Via Frugal Travel Guy, the British Airways 100,000 mile credit card signup offer is back. They don’t seem to be promoting this as hard as back in November, but Rick reports this link came up on an online boarding pass that one of his readers printed. To remind, it’s 50,000 miles with first purchase and 50,000 more miles after $2000 in spend within 3 months. Spend $30,000 in a calendar year and earn a free companion award ticket. British Airways offers family accounts, so two people linking their accounts and getting this card can combine their miles — put $2000 on one card, $30,000 on the other, and you have 240,000 miles to use plus a free companion. In other words, $32,000 in spend nets 480,000 miles worth of travel. Of course, the British Airways…
About Gary Leff
Security for Flying Internationally to the United States: Little More Than Wasted Time
Went through security today, handed in my printed online boarding passes which read “API OK” (Advance Passenger Information). I was told that wasn’t acceptable, I had to go to the ticket counter to get a “real” boarding pass. So I went to the next line over where they happily took my “homemade” one. There was nothing extra at security or passport control. I was flying through an airport that pre-clears US immigration. The airline called for boarding a bit earlier than usual, and everyone had to go through an additional screening before reaching the aircraft. Men and women were separated into lines staffed by same sex officers. I got a pat down, but it wasn’t at all invasive. They certainly wouldn’t have found anything hidden in my more private regions. They asked me to empty…
Help Me Decide on a New Laptop Bag
I’ve had the perfect one for my needs for years. It’s a cheap American Tourister that I was issued by my IT shop once upon a time. Unfortunately after years of faithful service the canvas is beginning to tear. I’d hate for it to completely open up in the middle of a two week trip. I carry a Lenovo Thinkpad X200s with the extra light casing, it’s a small machine but works for me as my main machine and for travel. So I like a laptop bag that itself is rather light. The biggest non-negotiatiable is that it has to have the pouch that’s open on top and bottom for easily slipping onto the handles of a carryon. My current bag has a front pouch with netted/zippered pouch inside of it, I’ll throw my keys…
US Airways Big Bonus: Some Partners Post With the Same Name, But They’ll Still Count
Folks who participated in the US Airways holiday shopping bonus ot earn 250% bonus miles on all purchases for making qualifying transactions with five unique merchants have had a little bit of heartburn seeing that some merchants (like Sears and Omaha Steaks) have been posting to member accounts generically with the description “Dividend Miles Shopping Mall” rather than with their own names. The concern has been that US Airways would treat such transactions as being from the same merchant rather than from unique merchants, causing members with insufficient other transactions to have perhaps four or fewer merchants counting towards the bonus, and ultimately receiving perhaps a 200% bonus rather than the full 250%. US Airways assures me this concern is unfounded. Ultimately we’ll see what happens when bonuses post come March 1, but I’m reassured…
5 Frequent Flyer Wishes for the New Year
The opening editorial column in January’s Inside Flyer is ungated. Normally Randy Petersen uses the column to express his thoughts on the state of the loyalty industry, or to highlight some specific changes or opportunities for frequent flyers. This month he graciously offers up the space to my New Years wishes for frequent flyer programs. I’m truly humbled, as in the 8 or 9 years that I’ve been reading Inside Flyer I don’t recall him every doing something like this. In the column I try to avoid magical thinking, the kinds of proposals that could always be made even better simply by adding to it, “and everyone gets a pony, too!” Instead, I try to offer some of the small changes that would make a big difference to members. And with the ‘insider’ audience that…
Last Day to Transfer American Express Points to Southwest Rapid Rewards Will Be June 30
I read the news in this Flyertalk thread Amex is losing a transfer partner. But plenty of notice, so I can’t level tons of criticism here. And they’ve just added British Airways, so for my own uses I view cardmembers as net ahead here.
Hilton First Quarter Promo: A Free Night for Every Four Stays or 10 Nights
Loyalty Traveler lays out the Hilton first quarter promo. The registration link will be http://hiltonhhonors.com/anightonus but it’s not yet active. The offer is a free night for every four stays or 10 nights at a Hilton brand property beginning with check-ins on Thursday, January 7 and ending with check-outs through March 31. It’s no Hyatt Faster Free Nights, the gold standard in hotel promos at a free night ever two stays. But it’s impressive coming from Hilton (if somewhat derivative). I’m likely to earn a single free night under the promo, and the high qualification threshold makes it difficult to make mattress runs using cheap paid stays to redeem for expensive free nights. Plus, we don’t yet know all the details (such as whether there are any restrictions on the properties where the free nights…
Opt into E-Statements for 250 Priority Club Points
Here’s the offer, they say they’re doing it for the environment, yadda yadda. We all know it’s for the savings on printing and postage, but that’s fine, I don’t really look at paper statements much these days anyway. I just wish they wouldn’t cloak it in green rhetoric, like please don’t wash my towels or bedsheets because we care about the enviornment. That may well be true but it’s not the motivation behind expending energy producing those little cards to put on the bed, it’s about the bottom-line and I don’t like being lied to. But I do like points.
Satire That Doesn’t Even ‘Get’ The World We Live In
Can you spot what’s wrong in the lead paragraph from “Paris Hilton screws Senator Al Franken” The Paris Hilton admitted today that it had screwed Senator Al Fraken out of double-dipper frequent flyer miles by neglecting to properly process the bonus points to the Senator’s credit card.
30% off and Free Shipping from W Hotels Store
Promo code D6T8V is good for 30% off and free shipping through January 10 at the W Hotel Store. For beds and bedding I’d wait until the 40% off and free shipping specific to those items comes around, it seems to several times a year. (Though if you were considering getting a W Hotel bed, and didn’t want to wait, this is still a reasonable offer.) But for non-bed items, like stocking up on Bliss products, this is the best deal going most of the time. I admit, ever since I started staying at W properties I’ve used Bliss soaps and shampoos at home, and I refill my own supply when 30% off and free shipping comes around.
