May 10

250 Free United Airlines Miles From MyPoints

I’ve talked about MyPoints before but, after having gotten a reminder that they are offering 250 miles to sign up, I thought that it is worth mentioning again.

Free United MileagePlus Miles from MyPoints

mypoints, united airlines, mileageplus

MyPoints is a site that gives you rewards for taking surveys, shopping online, etc. Rewards typically come in the form of a gift card, but for now, they’re currently 250 United MileagePlus miles just to sign up. Registration is free. It’s a great way to add a few points at no charge. If you don’t have a United MileagePlus account, you can create one here.

Why Is This Free?

So what’s the catch, since there always seems to be one? It’s actually quite small. MyPoints makes their money when you shop through them or take surveys, so they’re sweetening the deal by offering you an additional 1,500 United miles if you spend $50 through their shopping portal in the first 30 days. That’s not nearly as good a deal as the sign-up bonus, so I’d skip it.

Is There a Downside to Signing Up?

I haven’t found there to be any risks to signing up. You don’t have to give personal information or a credit card. You can ask them not to send you emails, but if you are worried about spam, set up a second email account just for these types of promotions. It doesn’t have to be the same as your United MileagePlus account.

Enjoy Your Free United Miles!

Congratulations, you just earned 250 miles for 30 seconds of your time. I wish it were always this easy.

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May 08

Delta Offers “Reclaim My Status” If Your Elite Level Tumbles

As we all know, life happens occasionally. And if your event results in diminished travel, it could have an impact on your elite status (not to mention numerous other consequences, which are best explored at a different blog). Until today, no network carrier had a plan in place to help. Delta has changed that and I hope that its competitors follow.

Reclaim My Status

Today, Delta announced its “Reclaim My Status” (RMS) promotion. The terms are simple. If you experience a life event that causes you to drop in status, they’ll allow you to apply for a 3-month exception, which restores your previous level. How do they define “life event?” Well, they don’t. Examples they give are job loss, birth of a child, return to school, etc., but it’s up to you to apply and up to them to approve you. They will ask you to provide documentation, but a quick read-through of the T&C makes me think that they will be generous.

RMS bears similarities to the Hilton Honors Diamond Extension. Hilton allows certain members to apply for a one-time waiver if their status lapses but, in most respects, is more restrictive than Delta. It’s good only for the top-tier Diamond members who have had at least three full years of Diamond status at any time in the past. Candidates must also have accrued 250 lifetime nights at Hilton or 500,000 base points.

RMS is User-Friendly…

Reclaiming your status is generally more user-friendly at Delta. Here are the nuts and bolts:

  • Any elite member can apply to have their status restored. That differs from Hilton, who will only extend Diamond members.
  • If your application is approved, they’ll notify you by email and your status will be updated automatically.
  • The status begins from the day of the approval. Use it wisely. It doesn’t make sense to apply for the renewal in March if you won’t travel until July.

But There are Some Restrictions

  • Unlike Hilton, who gives a full year of status, Delta only gives you three months. Fortunately, there is a way to extend it. More on that later.
  • If you have Platinum or Diamond status, you’ll keep your flight benefits but won’t get a choice benefit. Sorry, they’re not going to give you the high value goodies if you may not be around long. It’s standard for Delta not to give Choice benefits with complimentary* status.
  • You can apply for RMS once every three year.

You Can Extend Your Status

delta, elite status, sky miles reclaim my status

The requirements for the challenge are 1/4 the full year requirements.

While you don’t get an automatic 12-month extension, you can participate in a challenge that will give you status for the rest of the current year as well as the following one. Here’s how it works:

  • Your three-month extension begins the day that you get approved. Remember, don’t request your extension until you are ready to go.
  • You can restore your status by completing the above challenges. The challenges correspond to 1/4 of the annual requirements for the given status. That makes sense for a three-month promotion.
  • You cannot earn a higher status than the previous one you had. Delta does say that there are case-by-case exceptions, based on where you’ve been in the past.

Overall, it’s a Generous Offer

Airlines don’t offer promotions out of the goodness of their hearts. Well, except Southwest. But that’s only because they operate out of Love Field in Dallas.

But the promotion makes perfect sense and is the rare “win-win” for both the company and the passengers. Customers have the opportunity to miss the occasional year but still maintain their status. For Delta, it means that they don’t have to worry about passengers becoming free agents because their status expired. Delta can reward long-term loyalty with short-term benefits.

