TAPPED, the American Prospect’s blog, complains about Orrin Hatch changing the rules for judicial nomination hearings. I don’t have a strong judgment one way or the other on the specifics of these Senate rules, but TAPPED’s complaint hardly seems a principled one.A Senator from a nominee’s home state had once been able to indefinitely block a nominee by placing a so-called “blue slip” on the nomination. Then the requirement changed, under Hatch as judiciary committee chairman, to both home state senators placing a “blue slip” on a nominee to block a hearing. Now Hatch is scheduling hearings on Bush judicial nominees over Democratic blue slips from Michigan. TAPPED complains that this is breaking with a Senate tradition But as Robert Kuttner explained in the American Prospect a couple years back, [I]t was Hatch, in 1995,…
Internet banking
Now that Netbank has gotten into the mileage game by offering United and Delta miles, I decided to take a look at an online checking account. I actually didn’t sign up with Netbank, though. Instead, I signed up with BankDirect. Both give miles for checking accounts and other financial products. The (2) drawbacks to NetBank are: They don’t give very many miles (I was only going to earn 4500) and mileage is a one-shot deal — there’s no continued earning. They don’t reimburse ATM fees. So while they don’t CHARGE you to use an ATM, in most cases the machine you use will. BankDirect solved both of those things. Now, BankDirect has two disadvantages: A $15/month fee on checking accounts with balances under $2500. A lower interest rate than NetBank. So I studied hard and…
First Class Changes at Alaska
The Tacoma, Washington News Tribune is reporting that Alaska Airlines plans to keep first class seating on its aircraft.Rumor has it that Alaska plans to revise the first class upgrade benefit that currently allows MVP Gold (top tier) members to upgrade any fare at the time of booking, subject to availability. This is likely to change to apply only to higher fares. Elites on discount fares will probably have to wait until closer to flight time to confirm a first class seat.
E-mail signup bonus
Sign up for Aloha Airlines email updates for 2500 AlohaPass Miles.
Avis Discount Codes
I’ve updated the list of available Avis discount codes in the Rental Car Discounts post.
Will Air France be Privatized?
That’s apparently a condition that KLM is insisting on before linking up with the French national carrier.
Ego-surfing
Sometimes you only find out about media mentions by Googling yourself. Apparently a post on this blog was the lead-in to a FAQ about bidding for travel online in the St. Louis Post Dispatch last month. Weird.
Educated Priceline Bidding
This article offers a nice, simple explanation of “free rebids” on Priceline that allow you to submit your bids more often than once every 72 hours.
The rest of the world learns about Priceline
Michael Shapiro has a piece in the Washington Post called “How to Snag a Good Deal on Priceline.” Since it’s directed to a general audience, most of the advice is pretty basic yet sound. It’s a nice introduction for those not already versed in the finer points of finding four-star hotel deals for under $50.Shapiro drew on a few long conversations that the two of us had, and cites one of my own bidding examples in the piece: Take the experience of Gary Leff, an Arlington finance director who logged onto Priceline 10 days before a July 17 trip to Houston. The result: a room at the four-star Omni Hotel in Houston’s Galleria zone for $45 a night; the hotel itself was selling the same room for $189. Unlike most Priceline users, however, Leff had…
Another free magazine
Get a free subscription to Blender magazine – a music mag from the publishers of Maxim.
