Posted by Seth on June 17, 2010 under frequent flyer, News, points | 
The news this morning that searching for Star Alliance rewards using the ANA website was no longer viable for most folks was shocking and more than a bit disappointing. The good news? Apparently the restriction actually isn’t quite as bad as was initially thought. Yes, the option is missing on the website for most folks right now but that appears to only be a UI issue. In other words the functionality is still there if you can get to the correct webpage. And I can.
Just a bit of tinkering this afternoon and I’ve whipped up a GreaseMonkey script that puts a link back on the main page for folks who are searching:
Nothing fancy, but pretty darn functional. Simply sign in to your ANA account and go to the AMC reward page here. Click on the link for an International Reward search and, assuming everything is actually working correctly, the link should show up on the top of your screen.
Every now and then you’ll get a Session Expired error with the link. Just start the search over and it should go away.
Make sure you’ve got GreaseMonkey installed and then grab the script here. And enjoy your reward travels.
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Posted by Seth on June 17, 2010 under News |
If you do, and if you live in a hub city for Delta or US Airways (and a few other cities as well), United Airlines has a deal for you. Lots of opportunities out there for flights to Vancouver (YVR) for under $300. I’m seeing the fare from PHL, ATL, MEM, SFO, MSP, PHX, CLT and others. Lots of inventory out there right now.
Even better, it looks like the routing rules on this deal are pretty loose, at least from Philadelphia. I was seeing plenty of three connection options available if you’re in it for the miles. Looks like United has not finished cracking down on all the routing rules quite yet.
Oh, and if you do go, I strongly recommend giving Tojo’s a try. Some of the best sushi in North America, if not the world. I’m a big fan.
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Posted by Seth on June 17, 2010 under frequent flyer, News, points |
Finding reward seats is always the harder part of playing the mileage game. Earning enough for a great reward is one thing but once you have the miles being able to actually find a reward seat can be incredibly difficult. Fortunately there are a few tools out there which help the process for certain carriers. For Star Alliance searches ANA provides the best engine for searching. You have to have an account with them but otherwise it is wide open.
Well, it used to be.
ANA has changed their policies recently to require that one have points in their ANA account in order to search partner award inventory. Seeing as how their site has become the go to source for Star Alliance reward searches, including some folks who have built web applications leveraging that source (not my tools; I don’t have *A reward availability in my set) it is not too hard to se how the load on their systems is not consistent with their actual user base and the volume of bookings they’re handling. It gets expensive to maintain and run systems and this is no exception.
At least for now there is a workaround to the issue, identified by a user on FlyerTalk, but the expectation is that the loophole will close soon enough. Getting miles into ANA isn’t all that hard. They partner with American Express Membership Rewards and a number of hotels and rental car companies as well. The miles will expire after 3 years but that is a small investment to make for the phenomenal search engine that ANA provides.
Some coverage of the issue from Lucky here.
Posted by Seth on June 15, 2010 under Trip Reports |
As my day of beach visits in Sydney wrapped up on Saturday afternoon I headed back in to the Circular Quay area and up towards The Rocks to my bed. I desperately needed to shower and change before going out for dinner. As I walked up the side of the harbour I noticed quite a few folks with their cameras mounted on tripods, all pointed at the Opera House. OK, such a scene isn’t all that unusual but, well, it just seemed different this time. Sure enough, it was.
I happened to be in Sydney during the middle of the Vivid Sydney event. Billed as the largest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, Vivid Sydney includes large-scale light installations, a concert for dogs and all sort of other wacky stuff. One of the events, a repeat from last year but with a different artist this time, was Lighting the Sails. Basically the Opera House was lighted from across the harbour with rather intricate patterns and designs. It was surreal, particularly as some of the schemes were animated (there is a video below).
The event was, overall, very cool. And it definitely brought folks out to the harbour. That being said, it looked pretty much like all of us watching were tourists, not locals, so I’m not entirely convinced that we wouldn’t have been in that neighborhood anyways.
A very cool exhibition, though also quite trippy.
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Posted by Seth on June 14, 2010 under Trip Reports |
Sure, it was winter time in Australia while I was visiting but apparently my visit brought (or at least coincided with) the first warm, sunny day that Sydney had seen in several weeks. This meant that lots of folks were out an about, especially on the beaches. I really wanted the ferry ride through the harbour so I hit up Manly beach first, but given its slightly more popular coverage in the media (at least up here) I also felt that I should take a trip out to Bondi Beach. So after lunch I did just that.
Unfortunately, by the time I got out to Bondi the weather had turned for the worse. It was grey and overcast, with intermittent spurts of mist, drizzle and rain. It was not beach weather at all. Still, I had made the trek out there and I was not going to be denied.
