Introduction Positioning flights to San Francisco, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, and Some Dim Sum for the Day Cathay’s New San Francisco Lounge Cathay Pacific First Class, San Francisco – Hong Kong The Wing and Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Singapore A Grand Suite at the Grand Hyatt Singapore Eating in Singapore Dinner at Waku Ghin, Marina Bay Sands Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Male Transfer to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Maldives Park Hyatt Maldives – Part I Park Hyatt Maldives – Part II Park Hyatt Maldives – Part III Maldivian, Kaadehdhoo – Male Singapore Airlines Business Class, Male – Singapore Cathay Pacific Business Class, Singapore – Hong Kong Conrad Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Chicago American’s Chicago Flagship Lounge and the Final Journey Home Lucky recently said to me…
Starwood Relaxes Point Expiration Policy
Via New Girl in the Air, Starwood has made its point expiration policy more customer-friendly. Previously you needed hotel points-earning activity or points earned via a Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card every 12 months in order to keep your account active. Now you’ll just need points activity of any kind in your account during 12 months to keep that account active — transferring points to an airline, redeeming points, even earning a handful of points via Audience Rewards trivia will all keep your account active and extend your expiration date by 12 months. It’s not as big a deal as the across the board improvements to elite benefits (where everyone except Platinums staying fewer than 50 nights are unambiguously better off, and even those Platinums now have an option for free breakfast). But it’s…
Maximizing Miles in the Maldives: Cathay First, Eating in Singapore, and a Park Hyatt Water Villa – Cathay’s New San Francisco Lounge
Introduction Positioning flights to San Francisco, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, and Some Dim Sum for the Day Cathay’s New San Francisco Lounge Cathay Pacific First Class, San Francisco – Hong Kong The Wing and Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Singapore A Grand Suite at the Grand Hyatt Singapore Eating in Singapore Dinner at Waku Ghin, Marina Bay Sands Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Male Transfer to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Maldives Park Hyatt Maldives – Part I Park Hyatt Maldives – Part II Park Hyatt Maldives – Part III Maldivian, Kaadehdhoo – Male Singapore Airlines Business Class, Male – Singapore Cathay Pacific Business Class, Singapore – Hong Kong Conrad Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Chicago American’s Chicago Flagship Lounge and the Final Journey Home We departed the Sheraton Fisherman’s…
The Wall Street Journal’s Strategies for Getting the Most of Your Miles (are Wrong)
Scott McCartney offers a lot of bad advice in the Wall Street Journal about the value of miles and what to expect from them. Seth does a good job pointing out the flaws. McCartney looks only at the websites of the airlines whose miles he’s trying to use (the Delta website is broken, the US Airways website doesn’t offer partner award options at all), the routes he’s searching with the miles he’s using aren’t really generalizable to mileage programs as a whole, and the conclusions he draws about the value of miles are erroneous (you shouldn’t just expect a penny a point in value from them). However, through my award booking service I have come across a large number of folks who approach things just the way that Scott does and that’s why they come…
Maximizing Miles in the Maldives: Cathay First, Eating in Singapore, and a Park Hyatt Water Villa – Positioning flights to San Francisco, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, and Some Dim Sum for the Day
Introduction Positioning flights to San Francisco, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, and Some Dim Sum for the Day Cathay’s New San Francisco Lounge Cathay Pacific First Class, San Francisco – Hong Kong The Wing and Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Singapore A Grand Suite at the Grand Hyatt Singapore Eating in Singapore Dinner at Waku Ghin, Marina Bay Sands Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Male Transfer to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Maldives Park Hyatt Maldives – Part I Park Hyatt Maldives – Part II Park Hyatt Maldives – Part III Maldivian, Kaadehdhoo – Male Singapore Airlines Business Class, Male – Singapore Cathay Pacific Business Class, Singapore – Hong Kong Conrad Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Chicago American’s Chicago Flagship Lounge and the Final Journey Home Since I made the decision…
Maximizing Miles in the Maldives: Cathay First, Eating in Singapore, and a Park Hyatt Water Villa – Introduction
Introduction Positioning flights to San Francisco, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, and Some Dim Sum for the Day Cathay’s New San Francisco Lounge Cathay Pacific First Class, San Francisco – Hong Kong The Wing and Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Singapore A Grand Suite at the Grand Hyatt Singapore Eating in Singapore Dinner at Waku Ghin, Marina Bay Sands Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Male Transfer to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Maldives Park Hyatt Maldives – Part I Park Hyatt Maldives – Part II Park Hyatt Maldives – Part III Maldivian, Kaadehdhoo – Male Singapore Airlines Business Class, Male – Singapore Cathay Pacific Business Class, Singapore – Hong Kong Conrad Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Chicago American’s Chicago Flagship Lounge and the Final Journey Home Two things happened last year…
Would You Try to Seize a 777 Over an Unpaid Lost Luggage Claim?
Miles from Blighty goes to the mat against Continental over a lost baggage reimbursement claim. My one experience over lost luggage with United (as an international first class award passenger) where compensation was involved was a bag that didn’t make it onto my Osaka flight, arrived there after I had made my way to Thailand, and three days later shows up in Phuket with United failing to authorize delivery of the bags — so I had my resort in Khao Lak make an airport for pickup. I had purchased some cheap clothes in town to tide me through, and I sought the expenses for those as well as the cost of the hotel’s airport trip which I had been charged. I wrote United a letter, and had a check in hand for the full amount…
Escort Service Gets a Rise out of Starwood on Twitter
I wonder what sort of customer service SPG provided? Perhaps late checkout, the new Platinum breakfast benefit, or something from Whatever, Whenever?
Canadians Can Get in on Credit Card Signup Bonuses, too
I often feel bad for Canada, they have only one airline which is part of an international alliance and offers reasonable aspirational mileage awards, but that airline has started adding fuel surcharges to its awards and gutted its award chart back in July. Even its credit cards are generally less rewarding than counterparts in the United States. No wonder Canadians I meet are often so defensive about their homeland. There’s less competition up north in the mileage game, and they have to learn to expect a bit less or to figure out a way to finagle a US-based points earning card which doesn’t charge foreign currency transaction fees. Or to take the best of what’s out there. I’m not a big fan of Avios, and I wouldn’t take a 50,000 mile offer for their credit…
Amtrak Guest Rewards Redemption Prices Going Up April 1
Just a reminder for both of you who collect Amtrak Guest Rewards points, redemption prices go up on April 1. This time they’ve made changes and actually given us notice! The least expensive (‘special routes’) award goes from 1000 to 1500 points one-way (50% increase). Northeast corridor coach goes from 3000 to 4000 points one-way (one-third increase). Business class goes from 6500 to 7500 (15% increase). Other awards are getting more expensive as well, as many as 10,000 points more expensive one-way — the two and three zone sleeper car awards. And an auto train award goes up from 10,000 to 15,000 points one-way for a car. It’s not as though points-earning on Amtrak is that generous to begin with, that they’ve been printing points like crazy… Redeem any awards you’re thinking about now, before…
