Points
I really love this. Priority Cluib throws down the gauntlet on the Hilton HHonors devaluation (see also here). Priority Club is running the Luckiest Loser competition. Sign up and you’ll automatically receive 1000 points. If you’re one of the top 20,000 Hilton HHonors losers (you had one of the 20,000 highest Hilton HHonors points balances) you’ll receive 20% of your Hilton balance in Priority Club points, up to 20,000 Priority Club points. And the person who registers with the highest Hilton balance will receive 2 million Priority Club points and be dubbed “the Luckiest Loser.” Of course, I burned most of the Hilton points because of the devaluation. So my balance is pretty paltry, I won’t be in the top 20,000. They want current HHonors balance, not balance prior to the devaluation. They say that…
