(Editor’s note: I’m still uploading photos and video from yesterday’s American Airlines press conference, so please come back a little later today to read my related post.  I’ll  be giving away some goodies from the Swag Bag!).   

Klout is the online service that attempts to measure a person’s online influence. They analyze content from social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, and based on how people use and share that content, they assign an influence score (Seth Stevenson at Wired wrote a great article about the topic last month).

Back in April Klout released version 1.0 of their iPhone app and to promote it, they’ve partnered with oneoworld member, Cathay Pacific to give Klout users access to Cathay’s San Francisco lounge. From the Klout blog:

Today we’re announcing a great partnership with Cathay Pacific Airways that makes the benefit of taking your Klout with you even more obvious.

Starting today, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) visitors using the Klout for iPhone app need only show a Score of 40 or higher to enter the Cathay Pacific First and Business Class Lounge.

Previously, the only way to see the inside of a Cathay Pacific Lounge was by holding a First or Business Class plane ticket. Now, Klout unlocks access to this amazing experience. This applies to any visitor traveling through the “A” boarding area at SFO’s international terminal, even if they aren’t a Cathay Pacific passenger.

If you don’t have a Klout score, you can sign up with your Facebook or Twitter identity. After you’ve created your profile, install the Klout iPhone App, and then head to Cathay Pacific’s First and Business Class Lounge located on Level 4 of the International Terminal.

Here’s a No Klout required tour of the new Cathay Pacific lounge via YouTube:

Just a short post this morning to tell you about a big summer promotion from Hyatt:

More Stays Means 5X More Miles And Even More Rewards

Make your next stay with Hyatt even more rewarding. Earn 4X more American Airlines AAdvantage miles after your 2nd and 3rd eligible stay and 5X more AAdvantage miles after your 4th through 11th eligible stay, at any participating Hyatt hotels from May 1– August 31, 2012.

To participate in this offer you have to be a Hyatt Gold Passport member. Just follow these instructions:

• Register on this page or by calling 1-800-30-HYATT (provide promotion code AA12S)

• Stay at any Hyatt hotel between May 1- August 31, 2012

• Book an Eligible Rate during each stay

• Ask to earn AAdvantage miles for your stay, provide your Hyatt Gold Passport number and AAdvantage number when you check in.

Go here for complete details or to read the terms and conditions.

Photo: Hyatt at Night – Mumbai
Credit: Mark Hillary on Flickr

It was a big day for JAL yesterday as they started their new non-stop service between Tokyo Narita and Boston with their new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.   It was a big success.  The sold out, first flight took 12 hours and 13 minutes and arrived in Boston 20 minutes ahead of schedule.  And Boston’s planespotter community was on hand to record the arrival:

You can also see photos of the event on JAL’s Facebook page.   Pak’s JAL Blog has photos, video, and links to some interesting Tweets from the event.

As a reminder, American and JAL have some great Japan travel promotions:

• Fly nonstop from Boston to Tokyo on Japan Airlines and earn double AAdvantage miles every time you fly through June 30, 2012

• To celebrate the new service, we want to reward you with unlimited double Business ExtrAA points for travel on the American Airlines marketed (AA) flight operated by Japan Airlines between April 22 and June 30, 2012.

• Book a round trip award ticket for 40,000 AAdvantage miles on American Airlines or Japan Airlines between North America and Asia

Some more JAL 787 news today as they announced that they’ll be launching 787 Dreamliner service to Delhi, Beijing, and Moscow in May.

If you’re an airplane geek and have a little time to waste today, check out JAL’s dedicated 787 website which includes some video interviews with JAL employees discussing some of the 787′s features.

What a beautiful plane. I think that I’d actually prefer to sit in coach (once) just so I can have a view of the wing.

