New and notes from around the interweb:
- The worst free travel promotion in history had a major company purposely losing customer submissions and creating barriers to redemption, and nearly brought down the brand.
- Apple card acquisition costs
- Hilton no longer status matches to Diamond a shame, I was planning on waiting until September 1 to ask for 90 days of Diamond.
- Singapore Airlines 30% award discounts (‘spontaneous escapes’), Singapore – Los Angeles is included in premium economy.
- Is American Express working on their own airport dining program? And will they eventually ditch Priority Pass entirely in favor of their own lounge program?
- Boeing pushes back development of the 777-8 aircraft
Never heard the Hoover story before, great read.
Ditto on the Hoover story. Had never known of this occurring with the company but it’s a good lesson. Guess things fade over time.
Very interesting read.
Gary, that Hoover story gives a sense of deja vu. Wasn’t there some program in the ’90s where we had to call in to some special number or mail something to redeem for a free RT flight after purchase?
Burger King in the late 80s had a deal that you got a free Southwest companion ticket with each whopper meal. Not sure who lost on that deal.
Also in 1984 McDonalds had a scratch off game for the Olympics where you got free food if the USA got a medal in the matching event. The Soviet Union and Eastern bloc boycotted that Olympics. Losses had to be huge.
Another loser was Bing search engine was giving 20% cash back if you searched first with Bing then purchased from Ebay and other vendors. I bought a Mac then gold coins until the promo ended. Bing sent me a check for $2000. Thanks Mr.Gates.
Great Hoover story thanks for sharing
I think the title is misleading. I get what you meant, but seeing “Disaster free” suggests it was not a disaster.
@Jed wouldn’t free of disaster be disaster-free with a hyphen?
I was in London for 3 months in the early part of 1993 and remember the frenzy – everyone was talking about Hoover and strategies to get the free flights.
@Gary – yes, a hyphen would cause it to read as the previous poster suggested. As it stands now, it’s just not really English at all, since “disaster” isn’t an adjective.
“The Most Disastrous Free Travel Promotion in History” would be an alternative.
This time It was people that Hoover sucked in, along with all the dirt. Incredible story!
“The biggest free travel promotion disaster in history” would also work.
Gary, technically you are correct about the Hyphen. But Colleen’s wording “The biggest free travel promotion disaster in history” would have been more clear IMHO.