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Air France KLM Would Like Your Help to Fix Their Broken Award Process (Big Interest to Amex and Citi Accountholders)
Apr
06
2015
Air France KLM’s Flying Blue program has been giving US members a hard time when they transfer Amex or Citibank points into their account and redeem awards. There have been account audits and shutdowns. And frequently members have been told they’re only allowed to issue awards by going to an Air France airport ticket counter.
This doesn’t work, and the US representatives of the program would like your help to fix it. Read on…
What to Do Before 2 Devaluations, Where You Want a Selfie, and Deals to Leverage
Apr
06
2015
Often there are great posts on other blogs worth being aware of. Folks are writing up deals that I may not have much to add to, so I share what you need to know that’s being discussed elsewhere and link to some interesting or unique news articles about travel, miles, and points.
Today we’ve got two programs about to devalue — here’s what you need to know, and what you need to *do*. We have an analysis of some travel deals you may want to jump on. And more, so read on..
Venezuela Hotels to Guests: Bring Your Own Toilet Paper
Apr
06
2015
Many hotels in Venezuela, especially smaller and boutique properties, are asking guests to bring their own toilet paper and other essentials. Even that isn’t fool proof, as the government appears to be confiscating toilet paper from those traversing the country. Here’s why the TP situation has gotten this dire. Read on…
There Really Are Consolidators Who Will Sell You Airfare for Less
Apr
05
2015
There really are consolidators who can save you money on international business and first class tickets. Some are a scam. Here’s how to know the difference, and find the ones who will save you big money.
The Latest Innovation in the Premium Cabin Arms Race
Apr
05
2015
Seats have been the biggest premium cabin innovation, with a huge leap forward in business class that limits the quality difference with first class. For instance, Singapore Airlines first class is four seats across in the cabin — and so is business class. That leaves only so many places to go as airlines compete for lucrative high yield passengers. So what’s next? From The Onion: …the airline’s most valued customers should ignore the escape path lighting along the aisle and instead follow the green lighting on the first-class seatbacks to a secret hatch just behind the forward lavatory. “For your convenience, in the event of an emergency, a bulkhead will automatically close and seal off the first-class cabin from the economy cabin, giving you ample legroom while deplaning. In addition, should we experience a sudden…
US Airways Credit Card Signup Links, Mutiny on a Plane, Julianne Moore Fired by Airline for Poor Acting
Apr
05
2015
News and notes from around the interweb: 2250 Bonus American Miles from the AAdvantage Shopping Portal Well, that’s one way to protest. Turkish Tourism Minitry Fires Julianne Moore for Bad Acting The government of Sri Lanka is accusing their oneworld member and national airline of corruption. The airline is state-owned, and the accusations stem from aircraft purchases while the government was controlled by a different party which means the airline is a political football in partisan political politics. Which doesn’t mean, of course, that a state owned airline isn’t a politically corrupt plaything, just that the complaints are that the airline used to be someone else’s corrupt plaything. Passenger mutiny: police had to be called twice during a 5 hour Qatar Airways tarmac delay in Birmingham. The US Airways credit card was supposed to disappear…
Why Does Everyone Keep Trying to Smuggle Gold into Bangladesh?
A Kuwait Airways cabin crew member was arrested on Saturday in Dhaka, Bangladesh for smuggling gold in his body: Eighty two grams of gold jewellery and four gold bars weighing 10 Tola each were recovered from him. (HT: Reid F.) That’s worth about $32,300 at 1.00 BDT to 0.0129175 USD. Perhaps this is money that could have funded the down payment for a new business class seat onboard one of the airline’s Boeing 777s. What’s strange is that there’s a trend of trying to smuggle gold into Bangladesh. And people keep getting caught trying to do it. Just a month ago Bangladesh seized $1.4 million worth of gold from a North Korean diplomat. Moinul told Reuters that the diplomat was passing through the green channel from Dhaka’s international airport – Hazrat Shahjalal International airport –…
One Simple Upgrade Trick I Just Learned
Apr
04
2015
Mainstream articles on “how to upgrade to first class” are almost uniformly: Dead wrong Laughable At their best they usually offer some variant of: Dress nicely Be a member of the airline’s loyalty program They never explain, of everyone ‘dressed nicely’ (as though this will matter for folks who aren’t airline empoloyees) and who are members of the program, who will get the upgrade if there are seats available and how to increase your chances it’s you. No, just ask isn’t sufficient (although up until last weekend it was necessary to submit a request for a complimentary upgrade on American — so I guess asking was sort of part of it there). Via Miles Remaining comes an article pushing a totally different trick. Naturally it begins with all of the usual claptrap about dressing nicely,…
If You Want Real Consumer Protection for Frequent Flyer Programs, Here’s the One Change We Need.
I wrote earlier in the week about the shocking change American AAdvantage made to its terms and conditions: the program specifically said they have no “duty of good faith and fair dealing” with members. The scary fact is that no U.S. airline frequent flyer program does.
