Thanks so much to those of you who have taken the time to comment to the blog about travel related topics you’d like to read more about on the blog.  As you may have read, I’m giving away a $50 dollar American Express gift card to a lucky winner who comments to the contest entry post with a travel related topic they’d like to read more about here at Marshall Jackson on Travel.

Let’s face it.  I’m a niche player in the travel blogging universe.  I fly American and Delta, I rent cars from Avis and Hertz, and I stay at Starwood hotels first…and everyone else next.  Oh, and I cruise on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.  And those are the things I tend to blog about.  While I might not be able to target my blogging towards every comment I receive between now and when the contest closes on April 9th, I’ve already spotted some topics that I want to do something with.

Today, I’ll talk about the frequent flier program I’ll be learning more about.  Reader AstroGG would like to hear more about Continental OnePass.  I couldn’t agree more.  Living in DC, the only “hub” carrier we have is United out at Dulles.  But that’s 25 miles from my doorstep so I don’t really think of myself as a “hub captive” to United as I primarily fly from DCA.  That said, it makes sense for me to pool my Star Alliance miles somewhere when I do have to fly on a Star carrier.  I’ve decided that program will be Continental OnePass.  I’ve got my reasons for picking Continental, not the least of which is that I feel that if they do wind up merging with United, Continental will be the “surviving” airline even if they keep the United name.  Then there’s the not so small issue of United’s StarNet blocking habits.  Frankly, I think Continental is just a darn good airline.  So look for more information on Continental OnePass here at Marshall Jackson on Travel.  I commit to getting smart on the ins and outs of OnePass in short order, and we’ll learn together.

More to come.  And keep those comments coming.

Reader Peter M. brought this offer to my attention.  If you live in Connecticut, New York, or Texas you have an opportunity to earn AAdvantage bonus miles for electricity.  Peter reported an offer of 7,500 miles instead of the usual 3,000 miles, but I’m not seeing a mention of the 7,500 mile offer at the link provided, which makes me think the 7,500 mile offer may be targeted.  The 7,500 mile offer expires April 30th.  Either way, this is worth considering if you live in these states.  The mileage bonus is in addition to the 2 miles per dollar spent on the “supply” portion of your monthly bill.

Thanks Peter!

Edited:  Peter M forwarded links that are reflecting the 7,500 mile bonus.  Thanks again Peter!  Here they are.

Texas

New York

Connecticut

I received a credit card offer in today’s mail that made me feel the need to blog.  In exchange for an annual fee of $89 dollars, I am pre-approved for a US Airways Premier World MasterCard with “Dividend Miles Select.”  The signup bonus is 35,000 miles.  I won’t be applying as I haven’t flown US Airways in over 2 years.  I’m not mad at them, I just focus my flying and mileage earning on American and to a lesser extent, Delta.  I had not heard of Dividend Miles select, so I did read the offer pretty thoroughly.  “Select” privileges include:

• Award travel for 5,000 fewer miles
• Two companion tickets annually
• An Annual US Airways Club pass
• First Class check-in and Zone 2 boarding
• No annual mileage cap

I suppose this isn’t a bad deal for the person who flies just enough for flying to be annoying, but not quite reach elite status.  But the $89 dollar price point is troubling to me.  Why?  Most people can afford that, which makes me wonder if this doesn’t run the risk of making access to US Airways’ First Class check-in lines and Zone 2 boarding more like a carnival than the privilege that they are meant to be.

Personally, I think the Continental Presidential Plus World MasterCard from Chase is a much better model for providing an enhanced package of benefits to travelers.  Presidential Plus cardholders receive a Continental President’s Club membership, and Continental’s “Elite Access” privileges which include early boarding and priority baggage handling plus a whole host of other benefits.  With that much to offer, it’s no surprise that the annual fee is much higher than the US Airways card at $375 dollars per year.  But the annual fee also has another benefit, it likely serves as a deterrent to the card being obtained by huge masses of people and prevents the dilution of elite benefits for lower level elite fliers.  Access to First Class check-in lines and priority boarding are the 2 things I value most in elite status on any airline.  I think the Continental product does a much better job of protecting the elite benefits of those of us who can only attain low and mid level elite status.

Another card that offers a bit of access to certain privileges is the Delta Reserve Card from American Express.  In exchange for a  lofty $450 dollar annual fee, cardmembers receive access to Delta’s Sky Club on the day of flight.  A notable difference between this card and the Continental card is that those card holders receive an actual membership in the Continental President’s Club while Delta Reserve holders are merely granted access to Delta’s club, just like an Amex Platinum cardmember receives.  The card does have some other benefits including Medallion Qualifying Mile bonuses for reaching certain spending thresholds and priority for Medallion upgrades within your status level.  Personally, if I flew Delta enough to obtain more than Silver Medallion status, I’d likely carry this card, if for no other reason than the upgrade priority.

