Hyatt has announced a new set of benefits, and it’s pretty big news .. but there are some open questions. No more blackout dates on award redemptions, a la Starwood and Hilton. (Are you listening Starwood? Your unique selling proposition has been eroded by the competition…) This makes Gold Passport points much more valuable. All elite members (Platinum and Diamond) will receive free internet. Diamonds get a club level upgrade with every stay, or guaranteed full breakfast and 2500 points. Diamonds will also receive (4) annual suite upgrades (previously Diamonds were mailed a single suite upgrade certificate that required paying a higher rate in most cases.). These will be electronic rather than paper certificates and are valid on stays of seven nights or less; and exclude the top-tier named suites (“Premier, Presidential and Diplomatic Suites”).…
Turkish First Class Redemption Seats Available
This Flyertalk thread gave a nice heads up that Turkish Airlines is making first class awards available on their 77W aircraft leased from Jet Airways. Availability appears pretty good, even for two passengers, and that means seats between Istanbul and Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok. Definitely worth considering for those Star Alliance awards, this airliners.net thread has plenty of photos, and Turkish first class looks very nice…
Double Miles on Mileage Transfers From Person to Person with Northwest and Delta
Northwest is offering a 100% bonus on miles transferred between accounts through May 31. The annual maximum miles transferred into an account is 30,000 at a cost of $325, and yields 60,000 Northwest Worldperks miles in that account. Naturally, Delta Skymiles is making the same offer, 30,000 miles transferred costs $330 (their transfer fee is higher, oddly enough) and yields 60,000 Delta Skymiles. The annual mileage caps are much higher than with Worldperks, 300,000 miles into any account and 150,000 out. Of course, Northwest and Delta miles can be transferred back and forth between each other at will which means you can use Delta’s higher transfer limits to circumvent Northwest’s transfer cap.
Amex Membership Rewards Double Miles on Gas and Groceries for a Year
Membership Rewards-earning personal American Express cards can earn double miles on gas and groceries for the next year (through March 15, 2010 anyway). Registration is required, which is brilliant, only give the miles to those who are striving for them. And they cap the bonus at 1,000 miles per month. Used to be similar sorts of offers might cap bonuses at 10,000 total. Here they spread the bonus out over a year, whch means you need to consistently use the card over time in order to max out. Habit-forming. To me, annoying, I love promos I can get excited about in a single shot and go crazy with. This is just a good offer for gas and grocery spend over time, and I suppose some folks will exceed the cap or continue their spending habits…
US Airways Double Elite Qualifying Miles Promo Extended to April 30
US Airways’ double elite qualifying miles promotion, announced back in February, was about to expire. With everyone around them running promos at the moment, they’ve decided to extend theirs through April 30.
Free Silver Status in Accor’s A|Club
Offer is only valid through March 31. New members sign up here and existing members upgrade here. In either case, use promo code SLVRAGT. US and Canadian addresses only. Don’t expect much from Silver, but it may be reaosn enough to join.
The Onion’s Report on World’s Worst Airport
Personally this reminds me of Mexico City… (Hat tip to D.R.)
United Double Qualifying Miles on Tickets Purchased Before the Start of the Promo
I meant to blog this earlier today, but Lucky beat me to it. There’s a way around the rule that United tickets purchased prior to the start of their double elite qualifying mile promo don’t count towards the promo, thus saving you the cost and hassle of rebooking trips… you just have to call Mileage Plus and ask to be registered for promotion code MPW999.
Northwest and Delta Offer Qualifying Mile Bonus For Higher Fares Only
Northwest (register here) and Delta (register here) have jumped on the Double Elite Qualifying Miles bandwagon started by American and followed soon thereafter by United and Continental. Like American and United — and unlike Continental — the offer applies only to tickets both purchased and flown during the promo period. So tickets bought last week, for instance, won’t count. And unlike the other airline offers, this one exludes the least expensive fares from earning double qualifying miles. Specifically, Delta L, U, and T fares and a shifting set of Northwest fares based on region of travel — read the terms and conditions! — are ineligible. Meanwhile, they promote the offer as ‘up to triple qualifying miles’ which is somewhat disingenous, since that applies to the highest fares that generally earn a qualifying mile bonus anyway..…
United Ends Generous Re-faring Benefit
Back when airlines were fighting against a potential ‘Passengers Bill of Rights’ out of Congress (it seems like eons ago, airlines were seen as too profitable and distanced, much as oil companies were a couple years ago, there’s always a villian-of-the-moment) they introduced their own action plans, giving them the argument that legislation was thus unnecessary. United’s version of this was their customer commitment, mostly vacuous statements but there were a series of policies which were useful to customers. They did allow (and still allow) reservations made with them to be cancelled within 24 hours of booking for a full refund, and now also offer a ‘hold’ feature on their website. My hazy memory says that airline pricing was a big issue at the time, United promised to quote the lowest available fare when queried…
