View From the Wing

« April 2004 | Main | June 2004 »

May 31, 2004

Free stuff

Free Maker's Mark golf balls, free coffee sample, and free condom sample, free oyster sauce, and free floaty pen.

And then there's free after rebate: TS1100 Spillproof 104-Key PS/2 Keyboard for $6 - $6 rebate, penny shipping and Air Duster (10 ounce can for $5 - $5 rebate, penny shipping.

Posted by gleff at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)

Sabre Reinvents its Architecture

A computer reservation system offers 79 million fares and 6 million schedules. It processes 1.2 million fare changes each day. Sabre alone processes 48 million transactions a day, including all shopping, pricing, and and availability queries.

ComputerWorld offers a glimpse into the challenges that Sabre faces in handling all of this computing at a reasonable cost.

In order to rein in escalating processing costs and offer customers more options, Sabre is completely overhauling the software used by airlines, travel agents and passengers to find and book flights. In stages, Sabre is replacing its old mainframe assembler code with modern languages running on cheap commodity computers and open systems, including Linux. ...

Three forces hugely increased the processing demands on Sabre systems over the years. After airfares were deregulated in 1979, travel agents began shopping based on both price and schedules, not just schedules. Then, in the late 1980s, travel agents began using PC-based automated search tools that continuously scanned Sabre databases for the lowest fares. Finally, in the mid-1990s, consumers on the Internet joined travel professionals in shopping for flights. Sabre's processing economics took an ugly turn as the "look-to-book" ratio soared. Looking for the best schedules and fares generates data-processing costs but no revenue; it isn't until someone books a flight that anyone makes money. ...

But, Murphy says, while the look-to-book ratio skyrocketed and pricing and scheduling options proliferated, three technological forces came to the rescue: Moore's Law, open systems and ubiquitous standards. Moore's Law -- which states that the amount of computing power available per dollar doubles every 18-24 months—enabled Sabre to assemble a scalable farm of powerful servers built around cheap commodity processors and huge memories....

And, he says, developers are getting 100% productivity gains because they are working in higher-level languages—Java and C++—and because the application architecture is so much easier to debug, change and enhance than the old mainframe assembler code.

Finally, airlines are getting the ability to put in new options and features quickly and cheaply. Last year, Sabre announced SabreSonic, a suite of services that enable airlines to tap into Sabre systems and databases in order to offer passengers new services, such as streamlined airport check-in.

"Changes are much easier to do, and much less expensive," says Gianni Marostica, president of Sabre Airline Solutions. "This allows us to implement things airlines think of on the fly."

"We have to be in an environment where our cost, two years from now, is half what it is today on a per-unit basis," Healy says. "The air-shopping problem will be more complex, there will be more Internet users and there will be more [users] internationally. The only way we can meet that demand is by riding Moore's Law."

Posted by gleff at 7:48 AM | Comments (0)

May 30, 2004

Weekday Vegas Deal at the Bellagio

The Bellagio is offering Sunday-Thursday rates from May 31-September 9:

Bellagio Suite $299/nt

Penthouse Suite $499/nt (Includes limo service, VIP check-in and fresh flowers in room)

Posted by gleff at 4:48 PM | Comments (0)

50% Off La Quinta Stays

Make reservations on the La Quinta website or call their reservations line at 1-800-531-5900 and use promotional code SWA50 for a 50% discount on La Quinta stays between now and March 31,2005.

The discount comes from a card sent out by Southwest Airlines with the following terms and conditions:

Offer is based upon availability and is valid on one paid stay only per customer. A stay is defined as one or more consecutive nights at the same property. Offer not valid with any other discount, promotion or with use of a free night certificate. With the discounted rate, Rapid Rewards members who are also La Quinta Returns members are able to receive 0.5 credits per qualifying stay.Not sure how they will limit anyone to one paid stay per customer, as the discount doesn't say you have to physically present the card at checkin to be eligible. This could be useful.

Posted by gleff at 3:53 PM | Comments (0)

United isn't the only one offering Washington, DC promos

Not to be left behind, Northwest is offering 2,500 bonus miles per roundtrip (earn up to 6 times) in and out of the three DC-area airports between June 15, 2004 and September 30, 2004. Registration is required.

Posted by gleff at 8:06 AM | Comments (0)

Crusing around for good shopping deals

And found this laptop for $700 including shipping and this DVD player for only $28.

Posted by gleff at 7:46 AM | Comments (0)

May 29, 2004

Free Pizza Hut Pizza

Posted by gleff at 2:37 PM | Comments (0)

Free $5 Gas Card from Choice Hotels

To the first 500 who sign up.

Posted by gleff at 2:35 PM | Comments (0)

Free TV Guide Subscription

While it lasts...

Several other magazines are also available free:

Posted by gleff at 2:33 PM | Comments (0)

What I Would Do If I Ran Independence Air's Marketing

United is bringing out the big guns in DC in anticipation of Independence Air's launch. They're running huge promos like their Round-the-World promo and 15,000 bonus miles. They're sending out e-mail hit pieces to their membership. And all Independence Air has done is complain to the government.

I walk into bars and hear people talking about United's round the world promo. It has an incredible aspirational value that gets average folks talking, and that's without my being in the conversation at all.

I wonder what Independence Air is paying to be the official airline of the Redskins. That'll get some notice, but it's pretty ephemeral.

They need to offer a clear value proposition and hammer that value proposition home.

