Online Travel Review has played point on the amazing deal of purchasing Icelandair miles and redeeming those miles for first class awards on Alaska Airlines anywhere in the US and Canada including Hawaii and Alaska — for under $350 per ticket. Now Jared reports that Icelandair is finally pulling the deal — that at 8pm Eastern this evening they will be pulling Alaska Airlines redemptions. Their Alaska partnership continues, so presumably redemptions will return, but one imagines that those redemptions will be at a much higher mileage rate. The deal was a combination of the weak Icelandic Krona, a 20% mileage purchase bonus (which runs into September, but which isn’t necessary to have made this a good deal), and inexpensive redemption pricing on Alaska Airlines flights. From the beginning I had recommended finding Alaska Airlines…
Final Weekend for Starwood American Express 30,000 Point Bonus
The Starwood American Express 30,000 point signup offer is scheduled to be pulled on September 4th. 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 I’ve been using this card as a consistent go-to for over a decade, it was the one I recommended most back in 2002 when I started this blog and Starwood points remain the most valuable currency to this day — whether for redeeming on hotel stays (and their cash and points awards really stretch points to get the most out of them) or transferring to airline miles with the largest array of frequent flyer program partners. It’s a great offer, when I got the card I did not…
3000/5000 American Miles for an Avis Rental Extended
Last month I wrote about one of the stronger rental car bonuses I’ve seen: Through August 31, you can earn 3000 American miles on a 1-day rental or 5000 miles on a 3-day rental with Avis. Use coupon code MUAA035 and provide your American Airlines frequent flyer number with the reservation. A 1-day rental with Budget earns 1000 miles and a 3-day Budget rental yields 3000 miles. Use coupon code MUAZ025 along with your American AAdvantage account when making the reservation. Based on my experience with past offers of this sort, you do not need to use thediscount codes that go along with this offer, which may or may not provide a decent rental rate, in order to earn the miles. Rentals must be from participating airport locations in the U.S. or Canada, andbegin by August 31 in order to be eligible.…
Keeping Up With Work While on Vacation
Conde Nast has a piece on how to work productively while still making the most of your vacation. Chaney Kwak interviewed folks like Wendy Perrin, Joe Brancatelli, and IT executives with involvement in the travel industry. I was also interviewed, and here was my take: Some hotel rooms lack power outlets. I always bring a compact power strip so I can recharge all of my devices at once. An air card or MiFi device is indispensable so I can even work in cabs. I actually love staying caught up with work while I’m away because if I don’t, all of the relaxation I’ve accomplished is immediately wiped away by the deluge I receive when I come back. I especially love traveling to Asia. Thanks to a 12-hour time difference, very little is happening the entire…
The Strange Process of Redeeming Awards Through Korean Air Skypass
I have booked hundreds and hundreds of millions of miles worth of premium cabin international awards through my award booking service. But believe it or not I had never booked anything with miles in a Korean Air Skypass account before. Actually, this isn’t that surprising. Most of my clients are US-based with a smattering in Europe and Australia. The clients I’ve had in Asia have mostly been using miles in US frequent flyer programs for their rewards. Not too many US customers have Korean Air Skypass accounts. Plenty have Chase Ultimate Rewards points, though (from Chase Sapphire Preferred). And those transfer to Korean — but since the Ultimate Rewards program is pretty new, and the Korean Air partnership still just shy of a year old, I actually haven’t had occasion. And today I discovered that…
Bits ‘n Pieces for August 30, 2012
Various and Sundry Items from Around the Interweb: Pizza In Motion says that United’s new Miles for Merchandise option is like lighting your miles on fire. Then again your could use your Aeroplan points for LCD toasters or you could waste various credit card points on a McWedding… United Airlines has announced its rollout plans for the Boeing 787, after FAA certification flights they’ll begin flying their first aircraft on domestic routes out of Houston. Beginning November 4 you can expect to see the aircraft on certain flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Newark. NotiFlyer says that Canadians can get 50,000 Best Western points as a credit card signup bonus. I don’t usually highlight Best Western opportunities, but pickings are slim up North. Wired covers a plan by the Department of Homeland Security…
Redeem Your Miles Now for Summer 2013?
Scott McCartney offers some good, basic advice on booking award travel in today’s Wall Street Journal. A blog format, though, allows me to walk through it and explain what’s right, what’s wrong, and what’s a bit more nuanced than presented in print. For airline mileage mavens, Labor Day is the unofficial start date for booking prime holiday and spring-break trips. As summer ends, many travelers begin planning their next year’s worth of vacations—and hunting for the most generous frequent-flier award tickets to get them there. As I explained in The Myth of Booking Award Tickets at Midnight 330 Days Out, airlines don’t necessarily open award space immediately when their schedules load into computer reservation systems. Airlines want to release those seats as (saver / low) awards that they don’t expect to sell for cash. Sure,…
Aerolinas Argentinas Joins Skyteam
Delta Points points me to the news release that Aerolinas Argentinas joined Skyteam today. But… don’t expect any reciprocal elite status recognition for awhile: In keeping with SkyTeam’s focus on enriching the customer experience, Aerolíneas Argentinas will implement SkyPriority – SkyTeam priority airport services for Elite Plus, First and Business Class passengers worldwide – by the end of 2012. (Emphasis mine.) The majority state-owned airline, which was re-nationalized in 2008, has been in the process of joining since November 2010. I would have imagined that being ready to provide elite recognition would have been a precondition to actually joining the alliance. I guess the folks at Amsterdam felt they had waited long enough. Aerolinas Argentinas flies Miami-Buenos Aires as their only US route though I have to imagine that they’ll eventually add more US service.…
Bits ‘n Pieces for August 29, 2012
Offers and updates found elsewhere on the interweb: Frequent Miler reports several successes this morning going through a shopping portal to buy e-gift cards, earning a rebate, and then going through the shopping portal and using those e-gift cards a second time to earn a second rebate — double the cash back for purchasing a single item. Just Another Points Traveler notes a survey offering 1000 Priority Club points. Wandering Aramean flags that Amtrak is offering double points on all train travel September 5 through November 16. Registration required. Loyalty Traveler relays Tripadvisor’s win in court, when it dubs a hotel as “the dirtiest” it is expressing an opinion (based on the compilation of opinions of its users) rather than making a claim of objective fact (which if false could be actionable). If I were…
Redeeming American Express Membership Rewards on Star Alliance Airlines Without Fuel Surcharges
This little trick was shared with me some months ago in confidence (thanks S.S.!) so I never blogged it, but now it’s out in the frequent flyer forums and on blogs (e.g. today at The Points Guy). So now that it’s out, it’s no longer a secret, I can pass this along. American Express Membership Rewards is a great currency. I love flexible currencies because you can choose where to move points to when you know what award you want and further when you know who has award availability for that itinerary. It increases your ability to get the award redemption you want when you want it. But American Express has its drawbacks. Last year their partner Aeroplan started adding fuel surcharges onto most of their award tickets, you now often come out of pocket…
