I’ve been in the midst of my busiest time of year at work over the past several weeks, and several stories passed without comment. One was the Sun Country flight departing New York JFK that was swarmed by law enforcement because a piece of luggage had the insignia ISIS on it. A federal source tells WNBC of New York that a passenger on the plane had a duffel traveling bag that had the word ‘ISIS’ on it, which triggered a security alert. The source says the plane and luggage were swept, but nothing was found. The New York Port Authority later determined the concerns stemmed from the logo of a travel agency appearing similar to ISIS insignia. The travel agency had given out bags with the logo to a travel group on the plane. It…
Does the AAA Visa Trump Chase Sapphire Preferred?
I receive compensation for many links on this blog. You don’t have to use these links, but I am grateful to you if you do. American Express, Citibank, Chase, and other banks are advertising partners of this site. I do not write about all credit cards that are available — instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Reader S. makes the case for the AAA Visa. Not sure if you used to (or still do) have the AAA Visa Card? I got it years ago when it was MBNA & now it’s Bank of America. I used to use it long ago to buy AAA travelers checks & get points that could be used towards a $50 gift certificate at AAA & then converted those…
Tickets Now Available to the Biggest Frequent Flyer Gathering in History
In just 11 weeks you’ll be able to spend the weekend with more frequent flyer mileage enthusiasts than have ever gathered together in one place. The biggest Frequent Traveler University ever. Get your tickets to Frequent Traveler University here and to the related Frequent Traveler University Advanced here. I believe that last April’s Frequent Traveler University in Northern Virginia — with well over 600 attendees — was the biggest gathering ever of frequent flyers to date. Since then we’ve done smaller FTU events, a little over 400 is more manageable. And we’ve done focused “Frequent Traveler University Advanced” events with a little over 100 people. These are all great. But there’s something to be said for the opportunities that a mega event provides. All of these events have sold out. Frequent Traveler University San Diego…
Is New York About to Get a 7-Star Hotel?
Via Alan H. New York will get a new hotel on West 57th that is supposed to tower over the luxury offered by anything else. Manhattan’s posh West 57th Street, commonly known as “Billionaires Row,” is slated to become the address for New York’s first seven-star hotel. The yet to be flagged luxe hotel is being developed by Vornado Realty Trust and Le Frak Organization, who individually or collectively snagged the three small buildings…now under demolition. I’m not sure how a hotel that has not yet been built, that hasn’t been flagged with a brand, and for which there are no public renderings can be promoted as being “seven star” even though there’s not really any such external standard for such a rating in existence. But it’s a moniker that sounds impressive, I guess, so…
Avis About to Actually Improve its Rewards Program!
Two months ago I wrote that Avis was revamping its loyalty program. 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. The first sign was short expiration of new free weekend rentals that were being awarded to Avis First members. Now Heels First Travel tells us that Avis First will be renamed Avis Preferred Plus and restructured to earn points instead of weekend rentals. The Avis Preferred Points currency will be flexible, and you will have the ability to redeem points the way you want – on rentals, upgrades and optional products.” In the past, Avis First members (those who completed 12 qualifying rentals or 35 qualifying nights) would earn a two day weekend…
Why Revenue-Based Programs are Bad for You — and Why You Should Jump Ship Now
Joe Brancatelli offers mostly sound frequent flyer advice but has a real soft spot for revenue-based frequent flyer programs that seems undeserved. When Delta Air Lines announced plans to reward miles based on dollars spent, not the number of miles flown, critics immediately decided that so-called “revenue-based” plans were bad for business travelers. The cries got louder when United Airlines mimicked Delta and adopted the same strategy. Unfortunately, the complaints conflated two unrelated factors. Delta and United consciously used the switch to revenue-based accrual to mask devaluations of their programs’ total value. Revenue plans, by nature, should be better for business travelers because they recognize that we spend more than leisure travelers. …In the longer term, the smartest airlines and hotels will reward our superior revenue contribution with superior rewards. We should be ready to…
The Full PointBreaks List of Discounted IHG Award Hotels Leaked Early
Yesterday IHG Rewards Club reached out to let me know that the next round of PointBreaks — discounted hotel redemptions that cost just 5000 points per night — would be posted on Monday for stays between September 29 and November 30. They shared a sample of the ~ 150 properties that will be featured: Crowne Plaza® Hotel Huizhou – Huizhou, GD Crowne Plaza® Kumamoto – New Sky, Kumamoto, Japan Crowne Plaza® Dublin- Northwood, Ireland Holiday Inn® Sydney – Waterfront, Sydney, NS, Canada Holiday Inn Express® – Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico Staybridge Suites® – San Diego Rancho Bernardo Area, California, USA Candlewood Suites® – Washington- Dulles Herndon, Virginia, USA
Diners Club is Back and Open to New Applications! Here’s What You Need to Know
Diners Club — the original credit card, and once upon a time one of the real leading rewards cards for road warriors — has been closed to new applications for years. It’s back! There are still some strategic uses for the card. It’s a chip and pin MasterCard whose points transfer to a variety of airline and hotel programs, some of them unique. But the card isn’t what it once was, and I don’t think worth the price. Still, it’s intriguing and a welcome development that it is once again available for new cardmembers. There are two versions of the card.
Uber Driver Secrets, Ways to Use Your Miles, and an Airline Going Out of Business
News and notes from around the interweb: Six secrets your Uber driver won’t tell you Five things you should consider doing with your miles. Though it handled poor operations well in social media, the end appears at hand for the ‘reborn’ PEOPLExpress airlines. Restrictions on American Airlines ticket sales in Argentina Will Hyatt give you points if you don’t use your annual Chase credit card free night? Purchased mile bonuses are all the rage. They’re even spreading to Eastern Europe. (You don’t actually want to buy Czech OK Plus miles…) 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…
The Airline-Hotel Partnership That Defies Expectations
Starwood and Delta introduced a pretty significant new partnership two years ago. It was a close relationship with bonus points-earning and some reciprocal status recognition. United and Marriott slid in behind them. I’ve expected, at some level, a tie-up with Hilton. Marriott and Starwood were taken. United and Delta were taken. Who was still free on the dance card? While I’d love to see American and Hyatt, Hyatt’s footprint doesn’t seem large enough for such a relationship with the world’s largest airline. And IHG doesn’t make sense either, since their program has no meaningful elite benefits to start with. American and Hilton are the two big players left on stage. And yet that hasn’t happened. Instead, we still see unique Hilton-Delta promotions running, despite the close relationship that Delta has with Starwood. Delta has been…