 

A man walks into a bar. The bar is empty, so he finds a seat and waits for the bartender.

After a few minutes, he hears a voice say, “Nice shoes!” He looks around but doesn’t see anyone, so he continues waiting.

A few minutes later, he hears a voice say, “Nice tie!” Again, he doesn’t see anyone, but is starting to get a bit nervous.

It isn’t long before he hears, “Nice suit!” By now, he’s completely freaked out, and he starts to leave when the bartender returns.

“What’s wrong?” said the bartender.

The man responds, “Well, I was just sitting here and I heard this voice. It said ‘Nice shoes,’ ‘Nice tie’ and ‘Nice suit!”

“Oh, don’t worry,” says the bartender. “That’s just the peanuts.”

“The peanuts?” asked the man.

“Of course,” said the bartender. “They’re complimentary!”

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May 07

IHG Relaunches its Accelerate Promotion

I love the term “loyalty program.” Kind of makes you seem like the merchant is giving you something for having done lots of business with them. It isn’t. But really, would you participate if they called it a “promotion to influence future travel decisions?”

IHG Accelerate

ihg, accelerate

I can knock out all of the requirements with just five night.

Here’s where it gets interesting: The less loyal you are, the easier the promotion. The company knows that, if you rarely stay at one of their properties, you’re either highly loyal to somebody else’s program or rarely stay in hotels at all. Either way, they know that you’re not going to be staying 20 or 30 nights with them over the next few months.

But they still want to get some incremental revenue from you, so they split the difference. For people like me, who only stay at their brands a few nights per year, they give a promotion that’s easy enough to complete without making too many changes to my normal pattern. I can earn up to 54,900 points, and do so by staying only five nights over the next four months.

True, there are several different requirements, but they “stack,” meaning that a Saturday night stay will count toward both the “Saturday Stays Bonus and the “Stay More, Earn More” requirements. If I book the special bonus points rate, it will also count toward “Earn More, Faster.” And, of course, it will be one of the two brands that you need for “Discover Our Brands.” so one night will count in each of the five categories.

It’s a simple promotion, but it gets at least five nights worth of spend out of me at the cost of a free night at a mid-tier property (IHG rewards cost anywhere from 10,000 to 70,000 points.).

On the other hand, if you are already staying 100 nights per year at their brands, they know that there probably isn’t much incremental spending left. So why should they offer you a generous promotion? They probably won’t. Promotions to their most frequent customers offer more points, but they’re far more difficult to complete. The requirements may include multi-night stays, new brands or even international stays.

It’s worth checking out the Accelerate page and seeing what they are offering you. It may be enough to get you to visit one of their properties over the next few months.

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May 05

Hilton Summer Promotion: One Step Up, One Back

Hilton has announced its summer promotion, called Get More. It’s similar to Hilton’s normal double points offers, but throws in a couple of twists. One is good, the other, not so much. The promotion runs from May 6 – September 8. Only base points are doubled. Any bonus points from elite status will, sadly, remain singular. Here are the details.

The Get More Promotion from Hilton

get more, hilton

The Get More promotion from Hilton

Hilton’s summer offer looks similar to past ones. It lasts about four months, requires registration and has few limits on the hotels that you can use. But they also throw a few conditions in for this one.

Getting More Bonus Points

Hilton traditionally offers double points bonuses, but they’ve added some extras this time around. They’re offering bonuses based on your total number of stays during the promo period, with extra increments at 10, 15 and 20 stays. The points are cumulative, so 20 stays will get you 45,000 bonus points, not just 20,000.

Note that they’re using “stays,” not “nights,” as the basis for the bonus. As a reminder, a “stay” is one check-in and check-out, regardless of how many nights you were there. So checking in on Monday and out on Thursday would be one stay of three nights.

One exception: If you have a multi-night stay at a property, but check in and out after each night, it’s still only counted as one stay.

Getting Fewer Bonus Points

Sadly, Hilton has introduced my personal pet peeve into this promotion. You don’t get a bonus until your second stay. This has been a condition that Hilton’s competitors (*cough, cough,* Marriott) have added in the past but that Hilton has avoided. Sadly, that avoidance is no longer.

Should You Register?

Of course you should. It costs nothing to do so and can only benefit you. But I’m not thrilled about the new “second stay” trend at Hilton. If they don’t see any negative consequences, they may continue to stick it in their promos.

