Well, it seems like Hilton has (finally) listened! Just a few days after criticizing Hilton for their lack of promotions, it looks like they have a double points promotion from January 6 through April 6. Registration is required prior to making a reservation, and be sure to check the full list of participating hotels.
Hat tip to my friend Kent for bringing this to my attention.
Happy Holidays to all! For those frequent travelers that are spending the holidays at home, I hope you have the chance to relax in your own living room for once and enjoy something other than airplane food. May you turn on all the electronic devices under 18,000 feet that your heart desires, carry as many bags around your house as you’d like, and use the lavatory whenever you want to. To those traveling, may your travels be safe, and to quote Richard Quest, profitable (be it intellectually, financially, socially, culturally, or whatever).
I’m happy to be spending the holidays at home. I had to pick up my brother at the airport a few days ago, and what a disaster it was! As much as I love the airport atmosphere, I go absolutely bonkers with the nonstop Christmas music and six year olds running around as if the airport is a playground, not to mention the overcrowding and painful security lines.
I’ve had an incredible year, filled with more travel and miles/points than ever before. I’ve seen some incredible new countries, made friends all over the world (both in the air and on the ground), and have really enjoyed sharing my experiences via this blog.
Expect some “enhancements” in 2009 at One Mile at a Time…. no silly, not those kinds of enhancements. I’m going to go back to the basics, in addition to writing about the stuff I already cover. Lots of times I assume a bit too much, so in 2009 I’ll step back and try to explain some of the more basic stuff, at least things that might seem basic to those of us that fly almost weekly and spend hours a day thinking about travel. I realize many people don’t know about status matches, the ANA tool, million miler status, etc., so I’ll try to explain some of the more basic stuff in detail.
In the meantime, thanks so much to those that have made my first year of blogging so rewarding. As always I love hearing from readers, be it via the comments section of each post, via email, or via FlyerTalk. If you ever have any questions, suggestions, or would like clarification, just let me know and I’ll do my best to help. I’m happy to report that I’m not here primarily for your safety. 
It’s time for a reader photo. Thanks to Peter for sending in this one.
Correct Answer: Rhodes, Greece
Winner: lonegungirl
If you’d like your photo featured, please email it to me at onemileatatime@hotmail.com, along with the correct answer.
Which first class breakfast option do you prefer? Check out episode three of the Upgrd Podcast and vote in the weekly poll. We discuss New York City, first class food, inflight wi-fi, and more.
I know this isn’t exactly news, but I ran across this video today on YouTube and have mixed feelings. Check it out:
At the beginning I was sort of on her side. I like anyone that sticks it to management, at least when management deserves it, although this wasn’t the time or place to do it. Based on the timing of the letter she received, I can see how American’s intentions might have been less than honorable.
The part where I switch sides a bit is when she says “I’ve been letting the airlines have it since probably the last 15 years.” We know what that means, and as a customer I don’t really like it.
The last minute of the video seems to show her real problem. American was trying to force her to get onto an unsafe aircraft, and does so on a daily basis, and she got disciplined for that? Uh huh….
If there’s one thing that unions are good for it’s making sure that FA’s don’t get fired for these types of things (in this case refusing to fly an aircraft that’s unsafe). Something tells me there’s more to this story.
Thoughts?
On January 7th SPG will launch their first quarter promotion, which looks pretty cool (and simple):
Starting January 7 you can register for our next promotion, SPG® Night After Night, where you can earn 500 bonus Starpoints® each night, plus an additional 5,000 every 10th night from January 7 through April 30, 2009. There will be no limits on bonus earnings during this period.
Damn good promotion from them, once again. Between their double stay credit promotions and all of their bonus points promotions, SPG is a great program, and really makes me question my hotel loyalty.
While Priority Club is awesome and I’m convinced Royal Ambassador is the best top tier status level, I’m almost certain that will change in February. While I think Hilton offers a consistent enough product and I have a ton of points with them (300,000+), I have such a hard time staying loyal to them as a points whore. They never have any decent promotions, and it’s sad how few points I’m accruing for stays. Still, I like spending only $80 at Hampton Inn airport hotels and getting free wifi and breakfast.
I’m sure I could easily make SPG Platinum with all of the promotions they have, but at the same time I can’t get myself to actually earn it, since their unique status match rules. Typically you can status match to a program even after you’ve been elite with them, but not at Starwood. If you’ve already been Platinum with them you can’t get a future status match, even ten years later. As a result I don’t actually want to earn SPG Plat the first time around, but would much rather match to it.
If I could match to SPG I’d do it in a heartbeat, but neither my IC (Platinum Royal Ambassador) or HH (Gold) status will get me a match. Short of double matching via Hyatt (which will match InterContinental Royal Ambassador), I can’t think of any other way. Any ideas?
This past week my brother spent a night at the Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt airport, which cost 45 Euro all-in. As a Platinum member he earned nearly 10,000 points for this one night stay alone! Gotta love Priority Club, especially with the help of the codes in this FlyerTalk thread.
For those looking to travel between the US and Asia in the next couple of months, ANA is releasing plenty of award seats in all cabins, even multiple seats in first class on certain flights. I’m hoping this is around to stay, as I’ve heard their first class product is top notch.
Thanks to my friend Steven for pointing this out.
Tomorrow morning my brother is flying from EWR to TPA via CLT in first class as the last part of his Egypt award ticket. Both the EWR-CLT segment and CLT-TPA segments are no longer selling seats in either coach or first class, so I guess the flights are pretty darn full, given the weather along with the time of year.
I would be surprised if he makes it to TPA on his scheduled flights since the weather could very well cause a misconnect. The question going through my head is whether or not he should go for a bump. While USAir vouchers aren’t all that lucrative, they’re at least some form of “currency,” and I always think that something is better than nothing.
Is it worth it, though? I know this is more of a case of playing it by ear, but should he even consider it? While I’m typically all for bumping, I’m leaning towards no in this situation, given that he has a first class seat and that any reroute could be costly (time wise).
Thoughts?
Loading ...
