Tag Archives for award availability.
Over the past couple of weeks British Airways has seemed to limit partner access to awards. The space available to its own Executive Club members is much greater than that which is offered to those in partner frequent flyer programs. And this has taken both loyalty program members and executives in partner programs by surprise. Discussions are ongoing.
JetBlue’s award travel has been restricted, offering low value for their points and making transfers from credit card programs unattractive. However, the partnership with Qatar Airways now allows for point redemption for JetBlue flights, with a distance-based award chart and wide availability for transatlantic business class bookings.
Air Canada has sued award search website Seats.Aero in Delaware court for pulling award availability from its website. They claim (1) trademark infringement for use of its marks, and (2) violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for accessing its systems without authorization.
There may be a real problem for Air Canada here, but their legal claims appear weak – and certainly bad from a public policy standpoint. They have deeper pockets, though, and sometimes that’s enough to prevail.
Two Hyatt hotels that developed a reputation for never allowing you to use your points for free nights were the Park Hyatt Aviara and the Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach. That’s been fixed thanks to the enterprising efforts of one woman who found they weren’t just harming program members, they may have been breaking the law.
So this is pretty interesting, a new feature from Point.me lets you see what awards other people are finding. Great inspiration for your own mileage redemptions!
United Airlines award space is wide open between the U.S. and India. You can fly out of San Francisco, Chicago, or Newark (or, potentially, connect to one of those cities) and on to Delhi with some availability to Mumbai as well. You’ll find at least two business class seats every day through the end of the schedule.
Several readers have complained recently that Qatar Airways simply has not been releasing business class award seats to and from the United States. My refrain has been that this is typical, not something new. Qatar releases business class awards in batches. It’s feast or famine.
Spending Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles for new partner Starlux went live today. And availability between the U.S. and Taipei, Taiwan is amazing. You will frequently find seven or more business class award seats available if you wish to travel to Asia. And redemption pricing is good!
Etihad has relaunched Airbus A380 service on the London – Abu Dhabi route, and First Apartment award seats are wide open between now and early June 2024.
ITA Airways is the new Alitalia. They’re a member of SkyTeam, but only partially. You can’t redeem Delta miles to travel with them, for instance. But you can now redeem Virgin Atlantic miles. Their business class is good, availability is good, and there are no fuel surcharges.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
