This post contains a bit of background to the trip report that I’m working on, sitting here in the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. It contains 4 long-haul Lufthansa First Class segments, a Singapore business class short-haul segment, Thai Airways in business and First Class, a lovely suite at the Intercontinental Bali Resort, the Westin Beijing, and much, much more.. plus lots of photos of lounges, food, and activities along the way and a bit about award booking techniques. When thinking about whether this was worth a trip report, it first struck me “I’m not flying Singapore Airlines first class, there’s no Airbus A380 involved, what could be more pedestrian than what I’m about to write up?” But I also thought, perhaps I can offer some specific suggestions of the hows and whys I chose to do certain…
About Gary Leff
Improved Online Tracking of Priority Club Bonuses
Priority Club added a feature to their website (you’ll have to log into your account) that lets you see what promotions you are signed up for and track your progress towards earning the relevant bonuses.
2008 “Travvie” Awards
In a shameless search for links from other blogs :), Upgrade: Travel Better is again running a contest for best travel blogs in a variety of categories. So here is my blog obligatory link… Go nominate your favorite travel blogs!
Continental Mastercard Offer – “Up to 30,000 Bonus Miles”
Continental and Chase are offering 20,000 miles with first purchase and an additional 10,000 miles after $10,000 in spending on the card. It comes with an $85 annual fee.
United Credit Card Steak Offer
The following United Visa offer was just shared with me. The $60 annual fee isn’t waived, it’s 21,000 bonus miles instead of 25,000, but the Morton’s Steak House $200 Gift Card is new. On net, then, 4k United miles and $60 buys $200 to be used at Morton’s. A Morton’s gift certificate with a side order of 21,000 miles As a valued Mileage Plus® member, you are invited to apply for a Mileage Plus Visa ®1 and soon see your mileage balance grow.As a new cardmember, after you spend $250, you’ll earn 21,000 bonus miles2 and a $200 gift card to use at any of the 78 worldwide locations of Morton’s The Steakhouse3. Enjoy a spectacular dining experience with exceptional hospitality and service.You will also enjoy these Mileage Plus Visa benefits: Earn one…
W Hotel Store 40% Off Beds and Bedding is Back (Again)!
A deal I’ve posted about several times in the past is back — 40% off beds and bedding at the W Hotel Store using discount code 39Y9G. Thanks to Craig for the heads up. Update: I believe this code is valid through April 30.
A few more days without regular posting, but hopefully worth the wait
I hope to have a pretty nice and useful trip report coming, with insights into award redemption strategies to boot. But before I get there, though, I’m enjoying my trip. Some folks will have a pretty good idea where I’ve been so far.
Expedia $50/night Off Hotels
According to this Flyertalk thread, Expedia coupon code ELITEPLUS50 takes $50 off of Expedia Special Rate hotel stays per night. Book by March 31 for travel through April 30. The coupon is for “Expedia.com Elite Plus members only” but appears to be working for anyone. Coupon terms and conditions are here.
Delta Will No Longer Hold Awards On Telephone Bookings
Mar
19
2008
Delta will no longer allow Skymiles members (at least those members in the U.S.) to hold awards over the phone. If you book by phone, you have to ticket immediately. And booking over the phone just became more limited, as non-elites can only make telephone award reservations between 8am and 10pm Eastern. Holding awards for 48 hours is still possible online. Awards on Delta as well as parter airlines Hawaiian, Alaska, Continental, and Northwest are bookable online.. sort of, sometimes, when the website works and prices out awards correctly. Of course, that means that awards on other partners like Air France, Aeroflot, and Korean cannot be held at all. This is a really annoying change. Finding awards can be challenging at times. Sometimes it takes humans because the online technology is lacking. You find flights…
A Status Match for Those of You Flying to Kazakhstan
Air Astana, the Kazakhstan airline, has published an offer to match existing British Midland Diamond Club status with elite status in their Nomad Club program. A large number of airlines offer status match programs, but they rarely publish them. They exist as unpublished procedures for how to respond when an elite (and presumably lucrative) customer of another airline offers to switch to a new carrier… but doesn’t want to lose their perks as a result of the switch. Status matches are very rare outside of the United States. The only program that’s part of a major alliance with a regular match program that I can think of is British Midland (and it’s a great little program, especially for premium class customers who earn boatloads of miles and then can redeem them with a generous cash…
