Kathy (Will Run for Miles) & I landed in AUS for the second time in two days but this time we did something very strange on a mileage run – we actually left the airport (I know who knew you could do that right?)! Meeting us there was Dave aka TexasYankee.

You know, there are few times in your life that a moment becomes so imprinted on your mind and heart that you will retain it forever. The above was just such a moment. Dave had taken the time to (in a joking way over my Skunky Beer post) got not just Blue Moon for us but Dasani water AND a snack basket with the same goodies we get in 1st class on Delta. Dave, you are amazing and I can not thank you enough for this moment in time!

We zipped right over to Franklin’s with a fun fact tour of the city on the way. Once we got there the line was long. How long you ask? The place did not open till 11:AM but just a few people after us they said the food would be all gone when they got to the restaurant!

We were told it would take 3 hours to get to the front of the line. Dave had assured us it was well worth the wait. It only took a little over 2 and we had a fun time talking about points and such with all who made it including my aunt and uncle who live in Austin.

We at last made it up to the building itself and it is nothing special from the outside or inside but that is not why you go to Franklin’s. You go for the food. They brought out some samples and wow it made me hungry.

Then it was time to order. The pulled pork was sold out. We did get brisket, ribs and sausage. You don’t get plates but just paper for the table and the food is family style. Then time to dig in. Oh my. I have never ever had food this good. The ribs, melt in the mouth and the brisket the best I have ever tasted. The sausage was smoky and so nummy. It was just too much so my in-laws got a to-go box to enjoy for later. I do respect a vegetarian lifestyle but this is the place for those who say about animals that they are “nice to pet but better to chew”

This mileage run has been a blast. I will have a nuts and bolts post on the miles and such soon but a run really is so much more than just points – it is about the adventure along the way (again thank you Dave for such a fun day)! – René

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A while back I had a post about the 3500 bonus points you could get if you were targeted by US Bank for this spend promotion. Mommy Points had a post about spending $50 at Neiman Marcus if you were targeted for that and it ends on the 19th. She suggested starting at some shopping portal to get bonus points. That may work or it may not track unless you START at the US BANK link so up to you if you want to try for extra bonus points or just get the 3500 US BANK Flex Perks points worth $70 toward air travel.

Anyway, there are not a bunch of things you can buy for around $50 at Neiman Marcus but one thing we can all use as a frequent flyer is a TUMI luggage scale (see photo above & here is the link but do please start at the US BANK link first). The other item that could be good is the passport cover also for $50. I do not see any harm in using the free S&H code: MAYFS

Anyway, speaking about FlexPerks I also have a test on the way this week with my mileage run. US BANK FlexPerks, both the personal and the business, when you redeem points for a ticket like I did for my positioning flight to PHX, will allow you $25 credit after spend for “incidentals”. I am going to buy a Delta e-Gift card online the day I fly and see if that will work for credit. It should and I should get a $50 cert for just $25 net!

BTW the TUMI luggage scale is very nice, comes in a nice gift box. I have no need for it and just wanted to test this for the 3500 points and to help get my spend for the month for the other targeted bonus. So how about a “targeted” giveaway today to match the targeted deal. If you want my brand new TUMI scale, you must comment below on the blog that you are following me on twitter, and then ALSO retweet my tweet about this post  (ya gotta do both if you want to win)! Have fun and I will use Random.org late tonight for the winner – René

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from American Express®
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If you either book or fly the JFK route to LAX or SFO in Business class you will get your choice of a “delicious” meal (assuming they don’t run out of your choice before they get to your seat). And this is a longish flight so good food and drink is nice. In Economy Comfort you now get Complimentary Beer, Wine, and Spirits as well on these routes. But what about back in coach?

Delta.com now lets you order ahead to make sure those of us who don’t get an upgrade can have more than just what happens to be available (or not be) on the “Eat’s” menu.

As you can see from the above, you can now plan ahead and pick something nice delivered to your seat on your flight.

The ordering process seems very straight forward but for me, when I tried to place a test order, my flight from JFK-LAX (DL95) does not yet show up as a flight from JFK-LAX.

