Christopher Elliott is one of those great enigmas in travel, I actually like some of the things he has to say and so I think he can get a bad rap from frequent flyers at times. Though in his Travel Troubleshooter columns I think he often sides with customers and against travel providers even when the travel providers are in the right, a bit too much ‘sympathy for the little guy’ rather than a focus on justice but he frequently lets his readers vote on whether to intercede so I suppose his readers are as much at fault! Where he really misses the mark, and sometimes even goes totally off the rails, is in his criticisms of frequent flyer programs. This new piece from the January/February National Geographic Traveler is a perfect case in point,…
Big Miles for Opening and Funding Brokerage Accounts
About a week and a half ago, the excellent Gary of Free Frequent Flyer Miles posted that the supposedly-expiring Fidelity brokerage offer for United miles has been extended, and that the American and Delta offers are still available. (Last year’s offer of American Express Membership Rewards points appears not to be available any longer.) Fidelity will give you up to 50,000 miles based on the amount you deposit into your account within 90 days of opening. 15,000 miles for a $25,000 deposit 25,000 miles for a $50,000 deposit 50,000 miles for a $100,000 deposit You can choose to earn the miles currently with three different programs. And you can even earn miles, apparently, with two of the three — not just one. United/Continental offer American offer Delta offer Yesterday The Points Guy wrote that he…
2000 Free Points for Jet Airways Frequent Flyer Signup
Via Live from a Lounge, Jet Airways JetPrivilege new signups using a promo link receive a 2000 point enrollment bonus. The Indian carrier isn’t part of an alliance (though with Star walking away from Air India and Kingfisher going to oneworld, no doubt they’re in talks). They do, however, partner with about two dozen airlines including Delta, American, and United.
Starwood’s First Quarter Promo – Bonus Points on Longer Stays
From January 9 to April 8, Starwood Preferred Guest is running its first quarter promo, “Better By the Night” — double points on two-night stays and triple points on stays of three nights or longer. Registration required. It’s not as lucrative as Starwood’s summer 2011 free resort night offer, but it’s more valuable than it seemed to me at first blush for longer stays. Mommy Points, to whom a hit tip is due for pointing out the promo, notes how the promos stack. (And also points out that the non-participating properties list is shorter than in recent times for recent promos.) Two points per dollar normally Plus one point per dollar for Gold and Platinum members Plus two points per dollar for two night stays and four points per dollar for three night stays and…
A Backdoor Way to Free Checked Bags with American Airlines: Instant Kingfisher King Club Silver Status
The free Hilton HHonors Gold status offer that I posted Friday evening required you to have a Visa Infinite card, and the way the website verifies this is by having you enter the first six digits of the credit card. Which was a great opportunity to learn about Bank Identification Numbers on Wikipedia. Of course, just knowing the first six digits of any Visa Infinite card from a qualifying region of the world worked to unlock the website and take advantage of the offer. Apparently this is a popular way to verify that you have a credit card, since now Live from a Lounge brings us an offer of free Kingfisher elite status for Mastercard holders: To register, you should have an eligible MasterCard (Platinum, World, Titanium Credit Cards or a Premium Debit Card), and…
The TSA Stole My Cupcake
You’ve likely seen the story by now that the TSA in Las Vegas considers cupcake frosting to be a gel. (Which rather reminds me of a certain frequent flyer’s experience at London Gatwick, being told that a box of pasta is a liquid since you have to add water to cook it.) In light of the TSA’s War on Cupcakes(tm), and since I’m a huge fan of mixing marketing with public resistance to the TSA, I’m very tempted to buy this to wear during January travels.
Hilton Austin Airport $20 for a Hill Country Suite
Thanks to roadwarrior365 on Milepoint, the Hilton Austin Airport is pricing all rooms including suites at $20 plus tax for dates from mid-January through mid-February. Bookable at Hilton.com and elsewhere. Suites are going quickly, it remains to be seen of course whether or not the rate will be honored.
My Wishes for the Major U.S. Airline Mileage Programs in the New Year
Two years ago I offered frequent flyer wishes for the New Year, and some of them came true while two remain on my wish list going forward. Here’s what I’d love to see from major U.S. airline frequent flyer programs, little things that would make a great difference in terms of value derived by members, from the perspective of someone who is inspired by the aspirational nature of the programs and value leveraging miles for premium cabin award experiences. American Airlines. I love their domestic award availability, and I love several of their partners. I’ve had such great luck with Cathay Pacific first class award space that I’ve gotten lazy and fly too much Cathay First, not doing the hard work to get more interesting and varied products. But I wish the website were more…
A Christmas Blog Anti-Miracle
I woke up to several emails saying that something strange was going on with the blog, and indeed all of yesterday’s content was gone — the two posts I made and the associated comments. I went to Google Reader and recovered the posts and re-posted, thanks to the RSS feed. But with tremendous apologies, I don’t have the comments. Since it’s Christmas Day I don’t really have access to tech support to figure out what happened. Those who left comments yesterday, I am truly sorry!
Southwest Double Tier Points Stackable with Double Flight Credits for Six Airports
Earlier in the week I saw that Southwest is offering double tier points (registration required) and I wasn’t going to post on it, since even though it’s useful for some getting A-List status really doesn’t excite me much and I was pretty distracted when It came across my screen. The offer matches American’s double elite qualifying miles, and like that offer runs through DecemberJanuary 31st. But it seemed worthwhile mentioning when I saw Online Travel Review point out yesterday that Southwest is also offering double points on all flights into or out of Newark, LaGuardia, Boston, Manchester, Providence, and Orlando for travel booked by December 30th and flown between January 4 and February 15th. Registration required. The ability to get double tier points and double credits flying specific routes during the month of January is…