Wyndham Rewards just introduced a new Double AAdvantage Miles promotion that includes 2 free movie tickets with your second stay:

Join Wyndham Rewards today and stay at any of our 6,500+ participating hotels to earn DOUBLE AAdvantage miles starting on your first stay when you book here at wyndhamrewards.com/aa, we’ll treat you and a friend to a night at the movies.* It’s simple, the more you stay the more you earn. From now through July 8, 2012 you will earn the following:

Your Stays Bonus

1st 2x miles
2nd 2x miles + 2 free movie tickets!
3rd 2x miles
4th 2x miles + 2 free movie tickets!

Registration is required before you make your reservation:

To qualify for the movie component and earn Hollywood Movie Money certificates to see The Avengers or any other movie at participating theaters, the member must

(i) register at wyndhamrewards.com/aa or 1-866-996-7937,
(ii) complete 2 stays at participating hotels in the Wyndham Rewards program at qualifying rates between March 29 and July 8, 2012 and check-out by July 12, 2012 (the “Promotion Period”) and
(iii) provide a valid email address.

You’ll find complete details, including terms and conditions, here.

Speaking of Wyndham, Loyalty Traveler had an eye opening analyis of Wyndham’s points to AAdvantage Miles exchange rate:

Wyndham Rewards has the highest exchange rate for points-to-miles transfers of any hotel loyalty program on the simple basis of comparing the rate points are earned for a member staying at Wyndham brand hotels and without consideration of elite status, promotions or cobranded credit card spend. All but one brand in Wyndham Rewards earn 10 points/$1. Hawthorn Suites stays earn 5 points/$1.

If you haven’t already, you definitely don’t want to miss it: American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates Compared for 9 Hotel Programs.

Photo: tickets here
Credit: EvelynGiggles on Flickr

oneworld member Japan Airlines is pretty excited about their new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, so much so that they’ve even got a special website (in Japanese) to show off the new plane (hat tip to Pak’s JAL Blog).   

Their partner American Airlines must be pretty excited too, because they created a dedicated webpage to promote the start of JAL’s 787 Dreamliner service between Boston and Tokyo:

American Airlines continues to open more doors to Asia. Working with fellow oneworld member Japan Airlines, we will launch nonstop service between Boston and Tokyo Narita on April 22 on a brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Boasting advanced technology and an innovative cabin environment with larger windows and new lighting features, the 787 Dreamliner provides a peaceful and comfortable environment across the Pacific.

And to celebrate the occasion, American is offering a big fare sale, Double AAdvantage Miles and bonus Business ExtrAA points.

Double AAdvantage Miles Offer

Fly the brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Tokyo!
Earn Double AAdvantage Miles

EXPERIENCE THE LUXURY OF THE 787 DREAMLINER.

AIRLINE: Japan Airlines (includes codeshare flights booked as an American Airlines flight and operated by Japan Airlines)

AWARD: Double Miles

BONUS CODE: BOSTY

DATES: Travel between April 22, 2012 and June 30, 2012.

OFFER: In celebration of the new nonstop service on Japan Airlines between Boston and Tokyo Narita, earn double miles every time you fly the route on a new Boeing 787. This offer is valid for travel on purchased, published Business Class and select Economy Class fares from April 22, 2012 through June 30, 2012.

Here are the fare classes that qualify for the offer:

Offer applies only to AAdvantage members who purchase and fly on purchased, published Business Class fares booked in J, R, D or I

Economy Class fares booked in Y, W, B, H, K, M, L, V or S on American Airlines marketed flights

Business Class fares booked in J, C, D, X or I

Economy Class fares booked in Y, W, B, E, H, K, M, L, V or S on Japan Airlines operated flights

Double Business ExtrAA points:

To celebrate the new service, we want to reward you with unlimited double Business ExtrAA points for travel on the American Airlines marketed (AA) flight operated by Japan Airlines between April 22 and June 30, 2012.

Register your company for this offer by June 30, 2012, using promotion code BOSNRTDBL.

