Earlier in the month I write about my upcoming $9 Audi car rental. I’ve just rented from Silvercar for the first time (and it did cost me $9+tax, or $13 all-in for the rental day, plus a referral credit so I’ll make $12 net) and thought I’d share the experience. Short answer, it was fantastic. Silvercar rents silver Audis (hence, silver car). Although it is possible right now to get very cheap rentals from them, rent on the weekend when they’re cheaper and use promotion codes, the idea is anything but cheap. This isn’t your bargain basement leisure rental company, it’s a business travel alternative in a limited number of markets. When airport Avis, Hertz, etc. are pricing at $80 a day Silvercar is a good option because you’re going to pay those sorts of…
Is Austin’s Franklin Barbecue the Best in the World?
I’m a big fan of Texas barbecue, but had never been to its Mecca. A year and a half ago I made Franklin Barbecue the first stop on my barbecue pilgrimage. I showed up long before opening, but the lines on a Saturday morning were already so long that I’d have to wait a couple of hours and the staff wouldn’t guarantee that there’d even be brisket left by the time I reached the front of the line. I was skeptical, given the party atmosphere in line, that the barbecue could be worth the wait — attractive young people tailgating couldn’t possible be there for the food as much as the experience, right? But I’ve heard nothing since except that Franklin is the best in the world (technically, the best in Texas, but those two…
Get Bonus Miles for Buying Miles, Get Kicked Out of a Hotel, and Have United Charge You for Your Carry-on (Bits ‘n Pieces for February 22, 2014)
News and notes from around the interweb: United is going into enforcement mode to make sure you don’t bring on oversized carry ons. Man gets banned from a Hilton hotel because of his trouser snake. There’s a new tool that will let you pay by credit card using your phone instead of the card itself. You have to carry a dongle in your pocket, though. (I swear this item is unrelated to the item above). HT: @aheeger Virgin America has purchased mile bonuses almost as often as US Airways. They’re back with a bonus of up to 60%. Here’s my analysis of the January 50% bonus offer. HT: James F. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail…
United Miles for Mercedes is Back
Last summer United offered miles and ‘discounts’ on the purchase or lease of certain Mercedes models. The offer was restricted to MileagePlus elite members. That offer is back: You’re getting an ‘online price’ which doesn’t strike me as special or something you couldn’t replicate on your own, though for someone who doesn’t like the negotiation process this could be advantageous. And earning 25,000 miles for a CLE, E-, or M-class Mercedes isn’t a lot for a major purchase like this (it’s perhaps the value of an additional $350 kicker). But if you’re in the market for a new Mercedes, and can’t negotiate a lower price than the United mileage offer presents, it could be a way of extracting the last $350 out of the deal. It’s strange, I think, that this is offered only to…
Frequent Traveler University Seattle Is Sold Out, But…
Frequent Traveler University which will be held in Seattle at the airport Marriott April 25-27 is now officially sold out. The good news is that a new, and different, upcoming Frequent Traveler University event will be announced soon. Smaller, more intimate, for greater in-depth discussion More advanced. FTU events welcome everyone, at all experience levels, but this will be a more focused conversation for people that have spent more time with the activity. A different program. When we sell out Frequent Traveler University, we know there’s more demand for the program than there are available seats and so we make many sessions and speakers available at future programs. But this will have a different program than past events. Stay tuned. Normally events like this are planned well in advance, both to allow participant planning and…
Starwood Torturing Their Terms and Conditions to Permit Hotels to Offer Subpar Rooms on Points
Update: Starwood now says this was a mistake and is being fixed. Jason L. emails yesterday asking for my comment on a brewing storm over at Starwood Preferred Guest over two hotels in the Netherlands (Pulitzer in Amsterdam and Hotel Des Indes, The Hague) that offered free award nights in rooms for two people up until December but that now offer free night awards only In small single occupancy rooms. Both hotels allow spending additional Starpoints to obtain the two person rooms that they used to offer at the standard price. You know how they say, it’s not the crime, it’s the coverup? The issue of these hotels is relatively minor. But Starwood appears to be going through backflips to make excuses for the properties, explaining away a conflict with their own terms and conditions…
Business Class Award Space to Australia, Bonus Miles to Europe, and More Ways to Earn Miles Without a Net Cost to You (Bits ‘n Pieces for February 21, 2014)
News and notes from around the interweb: Great business class award space on United’s new Los Angeles – Melbourne flight which begins October 26. Buying products online to earn the miles, and then selling them to recoup the cash. 25% bonus for converting hotel points to American Airlines miles — but the offer excludes transfers from Starwood, Hyatt, and Marriott travel packages. In other words, they exclude all the good stuff. 10,000 bonus Aeroplan miles for transatlantic roundtrips. Even Tango (W, S, T, L, K) fares are eligible. You can join the 30,000+ 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…
The New DFW Centurion Lounge Menu Revealed!
Regular readers know that I am a fan of the American Express Centurion Lounge at Dallas-Forth Worth Airport (terminal D, across from gate D14). Free access to American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders, with paid access available to other American Express members. There is a case to be made that it is the best lounge in the United States. There’s good food, a good bar, a complimentary spa (15 minute treatments), and showers. It’s attractively designed as well. I’ll gladly take the train between terminals when connecting to visit here instead of using an Admiral’s Club. A few more clubs like this (they’ve got one in Las Vegas, have San Francisco and New York LaGuardia in the chute, and more in the pipeline) and I won’t mind that my Platinum card won’t get access to…
How to Maximize Your Chances of an Upgrade
I quickly earned elite status once I knew what it was, about a year after college when I was first traveling for work. I thought I knew the ins and outs like nobody’s business, and I thought I was a true road warrior. After all I had flown over 25,000 miles on United in a year, and I had Premier status! As a top tier (100,000 mile flyer) I worry less about strategizing to get domestic upgrades. A 1K on United might not always clear the upgrade list, at least living in a high revenue hub like San Francisco or a government flyer hub like Washington DC (since government YCA fares let 25,000 mile flyers trump 100,000 mile folks flying mid-tier fares). But an American Executive Platinum will usually clear the upgrade list except on…
How I Earn Miles for Most of My Spending With Merchants Who Don’t Accept Credit Cards
My local CVS pharmacies are endless sources of Vanilla Reload cards. They’ll sell me up to $5000 per day on a credit card (any amount of $1000 or more they will scan my drivers license). Vanilla Reload cards are essentially money — you buy them and can load the funds onto a variety of prepaid money cards like MyVanilla Debit and American Express Bluebird. And since I have an almost endless supply of these cards (many people can’t find them at all, or their nearby stores won’t take credit cards), I have no problem exceeding the $5000 monthly limit I can put onto an American Express Bluebird card. Bluebird is a great banking product, given its billpay functionality, I can use Bluebird to pay a mortgage, rent, or even monthly bills from other financial products.…
