Via Mommy Points, Priority Club has announced the hotels that will be offering discounted award nights (“PointBreaks”) for just 5000 points per night for stays between July 1 and August 31. What seems to happen with each set of hotels is that a bunch are announced, then the good ones get pounced on, and then those hotels worth redeeming for get removed within a day or several days. By the end of the PointBreaks period very few hotels that anyone would want are left. Nonetheless, award nights at just 5000 points (as opposed to, say, 25,000 or 30,000 points) is a great deal. And the nights are generally cancellable. So if you think you even might need one of these award nights, it’s worth locking in. And you can use the cash and points trick…
ASIA
Search Results for "ASIA".
Aeroplan Award Price Increases, Better Expiration Rules, and New Bonuses
Air Canada’s Aeroplan came out with announcements of several changes to its program this morning. They’re improving points expiration rules, going revenue-based for awards that don’t have the same capacity controls as ‘classic’ (and partner) awards do, increasing the price of premium cabin international awards to several destinations, and introducing a new status program for points earning members (in contrast to the airline elite status program based on flying). Overall I like the changes to expiration, the status benefits for mileage earning seems an interesting concept though isn’t especially rewarding, and I view the award chart changes as a significant negative. Elimination of Seven Year Expiration Rule You need activity in your Aeroplan account each year to keep miles active. But regardless of activity, any miles unused seven years from the time they were accumulated…
When You’re Tempted Not to Hang Up, Call Back… Hang Up Call Back Anyway
Hang up, call back. The four most important words in travel. For some, perhaps, the four most important words in life. I know this lesson. I share this lesson. But I don’t always practice it. And I know better. Call center agents vary tremendously in quality. The airline computer systems they are working with vary tremendously in quality. When things aren’t going smoothly — when they are taking longer than they should, when an agent isn’t understanding your request, when they are not coming back with the correct answers right away, hang up and call back. Sometimes it’s tempting to ignore the rule. You’ve been on hold for awhile, you don’t want to do it again. Surely your request is straightforward and for something you’re entitled to. It has to be better just to keep…
When Is It a Good Idea to Redeem Your Miles for Merchandise?
USA Today‘s Charisse Jones has a piece on the things you can do with your miles besides taking flights. There are the obligatory examples of using miles to purchase “Tumi luggage and MacBook Pro computers” as well as spending them at auction for experiences like Rod Stewart concerts. The piece offered two of my thoughts. “More options are good for frequent fliers,” says Gary Leff, co-founder of the frequent-flier community Milepoint.com, who’s noticed the trend building over the past three or four years. “Not everyone wants to fly throughout the year for business and be rewarded with another flight. Sometimes they’d just like to stay home and use their miles for a retail treat.” … Unique experiences, however, could be perceived as a better deal, Leff says. “When you’re leveraging the connections, the sponsorship, or…
Alaska Airlines Now Has One-Way Awards on All But Two Partners — Cathay Pacific Becomes Possible!
Back in March Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan introduced the ability to book one-way and mixed partner awards online and for some partners. Initially you could book one-way awards on American. You could also book one-way at full roundtrip price on Delta, or mix and match American and Delta in a roundtrip. Then in April they introduced one-way and online booking for British Airways awards. Most partners were added earlier in the month, with online booking possible. I just noticed at the end of last week that one airline not previously on the list — Cathay Pacific — could now in fact be used to book one-way awards only those awards require calling Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. Cathay Pacific awards are not bookable on the Alaska Airlines website. Here’s their one-way and roundtrip award chart for…
And the Award for Worst Frequent Flyer Program Name Goes to…
Lucky thinks new Star Alliance member EVA Airways’ frequent flyer program has the most horrible name out there — Infinity MileageLands. And it is, no doubt, a bit bizarre and probably the result of a bit too literal translation from Chinese. That’s something that gets brands in trouble. There are famous stories that I’ve never checked out myself because I don’t think I want to know if they’re apocryphal. Like Frank Purdue’s “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken” being translated as “It takes a virile man to make a chicken aroused.” Or “Pepsi: the Choice of a New Generation” becoming in Chinese, “Pepsi will bring your dead ancestors back to life.” An of course nothing tops the Chevy Nova in Spanish: “no va”… But I’d like to challenge the assertion that…
Bits ‘n Pieces for June 19, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Hertz still hasn’t solved the Jerry Seinfeld problem: When taking the reservation doesn’t actually hold the reservation. US Airways is rolling out online pre-order o paid meals in coach. You’ll no longer need to game their IT system to be able to have this. You can comment on my blog for a chance to win a Samsung Chromebook. Taipei-based EVA Airways has joined the Star Alliance and is a truly awesome ‘get’ — business class award availability is really, really good and thy fly to Toronto, Vancouver, New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Another great way to get between North America and Asia and with a really stellar inflight product. I’ve found the Aeroplan website good for searching space, along with the ANA website. I…
Cathay Pacific Getting New First Class Cabin Next Month
Cathay Pacific has my all-around first class, though it certainly isn’t the newest product. Their food is good enough, though not fantastic. I always choose the Chinese entree, I do love having dim sum for breakfast, and the smoked salmon and caviar is good. Singapore probably does a better job with main meals, and they serve both Dom Perignon and Krug rather than just Krug. But Cathay does a better job with mid-flight snack options. (I think Asiana and ANA do a better job with food than either Cathay or Singapore does.) Their lounges in Hong Kong are fine. I like The Wing’s first class lounge, and I haven’t been there in the past few months so haven’t seen the refresh. But there’s no real special ground service — such as escorts to and from…
American AAdvantage 30% Bonus on Transferred Miles Not a Good Deal
American is offering a bonus of up to 30% when you pay to transfer miles from one AAdvantage account to another. The offer lasts through July 1. Limited time offer: Earn up to a 30% bonus for friends and family, when you share miles Know someone who needs American Airlines AAdvantage® miles or could you use some extra miles to reach a travel award faster? You can share miles between family, friends or colleagues and the recipient will earn up to 30% in bonus miles. Sharing miles just became more valuable, so make the most of this limited time offer, now through July 1, 2013. The bonus gets progressively larger the more miles you transfer: Let’s take the biggest possible bonus as an example. If you transfer 50,000 points there’s a bonus of 15,000 —…
Crying Babies on Planes and the Social Sciences: Economics Tells You to Just Deal
Art Carden takes a Coasian law and economics approach and tells people who complain about crying babies on a plane to just deal. Of course, he’s more subtle than that, couching it in all social sciency language, [T]he bundle of rights you purchase with a plane ticket includes the reasonable expectation that there will be a crying baby or two on the plane. As one of his readers explains, “Your tickets are cheap because crying babies fly too.” Which isn’t quite true, in that your tickets might not be cheap especially coast-to-coast or internationally at the last minute. But in the limit this seems more right than it does wrong. Carden reframes the question not as ‘babies are a disturbance’ but as each side staking out a possibly valid position. There wouldn’t be a conflict…
