I much liked Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. (What a cast! with Bill Murray, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Owen Wilson, and Jeff Goldblum in supporting roles.) So, too, apparently did a number of TripAdvisor reviewers. (HT: Jenny F.) For an interwar period property, I like complaints such as “No free wifi.” TripAdvisor warns that the hotel is unbookable: Without the warning this could have become TripAdvisor’s Tuscan Whole Milk. One word of caution — milk, even when frozen into a baseball-bat shape, is nigh worthless as a baseball bat, merely shattering into cloudy fragments at the first strike of a baseball. 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…
LifeMiles Reveals Its Big Star Alliance Award Chart Changes..
Since Avianca’s LifeMiles joined Star Alliance, it has been one of the most lucrative frequent flyer programs in the world. They’ve announced a new award chart starting October 15th, and have now released the details of the chart. Are there some great hidden gems? Are the increases bad? Will they change how to play this program?
Don’t Inadvertently Lose Global Entry and PreCheck!
I only just signed up for Global Entry in April of last year. And yet I just had to update my passport number in my Global Entry profile. I almost forgot to do it, so it seemed like — though this will be obvious to some, and too obscure for others — worth sharing. I’ve loved having Global Entry. Re-entering the U.S. is quick and easy. Not only do I skip the immigration queue (which can be quite long arriving at Washington Dulles around 3pm), but also the customs queue too (it gets really long in Miami, since everyone really is smuggling in drugs). I get TSA PreCheck every time. I used to get it most of the time flying American where my elite status flagged me as unlikely to be a threat. But now…
Here’s the 75,000 Hyatt Gold Passport Points Giveaway
As you may know I’m giving away 75,000 Hyatt points.
What’s the Best Place in the World to Live for Convenient Travel?
Reader Jeff asks a question that may be too subject for me to answer definitely, what do you think? What is the best place in the world to live in to take advantage of not just miles/points, but to have relatively close access to great travel destinations? Criteria: — best proximity to desirable travel areas. I realize this is incredibly subjective, but, in general, most people would put Europe and SE Asia high on the list of desirable travel destinations.. Places with good climates, reasonably safe, etc. — major hub for an airline alliance — a nice place to live He goes on to speculate that outside of New York and Washington DC (with Star Alliance hubs and short travel time to all of the Americas and Western Europe) you’d rule out both North and…
Man Earns 422 Million Points, 20% Off Paid First Class, and What the Numbers Say About Airline Safety
News and notes from around the interweb: Chinese man earns 422 million Amex points with one purchase. He bought a ceramic cup at auction, and earned a a fairly inflated Chinese American Express points with his Centurion card. If you ask me, it’s not a very efficient way to earn points — unless he can turn around and re-sell the cup for more than he paid for it net of auction fees. It’s unlikely he’ll go that route, though, considering he didn’t even know his Amex card earned points. Purchase by tomorrow and travel between August 1 and September 1 and Virgin America will give you 20% off paid non-refundable main cabin select and first class fares. (HT: Lucky) Not as good as 50% off paid first class, but with the promotion some West Coast…
Avis is About to Revamp Its Loyalty Program, So Your Free Rental Days Will Expire Early
Avis has been just about to launch a revamped loyalty program for a long time. Years, in fact. Now they’re finally talking about it publicly so it’s probably actually close. There are currently 4 levels to the Avis program: Preferred, First, Presidents Club, and Chairmans Club. The only real benefits (like guaranteed rentals and meaningful upgrades) come with Presidents and Chairmans Club but you cannot earn those based on renting with Avis. Presidents Club is given to customers with legacy Continental Presidential Plus MasterCards and to American Express Centurion cardholders. A certain number of Presidents Club and Chairmans Club memberships are given to large corporate contracts. For most, the best you can do presently is Avis First which lets you earn free rental days. Avis is in my experience the most generous awarding miles. I…
One More Reason to Love Connecting at DFW!
DFW Airport is getting a banh mi shop. It’s called Banh Shop and is slated to open later this month in terminal D (the ‘international’ terminal which does house some domestic flights) near gate 31. And here’s the weird thing…
A Trick to Get Extra Legroom Seats for Less, and Discounted Lounge Passes
News and notes from around the interweb: Enter my giveaway of 75,000 Hyatt points. You can also win a $250 MGM Resorts gift card. A trick to get extra legroom seats for less Here are the best and worst times to take the train between New York and DC Mileage consultants exist in Australia, too (HT: Larry M.) Alaska Airlines Boardroom passes are $10 off through August 31. They still cost $35, are valid for a year, and need to be purchased in person to get the price. Gosh, I remember buying them for $12.50 apiece not that many years ago. 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…
Man Charged With Wanting to Be a Security Screener… Too Much
A fake security screener probed passengers at the San Francisco airport. A man suspected of being drunk posed as a security screener at San Francisco International Airport long enough to direct a couple of women into a private booth for pat downs before real security staffers caught on to him, authorities said Wednesday. ..Two other airport law enforcement sources tell us the incident started when the man entered the security area wearing khaki pants, a blue polo shirt and blue rubber gloves — an outfit that might have been mistaken for those worn by screeners with the private Covenant security firm. The man, apparently without saying much, steered a woman into one of the private screening booths used to pat down selected passengers, our sources say. What happened inside isn’t known, because the woman soon…
