Last night I wrote that Iberia made major changes to its award chart. They created a separate award chart for partner airlines, such as oneworld members (and joint venture partners) American and US Airways. That’s a big deal because their program used to be more aligned with British Airways’, a way to buy cheap non-stop short haul flights. Iberia and British Airways are jointly owned by the same company (IAG). You can even transfer points between British Airways and Iberia accounts, provided the accounts have been open 90 days and have both had points activity in them. That means if you don’t like one award chart, you can move points over to the other program. And it led to speculation, could British Airways be poised to make similar moves?
Award Space Bonanza! Take Your Whole Family to Europe in Business Class!
A month ago I wrote that the new Turkish Airlines San Francisco – Istanbul route was wide open with award space. West Coast – Europe can be tough to get with miles, especially in premium cabins. But this new flight, operated 5 days a week, had business class award availability every day, in fact enough seats to take the whole family every day the flight operated. A month later, here’s where you will find enough business class space nearly every day to take the whole family to Europe.
Hyatt Gold Passport’s Jeff Zidell Takes the #IceBucketChallenge: Clues About the Future of the Program? And Mommy Points Gets Wet!
Milepoint’s tommy777, Tommy Danielsen, passed on my challenge to him over to Jeff Zidell of Hyatt Gold Passport. And Jeff came through. Jeff challenges Suzanne Rubin of American Airlines, David Oppenheim at United, and Lance Evans at MGM. Can I read the tea leaves a bit here? David Oppenheim, who manages United’s partnerships (including credit card co-brands), used to work at Boston Consulting Group where he did work for Jeff and Hyatt. Lance Evans makes sense, since Hyatt and MGM are partners. But… Suzanne… Have Hyatt and American been spending more time together lately? Delta and Starwood are linked up now United and Marrott have a tie-in as well. That leaves American among the major airlines. There’s not much reason for them to partner with IHG Rewards, since there’s no meaningful elite benefits to speak…
American Airlines Eliminates the Spray Tan as an Inflight Amenity
When I first flew the new 737 back in December, this guy greeted you at your seat: What was most striking was the spray tan. I haven’t been onboard an American aircraft with the new system since January, so flying with them today was the first time I noticed that the spray tan starting you in the face is gone! Don’t get me wrong. This gentleman may have had too many cocktails over the course of too many flights. And it’s a little bit disturbing to sit down and find his big mug looking directly at you. But John Boehner, it seems, is no longer the greeting passengers for American Airlines. You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one…
HOLY SMOKE: Is British Airways About to Devalue Its Points? Iberia Massively Jacks Up Award Rates!
It looks like Iberia may have just gone and gutted their frequent flyer program for redemptions on most partner airlines, at least for the rewards that have been the best value. And since Iberia and British Airways are jointly owned, and share very similar programs (and the same named currency, Avios), one worries if something similar could be next for British Airways. The award chart has gotten astronomically expensive for short distance flying — so expensive I almost questioned whether it was a mistake. But there are some positives, too.
Business Travel Tool: Get Uber to Show Up Automatically, and Bill it To Your Company
It isn’t just United and Hyatt that are integrating with on-demand car service Uber (and on-demand condom service too, cough). As Keri noted, Expensify – the business expense reporting app – is integrating with Uber, too. When you leave the San Francisco airport there’s a big billboard for Expensify that reads “Expense Reports That Don’t Suck.” I’ve used Expensify for work for the past two years. I take pictures of my receipts, code my expense reports, and submit them from my phone (or laptop). Which reminds me I have one approaching the cut-off date if I want to get reimbursed.. (Be right back!)
Taking the #IceBucketChallenge from a Bath Tub at the Park Hyatt Vendome
Yesterday I posted my video taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. As per custom I called out three people to take theirs. Parag thinks I should have nominated Christopher Elliott and John Pistole. Instead, these were my nominations: Starwood’s Chris Holdren emails to let me know he’ll follow through on the challenge by Monday. Starwood Lurker is trying to figure out his Samsung Note. I look forward to their contributions! Milepoint co-founder, and MegaDO trip organizer, Tommy Danielsen contributes finished his. Here is that contribution: From a bath tub at the Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris, he challenges Hyatt Gold Passport head Jeff Zidell, also Bob Behrens from Marriott Rewards and Teresa Comparato, Director Loyalty Marketing EMEA at Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (Club Carlson). He adds a fourth as well, United’s Jeff Foland. He claims…
Don’t Waste Money or Miles on First Class!
Away is Home asks, Why waste money on a first class seat? And I think it’s not so simple. You have to understand what you get and what it costs to know whether you’re wasting money, getting a fantastic value, or just getting what you’d expect for the cost. Because there are times when it’s a waste, times when it’s a great deal, and that varies by airline (and frequent flyer program) and by passenger preferences. So is first class worth it – in miles or money?
Start Your Sunday With This Frequent Flyer News
News and notes from around the interweb: Everything you need to know about Spirit Airlines (other than how unpleasant the experience is of course). Which airline loses the most bags? 13 things you didn’t know about the Boeing 747 3000 bonus Aeroplan miles for flying Air Canada An Icelandic volcano erupted. Right now it’s a minor event, with no disruption to air travel. But memories of Eyjafjallajokull in 2010 loom large, and this one could get worse. (HT: Alan H.) You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
No-Notice Changes to the IHG Rewards Club Terms and Conditions: Here’s What They Mean
Last week I wrote about Intercontinental’s Royal Ambassador status – arguably the most generous hotel elite status – having updated its terms and conditions to finally offer a clear criteria for qualifying. It turns out that, without notice, the program has changed other elements of the status spelled out in its terms and conditions. But since I have a ‘change detection’ set on most program terms, it didn’t go unnoticed.
