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…
Truth in advertising?
Bermuda’s new advertising campaign portrays the lush beaches… of Hawaii.
800 Mypoints for $1
A couple of days ago, I showed you how to get 2550 Mypoints for $2.10. Here’s how to get another 800 Mypoints for $1. Go to the Mypoints website and click on Shopping on the lefthand menu. There should be a big promo in the middle of your screen for 800 points for any purchase with Tupperware. If there isn’t, hit reload until that promo comes up. Click on the promo and go to the Tupperware website. Pick up a gift certificate (just send it to yourself) and choose $5 as the value. Then, go to your shopping cart and change the amount of the gift certificate to $1. Check out (buy the certificate). Once you’re done, on the confirmation page, there’ll be a link (at the bottom of the page) to claim your 800…
Happy Birthday to Some of You
Anyone who is having their birthday skipped over by the calendar tomorrow is bissextile. It sounds dirty, but it isn’t.
And Al Capone was Put Behind Bars for Not Paying Taxes
Could Yasir Arafat be brought down by stricter accounting standards?
Greenspan Rumors
There’s a whispering campaign in DC against Alan Greenspan, according to conservative columnist Robert Novak, because of Greenspan’s tepid endorsement of the President’s tax cuts. The current issue of Forbes provides a recap of the drama. Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer criticizes the Republicans and sticks up for Greenspan. Odd, because Greenspan’s reservations about the tax cut is that the President isn’t also seeking spending cuts. Greenspan’s point is that if you keep spending, while taking in less revenue, you’re just going to have to raise taxes later, coming back to haunt the economy at some future point. There’s little reason for Bush to take on Greenspan. The decision whether to re-appoint will come in 2004, when Bush is up for re-election. Karl Rove will see a public spat with the Fed Chairman as politically risky,…
Life Imitates Superman
A common reaction to the new World Trade Center design is that it looks like the Fortress of Solitude.
I needed to laugh
Joe Brancatelli’s column is especially good today. He provides an Onion-quality skewering of the most recent developments in travel news. Sample headlines: UNITED LAUNCHES 307 LOW-FARE CARRIERS IRAQ AIR SAYS IT NEEDS CONGRESSIONAL AID NORTHWEST ANNOUNCES CODE-SHARING DEAL WITH GREYHOUND Check it out.
Oops.
The ACLU — advocates of privacy — seems to have a recurring problem: it keeps revealing confidential electronic information that it said it would keep private.
Targeted Bonuses
Delta has released a whole sleuth of targeted bonuses (identified by Flyertalker bdschoebel). Targeted bonuses are opportunities to earn miles or other benefits that are only open to the recipient of the offer. Airlines and hotels evaluate a traveler’s habits and try to get them to bump up their spending in specific ways. For instance, I fly from Washington DC to California alot, but usually on cheap fares. United has sent me bonus offers good for lots of miles if only I’ll fly Washington DC to California on expensive fares. However, I’ve often found that I’ve been “targeted” and just wasn’t aware of it — maybe I received the offer buried in an email or paper statement and I just didn’t notice it. I’ve also found that many so-called targeted offers that I may not…