Always low fares on brand new jets
The most flights out of Dulles, taking you where you want when you want

Then I'd add real changes to their frequent flyer program. I'd offer a redemption option for things like metro cards or dinner at local well-known restaurants. I'd make them a real hometown airline, since all of their flights so far begin or end at Dulles. I'd also give an online booking bonus to the person making travel arrangements, which isn't necessarily the traveler.

And I'd add elite status with an elite security line (desperately needed at Dulles), some sort of discount parking that makes valet service the same price as long-term parking, and complimentary lounge access. (They used to operate a free lounge for United 1Ks and Premier Executives.) This status would make members real "Dulles Elites." I'd tack on free drinks onboard and have flight attendants thank elites for their business on every flight. A little bit of recognition goes a long way. Oh, and I'd offer an elite status match to United's elites in the DC area.

I would advertise on the metro and in the Washington Post's "Express." I'd also give away the free Express paper in the boarding area. "Our Flights Are So Quick And Efficient You Wouldn't Have Time to Read the Whole Paper."

The James Carville voiceovers are pretty good, but I think there message is a bit off. And I'd do it on radio rather than TV... and have him be more in his own character, identify himself at the beginning of the ad rather than the end...

Posted by gleff at 7:52 AM | Comments (0)

Non-mileage earning credit cards

SmartMoney carries a piece on credit card rewards outside of the standard mileage-earning options.

The best one in the article seems to be the no annual fee MBNA Fidelity Investment Rewards Card offers a 1.5% rebate (up to $1500 per year) deposited into any Fidelity brokerage account.

Posted by gleff at 6:03 AM | Comments (0)

Hotel Amenities and Furnishings for Sale

Tyler Cowen writes that hotels have a fairly captive audience for consumer attention, and have found some success selling items in the room.

This is certainly true, and if you recall fondly the amenities of your hotel room you can shop online to purchase the items from your room at a Westin or at a W hotel.

Westin Hotels not only offers to sell you the bed from your room, but their signature "Heavenly Dog Bed" as well. There's even a bridal registry.

But the phenomenon of pricing items in a room also serves as a deterrent for guests to simply take the items. If the item is for sale, it isn't meant to be free. And since hotels usually charge a premium over what a consumer might pay elsewhere, the threat of seeing the item added to a hotel bill at checkout is further deterrence against swiping a bathrobe or clock. Holiday Inn turned this on its head by offering towel amnesty last summer.

Posted by gleff at 4:58 AM | Comments (0)

Decoding Priceline's Rating System

Frommer's points out that since Priceline has acquired Travelweb, the two sites will be integrating their hotel rating systems. It's not completely there yet, but useful to determine possible hotels that would come up on a successful bid.

Priceline and Travelweb are still working out some glitches in their system. For example, Travelweb rates the Four Points in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood as a 3-star hotel, while Priceline calls it a 2-star. Priceline's Brian Ek assured us that the ratings will soon be brought in line.

"If there's a discrepancy, I'd attribute it to updates not having completely worked their way through the two systems," he said. "Priceline taking ownership should address that as our folks proceed to integrate the two organizations."

So later this summer, if you want to know what Priceline considers, say, a 4-star hotel in Denver, you'll be able to go to www.travelweb.com, click on "Advanced Search" and ask for four-star hotels.

While that still won't help you divine exactly which hotel you'll get on Priceline, it'll be a useful bit of help for smart bidders.

(Hat tip to WillTravel)

Posted by gleff at 4:11 AM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2004

Launch of the AAdvantage Mall

American has launched an online shopping portal, AAdvantage Shopping.com, joining the ranks of existing shopping portals like those of:

This is only news because American is so late to the party, but they're certainly an important addition.

Inside Flyer ran a cover story in December about earning miles for online shopping.

Posted by gleff at 3:43 PM | Comments (0)

Cruise Fire Sale, $99 from Boston to Bermuda Departs Sunday

According to MSNBC,

Cruise Travel Outlet

Now, there are some downsides here. First off, you're going to have to pack quickly as you'll be boarding in less than two days, in Boston. Secondly, the price is a bit higher than $99 once you factor in all of the port charges and taxes—you'll actually end up paying $380. But this is still a seriously fine price for this nice ship (just recently stretched, she's added two more restaurants, a new casino and pool) and for pricey Bermuda. As well, your $380 could buy you an oceanview stateroom—they're giving away the best available cabins at this price. When we called, we were offerred a very large, oceanview room. We didn't take it so that you can, so hop to it!

MSNBC also notes that USAirways has Baltimore and Charlotte flights to the Bahamas for $160 roundtrip for travel through November 9th.

Posted by gleff at 3:39 PM | Comments (0)

Independence Air vs. United Turns Nasty, Turns to Government

Independence Air is filing a complaint with the Department of Transportation over United's email to its DC frequent flyers comparing Mileage Plus to iClub.

The complaint just causes me to roll my eyes. United lays out its logic in full detail, and the median frequent flyer -- to the extent they care -- is smart enough to understand the nuances.

Whining to government just makes me want to yell at Independence Air that they ought to grow up and compete. And if they don't like unfavorable publicity for their rewards program, maybe they need a better rewards program -- and then just explain the benefits to customers instead of trying to muzzle United.

Posted by gleff at 7:21 AM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2004

Are Delta miles safe?

Reader David writes:

I've heard about Delta's financial troubles, and for the first time heard them mention the "B" word.

Since I really concentrate on accumulating Delta FF miles, I was wondering what would happen to them if they went bankrupt -- heaven forbid.

What's happened historically in other airline bankrupcy situations. Any insight on that?

