While my favorite miles-for-flowers offer is FTD’s ongoing 30 United miles per dollar spent, it’s worth noting that FTD is also offering 25 Delta miles per dollar spent. The Delta offer is a Mother’s Day promotion. The e-mail from Delta announcing the offer says it will expire May 15, but the webpage itself doesn’t seem to mention a deadline — and if experience is any guide, the offer may still work past the stated deadline.
Delta is offering Silver status for a single paid flight from any one of 14 cities: Binghamton, NY, Burlington, VT, Buffalo, NY, Charlotte, NC, Erie, PA, Wilmington, NC, Harrisburg/Middleton, PA, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Providence, RI, Richmond, VA, Rochester, NY, State College, PA, Syracuse, NY Register and fly by July 15.
I don’t usually fly American. With the exception of an American Eagle flight booked as a Northwest codeshare in late 2004, I haven’t been on American metal in nearly two and a half years. And my review is this — American Airlines’ domestic first class can be summed up with a your choice of two words: either “ghetto” or simply “coach.” One three of four flight segments, no pre-departure beverages were served. No coats were taken. The MD80 seats are incredibly worn and dirty. Pen markings are on display everywhere, and on one flight duct tape was holding the meal tray cover onto my seat. The ‘meals’ they’re serving look like the food that used to be offered in coach. And by used to I’m not harkening back to the long-gone days at the beginning…
I’m unsure how reliable my internet access will be over the next few days, so there may be little if anything new on this site until Monday.
Register and then buy or lease a 2005 Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep by August 1 (offer not valid on SRT models, Viper, Sprinter, 300 models, Magnum RT or 2006 Charger). Then go to United.com/chryslermiles and submit the car’s VIN number and date of purchase by August 31, 2005. Update: Offer appears to be targeted, if you didn’t receive an email from United about it you may not be eligible.
Matt Lauer did a piece on the Today Show this morning (video clip) on the recent spate of travel pricing errors. He mentions the USAirways $1.98 fare, the $55 Fiji trip, and the Lanesborough Hotel pricing error. He manages to hit key questions like whether airlines and hotels have to honor pricing, what role the internet plays in disseminating mistakes, and whether lists and websites promoting the errors are monitored by travel companies in order to correct errors more quickly.The piece actually seems to be driving a bit of traffic to this website today. Mentioned in the interview are Flyertalk, FareAlert, and the New York Airfare Blog. Lots of people looking for similar sites are happening onto this one.
Tyler Cowen doesn’t want to see cell phone use on planes. He has a strong opinion and is looking for academic arguments to support it: Can I claim that cell phone calls are a socially wasteful means of signaling to your spouse that you care? Can I claim that commercial airplanes are modern (short-term) monasteries, and that markets undersupply such temples of silence? Phone use is actually allowed onboard planes now — the phone is in the seatback and the cost is several dollars per minute. The change is making low cost calls available via personal cell phones. Tyler would presumably tax that useage substantially in order to maintain existing cost levels which prevent would-be phone users from invading his silence. I think Tyler is incorrect if he’s imagining people on cell phones yammering on…
I just completed my marketing offer for the free digital camera. It was the easiest offer from Gratis Networks yet — Napster. You sign up for a 14-day free trial. You do have to download their software (and when you’re asked whether you want to restart your computer, it’s important to say NO or else you may not get credit). Then a couple days later credit for the offer shows up on the free electronics offer website. The best part is that you can cancel online — you don’t even have to speak to a live person. I printed out the page saying I had cancelled, but I also got an email from them anyway. Then I uninstalled the software. Easy, free, a great way to complete a requirement. The other easy one that I…
Keith Alexander speculates on what would happen to frequent flyers in an America West-USAirways tie-up. He quotes Randy Petersen saying that USAirways members could finally relax about the future and stability of their miles. Separately, if the combined corporate entity remains as USAirways, and its existing partnerships continue, then America West flyers will gain access to international awards like they’ve never known before through USAirways’ membership in the Star Alliance. Currently, America West’s premium international redemption options are hugely limited. Of course, this is all speculation. If a merger were to go through, and if it were to cause the combined entity to exit the Star Alliance (after all, America West is a significant competitor to United on the West Coast of the U.S. and to the best of my knowledge America West management hasn’t…
The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) carries a piece this morning offering a recent history of pricing errors, “Consumers Race to Cash In On Flurry of Pricing Errors That Some Are Honoring” In recent weeks, sharp-eyed consumers have spotted a number of travel pricing mistakes — including several $1.86 US Airways flights, and a $51 flight to Fiji on Travelocity — and have raced to cash in. Pricing mistakes are a growing headache for travel companies since consumers are increasingly able and willing use the Internet to quickly spot and snap up low prices. As a result, it is getting easier for them to take advantage of pricing slip-ups that happen often when prices are updated in real time before the company can correct the mistake. For instance, in less than a half-day, about 1,000…
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