The cancellation policy, for now, seems very good. As long as you get your upgrade at least 48 hours before your flight you can cancel and get a refund. Heck the way I read the policy, for now, if you don’t like what you got, after the flight, you can even get a refund!

I would love to find out if any readers have tried out the new vittles and how the process worked for you and if you think the price is worth the service. If you have tested this, please share with your fellow readers on the blog! – René

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from American Express®
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While flying all around the USA the past few days I talked to a ton of flyers. A ton of them were blog readers and mileage running too. But a bunch in the Skyclubs are just your “normal” medallions. What shocks me to the core is how many of then have NEVER EVER used Twitter or @DeltaAssist!

• I have the very simple directions how to get started HERE

• I even have directions if you DON’T have a smart phone HERE

But there is one shortcoming with Delta Assist. There is no real full “list” that shows all they can and can not do for you. So, I did what we always do when Delta does not provide an answer; I turned to fellow Flyer Talkers HERE and started a list that we can all contribute to so we can have a better understanding if it is worth tweeting them or just picking up the phone and calling Delta.

So please take the time to look at the list and contribute if you can – René

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Well look at the kool postcard I got yesterday in the mail. It sure looks good. I mean who would not want 2 free AA tickets. Even as a loyal Delta flyer, I mean, free tickets are nice right?

But then look on the back side of the post card. At first glance this also looks good. These things look so good in fact that the other night at dinner with some friends, they were talking about this very thing that they had won tickets. But had they?

When I did just the slightest digging with the “promotion name” and the phone number just look what popped up HERE. Ah ha, this is a timeshare deal. They have sent out these post cards with SW Air, Delta and I bet a whole bunch more.

So, this is not quite what it seems. For most readers, you would not be dumb enough to fall for something like this. I did not and I bet you would not (but I would like to know if you got one of these postcards).

Delta Points readers know, the absolute best way right now to get a ton of points (50,000) after spending just $5000 on an INK BOLD and or an INK PLUS card will net you $687.50 worth of buying power (with 55,000 points) toward airline tickets or a hotel or car rental. This is a smart way to get free travel – as we all know!

BTW, these cards are both Business cards but even a sole proprietor can get these cards. Be completely honest if you do not yet earn any money in your endeavors as there is a place where you can include you personal income as well!

On a personal note, as I continue my mileage run today, it has been so much fun running into readers along the way at airports across the USA. If you see me, please do come up and say “HI” - René
 

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Back in the day you could hop over to Canada or Mexico from the US with nothing more than a driver’s license or birth certificate. Life was simple then. With the passing of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), effective June 1, 2009 US citizens are required to have WHTI compliant documents, most commonly a U.S. passport, a passport card, a trusted traveler card such as NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST, or an enhanced driver’s license, to enter the US by land or sea ports. This led to an overwhelming number of applications for first time passports, as you may recall, and lengthy delays in the application process due to the backlog of applications that piled up.

As many of you know, I have had a passport since I was an infant due to the international nature of my parentage. My wife had never had a passport prior to our planning for our first trip to Sweden. While it’s a fairly common thing for those of us who enjoy extensive travel, it might be a fairly large first hurdle for those rookies among us who may be applying for their first ever passport and are completely unfamiliar with the process. There may also be a few things you weren’t aware of as a frequent traveler that you might want to take advantage of in the future.

Applications for new passports as well as renewals can be filled out online through the official government website.

All of the required documents are explained and once you have all the documents required you can take everything to your local post office to submit your application. You can check to see if your post office can accept your passport application here.

A passport renewal application is a little easier. You can fill out this application online as well, obtain current photos and submit the required documents all yourself by mail. With a renewal that meets the qualifications there is no need to submit the application through the post office, and it will just cost you an additional fee to do so.

What if your problem is that you have a few more years on your passport, but you have run out of Visa pages available for further travel? You can fill out an application online to add pages to your passport with Form DS-4085. This will give you the option of adding either 24 or 48 pages for the same fee, currently $82. If you are renewing your passport and you anticipate that you will require more than the standard 28 pages due to frequent travel abroad, you can simply check the box to have your new passport issued with 52 pages instead, for no additional fee! You may also want to consider whether it is worth it to renew your passport early with the additional pages instead of paying the fee to add pages for only the few years you have left on your passport since the renewal fee is currently $110, only $28 more than the fee to add pages. If you are renewing more than 90 days prior to expiration you simply need to include a note with your application to explain the early renewal request.

