Today we honor the flight crews that died 13 years ago today. Reader Alan H. is a one-man clipping service and today he passes along several articles, which I take as being along the theme of people who take care of us during our travels… and those who don’t. There are people who truly add value to our travels every single say. Pilots are super cool. And while flight attendants shouldn’t be there strictly or even primarily for our safety, goodness knows they’ve saved travelers’ bacon many times. It’s genuinely striking to me how many people we rely on when we travel — to move us on our way, to comfort and feed us, and to get us ready to do business or just relax and enjoy a break from everyday reality. We mostly take…
A Simple Lesson on How Not to Get Taken When Making Big Purchases
This isn’t a post about the best value for a cell phone, and in fact I’m not suggesting that the cell phone I just upgraded to (a Samsung Galaxy S5 replacing my S3 that after more than two years stopped charging properly and unfortunately it wasn’t the battery). Instead, it’s a post about how to think about and compare deals and how to approach making a financial decision. It’s one simple lesson: give yourself the time you need to think and compare and don’t be pressured to act in the moment even if you think you understand a deal’s terms. Dealing with this cell phone my mind was working slowly and somehow I realized this. I wasn’t making calculations clearly enough in my mind. It’s always ok to walk away. Don’t feel pressure to agree…
The End of Amazon Payments: No More Sending Other People Money Effective October 13
I got notice of updated terms from Amazon Payments by email today. Amazon Payments will stop allowing person-to-person transfers after October 12. The email said, Additionally, we have updated the terms and conditions of our User Agreement (https://payments.amazon.com/help/Personal-Accounts/User-Agreement-Policies/User-Agreement) that apply to your use of the products and services provided by Amazon Payments. Our updated User Agreement revises certain terms (including, among other things, the elimination of person-to-person payments). Our new User Agreement will become effective on October 13, 2014, which is more than 30 days from when we first posted our updated User Agreement. By continuing to use our services after October 13, 2014, you are agreeing to be bound by the terms and conditions of our new User Agreement. (Emphasis mine.) The great thing about Amazon payments is that nobody had ever heard of…
Today’s Frequent Flyer News You Need to Know: Another Free Night Promo, Marriott to Grow by the Size of Starwood, and Signup Bonuses
News and notes from around the interweb: 1000 free Lufthansa Miles&More miles. This is from a Best Western promotion, in German, use Google Chrome to translate. Offer comes via Doctor of Credit and appears targeted to me so unclear if the miles – registered for very quickly and painlessly – will post. Chime and fuel rewards signup bonuses. Choice Hotels is offering stay twice and get a free night which is really just bonus points enough for a free night, and Choice points at that so not something I get especially excited over. But better than a hole in the head if you’re staying at one of their properties. Sadly it’s not as generous as the IHG Rewards great promo that is sadly limited to two free nights but not capped in terms of what…
Man Denied Boarding in New York Because of His Israeli Passport. Here’s How He Should Play It.
Reader David H. passes along a scenario from a post on Flyertalk – Customer, who holds an Israeli passport, books a ticket between New York and London on Priceline. He’s given an Air India ticket, with Air India flight numbers, operated by Kuwait Aiways He’d denied boarding by Kuwait Airways. Even though an Israeli passport is valid for travel to the U.K., the airline’s home country does not recognize Israel.
Treasure Map Revealed: Making the Most of American (and BA) Miles for Business Class to Europe!
American’s primary transatlantic partner is British Airways, but American adds fuel surcharges to awards on BA. Fuel surcharges can run $828 roundtrip for a simple New York – London roundtrip, pushing total taxes and fees up close to $1200! (Although there’s a trick to shave some money off this.) This is especially frustrating because it’s not like you will often find any business class award space to Europe on American’s own flights. So how do you get to Europe using American Airlines miles? Air Berlin, of course, which doesn’t add fuel surcharges to their paid tickets even which means you can also book these flights with British Airways without paying extortionate fuel surcharges. Finnair via Helsinki but business class award space is quite limited. US Airways, which has a fantastic business class seat and an…
Learn the Lessons from Visiting Every Country in the World!
Chris Guillebeau, a speaker at Frequent Traveler University last spring and organizer of The World Domination Summit — and whose book R100 Startup profiles my award booking service) — visited every country in the world. Auditorium for World Domination Summit in 2012 His new book, The Happiness of Pursuit about meaning and quests is now out and his book tour begins today. This book represents the culmination of a ten-year odyssey to every country in the world—but it doesn’t end there. As I approached the end of the journey, I spent two additional years researching and interviewing other people who have undertaken a quest. My goal was to tell the stories of those who have done amazing things, extracting their lessons and seeking to understand how the rest of us can apply them. I received…
American’s First 787 is in Final Assembly — Here’s What to Expect
American’s first 787 is in final assembly. According to AirlinePilotForums, the first delivery is scheduled for November 28. Airlines usually start new aircraft types flying domestically while they work out any kinks. This one is rumored to begin flying New York JFK – Los Angeles for a month after delivery (presumably before it starts flying New York JFK – Paris), which strikes me as odd because American’s 787 will not have a first class cabin and American otherwise flies 3-cabin (A321T) aircraft on the route. Over at TravelingBetter.com, JonNYC reports that the plane will be configured with 28 business class, 48 main cabin extra, and 150 economy seats. (The 787-9s that come later will substantially grow the economy seciton — 28 business class, 51 main cabin extra, and 210 coach seats). Forum member IceTrojan mocks…
United is Lying to You, In Their Own Words
There is a very important lesson, that’s easy to forget sometimes. Your frequent flyer program is lying to you (although some lie more than others). There’s no purity here, so the offenses are all relative and need to be kept in perspective. Still, United coming right out and saying that they don’t keep their promises and don’t need to should be galling. Despite explicitly promising in late 2011 not to take away benefits or confirmed upgrades from million mile flyers, United did exactly that in early 2012. A lawsuit was filed for breach of contract, with one suggesting being that the million miler program was separate and apart from MileagePlus itself and the latter’s claim that members have no rights and United could do whatever it wished wasn’t a get out of jail free card.…
Potentially Huge: Earning Miles for Paying Your Bills at 7-11 With Debit and Gift Cards
Doctor of Credit writes about 7-11 ATM bill pay as a tool for using PIN-enabled gift cards and mileage-earning debit cards to pay bills. Many 7-11 stores now have the ability to pay bill via their ATM machines. You can find which ones have the feature here. These allow you to use some PIN enabled gift cards, line OneVanilla cards. And it allows you to use debit cards, like my Suntrust Delta debit card (that I haven’t heard any recent successful reports of signing up for, some I’m grateful for my legacy card that earns 1 Delta mile per dollar; eventually that has to go away). You can use the machine to pay bills like cell phone, cable, and insurance — all things I pay directly by credit card anyway. You can also pay some…
