On Sunday I took Randy Petersen to task for saying that Continental was the only airline offering mileage upgrades across the Atlantic from deeply discounted fares. I gave the example of American, which allows upgrades with miles (and no cash buy-up). Now there’s a rumor that American will announce a change and require a buyup on mileage upgrades. It’s still a rumor, and unconfirmed. And the quote from Randy (which may be a misquote) will still be technically incorrect as American will allow mileage upgrades from the lowest fares. But I’ll be equally wrong if the rumor pans out.Although I still maintain, with true confidence, that Continental is far from the best business class across the Atlantic.
Discounted Business Class Tickets
Via MSNBC’s Savings Sleuth, CheapFlights.com has begun posting discounted business class fares. CheapFlights posts the best rates from a number of travel providers including unpublished consolidator fares.One more tool for the arsenal.
I Disagree with Randy
Randy Petersen is usually spot-on, but a Houston Chronicle piece from last week on changes to Continental’s frequent flyer program for 2005 have him making a couple of claims that I disagree with. Continental has extended the offer of full elite qualifying miles for discount fares booked on its website, introduced a dedicated elite telephone desk, joined Skyteam (with its concommitant benefits), and increased the money ‘buy up’ required in order to use miles to upgrade with miles on from discounted airfares on international flights. Randy says: Randy Petersen, editor and publisher of Inside Flyer magazine and an authority on frequent-flyer programs, said, “I have some problem with Continental wanting to take both my miles and money for a BusinessFirst upgrade, but they are the only airline offering these (international) upgrades against the cheapest tickets.…
Diary of a Flight Attendant.com
A Delta flight attendant has been suspended without pay for blogging. Technically, for posting a picture of herself in uniform on her blog.She doesn’t identify her employer on her blog. Instead, she describes herself as a 6-foot-tall, 29-year-old flight attendant for Anonymous International Airlines, living in Quirksville, Texas. But uniforms aside, one can discern her employer and location from the issues (catering problems) and events (specific music festival) she mentions. She’s a great read actually, and while Delta is probably well within their legal rights to discipline an employee for publicly commenting (sometimes quite negatively) on their job and the people and situations they encounter I do lament it. Check out the site before she’s forced to pull it! Need more reasons? She has photos of the famous Naked Air flight, as well as pictures…
Starwood Gold, 2 United Club Passes, and Wine for $10
Through October 15th you can sign up for a 3 month trial with United’s Ameniti travel service for $10. The website says the fee is $295 for a year, but using the link above or promo code ADLT-2731 at checkout yields this offer. Ameniti comes with Starwood Gold status, two United Red Carpet Club passes (not sure how quickly they expire, I’ve been told they don’t expire but haven’t verified this), and a free bottle of wine. It also comes with complimentary companion tickets, but only when purchasing full fare tickets for yourself so these aren’t often useful.Just be sure to cancel after receiving your welcome kit and club passes — but before the end of three months — in order to avoid being charged the full fee!
Big changes at Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus has introduced significant changes to its fare structure – making all tickets one-way, capping that one-way fare at $503 for coach, and eliminating advance purchase requirements.They’ve also introduced the ability to change the name on a ticket after purchase, something that very few other carriers permit. I’ve taken advantage of this on SAS, which allows the practice for a $25 fee as long as the passenger certifies that the flight is for personal travel rather than business. Aer Lingus will change $60 for the privilege.
Devaluation of United miles
United miles are facing some new tough restrictions. Transatlantic award flights on Lufthansa can only be booked 90 days in advance, effective September 28th. My understanding, not yet confirmed, is that award flights on ANA can only be booked 60 days in advance. I’ll keep folks posted as I learn more, but since I’ve seen conflicting information on this to date I’ll still characterize it as a rumor (and I haven’t had time to try to dummy-book an award yet).This comes on the heels of reducing award hold times from 14 days to 3 days — meaning that you can no longer place an itinerary on hold for two weeks before booking the ticket. Just a couple years ago holds were permitted for 30 days and were routinely extended. While I’ve always liked United miles…
Interesting geography-based reward card
Via Colloquey, news that Amex has launched a rewards card aimed at New York City. AmEx this week launched the IN:NYC Card, a fee free credit card targeted at Gotham’s young, urban sophisticates who want to eat at the trendy restaurants, receive special invites to parties with the glitterati and attend special musical events. The IN:NYC Card gives cardholders access to a loyalty program, INSIDE Rewards, which Amex claims is built exclusively for New Yorkers who want to eat, drink and play at many of the most fashionable spots in town. I haven’t seen the award chart yet, so I’ll withhold judgment on the value proposition, but it’s certainly a fascinating marketing move to target rewards to a demographic group based on their geography. The rewards seem of potential interest to twenty and thirty-something New…
Fly Free Faster on the Discounters with Online Booking
Southwest has brought back double Rapid Rewards credit for online booking at the Southwest website, but only if you pay with Visa and only for travel through December 15. Meanwhile, Airtran is offering double credit for all travel booked on the Airtran website from October 1 through January 31 for travel completed by January 31. This offer is in addition to the bonuses for purchasing tickets with an American Express card.
Diners Club deal with Mastercard official
Diners Club, which I highly recommend, has had one major drawback: acceptance. You can (and should) rent cars with it, pay airlines and hotels, and buy electronics from several major chains. But you’ve just never been able to pay the local drycleaner with the card. But that drawback is going away. Diners Club and Mastercard have signed a pact so that beginning in November Diners Club cards will be accepted anywhere that takes Mastercard. I’m not sure how this is going to play out. Assuming the Diners Club Rewards program remains in tact, this will be the ultimate credit card — arguably the best rewards program (I personally go back and forth between it and Starwood) combined with worldwide acceptance. However, the reason that acceptance has been low is that Diners Club charges higher interchange…
