General

Jul 29 2015

There’s no more ‘instant Diamond’ status offer, you actually have to stay 12 nights within 60 days for Diamond. But you don’t even need to have status with another chain to sign up, you just need to ask for the challenge.

However, Hyatt let me know this morning that registration for their Elite Tier Offer will close on July 31. If you’re considering the Hyatt Diamond challenge, you need to request it before the end of the business week. It’s going to come back, but they haven’t said when.

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Jul 29 2015

Christopher Elliott wrote this morning “Yes, I called credit cards a scam — wanna make something of it?”

Why yes – yes I do.

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Jul 28 2015

Ben Mutzabaugh has a good piece on the other really bad airports, although I suspect investments at LaGuardia won’t make it better any time soon.

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Jul 28 2015

The TSA doesn’t just fail to detect bombs and weapons 95% of the time, they fail to detect people, too.

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Jul 28 2015

I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.

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Jul 28 2015

I’ve made the point many times in the past that despite protests about subsidies received by the Middle East airlines Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar, that Delta doesn’t actually care about subsidies. They care about scoring political points as leverage to use the power of government to shut down competition.

Now Delta is buying a $450 million stake in China Eastern — which is the most state-subsidized Chinese airline. So Delta will benefit from a chunk of those subsidies.

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Jul 28 2015

You get 750 United miles just for signing up for Mypoints, the online shopping portal.

If you make a purchase of $25 or more at an online retailer through the shopping portal within 30 days you get another 1000 United miles on top.

Points appear to post in about a week, despite the offer promising 6 to 8 weeks.

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Jul 28 2015

United is offering a 72 hour flash sale (though July 30) on purchased miles.

You’ll have to provide your account number and password to reveal your offer. Some folks are receiving a 50% bonus on points purchased. I was offered a 35% discount. Both work out to the same cost per miles.

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Jul 27 2015

American Express Plenti – the coalition rewards program that gives you points for transactions with a variety of merchants like AT&T, ExxonMobil, RiteAid, and more now has a new competitor Earn by Microsoft.

So far their partners are in different spaces. Here are the initial places you can earn via Microsoft’s new program:

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Jul 27 2015

New York LaGuardia’s biggest problem is congestion. They could use more takeoff and landing space for sure but primarily it’s New York airspace that’s the issue. Without fixing air traffic control, there’s little that can be done to the physical plant that will truly solve problems.

LaGuardia has been slated to get a new Central Terminal in 2021 and I never believed the timeline.

Now, instead, Vice President Biden and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced a whole new plan for the airport instead.

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