I was traveling when this was announced, and quickly all the news sources and blogs picked up the story. So I’ve been pretty silent. Continental entering a codesharing, marketing, and potentially revenue sharing (on certain international routes) agreement with United. They’re leaving Skyteam and joining Star Alliance. There will be reciprocal frequent flyer earn and burn, and lounge partnerships. But all the details remain to be seen, in particular, what about reciprocal upgrades for elites of each program as Continental currently offers to Northwest elites and vice versa. Of course all this will likely take until mid-next year to come to fruition. The bottom-line, though, is this: the move is strongly positive for Continental frequent flyers, with little upside and some risk for United frequent flyers. Continental offers perhaps the best domestic premium product in the…
$99 Rooms at the Venetian
Who says there’s no off season in Vegas anymore? Summertime is hot and weekdays are lighter than weekends. Still, The Venetian is offering a promo with rooms starting at $99 and that’s the lowest I’ve seen them advertise in a long, long while.
The Decline of First Class? Hardly.
Tony France, guest-blogging for Cranky Flier, laments the decline of first class. He says it used to be about the service and the experience, the little touches, and now it’s just about the seats. As for the food: The caviar went first, a victim of conservationist activities as well as the most obvious “waste” on board the plane. One by one, everything almost down to the steak itself was removed and cost cut. Fresh eggs died an omelette with red sauce death long ago. Today’s premium passengers are essentially left to feel lucky they receive a meal at all. The entrees have become “lighter, healthier” and cheaper. The carved roasts and Maine lobsters are all in your dreams if you’re old enough to remember them at all. This seems about right for first class on…
Free United Premier Executive Status Just for Registering?
This probably won’t work for most members. But it might, and it’ll be about two weeks before we know whether it work. And the offer expires June 30th, so you need to register now, it takes just a second, so why not try? The MileMaven blog points to a United Mileage Plus offer for free 90 days of Premier Executive Status. I’m guessing it’s targeted, but we’ll see. No status matching where you have to show your elite level and activity with another carrier. Just free. If this works, the status should be reflected on your account within two weeks. (Hat tip to Upgrade: Travel Better.)
$35 off One-Day Rentals and 1700 bmi points
The British Midland $35 off weekend coupon code for Hertz is apparently working when renting for just a single weekend day, picking up your one day rental on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The Hertz rental also awards 1700 points in bmi’s program, which stretches miles further than pretty much any other with their cash and points award chart. This deal could be the first time where I’ve really thought that renting cars just for the miles could make sense, if you find a reasonably priced one weekend day rental the car should be nearly free. Of course this deal won’t last long, that’s for sure! The discount code you’ll need for the Hertz site is 121365. And if you aren’t already a bmi member, 1700 miles on a one day rental is certainly the best…
US Airways Taketh Away, Taketh Away, Giveth, and Taketh Away?
On the one hand, US Airways has been busy gutting their frequent flyer program, emphasizing the need to take away mileage earning opportunities given the current economic environment. (They taketh away other things too.) Then on the other hand, they rolled out an announcement of a generous bonus miles earning promotion for partner activity… a “Grand Slam” promo for up to 40,000 Dividend Miles and the ability to earn gold elite status for yourself and a friend. It appeared on WebFlyer’s NotiFlyer on June 9, but then was pulled. FrugalTravelGuy reproduces the details of what the promotion may entail if it actually gets released. Here’s your chance to pad your Dividend Miles account. From July 1 through Sept. 30, 2008, Dividend Miles members can earn up to 40,000 bonus miles with the Grand Slam promotion.The…
Book Those Premium Class Awards to Australia Now
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…
