IdeaWorks and Switchfly are out again with their study of award availability. They purport to show which airline frequent flyer programs are offering the best award availability. And they’re getting lots of attention for it, such as this Wall Street Journal coverage. This year the study even makes bolder claims. Here’s their press release title: Value Airlines Fill Top 7 Slots with Best Reward Seat Availability, and Among Global Airlines Singapore is Best Nowhere in the study do they account for the value or quality of what the low cost carriers like Southwest Airlines are getting you. And while Singapore Airlines does have excellent award availability for members of their own Krisflyer program, there’s no comparison of award chart pricing (Singapore’s chart is certainly more expensive for comparable awards than most US carriers) and no…
Bits ‘n Pieces for May 8, 2013
News and Notes from Around the Interweb: Peoples Front of Judea: the mechanics at US Airways are represented by the International Association of Machinists, at American by the Transportation Workers Union. They’ve got to battle out whether one gets to represent them all, or whether mechanics will have two separate unions. Except.. the Judean People’s Front Teamsters are now seeking to represent the mechanics. The unions are all fighting each other instead of the Romans management. Haven’t we seen this at US Airways before? Do You Qualify for a 50,000 Mile Signup Offer for the United Visa? There have been a bunch of targeted offers, as much as 50,000 miles plus 5,000 more for adding an authorized user. Sometimes if you’re eligible you can get the offer to come up when logged into your United…
You Were Right and I Was Wrong (Credit Card Smackdown Watch)
The Lufthansa Premier Miles & More World MasterCard® Barclays bank has upped their signup bonus on the Lufthansa Premier Miles & More World MasterCard to 50,000 points — 20,000 after first purchase and 30,000 more after meeting minimum spend within 90 days. The card comes with a $79 annual fee, and the points are surprisingly useful (though I recommend that even if you do get the card and collect Miles & More points, that you’re 25% better off earning them via the Starwood American Express than through this card). Miles & More is a great way to get domestic premium cabin awards on United (35,000 miles roundtrip compared to 50,000 miles in the United MIleage Plus program) and also to get first class awards on Lufthansa and Swiss, given the greater availability afforded to Miles…
Get Ready for Big Revenue-Based Changes at Delta Skymiles (With Other Programs to Follow)
Back in January Delta announced changes to how frequent flyers would qualify for beginning in 2014. Instead of just basing status on miles flown, there’s a second component at least for US residents — a requirement to spend a minimum amount on Delta tickets, or to spend a minimum amount on Delta co-branded American Express cards. I then declared that Delta isn’t done making changes to their program and in fact there are more big changes to come. Delta’s shift towards becoming a revenue-based frequent flyer program isn’t just about elite status, it will be able earning and burning as well. They just haven’t revealed the details yet, but I don’t expect it to be pretty. When I sat down to put together nominations for the Freddie Awards, I struggled to find a promotion that…
Alaska Airlines Increasing the Cost of Air France/KLM Awards
The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan award chart will get more expensive for many premium cabin awards on Air France and KLM, effective June 11. North America – Europe Flights between North American and Europe go from 100,000 to 125,000 miles roundtrip in business class, and intra-Europe awards go from 45,000 to 50,000 miles roundtrip. North America – Africa Flights between North America and Africa go from 120,000 to 140,000 miles roundtrip in business class. What’s Not Changing There’s no change to the price of coach awards, and there will be no change to the price of awards to Tahiti. Symmetry with Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue Program The Flying Blue program is bumping up the cost of premium cabin awards in June, and in fact North America – Europe goes from 100,000 miles to 125,000 miles…
Bits ‘n Pieces for May 6, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: TSA PreCheck to be offered on some international itineraries. Very annoying not to get the three beeps even when connecting domestically to or from an international trip (almost enough to make me want separate tickets). So possible good news on this front, significantly short on details. Qatar Airways is looking to join oneworld in October merely a year after announcing their plans to join. I don’t know if they’ll make it, but I like that hey have an aggressive timeline. They also intend to launch Philadelphia service, no doubt because oneworld will have a hub there with the US Airways/American merger. Pizza in Motion liked Black’s BBQ in Lockhart, Texas almost as much as I did American Airlines may be adding inflight entertainment to their 737s flying transcon…
Why the $2500 Minimum Spend (Non-Affiliate) Offer is Best for the Lufthansa Mastercard
See update below. Here’s the affiliate link offer with $5000 minimum spend which many commenters believe is the better option. Here’s the non-affiliate link with $2500 minimum spend required. Barclays bank has upped their signup bonus on the Lufthansa Premier Miles & More World MasterCard to 50,000 points — 20,000 after first purchase and 30,000 more after meeting minimum spend within 90 days. The card comes with a $79 annual fee, and the points are surprisingly useful (though I recommend that even if you do get the card and collect Miles & More points, that you’re 25% better off earning them via the Starwood American Express than through this card). Miles & More is a great way to get domestic premium cabin awards on United (35,000 miles roundtrip compared to 50,000 miles in the United…
Watch This Video Before You Even THINK About Checking a Bag!
Dozens of Alitalia baggage handlers were caught stealing from passenger luggage once hidden cameras were installed in airplane cargo holds as part of an investigation at half a dozen Italian airports. Apparently 29 baggage handlers were recorded in the midst of their thefts, and “another 57 people were placed under investigation.” There were over 2000 hours of recordings made since the investigation began in 2011. And while I get a desire to come up with a comprehensive understanding of the scheme and everyone involved, this suggests that investigators also knew what was going on for quite some time while customer luggage continued to be pilfered from.
Piddling on the Weekend in the World of Miles and Points
Being home on the weekend without fixed appointments and obligations can be one of the simple pleasures. There’s a feeling of getting caught up, of moving slowly but ticking things off of a list, feeling productive even if you’re only doing things that themselves will allow you to be productive like buying paper products and doing the laundry. Several years ago I moved within walking distance of my office. I saved myself an hour and a half a day in commuting time. And it means that when I’m not flying, I’m always pretty close to home. I rarely drive. So my life exists around the world or within one mile radius of my front door (plus, occasionally, wherever DC’s metro will take me). Yesterday was a great ‘catching up day’. I set off on my…
Self-Help When Flights are Delayed and Cancelled, What Are the Best Mobile Apps and Websites?
Bloomberg carries a piece on travel apps that’s really about how to take control of your own travel during irregular operations. I always try to find my own way of getting where I’m going, arm myself with a knowledge of what’s available, and then prepare to ask for exactly that — rather than rely on the options presented to me by an airline agent, either at the airport or over the phone. When something goes wrong before the airport I can usually take care of it over the phone. Sometimes at the airport I do the same thing. If there’s a club lounge that I have access to, that’s usually the best place to get help — friendlier agents often times, certainly less stressed most of the time than the customer service agents in the…