United also offers a handful of cards that offer access to varying levels of privileges.  Depending on the card, you can receive a Red Carpet Club membership, or my favorite, access to United’s Economy Plus section.  Some of the cards also offer elite qualifying mile bonuses for reaching certain spending thresholds.  You can read all about each of United’s card options here.

Those are the cards of the domestic mileage programs that offer access to enhanced benefits for travelers.  If you know of others, feel free to comment to the blog.  Each of these has its good and bad points, and if you fly one of these airlines regularly, you should at least consider one of these products.  That said, I think the Continental Presidential Plus MasterCard from Chase is the best of the bunch.  No way I’d be without one if I were a regular Continental flier.

Continental jumped on the $25 dollar party wagon today.  Now they join Delta (and USAirways) at the top of the baggage fee pile – $25 bucks for one bag.  Both Delta and Continental will knock $2 dollars off the price if you pay online.  USAirways is currently discounting the price by a whopping $5 dollars if you pay online.  Expect that to last about six more seconds if the rest of the industry continues to jump on this.  And I can’t imagine a scenario where they don’t.  If they all match, and we all continue to pay, where do you think the next stop on the fee meter is?  $30 dollars?   Why not $50?  Pretty soon the fee for your bags will be more than your fare.  Keep in mind that the $25 dollar price point I’m harping on is just for the first bag.  Have the unmitigated gall to check a second bag, and you’ll pay $35 dollars for that one.

I can’t emphasize enough that I have no problem with “unbundling” in principle, and that includes baggage fees.  However, I think the industry runs the risk of pricing this particular service somewhere well north of what customers are willing to tolerate without some kind of backlash.  Will the airlines figure that out before customers have started to vote with their feet?  Time will tell.

I know this has been widely blogged about, but that pesky day job of mine has simply kept me from posting much this week.  In short, I’ve been busy!  But I wanted to post about the latest news from Continental and OnePass because I think it’s important.

Earlier this week, Continental Airlines announced a couple of key changes to its OnePass elite benefits.  First, Continental will begin rewarding its Platinum Elite members who earn at least 100,000 elite qualifying miles or 120 elite qualifying points with 4 systemwide upgrades.  These upgrades are confirmable on any fare systemwide.

Additionally, Continental announced the creation of an invitation-only, revenue based “Presidential Platinum Elite” tier.  Continental went one step further and published the initial qualification requirements for the new tier which will be $30,000 dollars in annual spend in 2010.  Perks of the new super-status include top priority for upgrades and standby as well as a VIP phone line.  The status will also include an annual fee waiver on the Continental Presidential Plus MasterCard from Chase.  This card includes an annual membership in Continental’s President’s Club.

OnePass members can start earning these new benefits in 2010.

This has been well covered by many blogs, but I thought I’d add my 2 cents.  Continental’s entrance into the Star Alliance is exciting news for many travelers.  While we all know that American and AAdvantage are my preferred airline and mileage program, I don’t think I’m stretching things very much when I say that Continental is likely the best managed legacy airline in the United States of America.  Continental’s ability to execute on its stated goals are renowned.  And for good reason…they almost always deliver on their promises.

Once upon a time, I was Silver Elite in the OnePass program.  Amazingly, Continental promised express luggage delivery for their elites on every flight.  One hundred percent of the time, they delivered (for me).  That, coupled with almost 100 percent personable customer service, made for a pretty good airline experience.  No doubt, I liked flying Continental.  That said, OnePass just didn’t measure up to American’s AAdvantage in availability and flexibility.  Add in the fact that I’ve always had pretty good service on American, and I just couldn’t find a compelling reason to move my travel dollars to Continental.

With their entry into Star Alliance, the world really opens up for Continental OnePass members.  Star’s excellent lineup of airline partners along with Continental apparently not blocking award availability on their Star Alliance partners really make Continental an attractive option for travelers.

I’m still committed to American, and AAdvantage, but I plan to follow Continental’s progress as it heads down its new alliance path.  Living in Washington, DC, United and US Airways should be logical options for me, but neither airline gives me the confidence I need to commit to a loyalty program relationship.  Continental is now a real option, and I will follow them closely.  With their entry into the Star Alliance, OnePass has become a reliable loyalty program option for many more travelers.

You know that American AAdvantage is my preferred mileage program.  And you also know that I fly Delta just enough to make that my second program.  I’ve historically accumulated my handful of Star Alliance miles into United Mileage Plus.  However, Continental’s coming entry into Star has me wondering if that’s the best thing to do.  So I’d love to hear what others think.  Should I switch my Star Alliance accumulation to Continental?  Or should I think about US Airways Dividend Miles?  Or continue with United.  Share a comment, or send me an email.