What if you have a passport that is still valid for several more years, but your name has changed? I encountered this problem when departing from Sweden once many years ago when the gate agent initially refused to allow Lisa to board since her name was different on the boarding pass (married name) from the front of her passport (maiden name). Fortunately we had mailed it in with our marriage license for the name change and had only to instruct the gate agent to look at the back page and then all was well. There is no fee for this service unless you require expedited service, and the requirements for documentation of change of name are listed here.

For me, domestically, I always use my GOES “ID” card when I fly. It is simple and then my drivers license stays where it “lives” in my wallet. From now on, whenever I fly Internationally, my passport is going to be a bit fatter with extra pages as with points coming in fast I see many more countries on my radar – René

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Yours truly and a bunch of the BoardingArea crew will be at the Freddie Awards tomorrow night! I will be tweeting all about it and I hope you can follow me on TWITTER and enjoy the festivities (not on twitter yet – find out how HERE)!

I will NOT be staying around for FTU over the weekend but will have some time near IAD airport in the morning Friday. Blog reader Jane suggested breakfast before I fly out & that sounds like fun! So, we are going to Joe’s Cafe at 9:AM Friday the 26th located HERE. If anyone is game to join us please comment if you can make it so we can start to plan for just how many will be there! – René

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I just don’t get people’s fear of flying! The part you should be scared out of your wits about is the driving TO the airport part. I mean take a look at the photo above and now please read THIS news piece from my local WNDU station of what happened right outside my hometown SBN airport.

So what else is going on in travel news? Let’s take a look:

• Delta does right by a young boy HERE (wish they would do the same with Delta DieMiles)!
• Pinnacle Airlines is on it’s way out of bankruptcy and MEM is HERE
• Wahoo – The airlines are making money is HERE
• DAL is to be inline with expectations is HERE
• I will never use a hotel room drinking glass again is HERE

So there are some of the latest travel & Delta headlines. Any other news worthy of our time? Be sure to include a link below on the blog in your comments! – René

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The product (i.e. the planes and seats et al), the people who fly and help us along the way. The Skyclubs as well as the phone and @DeltaAssist people. These are all major reasons we fly Delta.

However, we have seen over the recent past, as I talked about a while ago, some changes to the program. Changes like:

• Less earnings on consolidator fares
• Less earnings on partner airlines
• More restrictive SWU’s
• MQD starting next year
• SDC change
• Bequeathing Skymiles gone
• Silver Medallions less perks
• Higher award pricing mid & high
• Any more?

Should we be surprised? Delta is making money and continues to do so and make choices that in their eyes will make even more and their team of expert psychologists and sociologists have told them we will just take it (a educated guess – besides, what can we do about it all anyway)!

So where else can they and will they cut next? Let’s take a look at what is left and what could just be on the chopping block. All of these are areas we are currently costing potential revenue for the shareholders of DAL stock. Also, my analysis is written from Delta’s point of view – not ours – clear?

$ 2 Free bags GM+

$ Carry on size and weight

$ Sports equipment

$ Unlimited upgrades discounted fares

$ Unlimited Skymiles ticket changes

$ Full earnings from Discounted Fares

$ Change to flat 1 cent per Skymile redemption

$ Waived phone booking charge

$ Annual status for Million Milers

Bags! Just look at the amazing amount of money Delta is making from bags. Now, Silvers only get two free bags if they have a Delta AMEX card. Why not expand this to GM also this year, and PM the next. The money will just build and build in bag fees!

Carry on! Enforcement of this has just about been nonexistent with Delta. Too much money is on the table here. If rather than offering ZONE 2+ free gate checking, they demanded payment, tons could be collected and flyers would think twice about not checking the bag to begin with.

Sports Equipment! Skis & boot bag are both one piece and golf bags are huge. As long as either example is under 50 lbs now you are fine. But, these are huge. Why not have a $25 up-charge for these types of things. Think how much money SLC would bring in as a hub! Huge money potential from sports fans!