I wouldn't worry about your Delta miles. United and
USAirways recently went through Chapter 11 (United is still there) and their miles are still being put to good use.

I have no worries about United miles at all.

USAirways miles are a somewhat different story -- they may have to re-enter bankruptcy, and their future as an independent carrier is a bit murkier. Even so, all hope is not lost there, and USAirways is in alot more trouble than Delta.

First, mileage programs themselves are
independently profitable. Airlines sell miles to credit card companies, phone companies, mortgage companies, and make a profit doing so. Even when an airline can't make money by flying, it can make money selling its miles. So the programs themselves are an attractive asset. And that's apart from the hugely valuable marketing database that these accounts represent. There's some chance that even if an airline
ceased to be in business that their miles would be honored (such as with Pan Am/Delta and TWA/American). This
isn't 100% assured, of course - the Midway Airlines
bankruptcy left mileage balances stranded.

But Delta just isn't at a place where it's necessary to be thinking about such things. They aren't at risk for liquidation. They just pay their pilots too much.

United has already reduced pilot costs in bankruptcy. If Delta had United's pilot costs last quarter they would have made money. Bankruptcy is a controlled business strategy under consideration for the airline, not a weigh station on the road to Skymiles extinction.

Bottom line: Don't sweat it!

Posted by gleff at 5:25 PM | Comments (0)

The United-Delta Fare War Continues: $118 roundtrip, DC-Los Angeles on Delta

It's another fare basis starting in UA, UA0INNQ.

There's no minimum stay, maximum stay, Saturday night stay, or even advance purchase required. The fare is valid to or from Washington's Dulles or National airport.

Delta doesn't fly non-stop. I've seen connections in Delta's Atlanta hub and Dallas. The fare even seems to work with Delta codeshare flights on Continental aircraft through Houston and Cleveland.

Posted by gleff at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

May 26, 2004

Frequent Travelers Have to Eat, Too

Spot On links to a personal chef service that will come to your home, prepare all of your meals, and store them to be reheated in minutes.

This is capitalism at its greatest, offering specialized services that give people more of the most precious commodity, time. Rather than a "fast food nation" perhaps we're evolving to be able enjoy time with family without sacrificing health or quality.

Fine Dining Solutions in the Washington DC area offers some great meals, but no miles.

If I were a chef I'd offer miles. But that's why all of our contributions are unique.

Posted by gleff at 2:10 PM | Comments (0)

Up to $25 in Coffee from Expedia

Expedia Business Advantage will give you $5 in coffee for signing up by May 31st (free) and another $20 in coffee with your first air or hotel booking by June 30.

Here's their ad:

An Expedia� Business Advantage membership gives you access to our Expedia� Corporate Travel site — designed specifically for the needs of business travelers. We understand your travel bookings include those for business and we want to ensure we provide you with the best options possible to serve your needs.

Enrollment is fast and free.
You'll get a $5 coffee card¹ as a "thank you" for signing up, plus all the air, hotel and car choices of Expedia.com� and full access to the following business options:


Automated flight upgrades and seat finder.²	Book your trip online and put your business flight "concierge" to work — integrated tools keep looking for your best possible seat and any available upgrades even after you've logged off. You are notified by email when your seat or status has been upgraded, according to your preferences.

Expedia� Corporate Rate hotels	Special rates with business-friendly amenities such as complimentary breakfast and broadband Internet. Flexible change and cancellation policies also make life easier for travelers and travel arrangers.

Online flight search results for Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. ³	See all the major low-cost carriers in one convenient location when making your business travel decisions.

24/7 Corporate Travel Agents.⁴	Pick up the phone to book everything from simple to complex and international trips. Change or cancel arrangements. Get pre-trip and en-route assistance with flights, hotel and ground transportation.

*Our acclaimed weekly business newsletter, Expedia� Corporate Travel's Travel Update.*	Get the latest travel alerts, "road warrior" tips and practices.

ExpediaCorporate.com	A streamlined, ad-free business site. For leisure travel, including cruises and packages, please continue to use Expedia.com�.
Expedia� Corporate Travel means business — full-service, efficient, cost-effective. Get the Advantage today! And receive a $20 premium coffee card if you book by June 30, 2004.

Posted by gleff at 4:08 AM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2004

Australia deals on United

United has some very impressive E-Fares to Australia for travel beginning May 31 through June 3, 2004 and returning June 7 through June 10, 2004.

From:	To:	Roundtrip:
Chicago (ORD)	Sydney, Australia (SYD)	$599
Denver (DEN)	Melbourne, Australia (MEL)	$589
Los Angeles (LAX)	Sydney, Australia (SYD)	$599
San Francisco (SFO)	Melbourne, Australia (MEL)	$549
Washington, D.C. (IAD)	Sydney, Australia (SYD)	$639

Other departure cities are available as well.

A roundtrip from Washington, DC to Australia is about 20,000 flown miles. Premier Executives and Premier Executive 1Ks get a 100% mileage bonus. That's 40,000 miles at 1.6 cents per mile, a long way towards requalifying for elite status, plus credits in the round the world promotion.

Posted by gleff at 4:22 AM | Comments (0)

May 24, 2004

Feel like you're in a hotel, even at home

Free 65 issue subscription to USA Today.

Posted by gleff at 4:07 PM | Comments (0)

United Emails Hit Piece On Independence Air to DC Flyers

United sent out a hit piece on Independence Air to their DC-area Mileage Plus members this evening.

