The trusty, reliable AAGU promo — that I’ve been using to give all of my friends, their relatives, and their relatives’ dogs instant Gold status with Hilton seems to have expired. I last used it towards the end of February. The best current promo that I’ve found is SMGD. Call 1-800-548-8690 and signup for a new account or upgrade your current account with Origin Code SMGD. After four stays at Hilton properties, you’ll get Gold status which means point bonuses, room upgrades, and health club privileges.
You need a British Airways Executive Club Account NOW
After July 1, 2003, the British Airways frequent flyer program is closed to new members unless and until they fly their first expensive flight (Y, B, or H fares in economy or any premium cabin fare). So sign up now before the new rule kicks in. That way you’ll be poised to take advantage of opportunities that come along, like last month’s Jaguar Test Drive Promotion.
I needed an SEC filing to tell me this?
Bank One, which issues the United Mileage Plus Visa, reports that it would lose a whole lot of money if United Airlines went under. It would lose customers who are motivated to use their Visa by United Airlines miles. Gee, really?
Will Fly For Sex
Scott McCartney doesn’t seem to like the idea of Hooters Air, but his piece does offer a nice retrospect of airlines selling tickets with sex in the 70s. He mentions that “Southwest Airlines decked out its first stewardesses in hot pants and leather boots” but fails to note that their automated ticket machines were called “quickies.” 🙂
Delta signup bonus
Refer your friends to Delta. Give Delta the email address of a friend who does not currently have a Delta frequent flyre account. Delta sends them an email. If they join, you get 500 miles and they get 1000 miles if they fly Delta or even get miles in some other way (such as via the free Skymiles Dining program). Some folks might interpret the offer as “Delta is losing customers because of the changes to their frequent flyer program.” But that doesn’t seem credible to me, since they’ve made the same offer in the past. Delta just wants word of mouth marketing.
Northwest signup bonus
The old Northwest frequent flyer signup bonus offering 4,000 miles for the first roundtrip expired December 31st. Now there’s a new offer for new Worldperks members. Signup and receive 6,000 miles — 1,000 bonus miles after the first roundtrip and 5,000 more bonus miles after the second roundtrip. (Enroll by May 31 and complete flights within 6 months.)
R.I.P.
Looks like the amazing Amtrak offer is no more. Amtrak ticket purchases now must be for $25 or more in order to earn Mypoints.
500 Hilton Points for Mypoints Signup
I mentioned the other day that you can get 2500 Mypoints for $2.10. If you aren’t yet a member of the Mypoints program, you can also get 500 Hilton HHonors points just for free signup with Mypoints.
Jetiquette
In my line of work, I meet alot of folks with their own jets. I fly commercial. That puts me at a bit of a cultural disadvantage. Fortunately, Bombardier Flexjet publishes a list of ten Rules of Jetiquette for first-time fliers on privately owned jets. Business2.0 provides a summary. The longer piece, summarized in the April, 2003 issue of The Atlantic (Not online yet, but hopefully the piece will be here) offers: Observe the boarding, seating, and drop-off hierarchies… The captain or the owner of the aircraft will normally greet and escort you to the plane. The owner is usually the last to board. The owner will usually sit forward facing and as close to the flight deck as possible, depending on the layout of the aircraft. This way, the owner can more easily communicate…
Elliott Replies
Christopher Elliott replies to my criticism of his recent article on the five best flights in America. Well, sort of. He finds a typo. ** Winging It Subscriber Doug Jensen shared an item in Gary Leff’s “View From The Wing” blog in which he took me to task for last week’s column on the best airline flights. In it, Leff writes that the story “really set me off” and then proceeded to say that I “offered tidbits just are just wrong.” Now, I’m sure he meant to write that I offered tidbits “that are just wrong,” and a good editor is hard to find, indeed. But as I contemplated Leff’s critique, two thoughts crossed my mind: 1) There’s no such thing as bad publicity; and 2) Hey, at least someone is reading with a critical…
