Most of the time what I write on a given day is really just ‘whatever pops into my head’ although sometimes the very best pieces are those prompted by reader questions. You’re always welcome to email me of course, but what I’d love is for you to share what’s on your mind here in the comments. What would you love to understand better? What do you want to know? What do you think I could do a better job of covering for you? What would you like to see me write about? What’s on your mind? I won’t promise up front to cover everything, though I’ll read and ponder everything that’s written here in the comments. It may take me awhile to work through it as well, goodness knows there are things I’m behind on.…
Why Miles Really Matter… and to me, more than ever before
My grandfather was a huge influence on my life, but in a Mr. Miyagi kind of way. He taught me lessons growing up without telling me that was what he was doing. He taught me division using M&Ms when I was three or four, with his help I bid on stamp auctions when I was 11 or 12. I owe a great deal about how I think about the world to my time with him when I was young. Last week I learned that his heart had failed. He was in a rehabilitation facility and was scheduled to return home. He was just a couple of weeks from turning 97. After a brief stop at the hospital he was transferred to a hospice, and I was told he had days or hours to live. I…
Bits ‘n Pieces for September 16, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Why I Love Airline Food (HT: Joel G.) Double or even triple points… Southwest is running various targeted promotions, such as 50%, 100%, and 200% flight bonuses. Log into your account and look under promotions to see whether any are available to you. Offers appear to apply only to forward bookings (not to flights booked before today but for travel during the promotion period) for travel through November 21. (HT: Reader Jay R. pointing to a discussion started by frequent commenter toomanybooks) For bookings made by September 20 and travel through December 30, promotion code COSSW may get Costco members 25% off on Hyatt stays in the Southwest U.S. (HT: Lucky) American’s new pimped out A319s take flight today with initial service to Charlotte, Cleveland, Memphis and Wichita.…
40% Bonus on American Express Transfers to Virgin America
American Express Membership Rewards is offering a 40% bonus on transfers to Virgin America through September 30. Instead of receiving 100 points for every 200 transferred, you’ll receive 140 Virgin American points for 200 Membership Rewards points. Not the biggest transfer bonus they’ve offered, last November the offer was 50%. But certainly better to make a transfer when there is a bonus then when there isn’t one. Virgin America’s points are worth 2.2 cents apiece towards Virgin America travel, so it’s not a great deal for Virgin America travel. Normally you’re only getting 1.1 cents per Amex point transferring to Virgin America. This offer bumps that up to a bit over 1.5 cents per Amex point in value. Still, it can be a good deal to top off an account towards a specific award. Where’s…
Up to 5000 Delta Miles for Gifts to United Way, But Should You Earn Miles for Your Donations?
Points, Miles, and Martinis points to an offer of up to 5000 miles for making a donation to United Way by September 30. The PMM blog concludes, “It’s nice to see Delta giving out bonus miles for donations to United Way.” Except… United Way doesn’t appear as a designated charity to donate Skymiles to. So I think we can assume that this isn’t “Delta giving out miles for donations” but rather the charity buying miles from Delta in order to entice contributions. And actually in this case, the website soliciting the funds and providing the miles in Truist.com, a company which works with charities. They are soliciting donations and willing to spend money to acquire new donors. That’s not because your donation now is worth so much. Roughly speaking, after this third party’s costs and…
United Will Honor Yesterday’s $5 – $10 Mistake Fares
United was selling $0 base fares (tickets pricing out at $5-10) yesterday. At one point they shut down their entire booking process to stop these from selling. These were for a variety of routes, long and short. Earlier I speculated that United would honor the tickets, My guess is that domestic coach mistakes that weren’t booked by nearly as many people as some past mistakes won’t be that hard for United to swallow And indeed, United will honor the tickets but they word it very carefully to let you know not to think this is some sort of precedent. We’ve reviewed the error that occurred yesterday and based on these specific circumstances, we will honor the tickets. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to…
Bits ‘n Pieces for September 13, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: It’s hard for me to overcome my mental models and remind myself that United sometimes has wifi now and it’s not even that rare anymore. Meanwhile, Gogo inflight internet is getting faster speeds but not yet overwater coverage. United was selling $0 base fares (tickets pricing out at $5-10) yesterday. At one point they shut down their booking process to stop these from selling. One of the sad things about not doing this travel thing full time is that my ‘real job’ had me in meetings all day yesterday and I didn’t get to be a part of the drama. We’ll see what sort f position United takes on these tickets. My guess is that domestic coach mistakes that weren’t booked by nearly as many people as some…
Developing an Even Greater Appreciation for Central Texas Barbecue
Last Labor Day I made a barbecue pilgrimage to Lockhart, Texas. It changed my life, or at least how I think about meat and barbecue. While my very favorite foods are generally Southeast Asian, whether Singapore Hawker Centers or really good Thai, after being exposed to Central Texas barbecue it’s certainly up their on my list of favorites now. It was worth going to Austin just for the barbecue, and it’s worth going back. Central Texas barbecue is all about the meat. At a central Texas barbecue restaurant, the customer takes a tray. One staff member serves the customer the meat and often also carves it, while another server provides side dishes. Slices of packaged white bread are often included with the barbecue. Barbecue, sold by the pound, often includes beef ribs, brisket, chicken, pork…
The TSA Has Caused More Deaths Than Terrorism — But Maybe it No Longer Does
This week I linked to a post by Bruce Schneier where he explained how post-9/11 increased airport security led to more deaths than terrorist attacks have cuased. That’s because people switched from flying (short haul routes) to driving with the increased hassle and time taken by security. That predictably led to some consternation in the comments and in a barrage of emails. One of the smartest responses I got pointed out that overall traffic fatalities are on the decline. Now, the statistic may get overused or there may be overclaims about what it says, but I’ve read John Mueller (Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies, and Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University) on this issue and the post appears to be based on sound research. And there’s not a claim that I’ve…
Singapore Airlines’ Excellent New “Understanding Your Needs” Campaign
At the end of last month I pulled together some of the best historical airline ads I know of. Frankly it’s fun (for me, but I’m a bit nuts for this stuff) cruising through Youtube for these things, and I think it’s an amazing thing about our world that it’s all available there a few clicks away. Looking at those ads it struck me how bad most airline advertising is, and I don’t think it’s because the ad agencies aren’t creative or the airline executives make bad customers. Instead it’s because it’s hard to differentiate their products in mass media. How do you communicate in a meaningful way on television why you should choose United over American? Airline advertising is hard because to the median consumer there isn’t a dime’s bit of difference between the…