Before you are swayed by their promises of lower fares and greater amenities, take a look at how Mileage Plus� offers you more ways to earn award travel than iCLUB, Independence Air's customer loyalty program.

Independence Air and United� offer the same $178.20 fare1 for a roundtrip flight from Washington, D.C. to Chicago. But take a look at the extras you could earn with Mileage Plus for this 1178-mile roundtrip flight:

Feature	iCLUB	Mileage Plus
Loyalty currency earned	178 iPOINTS	1178 miles
Promotional flight bonus²	0 iPOINTS	2500 bonus miles
Airline credit card bonus	0 iPOINTS	178 miles
One-night hotel stay³	0 iPOINTS	500 miles
One-day car rental ⁴	0 iPOINTS	50 miles
Total	178 iPOINTS	4406 Mileage Plus miles

have to fly this route on Independence Air 17 times

But you would only have to make this trip with United six times to earn award travel to any United destination within the continental U.S. or Canada. Also, you can redeem Mileage Plus miles for travel with the Star Alliance� network to 755 airports in 132 countries. And through April 30, 2005, each flight into or out of Washington, D.C. earns credits toward free6 tickets across the U.S. or around the world. Learn more about this special promotion from United and Mileage Plus.

Mileage Plus offers extra bonus miles to elite members and United First� and United Business� passengers. Elite Mileage Plus members will earn a bonus of up to 100% of their flight miles, and members flying paid United Business and First tickets will earn a bonus of up to 50% of their flight miles. iCLUB? No elite program. No First Class.

Plus, you could earn award travel even quicker through more than 100 Mileage Plus partners. iCLUB? No partners.

We appreciate your loyalty. Know that we are working hard to keep your business by offering more promotions and competitive fares. It's time to fly.

It isn't often that you see an airline directly address a competitor's offerings in it's own marketing. This is war, and it should be fun.

Posted by gleff at 3:48 PM | Comments (0)

Virgin USA to be based at San Francisco or New York

Arnold Schwarzenegger's lobbying hasn't nailed it down for California completely -- Branson is considering both San Francisco and New York.

...

Posted by gleff at 3:43 PM | Comments (0)

More on Amtrak Discounts

I keep an updated list of Amtrak discount codes on this blog.

Frommer's publishes such a list as well. Here's what they have to say about the matter:

V822

V729

Want to try the high-speed Acela train? Use code V711 for Acela and Metroliner trains on weekends (except Sunday 1-6 pm) from now through June 30. It'll knock 20% off your fare. It won't work for trains from april 8-12 or May 28-June 1. If that code doesn't work, V745 and V704 are very similar discounts.

If you're traveling outside the Northeast Corridor, your code is H406. That'll knock 5% off almost all train fares nationwide for travel from now through August except on the Easter, Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends. It doesn't apply to trains to Canada or to Northeast Corridor trains on Fridays and Sundays, but if you're traveling in the NEC, you can get a better deal with V822 anyway.

(Hat tip to Samir, thanks!)

Posted by gleff at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2004

Coded messages

I blogged recently about airlines communicating with each other about pricing through the media, since anti-trust rules preclude them from discussing their pricing directly.

Airlines also communicate with each other through arcane 'fare basis codes'. Every airfare carries with it a several letter code which is used to identify the rules and restrictions associated with the ticket.

On Friday Delta loaded a fare of ~ $98 between Chicago and New York ... no advance purchase or Saturday stay required. The fare basis was UA0TN. Get it... UA, for United Airlines, which is headquartered in Chicago?

So sometime on Saturday United loaded a fare of ~ $98 between New York and both Cincinnati and Atlanta, Delta's two East Coast hubs. Delta sent United a message, and United sent one back.

United's fare basis is TNMX. The first two letters are "TN" and the last two letters of Delta's message fare end in "TN." I am wracking my brain over whether TN could have some meaning. Kinda like the famous fares ending in "FU" ...

It all kind of reminds me of the early 1980s when State Department-issued license plates for Soviet diplomats all began with "FC" for F.... Commies.

Posted by gleff at 3:12 PM | Comments (0)

IcelandAir Mistake Fare Honored

The $61 IcelandAir mistake fare was covered in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday (thanks to an alert reader for the heads up) and in Friday's Rocky Mountain News.

A computer glitch on the company's Web site allowed numerous fliers to book round-trip tickets from the United States to Reykjav'k, Iceland, on Icelandair for under $100 - far less than the normal summer fares.

...

On Thursday evening, Cendant Corp., owner of Cheap Tickets, said it was honoring the fares. It did not say how many of the dirt-cheap tickets had been purchased, and Iceland-air did not return a phone call.Speculation is that at least 800 tickets were purchased at the $61 price, which consisted entirely of taxes.

Posted by gleff at 3:00 PM | Comments (0)

More Cheap New York Airfares - Atlanta and Cincinnati for $100 roundtrip

United has retaliated against Delta's $100 Chicago-New York roundtrip with a $100 fare between New York and Delta's hubs in Atlanta and Cincinnati.

The fare basis is TNMX, and I just priced it on Orbitz without any problem.

Best part is, just like the Delta fares, there's no advance purchase or Saturday night stay required.

Posted by gleff at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)

Northwest Fly Free Faster 4 - 10,000 Bonus Miles

Northwest's Fly Free Faster 4 promotion begins on June 1. Register first and them complete one "qualifying activity" and five "partner activities" by August 31st for 10,000 bonus miles.

(The "qualifying activitiy" can come in the middle of or even after the "partner acitivities" - the order is unimportant.)

