As though Delta’s recent award chart devaluation wasn’t bad enough (and Delta thought it wasn’t, since they announced a no-notice devaluation to tied them over to the previously announced devaluation), the Skymiles program has come out with the major restructuring we’ve all been fearing for the last couple of years. Details are now up on the Delta website. For Delta marketed or ticketed flights (purchased from Delta, or with a Delta flight number) earning will be based on ticket cost beginning January 1, 2015. We’re getting 5 redemption tiers for bookings made January 1, 2015 onward, but Delta hasn’t shared details on what those will look like — and won’t until the fourth quarter. Delta’s been pushing towards revenue-based programs for years, they made changes to the earning structure (that they backed off from) 11…
The TSA’s New “Expedited” Choose Your Own Checkpoint Screening Adventure
I had a TSA screening experience unlike any other, not bad mind you just new and different. I was departing Charleston, South Carolina and was happy to have discovered a few days earlier that TSA Secure Flight information transfers over well from American’s booking engine to US Airways flights. I had booked an American Airlines codeshare flying US Airways at AA.com in order to use an American voucher, and still managed to get PreCheck when flying US Airways. I knew I had read that Charleston now had PreCheck, in one of the batches of 60 airports added in the fall. So when I approached the checkpoint at about 2pm and there was no PreCheck lane, I asked. The travel document checker told me that they only open the PreCheck lane when it’s “really busy.” but…
TODAY ONLY: 20% Off Virgin America
Virgin America is offering a 20% discount if you book today and travel between March 17 and April 17 using promo code LEISURE20. This is valid for all non-refundable Main Cabin, Instant Upgrade to Main Cabin Select, or non-refundable First Class tickets. You have to travel Monday through Saturday only, Sunday travel is blacked out. The itinerary can’t be multi-city and can’t include more than two passengers or multiple destinations in order for the coupon to work. (HT: The Flight Deal) You can join the 30,000+ 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!
Airport Layovers, Do-it-Yourself Amazing Race, and Starwood Will Reward You for Your LinkedIn Connections (Bits ‘n Pieces for Feb 25, 2014)
News and notes from around the interweb: Get 1000 Starwood Starpoints for referring LinkedIn connections to SPG if they make a stay by May 15. If you’re a resident of India. My LinkedIn connections are far less. Season 24 of The Amazing Race has premiered. Here’s how you can do it yourself (Conde’ Nast coverage of my award booking partner’s ‘other’ project.) TSA searches a man looking for his bitcoin. Fly and Dine really likes the tip to take the Parking Spot – Sepulveda bus over to In ‘n Out during an LAX layover. I think the burgers are ‘ok’ but the view of arriving aircraft is fantastic. “American Airlines to Phase out Complimentary Cabin Pressurization” (from The Onion) HT: Sean O. on Facebook Earn Etihad Guest points for posting hotel reviews. You can join…
Ok, But What’s the WORST Credit Card?
Yesterday I wrote about the best all-around credit card. It has great features and benefits. But what’s the other side of the coin? Via pfdigest we learn about the First Premier MasterCard from First Premier Bank. I won’t even include a link to the card. Standard credit limit is $300 36% APR $75 first-year annual fee, $45 thereafter $6.25 monthly fee $95 application fee (if approved, it’s treated as a security deposit) 25% of every credit line increase is charged as a credit line increase fee This actually exists. You can join the 30,000+ 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.…
The Best All-Around Credit Card is Chase Sapphire Preferred
Key Link: Chase Sapphire Preferred Veterans already know this, although the very experienced will find that they can earn the most bonus points with the Ink Plus® Business Card because it earns 5 points per dollar on telecommunications (cell phone, internet, satellite/cable tv) and at office supply stores (with all the myriad things you can buy there, including online through the Chase Ultimate Rewards mall for even more bonus points). Plus it has a signup bonus of 50,000 points after $5000 spend within 3 months and a $0 fee the first year ($95 thereafter). But for someone looking for just one card, wanting to know which one is best, I recommend Chase Sapphire Preferred. I have this conversation on a daily basis, and at events it’s probably the question I’m most asked. I start by…
Frequent Flyer Geekfest on the Ground: Watching Die Hard 2 and Sending Snarky Texts to the Screen
I was only down for the Austin MegaDO briefly, but it was a great gathering. I attended the Sheraton reception, the private dinner at Franklin Barbecue, and the morning ‘Hecklevision’ showing of Die Hard 2 at the Alamo Ritz Drafthouse. On the walk over in the morning from the Hyatt Place, I passed this place which struck me as fascinating, I wished it was open in the a.m. because I imagined it as something out of the 3rd installment of Mad Max. And what could be cooler — inside the tiny world that thinks mileage and aviation enthusiasts are the height of cool, of course — than having brunch inside a movie theatre, watching the campy second installment of the Die Hard series (Die Hard at the airport!), and getting to display your wit in…
The Best Barbecue Restaurant With Sit Down Service and Online Reservations
The best barbecue is bus your own tray. That’s almost a universal across barbecue styles, and true for my favorite (Central Texas). There’s one exception that I’ve found, though, and so it’s one for the repertoire. Lamberts in downtown Austin. You can reserve it on Opentable. It’ s an actual sit-down restaurant with table service. It’s a full bar, they’ve got live music. In other words, it’s a real restaurant with local character where the food served just happens to be really top notch barbecue. The meat isn’t up to par with Franklin or Black’s, but it’s a Texas Monthly top 100 spot, so this is regarded as real good barbecue. It’s also derided as ‘fancy’ barbecue because of the service that some would consider extraneous, and because of the prices (you’re paying sit down…
The Digital Camera I Use is Now Selling for Half What I Paid for It
I got a chuckle the other evening, I pulled out my camera. You use a camera? Yeah, I have a smartphone and it’s fine but a real camera takes much better pictures. I suspect most people are happy nowadays with their smartphone, maybe taking a camera on vacation with them. I carry mine around with me in my laptop bag. Goodness knows I’m not a great photographer, which is very much the reason why. I’m a point and shoot kinda guy and I’ve never taken a class or been shown how to take great pictures. But the photos I take with my Canon s110 are more than decent, certainly good enough for blogging. Last year I bought the camera for ~ $325. The new normal price seems to be $299. But the camera, with case,…
Hyatt Place Austin Downtown: Is It “the Best Hyatt Place” As They Claim?
I spent Friday night at the Hyatt Place Austin Downtown for the Austin MegaDO frequent flyer event. I stayed there because it was walking distance from Saturday morning’s event, I could leave my car parked, head back and check out. And because on a one night stay I could use my Hyatt Visa free night. The Hyatt Visa offers a great value with a free night at any Hyatt hotel up to redemption category 4. But the night doesn’t count towards elite status, and it can’t be upgraded to a suite. So I find I push back using it, and it was going to expire at the end of April. Since this hotel is category 4, and it was going for ~ $275++ per night for the one night’s stay, it seemed like a great…
