Via Free Frequent Flyer Miles, Radisson is offering 2,000 bonus Goldpoints for first-time use of their new online checkin feature at Radisson.com through June 30, 2005. Gary Steiger also reminds his readers something that I post every three months at Flyertalk.com — that you get 500 Goldpoints for updating your email address every 90 days. I set a reminder in my Outlook and every 90 days switch between my primary email address and my Yahoo account.
Points.com is offering double miles for any points exchange into Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan through March 31. Incidentally, the rumor is that Alaska will be introducing a new top tier to its elite level program. Details on Platinum status are sketchy at this point.
When I read the headline in the Phoenix Business Journal, “America West adds Australia to frequent flyer program,” I assumed that America West must have inked a deal with Qantas. Nope. They’ve expanded their partnership with Hawaiian Airlines to include Hawaiian’s service to Sydney via Honolulu. Oh well, any new award redemption option is a good thing.
Site59, the provider of last-minute discount travel packages, is offering $59 off packages of $300 or more with promo code JETSET59 (valid through March 15).
I’ve been brushing my teeth with Colgate Total ever since it won Slate‘s Paste Test. So this trivial rebate worth $2.99 was interesting to me, since it was for a free tube of the stuff.
A bit of a limited audience for this one, but still quite generous: Register to earn quadruple miles for your spending with USAirways (e.g. tickets, club memberships) when paying with the USAirways Visa between March 1 and March 15.
Register to earn double miles on all purchases with the Delta American Express from March 15 to April 15 (up to 10,000 bonus miles).
Quick quiz: What does TSA stand for? (T)aking (S)cissors (A)way (T)housands (S)tanding (A)round (T)ourism (S)uppression (A)gency Before deciding, please consider that The Department of Homeland Security is drafting a rule that will require airlines to pass on passenger manifest information as much as an hour before the departure of international flights bound for the United States Requiring information to be submitted an hour before flight takeoff involves a full 75 minutes greater notice than currently provided. This will mean passengers turning up at the airport at least an additional hour in advance of flight time. Multiplied across all the passengers each day, that’s millions of lost productivity hours each year. The problem compounds itself for connecting flights. It’s as yet unclear whether a passenger will have to have arrived at a connecting airport before the…
Just last week Independence Air said that its fourth quarter results would be ‘slightly better’ than the $82.7 million that it lost in the fourth quarter. I was skeptical, pointing out that the emphasis would no doubt be placed on ‘slightly’. Turns out that the results were worse: a fourth quarter loss of $86 million — and they’re still figuring out the accounting, so this may change. Meanwhile, United lost $326 million in January. After two years of bankruptcy protection they still haven’t figured out a viable business model. It seems the only ones making money on the airline are the consultants UAL’s professional payments alone totaled more than $13 million in January, including $1.4 million to consulting firm KPMG LLP; $2.4 million to Kirkland & Ellis LLP, the law firm that serves as United’s…
I have long recommended the Diners Club credit card because, despite limited acceptance and a hefty annual fee, the benefits were really unparalleled: an outstanding rewards program, two full billing cycles to pay, free iDine Prime membership, concierge services, and primary rental car insurance. Needless to say, the anticipated linkup between Diners Club and Mastercard had me very excited. If my Diners Club card would get accepted everywhere that takes Mastercard, it would rise to a spot as my #2 credit card (behind the Starwood Amex). However, I’ve been nervous. I assume that the linkup with Mastercard would mean lower interchange fees for Citibank, which issues Diners Club in North America. And with lower fees I imagined cost-cutting from the benefits budget. Diners Club has assured the contrary. I received an information packet in the…
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 »
