This piece does a ‘He Said, She Said’ on the value of frequent flyer programs. The proponent of the programs says they’re like free money on the sidewalk, pick it up for things you’re doing anyway. The argument against is that you may not get what you want, and it takes effort to pay attention. Shockingly, coming from where I’m coming from, I think the proponent has the better end of the debate, in each case he lays out a reasonable answer — you may not fly a lot but can get miles from all sorts of things besides flying, the miles aren’t hard to track when you use a free online tool like Award Wallet, the seats you want may not be available on the airline attached to your mileage program but the seats…
How to Include Miles and Points in Your Estate Planning
Via Jerry, the July issue of Estate Planning Developments for Texas Professionals (exciting reading!) has a piece on transferring frequent flyer miles at death. It’s a nice companion to the classic April 2004 Inside Flyer article that explains in broad terms how programs treat miles in death, that piece is especially useful for understanding the extent to which miles are an asset of the estate vs. forfeited when the member is no longer alive to use them (and covers the similar case of divorce). The newer article provides updated details on a series of programs, domestic and international and even proprietary credit card programs, outlining ability to transfer at death, cost to do so, and procedure. If you’re planning your estate and are a significant accumulator of miles and points, this is useful reading. Although,…
Starwood Brings Back 1:1 Points Transfers to Singapore Airlines
Reader Stephen M. emails to point out that transfers of points from Starwood to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer are back to 1:1. They had previously been less valuable in transfers, requiring 2 Starpoints for a single Singapore miles (which also means that Starwood’s transfer bonuses were less valuable, with 1:1 transfer partners a 20,000 Starpoint transfer yields 25,000 miles… with 2:1 partners it takes twice as many Starpoints to generate the bonus). This leaves United/Continental and Varig as the only airlines where transfers are not 1:1 or better (LAN is 1:2). Of course, there used to be plenty of programs where the transfer rates were 1:2, like Qantas which prior to that program’s award chart devaluation was a uniquely useful option. Plenty of people bought Inside Flyer subscriptions just for the bonus Starpoints, transferred them to…
More Insight Into Spirit Airlines: A Candid Interview With Their CEO
Scott Mayerowitz runs an interview with B. Ben Baldanza, CEO of Spirit Airlines and it’s a nice complement to Cranky Flier’s interview with their marketing chief. What comes across is an airline that unabashedly promotes its business model. Rather than apologize for carryon bag (and other) fees, they proudly say it’s about choice and letting the customer get the best deal customized to their needs. I think that’s great, and Baldanza makes a fascinating point: But I actually think we annoy people who don’t fly us more than we annoy people who fly us. What I think is going on isn’t so much that they annoy people that don’t fly them but rather there’s a stark difference between flying Spirit and flying other airlines, their product isn’t for everyone. They are profitable, and in a…
TMZ: The Octomom and Her Two Year Olds Fly a Transcon in Business
“The Octomom”, whom some would say has had more than her allotted 15 minutes of fame, had a kerfuffle with a TV actress on Friday evening while flying back from New York to Los Angeles. The actress spoke up at the unruliness of Nadya Suleman’s kids during a delay prior to takeoff, wound up exiting the aircraft, and presumably the actresses’ spokespeople are the ones who contacted TMZ to meet the flight on arrival in Los Angeles. I cannot even fathom eight two year olds in business class on a transcon. Thank goodness I wasn’t on that flight. It could have been a publicity stunt staged by Malaysian to drum up support for their ‘no kids in first class’ policy. Alright, that’s probably a long shot. What is the Octomom doing flying business class, when…
Celebrating Tom Stuker’s 10 Million Flown Miles on United
Lots of stories the last several days like this one leading up to a true milestone for frequent flyers, Tom Stuker’s flight yesterday from Los Angeles to Chicago where he flew his 10 millionth mile on United. The comparisons to George Clooney in Up in the Air are everywhere, but Clooney was earning his miles from all sources (and in the book, which I read on a transcon flight in 2001 and which bore no relationship whatsoever to the movie, he was only after 1 million miles). I’ve earned that many myself. But Stuker’s 10 million are actual flight miles, logged with a single airline over the past 30 years. His first 5 million miles took 20 years, his second 5 million took only 10 years (so he was averaging 500,000 flight miles a year…
Should I Bother Collecting Miles on this Flight?
I’ve long advocated, nay, begged people to sign up for frequent flyer programs even when they don’t fly very much or when they’re flying a carrier that they don’t normally travel with. I tell them that they might eventually get something from the simple act of joining and submitting their account number, if not right away then it’ll eventually accumulate. Goodness knows I don’t stay with Marriott often but surprisingly enough registering for their current stay twice get a free night promo meant that I received a free night, which I’ve already redeemed for an upcoming stay… … on a trip where I find myself questioning the very lesson of “always claim the miles.” I need to buy a flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui. Sure, I could fly Thai Airways and earn miles on…
Chicago Car Rentals for $62 a Week
AutoSlash points to a deal from Advantage, rental cars in Chicago from $62 per week all-in, from July 24 through the end of August. As they note, a 28-day rental is only $250, so less than many lease payments without the ongoing obligation. Book here. Once you get results to come up you can change the search to your preferred dates and preferred Chicago-area airport. (HT: Milepoint.) Update: The deal is also available in Louisville.
Why I Continue to Use Expedia (and Other Third Party Booking Services)
In light of my recent four hour ordeal getting Expedia to fix a ticket that their ‘elite’ agent screwed up during re-issue, I thought it would be worth explaining why (and when) I continue using third party booking services like Expedia and Orbitz. First, cash rebates. Sites like Big Crumbs will give me a cash rebate for my Expedia purchases, regardless of the airline I’m ticketing. They used to offer 1% but are now offering a flat $3.20, great for cheap itineraries and less rewarding for expensive ones, but multiplied out by tons of itineraries especially ones I book for family and friends, it adds up. Second, Expedia’s own rewards program adds an additional 1% to 2% rebate for use on Expedia-booked travel. The more points you redeem at one time, the more they’re worth.…
How Do You Use a Concierge?
USA Today ran a piece on hotel concierges, the upshot is that they’re extremely useful but that some travelers don’t take full advantage of their services because they’re intimidated or unfamiliar with them. On the whole that hasn’t been quite my experience, I’m neither unfamiliar nor intimidated and yet I find most concierges to be of limited usefulness. There are truly connected concierges, on rare occasion I had heard of the lead concierge at the Hotel Arts Barcelona getting guests into El Bulli when there was a same-day cancellation. But on the whole, I’ve rarely found concierges who could get me in somewhere that I couldn’t get into on my own. I do use concierges for simple restaurant reservations outside of the United States, I find that their English is better than I’ll find at…
