The Starwood American Transfer Bonus Didn’t End! Extended Through August 31

Aug 07 2015

While the most obvious thing to do with Starwood points is use them for hotel stays, I think the most valuable thing to do with them is transfer them to airline miles.

The 20% bonus on transfers to American AAdvantage — every 20,000 Starpoints you transfer will get you 30,000 American miles — was supposed to end but has been extended through August 31.

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Review: American Express Centurion Studio, Seattle

Aug 07 2015

American Express’ first ‘Centurion Studio’ opened a month ago at Seattle’s international airport, across from gate B3.

Overall it was a nice space, where I enjoyed spending a couple of hours. I definitely prefer it over the Alaska Airlines Boardroom (but no pancake machine) and over the United Club there. But make no mistake, it’s not a Centurion Lounge if you’ve been to one of those in another U.S. airport.

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American Didn’t Just Leak New Elite Status Rules

american and us tails
Aug 06 2015

Several months ago the American Airlines website erroneously listed the miles required for top tier Executive Platinum status as 120,000 instead of 100,000. That was quickly corrected.

Yesterday an American AAdvantage member posted a message they received from AAdvantage Customer Service on Flyertalk with that same ‘mistake’.

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Earn Miles for Child Support and Alimony

Aug 06 2015

Several states allow credit card payments for child support through their official programs.

Some states limit acceptance to MasterCard and Discover, others to Visa and MasterCard. Apparently New Jersey stopped taking cards altogether. And I’m not aware of any that take American Express.

But let’s assume you want to pay with American Express, or to pay the other parent directly. Perhaps you need to build up miles because your ex-spouse took them all in the divorce.

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Is It Wrong to Fly an Airline When You Don’t Support Their Country’s Government?

Aug 05 2015

I write frequently about the current dispute between the largest US airlines (American, Delta, and United) and the largest Middle Eastern ones (Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad). And I come down squarely against the US airlines, whom I believe are looking to use the government to reduce consumer choices and raise prices for their own benefit.

But that doesn’t mean I’m a defender of the Middle Eastern carriers as such.

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SkyMiles May Be ‘Last in Class’ But Your Boss Will Make You Fly Delta Anyway

Aug 05 2015

Delta knows where its strengths are. They’re starting to include an agreement as part of their corporate sales arsenal that provides for financial penalties if their operational performance falters. The specifics of the agreement won’t see them offering payouts to companies any time soon, but it brings into stark relief what the airline does well. And it’s the most important thing — which is why your boss may be making you fly Delta soon.

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Japan Airlines First Class Awards Wide Open from Sydney, and the Best Availability to/from Australia

Aug 05 2015

Japan Airlines has a really fantastic first class product, it’s one of the best with a fantastic mattress pad and excellent (very Japanese) service. I’d suggest they’re in the top seven (in no particular order: Singapore, Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, ANA, Asiana, JAL).

They’re switching the Tokyo – Sydney route to a Boeing 777-300ER and that means the route will get first class. Award space is widely available on the route, much better flying Sydney – Tokyo than it is flying Tokyo – Sydney.

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