View from the Wing

Avis is offering 1000 bonus miles through the end of the year with several mileage programs:

• American
• British Airways
• Continental
• Delta
• Northwest
• United
• USAirways

Award travel on United’s new Washington Dulles-Tokyo flight is only 45,000 Mileage Plus miles in coach between October 28, 2006 and March 31, 2007. You can start from other cities, but need to connect to and from the Dulles flight.

(That tip to Flyertalk member Boazs.)

The traditional outstanding offer for the American Airlines Mastercard is 20,000 bonus points with first purchase and fee waived the first year. I guess too many people were cancelling the card before the fee hit, because there’s a new offer that ups the ante — 20,000 bonus points with first purchase, fee waived the first year, and 5000 more points after a year.

Strictly speaking I don’t know when the 5000 additional points will post, perhaps you’ll have already paid the annual fee or perhaps it’s still within the timeframe that you can cancel without owing the fee (even if the $85 has shown up on your credit card statement already). Either way, the offer is clearly aimed at getting folks to keep the card through the first year’s renewal.

5000 points for $85 may or may not be your bag, but an interesting offer nonetheless and the current best of class for the card as far as I’m concerned.

Amtrak is offering double points on train travel through December 16 (excluding November 21 - 28). Registration is required.

From Free Frequent Flyer Miles:

Continental Airlines OnePass members who have not created a OnePass Dining Login ID can earn 1,000 bonus miles for doing so here October 1 - December 31, 2006. It appears that you don’t actually have to dine to get the miles

If you stay 5 consecutive nights at am InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, or Holiday Inn Express in the U.S, Canada or Mexico for 5 consecutive nights or more through December 31, 2006 you can earn 10,000 bonus Delta miles.

Not bad.

Registration is required and you have to select Delta miles as your earning preference in your Priority Club profile.

I’m quoted in Christopher Elliott’s New York Times article today, though I’m not in it saying anything particularly remarkable.

Don’t you just hate it when this happens?

Hyatt is offer 2500 bonus points with your first stay by November 30 as a new member when signing up via a special offer.

(Hat tip to Free Frequent Flyer Miles.)

Via Free Frequent Flyer Miles, Delta is offering 250 free miles for answering a one question survey.

The Hilton American Express comes with an offer of 10,000 points with first purchase, 2500 bonus points for each of your first four Hilton stays charged to the card, and 30,000 points for spending $5000 on the card by March 31, 2007.

As revealed on Flyertalk, United Mileage Plus members booking business class transatlantic or transpacific award flights can only be booked in coach on Singapore connecting segments.

S*MPI/STAR-AWARD RULES.R:

**NOTE: X/I/O IS NOT OFFERED ON ALL ROUTES.

FOR SQ BUSINESS CLASS AWARDS WITH CONNECTIONS/STOPOVERS

TO/FROM A TRANSOCEANIC FLIGHT BOOK *I* CLASS FOR TRANSOCEANIC

FLIGHT ACROSS THE ATLANTIC/PACIFIC AND *X* FOR ONWARD FLT

EXAMPLE - SQ BUSINESS CLASS AWARD LAXDPS

BOOK *I* LAX-SIN AND *X* SIN-DPS

SQ AWARDS THAT DO NOT INVOLVE A TRANSOCEANIC

SECTOR USE *I* FOR ALL SECTORS INCLUDING 2 CABIN AIRCRAFT

Lesson is that if you fly Singapore on a business award you’ll want your onward connection on another Star carrier in order to remain in business.

I’ve been meaning to blog this but Upgrade Travel beats me to the punch: United is no longer allowing its partner Star Alliance Gold members to access economy plus seating (they’re not allowing full fare passengers access to these seats either, which is bizarre). Now economy plus is available only to United elites and those who ‘buy up’ at the airport.

Economy plus is the same seat as coach with no additional services, just a few extra inches of legroom. It isn’t “premium economy” as the rest of the world understands it. But United sees the ability, presumably, to upcharge. Doesn’t make me happy one bit, even though it’s a seemingly small change.

I doubt this will live up to the Thai government’s expectations (I don’t see a 20% increase in connecting traffic through Bangkok), but it’s still an interesting development that the new Suvarnabhumi Airport includes a lounge for economy passangers — not just lounges for business and first. I’m not sure what the value of a lounge where you’re supposed to get away from the masses is. A lounge for everyone is just the main terminal, isn’t it? So there must be more to the story. But at least the list of available amenities is impressive.

The lounge, he said, would include televised entertainment such as films, music videos, sports, documentaries and world news, in addition to Internet services.


Passengers will also have a rest area that includes plenty of seating and showers in 18,000 square metres of space.


