Courtesy of Hertz, Midwest Airlines is offering 10% off on flights costing $200 or more using promo code HGMIDWEST.
The discount is valid on tickets purchased by May 15, 2006 for travel through June 15, 2006, with travel to Florida and Phoenix blacked out April 13-15, 2006 and travel from Florida and Phoenix blacked out April 21-23, 2006.
(What’s going on then?)
This is a nice replacement for the now-expired Diners Club 10% off.
Hat tip to Samir.
United made a move towards shoring up its significant weakness in Latin America via an announced codeshare with TACA. Necessary approvals are expected in the second quarter of the year. Not a replacement for Mexicana dropping out of the Star Alliance, but sorely needed.
Register for Starwood Preferred Business with promotion code PBAN and you’ll receive 3000 bonus Starwood points with your first stay by April 30.
Plus your company earns a point for every (“eligible”) dollar spent with Starwood hotels on top of regular Starwood points earned by an individual.
And since in this free agent nation we’re really just consultants anyway, we’ve all got personal companies…
Normally you have to choose between hotel points and miles when staying at a Hyatt. And normally I suggest that the hotel points have more value, except on inexpensive single-night stays where fixed-mileage earning can be more lucrative.
Hyatt has a new promo through May 31 where you can earn 1000 bonus Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles per night on top of the usual 500 miles per stay. Registration is required.
AsiaMiles are a great currency to collect outside of your normal frequent flyer program. Their distance-based partner awards have some real sweetspots, e.g. 60,000 AsiaMiles gets a business class ticket on British Airways from the East Coast of the U.S. to most points in Europe.
There are about a dozen free iTunes to be had by watching a series of interactive financial tutorials from Penn State Federal.
Some are longer than others and they’re quite rudimentary but if you want to click through learning about debit cards and how to buy a used car you can get some free music.
Finally purchased a small wireless router for travel. It wasn’t expensive, less than $50 and there was a rebate to boot. I can’t explain why I didn’t have one before now.
I’m sick and tired of wired high-speed internet in hotel rooms. I understand that it was expensive to install, but adding wireless shouldn’t be a particularly large capital investment.
Inexplicably, some brand new construction even goes wired, which I have a hard time understasnding.
This may sound like the smallest of concerns, and I can hear all of the worlds smallest violins playing “My Heart Bleeds for You” amongst my readers when I say this, but I can’t even express the frustration of finding myself in a corner suite at the Westin Diplomat, looking out of the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, and being tied to the desk to get work done instead of being able to pound away on the laptop sitting out on the balcony.
Last weekend at the W in Los Angeles finally pushed me over the top. I couldn’t reach either of comfy couches in the living room, let alone work in the bedroom. I suppose I could have bought the extension cord from the minibar, but that would have cost almost as much as the router!
I have a hard time thinking of a better inexpensive investment in improving the travel experience.
Tyler Cowen offers some good advice about Paris.
He says that Pierre Gagnaire is better than Taillevent, which I have a hard time accepting for purely emotional and irrational historical reasons (the same logic by which I retain an attachment to the Fairmont in San Francisco when there are several objectively better properties in the city). I keep a Taillevant vintage chart pinned to the cork board on my office wall.
I find the best of Paris to be extremely overpriced yet strangely an outstanding value. It’s home to the best city hotel in the world. (I can’t afford it, but it’s worth every penny. Alas, for such luxury I must confine myself to the better properties in Hong Kong or ever Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.)
Perhaps the best advice:
8. Go into a good cheese shop and spend $40. Focus on the weirder cheeses. Buy the non-pasteurized delights. Sit down with a baguette and some fruit as well, finishing the meal with small squares of outrageously priced dark chocolate. Throw in a sausage for good measure. Keep the cheese leftovers in your room at night and eat them for breakfast the next day. And the day after that. See how many days they will keep, you will be surprised.
There’s a new co-branded Marriott Visa with some pretty good benefits for folks who regularly stay at Marriott Properties.
The 15,000 bonus points with first purchase is pretty standard.
So is a free night certificate that comes with the card — though in the past I believe the certificate was good on properties up through category 4 and this says good through category 5. This card comes with the free night certificate once a year rather than just when first getting the card.
The biggest changes with this card are in the points-earning structure and the way that elite status comes with the card.
Previously holders of a Marriott Visa got Silver status for their first year of cardmembership. Now you get that status — at least — as long as you have the card. And more importantly for those seeking higher levels of status, the card doesn’t get you just silver. It gets you nights towards whatever status you’re working towards. When you get the card it only takes 60 nights for Platinum status and 35 for Gold status.