Qualifying Activity

The activities which will qualify you for the bonus:

Credit one flight segment on Northwest, KLM or Northwest Airlink to your Northwest frequent flyer account
"Apply, be approved and pay the annual fee for" a new Northwest Visa (although some folks have gotten free Visa cards and still qualified in the past, your mileage may vary).
Sign up for service with MCI, Nextel, T-Mobile, or EarthLink (using a promotion that earns Northwest miles)
Purchase a new one-year WorldClub membership
Purchase 5,000 WorldPerks miles through the WorldPerks Buy & Gift Mile program

I'm not going to credit a flight to Northwest, since I'm a Continental elite and want my upgrades. I don't keep a home phone, so MCI is out. Apparently WiFi through T-Mobile doesn't count, and I'm sticking with my current Sprint service so Next and T-Mobile aren't options.

Since I already have had the Northwest Visa (Fly Free Faster 2 qualification) and Northwest Business Visa (Fly Free Faster 3 qualification) I am going to sign up for Earthlink dialup service, even though I have a cable modem. I'll get 10,000 bonus miles and will cancel the service after the obligatory two months ($21.95 x 2).

Update

If you sign up for a Northwest Visa, be sure to also register at the Northwest Visa Marketplace. You'll get bonus miles on some of your online mall purchases that way.

Partner Activities

Northwest's website outlines the following ways to earn partner credits:

Rent a car from one of our car rental partners.

Stay at a partner hotel.

Refinance your home.

Dine at participating Dining For Miles restaurant.

Order flowers for any occasion

If you earn miles with a Northwest Visa (other than your bonus miles for signup), that will count as one partner transaction. You can only earn one partner credit this way (although if you had a Northwest Visa, Northwest Business Visa and Northwest Visa Check Card you could earn three partner credits).

The easiest way to get your partner activities without traveling is by dining for miles. Just sign one of your credit cards (such as a new Northwest Visa) up with the Northwest dining program and eat at participating restaurants and you're done. Some friends of mine will likely be organize a DC bar crawl to knock off five partners with a beer apiece at five different participating restaurants.

I am going to transfer 1000 Radisson Rewards Goldpoints into 125 Northwest miles to bang out one partner.

Then I'll probably buy a $25 gift certificate at GiftCertificates.com through the Northwest mall (gift certificates don't count at several merchants but the rules don't exclude this one, and they don't charge a fee to receive the certificate by email). GiftCertificates.com can often be used to 'double dip' for miles with another online merchant, and I can always find a use for the certificate later.

Then I'll buy something for $50 that's free after rebate from OfficeMax. $50 orders come with free shipping.

That leaves me with only two transactions to go, and those'll probably be restaurants, though only one if I wind up ordering something anyway from Target.com or Overstock.com. And if I find that I haven't gotten the partner transactions I need at the end of July, I might transfer 2000 Diners Club points into 1000 Northwest miles.

Why don't I just do 5 restaurant transactions? Because I prefer to earn 12.5 miles per dollar with United for my iDine activity, which is a promotion that I qualified for this entire year based on last year's dining activity.

Posted by gleff at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)

America West is Promoting their Los Angeles Service

Book and fly 2 roundtrips on America West's nonstop coast-to-coast service from LAX (to Boston, New York JFK, and/or Washington-Dulles) by November 15th and receive a free companion ticket good for travel to any of America West's nine nonstop destinations originating from LAX. Registration required.

Posted by gleff at 4:05 AM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2004

Attention Bay Area Travelers

Free off-airport parking in Oakland from May 25 through August 31.

Posted by gleff at 6:06 PM | Comments (0)

$65 + tax, Chicago-New York roundtrips

Delta is offering a $65 + $43 tax ($107.90) roundtrip fare between Chicago O'Hare and New York's LaGuardia or JFK.

This seems to be available throughout the next year, doesn't require a Saturday night or minimum stay, and doesn't even require advance purchase.

The fare seems to be available everywhere -- at Delta.com, Cheaptickets.com, and Orbitz... The fare basis is UA0TN.

Update: Still available at 9:15pm Eastern.

Posted by gleff at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)

The Source of Delta's Woes?

A piece in the Cincinnati Post wonders whether Delta would be in such huge financial trouble if they hadn't done so much to alienate their best customers.

Delta for years attracted customers with its SkyMiles program, and many of its most loyal passengers -- those flying at least 25,000 miles a year -- enjoyed benefits such as upgraded seats and free flights.

But in 2002, Delta reworked SkyMiles. It cut in half the frequent flier miles awarded toward Medallion status on economy flights but gave twice as many miles for flying first class. Delta also stopped counting some short flights toward the program's elite tier.

That angered many regular fliers who were accustomed to year-round travel -- and the program's elite status in return.

"These were people who loved Delta so much, they were willing to complain about it," said Roger Petersen, editor of InsideFlyer Magazine and a frequent-flier discussion Web site called FlyerTalk Web. "This wasn't a renegade bunch. This was simply a group who said ... 'We want to give you advice so we don't leave and others don't leave.' "

I still say that Delta's problem is their labor costs. They might have been marginally better off without dissing their best customers, but they wouldn't be avoiding bankruptcy talk. For that they'll need to pay their pilots less.

Posted by gleff at 5:09 AM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2004

Free Stuff

Free paper from Hewlett-Packard.

Free mouthwash.

64 meg USB drive for taking a survey.

Food and Wine pairing magnet.