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May 04

Southwest Credit Cards Put Companion Pass Back Into Play

Two credit cards. $168. A year of free flights. How tough can it be? Southwest Airlines has increased its credit card sign-up bonuses,* and they’re back up to a level where you’ll want to look at them.

The Southwest Companion Pass

southwest

Your friend can be here for free.

Southwest Airlines offers the most valuable perk in the airline business: The Companion Pass (CP). The companion pass allows you to bring a friend with you for free every time you fly. It’s not stand-by, either. You can book your friend’s free flight at the same time that you book your paid one.

Despite how valuable it is, the CP is simple enough to get. You can get it by flying 100 one-way flights in a year, but the easier way to do it is to earn 110,000 Rapid Rewards points, the Southwest version of frequent flyer miles. For Southwest flights, you earn anywhere from 6 to 12 points per dollar spent, so 110,000 points could cost you almost $20,000. Ouch.

This Trick Gets You the CP for a Lot Less

But Rapid Rewards has a unique feature that makes the Pass much more obtainable: It counts all points that you earn, not just the ones from flying. Earn points from shopping? They count. From dining out? They count, also. From your Southwest credit card? Yup. They even count the signup bonuses.

Thats right, when you sign up for a Southwest credit card and spend the required amount, you’ll get a large bonus. Those points will count toward the minimum that you need.

Here’s Why it Matters Now

Southwest’s standard credit card sign-up bonus ranges from 30,000 — 40,000 points, but they offer frequent promotions. And now, they’re offering 60,000 points for signing up for a new card and spending $2,000 in your first three months. That’s more than half the minimum that you need.

But it gets better. They also offer a business card, which means that you can earn 120,000 Rapid Rewards points by getting both cards, paying the annual fees ($69 and $99, respectively) and spending a total of $4,000 over the first three months.

Oh, one other thing: A Rapid Rewards point is worth about 1.7 cents. Got 120,000 of them? Perfect, because that’s almost $2,000 in value on Southwest Airlines. And that’s before the companion pass.

Here’s What You Need to Know

There are a few things to keep in mind when you are applying for your cards:

  • Southwest offers three different types of personal credit cards. Normally, I advocate getting the one that gives you the best total value, but if you’re doing this just for the CP, just get the cheapest one.
  • Chase has what’s known as the 5/24 policy. If you’ve received five personal credit cards from any bank over the past 24 months, they will almost always deny you if you apply for a Chase card. That rule does not, however, apply to business cards.
  • If you’ve had a Southwest Airlines card in the past 24 months, you won’t get the sign-up bonus for this one.

Your Bottom Line is the Bottom Line

$2,000 in airfare and a companion pass. If you fly Southwest, you’ll want to take advantage of this offer.

 

*I don’t offer Chase cards. This link will take you right to Southwest’s page.

 

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Apr 30

Paying For Luxury Versus Nickel And Diming

So two pieces of news caught my eye this week. One reflects the ultimate in luxury, while the other is just penny-pinching annoying.

Four Seasons And The New Jet

four seasons

Photo from Bloomberg

Because sometimes, a Four Seasons hotel room isn’t luxurious enough. And let’s face it, the old jet was looking a bit outdated.

If you weren’t impressed by a $119,000 ticket, check out the new Four Seasons private plane. At only $147,000 per ticket on the new 48-seat plane. Itineraries are bespoke, and they have a private chef onboard, which means that you’ll likely have more option than chicken or fish. Naturally, the seats are lie-flat and the bathrooms are described as “larger and more elegant.” Does that mean that they’ll have a guy there to give you a towel, and do you have to tip him?

Princess Annoys with Added Gratuities

princess, cruise

Another dollar in the tip jar

And then there are just the nickel and diming that annoys me. There’s a reason that you don’t have to pay $119,000 for a cabin on the ship. Princess just sent out a notice that it is raising the gratuities by a dollar per person per day.

I’ve always just wished that cruise lines gave you a price up front, and that that was it, but that would make a cruise look more expensive. Of course, the total that you pay wouldn’t be any different. It just seems like less when they don’t hit you with everything at once.

What’s most annoying is that the new fee is applicable to any cruise departing on or after May 21, regardless of when you bought it. In other words, you’re not locked in for previously purchased trips.

 

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Apr 28

Best Western Rewards And Credit Card

On the weekends, I try to do something a bit different than what I did during the week. It may be something about the industry, or interesting events from the previous few days.

For hotel points, I generally talk about the major plans. So today, I’m going to talk about a smaller hotel program: Best Western Rewards.