Apart from the economy class lounge, the airline will offer first-class and business-class passengers a traditional

Regular readers of this blog know that I’m not a fan of Continental Onepass.

The only thing it has going for it is airline partners where you occasionally have a chance to redeem miles. Alaska Airlines has generally good award availability. They’re in Skyteam, which opens up plenty of airlines, but almost across-the-board Skyteam members offer poor award chances.

Continental is in my experience terrible at making seats available at the ‘normal’ mileage requirements on most routes and best flight times, and this is especially true in premium classes of service. So when collecting Continental miles, realize that they aren’t worth as much as American miles, for instance.

(Though you can transfer Onepass miles to Amtrak, and from Amtrak to Hilton, and eventually get something for your points — though Amtrak places a limit for their non-elite members of 25,000 points transferred out of a Guest Rewards account each calendar year.)

Still, there are times it might make sense to accumulate a few Continental miles.

Back in 2000 there were some megabonuses, I vaugely recall some folks earning 100,000 or more miles on a single roundtrip flight.

And then there are offers like this one — through October 2nd when you register and get a Continental Mastercard you’ll receive 15,000 bonus miles with first purchase and double miles on all spending through the end of the year. That’s at least three full months of double miles.

So if you’re a big spender this could be worth it. After all, even when regular-priced awards aren’t available you can spend additional miles to buy your way out of capacity controls.

This is not a ‘fee waived the first year’ offer like you frequently find with American and United credit cards, but may work for some folks.

Why am I not surprised this is being discussed on Flyeralk? It isn’t miles and points, but it is getting the most for your buck at an upscale merchant.

The Seattle Times reports on Starbucks patrons buying less expensive drinks and upgrading themselves at the condiments counter.

If someone pays $2 for espresso, then fills half the cup with milk at the condiment bar, is that stealing?



People are saving $1 to $2 a cup — sometimes more, if they use half-and-half or get extra shots — with creative ordering from the complicated menus of the coffee world.

…

There are lots of ways to save. In one scenario, using Starbucks pricing in downtown Seattle, customers pay $2.05 before tax for three shots of espresso over ice. The same beverage with milk — also known as an iced latte with extra espresso — would cost $3.50 before tax.

One Flyertalk commenter suggests:

1. Ordering a hot chocolate with a shot of espresso. Cheaper than a mocha and exactly the same thing.



2. Ordering a couple shots off espresso and doctoring it up with large amounts of sugar and half/half at the condiments bar.



3. Buying their coffee of the day, throwing it in the freezer downstairs and then pouring it over ice later. (*bucks charges almost a dollar more for “iced” coffee.)

(Actually, it strikes me this discussion is more up the alley for the folks at Fatwallet.com, though I assume — without my actually checking! — that it’s being discussed there as well…)

… but they’re all in really poor taste, I should just let this go unremarked on:

An Amtrak passenger traveling with her ailing father waited nearly 23 hours and about 1,000 miles to tell authorities he had died so she could avoid the cost of shipping the body home, police said.



The train had reached Chicago when Daniel Stepanovich’s daughter told officials that he had died in a sleeper car on Sunday evening, about the time the train was pulling into Glenwood Springs, Colo., said Chicago Police spokeswoman Jo Ann Taylor.

…

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said he couldn’t recall a situation in which a passenger’s death went unreported for so long.

Not really my favorite Vegas property by a long-stretch, but admittedly Aladdin has a nice location and a good buffet. As discussed on Flyertalk, the Aladdin (’soon to be Planet Hollywood’) is offering room rates starting at $49 with

$10 in FREE SLOT PLAY or TABLE GAME MATCH PLAY

2-FOR-1 BREAKFAST OR LUNCH BUFFET

(Offer valid Monday-Thursday only)

2 FREE SHOW TICKETS to a performance in the V Theater (Based on availability)

Bookable online here.

Nice thing is these rates qualify for Starwood stay credit and points, and elite benefits apply.

Via the MilesLink Newsletter, through October 31st transfers from American Express Membership Rewards to Aeromexico Club Premier receive 25% bonus miles.

British Airways has an interesting sale running from the U.S. to the U.K. (You may need to be logged into a British Airways Executive Club account to see the page.)

Coach (”World Traveller”) from several cities for less than $400 roundtrip — okay, so far so good, this is frequently available in late October, November, and December (though the price cutting starts early this year).

But perhaps more interestingly, World Traveller Plus — their premium economy product, think something like U.S. domestic first class — is available for about $585 roundtrip. That’s an upgrade that seems worth it to me.

I’d guess the hassles flying in and out of London are affecting BA’s bookings…