The Akron Beacon-Journal carries a piece (Hat tip to Tripso Daily) on using your points to help Hurricane Katrina victims.
The best advice, no surprise, is to visit Webflyer.com which has a rundown of how to use your points to make a difference. Most major programs have a way to either donate points (which in many cases will be converted to cash for charity by the loyalty program) or to earn points for your own donation of cash.
Tyler Cowen points to gas prices higher than a rental car company’s price for refilling your tank.
Gas from Hertz when you return it: $3.05/g.
Still, be careful out there — there may be other costs besides per-gallon costs, such as flat service charges on gas refills. And this doesn’t mean you should “prepay” the gas which requires you to return the car empty in order to make out well since you’re prepaying an entire tank of gas (again, check the service fees).
Why did it take four tries to update my credit card number with Avis?
The first two times I called and the agent took the new number, each time telling me that it was updated correctly but on followup calls I learned that nothing had changed.
I had my Diners Club card as my default payment method in my profile, naturally I prefer their benefit of primary insurance coverage.
On the third try I was successful in updating the card on file but despite assurances to the contrary it did not get updated on my reservation for tomorrow afternoon.
Fourth call and I’m told all is correct, we shall see when I arrive at the airport whether my name and space number is on the board or if I have to go to the desk because the location tried to run my card and it didn’t work.
Joel Widzer has a new column with general advice on rental car upgrades.
Me, I’ll settle for customer service agents entering my payment details correctly. All I can think of this morning is “Preferred Select my arse.”
It turns out that United’s mystery double miles promotion that Northwest was ostensibly countering with its own double miles promo was a targeted email offering to Mileage Plus members in the Upper Midwest.
United was certainly targeting Northwest’s stronghold, just days after Northwest mechanics went on strike. Northwest countered with across-the-board double miles.
While United was taking advantage of an opportunity to poach Northwest passengers, I suspect Northwest is trying to lure passengers who might otherwise book away due to negative publicity surrounding the strike in a month where traffic is likely to be slower than the peak summer season.
