I Just Flew Southwest for the First Time in 22 Years… And It Was Fantastic!

by Gary Leff

Nov 12 2015

I needed a flight from Philadelphia to Austin on Monday evening. Since the US Airways merger American has shifted to a more US Airways-like scheduling practice, with flights varying more by day of week. There’s just not nearly as much Monday night travel as Monday morning or evenings later in the week. So there’s no flight between 5:45pm and after 8pm that I could take on American to get get home. And I had a meeting in Wilmington that would go until 5.

So instead of spending the night in Wilmington, or flying late to Dallas and overnighting there, I decided to get home late with a 7pm Southwest flight. Five days out the one-way cost me $182.

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One Simple Insight Why Award Charts Matter, and Even Delta Doesn’t Go Revenue-Based

by Gary Leff

Nov 12 2015

It’s interesting that as airlines try to re-align their programs to ‘better reward high value customers’ (read: devalue the program for lower revenue customers, and at best remaining neutral for high spenders) they introduce mileage-earning from flight activity based on ticket price but have not yet introduced revenue-based redemptions.

Delta has hidden their award charts but still, more or less, prices awards on the basis of award charts. United maintains award charts. American is expected to as well.

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Design Hotels Soft Launches as New Starwood Brand Today: Here’s What You Need to Know

by Gary Leff

Nov 12 2015

Less than two weeks after news broke that Design Hotels would become Starwood’s 11th brand, Design Hotels is already being brought into Starwood Preferred Guest.

Today is the soft launch for the effort to bring Design Hotels into the Starwood Preferred Guest program. Only 5 of the 287 Design Hotels properties are live with SPG so far. They start with points-earning and limited in-hostel benefits.

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Wide Open Business Class Europe Awards With No Fuel Surcharges for American and Even BA Members!

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2015

airberlin is a oneworld airline, partner of American and British Airways, that’s largely controlled by UAE-based Etihad.

They have a great business class product for long haul travel, and they do not add fuel surcharges to their fares. That means when redeeming miles, even British Airways miles for travel across the Atlantic, there are no fuel surcharges.

They’ve just announced new service starting in May to 3 US cities and business class awards are available for 2 passengers on pretty much every flight!

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Man Earns 2 Billion American Express Points. Yes, That’s Billion.

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2015

The same Chinese man who bought a ceramic cup at auction last year and paid with his American Express card earning 422 million points is back at it again.

Billionaire art collector Liu Yiqian paid $170.4 million for Amedeo Modigliani’s “Nu Couche” at auction on Monday. With his American Express card. He uses a Hong Kong-based card than earns 1.5 points per Hong Kong dollar spent.

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I Need Your Help: Quick Survey to Have Your Voice Heard in Travel

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2015

I’m trying something new and would appreciate your help. I’m working with ExpertFlyer on a travel survey. It’s not meant to be a representative survey of how all people travel. Those surveys aren’t so interesting to me. Instead, the goal is to survey really engaged travelers — the kinds of people who use sophisticated online tools to manage their travel, and read blogs like this one.

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Homeless Man Used Hotel Credit Card Signup Bonuses for Place to Live

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2015

A homeless man in New York with a temp job at a law firm used the indentities of 20 of the firm’s clients to sign up for credit cards and use the free night signup bonuses for a place to live.

He also used the cards to charge hotel stays, and purchase items from Walmart. He was eventually caught buying and reselling Amtrak tickets (and presumably pocketing the travel category bonus points).

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