Via FrequentFlying, Delta has been giving out elite status to favored politicians: the Governor of Georgia gets comped Diamond status and the Lieutenant Governor, state House Speaker and state Senate President all get Platinum Medallion status. Programs routinely comp status to special friends, whether program partners or influentials that they wish to ingratiate themselves with. There’s less of this with Members of Congress where ethics rules tend to be stricter and scrutiny greater (though the 2007 “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007” carves out specific exceptions to allow Senators to play golf for free). Still, while explicit gifts are rare treatment for politicians is still better than for others — members of Congress created their own legislative deal to score free close-in parking at National Airport and when US Airways was struggling financially…
35% Off at W Hotels Store
The W Hotel Store is offering 35% off everything with promo code WSTAR35. These discounts are frequently used to buy W hotel beds, the best option in my opinion is the plush top mattress with feather bed rather than the more expensive pillow top (which tends not to last as long). The price of these mattresses went up about 10% back in May of last year, so this isn’t as good a deal as when I bought my own W Hotels bed four years ago, and then using a 40% off code which I’ve only seen one time since then in March of this year. I am still happy with my purchase, by the way. Expiration date on the offer is unknown, if you’re interested you may want to make the purchase now. (Via Dan’s…
500 Free Air Canada Aeroplan Points
Fresh off yesterday’s post with 100 free Aeroplan points, through June 30th Fairmont Presidents Club is offering 500 free Aeroplan points for signing up for their program, though they’ll give the points to existing members too. Here’s the skinny via Milepoint.com member lovetofly. No stay required. Member must enroll with Enrollment Code PASHN or update profile with Promotion Code PASSION and opt-in for communications by June 30, 2011. The 500 bonus miles will only be rewarded if you opt-in to receive communications from Fairmont President’s Club.
Why I Was Unfair to Starwood Preferred Guest
Yesterday I outlined what I think is wrong with Starwood Preferred Guest: they overpromise and underdeliver on elite benefits (a Platinum without an upgrade at a hotel without club lounge basically gets nothing for their stay) and there aren’t really exceptional points values for redemption at Starwood’s many truly top properties. I believe these criticisms are fair. And I also find that Hyatt Gold Passport has become more rewarding than Starwood Preferred Guest, though I’m frustrated by Gold Passport’s withdrawal of property-specific “G bonuses” which meant several thousand extra points per stay. Supposedly the removal of these bonuses was due to the manual process to post them and how often members were frustrated in following up to get them. But just eliminating the bonuses doesn’t satisfy members more, Hyatt has said that something will be…
What’s Wrong with Starwood Preferred Guest?
I posted that Starwood was ending their status match program with only a window of several hours left to request a match, and Ben over at One Mile at a Time did just that. He’s been sampling Starwood Preferred Guest, and offers his first impressions. Roughly speaking I agree with them: that Starwood often overpromises and under delivers (upgrades are subject to availability at checkin and there’s little transparency or consistency across hotels in how that benefit turns out in practice), and that at hotels without club lounge facilities there’s not a huge benefit to top tier status when you aren’t upgraded (there’s no breakfast benefit outside of the lounge, all you get is free internet and 500 bonus points for being Platinum rather than Gold). Starwood was an absolute pioneer, they were the first…
100 Free Aeroplan Miles
Registering at HomeHardware.ca earns 100 free Aeroplan points. (Via Rewards Canada and The Points Guy)
Excellent Advice on Credit Card Mileage Earning, Redemption, and Special Perks
Wendy Perrin’s Conde Nast column this month is all about credit cards. While it draws heavily on my advice, Wendy does a great job of making really complex topics accessible and useful to large numbers of travelers. She begins talking signup bonuses, it’s one of the few times I’ve seen credit card churning discussed in a major publication, so there’s something fun about that. Plus I managed to convince Wendy (and by extension, Wendy’s husband) to sign up for American AAdvantage credit cards from Citi, three cards at 75,000 bonus miles apiece, and for British Airways Visas at 100,000 miles apiece. The main article lays out some basic tips. Don’t overlook hotel credit cards. Wendy mentions at the top of the piece that she uses a Starwood Amex for its flexibility for hotel stays and…
New Priority Club Bonuses for Stays
Priority Club Insider lists a bunch of new bonuses for stays between July 1 and September 30. You can only register one, and will want to pick the one that best matches your anticipated stay plans. You can only pick one, and once you register you can’t change your mind. Register: -Stay 3 nights earn 5,000 Register: -Stay 7 nights earn 10,000 Register: -Stay 15 nights earn 15,000
Free Miles on Your Choice of Airlines!
Through August 31, new members who enroll in Frontier Early Returns receive 1000 miles. A year and a half ago they ran a 1500 point signup bonus, and I recommended signing up just to convert the miles to a $6 Starbucks gift card. Frontier participates in Points.com, and you can convert 1000 miles to your choice of (among other options): 184 US Airways miles 297 Priority Club points 138 Delta miles 297 AsiaMiles 148 Aeroplan miles 153 Contiental miles 153 American miles You can use the opportunity to extend expiration on an American or US Airways account, for instance.
It’s Back! 50% Bonus on First-Time Transfers from American Express to Delta, Plus 25,000 Elite Qualifying Miles on Transfers of 100,000 Points or More
Via this Milepoint thread, Delta’s offer of a 50% bonus on transfers from American Express Membership Rewards for first time transfers is back through September 30. Transfers of 100,000 miles or more will generate 25,000 elite qualifying (status, not redeemable) miles as well. Registration is required, and the terms and conditions explicitly say that the bonus cannot be combined with other offers. They apparently learned their lesson after the recent error that had them awarding 80% bonuses… Presumably it won’t stack with the current (up to) 40% bonus on transfers from Amex to Delta. But folks who don’t qualify for the 50% offer, because they’ve transferred points from Membership Rewards to Delta Skymiles in the past, can use this one instead.
