Air Canada may be on the verge of spinning off its Aeroplan frequent flyer program with details being finalized as soon as the end of this week. They tried this a couple years ago, but details of their bankruptcy and reorganization financing stood in the way. Word is the program is being valued at about US$1.18 billion, down slightly from earlier estimates.
Northwest’s annual Fly Free Faster promotion is back. You can register now. Fly Free Faster 5 offers 10,000 bonus miles for completing a qualifying activity and earning five partner credits between June 1 and September 30 (so hold your guns and don’t go flying Northwest yet!). Qualifying activities include: taking two domestic roundtrips or one international roundtrip (or four or two one-ways, respectively) on Northwest or KLM signing up and paying the fee for a Northwest Visa purchasing a WorldClub membership I’ve had the Northwest Visa and Northwest Business Visa in the past. I’m going to sign up for the Northwest Signature Visa, a new product, and earn the 15,000 bonus miles for the $90 annual fee. You can earn two partner credits for each of: new service with MCI, EarthLink, Nextel, or T-Mobile real…
Christopher Elliott writes in the New York Times about rental car companies claiming to be out of the class of car a customer reserves and attempting to charge an upgrade fee for the next level vehicle. This has never happened to me, and it shouldn’t happen to anyone. After all, that’s the very idea of a reservation, a point hammered home in an episode of Seinfeld Agent: I’m sorry, we have no mid-size available at the moment. Jerry: I don’t understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation? Agent: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars. Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here. That’s why you have the reservation. Agent: I know why we have reservations. Jerry: I don’t think you do. If you did, I’d have a car. See,…
Yesterday someone came to this website while searching for Singapore girls peeing. Today someone found me looking for united airlines Stewardess strippers calendar. At least in the latter case I help out. The website is down but here’s the Google cache. Here’s the news story: [F]ive women, ranging in age from 55 to 64, posed for a 2006 calendar that depicts them in various states of undress in front of a vintage plane, on a park bench and on a plane’s wing, among other locations. Reflecting a mix of humor and anger, it was released to coincide with a bankruptcy court’s approval this week of United’s plan to terminate $9.8 billion in employee pension obligations. While United is never named nor its airplanes shown, every photograph in “Stewardesses Stripped (Of Their Pension?)” is accompanied by…
Platinum members of Starwood Preferred Guest can redeem award nights for stays through August 31, 2005 for 25% off the usual points — but the offer is valid for bookings made this week only. Since these reservations are fully changeable/cancellable you’d be advised to make bookings you think you might need now. Note that if you have to change the reservation later, you’re likely to have to redeposit the award and book a new one at the usual point level.
It’s terribly ironic that the federal government’s (IMHO, correct) decision to deny United taxypayer backing for billion-dollar loan may have lead to the situation where the federal government is taking on an even larger liability for the airline’s pensions. Of course it’s possible that providing the loan would still leave the government in the position of picking up the pensions also. But United provides an interesting illustration of failed U.S. industrial policy. The airline has been operating under bankruptcy protection for two and a half years and continues to lose nine-figure sums each month. Despite cost-cutting and layoffs the airline has no path towards profitability, and labor relations are at a low point. The airline has been kept afloat by the government, by the courts which have kept aircraft lessors at bay (though a recent…
Ameniti, United’s “Luxury Travel Club” (which is useless in almost every regard) is offering a 3-month trial membership for $10. It comes with 2 United Red Carpet Club passes and Starwood Gold status, my best guess being through February 2007. If you allow your membership to renew after 3 months for a $295 annual fee you’ll receive 25,000 United miles. Otherwise, just cancel before 3 months are up.
Here’s a story about a husband and wife who took a month for their honeymoon and traveled around the world in business class — all on frequent flyer miles, with most of the hotel nights paid for in Hilton HHonors points. We saw the famed sunset in Key West, sandy black shores around Tahiti, the Opera House and governor’s mansion in Sydney, Bangkok’s ornate Grand Palace, the Ancient Agora in Athens and Sorrento’s Mediterranean Cliffs. We even got a personal marriage blessing from Pope John Paul II at the Vatican five months before he died I’m not making as many stops on my own upcoming honeymoon, but will travel to more than one part of the world over three weeks – in first class, not business, and also all on points.
Chris Elliott’s latest column, published in today’s New York Times is on airline status beyond the published benefits of elite frequent flyer programs. The gist is that high spenders receive rewards greater than those provided to an airline’s 100,000 mile flyers. On United and on other airlines, members of the secretive, invitation-only clubs are met at the airport by employees and whisked past the check-in line. They wait for their flights in unmarked V.I.P. lounges and are offered liberal upgrades and personalized attention by airline employees. And at a time when airlines are obsessed with improving their on-time records, it is not uncommon for a plane to be held for a super-elite member who is stuck in traffic. Chris gets some of the details wrong. He says that the Global Services designation requires only $20,000…
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 »