Posted by gleff at 4:36 PM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2004

American Express Bonuses

All points-earning American Express cards are offering double points on retail, dining, and entertainment expenses from June 15 - July 15 (up to 10,000 bonus points) to residents of the greater Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles areas. Registration required.

Update

For the month up until June 15, targeted cardholders of the Delta Skymiles American Express earn double miles on all spending over $1000. Registration is required for this one, too.

Posted by gleff at 4:32 PM | Comments (0)

Independence Air Unveils iClub

Independence Air, which starts service next month, has unveiled its frequent flyer program, iClub.

Earn one point per dollar spent on Independence Air tickets. 1500 points is a free trip of 1500 miles or less or 50% off a trip longer than 1500 miles.

The real innovation, taking a page from Southwest and going a step further, is

There are no blackout dates restricting your use of awards and we don't limit the number of award seats on our flights. If there's a seat available for sale, it's available for award travel. iClub members also save $25 on their first online ticket purchase.

I like the simplicity of the program and especially that there aren't any capacity controls. Customers looking to redeem awards won't go away unhappy. But the awards themselves aren't all that appealing -- short-haul domestic coach flights (the airline offers only one class of service).

Perhaps there will be more features to come. I think they need an elite level. There has long been a club in their terminal which United elites had access to. They should continue to operate the club and provide access to their own elites as well as complimentary onboard drinks. They should turn that into true elite status at their home airport of Dulles, pushing for priority security screening and even offer award redemption for complimentary valet parking.

(Hat tip to the MilesLink newsletter.)

Posted by gleff at 4:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2004

Sign up for updates

If you like what you see in posts like

Then why not sign up to receive each day's posts by email? Just enter your email address underneath my photo on the right hand side of the screen and click 'subscribe'. :)

Posted by gleff at 5:45 PM | Comments (0)

"Fake" frequent flyer credit cards

The unaffiliated, generic mileage cards are a bad deal for most consumers.

Credit cards that aren't affiliated with any airline's frequent-flier program — but which promise users the ability to earn free trips on a variety of carriers — have been around since the mid-1990s. Known as "fake" cards to the frequent-flier cognoscenti, they're marketed primarily to infrequent travelers who aren't loyal to any single carrier but who would like to earn a free flight every couple of years.
They provide domestic coach tickets with values usually capped at about $400 and points can't be combined with other mileage earning opportunities (like flying, telephone, hotel stays, etc.). So they don't provide earning power or redemption power.

They aren't going to get you into that business class cabin to Sydney, which is enough to tell me that they're a poor value proposition.

Posted by gleff at 5:39 PM | Comments (0)

Good News!

American Airlines is keeping "More Room Throughout Coach"

In an effort to boost capacity with little cost, Fort Worth-based American had signaled it would return to less legroom in coach class on some planes. But airline officials have now decided that passengers value two to four inches of extra space, so the expanded legroom will be retained in the vast majority of jets.

Posted by gleff at 5:35 PM | Comments (0)

Iceland for $61 roundtrip

I was too busy to post this earlier, apologies all around, but there are still some available dates to snag a fare glitch at Cheaptickets.com.

$61 roundtrip ($0 + tax) from JFK or Baltimore to Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF).

I see the following dates working at the moment:

June 26 - July 1, JFK-KEF

June 3 - June 8, JFK-KEF

June 3 - June 9, JFK-KEF

June 27 - July 8, BWI-KEF

Certainly there are more, keep plugging away and good luck. Won't be around much longer.

Update: 6/3 - 6/9 out of JFK no longer works, but 6/3 - 6/8 does. Also return to BWI on July 4th is good.

Update 2: rapidly disappearing... I just can't seem to get this to price anymore.

Posted by gleff at 6:22 AM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2004

Is Membership Rewards a Good Replacement for Starwood?

In my post about the best mileage earning credit cards, reader Stan commented:

Gary, Great blog. I check it every day. I was wondering what your take is on Membership Rewards. Is it worth using? I recently tried converting Starwood points to United (the 2:1 conversion was a killer, but I didn't have a choice) and the 3-week wait took too long for me to make my trip work. I understand that MR offers instant conversion -- are there downsides I need to worry about?
Stan, first as another reader observed in the comments you can get around the poor conversion rate (2:1) of Starwood points into United miles by moving the Starwood points to Continental, then to Amtrak, and on to United.

You can only do this for 20,000 Starwood points (once each year) but that will yield 25,000 United miles. Unfortunately if you were in a hurry for the miles that wouldn't have solved your problem.

American Express Membership Rewards points certainly post quickly to some mileage accounts (almost instantly for USAirways and Delta, for instance) and less quickly for other programs (4-5 days for Continental).

Unfortunately Membership Rewards has limited partnerships. You can't, for instance, transfer points directly into United or American. And they've just introduced a small conversion fee on top of their annual membership fee which is separate from the annual fee you may be paying for the Amex card itself.

I use Amex Membership Rewards, and have several hundred thousand, but I don't consider them a replacement for Starwood.

Finally, it's worth noting that Starwood will allow you to pay extra miles as an expedite fee to move points more quickly if you really need it done within a few days.

Admittedly from memory I believe that the cost is 3,500 Starpoints, and that the expedite service is available for British Airways Executive Club, United Airlines Mileage Plus and American Airlines AAdvantage.

Posted by gleff at 4:45 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2004

Finding the Best Deal on Gas

I've previously mentioned GasBuddy as a website that tracks gas prices, helping you find the best deal in your area. I just came across another similar site called Gas Price Watch.

Hope it saves you some money!