One of the “must do” events at Bondi Beach is a visit to the pool at the southern end of the beach. It is justifiably famous and really quite cool. It is open to the public for a small fee but, alas, I didn’t have my suit with me. Plus it was cold and raining. Still, I did stop by to see the famed salt-water pool that sits right on the ocean.
All the photos I’d seen and reports I’d read mentioned how cool the pool was, mostly based on its location. But not a single one of them ever showed just how crazy it could be, particularly when the weather was a bit less than ideal. Well the day I was there definitely had less than ideal weather and the pool was constantly being overrun by the waves crashing against the sea wall.
Yeah, the waves were somewhat violent crashing against the wall there. I guess the folks in the water are used to it because they just kept on swimming.
There is a long walkway that connects the beaches around Bondi. I headed a bit further south along the walk just to see how folks were enjoying the afternoon. Even with the misty drizzle folks were out, doing what they could to keep dry as appropriate and to enjoy the waterfront where they could.
I enjoyed Manly better than Bondi but I cannot say that it wasn’t entirely because of the weather. The beach at Manly is longer though Bondi is deeper. I suppose they both have their appeal and either one is a great place to spend a few hours – preferably when it is warm and sunny – during a stay in Sydney.
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Posted by Seth on June 12, 2010 under News |
As of 5am this morning Spirit Air pilots walked off the job, executing a strike against management that has been threatened for several months and one which has been delayed at least twice during negotiations with the company. The airline’s fleet was grounded and all flights for today and Sunday, June 13 are cancelled as a result. No word yet on future cancellations as there is no announced schedule for a renewal of negotiations between the two sides.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Seth on June 11, 2010 under News |
Starting on June 16th JetBlue will be rolling out a new buy-on-board snack product selection on many of their flights. The offerings are most definitely snacks, not meals, and they will be available on routes where the flights are 4 hours or longer and which are operated by the carrier’s Airbus A320 aircraft; there isn’t room in the Embraer E90 galleys.
Offering complimentary snacks has been part of JetBlue’s culture since the carrier started operations 10 years ago and they have stated that they intend to continue offering a selection of free snacks going forward. These new choices are in addition to the existing selections.
So, what can your $6 get you on board a JetBlue flight? Here are the packs that will be available:
Read more of this article »
Posted by Seth on June 10, 2010 under News |
Both the SkyTeam and oneworld global alliances have grown their membership ranks this past week. Vietnam Airlines became an official member of SkyTeam effective today. Earlier in the week Indian carrier Kingfisher announced its intentions to join oneworld during a meeting in Germany.
I’ve actually flown on both carriers and enjoyed the service and product. I think that oneworld is getting the better deal here – Kingfisher has a ton of coverage in India and a few long-haul routes, too – but SkyTeam needs to beef up their presence in SE Asia significantly and the addition of Vietnam Airlines definitely helps on that front.
Posted by Seth on June 10, 2010 under Trip Reports |
Apparently the weather immediately prior to my arrival in Sydney last Saturday morning was miserable. Several weeks of gray skies and rain. It was bad enough that the Sunday morning newspaper actually had a story about the fact that the Saturday weather didn’t suck, complete with a photo of a rainbow (which I saw and it was quite cool) and some statistics about how the bad weather was causing more traffic accidents this winter. But for me, for the 32 hours I was on the grounds, the weather was pretty much unbeatable.
With such a short stay it was important to prioritize what I planned on seeing and doing to get in as much as I could. I booked a bed in the Rocks YHA Hostel, just off of Circular Quay and under the Harbour Bridge so I was quite centrally located to do pretty much anything I wanted in town. I checked in at 9am and they were able to get me into my room right then which meant a shower and dropping my bags off and then I was on my way to see the city. Plus, it was rather cheap and the view from the roof deck was, well, awesome!
First stop, Manly Beach. Read more of this article »
Posted by Seth on June 10, 2010 under frequent flyer, News, points |
Delta has announced a triple miles promotion for the summer. The promotion covers three routes – all the Delta Shuttle operations – and offers the bonus on both reward miles and Medallion Qualifying Miles. Registration is required (you can do so here).
The promo is valid for all travel between New York City’s LaGuardia and Boston (BOS), Washington, DC (DCA) and the new service to Chicago’s O’Hare (ORD). The new Shuttle service to O’Hare includes 11 daily round-trip flights on weekdays. The promotion is valid from June 14th – the launch date of the LGA-ORD service – through August 31, 2010.
In order to qualify the flights must be operated by Delta or a Delta Connection carrier and must be on the non-stops between the cities in question. Also, the 3x calculation is based on the actual miles, not the 500 mile minimum for elites.
More details on the promotion can be found here.
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