Category Archives for Discounts & Deals.
Hilton formally dropped award charts a year ago but promised that they weren’t raising prices.
I wrote at the time after speaking to program leadership that Hilton says they are not increasing the maximum price of any hotel, and do not intend to do so. If they increase pricing and they do not make an announcement of this in advance they will come under much-deserved criticism.
Alaska Airlines is selling Newark – Hawaii from $362. You can even choose which Hawaiian airports to fly in and out of, Maui, Honolulu, Kona, or Lihue. (Lihue, Kauai and Honolulu run about $10 more.)
In April and May and August through end of year you can fly round the world — with stops in Hong Kong, Bali, and Frankfurt — from just $891 on Singapore Airlines.
American and British Airways, along with Delta and their partners, are offering premium economy roundtrips from the East and West Coasts to many cities in Europe starting at $753 roundtrip. That’s an incredible deal.
Italian carrier Meridiana has been in the news for its rebranding as Air Italy. The Qatar Airways-backed carrier is taking on bankrupt Alitalia to become Italy’s national airline. It’s upgrading its fleet and services and has a massive growth plan.
And right now there’s a $600 roundtrip business class fare between Cairo and New York JFK.
Delta and United rescinded their group discount offer for NRA members over the weekend. United is based in Chicago and we expect gun violence there I guess. But Delta has taken a lot of heat for their position and tried to walk it back claiming they weren’t really taking a position.
There’s a lot of misinformation out there in the ongoing story of Georgia politicians blasting Delta for their move.
Car rental companies didn’t make this move before the school shooting incident in Florida. It wasn’t a stand taken outside of controversy, it was a reaction to controversy.
No matter how you feel about guns, rental car companies shouldn’t be your hero or villain here. They’re just making a business judgment not a social statement.
When hotels began their loyalty programs a lot more attention was paid to airline programs. Guests were regularly given the choice to each points with the hotel’s program or earn airline miles. Hilton made their name with the ‘double dip’ giving you both points and miles, you didn’t have to choose. Hotel programs have all grown up, and double dipping (earning styles) go away April 1.
Hyatt though is offering its own double dip with American AAdvantage through June 30.
Through July 4 and then starting again August 7 and ending December 6 there’s great availability for four passengers in business class on American’s New York JFK – Rio de Janeiro flight.
Not quite as good but there’s availability for four passengers in business class New York JFK – Sao Paulo as well, and a bit better for two passengers.
There’s a business class fare from June through early December of $1292 roundtrip between New York and Buenos Aires on Star Alliance carrier Avianca.
In contrast American Airlines non-stop business class is generally over $3000 (and sometimes $4000) on this route.
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 »