And just like the double miles offer, you’ll need to book your into a qualifying fare class:

AAdvantage double mile offer is valid on Japan Airlines operated nonstop flights for travel between Boston (BOS) and Tokyo (NRT) from April 22, 2012, through June 30, 2012. Includes travel on codeshare flights marketed by American Airlines and operated by Japan Airlines (booked under the AA flight number).

Here are the fares that qualify for the offer:

Offer applies only to AAdvantage members who purchase and fly on purchased, published Business Class fares booked in J, R, D or I

Economy Class fares booked in Y, W, B, H, K, M, L, V or S on American Airlines marketed flights

Business Class fares booked in J, C, D, X or I

Economy Class fares booked in Y, W, B, E, H, K, M, L, V or S on Japan Airlines operated flights.

A round-trip from Boston to Narita will earn 13,402 base miles, so with the double offer you’ll earn 26,804 AAdvantage miles, which is enough for a round-trip domestic award.

Registration is required before you travel.

Go here to sign up for Double AAdvantage Miles offer using registration code BOSTY.

To sign up for the Double Business ExtrAA points, go here and use registration code BOSNRTDBL.

I was traveling the other day and somehow missed this, but Ric over at Loyalty Traveler wrote about a new offer from Hilton:

Earn Double American Airlines AAdvantage Miles Toward Your Next Flight Award.

Take off on your next flight award faster with Hilton HHonors and American Airlines. Sign up for this offer to earn double AAdvantage miles when you book and complete a stay by March 31, 2012 at participating hotels and resorts within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. Be sure to select American Airlines as your preferred Double Dip Points & Miles Partner in your HHonors profile to qualify for this offer. Earn double the rewards and get to experiences worth sharing faster than ever.

Ric also writes that this offer can be combined with the 5,000 points you can earn with the Hilton “More Bonus Points” offer.

Editors note: Jade asked a great question in the comment section: “Should we set the profile as Points or Miles?”. I should have mentioned this, but in order to earn both Points and Miles, you will need to go to the Hilton Honors website, access your account, and check your Profil to confirm that “Earning Points and Miles” preference is:

Double Dip Earnings Style Options
Your current Double Dip Earnings Style is HHonors Points and Variable Miles.

Go here to register for the Double AAdvantage Miles offer.

Visit Loyalty Traveler to read Ric’s post and to find out how you can double dip and earn the extra 5,000 Hilton points.

Photo: double dip
Credit: colm_bracken on Flickr

Update:  Brett Snyder had one of his “Across the Aisle” interviews with AAdvantage President, Maya Leibman over on his Cranky Flier blog. You can read it here.

Last Friday I wrote about AAdvantage President Maya Leibman and her team asking members of both the FlyerTalk and milepoint forums for ideas about how to improve the AAdvantage section of AA.com.

The most frequent request was for the ability to book oneworld and partner awards online.  Which wasn’t surprising for a couple of reasons, in that there isn’t any way on AA.com to:

• Find AA partner and oneworld award inventory

• Book an award without calling reservations and incurring a $25 service charge

It’s a frustrating limitation that’s long been a discussion in the forums.

The subject even came up during the milepoint chat with Maya back in May:

7:45 Comment From Cameron:
Is there any plans to allow AAdvantage members to see/book partner awards online?

7:45 Maya:
I’m really glad we got this question. This is a priority for us and one that we’re working on now. I don’t want to get into “how the sausage is made,” but it is my hope to have this available by the end of the year.

That was the first indication that a fix was in the future.

Things started to look more imminent a couple of weeks ago when JonNYC posted this in the Traveling Better forums:

Booking of partners awards coming to AA.com– in bits (Alaska Airlines first)

On or about NOV10, we’ll be able to book awards on AA.com that incorporate AS.

