I’m sitting at the Bellagio in Vegas, and while it’s certainly an impressive physical plant it isn’t really a ‘nice’ hotel. Every request takes probably 45 minutes or more to fulfill. (I wanted more towels, so I was sure to pull out my phone while I was down at the pool to call the hotel so that there would be towels in the room when I went up later… there weren’t, but fortunately housekeeping turned up within 20 minutes of my returning to the room.) Turndown service is inconsistent. Housekeeping is inconsistent. The lobby is a madhouse. Valet parking can take a couple minutes or 30. But that’s really a function of Vegas more generally. There are a few better service-oriented options. Certainly Skylofts at MGM Grand would provide better service (I haven’t stayed there…
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Elite Security Lines Finally at Washington-Dulles!
I haven’t been through Dulles recently, so this email from United (which came this morning, despite forward-looking reference to July 18) was news to me:We are delighted to inform you that beginning July 18, 2006, Washington Dulles will offer two new security checkpoints exclusively for our First, Business and elite travelers, their families or travel companions. With the shorter lines and wait times, getting through security will be quicker and easier for you. Also for your convenience, one elite lane will be available on the east side of the terminal near the United® ticket counter. A second elite lane will be located on the west side of the terminal. Whichever lane you use, we ask that you please be prepared to show your Mileage Plus® card.
Starwood Won’t Devalue its Award Chart After All!
I broke the news back in May that Starwood was considering devaluing its award chart 25%. I don’t know the internal discussions or reasons why, perhaps because of the outcry that followed on Flyertalk or perhaps for entirely different reasons unknown, but apparently the devaluation has been called off — at least for now. Starwood Lurker posted the following on Flyertalk this afternoon: Just as an FYI, the word that I got from on high today was that there won’t be a devaluation of 25%. As far as it stands now, there will not be any major changes to the program’s award chart in the near future. Good news, or so it seems!
The TSA Protecting Us From Terrorist 4 Year Olds
This about sums up the TSA’s security watch list: “It is essentially comprised of individuals who are a threat to aviation security,” said Andrea McCauley, spokeswoman for the TSA. … A four-year-old tearfully told airport agents in Houston earlier this year he didn’t want to be on any list, he wanted to fly to see his grandma.
Deals and Miles for Cell Phones
United has been emailing out news of its new mileage for cell phone service partnership, Mileage Plus Wireless. The deals aren’t bad, they’re certainly better than what it seems you’ll get direct from the cell phone provider (either online or in-store), and you earn miles to boot. However, even with the miles the offers aren’t up to par with some of the independent websites out there such as Amazon, LetsTalk.com, and WireFly.com. I’m not a cell phone expert to be sure, but I’m moving and my new place really only gets reasonable reception with Cingular. I’ve been with SprintPCS for 10 years but their coverage is spotty in my area, and they don’t offer a Blackberry (my preference over the Treo). So I checked out Amazon and their offers were good enough, but they don’t…
Avis Automatic Upgrades for Preferred Select Members
Avis’ first level of status (above just regular ‘preferred’ service that anyone can sign up for is Preferred Select. This entitles you to a one-car class upgrade, and the status can be obtained from frequent renting or by having an American Express Platinum card (the expensive one, not the cashback or Delta or Starwood co-branded card that’s also called Platinum). Some great tips on how Avis assigns car rental upgrades were posted on Flyertalk this morning, particularly interesting location fleet size can vary from airport to airport. from a low of 700 to a high of well over 10,000. the larger the airport, the better the upgrade possibilites. …when your name is on the board and you get to your car and theres no contract, 90% of the time its cause another customer misread the…
Which Programs Permit Negative Account Balances?
A Flyertalk member reports that they were short points for redeeming a Priority Club hotel reward. This person called and asked if they could go negative in their account, since they were really close, and the agent just gave them a 1000 point bonus to make up the difference. No cost, and better than buying the points for $12.50. Another member says they were allowed to go into the red in their Priority Club account. Starwood definitely bonuses people the few points they’re short an award, though the last time I queried this was a couple years ago. American has told me that if you’re within 500 miles of an award they’ll let you book it. I’m not an expert on the Lufthansa program, but I recall that Lufthansa Senator members are (or were?) allowed…
Why do I let hotel rankings bother me so much?
Travel and Leisure has come out with its 2006 list of the world’s best hotels. Every year these lists come out, and even though I should know better I allow them to frustrate me. Why is it that people who know little about hotels get treated as experts? How could they make such monumental ranking blunders? Indulge me by allowing me to point out just a few absurdities: The Royal Orchid Sheraton in Bangkok — listed as the #36 hotel in Asia — isn’t even the best Sheraton in the city and certainly isn’t better than the Grand Hyatt Erawan (#42), whose bungalows vault the hotel into the same league as Bangkok’s Peninsula and Oriental properties. The Inn at Little Washington is nice, though more worthwhile for dinner than for lodging and more notable in…
Fake Vacations
I usually write about real travel and real vacations, but Tyler Cowen points to Persey Tours which offers all of the accoutrements of travel without the trip. For $500, nobody will believe you weren’t sunning yourself last week on Copacabana Beach, just before you trekked through the Amazon rain forest and slept in a thatched hut. Hey! That’s you, arms outstretched like Kate Winslet on the bow of the Titanic, on top of Corcovado! Persey Tours was barely keeping the bill collectors at bay before it started offering fake vacations last year. Now it’s selling 15 a month — providing ersatz ticket stubs, hotel receipts, photos with clients’ images superimposed on famous landmarks, a few souvenirs for living room shelves. If the customer is an errant husband who wants his wife to believe he’s on…
One reporter’s view on how to book whatever award ticket you wish
John Ewoldt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has nerves of steel and decides to book whatever award tickets are available and just shows up for travel on his preferred dates and times. Not a recommended strategy, and contrary to Ewoldt’s assertions this is not something that will work on all award tickets. Just try it with many carriers’ partner awards or with a good number of Asian or European carriers that don’t permit changes. But I still have to respect his effort!