Random post, I know.  But I think many less-than-frequent fliers may not be aware that a lot of airlines offer travelers the opportunity to change to an earlier or later flight on their day of travel with a confirmed seat (if available) for a relatively small fee.

Yesterday, I got a later than planned start on my 50 mile drive from my family home in North Carolina to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU).  Faced with the need to make a couple of stops on the way, I knew I was pushing the envelope for making my scheduled 3PM departure.  Add in the need to re-fuel and return the rental car, and it became apparent that the math just wasn’t going to work.

I stopped at an I-40 rest area and reached for my iPhone.  I first did a quick check of flight availability from RDU to DCA which showed “all 7′s” on later flights.  (Note: For those that don’t know, airline availability is displayed from their reservations systems in a series of letters and numbers, i.e. Y7….  meaning there are at least 7 seats left to sell in the “Y” fare bucket.)  Then I called American’s Platinum Reservations number.  When I reached the agent, I asked if there was “same day confirmed” availability on a later flight to DCA.  There was, and the agent confirmed my seat for the flight I wanted.  Cost:  $50 dollars, which I think is a bargain in the world of airline fees.

I then continued my drive to the airport without worry, and without danger of a speeding ticket.  You can read the scoop on American’s same-day flight change options here.  Other airlines offer their own similar programs:

Continental

Delta

JetBlue

United

US Airways

Continental just announced some changes to its OnePass program which help align the program with its future Star Alliance partners.  Continental joins Star on October 27, 2009.  The most beneficial change from my perspective is that Continental will no longer penalize customers for purchasing discount fare travel through venues other than Continental.com.  The changes are summarized below just as they were sent from Continental:

Effective Oct. 1, 2009:
• There will be no same-day change fees for Platinum Elite members for tickets purchased on or after Oct. 1, 2009.
• As a part of our transition to Star Alliance, complimentary Elite upgrades will no longer be available on Northwest Airlines flights.

Effective Oct. 27, 2009:
• With our planned entry into Star Alliance, mileage requirements for reward travel will be changing, effective for travel booked on or after Oct. 27, 2009.  Link to Continental’s new award chart.
• A Saturday-night stay is no longer required for OnePass reward travel.
• 100% Elite Qualification Miles and Elite Qualification Points can be earned on discounted fares regardless of where the ticket is purchased or issued. (Big win!)
• The BusinessFirst® $100 Upgrade Co-pay will no longer be required of members using miles to upgrade from B fare class.
• Elite bonuses will be based on the minimum mileage earned instead of the actual flight miles flown.
• Upon our planned entry into Star Alliance, OnePass members will no longer earn Elite Qualification Miles, Elite Qualification Points or Elite mileage bonuses for travel operated by Amtrak, Emirates, EVA Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, Kingfisher and US Helicopter.

Effective Dec. 15, 2009:
• New reward travel fees will apply for redeposits, reservation changes and flight bookings within 21 days of departure for rewards redeemed on or after Dec. 15, 2009. Platinum Elite members will pay no fee, the Gold Elite member fee will be $25, the Silver Elite fee will be $50 and all other members will pay a fee of $75. These fees will apply per customer instead of per reservation. OnePass travel reward changes outside of 21 days of travel will remain free if there is no change to the origin and destination.

Effective Jan. 1, 2010:
• All members worldwide will earn 125% base miles on F, C, J and D fare classes.
• All members worldwide will earn 1.5 Elite Qualification Points when they purchase and fly in fare classes F, C, J, D, Z, Y and B on flights operated by Continental.

Baggage Fees

US Airways jacks up baggage fees.  Not a big shocker, but I think we’re getting close to a breaking point in how much consumers are willing to tolerate.  I mean seriously, it’s starting to get a little nutty.

On Board Delays

The stem is coming off the rose in regards to travelers’ continued tolerance of airline excuses in regards to extended tarmac delays.  The Continental Express incident in Rochester, MN has all but assured passage of some form of “bill of rights” legislation.  It’s well intended, but like a lot of well intended pieces of legislation, the unintended consequences of it will be worth watching.  As useless as I think the legislation will be, the airlines have no one to blame but themselves for not fixing the problem.  And yes, I know government and the antiquated air traffic control system are to blame as well.  Regardless, airlines have got to stop treating their customers like crap…and sometimes, they may need to work together in order to do so.  (Hear that, Mesaba?)

Delta Brings Business Elite to Transcons

Delta Air Lines is introducing its Business Elite product to transcontinental flights from New York – JFK to Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Delta says it will use Boeing 757s on the flights which feature Business Elite cabin seats with 150 degrees of recline and 55 inches of pitch.  Delta also expects to have wi-fi on all of its transcontinental flights by the end of the year.

How’s that for a post of “random musings?