Jun
09
2016
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Where to Find the Best First Class for (Much) Less and More
Sir Richard Branson Goes Paparazzi on Sleeping Virgin Australia Employee
Jun
09
2016
Sir Richard Branson visited Australia. He tours the airlines that carry the Virgin name, shows up for inaugural flights, and for important announcements. Of course the parent of Hainan Airlines just took a significant stake in Virgin Australia.
Sir Richard’s blog shares the trip including time with the Virgin Australia staff.
12 Hotel Pet Peeves: Simple Steps to Ruin My Stay
Jun
08
2016
Hotels succeed by helping their guests succeed. Fail at these simple tasks, pet peeves, and you’ll lose the loyalty of your business travelers.
Wonder why a property with great facilities and a competitive room rate in a good location isn’t getting the level of midweek repeat business it might expect and it may come down to something simple. Here are 12 of those little things.
9500 Free Miles, Free SkyTeam Elite Status, and a Free Drink Every Day
Jun
08
2016
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Brand New MGM M life Rewards MasterCard Launches Today With Instant Elite Status
Jun
08
2016
Around 11 a.m. Eastern today the MGM M life Rewards from First Bankcard will launch. I spoke with Jordan Salmon, MGM’s Vice President of Loyalty Marketing, on Monday about the product. Here are the basics of this no annual fee card which has no foreign transaction fees: Signup bonus. 10,000 points after $1000 spend within 3 billing cycles Points-earning. Double points at gas stations and supermarkets and triple points at M life Rewards destinations. Elite status. Cardmembers are immediately elevated to M life Rewards ‘Pearl’ status with an additional benefit of VIP check-in (that usually only comes with Gold status and above). In addition, points earned on the card are both redeemable and tier points to help you earn higher elite status levels. An M life Rewards point is worth a penny apiece used either:…
Trump Launching New Hotel Brand, Avoiding Use of Trump Name
Jun
07
2016
Back in February we learned that Donald Trump’s employees and family are concerned what his candidacy is doing to the hotel business.
There’s data, too, that suggests bookings are down at Trump-branded properties since his campaign for President took off.
I Can’t Get This Card Commercial Out Of My Head
Jun
07
2016
I do not think that the Luxury Card is a good product for the expensive annual fees charged. These are reasonably good rebate cards but not at their price points.
But I really love the background music in the television ads. That’s not enough to make me want to get one of the cards, but it’s close.
Strategy For Up to 30% Bonus Offer Transferring Citibank Points to Qantas Through June 30
Jun
07
2016
Qantas Frequent Flyer will top off transfers from Citibank this month with a bonus of up to 30%.
Qantas award seats in premium cabins between the US and Australia are sparse and the program adds fuel surcharges to awards. The program is strategically useful, though, for instance:
ACT FAST: Many European Cities from Around the US From Just $414 Roundtrip
Jun
07
2016
There have been several amazing airfare deals in the past few weeks. Fares are down from a year ago, with fuel prices low and profitable airlines competing more vigorously against each other — at least on specific routes or for specific periods of time.
Now United and American are both offering coach roundtrips between several cities in the US and several cities in Europe for a little over $400. That’s amazing, considering a not insignificant portion of that cost winds up being taxes.
Why Even After American’s Changes They’re Still Better for Me Than Delta… Barely
Jun
07
2016
With changes to the AAdvantage program that make it so much more like United MileagePlus and Delta SkyMiles, elite frequent flyers at American especially are re-considering their loyalty.
Some members will do better with the changes (higher spending; those flying 75,000 – 99,999 miles a year with average or better spend) and many will do worse (especially lifetime elites).
American thinks these changes are going to be good for revenue, but American has been performing better than United financially already and Delta doesn’t think its frequent flyer program changes are a driver of their revenue premium.
