Hyatt Gold Passport generously provided 66,000 points for me to give away this week in celebration of their new promotion (register here). There are two prizes – 44,000 points, enough for two nights at any Hyatt in the world (or more nights if you aren’t redeeming for their most expensive properties) and 22,000 points. The first prize winner, with thanks to random.org, is #17,086. Alicia wants to stay at the Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris. She’ll win 44,000 points, enough for two nights there. The second prize winner is #14,350. Crash wants to stay at the Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale Airport – South. S/he’ll win 22,000 points, enough for two nights there with 6000 left over. Congratulations to you both, and thanks to everyone who entered, nearly 19,000 eligible entries was truly unprecedented!
On the Decline of Domestic First Class
The New York Times ran a piece yesterday on the decline of US domestic first class. Now, US premium cabin products are much better than their European counterparts where there’s no extra legroom most of the time and usually just a blocked middle seat (MegaDOers refer to this as “Tommy Class” as discussed by the Wall Street Journal‘s Scott McCartney), often with upgraded catering. But the offerings up front pale in comparison to bygone years. And the Times investigates both the current state of affairs and why things have declined. Modern first class is summed up in the piece by Joe Brancatelli: “You go into first class,” said Joe Brancatelli, the editor of JoeSentMe.com, a Web site for business travelers, “because it’s less horrible than coach.” The piece quotes me on the role of deregulation…
Last Chance to Enter for Free Hyatt Gold Passport Points
Don’t forget to enter in my giveaway of 66,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points. The opportunity will run through 6pm Eastern time on Friday, February 10th. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to register for Gold Passport’s new promotion, either.
1500 American Miles for $30 in Restaurant Spend
Pizza in Motion details a new American AAdvantage mileage bonus for dining at participating restaurants. Once upon a time it was Transmedia, and then iDine, and now Rewards Network, but I’m still stuck calling it iDine. You register a credit card with Rewards Network, linked to a particular co-branded frequent flyer program, and when you pay a bill at a participating restaurant with that credit card miles will post to your account. Just signing up earns 1 mile per dollar in most programs, creating an online profile earns 3 miles, and dining 12 times in a year (becoming elite) with a single program means you’ll earn 5 miles per dollar. The American program has a particularly good joining bonus currently — 1500 bonus miles after you sign up, create an online profile, and complete your…
I’m Giving Away 66,000 Hyatt Gold Passport Points!
I highlighted Hyatt’s Winter promotion when it was first announced and then flagged when registration became available. But it’s worth highlighting again, because at the time I flagged it as the most generous current promo in the market. It’s not the most generous hotel promotion that’s ever been but it’s pretty good and I like it more than other current offerings. For every 4 nights between February 1 and April 30, members earn additional points and Hyatt Visa also earn an extra 25% bonus on top. Registration required by March 31. 4 nights earns 4000 points (+1000 for Hyatt Visa cardholders) 8 nights earns an additional 8000 points (+2000 for Hyatt Visa cardholders) 12 nights earns an additional 12,000 points (+3000 for Hyatt Visa cardholders) 16 nights earns an additional 20,000 points (+5000 for Hyatt…
Bits ‘n Pieces for February 7, 2012
Via Dan’s Deals, you can get a free 26 week subscription to the Wall Street Journal and also to Barron’s. Via the Points Guy you can get 3000 free Avios points if you log into your account and search for Realtytrac in the top right search bar, then sign up for a free 7 day trial. You’ll need to call (877-888-8722, 8am – 5pm Pacific) in order to cancel within those 7 days to avoid being charged for the service. Matthew points out that Continental.com has now added all Star Alliance partners to their website for award booking except Ethiopian Airlines. Continental.com is the easiest site to use for searching for award seats in my opinion, you don’t even have to log in to search flights. And if the miles aren’t in your Continental account…
How I’d Love to See Hyatt Gold Passport Trump Their Competition
I think that Starwood’s changes to elite benefits are really quite huge. There’s a breakfast option (Continental breakfast or 500 point check-in Amenity) for Platinums, the ability to express a preference for when you’d like your upgrade for Platinums who stay 50 or more nights per year, and true 24 hour checkin (not guaranteed and must confirm at least 48 hours in advance) for Platinums staying 75 nights or more per year. There are other new benefits, but these to me are the really ground breaking ones for the program. Oh, and Golds can choose free internet finally. The really funny thing is that Starwood hasn’t moved the needle of my opinion about where it stands relative to other frequent guest elite programs. Its top tier was number two behind Hyatt before, and it remains…
25,000 American miles for new DirecTV Signup
Via New Girl in the Air, DirecTV is offering 25,000 American Airlines miles for a 2-year contract, offer valid only through February 8. Not worth it for the miles alone, but a great offer for signing up for the TV service, I prefer my DirecTV to the Comcast service I had before.
New VIP Meet and Greet Services at Paris Charles de Gaulle
Regular readers know that I’m a fan of high-end meet and greet services at airports, while I don’t often pay for VIP assistance I think it’s a great option in certain circumstances, and I certainly love it when it’s included as part of my first class award redemptions (like the car to the plane from the Lufthansa first class terminal, and the escorts in Bangkok from Thai Airways). Frequent Business Traveler says that there’s a new meet and greet service available at Paris Charles de Gaulle starting at 200 euros. That’s a bit more than American charges for their Five Star service, but this is Europe after all. For a fee of €200, an Air France representative will provide an escort for departures, arrivals, and connections at the airport. Flying Blue members will receive 400…
Update on My Travel Technology Re-think
Last month I sought reader input into some new technology choices I wanted to make – a new camera, smartphone, and laptop. Since I much appreciated all of the advice, I thought I’d share an update on what I decided to do. It’s slightly old technology but I went with the tried and true Canon s95. There were mixed reviews of the pricier s100 and I’ve always liked the photos I’ve seen taken with the s95. So far I’ve been happy using it, I’ve taken better, richer photos and the auto mode works great. I know nothing about photography, just point and shoot, and this was the right size, quality, and price. I’m fully migrated over to my new Lenovo u300s. It’s a little “boxy” and not nearly as sexy as some of the other…
