Airlines are generally anxious to poach the business of competing carriers’ elite members. As a result, many are willing to match the status that one has in a program with like status in their own loyalty scheme. Usually this is an unpublished, unmentioned benefit. However, USAirways has the process on its website. We will be glad to review your Dividend Miles tier status in light of your tier level with another airline. Please fax a written Preferred Exception request, along with current tier documentation for the other airline, to 305-370-3513. It is important to include your Dividend Miles account number, your email address and a daytime telephone number so that we can contact you after your correspondence is reviewed. That USAirways is willing to do this comes as no surprise. It’s mentioned, along with several…
Uncategorized
Category Archives for Uncategorized.
3% Priceline Rebate at Fatwallet
Looks like ebates dropped down to a 2% rebate on Priceline bids sometime over the past few days. But Fatwallet has bumped its rebate up to 3%, so for the moment that appears to be the preferred portal for Priceline bids.
I can’t believe…
Can’t believe that the penny rate is still available at the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket. But it does seem that it’s currently bookable, these things don’t usually last so long.
Do Air Marshalls Make Us More Secure, Episode 352
Air Marshalls as drug couriers. Now I feel even better about them bumping me out of my first class seat. Apparently all it took was a few thousand dollars to get the air marshalls involved to do this. As one commentator asked, “If a few grand gets one to smuggle some cocaine, I wonder how much it would cost to get someone to “forget” their firearm or an explosive device underneath a seat or in some other concealed place? After all, these guys bypass the checkpoints…”
Is this timeshare honest? As honest as the day is long!
Joe Turner attends a timeshare pitch with the promise of a free vacation, and walks away with a single gas coupon. I’m not a fan of timeshares because I get most of my vacationing free on points anyway, and can get deals that make the rest of my travels less expensive than a timeshare anyway. I can imagine scenarios where “vacation ownership” might make sense for some people, in part as a planning tool and in part to economize on the knowledge gathering necessary to do better than a timeshare offer. But the sales tactics of many operators suggest that the deals they’re offering may not be that compelling on their own, and at the very least it’s important to recognize that you need to get all the facts and dig through the fine print…
Rigging the Online Review Sites
Chris Elliott looked into hotel rating sites like TripAdvisor.com and found that hotels are sometimes cooking the books, posting fake reviews themselves or offering discounts to travelers in exchange for positive reviews posted online. This is in addition to all of the other problems with using broad-based experiences of travelers posted online, such as that only the best and worst experiences tend to get posted, that hotels do change and renovate over time (so recent stays are key), and that each guest has a somewhat different filter. Numerical rankings aren’t going to be consistent across individual travelers. All of this is true, but I’m not sure how much it really matters. It’s important obscure and lesser-traveled destinations, where hotels may have only a couple reviews at most. But it’s difficult to overwhelm the vast majority…
What Power Converters/Transformers/Adapters Do I Need?
InflightHQ points to a neat online offering from Magellans that helps you determine what you’ll need in order to use your electric and electronic appliances abroad. My super-duper all-purpose converter/adapter burned out a few months ago when my wife used it with her curling iron. After 6 years, may she rest in peace. The online guides I’ve looked at have been helpful, but this one is better because it’s both user friendly and comprehensive — I was looking for information on Rwanda yesterday but couldn’t find it. This one has it. (Note, ebates offers 7% cash back at Magellan’s, and you can also earn miles via the online malls of Alaska and Delta there.)
Sir Freddie Laker, R.I.P.
Sir Freddie Laker died today. May he rest in peace. My thoughts are with Lady Jacqueline and his family. A true pioneer and a gentleman, whom I had the pleasure to meet in Colorado Springs in 2003 and again in New YOrk in 2004 at the Freddie Awards. Update 2/11/06: The London Times ran a nice obituary on Sir Freddie Laker yesterday.
Best Mileage Offer for Valentine’s Flowers
FTD offers 30 United miles per dollar spent. It’s an old offer that’s been around a long time, I’m not even sure who there realizes it’s still active. And it says it’s for United’s top-tier elites only. But it still works and it works for anyone — elite or not. Truly a great offer.
$598 from New York to New Zealand
Jared Blank points to $598 + tax ($786 all-in) fares from New York to Auckland, New Zealand on Air Tahiti Nui. Tickets must be purchased by February 22 for travel between March 27 and June 10. A stopover in Tahiti is permitted. The explanation for fares like this is simple. Air Tahiti Nui’s service out of New York is failing miserably.[T]he New York and Paris trips are clear disasters with passenger loads of only 25-35%, way below the 70% minimum needed for profit.
