One Mile at a Time notes that first class awards to Australia on United appear wide open come April and May, 2009. I noticed this over the weekend and apologize for not bringing this forward earlier. Australia can be one of the toughest redemption markets, and in a premium cabin no less. OMAT points out some flights showing 9 first class seats available as awards, which is clearly not United’s intention…. Book those Australia awards now, and you can always change the dates or redeposit the miles even for a $150 fee (or free if you’re a 100,000 mile flyer).
Determining Your Personal Environmental Impact from Flying
Tyler Cowen tries to get at the effect an individual passenger has on airline route decisions and thus the environment. A simple model of route expansion is that higher demand increases the number of total flights by some probability. For the system as a whole, the decisive flying unit has to come somewhere and there is no reason why, on average, it can’t be you. In other words, at least in stochastic terms you can’t escape the blame. A second simple model of route expansion is that gates and other airport facilities are scarce and underpriced relative to demand. When demand goes up, supply is not very elastic and mostly they raise price rather than increasing output. Those who feel very guilty should prefer this second model. Though still imperfect, I’d contend we can do…
-$75 for a Blackberry Curve
Via Travel Tech Talk, Amazon has an AT&T Blackberry Curve for free with net cash back after rebate of $75 with activation of a new 2-year plan. It even looks like Amazon now supports porting a number to the new phone and service. This comes with free 2-day shipping and a free travel charger (if you add the item to your shopping cart). The price will require both a data and voice plan, not just data. Even existing AT&T customers can upgrade to this device and get the pricing provided they’re within a couple of months of being out of contract, although — and I could just be misinterpreting — it doesn’t appear to work if you have a family plan. Personally I’m waiting for the Blackberry Bold to be released before upgrading…
$30 Showers at LAX for Passengers of Several Airlines
Delta offers one-time visit passes to their lounges for $30. That’s the second-cheapest offering out there — Alaska Airlines offers one-time boardroom passes for $25, and boardroom members can purchase transferrable passes for just $15 each. Now, that may not be worth it for everyone or every time. And more frequent guests are better off with a membership, with elite status with a non-US Skyteam airline, or with the American Express Platinum card — each of which would secure access to the lounge. (And many Crown Room Clubs are also Priority Pass affiliates as well.) But The Flying Critic makes two interesting points for those transiting Los Angeles not just on Delta but also on airlines like Continental and United. LAX Terminals 5, 6, 7, and 8 are connected … so passengers from several airlines…
Another Free 100 Citi Thank You Points
Last month I shared a code for 100 free Citi Thank You Points. You can add these points by logging into your account and, under “My Account” choosing “Enter Promotional Code.” Now Via Frugal Travel Guy is an additional code for another 100 free Citi Thank You Points: DPRICDW408WK. Thank You Points are worth between 1 and 3 cents apiece depending on how they’re redeemed.
Los Angeles to Sydney for $500 Roundtrip
Qantas is running Los Angeles to Sydney for $160 plus all taxes, which omes out to about $500 – $520 all-in. It’s valid for November and December travel on their new Airbus A380 and you need to depart on Monday or Wednesday (many more Wednesday departures are actually available) and return on a Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday. Best to try flexible date search using the Qantas website or booking engine with similar functionality such as Travelocity, since it can be somewhat tricky to find availability. This is the lowest I’ve ever seen US to Australia. The flight won’t even credit full 100% mileage in American’s frequent flyer program, but if you credit the points to Qantas or LAN you’ll receive full mileage. The Flyertalk discussion is here. Update 1:20pm Eastern: The fare no longer appears…
OMG, A Greyhound Mileage Run!
Wow, this one almost makes me cring to post. A couple of years ago I wrote about Greyhound introducing a loyalty program. At the time I declared I had no interest in joining. And I still haven’t. After all, 16 Greyhound trips and you get… a free Greyhound trip. Ouch. And I cringe at the prospect of flying over 1000 miles in coach. When I come back from Asia, I even huff and puff at 5 hours in domestic first class, having gotten used to the charms of international premium cabin travel for similar stage lengths. Yet it was only a matter of time before someone came up with a Greyhound mileage run. I’m appalled. It might not be the right forum, but since GREYHOUND has some kind of loyalty program (see HERE and TERMS…
What The TSA Is Good For, In Their Own Words
The TSA brags that they just caught someone with a fake ID! Update: 6/14/08 Just a quick note… Our ticket checkers found a fraudulent ID at JFK. Just thought some of you might be interested. At New York Kennedy Airport (JFK) on Thursday, June 12, a passenger was interviewed by police after attempting to enter into a security checkpoint with a fraudulent ID. A TSA Travel Document Checker noticed a passenger trying to use a fraudulent New York driver’s license and notified the Port Authority Police Department who came and interviewed her. The Port Authority Police Department released the passenger after issuing a Summons to Appear. Travel Document Checkers are TSA officers that are specially trained to detect fraudulent IDs and boarding passes to help keep our airports safe and secure. Sounds like we’d all…
New Westin Reston Pricing All its Room Types the Same… Including $99 Suites
It seems to frequently be the case that the Westin Reston is pricing all of its internet prepaid rate room types the same. Several weekends, such as at the beginning of July, all room types show up at $99. During the week their prepaid rates go as high as $329, but again will frequently price all room types the same. Alas, the hotel doesn’t have a club lounge or I might take a Staycation out near Dulles airport in a $99 Deluxe Suite 605 Sq Ft Spacious 2 Room Suite Suited For Business With Contemporary DecorDeluxe Suite Non-smoking, Heavenly Bed And Bath, Separate Living Rm/w Sofa Bed, Separate Luxury Shower/bath, 42 Inch Plasma Tv This doesn’t work with all dates, of course, and I haven’t tested how far out these suites are bookable. But folks…
25% Off at L’Occitane
L’Occitane is running its ‘friends and family’ sale through Sunday, June 15th. Promo code FNF25 is good for 25% off. Mary2e reports this on Flyertalk and adds The downside, it doesn’t look like they have any of the freebies with purchase left. I made out like a bandit with some of them by breaking up my orders into $80 batches to qualify for free shipping and the freebie. Still, there are plenty of additional opportunities for leveraging L’Occitane purchases including free shipping, 3 American Airlines or Membership Rewards points per dollar (or 4 Citi Thank You points), or 4% cash back from Ebates or Fatwallet.
