Via TravelingBetter I learned about an interesting consumer complaint to the Department of Transportation against American Airlines and an even more interesting response. It strikes me that there’s a ton of disingenuousness on the part of lawyers for a major air carrier but also some interesting insight into how their systems work at the same time. So I thought it was worthwhile unpacking. American accused the consumer of “creat[ing] fictitious reservations..to block premium seats for the sole purpose of obtaining AAdvantage upgrades.” American took 60,000 miles as a penalty.
Spirit Airlines Eliminates Live Social Media, Proud of Cost Savings
Not from the Onion. Spirit Airlines has moved away from humans performing customer service on Twitter (they weren’t really very responsive to begin with) to an auto-responder instaad. [A] big social media team costs money, so we put our feed on Autopilot to save you cents on every ticket. Other travel providers are concerned with defending their brand online, or want to create customer evangelists. Customer service, to Spirit, is a cost center. They believe having customers who think you’re bad is a good thing. So why employ a twitter team? Of course they don’t want to invest in a frequent flyer program that can do more than get you magazine subscriptions free anyway. You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by…
Another Good Prepaid Reloadable that Earns Miles, EVA Awards Bookable Again, and $25 off at Staples
News and notes from around the interweb: An easy prepaid reloadable card you can buy online with a credit card (if you have an address in an eligible state). Then use it to pay a Citibank credit card. Use it to buy money orders. Or with Amazon payments, Kiva, or Evolve money. Award tickets on EVA Airways had been unbookable by Aeroplan (which is an American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner). Fortunately, that issue has been resolved and flights can again be booked. Without fuel surcharges. So get those tickets on their Hello Kitty planes now! $25 off $100 or more at Staples using Visa checkout. (HT: Jim L.) Southwest gate agent makes man delete a tweet as a condition of flying. She ‘felt threated’ by his statement (which didn’t give her last name) saying…
Award Seats to Australia May Dry Up Afterall As the Best Option Ends a Route
Historically Virgin Australia has had amazing business class award availability to Australia. That’s been probably the best overall use of Delta Skymiles — searchable online, and without fuel surcharges — since Australia awards and especially during high season are one of the holy grails of mileage redemption. Space has been cyclical — 4 seats every day, then nothing, then wide open again. But will the space come back? Virgin Australia is cancelling their Los Angeles – Melbourne flight effective right as United starts up theirs. The North America – Australia and New Zealand route is served without a stopover in Tahiti or Fiji and without transiting Asia by: United Qantas Delta Virgin Australia Air Canada Air New Zealand New Zealand awards are harder than Australia awards. Air New Zealand used to open up business class…
New Points Earning Options for Booking Hotels
PointsHound now lets you choose to earn points or rebates for the hotel bookings you make for yourself or others in 18 different currencies. You can do bitcoin if you wish, basically just earning in a foreign currency. Or you can earn miles with a bunch of different programs. The newest options are Cathay Pacific’s AsiaMiles and JetBlue’s TrueBlue. I find the best rates of return to be Alaska miles and American miles (I generally choose to accrue with Alaska). You can sign up without a bonus, or the standard offer for being referred by an existing PointsHound user is 250 points each with your first booking. My referral link, though, ups that bonus to 1000 miles. My favorite things about PointsHound have been: That you earn miles when booking for someone else That they…
WATCH OUT: Some Rental Car Companies Really Stick You for Gas!
I know, I know, it’s a good idea to refill the gas tank before returning the vehicle. But what if you have a 6am flight? You didn’t fill up the night before, aren’t sure whether gas stations will be open and you overslept anyway… And sometimes it isn’t worth refilling on your own anyway. Gas stations around the airport may be priced exorbitantly high, and rental companies may charge less than you realize to refill for you. I find that National Car Rental usually wants about $5.65 a gallon or so from me to top off a tank if I don’t do it myself. That’s not cheap, but when I’m cutting it close and I haven’t driven a lot I can justify that. But it’s a mistake to assume all rental car companies are the…
North Korea Plans to Build an Underwater Hotel. And Have Food.
North Korea plans to build an underwater hotel. (HT: Thomask on Milepoint) North Korean authorities have announced an expansive development project for the east coast city of Wonsan that will include the construction of an underwater hotel, a Pyongyang Times article said last Tuesday. The ambitious plan, which focuses on the construction and development of infrastructure and buildings primarily related to the leisure sector, will see Wonsan become a “tourist city,” the Pyongyang Times said. “Underwater hotel, flower park, international meeting hall, exhibition and exposition hall, stadium and development areas will be built on the Kalma Peninsula,” the article said, adding that “towers and other modern-style buildings” would be constructed in “large numbers” in downtown area. …“We have confirmed with our local partners in Pyongyang that there are indeed plans to build an underwater hotel…
Delta and US Airways Suspend Flights to Israel, Delta Flight Turns Around
Delta and US Airways have announced the cancellation of flights to Israel following a rocket attack miles from the Tel Aviv airport. United Airlines currently plans to continue its operations, as does El Al. (Update: United has now cancelled its flights as well.) Delta’s flight today actually turned around and backtracked to Paris. Via FlightAware: Delta shows its JFK – Tel Aviv flight 456 cancelled for tomorrow as well. Norwegian and Korean Air flights were already cancelled. 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!
Don’t Miss Today’s Frequent Flyer News You Need to Know
News and notes from around the interweb: Southwest Airlines will offer Cartoon Network programming inflight via wifi Passenger hit over head with bottle of Jack Daniels inflight between Sydney and Bangkok. “There was blood everywhere.” (HT: Alan H.) Six countries that US airlines are prohibited from flying over (HT: Alan H.) Uber starting to offer wifi-equipped black cars at no extra charge. 20% off Turkish Miles&Smiles awards on new routes through end of year. The biggest luxury city hotel opening of the year? The Peninsula Paris is expected to welcome guests starting August 1. (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…
100 Free Aeroplan Miles
But you have to sign up to receive text messages from the program. Here is what you can expect from the Aeroplan Text Message Service No more than 2 or 3 text messages per month. Up-to-the-minute opportunities to earn more miles. Program news and information. If you’re willing to do this, here’s how to sign up. You can unsubscribe from text messages after the miles post in 3-4 weeks. Last year I called Aeroplan the most devalued program in North America. First there was the gutting of their award chart on July 15, 2011. For instance, my favorite award — first class to most of Asia — went from 120,000 miles to 175,000 miles (a 46% increase in one shot). Australia awards went from 75,000 to 80,000 in coach; 100,000 to 135,000 in business (35%…
