You have to wonder what is going through the minds of the decision makers at Delta Air Lines when they announce a devaluation of their Skymiles award chart effecting all travel on or after 01 June 2014 then decide...
Clarification from United Airlines on Award Chart Changes
United has addressed some initial confusion stemming from its announcement yesterday that on 01 February 2014 the award chart chart will be massacred. 1. United claims the cost of premium seats on partner carriers is “out of sync” with...
Why the US Airways Dividend Miles MasterCard is Still Worthwhile
I remain deeply unsatisfied with the indifference US Airways has shown to booking Lufthansa award space I wrote about last week, but US Airways miles remain highly valuable, particularly when compared to partner Star Alliance carriers. For that reason,...
Last Call for 30K Starpoints Bonus from Starwood American Express Card
UPDATE: Offer now expired. Today is the final day to take advantage of the enhanced sign-up bonus on the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card and Business Card from American Express. Starwood points are great for booking Starwood hotel properties, but they are also a...
False Alarm: Still No Fuel Surcharges on Most AA Awards
I awoke to news this morning that American Airlines would begin imposing fuel surcharges on all award travel, including flights on its own metal, and my heart sank. Currently fuel surcharges are imposed on British Airways flights and a...
Cathay Pacific First Class Cabin Refresh
Only a few weeks after Singapore Airlines announced their new first, business and economy class designs, Cathay Pacific is following suit. Today they announced their anticipated refresh of their first class seat. While the new seat isn’t a big...
Book EVA Airways Award Space on united.com
EVA (pronounced E – V – A) Airways has recently joined the Star Alliance network and the Taipei-based carrier has been very generous when it comes to releasing award space. In fact, many dates this summer have four or...
US Airways Barclays MasterCard Credit Card (40,000 Mile Offer)
I trust many of you are taking advantage of the special Chase INK promotion this week, offering up to a 60,000 point sign-up bonus after $5,000 in spending rather than the regular 50,000 point offer. That deal expires tomorrow...
United Raises Award Change and Cancellation Fees for Non-Premiers
As if yesterday’s move of adding minimum-spend requirements to attain elite status was not bad enough, United today (with no advance notice) has updated its award fee chart and General Members will be hit hard. No more free routing...
New Thai Airways Flight – Los Angeles to Osaka
Thai Airways no longer flies to Bangkok non-stop from Los Angeles, its only U.S. destination, but does provide service via Seoul and starting next year, via Osaka as well. With the new flights just loaded into the schedule, Thai...
Singapore, My 100th Country
I never got around to posting that I recently surpassed the 100-country threshold in my quest to explore as much of this world as humanly possible. Last month Singapore became my 100th country visited, as I spent about 28...
Award Space: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
My award booking service is all about helping clients effectively use their points to realize their family vacations, romantic getaways, business trips, or anything in between. The goal is always to find a combination that best blends schedule, points required,...
Book Alitalia Award Space on Delta.com
Booking Alitalia award space just got a lot easier using Delta Skymiles with the rollout of online booking at delta.com. Even yesterday I had to call Delta to book an Alitalia award and let me tell you–it was never...
US Airways Call Center Humor
If US Airways and American Airlines do end up merging, I hope the good folks at the US Airways call centers do not lose their positions. I depend on them to get my jollies… I just have to share...
More Sleaze by Air France-KLM Flying Blue
Sleazy ˈslē-zē also ˈslā- (adjective): carelessly made of inferior materials; marked by low character or quality. I do not use the term “sleazy” lightly, but I can think of no adjective more apt for the Air France-KLM Flying Blue loyalty program. I’ve bemoaned the...
Splitting a Record Is Always Possible
In booking award tickets on a daily basis, I often encounter situations in which I must split a record before ticketing. Put simply, say there are two people on an award reservation and they want to use their own...
New Interface for British Airways Avios Online Redemption
At 2am after working the last 16 hours with only a break to workout, I am too tired to go into detail right now, but I was pleasantly surprised tonight to find what appears to be a positive enhancement...
Avoiding Fuel Surcharges to Europe on Air France/KLM Flying Blue
Last time Air France/KLM offered a promotion for purchased miles in their Flying Blue loyalty program, I outlined some strategies for avoiding costly fuel surcharges when redeeming your points. Nothing has changed, but I just want to point out again that Flying...
Adding an Infant Ticket to a Virgin Australia Delta SkyMiles Award
Now that I have lost most of you with such a boring title, let me tell you a little about my day. Days actually. It has taken two weeks to get an infant ticket issued for a client and...
Vindictive United Supervisor vs. Professional United Supervisor
Sometimes people can just be downright vindictive. I admittedly have a tendency to crave revenge, though I pray I will never turn out like the United Airlines reservations supervisor I dealt with earlier this week. One of my best...
