Just as Delta has with Porsche and American with Cadillac, United has a relationship with Mercedes. Sales site TrueCar is back offering lots of United miles again for Mercedes car purchases. Last year there was an offer for elite members only to receive miles for new cars. This time the offer is open to all MileagePlus members, and is for used Mercedes vehicles. In order to be eligible for the offer you either need to have been a MileagePlus member for six months or have credited a flight to your account. They seem to be afraid of people gaming them, perhaps who were going to buy a Mercedes anyway and weren’t even MileagePlus members before walking into the dealership. Perhaps the concern is that Mercedes’ own sales staff will be the ones gaming the system…
Schedule Change Causes Fantastic American Airlines Premium Cabin Award Space to South America
The schedule for American Airlines’ Miami – Santiago flight AA957 switches on April 14: From a 10:15pm departure to an 11:55pm departure. From a reconfigured Boeing 777-200 (new business class and no first) to an older 777-200 (
Easy Giveaway: $1000 and National Car Rental Top Tier Elite Status!
National Car Rental has what I believe is the strongest promotion in the market each year, “One Two Free.” You earn a free rental day for every two qualifying rentals (mid-size or larger for 2 days or longer). And when they run the promotion, they do so for long periods of time. The most current offer is for a five month stretch which concludes at the end of January. I’ve been renting regularly from National for the past couple of years. The unique selling proposition to me isn’t the rewards, though I’ve earned plenty of free rental days. It’s the ‘Emerald Aisle’ where being a member of their Emerald Club program means you walk out to the lot, take your choice of cars from the designated row(s), and just get in and drive to the…
Paris for the Holidays, Saying Goodbye to American’s Old Business Class, and a Suite at the Park Hyatt Vendome
Some months ago there were decent transatlantic fares on American, and while I’m not a huge fan of Western European capitals I do think there’s something completely charming about Paris around the holidays. Paris Over the Holidays The weather isn’t fantastic, a jacket is a good idea, but the City of Light is extra bright around Christmas and the New Year. And unlike summer time, you’ll find actual Parisians there rather than American teenagers. Two years ago as well I spent the period between Christmas and New Years in Paris and it was a blast, ending with New Years eve, the fireworks over the Eiffel Tower, and and endless stream of people running down the Champs Elysee with bottles of champagne.
Donald Trump Files $100 Million Lawsuit Over Aircraft Noise
I’ve never been especially sympathetic to noise complaints from homeowners and businesses in areas surrounding airports. Except in some very unique circumstances (there aren’t a whole lot of new airports these days, especially close-in to residential areas), People objecting to noise knew the airport was there when they bought property The price of the property reflected the location of the airport They also get the convenience of the airport, and indeed proximity to the airport enhances the value of commercial property in many cases. If you own property near an airport it’s going to be noisy. And planes are much quieter than they used to be. I’m even less sympathetic when the person who is complaining is Donald Trump. He has his own 757. So he contributes to noise. And he’s a guy that’s attempted…
$99 Fares to Europe from DC and Boston!
WOW Air is really their name, they’re a low cost carrier across the Atlantic and they made a splash back in October with introductory fares of $99-125 one-way. Their flights from ‘Washington DC’ (Baltimore) and Boston to Reykjavik really are as low as $99, with the return flight less than $175. They offer connecting service on to London and Copenhagen well. Their sale is back it seems. There really are flights available at these prices. I plugged in a random date for Boston – Reykjavik. And this really is the all-in, tax-inclusive pricing. If you want to go to London rather than Iceland, be prepared to pay a little more.. but less than if you were flying another carrier. There are roundtrips available for under $450. Note that the flights do not start until March…
50,000 Point Offer Found for American Express Business Gold Rewards Card!
Via The Military Frequent Flyer, FedEx is promoting American Express cards when you open a new account with them. The offer they have for the Business Gold Rewards Card is better than what I’ve seen as the best publicly available offer for that card. It’s offering 50,000 points after $5000 in eligible purchases on the card in the first three months of card membership. “Terms and limitations apply,” as they say but this is a pretty strong offer because: It’s double the number of points that my link to the card currently provides. Frequently in the past the spend requirement has been $10,000 for bonuses this high. Here’s the link to that card offer. It also appears to come with a FedEx discount of 25% (up to $200) on qualifying services with FedEx Ground and…
What’s the Best Airport in the United States?
Brian Sumers expresses concern at the silly naming of LAX as the best airport in North America by Business Traveller magazine. There’s no conceivable universe in which LAX is the best airport in North America. In many ways it belongs grouped with the worst airports. Unquestionably the Tom Bradley terminal is one of the most improved. But many of the terminals are unconnected inside security, and it can take 20 minutes or more just to drive around the terminals. Traffic at that airport is horrendous. Over the summer I named LAX the second worst airport in the U.S.. I grouped it with Miami, New York JFK, and Washington Dulles. You take a train outside security between terminals at JFK.. and a train to where you can pick up hotel shuttles. But what are the best…
Review: American Airlines “Flagship” First Class Lounge, Los Angeles
Must-read Earlier Installments: Singapore, Cathay, and Qantas First Class.. Some of the Best Meals of My Life, and a Tour of Hyatts in Bangkok, Singapore, and Sydney Inside the New Oneworld Lounge at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal Cathay Pacific First Class, Los Angeles – Hong Kong Cathay Pacific “The Wing” First Class Lounge, Hong Kong Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Grand Hyatt Bangkok: Suite, Club Lounge, and Facilities Thai Molecular Gastronomy at Sra Bua in Bangkok Getting Custom Tailored Suits Made in Bangkok at Empire Tailors Nahm at the Metropolitan: the Best Thai Food in Thailand? Thailand’s Iron Chef Cooks Ancient Recipes in a Deserted Top Notch Restaurant Eating The Best Local Thai Dishes in the Bangrak Neighborhood of Bangkok Louis Tavern CIP Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok-Singapore Grand…
An Air Traffic Controller Pay Dispute Led to Unmanned Airspace, Aer Lingus Doesn’t Want to Be Swallowed by British Airways, and bmi Still Flying!
News and notes from around the interweb: Sign up your family for Aegean frequent flyer accounts, and pool their signup bonuses to use yourself. Free miles! Aer Lingus has rejected a second, increased takeover offer from British Airways and Iberia parent IAG Minor news for sure, but bmi regional will operate 4 European routes on behalf of Lufthansa from Munich. It’s just good to see the bmi name live on in some form, as a former bmi elite member from the time the airline was a part of the Star Alliance and before it was acquired by British Airways. bmi regional represents the stuff BA didn’t want, and operates fourteen Embraer ERJ-145s and four 135s. The ‘few bad apples’ at the TSA are going to start screening a whole lot more airport employees because of…
