A couple of weeks ago I reminded that American’s lifetime elite status recognition program was changing — going from counting all miles earned in the program to counting only flight miles (except that folks who get the pricey Citi Executive Mastercard before December 1 would have spend from that card count towards lifetime status for at least a year). I said at the time that I expected to end the month with 2,998,000 lifetime miles in the AAdvantage program. I had earned lifetime Gold at one million miles in 2006, lifetime Platinum at two million miles in 2010, and a bit over a year and a half later was on the cusp of 3 million lifetime miles which only means 4 additional confirmed systemwide upgrades valid from any fare… plus the distinction of course of…
Top Off Your Elite Qualifying Miles Without Flying
It’s getting close to the end of the year and it’s time to take a hard look at your status miles year-to-date, add up the miles from all remaining travel through the end of the year, and figure out if you’re going to be a few miles short of that next elite level. The traditional way to make up the difference in miles is to book a mileage run (flying just for the sake of the miles). And while that’s incremental revenue for the airline, it’s also crowding the front cabin (from domestic upgrades) by folks who don’t need to be in the air, it’s usually done at the cheapest prices, and flying is no longer the primary income stream for the mileage programs themselves — other revenue sources like selling miles to credit cards…
Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites
Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home We pulled up to the Conrad and were immediately assisted with our bags and directed to the front desk. Upon identifying myself, the woman at the desk went for assistance. I had a momentary panic — I had booked the room on a…
American Airlines Files For Bankruptcy — And Your Miles Are Safe
American Airlines’ parent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this morning. In the past decade, United, Delta, and US Airways have all been in and exited from bankruptcy protection. American will certainly continue to operate through its reorganization, which is designed to shed costs that competitor airlines have already offloaded. While there will be some operational changes no doubt, frequent flyers need not worry. As I explained last month, an American Airlines bankruptcy is not bad for frequent flyers. I have nearly a million American Airlines miles myself, and lifetime Platinum status with the airline. And I’m not worried about my stash of miles. American Airlines will continue to fly, liquidation is not foreseeable. Bankruptcy may even be a boon to American’s mileage program. It’s been quite some time since American Airlines restructured their frequent…
The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites
Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home We landed in Hong Kong, proceeded to transfer security, and took the train over to Cathay Pacific’s The Pier lounge which was adjacent to our onward connecting gate. Though we were flying business class Hong Kong – Bangkok, as an arriving first class…
Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites
Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home Cathay Pacific first and business class check-in is with British Airways at the end of Terminal 7, it’s quiet and has its own dedicated security so no real waiting. With no one ahead in line it took a surprisingly long time for an…
Free Accor A|Club Top Tier Platinum Status
Via RoninTech on Milepoint: If you have an existing non-platinum account go here (its in german but chrome/firefox can translate for you), enter your member number and email, click the button and you get upgraded to Platinum for free. Update: Commenter Colleen notes “…or just select “English” on the upper right pull-down menu and the translated page will appear ” As I noted with a previous offer at the beginning of last month, Platinum status generally requires 60 nights (or 25,000 points earned) and comes with a 100% points bonus and then at Sofitel, Pullman, and MGallery hotels: room upgrades that the rules say you specifically have to ask for, 4pm late checkout, guaranteed availability, and a welcome drink and gift. I’ve always found it odd that A|Club elite status doesn’t get you recognition at…
US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites
Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home There’s little detail to share about the start of the trip. Since we’d be taking the morning Cathay Pacific flight, a 9am departure, we flew up to New York the night before. Since I was using British Airways miles (in their pre-Avios incarnation),…
Free Club Carlson Award Nights (9000 Bonus Points Per Award Stay)
Via Ben: [T]hey’re offering 9,000 bonus points for each award stay (excluding cash and points) that you make with them between December 1, 2011, and January 31, 2012. You can earn the bonus up to five times, and bonus points will be credited to your account by February 15. Registration is also required. Now, Club Carlson’s category one hotels actually only cost 9,000 points per night, so if you have the points balance up front, this actually means you could get five free nights at one of their lower end hotels.
Planning the Trip: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites
Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home Hopefully this trip will be useful to some readers, as I believe two of the very best aspirational uses of points are Cathay Pacific First Class (because it’s an outstanding product, and one that’s reasonably possible to redeem for) and the Conrad Koh…
