Tyler Cowen is writing about the New Zealand government’s renationalization of its railways and its 2001 bailout of Air New Zealand in exchange for an 83% ownership stake. Did privatization fail? It is unlikely that New Zealand should have a rail system in the first place. Imagine 3.6 million people living in a country about the size of California. About one-third of them live in or near Auckland. The rest are widely scattered across two (technically, three) islands. When you privatize something that shouldn’t exist in the first place, you are asking for political and economic trouble. It is no surprise that the company wouldn’t invest much in the system. … It was never the case that flights to and from New Zealand would cease or even dry up. But there was never any guarantee…
Mentioned in Frommer’s
Under the title “Read What We Read,” Frommer’s describes View from the Wing thusly: If you’re a crazed, obsessive frequent-flier-mile fanatic, you’ll love Gary Leff’s dry but informative View From The Wing (www.webflyer.com/blog/), where he collects oddball shopping discounts and the best obscure ways to earn frequent flier miles. If you’re not an airline coupon-clipper, you’ll wonder what all the fuss is about. Check it out, though – you might love it.
20% off a Borders, Brentano’s, and Waldenbooks
Valid July 9th – 12th. Print this coupon for an in-store discount.
Notes from Citibank
Loyalty programs count on rewards going unused. Citibank reveals that in Australia its proprietary rewards programs assumes that a third of all reward points will go unused. Meanwhile, Citibank is pushing their Diners Club product in Taiwan with new perks:Under exclusive privileges, cardholders can get discounts of up to 65 percent on their Cathay Pacific business class tickets. Those who love to wine and dine can access premium boutique wineries via the Diners Wine Connoisseur Club and Club Gourmet. In addition to getting airport VIP lounge access in 85 airports worldwide, the card grants users VIP priority check-in service for EVA Airways flights and free business class upgrades with UNI Air if they pay for their economy class tickets with their Diners Club card. Being Spas, one of the premium spa chains in Taiwan, also…
United Member-Get-Member Bonus
Refer up to 4 friends to United. Each one who signs up will earn you 1250 miles. Each one who flies a roundtrip in “V” class or higher will earn you 5000 miles. The promotion lasts through September 15th and can earn you up to 25,000 miles.
Hotel Ratings Inflation
Joe Sharkey’s column in Sunday’s New York Times highlighted hotel rating inflation, with some properties now claiming “six star” designations and one even claiming seven. Meanwhile, there’s a proliferation of websites and guides offering star ratings of properties, and there’s little consistency or quality control among many of them. Beyond those basic points, of course, the article degenerates into silliness: that a good rule of thumb is “about $100 a star,” that Westin is on par with Four Seasons and Peninsula properties, and that Radisson is a four star chain.
5000 Free Continental Miles for Texas Residents
Texas residents can get 5000 Continental miles for registering by September 12th to earn Continental miles for shopping at Randall’s.
More Hawaii Service
Northwest Airlines will begin flights from Portland to Honolulu on December 15th. New flights are always good for award redemption, as award seats haven’t been claimed yet. Perfect for that Christmas trip to Hawaii. Aloha Airlines is adding service between Las Vegas and Honolulu and between Sacramento and Maui. Aloha is also cutting some service:Aloha will eliminate its Phoenix service and the nonstop route between Burbank and Maui, effective September 6. Aloha also will drop short-haul service between Oakland and Las Vegas, Burbank and Las Vegas, and Burbank and Sacramento. Remember that United miles can be used for travel on Aloha, so these two new routes are two new opportunities. Meanwhile, Hawaiian Airlines is offering an online sale from $267 roundtrip.
Double USAirways Points from Points.com
Through September 30, 2004 points transfers into USAirways will be doubled at Points.com. PointsPlus members (membership available free, explained here) get another 25% bonus. This deal isn’t as lucrative as the previous bonus for transfers to American Airlines, both because the initial exchange rates being doubled in many cases aren’t as good and because USAirways points tend not to be as valuable as American miles. Nevertheless, it’s a deal worth knowing about.
Another partner bites the dust
Marriott Rewards will cease to partner with American Express Membership Rewards on December 31, 2004. After that date it will not be possible to transfer points from American Express to Marriott.