More exciting; it’s being “advertised” (internally) as:

Quote:
…the start of incorporating all 27 airline partners on to AA.com

Well it looks likes the first big step has happened: over the weekend American updated their website and it’s now possible to book Alaska Airlines awards online.   This is from the Alaska Airlines partner page at AA.com:

Book award travel on Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air carriers on AA.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-882-8880 (or your local American Airlines office).

I played around a little with this new AA.com feature, and availability of awards from DFW to HNL on Alaska Airlines looked good.  I was even able to find some at the lowest, MileSAAver, redemption level.  Here’s a look at some screenshots:

Booking AAdvantage Award at AA.com for travel on Alaska Airlines

Detail of booking AAdvantage Award at AA.com for travel on Alaska Airlines

Hopefully they’ll expand this feature soon and you’ll be able to book awards with more partners.

So clearly a pattern has been established. Post your suggestions in one of the forums on Friday, and Maya and the AAdvantage team will work over the weekend and have it ready by Monday.

Nice!

This is off topic, but since it’s Monday, I thought you might be interested in a little distraction from your inbox.

Video artist Michael Konig released this HD video over the weekend: it’s series of time lapse sequences of photos taken from the International Space Station.

Sigh….hopefully there will come a day when we can use our AAdvantage Miles to travel to space…..

American Airlines and Alaska Airlines have been busy expanding their partnership and customers of both airlines have benefited. For example:

Admirals Club members have access to Alaska Airlines Boardroom lounges

AAdvantage elite status members can enjoy new benefits, including priority check-in and boarding, express security lanes, preferred seating and waived checked baggage fees, when flying on Alaska Airlines.

Earn miles when flying on Alaska Airlines marketed and operated flights for travel on an eligible published fare ticket.

Travel on Alaska Airlines and affiliate airlines counts toward qualifying for AAdvantage elite status membership

Now they’re sponsoring a new contest with each airline awarding 150,000 miles:

American Airlines and Alaska Airlines are celebrating together and you can win miles! Each airline will select one grand prize winner.

American Airlines AAdvantage Grand Prize
(1) Grand prize winner will receive 150,000 AAdvantage miles

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Grand Prize
(1) Grand prize winner will receive 150,000 Mileage Plan miles

This is a really simple contest, all you have to do is go here and supply your email address, first name, last name, phone number and AAdvantage number or Mileage Plan number.

All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on December 15, 2011.  Go here for complete details.

Good luck!

The new Radisson Blu hotel in Chicago’s 86 story Aqua skyscraper is set to open on November 1, and to mark the occasion, Radisson is offering triple AAdvantage Miles when you stay at any of their hotels through December 15:

Earn Triple American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
When You Book A Stay At Any Radisson Hotel Worldwide

Celebrate the North American debut of Radisson Blu with the opening of the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Chicago and earn triple AAdvantage miles on your next eligible stay at any Radisson hotel worldwide from October 15, 2011 through December 15, 2011.

A stay at Radisson will normally earn you 500 AAdvantage Miles, so with this offer you’ll earn 1,500 miles with each stay.  From the terms of this offer:

American Airlines AAdvantage members who provide their member number at the time of check-in can earn a total of 1,500 AAdvantage miles for each Eligible Stay during the Promotional Period. There is no maximum on the number of Eligible Stays that can qualify for the bonus during the Promotional Period.

No double-dipping, it’s either Club Carlson points or AAdvantage Miles (not both), and to qualify for the miles you have to make your reservation through Radisson.  You can go here for the full details of their Triple AAdvantage Miles offer.

If you’re not familiar with Radisson Blu, it’s Radisson’s upmarket brand, with 158 hotels in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The new Chicago location is the first Radisson Blu hotel in the United States, and the building they selected, the Aqua, is one of the more interesting looking skyscrapers in a city that really takes its architecture seriously.  You can see a photo tour of the hotel here.

