View from the Wing

United Ends Mileage Conversion of Expiring 500-Mile Upgrades

by Gary Leff on May 20, 2007

May 20 2007

United awards elite flyers (4) 500-mile upgrade certificates for every 10,000 miles flown on United (and United Express and Ted.. rar!.. planes). They also sell ’em. And they can be used to upgrade domestic flights a few days in advance of travel subject to availability, the specific length of time governed by your particular status with United. Currently, if those upgrade certificates expire unused, they each convert to 500 frequent flyer miles. June 1 this practice is no more. I knew about the change back in January when it was posted on Flyertalk and didn’t see it as an especially big deal. It used to be that the old paper 500s converted just to 250 miles, and you had to mail them in to boot. Then when they went electronic it actually improved to the…

Alaska Makes it Harder to Upgrade with Miles, and Other Annoyances

by Gary Leff on May 17, 2007

May 17 2007

It’s been reported on Flyertalk that when Alaska says “Award Levels to Increase”, what they mean is that the 20,000 mile domestic coach award is going to be available only for online redemption. If you have to call to make the booking it will be 25,000 miles. No big deal in my view, 20,000 is already better than almost all other competitors (cf. Frontier Early Returns and their 15,000 mile awards). So Alaska’s gone from the model of rewarding website bookings to making off-line bookings more expensive. I’m naturally not a fan of the change, but I can live with it. But their other change really hits me where it hurts: Effective August 1, 2007, First Class Mileage Redemptive Upgrade award rules will be changing. Redemptive Upgrades awards booked after this date will be available…

40% Off Bedding at W Hotel Store

by Gary Leff on May 17, 2007

Via Slickdeals.net, the W Hotels Store is offering 40% on their beds and bedding through May 31 with promo code WE4XT.I got in on a similar offer back in March, and am very pleased with my purchase. My understanding is that W properties use the plush top mattress with a featherbed, rather than the softer pillowtop that’s also on sale here. But preferences will vary.

Best Western Signup Bonus

by Gary Leff on May 16, 2007

Thanks to a co-branded offer with Harley Davidson, Best Western is offering new members a 1000 bonus points with your first stay by June 28. Hat tip to boazs of MileMaven.

Orbitz Hotel Coupons

by Gary Leff on May 16, 2007

TripAdvisor is offering a $50 off Orbitz coupon good on a 3+ night hotel stay or vacation package. In addition, Orbitz promo code PRIDE100 offers $100 off on a 5 or more night hotel stay or $40 off on a 3-4 night stay.These presumably work only on ‘OrbitzSaver’ hotel rates, though I haven’t ploughed through the relevant terms and conditions to verify. The Pride offer is part of their Gay and Lesbian travel deals, but anyone can use the savings (the booking engine lacks appropriate gaydar).

Fly JetBlue Get $50 Off JetBlue

by Gary Leff on May 15, 2007

JetBlue is offering $50 off travel between September 5, 2007 and October 31, 2007 after you book a roundtrip by June 1 for travel commencing by June 15. Registration required. Thanks to reader Sloan for the pointer. Pair this with $10 off each way when buying your qualifying roundtrip. (Here’s the link via American Express.)Purchases need to be made with an American Express card by May 31 for travel by June 13, and Friday and Sunday travel are excluded.While the promo rules say the offer is good on transcontinental flights, that doesn’t appear to be true — the special fare comes up from Dulles to Orlando, for instance, and becomes as low as $39+tax one way.

Would You Want to Land Here?

by Gary Leff on May 14, 2007

Would you trust air traffic, or the ground controllers for that matter?

Giving Bad Advice on TV

by Gary Leff on May 12, 2007

NBC News in Connecticut ran a story on redeeming frequent flyer miles that was notable for how much it got wrong in only 166 words. Airline industry expert Darryl Jenkins said tough economic times are making airlines stingy with free seats. I much like Darryl, but this may be the closest to plausible thing he’s quoted as saying in the article. (It’s plausible that every quote was taken out of context and mangled…) Airlines aren’t being stingy because of ‘tough economic times’. If anything, the reverse is true. Full planes, usually not a sign of tough times, are making the seats harder to come by. Award redemption at the ‘saver’ level (i.e. capacity controlled awards, after all many airlines allow you to redeem double – or more – the miles to get any seat on…

Free Hilton Gold Still Available?

by Gary Leff on May 12, 2007

May 12 2007

In April 2005 I posted that the offer to Citibank Chairmans Card holders of complimentary Hilton Gold status was accessible by anyone. Some folks kept the status after signing up. Others had Hilton take it away. Some had Hilton say they were taking it away, but the status remained… The Fatwallet discussion of this deal suggests that it still works (by phone only, no longer online). Naturally, your mileage may vary.

4000 Mile Delta Signup Bonus

by Gary Leff on May 9, 2007

May 09 2007

Through June 30, Delta is offering 4,000 Skymiles just for enrolling and entering your Starwood Preferred Guest number. Offer may be targeted, so your mileage may vary…