Upgrade Travel Blog breaks news of British Airways pettiness: they’ve edited Richard Branson (of Virgin Atlantic) out of the movie Casino Royale.
AuctionSniper
Apr
22
2007
I’m hardly an eBay veteran, though I won by first item there at least 6 years ago. For some reason, every so often I’d find something I wanted and I’d bid on it and… usually lose. What little I know about auctions suggests to me that people ought to bid their highest amount for an item, since eBay will only make you pay the amount that’s a single increment higher than the next highest bidder. But that isn’t how people bid. So I finally signed up with a sniping service, AuctionSniper.com, based on some recommendations from Flyertalk. I’m testing it out this evening, but like it quite a bit so far. If you want to sign up for a free account (with 3 free snipes), you can use my referral link at no cost to…
Return of the Great USAirways Mastercard Offer
Apr
22
2007
Free Frequent Flyer Miles points out that the USAirways Mastercard offer of 15,000 bonus miles with first purchaseNo fee for two years50% bonus on all spending the first yearComplimentary USAirways Club pass each year (admit two people)Annual $99 companion certificate (there are some restrictions, but I used mine successfully last month) is still around. Truly a great deal, but don’t bother with the extra 10,000 miles for balance transfers due to the associated fees.As always (and though you’ll rarely need this) it’s a good idea to print a copy of the offer as well as the associated terms and conditions.
The Biggest Travel Risk Abroad
Tyler Cowen points to the biggest travel risk of all, and it isn’t terrorism, disease, or plane crashes… it’s traffic accidents, “the largest cause of nonnatural death among U.S. citizens overseas.” Get a car with functioning seat belts and air bags, and make sure the brakes, lights, and windshield wipers work. And know the local driving customs: “A stop sign is meaningless, or speed limits are meaningless in some countries,” Ms. Sobel said. “If you assume it is safe for people to cross certain streets in some areas of Egypt and Kenya, you are making a potentially fatal mistake.” Ms. Sobel and others advise against driving at night. They also note that headlights are often turned off to save batteries — a false economy since the battery would not drain with the engine running properly…
Airtran Free Flight Certificate Actually Doesn’t Promise… Anything?
Consumerist has the story on an Airtran free flight voucher that can’t be redeemed… because it doesn’t actually promise a free flight? Clearly something else is going on here, like the voucher not being activated somehow, and it thus becomes one of those frustrating endeavors with customer service agents who aren’t empowered to solve problems, where the customer gets caught in a bureaucratic sink hole. Still, it makes for an amusing exchange: When Brett called a customer service representative to redeem the voucher, the story changed. He was told there was no free flight on file for him. Brett writes: I told him I had a voucher, and he said, “but does it actually say you get a flight on it.” I read it carefully and it didn’t. It was deceptively nice and apologetic, and…
Best BA Visa Offer
Apr
18
2007
The usual offer for a British Airways Visa is 15,000 miles with first purchase, and the card comes with a $75 annual fee.Now there’s an offer of 20,000 miles with first purchase, though still with the fee (unlike the United, American, etc. cards there’s no first year fee waiver). As one Flyertalk member wroteAs you only need 25k round trip to upgrade from WT+ to www.newclubworld.com fully flat beds, and the fares start at $650 rtn incl tax with no co-pay, AND you earn 125% of miles on the WT+ ticket you purchase (making the net cost of a US – Europe rtn upgrade around 15k miles) then yes it’s a great deal. Absolutely worth the $75. If you don’t already have a British Airways account, signing up for the Visa will get you one.
Malaysia Free Signup Miles and Elite Status Roulette
Apr
15
2007
Through June 30 Malaysia Airlines is offering 1000 bonus miles for signing up for their frequent flyer program, and 1 in 25 new members are automatically granted Silver elite status.With Enrich Silver, you will be able to enjoy more benefits and privileges such as: Golden Lounge Privilege Programme Additional 5kg Excess Baggage Allowance Priority check-in at the Business Class counter Telephone check-in
When it pays to make your customers wait
Apr
15
2007
British Airways is earning a million pounds a year off its pay-service helplines. British Airways has been criticised after it emerged that it is making at least a million pounds a year by charging UK customers to telephone its helplines, .. British customers pay above-national rates to call the 0870 numbers. BA makes about 2p a minute for every call to its bookings, reservations and customer care phone lines – including those dealing with lost luggage. With 15,000 customers calling every day, this works out at just over £1 million a year in revenues if each call is three minutes long. However, so deluged has the call centre been in recent weeks that many customers have been left on hold for well over 20 minutes. British Airways actually makes money by losing your luggage and…
5000 Free Miles for Signing up with Delta Skymiles
Apr
14
2007
Sign up for Delta Skymiles by June 15 and receive 5000 Delta Skymiles — no other activity required. This doesn’t appear to be targeted. While there’s the usual boilerplate about taxes and fees on awards and Skymiles redemption seats being limited yadda yadda, the stuff that’s actually specific to this promo in the terms and conditions is quite limited:Bonus mile offer valid for new SkyMiles members only. Valid e-mail address required for enrollment. Please allow 2-4 weeks to receive confirmation of bonus miles.
500 Free Miles with United, Continental, or Delta
Apr
14
2007
“Thanks Again” is a program that offers miles for shopping with small merchants that don’t have their own rewards programs, so far mostly dry cleaners. You register a credit card and when you spend with participating companies you get miles for the transaction, a la iDine (aka Rewards Network). There aren’t a whole lot of companies working with them, at least so far, so it’s not that attractive. Plenty of folks may be skeptical of giving them credit card numbres, although they do appear quite legitimate. Personally I used a Visa gift card with about $7 left on it, although some might prefer to use one-time use credit card numbers. Why? Signup bonuses. You can earn your choice of 500 United, Continental, or Delta miles just for signing up. The program is also available with…
