Mommy Points yesterday has a post summarizing hotel ‘best rate guarantee’ policies. The idea is that each hotel chain wants to convince you to book directly through them. That’s because booking through a third party website like Expedia or Orbitz is expensive for them, commissions can exceed 20%. One strategy is to only offer credit towards elite status when you book directly (most chains, although they general exempt certain non-direct booking outlets) and another is to only offer benefits and points accrual when you book direct. Hyatt and Marriott will at least recognize your status if you don’t book directly, even though you cannot earn credit towards elite status under their rules if you don’t. The best rate guarantee is a marketing technique to convince you that you’ll get the best rate through the hotel’s…
The Very Strange Idea of the Frequent Flyer Weekend
Walking into a Westin lobby last night — Thursday — I was confronted with this projected onto the floor. To a frequent flyer business traveler this makes all the sense in the world. Thursday is done. The work week is, for all intents and purposes, done. If you’re walking into the Westin lobby you weren’t one of the lucky ones that got to catch a flight home Thursday night. Maybe your engagement took you through to the end of the business day and it was too late to make it to the airport and get back home to your base. There aren’t as many late evening flights as there used to be, especially late evening flights that will still connect if you aren’t headed to a major hub. But either way you probably aren’t at…
Does Boeing’s Pet Export-Import Bank Matter?
Pizza in Motion is happy to see some movement extending the Export-Import bank’s charter, even temporarily. I don’t think Ex-Im should go away. I say this narrowly from the perspective of someone who’s a Boeing supporter. Here’s a video my employer put out a month ago to explain Ex-Im winners and losers. The Export-Import Bank backs $37 billion worth of exports, which amounts to 1.6% of the U.S.’ $2.28 trillion in exports. The bank states that $12 billion of that (0.54% of total US exports) is justified based on foreign competition. The Export-Import bank itself claims to support 200,000 – 300,000 jobs each year out of ~ 10 million export-related jobs in the U.S. Now, the Export-Import bank is small as far as federal programs go. CBO projects $2 billion in losses over the coming…
How’s the American Airlines Merger Doing?
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker gave good marks for merger progress so far with plenty of work to do. He cited progress implementing “the world’s largest code-sharing arrangement” between American and US Airways; US Airways joining oneworld and the transatlantic joint venture ith British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair; and re-banking the Miami hub to make for more attractive flight connections. They’ve co-located facilities for the two airlines at 80 airports are “are negotiating for new contracts covering workers from both carriers.” (I’m not sure how it’s an accomplishment already to be negotiating as opposed to, say, ‘have negotiated’). The airlines are profitable, though there are certainly some gaps in the operation like weakness in South America that American has bet heavily on. I’d paint a slightly different picture.
This Actually Exists: the Saturday Night Live MasterCard (4x on Saturdays)
Via pfdigest, this actually exists: the Saturday Night Live MasterCard from Comenity Bank (which also issues the Virgin America card). The signup bonus? An “exclusive SNL™ leather wallet” after $500 in spend within 180 days. The card earns double points on entertainment and 4x on entertainment purchases on Saturdays. According to pfdigest, entertainment includes airlines, amusement Parks, art dealers, bakeries, casinos/gambling, cable, cruises, restaurants, hotels, movies, record stores, transportation, and video rental. It’s unclear what the points are worth, however. I’d bet not a lot (some amount not to exceed a penny per point I’d imagine, once the rewards catalog becomes accessible). This is an amazing card that’s been in the works for years. Although I always expected that the co-brand would be issued by the First CityWide Bank of Change. You can join the…
The HONEST TSA Video For Kids!
Earlier this month I shared the TSA Kids instructional cartoon. Reid F. passes along the honest TSA kids video. Realistic? You tell me. 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!
Free $600 Cell Phone Protection and 25,000 Bonus Miles: Today’s News You Need to Know
News and notes from around the interweb: Up to 25,000 bonus Cathay Pacific miles (HT: Frequent Flyer Bonuses) Wells Fargo will insure your phone up to $600 against damage or theft if you pay your monthly bill with one of their credit cards. Austin MegaDO schedule released I once wrote time management tips for part-time bloggers but these simple tips seem indispensable. Citibank launches two new Expedia co-brand cards. Unfortunately Expedia Rewards has become awful. Which is sad, because it didn’t used to be. But with multiple revamps in just its first two years, I don’t have a high level of confidence in the program going forward either. 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)…
Get Up to 30,000 American Miles for a Citibank Checking Account
Citibank checking account bonus: Citibank is again offering American Airlines miles as an incentive for opening a checking account and taking various account actions. The offer is valid through September 30, and you then have 60 days from account opening to take required additional steps of debit transactions and a billpay in two calendar months. You can apply on-line, in branch, or over the phone at 866-810-9043 using promotion code DR5MG904XE. I tend to think 15,000 miles is the sweet spot with this offer since Citibank has sent out 1099 tax reporting forms on mileage offers for banking products where the value is greater than $600, as the 30,000 mile offer is likely deemed to be. I still like the 22,000 point BankDirect signup offer better. BankDirect also offers miles for average balances on an…
Saving Money With Throwaway Ticketing: Useful AND Ethical!
The New York Times’ Ethicist declared that throwaway ticketing is perfectly fine. A reader asks if it’s ok to book tickets where you don’t intend to fly all of the segments in order to save money. The reply: Absolutely. Purchasing something doesn’t mean you’re obligated to consume it in totality. You can use whatever portion of the purchase you choose. If you buy a loaf of bread, you don’t have to eat every slice. So far, so good.
Should You Jump on the US Airways MasterCard Signup Bonus Before It Goes Away?
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). I’ve had several readers write in the past couple of days about receiving targeted 50,000 mile signup bonus offers for the US Airways co-brand credit card. Typical is this email from Jon who writes: Long time reader. I have gotten a couple offers in the mail over the past few months for the Barclay’s US Airways card offering 50K points after first purchase (fee not waived). Do you…