Upgrades! There is simply no reason deeply discounted fares should get a free pass to unlimited upgrades. If you want an upgrade, you will have to pay for K class or higher. This would greatly improve the bottom line and even low level elites would get a TON more upgrades. Win-Win for Delta.

Changes! The 72 hour no change rule has be a HUGE success. Much less gaming going on. But all these willy-nilly changes is just too generous and these elites are still gaming the system too much. There is money to be made here too; give them 2 free changes then they must either redeposit for free (& see if they can find low level seats again ) and start new or they can pay a fee for each change after the first two that are free!

LUTXVE! Most of Skyteam partners give less MQM & RDM for deeply discounted fares. Skymiles are a 4.4 Billion dollar liability on Delta’s books and giving less to the less desirable flyers who are only after a cheap fare is fine. They are not booking for miles anyway just a cheap seat from A-B.

1 Cent Skymiles! This is happening right now. The change to let you book first class seats now with Skymiles and actually earn for this is airline smart. The net exchange is a seat that more than likely would have gone to a LUTXVE class upgrade but now has burned a huge amount of Skymiles for only a few in return.

Phone reps! So much has been spent on Delta.com that it needs to be used. Not just for the advertising space that is open to the eyeballs but it is so much cheaper than a breathing human who may not follow the computer rules. Expect a flat fee for all but DM’s soon for any phone booking. Think what tacking on another $25 per ticket could do for the bottom line!

Million Milers! Hey, what have you done for us lately? You may have flown a bunch of miles in the past, but not lately. Status is no longer lifetime, and if you want to keep your status, you will have to spend some money with us. Or, maybe, have at least a Delta AMEX card to keep your status going.

So these are the possible things we have to look forward to over the next two years as more and more enhancements to the Skymiles program rolls out to make the airline more and more money. My question to you my dear reader is, at what point, will you say enough is enough? Maybe it is time for “Save our Skymiles” part 2! – René

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from American Express®
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Delta had to get these changes out to all their personnel, so information about the update was “leaked” to FlyerTalk. In today’s instant information age, it is very hard to keep secrets.

Now the changes. Here is a chart of what has changed:

So, good or bad? Medallions are a bit “jumpy” lately as Delta has been eroding our benefits and making it harder next year to quality. Delta is selling this as an enhancement to the SDC program and if you are a non-medallion it is great for you as you now get a chance at SDC.

If you are a GM+, overall this is mostly a downgrade since, depending on the change, you may have to pay, not be in the right fare class, or now have a bunch more competition from regular flyers and elites (all in the same fare class). I am also confident we will see this more and more as Delta begins selling these perks at the kiosks to tell non-medallions they can do this if they want!

Award seats are an issue as well with this change. Delta says that inside the 72 hr window, many more award seats at HIGH/MED/LOW open up so this should not be a big issue. We will see. But keep in mind that each of these has a “Delta Award Fare Class” associated to HIGH/MED/LOW so you must be able to find seats in THAT fare bucket to be able to SDC your award seat.

Lastly, Delta IT will NOT be able to give you “lower” fare class seats. For example, say you book in “K” class, and seats are open in LUT, but NOT K, you booked HIGHER so the lower seats should let you get the SDC. You can, but you will have to CALL Delta to get this done!

EDIT: It has been pointed out to me that the above event is very unlikely to happen in real life. As an example, from TrojanTraveler from FlyerTalk who says:

“I can only look at my own experience, but on most of the flights that I am on, they are packed. And each time I have SDC’d, the only bucket available has generally been Y, maybe B (I know because I have looked at Expert Flyer). As many have said, this puts a practical end to SDC.“

Thus, anyone who has not booked a very high fare class ticket, will just about be DONE with SDC unless you are willing to pay the much higher fare class fee!

The standby rules are very different also as to changes in routes (you can’t) and more. You can see the full new update page HERE at Delta.com to read all the updates live.

I am sure you will see a lively conversation over this over at THIS new FlyerTalk thread put up by Delta CORP. Feel free to chime in what you think here on the blog or join the discussion over there as well! – René

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from American Express®
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