Through September 30, Delta is offering a 100% bonus on purchased, gifted, and transferred miles. Only accounts that have been open for at least 10 days and have earned at least a mile are eligible to receive miles this way. They want to avoid folks opening accounts just to take advantage of the offer, for instance as a conduit to ‘buying’ discounted business class award seats such as on Air France when folks aren’t otherwise ‘real’ members of the Skymiles program. With the buy miles option, you’re purchasing miles at 1.75 cents apiece plus 7.5% tax (so about 1.9 cents apiece). That’s more expensive than miles purchased from US Airways under their similar 100% purchase offer. The mileage transfer option is better, it’s 1 cent per mile transferred and that means at a 100% bonus…
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Where the First Class Award Seats Are
When I redeem my own awards, my strong interest is in international first class travel on better airlines. Sure, I’m on the East Coast and so Western Europe is fine in business class. That’s transportation. But the beauty of miles is that they can deliver aspirational rewards, the kinds of experiences I would never be in a position to pay for out of pocket. But thanks to miles and points, getting there can be part of the trip experience too, not just something to ‘get through’. Now, I should say that I (1) pay attention and accumulate a lot of miles, and (2) am redeeming for only two people, myself and my wife, this would be harder if we were traveling with kids (both because they aren’t usually ‘doing their fair share’ to earn the…
Delta Releases Animated Rendering of New JFK Terminal 4
Delta has released a new Youtube video, an animated rendering of their new JFK Terminal 4 project. The main terminal itself looks great, clean lines, high ceilings, plenty of light. Roughly speaking it reminds me of an Asian airport. We’ll see what it looks like in practice, how the materials hold up to use, and how well it’s treated by my fellow New Yorkers (I no longer live there, but I’m still a New Yorker). The concourses themselves though don’t look nearly as nice, much lower ceilings, although anything new in New York is bound to be an improvement. Some of the marketing copy in the video, though, just seems to set expectations a little bit too… high “We’re investing $1.2 billion of renovations and innovations that will turn JFK into a state of the…
Hyatt Picking Up 24 New U.S. Hotels, Including 4 That Actually Look Pretty Good
Via Alan, Hyatt is acquiring 24 hotels. Now, 16 of the properties will become Summerfield Suites, and that interests me not at all. Sure, I suppose more properties that earn Hyatt points is a good thing, and especially at the inexpensive end of the spectrum when one needs a mattress run to maintain elite status or during a faster free nights promotion when two (cheap) stays earns a free night (at an impossibly expensive high-end property). But Summerfield Suites doesn’t excite me. What does interest me is that they’re picking up 4 Avia Hotels, the Napa property looks like where I’d probably stay when I’m in the area and it’s great that I’ll get status recognition when I do. I don’t know that I’ll get out to their Savannah, Long Beach, or Texas properties but…
How to Convince People that Frequent Flyer Programs Are Worth It
This piece does a ‘He Said, She Said’ on the value of frequent flyer programs. The proponent of the programs says they’re like free money on the sidewalk, pick it up for things you’re doing anyway. The argument against is that you may not get what you want, and it takes effort to pay attention. Shockingly, coming from where I’m coming from, I think the proponent has the better end of the debate, in each case he lays out a reasonable answer — you may not fly a lot but can get miles from all sorts of things besides flying, the miles aren’t hard to track when you use a free online tool like Award Wallet, the seats you want may not be available on the airline attached to your mileage program but the seats…
Celebrating Tom Stuker’s 10 Million Flown Miles on United
Lots of stories the last several days like this one leading up to a true milestone for frequent flyers, Tom Stuker’s flight yesterday from Los Angeles to Chicago where he flew his 10 millionth mile on United. The comparisons to George Clooney in Up in the Air are everywhere, but Clooney was earning his miles from all sources (and in the book, which I read on a transcon flight in 2001 and which bore no relationship whatsoever to the movie, he was only after 1 million miles). I’ve earned that many myself. But Stuker’s 10 million are actual flight miles, logged with a single airline over the past 30 years. His first 5 million miles took 20 years, his second 5 million took only 10 years (so he was averaging 500,000 flight miles a year…
Should I Bother Collecting Miles on this Flight?
I’ve long advocated, nay, begged people to sign up for frequent flyer programs even when they don’t fly very much or when they’re flying a carrier that they don’t normally travel with. I tell them that they might eventually get something from the simple act of joining and submitting their account number, if not right away then it’ll eventually accumulate. Goodness knows I don’t stay with Marriott often but surprisingly enough registering for their current stay twice get a free night promo meant that I received a free night, which I’ve already redeemed for an upcoming stay… … on a trip where I find myself questioning the very lesson of “always claim the miles.” I need to buy a flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui. Sure, I could fly Thai Airways and earn miles on…
Frequent Travelers Debate the Value and Future of Miles
I was interviewed in the June issue of Inside Flyer along with a handful of others: Carol (SanDiego1K on Flyertalk), Steve Belkin (the famous ‘beaubo’), and Seth Miller (Wandering Aramean blog). A good discussion, I express my overall preference for United Mileage Plus and Hyatt Gold Passport (with an honorable mention to Starwood Preferred Guest). I admit to letting my AAdvantage miles expire in the early 90’s. And I express the controversial view (contrary to the position taken by the other three on the group) that miles have gotten more valuable rather than less valuable — despite award chart inflation, where programs continually increase the number of miles required to redeem an award. Programs are definitely more valuable than they were 10 years ago, though they may not be as valuable as they were two…
Excellent Advice on Credit Card Mileage Earning, Redemption, and Special Perks
Wendy Perrin’s Conde Nast column this month is all about credit cards. While it draws heavily on my advice, Wendy does a great job of making really complex topics accessible and useful to large numbers of travelers. She begins talking signup bonuses, it’s one of the few times I’ve seen credit card churning discussed in a major publication, so there’s something fun about that. Plus I managed to convince Wendy (and by extension, Wendy’s husband) to sign up for American AAdvantage credit cards from Citi, three cards at 75,000 bonus miles apiece, and for British Airways Visas at 100,000 miles apiece. The main article lays out some basic tips. Don’t overlook hotel credit cards. Wendy mentions at the top of the piece that she uses a Starwood Amex for its flexibility for hotel stays and…
Free Miles on Your Choice of Airlines!
Through August 31, new members who enroll in Frontier Early Returns receive 1000 miles. A year and a half ago they ran a 1500 point signup bonus, and I recommended signing up just to convert the miles to a $6 Starbucks gift card. Frontier participates in Points.com, and you can convert 1000 miles to your choice of (among other options): 184 US Airways miles 297 Priority Club points 138 Delta miles 297 AsiaMiles 148 Aeroplan miles 153 Contiental miles 153 American miles You can use the opportunity to extend expiration on an American or US Airways account, for instance.
