Via Seth, the agreement between British Airways parent IAG and Lufthansa for the sale of british midland’s mainline operation is now binding (though subject to regulatory approval). So Virgin, which isn’t usually a serious player in such matters but throws their hat in for theatrics, is out. To me it didn’t much matter whether British Airways or Virgin took control of bmi, I’m a recently-requalified bmi Gold member and wasn’t especially looking forward to having status with either BA or Virgin, or the accompanying devaluation of points. Because of its Star Alliance membership and cash and points award chart, plus allowable one-way awards with stopovers, the bmi award chart has always been really generous. British Airways now charges a separate award for each segment, bmi even allows stopovers for no extra points. And bmi charges…
The Simplest Advice Can Make the Biggest Difference
Sometimes it hits me like a ton of bricks. I may write about pretty complex or convoluted deals and strategies here on the blog. Fortunately I have a patient readership. Sometimes I forget that not everyone is looking for the most Rube Goldberg-esque means of securing award tickets or earning more miles. I leave out the simple stuff, things that seem ‘obvious’ don’t really occur to me to write about most of the time. But then something happens to make me realize that there’s some useful advice that will be valuable for “the 99%” of mileage collectors. That isn’t actually too simple or obvious to be useful. Earlier in the week I had lunch with two professional acquaintences who asked if I might help them think about how to get more out of their miles…
Mileage Running.. With a Spouse
Last week @WhatWdJamesDo tweeted: What the heck is going on? @OneMileataTime loves in-flight wifi and @garyleff is booking pure mileage runs. Signs of the apocalypse? And indeed I’m in the midst of some mileage runs. But they aren’t pure mileage run. I’ve been known to take discretionary trips, driven by a big mileage bonus, but I really don’t fly just for the miles and I haven’t needed to fly just for the status in many years. And when I’ve taken these extra trips, they’ve been weekends where the destination is part of the decision. So not just flying to fly. And then along came the Oneworld MegadO and an offer that if I flew 20,000 miles on American by January 13th I could be an Executive Platinum. That alone was tempting but I was still…
US Airways Adjusts Mileage Upgrade Prices and Award Booking Fees
Yesterday US Airways sent out an announcement about changes to their mileage upgrades and to award booking fees effective February 15. They’re adding mileage upgrade co-pays, an idea already adopted by United/Continental and American (Delta just refuses to allow mileage upgrades on all but the highest fares). They’re imposing “quick ticketing fees” on awards booked within 21 days of travel instead of within 14 days. And they’re reducing the free baggage allowance for Silver members from two to one. Wandering Aramean and One Mile at a Time offer their commentary. Here’s the new mileage upgrade chart: Upgrades were a straight 15,000 miles each direction, confirmable any time after booking if available. That was cheap on long segments, considering no co-pay, but rather silly on flights up and down the East Coast. And US Airways offers…
Lessons Learned Booking Mileage Runs on American Airlines
I’ve just booked 20,000 miles of flying on American over the next three weeks, and I share my lessons learned in a guest post over at MilesQuest.
Hyatt Gold Passport Introduces Restaurant and Spa Points Earning and Burning When Not Staying at the Hotel
Hyatt announced this morning that they’re rolling out Gold Passport earning and redemption at Hyatt property restaurants and spas even when you aren’t a registered guest. This may seem like a small matter, but it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. Starwood Preferred Guest offers points earning at hotel restaurants when you aren’t staying, and that’s great. In my home town of DC there’s the J&G Steakhouse at the W and Adour at the St. Regis that are worth visits in their own right. And since my office is right smack next to a Westin, that’s really convenient. Now, I’ll have one of my favorite restaurants in DC as a points-earning option, Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt. They’ll be rolling out this benefit at some properties beginning this month, to be chain-wide…
American’s Double Elite Qualifying Mile Promotions are STACKABLE
Yesterday American announced double elite qualifying miles through the end of January for all AAdvantage members (registration required). Residents of California, Illinois, and Texas already had a double elite qualifying miles promotion through the end of March (registration required) that doubles status miles earned on their flights between Chicago/Dallas and Los Angeles/San Francisco. American Airlines confirmed on MIlepoint that the two promotions are stackable. For eligible members, a simple Chicago Los Angeles roundtrip taken by the end of January will earn 10,467 qualifying miles, a simple Dallas – San Francisco roundtrip would earn 8787 qualifying miles. That’s triple elite qualifying miles through January 31. That’s enough to make me think long and hard about crashing on someone’s couch in Chicago until the 31st of January in order to establish residency, though neither American nor my…
More Answers from Hyatt Gold Passport
As a followup to the Milepoint.com live chat with Hyatt Gold Passport’s Jeff ZIdell, Jeff went ahead and answered the questions that he didn’t get through during the live event. Jeff posted answers to 40 additional questions that had been submitted by travelers. A transcript of the live Q&A is also available.
American Offers Double Elite Qualifying Miles Through January 31!
Remember when I said that American’s bankruptcy would mean lots of additional generosity for frequent flyers, in order to encourage them to fly the airline? Here’s the first volley, registration required, American is offering double elite qualifying miles (to qualify for 2012 status) through December 31 and also (to get an early start on 2013 status) through January 31. Put a different way, the promotion starts today. It applies to tickets previously purchased as well as to new purchases. And it runs straight through to the end of January. Of course all flying by the end of December counts towards next year’s status, and all flying in January counts towards status the following year. I’m participating in the elite status challenge for the Oneworld MegaDO already, which means I have to fly 20,000 American Airlines…
Feature Article on the Benefits to Consumers and Hotels of Frequent Guest Programs
Gabriel Leigh covers hotel loyalty programs in DestinAsian magazine, explaining the lengths hotel programs will go to in order to win business from frequent guests. I’m quoted extensively in the piece, pointing out especially that hotel programs are lucrative, with points allowing members to redeem for truly aspirational properties they might not otherwise be able to afford. I note my own award stays at the Conrad Koh Samui (last month) and Park Hyatt Maldives (upcoming). At the same time the programs are lucrative for the chains themselves, since repeat customers are actually less costly to market to than new ones and elite customers can drive substantial revenue to a chain’s bottom line. I note that Hyatt Gold Passport and Intercontinental’s Ambassador program offer the most rewarding top tier elite levels. The article highlights free night…