Best Western

best western

Some of the Best Western brands

You’ve certainly heard of Best Western, even if you’ve never stayed in one. Outside of the eponymous brand, there are several others, ranging from the economy side to the upscale Signature and Premier Collection. Truthfully, I had never considered the range of their hotels before today. It’s an easy enough system, with guests earning 10 points per dollar spent.

Rewards Are Inexpensive

Reward nights range from 8,000 points on the low end to 36,000 points at the most expensive properties. A point is worth approximately 0.5 – 0.6 cents, so earning ten points per dollar gets you a return of 5-6%. Used strategically, a point can be worth a lot more.

Elite Status Is Basic; No Big Rewards for Top Tier

best western elite status

Elite levels aren’t differentiated

Elite status doesn’t  have the same oomph as the big hotel chains. It’s rather basic and compares to its larger competitors’ lower levels. There’s also minimal differentiation between the bottom and top tiers. Hotels may treat guests differently, but you’d never know it from the website.

There’s A Decent Credit Card

There are two credit cards, but the better one is the one with the modest annual fee, which is waived the first year. It offers 32,000 points as a sign-up bonus and gives you a 10 point per dollar bonus when you spend at Best Western Hotels. It also offers Platinum elite status, although that doesn’t seem to get you a heck of a lot. On the plus side, the $55 fee is waived the first year.

Overall, A Decent Program

Best Western Rewards is a relatively generous program, particularly given its emphasis on midscale and economy brands. The elite levels could use some enhancements, but they’re in decent shape, otherwise.

 

 

 

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Apr 25

Can Airlines Fix Their Own Service Issues? Yes, but…

Traveling in coach is like visiting the doctor: A best case scenario is that nothing happens. You want your flight to be forgettable. It’s sad that we’ve gotten to this point, and the airlines can take credit for much of the decline in service standards. Recently, I began to think about what it would take for the airlines to fix their reputation and, more importantly, would they be willing to do so.

Where There’s A Will…

airplane seat

That doesn’t look like fun. Photo Credit:                                                                   Creative Commons

I started thinking about the topic after reading this article. United CEO Oscar Munoz, when prompted, commented on how depressing the flight experience had become.

“It’s become so stressful,” he said, “from when you leave, wherever you live, to get into traffic, to find a parking spot, to get through security.”

“Frankly,” Munoz added, “by the time you sit on one of our aircraft … you’re just pissed at the world,” and improving the flying experience won’t ultimately depend on “what coffee or cookie I give you.”

 

Okay, he gets it. Good. Now, is he going to do anything about it? History would suggest not. For example, look at this article from CNN Travel about the ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC) experience, which, come to think of it, doesn’t actually talk much about whether ULCCs are worth it. We all know about those types of flights. They come with super-low fares, but a lot of conditions. No free seat assignment. No complimentary carry-on bags in the overhead. $3 for a can of Coke. Etc.

Is it worth it? Lots of people seem to think so. ULCCs are growing at a double-digit rate. No matter how uncomfortable they are, people vote with their wallets, and their wallets are pushing them toward the lowest prices. The only way for the major carriers to compete is on price, meaning that fares drop to a point where nobody makes money. Not the world’s most efficient business.

United Simply Doesn’t Have to Do Anything

Here’s the problem behind Munoz’s statements: It would be nice if United gave bigger seats or made flying more comfortable. But they can’t. In the world of airline accounting, costs are measured on a “per seat mile” basis. In other words, what are the costs to fly one seat one mile? If you can cram more seats onto a plane, your average cost will go down. Improving seat space won’t do anything other than drive up costs to the airline. In a commodity business like the airlines, where one seat is as good as another, the lowest price usually wins. And, because of that, when it comes to passenger comfort, everyone loses.

 

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Apr 21

Virtual Disney: The Best Of The 3D And 4D Rides

The Walt Disney World theme parks are obviously known for their rides.It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about slow ones, like “It’s a Small World,” or roller coasters, such as “Space Mountain.” They tend to do everything well.

Over the past several years, however, I have noticed a shift in the newer rides. Many of them don’t move you more than a few feet. They give you a pair of special glasses and let all the movement be virtual. Here are some of the best 3D and 4D* rides that I’ve experienced.

