Earlier in the month I had my first-ever visit to the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. Originally I had planned to stay at the Phoenician, but my wife sought to make spa appointments in advance and when she finally managed to have someone call her back they weren’t helpful or willing to describe their offerings. An unhelpful spa attendant before arriving even (when you’re looking to spend real money on additional premium services) didn’t bode well for the property. And since reports of upgrades there are mixed at best except during their lowest of low seasons in the dead of summer, we decided to bag the property and switch to the Kierland. Certainly the Westin isn’t as luxe as the Phoenician. Just looking at photos on the various trip review sites will attest to that.…
General
Category Archives for General.
Two Thumbs Down for Little Skywest Annoyances over Thanksgiving
Skywest out of LAX was delayed for me on Wednesday evening last week. That’s a standard risk taking scheduled flights late in the evening, of course, as delays rack up through the day. And of course a brief delay on my final connection was the worst thing that happened to me on my way out for the Thanksgiving holiday, even though I flew out of Dulles around 5pm on Wednesday evening (and I know better!). Surprised when the announcement came on that a scheduled one hour-plus flight wasn’t going to have any beverage service “due to the short duration.” This wasn’t Los Angeles – Orange County (going away early in the New Year) or even LA – Oxnard. And it wasn’t on a turboprop, either. Certainly an hour-long flight on a CRJ can offer limited…
25% Off Virgin America
Virgin America if offering 25% off purchases through December 7 for travel through March 19 using promo code ELEVATE25. There are some blackout dates and details that vary by route, such as a 21-day advance purchase requirement for Washington Dulles – San Diego. Details here.
American Airlines VISA
Via Free Frequent Flyer Miles, American now offers a co-branded Visa with 20,000 points as a signup bonus (after $250 in spend) and no annual fee the first year. It’s another card you can pile on top of the personal and business Mastercards for a signup bonus, and since it’s a Citibank card odds-on it’s churnable though I haven’t tested this myself.
Radio Miles
Sirius Satellite Radio offers 2500 American miles for signup. XM just dropped the station I listen to most while driving, when it comes time to trade in my car next year I might have to consider this.
Free Avis Presidents Club Status
In my last post, I mentioned a premium Continental credit card from Chase that includes Avis Presidents Club as a benefit. It turns out that there’s a website for this offer, and anyone can use it to sign up for an Avis account that will be given the status. And for those that already have Preferred memberships, I’ve heard success just calling per the instructions on the website and having the existing account status upgraded. (Some folks have just opened new accounts for simplicity, as well.) Avis offers (4) levels of status: Preferred (anyone signs up for this, it expedites your rental) AvisFirst (one category upgrade, earn free weekend rentals – formerly called ‘Preferred Select’) Presidents Club (two category upgrade, guaranteed availability, better service) Chairmans Club (airport meet and greet, best available car, etc) A…
There *is* an ethics to all of this…
Now this is downright wrong, since it’s not just obtaining a discount from United – it’s denying that discount to whomever is rightly in possession of the certificate numbers you wind us using. Shame, shame.
I’m Still Here
I’ve appreciated the emails, the calls, the writhing pains of withdrawal. The last month has been so busy with work and travel and mostly mentally draining. There have been a hundred things I’ve meant to write about… Continental’s mileage devaluation, new credit card offers, this and that scheme or deal. I just haven’t had it in me. But I’ll be back by this week. I promise. So don’t go anywhere!
Expedia’s New VIP Program
Expedia has launched a new VIP program for their frequent customers that is strangely like… their old VIP program. The program is called ElitePlus and offers fee waivers on changes and cancellations made through Expedia as well as a special phone number for assistance. Most of the world avoids Expedia change fees by making changes directly with an airline, for instance. But existing Expedia VIP’s (what they used to be called) got their fees waived. And a special phone number. That last part is a real perk, I’ve heard of 3-hour hold times when contacting Expedia but I’ve always had my calls answered right away. Sure, there are other throw-in benefits of dubious quality, such as ‘special sales’ (more spam?). The announcement email, though not the website, notes that Expedia elite members will get access…
American Express Bonus for Transfers to Hotel Programs
Through November 30, American Express Membership Rewards is offering a 50% bonus on transfers to Starwood, Hilton, Priority Club, and Best Western.In most cases this still won’t represent a good value. In fact, with the bonus, Hilton transfers are still shy of 1 Amex point to 2 Hilton points — which is what you can get all the time with a small dance of going Amex to Hawaiian to Hilton.Still, in the past I’ve transferred Amex to Starwood using a similar promotion. The normal rate there is 3:1 and this makes it 2:1. But that was before the Starwood devaluation…(Hat tip to the MilesLink Newsletter.)
