[Offers in this post are no longer current] Aeroplan has started adding fuel surcharges to many partner awards, including on Lufthansa, All Nippon, Asiana, and Thai. One of the common internet memes is that this is a real blow to American Express Membership Rewards. Because Amex points transfers was one of the key ways that folks in the U.S. were generating Aeroplan points. Certainly the change to Aeroplan with no notice whatsoever makes their program less valuable. And it means that points that might have been transferred into Aeroplan have a bit less value, since the transfer option is worth less. An equally big kick in the teeth to Aeroplan came in July with their massive award chart devaluation (and that wasn’t even the only recent cutback). Of course, American Express also lost Continental as…
Does The TSA Tradeoff Between Liberty and Security Make Sense?
Here’s a surprisingly well-reasoned discussion of the TSA, airport security, and the tradeoffs between liberty and security. It’s by an academic, Professor James Otteson, professor of philosophy and economics at Yeshiva University in New York, who says that the TSA takes away our liberty to make the choice beween freedom and security. He acknowledges it’s a complex question, and one that people can come down differently on, but that we clearly don’t choose security over liberty in all cases, such as car crashes which cause more deaths than terrorist attacks, or swimming pools which kill more people than accidental gun shootings. Hardly the last word on the subject, but interesting points in a quick video.
The World’s Best Airport Lounges and Why They Matter
CNN.com covers my favorite airport lounges, and in order of preference even. I admit I haven’t done the Qantas first class lounges in Sydney and Melbourne since they’ve been remodeled, it’s been about five years since I’ve been in them actually, so they aren’t included. But certainly they’d compete. Readers of this blog will find no real surprises. I do like the Thai first class ground experience in Bangkok better than any other, from the personal service to the spa. Theirs is unlike any other airport spa offering, with private treatment bungalows and hour-long Thai massage, plus excellent bath amenities to shower up afterwards (you’re choosing your oils, after all, and probably don’t want to leave those on during the long flight). And Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt remains a special experience, though the…
Hipmunk Adds Killer App Functionality, Has Potential to Become Booking Service of Choice
When people ask where to search for airfares I usually just tell them to check out Kayak.com. It’s not where I search for flights and fares, but it offers reasonably powerful functionality and a pretty easy-to-use interface. My first stop has long been ITA Software. Specifically, Matrix1.itasoftware.com, I know that the ITA Software folks don’t like that but the ‘old school’ interface is much more to my liking. They’re not going to support it forever, and the newer one has gotten better to work with over time, but the simply entry format and cleaner page just works well for me. ITA Software is a software company, recently acquired by Google, which provides back-end functionality to several airfare booking engines. But on their website they offer more functionality than the public booking websites offer, no doubt…
Aeroplan Begins Adding Fuel Surcharges to Star Alliance Partner Awards
Aeroplan is a strange program, at least it has been, in that it has long been advantageous to book award travel on airlines other than Air Canada. Aeroplan has added fuel surcharges to Air Canada flights but not to flights on partner airlines. That practice has apparently changed, effective today. Aeroplan awards on Lufthansa, All Nippon, Asiana, and Thai are all now showing up with fuel surcharges. Fuel surcharges vary by airline and by route. A domestic coach award from New York to Frankfurt has a fuel surcharge over $400, so with tax and during low season it can be the same price to book an award ticket as to buy a paid, mileage-earning ticket. So far it appears as though awards on United, Swiss, and Singapore are not. Of course there are no guarantees…
Expert Flyer Introduces Free Account with Seat Alerts
Expert Flyer is a web-based service that lets you see availability of flights, look up fare rules, search for award space (on a limited set of airlines) and even have their system automate searches and email you when space opens up. That’s the most useful and unique offering they have in my opinion. The system also has ‘seat alerts’ — you book a flight but can’t get the seat you want, maybe only middle seats are available or perhaps you’re flying United and you want an economy plus aisle but no economy plus aisle seats are available. Or maybe you’re looking for an exit row, but all the exit row seats are full. Expert Flyer will keep searching for the seats you specify to open up and email you when they do, which frequently they…
Live Chat with Hyatt Gold Passport’s Jeff Zidell Tonight at 9pm Eastern
As previously announced, there is a live online chat this evening with Jeff Zidell at 9pm Eastern time. Here’s the official announcement. Questions will be getting asked live, and answers will be live of course, but pre-submitted questions will be interspersed especially for folks who might not be able to attend the live chat. You can review pre-submitted questions or add your own. The chat site is here. Look forward to seeing you there! And thanks to Jeff and the good folks at Hyatt Gold Passport for agreeing to come online to interact directly with their members. Previous chats with Maya Leibman of American AAdvantage and Jonathan Clarkson of Southwest Rapid Rewards were interesting and worthwhile, I have no doubt this one will be as well.
Well That Was Fast! Less Than 8 Months and Expedia Already Guts its New Rewards Program
It was only the end of March when Expedia introduced full details on its Expedia Rewards program. (The program itself launched end of January, they just didn’t tell you anything about it…) Now at the beginning of November they’re already announcing changes to the program. There are two major changes. First is that flight bookings will only earn one point per two dollars spent (instead of one point per dollar). That’s a 50% cut in earning. Second, they’re also making changes to the redemption chart on November 22nd. And as far as I’ve been able to tell, we do not yet know what those changes are. Since Expedia highlights the ability to use the old chart through November 22nd, it’s a safe bet that the redemption chart will become less favorable. I’d love to use…
6000 Virgin Atlantic Miles for Intra-Hawaii Roundtrip Awards
On the whole I’m very much not a fan of the Virgin Atlantic frequent flyer program. Their award chart isn’t cheap for most destinations (though pricing isn’t crazy for US-London), but on top what generally kills it for me is the high fuel surcharges. I don’t really want to spend $700+ in taxes/fees for a transatlantic redemption. Still, I dutifully collect 1000 Virgin Atlantic miles each time I have a one-day Avis rental. On a three-day rental I’m still crediting to US Airways for the 3000 mile bonus with Avis. But those short one-dayers go to Virgin, the 1000 miles is just too tempting for me even though I’m not a fan of the program. And over time I tend to rack up a lot of one-day rentals. I figure that if my car rentals…
Delta 100% Bonus on Purchased Miles for Co-Branded Amex Cardholders
Through December 31, Delta is offering members with a Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express a 100% bonus on purchased miles when they use that card to buy the miles. It’s described as “an extra 2,000 miles for every 2,000 miles purchased“ so presumably has to be taken advantage of in 2000 mile increments (in fact, I think that Delta only sells miles in 2000 mile increments). There’s no reference in the terms and conditions to a cap on the number of miles that can be purchased while receiving the 100% bonus, it appears that you can take full advantage of the maximum per-year miles purchase of 60,000 while earning a 60,000 mile bonus. Delta made a similar offer to everyone back in August and September, and of course through the end of November…
