TripAdvisor is giving away free Freedom Baggies. Since it asks for your Tripadvisor username and password, presumably one per person (or at least per member).
About Gary Leff
Zambian Airways Pulls Out of Harare: the Least of Zimbabwe’s Problems
Via Online Travel Review, Zambian Airways will stop flying to Zimbabwe effective November 30. Among the causes cited is Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation.British Airways, Swiss Air, Lufthansa, KLM, and Air France have also pulled out of Zimbabwe. I wouldn’t go as far as Jared Blank in saying that the country is “nearly cut off from the outside world.” I’m no expert on intra-African travel, but a quick check of Amadeus (and many smaller African discount carriers may well not list their schedules in the GDSs) shows Air Botswana, Air Zimbabwe, South African, Comair, Normandie Aviation, Kenya Airways, and LAM still flying to Harare. Air Zimbabwe even still flies twice a week to London-Gatwick despite previously having to cut its only profitable route out of fear that its Boeing 767-200 operating the route would be repossessed for nonpayment.…
Assorted Links
Megan McArdle on the causes of poor performing high speed trains in America. (Hat tip Marginal Revolution.) Robert Stack on the true meaning of Thanksgiving (getting bumped) (Hat tip Cranky Flier.) A Slate photo essay on the architectural history of U.S. hotels. (Hat tip Claire.)
Westin Kierland – Excellent Platinum Recognition
Earlier in the month I had my first-ever visit to the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. Originally I had planned to stay at the Phoenician, but my wife sought to make spa appointments in advance and when she finally managed to have someone call her back they weren’t helpful or willing to describe their offerings. An unhelpful spa attendant before arriving even (when you’re looking to spend real money on additional premium services) didn’t bode well for the property. And since reports of upgrades there are mixed at best except during their lowest of low seasons in the dead of summer, we decided to bag the property and switch to the Kierland. Certainly the Westin isn’t as luxe as the Phoenician. Just looking at photos on the various trip review sites will attest to that.…
Two Thumbs Down for Little Skywest Annoyances over Thanksgiving
Skywest out of LAX was delayed for me on Wednesday evening last week. That’s a standard risk taking scheduled flights late in the evening, of course, as delays rack up through the day. And of course a brief delay on my final connection was the worst thing that happened to me on my way out for the Thanksgiving holiday, even though I flew out of Dulles around 5pm on Wednesday evening (and I know better!). Surprised when the announcement came on that a scheduled one hour-plus flight wasn’t going to have any beverage service “due to the short duration.” This wasn’t Los Angeles – Orange County (going away early in the New Year) or even LA – Oxnard. And it wasn’t on a turboprop, either. Certainly an hour-long flight on a CRJ can offer limited…
25% Off Virgin America
Virgin America if offering 25% off purchases through December 7 for travel through March 19 using promo code ELEVATE25. There are some blackout dates and details that vary by route, such as a 21-day advance purchase requirement for Washington Dulles – San Diego. Details here.
Better Marriott Visa Bonuses
Nov
21
2007
Again via Free Frequent Flyer Miles, Chase now has its offer of 20,000 points for signing up for a Marriott Visa (a href=”http://www.firstusa.com/cgi-bin/webcgi/webserve.cgi?pdn=marriott_s20k&page=cont&mkid=65DF” target=_blank>personal and/or small business cards).Free the first year, the personal card comes with Marriott Silver status, and yes you can obtain both cards and even churn them.
American Airlines VISA
Via Free Frequent Flyer Miles, American now offers a co-branded Visa with 20,000 points as a signup bonus (after $250 in spend) and no annual fee the first year. It’s another card you can pile on top of the personal and business Mastercards for a signup bonus, and since it’s a Citibank card odds-on it’s churnable though I haven’t tested this myself.
Radio Miles
Sirius Satellite Radio offers 2500 American miles for signup. XM just dropped the station I listen to most while driving, when it comes time to trade in my car next year I might have to consider this.
Free Avis Presidents Club Status
In my last post, I mentioned a premium Continental credit card from Chase that includes Avis Presidents Club as a benefit. It turns out that there’s a website for this offer, and anyone can use it to sign up for an Avis account that will be given the status. And for those that already have Preferred memberships, I’ve heard success just calling per the instructions on the website and having the existing account status upgraded. (Some folks have just opened new accounts for simplicity, as well.) Avis offers (4) levels of status: Preferred (anyone signs up for this, it expedites your rental) AvisFirst (one category upgrade, earn free weekend rentals – formerly called ‘Preferred Select’) Presidents Club (two category upgrade, guaranteed availability, better service) Chairmans Club (airport meet and greet, best available car, etc) A…
