Marriott’s Fairfield Inn & Suites offered up (2) $250 gift cards to give away to my readers in celebration of their Silver September national vacation giveaway. I posted this over Labor Day Weekend, about a slow a time for internet traffic as anything but Christmas, and yet still about 1000 entries came in. For each entry, folks were asked “What do you look for in a business hotel?” And two winners were drawn at random thanks to random.org. Chuan said, “Complimentary wifi.” Sam said, “Wi-fi and free breakfast.” Congratulations to Chuan and Sam, you’ll get a followup email shortly to make sure you each receive your $250 gift card. And thanks to Fairfield Inn & Suites!
Does Today’s Mileage Crediting Glitch Offer a Glimpse into Delta’s Future Revenue-Based Frequent Flyer Program
Earlier in the year there were significant rumors that Delta would be moving to a revenue-based frequent flyer program. There have been job postings describing positions to drive a change to a revenue-based program, and a leaked memo about no longer displaying distances flown on trips and replacing it with a calculator of how many points a customer would earn based on the price of their ticket, along with eventually aligning the mileage cost of award tickets with the price that the tickets are selling for on a given day. I understand that when word of these potential changes leaked, that a firestorm was let loose in Atlanta. They were freaking out at Delta headquarters. And then things went silent. The rumors were that they were going to be releasing details on the new program…
My Labor Day Barbecue Pilgrimage to Lockhart, Texas
Best barbecue in Texas: This was a trip I’ve been intending to make for about the last two years, and yet something always seemed to get in the way. Often it was an international trip, or it was dead of summer and I didn’t want to be in Texas because of the heat. And though it was hovering around 100 degrees much of the weekend, it was also Labor Day. And that’s the barbecue holiday of the year, so it seemed like the perfect time although I suppose I worried that others would see it the same way. First stop was Franklin Barbecue which is actually in Austin. Arriving just before opening, there was already a line. It was a young crowd, people brought coolers ready to hunker down and wait for the barbecue. At…
Last Day to Enter Fairfield Suites Gift Card Giveaway
I’m giving away (2) $250 gift cards for use at Fairfield Inn & Suites properties in celebration of their Silver September national vacation giveaway. See details and enter by 5pm Eastern today. All you have to do is click on the official entry post and leave a comment that answers the question, “What do you look for in a business hotel?” You can enter once each 24 hours, so if you entered before consider doing so again. Got questions about this contest? Email them to me, as they may get lost in contest thread entries otherwise.
Bits ‘n Pieces for September 5, 2012
News and Notes from Around the Interweb: It’s not just pilots who fly drunk. An Emirates flight attendant has been let go after testing eight times the legal alcohol limit for flight attendants. She wasn’t originally scheduled to work the flight, had been out until the early morning drinking, when she was called and asked to sub-in. She was new with the airline and thought it best to agree (plus her judgement was likely impaired when she did..). Her defense, though? She did a great job! In fact, “one of the passengers praised her for being helpful and attentive.” I bet she was. Barbara Peterson manages to fly Ryanair without paying any extra fees and shares how she did it. As expected, the judge in American’s bankruptcy case has ruled that the airline can impose…
Milepoint Premium Membership is Back (with a Limited Time Offer)
Milepoint, the frequent flyer community that I helped to found a year and a half ago, is again offering its ‘premium membership’ package — a way of supporting the community while also receiving a rich package of benefits that most consider more than worth the cost. The current offer is $59, which covers a year of premium membershipship and includes one year of ad-free viewing on Milepoint.com and: Points and elite status: 2,000 United MileagePlus miles Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum status through Feb. 2014 or 2,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points if you are already a Hyatt elite member Upgrade to National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive Status Several additional freebies: One Free Gogo Inflight Internet 24-hour pass Free 1-year subscription to InsideFlyer.com Free upgrade to AwardWallet Plus account and a free AwardWallet OneCard Free 3-month…
Delta Increases the Cost of Some Mileage Awards With No Notice Whatsoever
Over the weekend Delta made some changes to their award chart without any advance notice. And, in fact, there hasn’t even been a notice posted at all — the award chart itself has simply changed. The price of traditional ‘saver’ awards (“low” in Delta parlance) are unaffected, it’s medium and high coach awards on some routes that are getting more expensive — an increase of 5000 miles roundtrip in those cases. Here are the specific changes that were made on September 1, without any advance notice: ‘Medium’ level coach awards between the US and Mexico or the Caribbean go from 50,000 to 55,000 miles roundtrip. ‘High’ level coach awards between the US and Mexico or the Caribbean go from 70,000 to 75,000 miles roundtrip. ‘Medium’ level coach awards between the US and Southern South America…
Today is the Last Day for the Starwood American Express 30,000 Point Signup Bonus
The Starwood American Express 30,000 point signup offer is scheduled to be pulled at 9am Eastern on September 5. It’s the biggest signup bonus offer I’ve seen for the card (which has been around twice in the past), when I first got this card I received no signup bonus for it. For just the next 24 hours, the offer is: 10,000 bonus points after first purchase 20,000 more points after $5000 in spend within 6 months No fee the first year ($65 thereafter, which is lower than most airline co-branded cards This has been my consistent go-to card for over a decade, for all of the spending that isn’t generating significant bonuses on other credit cards. It’s my everyday choice, and the very first card I recommended as best way back in 2002 when I…
‘Keeping Austin Weird’ at the Hyatt Regency on the River
I spent much of Labor Day weekend in Austin, and decided to stay at the Hyatt Regency there. Rates were on the high side, perhaps largely due to a Longhorns football game that everyone on property seemed to be going to, so I used my annual free night from the Hyatt Visa. (While the card comes with two free nights at any Hyatt as a signup bonus, each year cardmembers are credited with one free night valid at a ‘category 4’ hotel or lower, the best value category 4 is often considered to be the Hyatt 48Lex in New York but the Hyatt Regency Austin is a category 4 hotel as well). You can’t make an award reservation and a paid reservation together online, but offline there’s no problem in doing so. I created one…
Bits ‘n Pieces for September 4, 2012
Some links, news, and opinion from around the interweb: Christopher Elliott notes that the Republican Party platform calls for reform of the TSA and private screeners. He didn’t expect anything similar in the Democratic Party platform, and he was correct (.pdf). Elliott concludes that it’s an election year issue, but I’m not so sure. Most items in party platfoms aren’t ultimately issues that get play during a campaign. They serve more to cement coalitions and demonstrate relative status within a party rather than representing even what a Presidential candidate’s position on an issue will be. As of November 1, only elite members of LANPASS will be permitted to use miles for upgrades. The September issue of Inside Flyer‘s Ask Randy section (subscription required) recommends my award booking service. [T]here are a number of bona fide…