Posted by gleff at 4:20 AM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2004

Best Mileage Earning Credit Cards

It's been almost a year since I've updated this advice, so I thought I'd start from scratch.

How to Decide on the Best Card

Let me say up front that there isn't one card that is best for everyone (although I'll suggest below that a card can come pretty close). The truth is that the best card for you depends on what your award goals are. After all, different airlines fly to different places and offer awards at different point levels. Want to go from the United States to Australia, for instance? United awards are generally less expensive. But if you happen to live in Mexico your options for redeeming United miles are pretty limited.

Another thing to consider is whether you pay your card off each month. Many of the mileage earning cards have high APRs. The United Visa is > 14%! The Lufthansa Visa is nearly 10%. There are many no fee cards with 0% interest on balance transfers but no miles. Of course if you aren't going to pay the bill you could make charges on a mileage earning card and then transfer the balances to the 0% card.

Are you willing to pay an annual fee? Most airline cards come with an annual fee of some sort but they also usually come with signup bonuses worth more than the annual fee at least in the first year. The difference in earnings between no-fee cards and fee cards is usually enough to justify the fee.

Many airlines also offer no fee cards that only earn 1 mile for every 2 dollars. If you charge $2000 a month, you'll earn an extra 12,000 miles a year with the version of the card that charges a fee. So the cheapest card isn't always the best -- it just depends on how much you use the card and how you value miles versus money.

One strategy for dealing with fees while obtaining card benefits is to sign up for a card that has an offer to waive the fee for the first year. You can always cancel the card at the end of the year (and choose another 'free the first year' offer) or keep it if the card is providing you the value you're looking for.

Other benefits that some cards provide are mileage earning for balance transfers, annual retention bonuses, airline lounge access, airline companion tickets, upgrades, concierge service, and even (in the case of the Hawaiian Airlines Visa) airline drink coupons. You'll need to decide how much each of these benefits is worth to you.

My Picks for Best Card

I find the best mileage earning card to be the Starwood American Express which is free the first year and $30 thereafter, comes with a signup bonus of 4,000 points with your first purchase and up to 6,000 more for hotel stays, and offers points which can be used for hotel nights or converted 1:1 into most airline programs.

The card isn't a good option for earning United Airlines miles, though, because the points only transfer at a rate of 2:1. BankOne, which issues the United Visa, provided lots of money when the airline went into bankruptcy and doesn't like the competition from this card).

That said, when you covert 20,000 points at a time into airline miles Starwood gives you 5,000 bonus miles -- which means you're really earning 1.25 miles per dollar on most every other carrier, better earning than any other card. The flexibility, though, is the best benefit. With, say, an American Airlines Mastercard you're stuck with American Airlines miles. With the Starwood American Express you earn whatever miles you want and you don't have to decide until you're ready to use them.

My second favorite card is Diners Club. It offers the most extensive rewards program from miles to merchandise, they'll even customize your reward to give you whatever you want if you have enough points.

The card offers primary rental car insurance - if you wreck your rental paid for with this card, odds on your own insurance doesn't even need to know. Year after year the card is voted best in customer service and they give you two full billing cycles (up to 60 days) to pay.

The drawbacks are a $95 fee (more than offset by 12,000 frequent flyer miles with any airline you want as a signup bonus) and limited acceptance -- airlines, hotels, and large merchants tend to accept the card but your local drycleaner probably does not. If their partnership with Mastercard proceeds as scheduled there won't be any more problems with acceptance.

Assuming current benefits, this will be the card to have. As it stands now, it's a road warriors card, well worth carrying for anyone that frequently rents cars. I fully analyze the card here.

The United Visa comes with a 20,000 mile signup bonus. The fee is $60. Once you get the card, you can upgrade to the "Gold Class" Visa for another 5,000 (and a percentage of an extra $25 fee depending on how many months until your card renews). That's 25,000 miles for $85 or less. United also has a "free the first year" offer which awards 15,000 bonus miles at signup.

The Delta Platinum American Express costs $135 but comes with a 15,000 mile signup bonus and 10,000 bonus miles each year that you spend $25,000 on the card. Those 10,000 miles also count towards elite status with the airline. There is no fee the first year if you apply by May 30th for the Gold Delta Amex and you'll get 10,000 bonus miles for signing up. The Delta cards give double miles for shopping at supermarkets, drug stores, gas stations, home improvement stores, the U.S. Postal Service, when you pay your cellular phone bill, and on Delta purchases.

Free Points-Earning Cards

The Amtrak Mastercard gives one Amtrak point per dollar spent. The value in this card is that points can be used for train travel or transferred one-to-one into United, Continental, and Midwest Airlines and one-to-two into Hilton. It's a good way to earn United miles without paying the fee for the United card. Plus train tickets can be had inexpensively -- a roundtrip from Washington, DC to New York on unreserved trains runs only 5,000 points, which is cheap considering most airline ticket awards start at 25,000 miles.

The Hilton Visa comes with 10,000 points as a signup bonus, Silver Elite status in the Hilton program, and earns two points per dollar spent. Hilton points aren't quite as valuable as airline miles, so this isn't as great as it sounds, but it's reasonable for a free card -- and Hilton points can be used for hotel stays or converted into airline miles with several different programs.

The Hilton American Express comes with 10,000 points as a signup bonus, Silver Elite status in the Hilton program, and earns 3 Hilton points per dollar spent - so it's clearly a better card than the Hilton Visa.

My Personal Solution

I carry a Starwood American Express and a Diners Club card. Those get me the best rewards by far.

