This isn’t for everyone, but at the same time when I notice these offers they’re surprisingly popular. If there’s one thing I’ve learned is that my readers on the whole like Starbucks. (I already know that you like something free, especially something that starts out too expensive.) I first wrote about free Starbucks stars a month ago. And then more Starbucks stars. And then two weeks ago yet again. Some may say this is too much coffee, too much of a buzz, but we go once more into that breach. Reader @Tdrag97 tweeted me to go to Starbucks.com and log into my account. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you’ll see: Click on the link and an additional link will appear at the bottom of the screen to watch a video. Click…
The Craziest Things We’ve Done to Earn Miles
I asked readers to share what’s on their mind and one reader mentioned earning miles for a hair loss consultation even though she had a full head of hair. That’s a famous one. The offer was 20,000 Delta miles for going in to see Bosley, I did it (with more hair then than I have today) and picked up my own miles as well. I’ve done a lot of crazy things in my life to earn miles. There are things that some people only think are crazy — like buying coins from the US mint with a credit card, depositing those coins in the bank and paying off the credit card; like opening online checking accounts and funding them with a credit card (with banks coding the transactions as purchases) and using the new checks…
Your Advice Please on Taking a Comp?
I had an interesting dilemma this morning and I’m not sure I handled it the right way. Last week I wrote about being downgraded from Diamond to Silver status, missing the ‘soft landing’ to Gold that I expected. And I missed several opportunities for quick and easy Gold status (from Milepoint’s premium membership, from American Express Platinum, and from the Hilton credit card that I gave up). I had breakfast this morning with Mark Weinstein, a Hilton Vice President for the HHonors program. We’re both in Seattle for the same events. By the way I’m at the Marriott by the airport, he came to me, and as the only one of us registered at the hotel and able to earn points I insisted on picking up the check. Unsurprisingly, like any good executive he did…
Class Warfare’s New Target: Silvercar
The Atlantic runs a piece that argues the real allure of a service like Silver — a car rental company that offers uniformly good cars, filled with features, and all-in pricing — is avoiding other people and not having to see Ford Tauruses. I disagree. Luxury services nearly always require seeing and being seen by others if they’re about making the customer feel better than someone else. It’s a novel theory indeed that Silvercar is selling the luxury of not interacting. That’s especially strange when Silvercar offers more service from people. In Austin at least you get picked up by a person and driven to their off-airport location. You are taken in a car, for sure, but you are driven rather than walking directly across to your car there where the major agencies are located.…
2000 Bonus Miles for Each of Your Kids, Last Call for $20, and Award Shenanigans With United and Air China (Bits ‘n Pieces for April 24, 2014)
News and notes from around the interweb: Enter my giveaway for lounge passes and miles Possible new routing rules for United awards between the US and North Asia Tomorrow is the last day for Uber referral links to offer a $20 first-time user credit. After that the first time incentive drops to $10 (but look out for better offers). (“Why Taxis Suck and What You Can Do About It“) Turkish Miles&Smiles will give your kids 1000 bonus miles for signup and 1000 more with first flight within 90 days (including partner flights on United). You can sign up each of your kids, and then combine the points. Are Air China employees cancelling United award tickets on their airline, to help other travelers clear upgrades for a fee? You can join the 40,000+ people who see…
Five Times When Consumers Won Against Frequent Flyer Program Changes
Yesterday I wrote about frequent flyer programs rolling back unpopular changes they’ve made to their programs. One reaction was that the example I gave was atypical. I focused on a 2008 announced change by American to begin charging a $5 fee to redeem miles online. Here’s one comment, That’s a valid point but this is just one example from 6 years ago. Pretty thin argument IMHO. It seemed relevant to me, but as far as American’s changes go it was a change in the past made by American and contemporaneously with the last major change they made to their overall award pricing. But more importantly it was just an interesting case study in how a frequent flyer program can learn while still attempting to save face. There are plenty more examples of where consumer outrage…
Frequent Flyer Programs Do Roll Back Changes — But Don’t Like to Admit They’re Wrong
At this morning’s Global Flight conference, Randy Petersen reminded the audience of a change that American AAdvantage put forward in May 2008 to begin imposing a $5 for booking award tickets on its website. This announcement — which was to go into effect the following month — set off a firestorm. The old argument was that reservation centers were more costly than web, an airline wanted to (a) push its reservations online to lower costs and (b) charge a fee for the ‘extra’ service of having a person handle the booking. This proposed change turned that on its head. And it’s worse than Spirit imposing a fee for buying paid airfare everywhere except the airport ticket counter… because it actually served as a tax on those who had accumulated miles in a past, a fee…
There’s a Real Future For Low Spend Frequent Flyers In This Game Moving Forward
I moderated an interesting panel this morning at a loyalty industry conference. We had a technology provider talking about the different ways to engage customers well, a survey specialist talking about who loyalty members are and where to find them (programs are often surprised at how many programs their own members belong to, it’s easy to think members pay attention to all of your messaging rather than being busy and inundated with multiple messages) and loyalty executives from a hotel chain and an airline. While taking questions from the audience, someone from a credit card issuer asked the panel about Delta’s move towards a more revenue-based program (next year miles will be earned based on the cost of a ticket rather than distance flown, and already earning elite status requires a minimum amount of spend…
Comment Here for a Chance to Win American AAdvantage Miles and Lounge Passes!
A couple of weeks ago I wrote that American Express Platinum cards would still get you into US Airways and American lounges through the end of April. Platinum cards lost access a month ago. Citibank is now the sole issuer of cards that offer lounge access with the new American Airlines. And they’ve got – by far – the best credit card offer in the market with a 100,000 mile signup bonus for their Executive Card which bundles American and US Airways lounge access. This month they’re ready to tell you about this card in American and US Airways lounges. If you come in with a card that used to come with lounge access, they’ll give you a club pass (valid for a year). They’ve also given me plenty of miles and club passes to…
Act Fast: $600 Off Airfare to Israel
Norwegian booking site Wideroe has dirt cheap flights from many US cities to Tel Aviv, Israel. This is available from many cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Washington DC. When you go to their site, switch the currency to US dollars. I’m seeing prices between $499 and $750 roundtrip for travel on US Airways, depending on travel dates and the US city you start in. Even at their most expensive, I’m seeing real savings. For instance, Los Angeles – Tel Aviv roundtrip on US Airways in July appears to be running ~ $1700… but on Wideroe closer to $1000. Here’s the month of July for a 5-7 day trip: But here’s if you price such a trip at Wideroe. What’s going on is that Wideroe appears to be dropping the fuel surcharge out of…
