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Understanding Korean Air First Class Awards Using Chase Points
Reader Carberrie asks, Korean Air miles booking process! I know Korean miles are a good option for those of us with Ultimate Rewards points seeking transpacific F. However, I just know that the availability is great but the booking process is a pain in the butt. What I don’t know is how bad is it, and is the pain worth it? Korean is one of the really undervalued transfer partners of Chase Ultimate Rewards. Transfer to Korean Air, the transfers are usually instantaneous. Here’s the award chart. They offer one-way awards at half the cost of a roundtrip. From the US to Hong Kong via Seoul in first class is 80,000 points. They do add fuel surcharges which vary by destination, though Asia is usually less costly than Europe. The key here is that first…
Here’s the Very First Look Inside the Brand New Singapore Airlines First Class Cabin
Last August I reported here that Singapore planned to launch a new inflight product in late 2013. And they’ve done just that. I attended the aircraft delivery of Singapore’s first new-cabin 777. They previewed the seats back in July, but those seats are now onboard an aircraft that’s about to go into service. It’s an evolution on their current 777-300ER offering, not something completely different, but it’s also a real improvement in some meaningful ways and has me excited to fly Singapore again. There are 8 aircraft on order with this new interior. They haven’t announced anything about retrofitting existing 777s, but they have announced it as the product for Singapore’s new Airbus A350s on order. This first aircraft is being sent to fly Singapore – London. Additional routes for future aircraft haven’t been announced,…
15% Off Hyatt Discount Code
Hyatt has a targeted game “the CHASE” where they’re giving away points and other prizes. I’ve read that at first anyone could play but they’ve fixed that programming. I got around to playing the game on a flight last night and it was amusing and cute, for what that’s worth. The default result of the game is a generic discount code such as 10% off (DISC10) or 15% off (DISC15). The codes don’t attach to your account, so they should be usable by anyone, you simply enter them in the discount code box when searching for a reservation on the Hyatt website. I ran a search for a random night at the Hyatt Regency Austin… …and came up with the following rates: DISC15 did give 15% off of the Hyatt Daily Rate. It’s also a…
Bits ‘n Pieces for September 19, 2013
News and Notes from Around the Interweb:You can request an invitation to United’s family day in San Francisco on October 13. ANA is offering a 30% discount on Air New Zealand award redemptions. Their distance-based chart has some sweet spots. This offer makes Los Angeles – Auckland roundtrip in business class just 63,000 miles. Of course you have to find award availability first! American Express Membership Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest offer good value transfers to ANA, albeit not instantly. The heads of the Hyatt Gold Passport and MGM M Life programs hosted a live chat on Milepoint. Since they didn’t get to answer all of the questions online, they agreed to go back and reply to the rest. Here is the result, literally everything you could want to know about the Hyatt-MGM loyalty program…
Here’s How It’s Possible to Earn Miles Flying on Award Tickets
Reader Robert asked, Are there any situations when a flight that one booked with award points earn actually earns points? For example when a late flight results in a misconnection and rebooking by the airline onto another flight? In general frequent flyer award tickets (tickets you buy with miles) do not earn miles. But there are exceptions to that rule. bmi Was the Whale of All Mileage-Earning on Awards british midland used to give mileage credit for Star Alliance award tickets on several airlines booked through partner mileage programs. This was a glitch that was broadly exploited. An international first class award, say, on Thai Airways paid for with United miles could net you gold elite status in the program and enough miles for a business class cash and points award between the US and…
Have You Ever Been to South Korea? You May Be Eligible for $860 in Compensation
Some folks claimed that Asiana and Korean Air were colluding on their pricing. They sued, a class action was created, and some lawyers got very rich. A funny thing happened on the way to the courthouse though. This class action looks like it may actually pay out more to folks than just a small discount on very expensive future travel. In fact, one estimate of the settlement payout is $500 cash plus $360 in vouchers for future travel — although the actual amount will depend on how many people file claims. If you purchased a Korean Air or Asiana ticket in the U.S. for travel between the US and South Korea between January 1, 2000 and August 1, 2007 then you may be entitled to a payout. Flying through Seoul doesn’t count — you cannot…
Request for Requests
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.…
