I’ve written before about how to deal with the ‘worst case scenario’ of having your frequent flyer account locked for suspected fraud. There are times, though, that even I’m vexed. Airlines and hotel programs see ‘loyalty program fraud’ as a bigger issue than ever before — whether it’s simply breaking the rules of a program […]
The post When Frequent Flyer Fraud Units Go Off the Rails appeared first on View from the Wing.
I find Larry David to be one of the funniest guys out there, and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is possibly my favorite sitcom of all times.
Larry David was on Letterman recently to discuss his new gig on Broadway. He's living in hotels during that time, and has some pretty funny commentary on it. Check it out:
The post Larry David Chimes In On Living In Hotels appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
Modern airlines are really transportation system, and part financial trading firm. And sometimes they’re more of the latter than the former. Since fuel is a huge part of the cost structure of an airline, and one that’s highly variable, one can make the case for locking in a price. But that’s another way of saying […]
The post Airlines Are Really Financial Trading Firms Taking Big Risks in Commodities Markets appeared first on View from the Wing.
One of the most intriguing travel stories of last year was about the Canadian guy who broke up with his girlfriend after having booked a round the world trip, so he set out to find another girl with the same name to take on the trip with him.
Amazingly enough he found someone with the same name to take on the trip, and she was reasonably attractive and young. Apparently I'm just doing life wrong, or need to date people with more generic names (or for that matter date at all, but that's a different story altogether).
Of course when a guy just broke up with his girlfriend and is looking for another girl to take on a round the world trip with him, most would assume it's intended to be at least somewhat romantic. So what made the story even more interesting is that the girl he decided to take on the trip had a "serious boyfriend."
The post So, How Was Elizabeth Gallagher’s Round The World Trip? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
News and notes from around the interweb: How much Hyatt Gold Passport reimburses hotels for award nights Etihad won’t make their Dallas – Abu Dhabi flight daily, after all. Lots of customers will need re-accommodation. Well, probably not lots..since this wasn’t supposed to happen until April anyway, and it it was lots they probably wouldn’t […]
The post How the Obama Administration Is Pretending Cuba Travel Ban Doesn’t Exist and the $1.6m Southwest Tarmac Delay Fine is a Fake appeared first on View from the Wing.
I booked the Park Hyatt Melbourne using Points + Cash for our two night stay. The Park Hyatt is a Category 5 property, making the cost 10,000 Gold Passport points plus $125 per night. Hyatt allows Diamond Suite Night Awards to be applied on Points + Cash bookings, so I redeemed one of those to confirm a Park Suite for our stay.
We took a taxi from the airport to the Park Hyatt, which took a bit over 20 minutes.
The Park Hyatt has a great location right near the heart of Melbourne. The exterior is gorgeous, as feels residential.
The lobby is quite "grand," with large pillars, a two-floor atrium, and dark finishes. It really feels more like a Grand Hyatt than a Park Hyatt, which, on second thought, is the case throughout the hotel.
The post Review: Park Hyatt Melbourne appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
Late last year Marriott was fined $600,000 by the FCC for using wifi blocking technology at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Obviously hotels would love to be able to prevent guests from bringing their own wifi, so that they can charge exorbitant amounts for it, though they also don't own the airwaves, so don't really have the right to do that.
In my opinion the worst part wasn't even what Marriott did initially, but rather how they tried to justify it, claiming they were doing nothing wrong, and were just trying to protect their customers:
"Marriott says it did nothing wrong and it’s the FCC’s policies that need changing.
'Marriott has a strong interest in ensuring that when our guests use our Wi-Fi service, they will be protected from rogue wireless hotspots that can cause degraded service, insidious cyber-attacks and identity theft,' Jeff Flaherty, a company spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement."
The post Marriott Won’t Try To Block Guest Wifi appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
Most of the travel I write about is pretty glamorous, at as far as flying goes. But that’s not what most of my travel is like. It’s just most of the travel that’s worth talking about. The truth is more like this: My so-called travel life. In fact, I’ve even been flying a lot of […]
The post Truth Told, My Travel Isn’t All Unicorns and Rainbows appeared first on View from the Wing.
I receive compensation for many links on this blog. You don’t have to use these links, but I am grateful to you if you do. American Express, Citibank, Chase, and other banks are advertising partners of this site. I do not write about all credit cards that are available — instead focusing on miles, points, […]
The post I Just Pocketed $600 Thanks to American Express. Here’s How. appeared first on View from the Wing.
Yesterday I wrote a post entitled "Are Emirates First Class Redemptions Using Alaska Miles Going Away?"
As I explained in the post, Alaska Mileage Plan members don't seem to have access to any first class award availability on Emirates for travel on/after March 28, 2015. An Alaska spokesperson confirmed to me that there was no blocking that they knew of.
Personally, I'm fairly convinced this isn't a coincidence, and that something will be changing with the arrangement between Alaska and Emirates.
For just about as long as Alaska and Emirates have had a reciprocal agreement, there has been a discrepancy in availability. Basically in many cases Alaska Mileage Plan members have access to one fewer first class award seat than Emirates makes available to their own Skywards members.
The post How To Redeem Alaska Miles For Emirates First Class After March appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
I've written extensively about Etihad's US Pre-Clearance facility in Abu Dhabi, whereby you clear US immigration before even boarding your flight to the US.
When the facility first launched it was a mess, though over time they've improved it substantially, and now it actually seems to function quite well.
On top of that, keep in mind that Etihad's new premium lounge in Terminal 3 is located right by the entrance to the Pre-Clearance facility, so that's pretty convenient.
Anyway, Etihad has two banks of flights to the US -- a majority of their flights leave mid-morning, while they also have two flights that leave very late at night/early in the morning.
The post All US-Bound Etihad Flights Now Use Pre-Clearance Facility appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
We know now that it will be named Bourdain Market and is projected to open this year. I’m skeptical on the opening date, since they haven’t even confirmed the location though it’s believed to be 3 World Trade Center, a location that suggests to me opening might not come quickly. They skyscraper component of the […]
The post New Leaks About Anthony Bourdain’s New York Hawker Center Set to Open Soon appeared first on View from the Wing.
Through January 31, 2015, Hyatt Gold Passport is offering a 40% bonus on the purchase of points to those that purchased Gold Passport points in 2014.
If you max out the promotion and purchase 55,000 points you'd receive a total of 77,000 Gold Passport points. That would cost you $1,320, which is a rate of ~1.71 cents per Gold Passport point.
How does this stack up to Hyatt's past promotions on the purchase of points?
The post 40% Bonus On Purchased Hyatt Points (Targeted) appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
