First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
One of the few positive aspects of the controversial new Delta SkyMiles 2015 program is that one way award tickets are now permitted for half the cost of a roundtrip. Previously Delta charged the same number of miles for a roundtrip award as for a one way.
Now, the dark side of this change is that as of 2015 Delta SkyMiles also eliminated stopovers on awards. Previously you were allowed one stopover on a roundtrip, while now you're not allowed any stopovers on award tickets.
The post Delta SkyMiles One Way Awards Now Bookable appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
On December 22, US Airways eliminated their temporary elite status offer that allowed you to fly a lot in a short period of time to keep elite status. A couple of months ago I said that if I were running the program I would end it come December. I assumed that had to happen months […]
The post US Airways Elites “Special Dividend” Now Appears to Gift a Full Year of Elite Status Instead of 90 Days appeared first on View from the Wing.
Starwood has already pulled the details off of their website, since they apparently didn’t want to make their first promotion of 2015 public yet. But — hat tip to Mommy Points — between January 5 and April 15 you will earn: Double points on stays of 2 or more nights 1000 bonus points for every […]
The post Starwood’s First Quarter Promotion Leaked Early! appeared first on View from the Wing.
News and notes from around the interweb: TSA: (T)hong (S)tealing (A)dministration? Of course, stealing ladies underwear from checked bags is one thing. Don’t wave them around like a prize. The first passenger to fly in Etihad’s ‘Residence’ onboard their A380 has written a trip report. (HT: Lucky) Court rules TripAdvisor doesn’t have to turn over […]
The post The First Etihad ‘Residence’ Trip Report, TSA Stealing Underwear, and Lawsuit Against a Bad TripAdvisor Review Thrown Out appeared first on View from the Wing.
An American Airlines 767 blew all 4 right main gear tires on landing at Rio yesterday morning. The aircraft didn’t stop — it taxied to the gate with smoke coming from those tires. The aircraft’s next flight, American 974 to New York JFK, was cancelled. There’s quick video of the plane taxiing. (HT: World Airline […]
The post Watch This American Airlines Dallas – Rio Flight Taxi Without Tires! appeared first on View from the Wing.
I find one of the biggest mistakes that people make in this hobby is that they over diversify their points.
I get emails all the time from people that saying "I have half a million miles and I can't even get a business class ticket to Europe with them." Then they provide me with a breakdown of their points balances, and as it turns out they have fewer than 50,000 points per account spread across a dozen programs.
But there's also something to be said for under diversifying. For example, I'd rather have 500,000 miles with a program in each of the three major alliances than 1.5 million miles in one program, as I'd have a lot more flexibility when it comes time to redeem.
The post I Under Diversified My Points… Oops! appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
Tyler Cowen wonders whether the Shake Shack IPO means it is time to stop eat there? After an IPO, the equity share of the original creators — in this case Danny Meyer — is diluted. Meyer’s incentive to maintain quality standards and his personal brand name is weakened. The subsequent public shareholders are more likely […]
The post Why Restaurants in Airports Are So Bad (And Why You Should Stop Eating at Shake Shack) appeared first on View from the Wing.
One of the most compelling no annual fee credit cards is the Chase Freedom®, which offers 5% cash back on up to $1,500 of spend in rotating quarterly categories. As I wrote about in September, the fourth quarter bonus categories include Amazon, Zappos, and select department stores.
Anyway, today is the last day of the quarter, so if you haven't yet maxed out your fourth quarter bonus category, I'd seriously consider purchasing some Amazon gift cards with your Chase Freedom® today.
I think Amazon gift cards are as close to "good as cash" as gift cards get, given that Amazon sells just about everything.
The post Consider Buying Amazon Gift Cards Today appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
Via the Forward Cabin, Radpad, a service that offers both credit card and debit card payments for rent, offers a monthly check-cutting service to landlord that only charges a $4.95 fee when using a debit card. Your first month’s rent payment is free with a debit card. Then it’s $4.95 for up to a $5000 […]
The post A New Way to Earn Miles When Paying Your Rent appeared first on View from the Wing.
My suite at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur was vandalized..... and I had to clean it up!
We recently wrapped up a 4-day stay at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur. (Review coming soon.) On the second afternoon of our stay, we received a call from the manager of housekeeping informing us that there was a situation regarding the stool in our bathroom. He wanted to know if we were aware of the ink marks on the top of it. My wife replied that we were not, but said she would go to the bathroom to have a look. Yep, sure enough there were some ink marks on it. The manager said that his housecleaning crew had tried to remove the marks, but they were unsuccessful, and if they couldn't be removed, the stool would be unusable. He said he would be down to discuss the matter with us.
The post My Suite At The Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Was Vandalized!!! appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
Gilgal Garden is a wondrous little patch of land created by Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. in the mid-twentieth century. Hidden away at the center of a block behind houses and businesses, it contains 12 original sculptures, and over 70 stones engraved with Mormon scriptures, poems, and literary texts.
Child, a Mormon, spent nearly twenty years working on the garden, located on about a half-acre behind his home. The most arresting of his creations is a sphinx with the head of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Faith. However, the garden is filled with all kinds of strange carved images, such as grasshoppers and disembodied heads.
There is even a life-sized statue of Child himself. A visitor must walk a stone path to view these works of art. Each stone is engraved with biblical and literary quotes.
Business ExtrAA is the American Airlines small business program, where points are earned in parallel to AAdvantage miles. It’s an opportunity to double dip — you add your Business ExtrAA number to reservations and earn business points, while the traveler earns frequent flyer miles as usual. And then you redeem the points for travel, or […]
The post Ruh-Roh: Are American’s Business Awards Offline, Just As Points Are About to Expire? appeared first on View from the Wing.
