Club Carlson Conundrum: Award, Revenue, Or Mix?

Ben recently wrote about the Q1 2015 Club Carlson Extend Your Stay (EYS) promotion where you can earn 30,000 bonus points for a 3+ night stay or 15,000 bonus points for a 2-night stay. Some are calling it the best hotel promotion of the first quarter. It caused me to break out the spreadsheet to determine how best to play this.

I usually don't hesitate to spend Club Carlson points since my family is blessed with six figure balances in the program after having capitalized on some past promotions. My wife and have the Club Carlson Visa card, so the points effectively go twice as far. But this promotion has the potential to be lucrative enough such that I could choose to spend some money. Scary, I know.

The decision in question involves our upcoming trip to Copenhagen. We considered two Radisson properties, Blu Royal and Blu Scandinavia. We had previously settled on Blu Scandinavia so I will use those numbers for my analysis.

The post Club Carlson Conundrum: Award, Revenue, Or Mix? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/01/21/club-carlson-conundrum-award-revenue-mix/

Europe's Busiest Airport Is Still Heathrow, But Istanbul Is Gaining Ground

Istanbul's Ataturk Airport kicked Amsterdam Airport Schiphol down to fifth place in 2014.



from Travel Feedly http://www.ibtimes.com/europes-busiest-airport-still-heathrow-istanbul-gaining-ground-1790416

36 Hours: What to Do in Denver

Bagels, beignets, a history museum and a botanic garden are unexpected highlights in the mile-high city.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/428f4706/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A150C0A10C250Ctravel0Cwhat0Eto0Edo0Ein0Edenver0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

An Airline Transfer Partner Threatens to Shut Down Accounts for Transferring In Points!

Last week I wrote about a frequent flyer program’s fraud department gone off the rails. Air France KLM’s Flying Blue — an American Express and Citibank transfer partner — informed an award booking client that their award booking to Europe had been cancelled, their account suspended, and miles confiscated. They were accused of purchasing miles […]

The post An Airline Transfer Partner Threatens to Shut Down Accounts for Transferring In Points! appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/01/21/airline-transfer-partner-threatens-shut-accounts-transferring-points/

#NGTRadar: Travel Lately

Travel Lately—a roundup of the best new dispatches from the travel blogosphere—is a regular feature on Intelligent Travel every other Wednesday. You can play, too. Follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTravel and tag your favorite travel stories #NGTRadar to help us find the crème de la crème on the Web.



from Intelligent Travel http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/21/ngtradar-travel-lately-45/

Take A Chopper To New York Airports In Just Six Minutes

Gotham Air lets New Yorkers take a chopper to JFK or Newark airports in just six minutes.



from Travel Feedly http://www.ibtimes.com/new-company-gotham-air-offers-helicopter-rides-manhattan-new-york-area-airports-1790038

10 things waiters do when they're no

"When glasses with hard water stains or leftover long-wear lipstick end up affecting how much your tip will be, you spend a lot of time making sure those suckers are as shiny as Beyonce's weave. "



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/life/10-things-waiters-theyre-work/

Inside one of the world's weirdest-looking planes

CNN's Rosie Tomkins explores the the striking Airbus Beluga which transports components of Airbus aircrafts around the world.

from CNN.com - Travel http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/business/2015/01/16/spc-business-traveller-airbus-beluga.cnn.html

In the footsteps of Churchill

He may have died half a century ago, but Winston Churchill, Britain's famous leader, is still a formidable presence in the country he led to World War II victory.

from CNN.com - Travel http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/travel/churchill-britain/index.html

Gotham Air’s New $99 Helicopter Between Manhattan And JFK/EWR

It looks like a new crowdsourced helicopter service is just around the corner in New York City.

Gotham Air seems to want to be the Uber equivalent of NYC helicopter transfers, in that they're basically facilitating helicopter trips through an alliance with Helicopter Flight Services, who have a fleet of helicopters. Here's the disclaimer on their site:

"Gotham Air is not a direct air carrier but rather provides technology and information services enabling consumers to obtain aircraft charter services from FAA certified and DOT registered air carriers who exercise operational control over all flights."

The post Gotham Air’s New $99 Helicopter Between Manhattan And JFK/EWR appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/01/21/gotham-airs-new-99-helicopter-manhattan-jfkewr/

Discounted Helicopter Rides to/from New York Airports, Pilot Contracts Meet Obamacare, and Buy Your Marriott Status

News and notes from around the interweb: New crowd source app for helicopter rides to and from the 3 New York area airports. First ride is $99. Hermes interiors, hors d’oeuvres from Bouchon Bakery. Not the worst idea at the first ride price for JFK and Newark. The Affordable Care Act is a sore point […]

The post Discounted Helicopter Rides to/from New York Airports, Pilot Contracts Meet Obamacare, and Buy Your Marriott Status appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/01/21/discounted-helicopter-rides-tofrom-new-york-airports-pilot-contracts-meet-obamacare-buy-marriott-status/

How to upgrade your travel marketing campaigns to first class

How can travel and hospitality marketers take their campaigns from transactions to relationships that drive real revenue? Many customers still love the ...



from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/upgrade-travel-marketing-campaigns-first-class/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=upgrade-travel-marketing-campaigns-first-class

Phrases only Venezuelans understand

Someone make a bad decision? Tell them to go and cry in a valley.



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/11-phrases-venezuelans-understand/

6 weird things to eat in Argentina

Criadillas are 'Rocky Mountain Oysters,' or, to be more straightforward, bull testicles. But don’t knock bull testicles until you’ve tried bull testicles.



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/nights/6-weird-things-can-eat-argentina-actually-really-good/

International Real Estate: Real Estate in Panama

Panama’s housing market is doing well, according to agents, with a steady influx of foreign buyers looking for high-end properties, many of them from the United States.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/428e4f0c/sc/22/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A150C0A10C220Cgreathomesanddestinations0Creal0Eestate0Ein0Epanama0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm