Via Lucky, channelling the Traveling Better forum’s Jon NYC, it appears that American is eliminating their ‘close-in’ award booking fees for elite members. United eliminated these fees for everyone last summer (after introducing them in the fall of 2006. Delta got rid of these fees for everyone, but they’re apparently considering bringing them back, at least for non-elites and folks who don’t hold a Skymiles co-branded American Express card and who aren’t booking with a Saturday night stay. The driver for eliminating these fees is that accounting rule changes don’t let the programs recognize revenue from sale of miles until those miles are redeemed (or expired). So the programs really want to see members booking awards when ‘low’ priced seats are available, seats that are very inexpensive to the program. And the close-in booking fees…
United’s Online Game for 10% Discount Codes
United has new online games with prize drawings, what’s most interesting though is the good chance of instant winning 10% electronic discount certificates. Folks on Flyertalk are racking up the discount codes. Plus the games are actually pretty well-done, at least as far as these gimmick marketing online games go.
Spanair: Every 3 Flights Earns a Free Flight One of Their New Routes
Here’s one for my blog readers in Spain. I realize that this blog often has a North American bias in the extreme, but those nifty Google stats pages do tell me I have friends (or at least frenemies) on the other side of the pond. So hopefully someone finds this useful! Via Frequent Flyer Bonuses, Star Alliance member Spanair is offering a free flight on one of their new routes for every three flights taken on any Spanair route. Qualifying flights must be taken by December 31, and redemption flights must be flown by March 31. New routes include Barcelona to Belgrade, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, Malta, Marseille, Naples, Nice, Nador, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Venice, Zagreb; Madrid to Belgrade, Edinburgh, Dubrovnik; and Alicante to Algiers.
Up to 100% Bonus on Shopping from US Airways Mileage Mall
The US Airways Back-to-School Bonus Miles promo offers cumulative bonuses based on the number of US Airways mileage mall merchants you make purchases with by August 31. There’s no bonus for buying from just a single merchant, but a 20% bonus for 2 merchants, 30% for 3, 40% for 4, up to a 100% bonus for shopping with 10 merchants during the promotion period. No registration is required, and all US Airways Dividend Miles mall merchants qualify. Transactions have to post to your account by November 5 with a transaction date between July 26 and August 31 in order to qualify. And only the first 10 (based on posting date) shopping transactions will earn a bonus. Bonuses will post to accounts on November 5. This one certainly isn’t as lucrative as the Holiday Shopping promo…
500 Free US Airways Miles for NOT Requesting an Insurance Quote
Via Kohoutek on Flyertalk, American National Insurance Company offers 500 US Airways miles for getting an insurance quote… or for not getting a quote: To request 500 Dividend Miles Offer without obtaining a free rate quote, please send a postcard or letter to Dividend Miles Offer, 2450 South Shore Boulevard, Suite 401, League City, TX 77573-2997. Include your name, address, email address and Dividend Miles number. Please allow 6-8 weeks for processing. One postcard or letter request per Dividend Miles account.
Are the Hotel Chains Getting Government Help to Drive Bookings Away from Travel Agencies?
The New York Times reports that the current version of the pending New York State budget includes a 20 percent increase in hotel occupancy taxes for travel intermediaries (meaning travel agencies, tour operators and online travel companies). Get that? A tax on travel agencies and online booking services. That’s distinct nad separate from the hotel occupancy tax. The “Interactive Travel Services Association” calls this “the Connecticut and New Jersey tourism promotion act” because raising the cost of travel to New York would push travelers elsewhere. But that aanalysis is really incomplete. It’s actually the “major hotel chain revenue channel integrity act.” It’s the Marriotts, Starwoods, Hiltons, and Hyatts versus Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity. This tax applies to rooms booked via third party sites, not rooms booked with a hotel or chain directly. The major hotel…
United Discounting Short-Haul Coach Awards Through August 31
United is discounting short-haul awards booked by August 31 for travel through January 7, 2011. Instead of the usual 12,500 miles one-way or 25,000 miles roundtrip, they’re charging 8,750 one-way or 17,500 roundtrip. This applies to awards booked at least 7 days in advance of travel (no discount on last-minute award bookings), and is for flights that are 700 miles or less each way and only within the Continental U.S. or between the U.S. and Canada. That’s a better value for those awards, of course, and I’ll take the discount. It’s for coach only, and I can certainly stand coach on a short hop. But it’s still not the way I’d tend to use my miles, and the discount isn’t “what it once was.” Back around 2005 and 2006, United and American offered short-haul awards…
Free Drinks in United’s Economy Plus
On the Economy Plus One-time Option Page, United details a short-term promotion where customers traveling in economy plus from August 6 – August 16 can request a complimentary drink. Complimentary alcoholic beverage offer for Economy Plus customers is available during first beverage service only on flights departing August 6 through August 16, 2010. Upon request, each customer seated in the Economy Plus section during the promotion period is eligible for one (1) complimentary alcoholic beverage. That’s great for elites sitting in coach, of course. And it might just get some more people to buy up to Economy Plus. More importantly I’d love to see it as a test of developing a real premium economy product, beyond just 3 to 4 inches of legroom. When United was unloading excess amenity kits they were giving old ones…
Jeff Foland to Run the Combined United-Continental Mileage Plus
Holly Hegeman reports that Graham Atkinson will “not be staying with the “new” United.” Though United’s Jeff Foland will run the combined loyalty program in his place. This seems like a strange move to me, they’re cleaning house at the top but leaving a United person in place. I still expect that program to be called Mileage Plus, it’s the name that the larger pool of members are identified with. And I assume they inherit the Mileage Plus architecture. So at least initially more features of the United program than the Continental one, though I fully expect changes between now and the day the switch is flipped to merge membership lists. First, I assume that some time after the United-Continental transaction closes, but before the programs themselves combine, that there will be a way to…
10% American Airlines Discount
Every so often American seems to offer the opportunity for 10% discount codes on purchase of airfare through their marketing partners. Everyone who ‘votes’ in the Century in the Making sweepstakes by September 12 will receive a 10% discount code valid for purchase and travel through October 26.
