Musings of the Global Traveller wrote an exhaustive list in a February blog post about all major frequent flyer program expiration policies. I know most of them, but I have found myself frequently referring back to his list. It’s been extremenly useful to me when I need to remind myself how long I have before my Mexicana Frecuenta miles expire (18 months from last activity, I’ll drop in a mile from Starwood or 1000 from American Express) and how long I can extend my expiring Singapore miles by paying a fee (6 months as I am not a Krisflyer elite). And he’s even been keeping the chart updated — I notice that after I posted the change in Korean Air policy mere days ago, his February post has been adjusted. This may be the go-to…
25% off at the Westin Store
The W Hotel store regularly discounts items including their beds and bedding, such as this 35% discount that I posted about rhree weeks ago (and beds receive free shipping). For those that have a particular affinity for Westin products, though, their online store rarely has discounts or at least significant ones. So it’s actually surprising to see 25% off everything in the Westin at Home store through August 1. Now is a good time if you’ve been wanting a Westin rather than a W bed.
Canadian Court Allows Tax Deduction for Spending Miles in Lieu of Cash
Randy Petersen points out an interesting Canadian tax case where courts there ruled that a person could deduct the value of the miles they redeemed for a ticket to travel for medical care. The government said the taxpayer could only deduct the taxes and fees — actual out of pocket case — but the Court ruled that he gave up something of value, something which could be purchased from Aeroplan, and that he had ‘paid’ for the tickets so could deduct the value of that payment. Now, a Canadian court ruling isn’t an issue for me as a US taxpayer. But what a can of worms this opens! Randy likes the ruling and sees significant implications: This case and the fact that it was uphold on an appeal sets in place a basis for many frequent flyers to have their…
American Express Platinuim Charge Card Adds US Airways Lounge Access
Wandering Aramean reports that American Express and US Airways have struck a lounge access deal — Platinum (and Centurion) cardholders already have access to Continental, Delta, and American Airlines lounges when flying same-day on those airlines’ flights. Now those higher-end Amex cards (with hefty fees) will offer US Airways lounge access as well, and interestingly with no same-day flight requirement as with the other lounges. So if you’re flying on another airline out of a terminal with a US Airways lounge, the card will actually get you in. I’ve long recommended the American Express Platinum as a great road warrior card, combining the Membership Rewards points program (that comes with less expensive Amex products) with lounge access the airlines usually charge for along with benefits like the Fine Hotels and Resorts program. The card used…
Hyatt 3000 American Airlines Miles Per Stay Plus 1000 Miles Per Night
Through October 15, Hyatt is offering 2500 bonus American Airlines miles per stay (registration required) on top of the normal 500 miles. That’s 3000 miles per stay, even for 1 night stays. This isn’t Hyatt’s planned third quarter promotion, and in the Flyertalk thread speculating on what that will be, Hyatt’s Gold Passport representative posted an interim offer of 1000 bonus miles per night on the following airlines: AA-American Airlines 2v-Amtrak JL- Japan Airlines NH- All Nippon Airways QJ- Jet Airways TA-Thai Airways UA-United Airlines US-US Airways WN-Southwest Airlines For this bonus, you need to call and ask to enroll in bonus promotion TP30K2010. It runs June 15, 2010 through September 30, 2010, and it’s been confirmed that you can get retroactive credit for stays you’ve made back to the start of the promotion. While…
Starwood’s Rewarding Returns – Earn Bonus Points or a 25% Discount on Award Redemption
Loyalty Traveler outlines the new Starwood “Rewarding Returns” bonus offer running through the end of the year. Members select from their choice of award after a predetermined number of stays between now and the end of the year. It appears that most people are being offered 4000 bonus points, a $50 Starwood gift certificate for use on a future stay, or a 25% discount on an award redemption (up to category 5 hotel) valid through the middle of 2011. Some people get 5000 bonus points, a $50 certificate, or a 25% discount on redemptions after just a single stay as their choice. So it’s targeted to Starwood’s beliefs about how engaged you’ve been in their program, and how much activity they might be able to generate from you with the promotion. Lucky thinks it’s “pretty…
Starwood American Express 30,000 Point Signup Bonus Extended Through July 31
Having coffee this evening with some friends who hadn’t yet pulled the trigger on the outstanding Starwood American Express signup bonus of 30,000 points, I was going to get online and post that despite earlier messages that the offer would expire on July 6, the lucrative offers for both the business and personal Starwood Amex cards are still live. But Ben beat me to the punch. So I’ll turn the mike over to him: A couple of weeks ago I posted about the amazing sign-up offer for the Starwood American Express credit card, whereby they offered 30,000 points just for spending $1,000 within three months. The offer was only valid for about a week at the time. Well, I’m guessing it was pretty popular, because they just extended the offer through July 31. You can…
New Priority Club Visa with Unique Benefits: Annual Free night, No Foreign Currency Fees, Rebate on Award Redemptions
This afternoon I spoke with Tony Glover, a Senior Vice President at Chase who has responsibility for several of their co-branded credit card relationships. He was sharing the news that Chase just launched a new suite of benefits for the Priority Club card that are pretty unique. This of course is the loyalty program for Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, and Holiday Inn hotels. Annual free night certificate. These are valid for a year and are good at all Intercontinental Hotels properties except their handful of all-inclusives. I specifically asked, it’ll work at the Intercontinental Thalasso on Bora Bora and other top-end properties. 10% rebate on Reward Night redemptions, up to 100,000 points rebated per year. No foreign currency transaction fee. They’re offering 30,000 points with first purchase. I’ve seen better signup offers in the past, but…
Links for the Morning of Tuesday, July 13
Korean Air miles will remain valid for 10 years instead of 5. Frontier is offering second checked bags for $1 through September 6. Asiana’s New Business Class seat looks pretty great, and will be flying to San Francisco and Los Angeles. (HT: Charles) Three-hour ground delay rule harmed 195,000 passengers while helping 3,400. Park Hyatt Seoul: not a single flaw.
Which Airlines Spend the Most on Food
Cranky Flier offers a really interesting chart on airline per-passenger food spending over the past 20 years. The drop in food spend during the current decade is even bigger than the chart makes it appear, because the figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. United spends the most on food, with their large international premium cabins and large domestic aircraft flying cross country routes. And that’s before the recent improvement in onboard offerings. And as Cranky observes, and as in everything else, United does what American does and vice versa.