This is a pretty innovative benefit, and extends the trend towards counting activity with a co-branded credit card in factoring elite status — recognizing the important role that financial services companies play in travel provider bottom lines.
The card has a $65 annual fee, though, which is pricey for a hotel card.
Update: Don points out that the stay certificate you get when signing up for the card is good at category 1-4 properties, and that the certificate you get at renewal is good at category 1-5 properties.
Alaska Airlines is pulling out of the Seattle-Washington Dulles market on June 4.
This is a bummer because the Dulles outbound was the only way to connect in Seattle to the last Juneau non-stop of the day. DC-Juneau will now require a double-connection. I know this probably doesn’t affect more than a handful of people in the world, but it’s still disappointing.
I am confused though about Alaska’s rationale, which includes both longer ground times to pad their schedules and improve reliability systemwide (which would imply lower aircraft utilizastion) and redeploying this aircraft on more profitable routes. It’s not clear to me that they can reasonably accomplish both.
I do suspect, though, that there are real cost savings to be had by shuttering a marginal station. They have only one Dulles flight now but have to retain the infrastructure (albeit outsourced) without very many seats to spread their fixed costs across.
At least there are three daily flights out of Reagan National and they have a monopoly on both routes serviced from that airport.
The Chicago Tribune‘s “What’s Your Problem” column comes up empty trying to help some Haitian aid workers who were forced to overnight in Miami and pick up hotel costs because of an American Airlines schedule change.
“It’s hard, because all of us keep putting our money in, and we’re like, man, this could go to a much better purpose,” Walsh said. “That would be a lot of X-rays and a lot of lab work.”
Wow, sick kids. And how do American’s PR geniuses respond to the newspaper?
“That’s just the way it is,” said Mary Frances Fagan. “That’s our policy.”
Doesn’t this article cost American more than the $450 in hotel costs?
But here’s something interesting buried in the piece:
If Capital One was the travel agent, I assume they were redeeming points accumulated with Capital One credit cards to pay for the flights.
Shouldn’t Capital One be taking some of the heat here? They said the change was fine instead of finding better flights for their customers.
Admittedly it isn’t easy to get from most cities to Port-au-Prince without an overnight. There are early morning flights from JFK, Montreal, and Miami. There’s a second morning Miami flight, but the earliest Chicago-Miami flight would generate a connection of just a couple minutes.
Still, one might route the aid workers from Chicago to Miami to Santo Domingo and then on to Port-au-Prince on Air Cairibes. That should avoid the overnight. At least that’s an option that a more charitable Capital One might make available, even if it’s a more expensive redemption for them.
And couldn’t the muckraking ‘fix your problem’ columnist just have had the paper cough up the $450? I mean, kids and x-rays are at stake after all.
Via Hotel Chatter, the London Telegraph carries a piece on where celebrities honeymoon.
Chains like One & Only Resorts and famous resorts like Sandy Lane are common. The point of the article, it seems, is how superstars and the super rich live beyond the rest of us. But comparable properties are available… for free… with enough miles and points. One & Only may not have a points program, but Marriott points can be used for Ritz-Carlton stays (and for that matter, so can Amtrak points).
And Starwood certainly has some high-end properties. While La Taha’a Private Island makes the list of resorts in the article, I’d actually argue that Bora Bora Nui, where I stayed on points in June, is superior. And the new St. Regis — opening this June — should blow it out of the water, so to speak.
While not on the honeymoon list, Cala di Volpe — famous for Tyco’s Dennis Kozlowski throwing a multimillion dollar birthday party — is available for half as many Starwood points as Bora Bora Nui. Of course, you have to be able to afford to pay for food in Porto Cervo for staying there to make sense…
More than savings on everyday travel, or the occasional upgrade, I think I love the miles and points game because it allows me to experience the kinds of places that I couldn’t ever afford on my own. I read articles like this one and realize that I live like the super wealthy though I’m decidedly not. And that feels pretty good.
Site59, the last minute travel package discounter, is offering $59 off on packages of $700 or more through April 30 with discount code SITE59GETAWAY.
Delta American Express card holders should try this link.
There’s a targeted ‘renewal bonus’ of 7500 miles. It’s not clear who or how many personal cards are eligible. I would have expected folks who are coming up on their renewal date to be the ones targeted — get 7500 miles a couple months after your card renews — but according to Flyertalk even someone with a brand new card was eligible.
