Sep 23 2016

Now that Marriott’s acquisition has closed, and they’re already letting you link accounts, match elite status, and move points between programs, there are fantastic arbitrage opportunities created.

However long the period lasts where the Marriott program and Starwood program retain their separate identities while letting members move their points and status back and forth between the two — whether only a little over a year, or for two years — this period may wind up as one of the real golden ages of hotel loyalty programs.

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Sep 22 2016

Japan’s Skymark Airlines was scheduled to take the A380, but it went bankrupt. ANA won Airbus’ support as a creditor to take control of Skymark — all they wanted was Skymark’s slots at Tokyo Haneda — by agreeing to accept the Skymark A380s. ANA says they’ll operate the planes to Honolulu.

No US airline has taken an A380. Many airlines regret theirs. It’s a big plane, expensive to operate, although cost-effective if you can fill it. The idea was to fly routes at slot-congested airports, like Tokyo Narita and London Heathrow, where an A380 could replace two smaller planes. But an airline that does that loses frequently, and becomes less convenient for time-sensitive business travelers. And adding seats to a market drives down the price the carrier can sell those seats for.

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Sep 19 2016

Nearly three years ago the story went viral about a man who would buy and refund an airline ticket each day using that ticket to gain lounge access and eat free for a year.

Two years ago a man did this 36 times with Lufthansa’s lounges and they sent him a bill for 2000 euros. Airlines often have requirements in their contracts of carriage saying that you actually have to intend to fly when buying a ticket and this sort of behavior is highly suggestive that the man never intended to actually fly.

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Sep 18 2016

In the two years I’ve lived in Austin I’ve developed some real favorite foods — Lamberts for barbecue in a sit-down restaurant, Home Slice for Pizza, Clark’s Oyster Bar, Peached Tortilla, Chi’lantro for kimchee fries and bulgogi tacos.

On the whole the biggest thing I’ve given up compared to DC is Asian food. Though plenty of people have their favorites, I don’t find the Thai or Vietnamese up to par (though there are places I’ll go to in a pinch). But there’s one Asian cuisine where Austin beats DC, and that’s sushi (though Takumi in Falls Church is recommendable). And the best of the bunch is brand new.

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Sep 17 2016

Here’s the cheapest first class upsell fare I’ve ever seen. And it offers lessons about airfare search and also crediting miles — to American and to partners.

American Airlines will sell you coach one-way for the 834 mile flight between Portland and Los Angeles for $58.10. That’s a pretty good price. But it gets so much better…

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Sep 17 2016

Last night I wrote about Austrian’s new flight between Vienna and Los Angeles.

Austrian is a Star Alliance airline, you can use miles with United, Aeroplan, ANA, LifeMiles, and many other programs to book awards to and through Vienna to most places you’d want to go in Europe and even Asia.

And I shared that there were days after this new flight goes into the schedule April 10 where there are 6 or more business class seats available. Most dates weren’t showing up for United, though, although they were bookable by some Star Alliance partners.

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Sep 16 2016

tar Alliance member Austrian Airlines is launching Los Angeles – Vienna service on April 10. The flight will be operated by a Boeing 777-200 five times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) and then will go six times weekly June 12 (Monday through Saturday).

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Sep 15 2016

We’re seeing more deep discount airline flash sales than ever before, but most of those are for economy travel.

Business class sales are more rare, at least outside of peak holiday dates like Thanksgiving and Christmas where there’s no business travel so while planes are full that’s driving up coach prices but few people buying international premium cabins out of pocket.

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Sep 12 2016

There’s a new limitation on sharing Citi ThankYou points, moving them from one person’s account to another — up to 100,000 points per year.

This is not a limit on combining points in your own different accounts. It’s a limit on transferring points to other people. The ability to transfer points to anyone you wish though, even limited to 100,000 points per year, remains an underappreciated benefit that’s not matched by other card issuers.

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Sep 10 2016

It’s been over a decade since I’ve regularly seen roundtrip coach fares to Southeast Asia for under $600. Now they seem to be popping up all the time. Sometimes they’re even under $400. I don’t even bother posting fares to Europe unless they’re under $500… preferably under $400.

Airlines have a hard time telling the difference between business and leisure travelers. Airlines are doing their best to figure out how to price in a way that picks up the cheap leisure travelers who won’t buy at a higher price…

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