Goldpointsplus is offering double points starting with your second stay through August 31. Amazingly, no registration is required. Summer is often a big time for hotel promos, which business travel and occupancy rates down. Nice to see a promo from Goldpoints, so if your stays take you to participating properties (mine usually don’t, actually) this will be a nice bonus. Stay at participating Radisson Hotels & Resorts®, Park Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM, or Park Inn® locations in North, Central and South America between June 15 and August 31. If you’re a goldpoints plusSM member, you don’t even have to register; just make your reservations and your Gold Points will double automatically, starting with your second stay.
About Gary Leff
Tumi Summer Sale
Tumi’s summer sale is back — up to 40% off on discontinued items and colors. Tumi is great luggage, highly recommended, but bear in mind that even on sale it isn’t cheap. And don’t forget that Tumi is in the AAdvantage Mall…
$96 + tax, surcharges: DC, Chicago, or Miami to Guatemala City
It’s on American Airlines. Bummer that there’s $130 in fuel charges and another $60 in US and Guatemala departure/arrival taxes. Brings the total price to around $330. Fare basis is QEA14L5K. 14 day advance purchase required. Valid for travel on or after June 19, completed by November 15. Must purchase by June 20 (unless it’s pulled first.).
An End to One of the Great Award Values
For years I’ve been a huge fan of Cathay Pacific’s AsiaMiles program. AsiaMiles could be used to upgrade flights on their partners, including American and some great upgrade options with British Airways. And there have been some real gems in the award chart, such as just 60,000 miles for a business class award under 5000 miles each way. So a British Airways award from the US East Coast to most of Europe was just 60,000 miles in business, compared to 100,000 miles in BA’s own program. Last year a colleague came to me, about to redeem 100,000 Delta miles for a ‘SkyChoice’ (no capacity control) award to Europe in coach. Instead I suggested he transfer 50,000 Starwood points to 60,000 AsiaMiles and redeem for the same award on British Airways in Business (where availability was…
Frontier Gets Less Friendly
Frontier is adding seats to their planes and reducing legroom (admittedly from a relatively generous 33 inch pitch to a more standard 31 to 32 inches) and adding blackout dates for frequent flyer redemption as well as getting more sophisticated with its capacity controls — they used to offer a fixed number of redemption seats but will now vary those seats, limiting them on popular routes, dates, and times and making them more available when they expect those seats to go unsold. (Their spin is this will increase seats. Whatever. This is not good for customers, at all.)
Southwest Changes their Ability to Change…
Southwest used to recognize that people earn credits in their frequent flyer program based on an understanding of what the program offers, and changes with little notice in effect as dishonest — an implicit promise broken. So their Rapid Rewards program rules said that any change to the program required 6 months’ notice. Still short for my tastes, but superior to their competitors who didn’t require any notice of themselves… Now they’ve announced a change (with six months’ notice…) that in the future changes will only require 30 days’ notice. Shame, shame.
Defending the Indefensible
A defense of the guy who flew back to the US with ultra-drug resistant TB. (Via Marginal Revolution.) Indeed, I’m not sure what I’d have done in his shoes, either.
Thai Airways Mileage Devaluation
Effective October 1, 2007 a new Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus award chart will be in place. North American awards, for instance, increase by 5,000 in coach and premium economy.. and 15,000 and 20,000 in business and first class, respectively. In general the higher pricing applies mostly to premium class awards, and is explained as being driven by Thai Airways’ improved services (though the increases apply on other carriers as well, aren’t reduced as United cuts its service, and mileage cost ought to track with price rather than service in any case since the mileage program is buying the seats from the transporting airline…).
Diners Club Transfer Bonus to American
Jun
04
2007
Transfers of 50,000 Diners Club points to American Airlines by August 31, 2007 earn a 5000 mile bonus.
Amex Centurion Card Now Gets USAirways Platinum Status
The American Express Centurion card isn’t completely moribund. While they’ve consistently increased costs (recently adding a $5000 initiation fee on top of the $2500 annual fee), they’ve also been letting benefits lapse — no more Starwood Platinum status, no more Hyatt Diamond (replacing it with almost useless Priority Club Platinum), all the while the Membership Rewards program has been letting its best partners depart. Finally a bit of good news. Plenty of Black Card holders report that they’ve been upgraded to Platinum status with USAirways (the previous benefit was Gold). Prior to the America West merger, Centurion members had status one level beneath the highest – Gold. After the merger the Dividend Miles program introduced four levels, and Gold was second from bottom. So they’ve finally fixed matters, Platinum being once again second from top.
