clayd333 shares the following email from the Westin Times Square (that I have since verified that others who booked the rate have received as well): Dear Westin New York Guest: Thank you for choosing The Westin New York at Times Square. Our records indicate that you have booked the Renew Your Soul package for your upcoming stay. Please be advised that this special offer is limited to single occupancy and is valid for the dates confirmed at time of booking. Any changes in dates, number of occupants or room type will result in a rate change and render the $60.00 rate null and void in accordance with hotel room modification policy. For assistance or for more information, please contact us at mars.01380@westin.com or call 212-201-4649 and select option 5. Kind regards, Reservations Department The Westin…
How I Cracked the Screen on My New Phone
Since I came to my readers looking for suggestions on a new phone, and I wrote about my overall happiness with the phone I bought (though I do still miss my blackberry keyboard), I figured I’d share an update with something of a problem I experienced yesterday with my new Samsung Galaxy S3. I dropped it. Face down. On the sidewalk. I never got a case to protect the phone, and apparently that was a mistake. The phone itself is sleek as it is, feels great in my hand, and I didn’t want to make it bulkier. It’s bigger than something I want to put in my pocket, and actually thought I was protecting it by using a belt holster like I used to for my blackberry. Certainly more convenient than sticking the thing in…
Bits ‘n Pieces for August 24, 2012
News, Tips, and Happenings: Usually experience auctions — or anything non-travel related even that you can do with your points — wind up being a poor value. But this one actually strikes me as having been quite worth it. Woman steals a hair dryer, coffee pot, alarm clock and other items from a Holiday Inn worth $206 in total. Gets caught. Blames her non-existent twin sister. (A different) woman falls asleep on a Pakistan International Airlines flight bound for Paris. Winds up back in Lahore. She’ll be transported back to Europe free, no word on whether she’ll earn the miles for her extra flying. Rapid Travel Chai applied for two Citi Hilton Reserve cards at the same time using different browsers and got approved for both. That means two sets of two free weekend nights…
15% Off Alitalia Flights Booked This Weekend
Update: the promo is on the US website as well, here is the link. The Alitalia Italian website is offering a 15% discount on tickets purchased by August 27 at Noon in Italy for travel between September 1 and November 30. The discount actually applies to the full ticket cost, including taxes and fuel surcharges, and is valid on Alitalia flights throughout their route network. It’s valid on both coach and business class but not for premium economy. You enter the e-Coupon discount code during the purchase process and then have to click ‘recalculate’ to see the new price. The discount is not valid for the Classic Plus, children’s tickets, or on award tickets. If you don’t want to mess with Google Translate on the Italian site while making a booking, it might be worth…
Bits ‘n Pieces for August 23, 2012
News and notes from here and there: From the ACLU’s blog, the TSA’s new passenger interrogations at the checkpoint. Canadians: Use Sobey’s to launder Esso Extra Points into Aeroplan miles Six months of free Shoprunner unlimited 2 shipping from participating merchants. Triple Hertz points between September 4 and December 15 (registration required). And since I gave them a hard time the other day, thought I’d point out double Air Baltic BalticMiles between Riga and Paris for bookings made August 23-29 and travel November 1-15.
Why the Most Successful Small Community Air Service Grants are the Biggest Indictment of the Program
Cranky Flier likes the federal government’s Small Community Air Service Development grant program. He outlined this year’s winners that he liked on Monday, and I explained why the best of the best is proof enough why the program isn’t worth it. This morning he looks at what he considers to be successes from last year’s program. And of the 29 winners from 2011, he can find four. South Bend, Indiana wanted low cost carrier service to Denver. It took awhile, but Frontier will begin service in October. Grand Forks, North Dakota wanted Denver as well, and it will be getting service on United that same month. Bozeman, Montana wanted a New York flight. It got it with Saturday-only service this summer on United. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania wanted a Denver flight like the others and it might…
500 Free Priority Club Points for International Shopping E-Newsletter Signup
When I first saw the offer of 500 Priority Club points from their shopping portal, my first thought was ‘uh oh’ the toolbar rears its ugly head again. But no, the international shopping site is offering 500 free points for e-newsletter signup. Offer is valid through September 15 and there’s no mention of how long it will take to get the points, definitely wait to actually receive the points before unsubscribing.
Security Theater Nightmare – I Thought *I* Had it Bad Just Opting Out of Nude-o-Scopes Edition
Reid passes along the story of a cancer patient denied boarding on Delta because of his shirt. His blog is extremely long, containing a tremendous amount of irrelevant details and complaints not central to the issue (like that when he was rebooked he initially didn’t have a seat and Delta had to take volunteers in order to get him one, but explained much less succinctly than that and as though it were an additional grievance). But the story is still an interesting an important one. Admittedly it’s his side of the story only, but apparently he: Was returning from a funeral, was at his connecting gate, and subjected to additional screening and questioning because of his shirt which he explains was poking fun at security theatre and overreaction to the threat of terrorism. Received at…
Government Hotel Rates: By Not Spending More, You Save!
The GSA has had a bunch of scandals recently. But they really, really want you to know that they are trying to contain costs. Fortunately, I translate their releases to make them more plain-spoken for the intelligent lay-person. As part of our top to bottom review of GSA, we have been looking for savings in our government-wide travel programs. Each year, GSA sets the federal government’s travel reimbursement rates for lodging, meals, and incidentals for official government travel. For the first time in more than a decade, we decided to freeze the rates at current levels. In other words, we were looking at ways of saving money on travel. But we decided not to move forward with any of them. Instead, we punted. (And since we’re doing such a great job in travel, you can…
Starwood’s Fall Promotion: Double or Triple Points Plus Online and Mobile Booking Bonuses
Starwood’s Fall promotion is “Better By the Night”: Between October 1 and December 20, Starwood is offering: Double points on eligible stays of 1 or 2 nights Triple points on eligible stays of 3 or more nights In addition, there are online and mobile device booking bonuses: 250 bonus points for eligible stays booked at spg.com, through the Blackberry app, or with the W Hotels iPhone app 500 bonus points for eligible stays booked through their iPhone app “Better By the Night” was the name of the promotion that Starwood ran in the first quarter of the year, and included the same double and triple point bonuses. The online and mobile app booking bonuses are new. More points are better than not more points, but the double and triple points amount to a few hundred…
