News and notes from around the interweb: $150 bonus for opening a SunTrust checking account in-branch. Merrill Lynch has a mysterious new American Express card for wealthy clients Flights from UAE to Baghdad Suspended After FlyDubai Aircraft Hit By Gunfire Apparently this is still a thing, though I wouldn’t do it: selling your credit card authorized user slots to help others’ boost their credit scores. A prepaid debit card that doesn’t seem to work well for just generating spend, but does seem to offer free Chipotle. Earn AAdvantage miles for hotel reviews. Not worth my time at 70 miles per, but some will do this. Marriott buying Canada’s Delta Hotels. Alaska extending free streaming inflight entertainment for two more months, starting to rent Microsoft tablets February 1. You can join the 40,000+ people who see…
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How to Survive Flying Through This Week’s Historic Storms and Other Weather Events
I went on television earlier today to talk weather and navigating flight delays and cancellations. I’d sum up my advice as, expect the unexpected, be proactive, and be nice. There are five basic things to do to travel well through flight delays and cancellations
Inside Flyer Ceases Publishing After 29 Years: Randy Petersen Retires
Inside Flyer magazine’s blog offers the story of Randy Petersen’s retirement from magazine publishing. The magazine launched a number of other activities that continue and thrive today. During our time, InsideFlyer accomplished something that no other publication of its kind has–we left a legacy. Among the things InsideFlyer created, funded and willed to be relevant to the frequent flyer included the Freddie Awards, FlyerTalk and BoardingArea, along with its grandchild Milepoint.com. On their consumer advocate legacy, InsideFlyer beat back the introduction of a Saturday night stayover requirement on flight awards from United Mileage Plus in 2000, we led the rollback of the US Airways Dividend Miles elite change to drop status bonus miles, we provided the major funding and support for SaveSkyMiles which beat back an effort by Delta to offer fewer miles flown on…
Taking Advantage of a Legal Loophole: You Can Avoid Paying Fuel Surcharges on Award Tickets If You Know Where to Start and End the Trip
Fuel surcharges are the bane of many frequent flyers, junk fees adding hundreds or even a thousand dollars onto award tickets by many frequent flyer programs around the world. Airlines like fuel surcharges because: Changing the fuel surcharge in a market can raise or lower every ticket price in that market, no need to re-file every single fare. They allow an airline to raise price even with many fixed-fare agreements. And, of course, because they can be charged to frequent flyers trying to redeem a captive points currency. US frequent flyers — who don’t participate in mileage programs based outside the US — don’t have to deal with fuel surcharges very much. American adds them to awards on British Airways (and to a very modest extent on Iberia) Alaska adds them to awards on British…
Chase Airline Transfer Partner Back Online!
Korean Air is one of my favorite Chase points transfer partners. First class awards have been so darned easy to get. There are real sweet spots in their Skyteam award chart They offer cheap awards to Hawaii Although they are of course very Korean and their processes for redeeming awards are unique. Korean went offline as a Chase transfer partner in November, though I wrote that it was expected to come back based on what Chase was suggesting. Korean Air’s website said it would be back in January. Last week Chase began confirming it would be back very soon, and customer service reps were saying January 25. And transfers are now back online! As much as I love the ability to be able to transfer Chase points to United, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Hyatt……
The Sordid Tale That Led to SkyMall’s Bankruptcy Filing, and What Happens Next
The AP’s Scott Mayerowitz goes for the easy opener on news of Skymall’s bankruptcy. Apparently, airline passengers aren’t buying enough garden gnomes, superhero pajamas and heated cat shelters. Sales dropped nearly in half year over year and by three quarters over the past four years. The company believes people flipped through the magazine less and less and personal electronic devices became more common. In addition, gogo inflight internet even allows some free browsing of online shopping sites. The magazine paid the airlines to carry it, in an amount which increased in recent years as fuel costs rose (since paper is heavy). They charged other companies for ads in that magazine, and took a commission on sales, because they in turn provided access to airline passengers which are an upscale demographic and captive (and presumably bored)…
Are Credit Card Companies About to Start Awarding Fewer Miles for Signups and Spend?
Skift reported yesterday on the renewal of the Delta-American Express co-brand arrangement that’s worth $2 billion a year to Delta. The renewal is for 6 years. The last renewal was in 2008. American Express has also renewed their Starwood relationship. While Skift suggests the renewal “amounts to a 15 percent improvement in terms for Delta” that’s actually 15% better in the first year of the deal, and a 20% imrpovement for Delta thereafter. Despite paying more, Amex Platinum and Centurion cards still receive hobbled access to Delta clubs and Black card members have seen a hobbling of their Delta status. The Skift piece argues that the Delta renewal will set a standard that could be followed by other co-brand deals.
The World’s Busiest Airport Isn’t Atlanta, Double Flight Points Through March, and an Air Marshall Wins at the Supreme Court
News and notes from around the interweb: Double Virgin America points through March 31. Registration required. Some commenters are reporting being told that Chase points transfers to Korean will return on January 25. I reached out again to Chase and got simply, “We anticipate the functionality returning soon.” Supreme Court rules air marshall didn’t violate federal law when leaking TSA plans. The new Vietnam Airlines blog, focused on that nation’s carrier and others in Southeast Asia, has new details on the Vietnam Airlines 787 including new lie flat business class seats and a seat map mockup. Now that Delta offers one-way awards I may wind up trying something like this.. Double American AAdvantage miles between the US/Canada and Asia on American and their joint venture partner JAL (though not on American’s China routes). There’s also…
An Airline Completely Eliminates Fuel Surcharges to the US! Plus 50,000 American Miles and More…
News and notes from around the interweb: 2500 bonus American miles every 2nd Marriott stay, up to 50,000 miles for stays between February 1 and April 30. Registration required. The offer details say it’s targeted, but everyone I checked with has received it (and you’ll know if the offer shows up in your account once you register). Immediately after getting some heat, Virgin Australia has decided to eliminate fuel surcharges on its U.S. flights (though it will raise paid fares most of the way back to compensate). Delta stopped adding fuel surcharges to Virgin Australia two years ago. They’re a Starwood Preferred Guest transfer partner as well, though you have to use an eligible address to join the program. New York JFK’s $50 million ‘terminal for animals’ known as ‘The Ark at JFK’. Air India…
Fuel Surcharges Lose Credibility With Low Fuel Prices, Invite Government Intervention
Airlines like fuel surcharges because: Changing the fuel surcharge in a market can raise or lower every ticket price in that market, no need to re-file every single fare. They allow an airline to raise price even with many fixed-fare agreements. And, of course, because they can be charged to frequent flyers trying to redeem a captive points currency. US frequent flyers — who don’t participate in mileage programs based outside the US — don’t have to deal with fuel surcharges very much. American adds them to awards on British Airways (and to a very modest extent on Iberia) Alaska adds them to awards on British Airways Delta adds them to awards on some partners – like China Southern and China Eastern – and to travel originating in Europe. United doesn’t add them at all.…