Also to celebrate the opening of their new hotel, Radisson parent, Carlson Hotels is offering a sweepstakes promotion with weekly winners receiving a Chicago weekend getaway, and one grand prize winner receiving an upscale vacation at any Carlson hotel worldwide:

Club Carlson Ultimate Getaway Giveaway Sweepstakes
Every week through December 16, the Club Carlson Ultimate Getaway Giveaway Sweepstakes is giving away exciting vacation packages, including airfare and hotel accommodations.

GRAND PRIZE
Business Class airfare for two, a five-night stay at any Carlson hotel worldwide and $10,000 cash for shopping.

WEEKLY PRIZES
Coach Class airfare for two, a two-night stay at the new, upscale Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Chicago and $2,500 cash for shopping.

To enter, you have to be a member of their Club Carlson loyalty program, if you’re not already a member you can sign up for free.  Go here to enter the sweepstakes or to read the full terms and conditions.

Photo credit: Aqua Tower 1 by Jeanne Gang on Flickr.  Check out her whole set of Chicago photos for more of the Aqua building as well as some other very nicely photographed downtown sights.

Hopefully you’ve already booked your Business class award tickets to Tokyo for half the miles and you’re busy planning your whirlwind tour of Tokyo or maybe a Classic Tokyo/Modern Tokyo itinerary.   If you find yourself with a little extra time on your schedule or have a some extra vacation time, you might want to consider using Japan as stepping-off point to visit some other destination in Asia.

If a bowl of bird’s nest soup in Honk Kong isn’t enough incentive to leave Japan, maybe Double AAdvantage Miles will entice you.  Through February 29, 2012 you can earn Double AAdvantage Miles with Japan Airlines when you fly from Japan to 22 cities in Asia:

Airline:  Japan Airlines.  This promotion includes travel on codeshare flights marketed by American Airlines and operated by Japan Airlines (booked under the AA flight number).

Award:  Double Miles

Bonus  Code: JLSEA

Dates:  Travel between November 1, 2011 and February 29, 2012.

Offer:  Earn double AAdvantage miles when you fly nonstop on Japan Airlines on purchased, published Business Class and selected Economy Class fares from November 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012.

AAdvantage Double Mile offer is valid on Japan Airlines operated and/or marketed nonstop flights for travel:

From Tokyo Narita (NRT) to

Thailand Bangkok (BKK),
China Guangzhou (CAN),
Indonesia Jakarta (CGK),
India Delhi (DEL),
China Dalian (DLC),
Vietnam Hanoi (HAN),
Hong Kong (HKG),
Korea Seoul (ICN),
Taiwan Kaohsiung (KHH),
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (KUL),
Philippines Manila (MNL),
China Beijing (PEK),
Korea Busan (PUS),
China Shanghai (PVG),
Vietnam Saigon (SGN),
Singapore (SIN),
Taiwan Taipei (TPE);

From Tokyo Haneda (HND) to

Thailand Bangkok (BKK),
Korea Seoul (GMP),
Hong Kong (HKG),
China Beijing (PEK),
China Shanghai (SHA),
Singapore (SIN),
Taiwan Taipei (TSA);

From Tokyo Osaka (KIX) to

Thailand Bangkok (BKK),
Korea Seoul (GMP),
China Shanghai (PVG),
Taiwan Taipei (TPE);

From Tokyo Nagoya (NGO) to

China Shanghai (PVG),
Taiwan Taipei (TPE),
China Tianjin (TSN),

To be eligible for this offer, you must be an AAdvantage member residing in the U.S. and you have to fly on one of these fare classes:

On American Airlines marketed flights
Business Class fares booked in J, R, D or I;
Economy Class fares booked in Y, B, H, K;

On Japan Airlines operated flights
Business Class fares booked in J, C, D, X or I;
Economy Class fares booked in Y, B, E, H, K.

Registration using bonus code JLSEA is required before you travel.  Go here to sign up or for complete terms and conditions.

By the way, in case you missed it, there’s also a Double AAdvantage Miles offer for flights to Tokyo from Vancouver and select U.S. cities.