Here’s an updated list on how to donate miles for tsunami relief efforts in Southeast Asia. Not everyone can spare tons of cash, that’s certainly understandable although in times of severe crisis I hope that folks will dig as deep as possible. But those of us with even a small amount of spare frequent flyer miles — possibly not even enough to use for free tickets — can help provide free travel for relief efforts. While minimum donations vary by program, in some cases you can give as few as 1000 or 5000 miles. You may have this laying around in an otherwise-forgotten account. These miles might even expire on their own, going to waste. But you can do some good with them. And since most frequent flyer programs keep accounts active with any activity…
Commentary
Category Archives for Commentary.
Support Disaster Victims
Flyertalk is accepting contributions for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund in support of the earthquake and tsunami victims. Red Cross contributions are tax deductible, and there are of course only a few days left in the calendar year to seek such deductions. What better cause?
Season’s Greetings
Happy Holidays from United Airlines. Turn on your speakers. I have an inexplicable affection for Rhapsody in Blue.
View from the Wing in the Washington Post
This blog is apparently recommended for a very specific niche of traveler. [I]f you’re a road warrior who will make three ugly flight connections for triple bonus points, you may want to go straight to a pro-blogger who focuses on mileage programs, such as WebFlyer (www.webflyer.com/blog) If only “pro” in this context meant “participating for gain or livelihood”…
Impeach Norm Mineta!
Michelle Malkin links to my old Impeach Norm Mineta bumper stickers. Now that Mineta is clearly staying in the Bush Administration, it’s time to resurrect them. Oh, and I’m already getting orders for them via paypal.
Don’t smile too much
Or the US State Department may not give you a Visa. The State Department frowns on toothy smiles, which apparently are classified as unusual or unnatural expressions. According to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, smiling distorts facial features. Officials say smiling can change facial features so much that facial-recognition software would think the passport or person weren’t the real deal. Who knew that terrorists could avoid detection by smiling?
If you steal a Krispy Kreme truck, make sure the back door is closed
In the middle of the night Thursday night, a Krispy Kreme doughnut truck was stolen. The back door to the truck was left open, and police followed a trail of doughnuts to find the truck. Hat tip to Ramble On.
I hate marketing doublespeak
The only thing I hate more than devaluing points is being lied to. It’s laughable enough when Qantas describes the gutting of its award chart as “rebalancing.” But now they explain the end of mileage upgrades on discount fares as a way to support its most “loyal” customers. The changes would give “more availability to those business and first class fares rather than just somebody who books a one-off and uses the very bottom, cheapest fare and then upgrades”. “Because it is a loyalty program we’re rewarding those obviously more loyal to us,” the spokesman said. So Qantas is doing this because full fare paying passengers have been unable to buy business and first class tickets? I buy that they define loyalty as high revenue rather than high frequency or fidelity to a single airline.…
The 10 Year Old Sandwich that Grows No Mold
A 10 year old grilled cheese sandwich with an image of the Virgin Mary on it sold for $28,000 on eBay. Alas, this grilled cheese sandwich with an image of Hello Kitty is only currently pulling in $5.50. Hat tip to The Volokh Conspiracy.
Kafkesque
Steven Aftergood writes in Slate about the growth in rules dubbed “Sensitive Security Information” as a result of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 — government rules that we have to follow but aren’t allowed to know the details of. “Before the Law stands a doorkeeper” begins Franz Kafka’s famous parable, which tells of a man who seeks “admittance to the Law” but who is denied access by the doorkeeper—something he did not expect. The Law, he thinks, “should surely be accessible at all times and to everyone.” Federal employees can’t be prosecuted for revealing the contents of such information (only fired), but they’ve been threatened with prosecution nonetheless. And the TSA has used federal funding as a carrot and stick to impose secrecy rules on local police departments. “If I hadn’t seen this contract…










