The big news this evening is actually just a rumor, gone mainstream by way of the New York Times Deal Book blog, that US Airways would be buying United. The title of the post was changed to say the two carriers were ‘in merger talks.’ But in fact the rumor has very much been that US Airways would be making an offer for United. I’m not really clear on where they get the cash to do that (Track It Back-funded merger???). But that is the rumor. And I believe this would be bad for everyone. Consumers already get the benefits via the Star Alliance partnership. And the downsides from the perspective of a frequent traveler are myriad. 1) Bad for United flyers, United has a better product and the US folks aren’t about quality in-flight…
Southwest Double Credits Through May 26
Southwest is offering double credits for flights booked and travel complete between April 7 and May 26. Registration required. Hat tip to Scott McCartney. I sure wish it was American that was doing this, then United’d match for sure…
United: 10% Off Domestic Coach Saver Awards Through April 12
Via Ben (who was channeling Points, Miles, and Martinis), United is offering 10% off on saver awards in the continental US and between the continental US and Canada. That’s a 2500 mile savings on a 25,000 mile roundtrip, or a 1250 mile savings on what would normally be a 12,500 mile one-way. And to take advantage of this offer, you have to book by April 12 for travel through May 26. And you have to fly United. In coach. To and from destinations in the US and Canada. But it’s better than a stick in the eye!
Spirit to Charge for Large Carry-on Bags
Via Upgrade: Travel Better, Spirit Air is introducing carry-on baggage fees. They say they’ll measure the size of carry-ons, and those deemed too big to fit under the seat will be charged a fee for use of the overhead. Presumably someone with a small enough carryon could still use the overhead space for free, even though the narrative is that it’s a fee for overhead space, in reality it’s a fee based on size of carry-on. Spirit claims they’ve more than offset this by lowering their airfares, but anyone who understands airline pricing understands that this isn’t a meaningful statement. Just another reason why Spirit is the most customer-unfriendly airline on the planet. Meanwhile, anyone who wants can have their checked baggage fees waived for a year on United, Continental, and others.
Perrin Post/Competitours Business Class Tickets Giveaway
Wow, this is pretty cool. Two people whom I much like and respect — Wendy Perrin (Perrin Post/Conde Nast Travel) and Steve Belkin (Competitours) — are teaming up to give away 2 business class award tickets to anywhere in the world. To enter you just need to leave a comment over at Wendy’s blog with your best success story using miles or points, and the lesson you learned from it. All this is a great way that Steve is promoting his Competitours, an amazing race-style trip/competition that sounds like lots of fun.
Free bmi Silver status and 2000 miles
british midland is offering silver status for a year and 2000 miles to start your account for new members. Now, Silver status doesn’t get you much unless you’re actually going to fly bmi, it takes Gold for partner lounge access, but it’s status so a halfway decent offer. Though they do sometimes offer more miles to start than this, so consider waiting if you’d rather have more miles than status. Update: Good points in the comments, bmi Silver gets you Star Alliance silver, and that means baggage fee waivers with several airlines. Details and links in the comments.
What in the World to Do With Those Delta Skypesos?
After yesterday’s post on award booking lessons, several readers posed questions about Delta Skymiles that amount to, “if Skypesos are so darned useless, what in the world can I do with them?” Now, the only time you should actually accumulate Skymiles is if you are hub-captive to Delta and fly enough to earn elite status. Even if you live in a Delta hub, fly Delta, but aren’t earning status then consider crediting your flight miles to Alaska. And for goodness sakes, don’t credit any other sorts of miles to Delta, unless it’s somehow benefiting your quest for elite status — because you might well value upgrades more than awards. The other time it makes sense to accumulate Skymiles is when the deal is just too crazy good, that even if you have to spend double…
Hilton’s Second Quarter Promo, Similar to the First: A Free Night Every Four Stays or 10 Nights, Or Double Base Points
A month ago I noted the speculation about the very modest Hilton second quarter promotion that would be coming. It’s finally out, and registration is open. Select from either a free night certificate for every four stays or double base points, valid through June 30 (and only stays commencing after registration count). You can only make your choice once, no changes, so choose wisely. Hilton’s first quarter promo was a free stay for every four stays or 10 nights, so rewarding long-staying guests. And even though the headline on this promo suggests it is only incentivizing stays, the terms and conditions suggest that members will again receive a free night after four stays or 10 nights, just like the first quarter promo. Naturally, Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights (ok, “The Big Welcome Back”) blows this out…
250 Free Continental Mles
Continental is offering 250 free miles for ‘learning about adding additional cardholders’ to your Continental credit or debit card accounts. You just need to enter your Continental frequent flyer account number on the page and click register by May 31 to earn the miles. Bonus miles to post 4-6 weeks after May 31. The offer comes to me via Free Frequent Flyer Miles who says, “I see no requirement to actually have one of these cards. Just register to get the miles.” That said, my own bet is that the miles won’t post except for folks who have Continental’s co-branded cards — despite the fact that the terms and conditions of the offer do not specify this. I won’t ultimately find out in practice whether or not this guess is correct, as I do have…
Flight Attendants Aggressively Pitching Airline Credit Cards Onboard
Can a flight attendant really make $400 in commissions hawking credit cards on a flight? Just another reminder that airlines need to keep flying to support the underlying credit card businesses, even in these tight credit times, and that mileage programs continue to be the engines that drive their liquidity.