Magic Kingdom: Mickey’s Philharmagic

Mickey’s Philharmagic is one of my favorites. It follows Donald Duck, after he steals a baton from Mickey’s orchestra, a play on Fantasia. I’ve never seen a 3D movie that is so realistic, and they incorporate the music from several of Disney’s movies flawlessly.  In addition, they incorporate other sensory devices to keep you on your toes. Be prepared to jump when Donald throws the baton, and don’t forget to take a sniff of the cherry pie in the Beast’s castle.

Best Added Feature: There is almost never a line for the ride,” since the theater holds so many people. It’s one of the best “values” in terms of the entertainment to wait time ratio. And if you hate it? Take off your glasses and enjoy eight minutes of air conditioning.

Epcot: Soarin’

soarin epcot disney

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

Of the rides that I will discuss, Soarin’ is the only one that doesn’t require special glasses. It is also the only one that moves vertically, although it’s only a few feet.

For Soarin’, you’ll sit in one of the contraptions above and it will lift you off the ground and move you as you fly over sites around the world. It gives you a bird’s eye view of The Great Wall of China, Eiffel Tower and several other famous locations. Although you’re not wearing 3D glasses, the “flight” is realistic. You’ll feel like you’re actually, well, soaring over these sites. You’ll end up landing in a barrage of fireworks at, of course, Epcot.

Soarin’ is the shortest of the four rides I’ll talk about but, because it runs in three theaters simultaneously, the lines move (relatively) quickly, given its popularity. Here’s the smart play:

Disney gives you three “fast passes” per day, per park. A fast pass lets you jump to the front of the line during a designated time slot, and can be a lifesaver at the most popular rides. You can choose them 60 days ahead of time if you are staying in a Disney hotel, and 30 days at other hotels. Each park operates slightly differently, and at Epcot, you can only use one of your passes for the most popular, or “Tier 1,” rides. There are three Tier 1 rides, and only one of them is a slow ride (Frozen). The other two are Soarin’ and Test Track. You’ll have to pick one of the two, so choose Test Track, since it’s slightly more popular and the lines get longer during the day. Then, right at Epcot’s open (“rope drop”), run over to Soarin’. The line will only be about 10-15 minutes. In fact, you may be able to get on it a second time with a short wait.

Best Added Feature: While you’re waiting in line, they play a trivia game on the wall.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Two Options

Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the newest of the Big 3 Orlando parks, offers two virtual rides. One is clearly superior to the other, but you’ll pay for it in terms of time. Possibly.

Avatar Flight Of Passage

There’s no way to do this ride justice on paper. It’s hard to describe this attraction well, since the effects are simply breathtaking. Suffice it to say that this one is the best of the virtual reality rides. You’ll take a 3D flight on a banshee over Pandora, the land of the movie Avatar. You won’t actually move much, but it certainly feels like you are flying at a high speed. You’ll be checking out the Pandora landscape, which is stunning. No other ride makes you feel like you are a part of it the way that this one does.

The downside is this: You really, really want to have a fast pass for this ride. At their peak, the lines will be over three hours long. No ride, not even this one, is worth a three hour wait. And to get a fast pass, you are going to need to stay at a Disney resort, which gives you a 60 day window. Here’s a hint: at T-60, log in as soon as the fast passes become available and pick whatever time you can get, preferably earlier in the day. I’m not kidding. By T-59, they could very well be gone. And at T-30, the day when most people can choose, it will be gone.

We didn’t have a fast pass and intended to go straight there at rope drop. The park opened, and by the time we had made it through the turnstiles, the estimated wait time was already 90 minutes.

Best Added Feature: At 3pm (+/- a few minutes), Disney will release more fast passes. Sign on at that time and hit refresh. That’s how we got it. And even with the fast pass, our wait was still 15-20 minutes.

Second Place: It’s Tough to Be A Bug

Based on the movie “It’s a Bugs Life,” It’s Tough to Be A Bug is the Animal Kingdom version of Mickey’s Philharmagic. You’ll enter the world of bugs and learn how they live, as well as how they interact with people. The effects are still excellent, although without the music, it’s not quite as much fun. Still, the ride does a nice job of capturing the “Disney magic,” and I’d recommend it.

Best Added Feature: Like Philharmagic, the lines are almost always short. Oh, watch out for the bugs that climb across your back as it’s ending.

 

 

*4D is a marketing term. Providers use it to refer to traditional 3D rides that add effects to the other senses, such as the smell of food when you are in a kitchen. or a splash of water when a wave hits you.

 

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Apr 14

Out of Office Notice

Hi all,

I’m going to be spending a week or so away, so posts will be few, far between or non-existent. Have a great week!

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