It’s a free 7500 miles if you’re able to successfully register your card.
I spent Sunday night at the W Los Angeles in Westwood.
It’s a nice hotel and I had no problem getting an upgrade. All rooms are supposedly suites, but the standard room is a 350 square foot offering that they call a one room suite. To my mind that doesn’t qualify, so fortunately they offered me something that does.
It’s a W so the lobby is a hip lounge, though not too active on a Sunday night.
The pool area must be a scene most of the time, but the was unseasonably cold even for February so it was more or less deserted with only one person on a lounge chair and only one cabana occupied.
The W was guilty of one of my major hotel pet peeves. They didn’t do a turn down service. Information in the room says to call if you want it. I do want it, it’s a wonderful thing to come back to the room and have the stereo on a nice classical music station and perhaps a complimentary bottle of water by the bed. But I don’t like to call for it, I feel rather petty.
I’ve seen the notice to call for turndown service before. I’ve never called, but they’ve always done it anyway. Not here. Small issue, perhaps, but it’s those little things that add up to an overall experience.
The W was a decent enough place to stay, but too many small things gone wrong.
Speaking of high-speed internet, I’m beginning to be bothered by nicer hotels that claim to be Wired no less that don’t offer wireless connectivity in the guest rooms. (And as an aside, it’s my biggest complaint about the soon-to-open Westin Arlington Gateway.) A wireless router can be had free after rebate often enough, how hard can this be? And with wired internet, why can’t they offer a decent-sized cord? (Though there’s an extension cord for sale in the minibar. Heh.)
I’m going to finally break down and buy a small router for travel. I can’t believe I haven’t done so before now.
Breakfast in the restaurant was fairly good (though service somewhat indifferent, it took a long time to get the check and then it had items on it I neither ordered nor received).
The real bright spot was waking up at 5 am and calling down for coffee. They had a pot at my door within 5 minutes. They asked whether I wanted cream for the coffee, I told them half and half and soy milk and that’s what they brought me — almost instantly.
More photos after the break…
Read More…
Domestic first class is just about a (somewhat marginally) bigger seat. Once upon a time there was a nice meal, probably a steak option and maybe a shrimp appetizer, and a made-to-order ice cream sundae to look forward to. Now you’re lucky if the food resembles the worst of what used to be served in coach.
But not all domestic premium products are equal.
I’d give Continental the nod for domestic food service, with United still occasionally doing a decent job under admittedly difficult financial circumstances (and additional kudos for their transcon p.s. service between JFK and both San Francisco and Los Angeles).
United gets my overall nod for domestic premium offerings simply because of the amount of widebodies flying within the United States. And with the exception of the domestic configured 767-300s and a handful of domestic 777s, those widebodies come configured with international three-class cabins. So a nice business class seat comes with the upgrade. The domestic widebodies are a shadow of their former offerings, to be sure. You won’t see 747s flying out of Dulles out to California anymore. Once upon a time there was even a 747 doing a Saturday repositioning run between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
But that’s probably it for the positives.
Northwest is dreadful. In general that bigger seat yields the tightest pitch in the industry. Northwest’s first class often offers no more than United’s economy plus product. Expect 38 to 40 inches from seat back to seat back? Try 35. Something akin to Mexicana’s domestic A320s, which I’d never thought could be equaled outside of intra-European business class.
Their food is basic but truly not terrible. Especially compared to American. In addition to ratty planes with scratches on the seatbacks and armrests (gotta love those MD80s) you can expect pizzas like the Schwann truck used to deliver to be reheated in a microwave.
I’m sitting in 3F on an Alaska Airlines flight between Los Angeles and Washington-Reagan as I write this. Why row 3? Because I’ve gotten tired of air marshalls bumping me out of my row 2 aisle seat that I might as well do the favor for them, and at least this way I’m ensured of an aisle that isn’t the bulkhead.
There’s nothing wrong with the airline for short hops up and down the West Coast, though their on-time and baggage success rates have been problematic on the flights I’ve been on with them over the past year. But 737s really are a bit rough for transcon flying, especially in relatively uncomfortable seats.
It’s the luck of the draw, but I had one of the worst flight attendants I’ve experienced on my outbound flight. I couldn’t get a glass of water no matter how hard I tried (and I’m very friendly and polite – honest). This time it’s better.
Meal service also seemed improved (and served in courses!) over the several Alaska transcons I flew last year. It’s still a shadow of what one used to expect, but I could deal with it.
Dig-E-Players are not a replacement for a real inflight entertainment system. Sure they’re video on demand but they’re also bulky… And the video selections are the same for each direction across the country (unless your flights happen to straddle the dates for a changeover). Oh well, at least they offer inflight entertainment. Try to get that on Northwest…
A long-time issue for Alaska frequent flyers has been that the culture allows people in coach to use the first class lavatory. Alaska seemed to recognize this as a problem, and I’m sure the see-through screens between first and coach help, but they don’t help very much — and are undermined by the flight attendants. On my outbound flight an announcement was made to only use the restrooms in your ticketed cabin, and not to queue up for the first class lavatory in the galley — instead to wait in your seat or at row six until it’s free.
Finally, there just aren’t enough first class seats to go around. I’m thankful that they offer any, a couple of years ago the carrier considered doing away with first class. But until they introduce a frequent flyer level above “MVP Gold” (which is just too easy to obtain for a top tier on an airline with partnerships and flying transcons) there will be too much competition for too few premium seats.
To the best of my recollection I haven’t ever set foot on America West metal, but stories like this one make me dread the prospect.
Finally, it’s been two years since I’ve flown USAirways on two cabin equipment. My general impression was of dirty planes (the video monitor at my seat in the international-configured Airbus I flew back from San Juan in got grease all over my pants) and very basic meals. I know that the poor quality of the food — sometimes worse than what was offered for sale in back — and the use of plasticware has been a source of contention over at Flyertalk.
United still wins in my book, offering the best seats on their widebodies and a reasonable number of premium seats as well as the occasionally decent meal. The p.s. flights and regional jets with first class and economy-plus seats are also moving them in the right direction.
And while I abhor Continental’s miserly frequent flyer program, their in-flight experience is a notch above most of their competitors.
Sunday night I went to dinner at Grace in Los Angeles, which was recommended by several Flyertalk.com members.
I liked the decor and atmosphere. It felt a bit like walking out of one W (in Westwood where I was staying) and into another (the restaurant) with the color scheme — especially in the back dining room — and music.
The food was generally good, though whatever seasoning they coated my foie gras with was burnt slightly. It took almost half an hour for my entree to come out after my appetizer was cleared. And one of the stranger things I’ve seen lately, they came around to brush crumbs off the table a couple of times during the night… and brushed them right onto the floor. That’s a first for me at an upscale U.S. restaurant. I’ve only seen crumbs brushed onto a tray, or occasionally into a waiter’s hands; never intentionally onto the floor. Odd.
Not a perfect dining experience by any means but still enjoyable. Appetizers mostly $14-20, entrees $24-35, dessert $9 (except cheese is more… very extensive cheese offering).
Valet parking was prompt, they kept my car right up front, either because of my tip on the way in the door or because I had rented a flashy convertible.
Airlines are generally anxious to poach the business of competing carriers’ elite members. As a result, many are willing to match the status that one has in a program with like status in their own loyalty scheme.
Usually this is an unpublished, unmentioned benefit. However, USAirways has the process on its website.
That USAirways is willing to do this comes as no surprise. It’s mentioned, along with several other carriers, in a thread I created at Flyertalk.com called The Status Match Master Thread. But it’s interesting that the information is available on its website.
Looks like ebates dropped down to a 2% rebate on Priceline bids sometime over the past few days. But Fatwallet has bumped its rebate up to 3%, so for the moment that appears to be the preferred portal for Priceline bids.
Can’t believe that the penny rate is still available at the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket. But it does seem that it’s currently bookable, these things don’t usually last so long.
The Holiday Inn Resort Phuket has THB0.01 rates available for a standard room. That’s basically ‘free’. Rate appears to be available beginning May 1 through the end of October, 2006.
Property seems very well regarded for a Holiday Inn.
You can find the rate at the Holiday Inn website.
As always, your mileage may vary on whether the hotel honors this. So don’t book any non-refundable airfare until we learn for sure. Related Flyertalk.com thread is here.
Update 2:26pm Eastern: The rate is still available. It is also bookable at Travelocity. Some rates are prepaid, others are not, in either case there’s not a huge change of this being honored in my view but it might be.
One approach would be to make prepaid reservations at both sites.
Additionally, the online booking guarantee on the Holiday Inn website promises that the hotel will pay for your first night’s lodging at another comparable property if it cannot honor your booking. One suggestion on Flyertalk was to make several consecutive one-night reservations.