With Starwood I can stay at some of the top hotels in the world and my airline mileage earning is supersized, 25% better than airline cards themselves. Both Starwood and Diners Club offer conversion bonuses from time to time as well. Diners Club has recently offered 30% - 50% bonuses with United and British Airways. Starwood offered a phenomenal deal where 20,000 points converted to 50,000 British Airways miles.

There are a few places that won't take either card and for that I need a Visa. However isn't that much spending left for the Visa, so I want a no-fee card. I choose the Amtrak Mastercard because of all the free cards it provides the best flexibility -- I earn train travel or miles on 3 airlines or 1 hotel chain, not to mention Amtrak's merchandise and travel certificate options. The Amtrak Mastercard actually earns those miles just as fast as those other programs' own Visa products that come with a fee.

One final piece of advice. Always print out a copy of the offer you're applying for, in case your signup bonus doesn't post or a fee is charged in spite of a no-fee offer.

Hope this helps. But if you have any specific questions, please ask away.

Posted by gleff at 5:46 PM | Comments (1)

Making the most of eBay Anything Points

It's a beautiful day in Northern Virginia, 87 degrees as I write this, and I just down at the pool .... explaining to a friend how to get eBay points for Priceline bids, and how to convert those points to American Airlines miles -- as I've written about in pieces here on View from the Wing.

Admittedly my obsessions for miles and points has reached problem-status if my poolside conversation turns to Priceline and alternative currencies like eBay points.

Having just had the conversation, though, I decided to pull it all together for my readers along with a couple of other offers and spell it out as explicitly as I can. Apologies to all who have seen it before.

Create an eBay Anything Points account. Click either "Start Earning Now" or "Set Up Points Account."
Make all your Priceline bids from the eBay Travel site because each successful bid will earn 1500 eBay Anything Points. Either click on Travel from the left hand set of links on the main eBay page or go directly to their travel page.
Get a PointsPlus account at Points.com. If you want the account for free, then
- Enroll in Fairmont President's Club
- Take your membership number and enter it at the Fairmont promo page for Points.com.
Personally, I would enroll for my PointsPlus account and pay the $19.95 fee and choose 2100 eBay Anything Points points as my enrollment bonus, since those points can be converted to over 2000 American Airlines miles (through June 30th, as a result of the Points.com 3rd anniversary promotion) which are worth more to me than $20. In fact, after a few days a link should appear offering the bonus points again for renewing the membership and I'd take that too! But you can also just get the account via the method outlined above.
(The reason you want a PointsPlus account rather than just a regular account is that regular accounts charge to make points transfers.)
Sign up for a ShareBuilder account.

Go to the eBay Anything Points page and next to eBay parters, choose "See List" which will take you to the partners page. (Sometimes when I go to the link directly, rather than by clicking "See List," I don't see the partner offers listed.)

Click on the Sharebuilder link (which says below it "Buy stocks for $4 and earn 5,000 Anything Points!").

Set up the account, which is free, and then choose to transfer $5 into the account from your checking account.

When you set up the account there's a place to enter a promotion code. I'm told that if you enter "FISB50" they'll credit your account with $50 in 4-6 weeks. This should be in addition to the 5000 Anything Points, though I haven't done it myself.
Then establish a "ShareBuilderPlan" to make a one-time investment of $5 in whatever stock you want (it can be any stock because you'll just buy a fractional share) and schedule it for the upcoming Tuesday (oddly, this plan only makes purchases on Tuesdays!). You'll be charged a $4 commissiona and own $1 in stock and then Sharebuilder will credit you with 5000 eBay Anything points plus $50 in a few weeks.
If you want, though this can be more trouble than it's worth, you can sign up for various other trial offers (like consumerinfo.com, audible.com, and ancestry.com) for the free points -- just be sure to cancel after the points post to your account but before the free trial period is up.

eBay points can be used to pay for auctions you win (they're worth 1 penny apiece) or converted at points.com to frequent flyer miles. Through June 30th you get a conversion bonus that makes 1 eBay point worth a little more than 1 American Airlines mile. You can also convert the points to Starbucks gift cards where 1500 points buys you ~ $13 at Starbucks.

Posted by gleff at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

The Amex Black Card

Snopes.com has a good piece on the infamous "Black Card," American Express Centurion, which carries a $2500 annual fee (long-time cardholders are gradfathered at the old $1000 rate) and comes with airline and hotel status.

Perhaps the most interesting revelation in the piece, aside from learning that Amex concierges got an aspiring actress an audition with a soap opera, is that the card actually originated out of an urban legend. Rumors abounded that the famous and super-wealthy had a card like this, and that's what gave American Express the idea to offer it.

"There had been rumors going around that we had this ultra-exclusive black card for elite customers," says Doug Smith, director of American Express Europe. "It wasn't true, but we decided to capitalize on the idea anyway. So far we've had a customer buy a Bentley and another charter a jet." Contrary to the rumor repeated in the piece that the card cannot be applied for, American Express Platinum cardholders who average six figures in charges to their personal cards each year can ask their Platinum concierge to request a Centurion card.

Personally I'll stick to my Diners Club card.

Posted by gleff at 8:24 AM | Comments (0)

Cash Back and Miles For Online Shopping

I got my first rebate check from Ebates, a website which provides cash back on internet purchases at a wide variety of online merchants. FatCash is another such service. It's always useful to check these out.

Most of time cash back deals can't be combined with mileage earning (such as from United's Mileage Plus Mall or Northwest's Worldperks Mall) so you have to choose which is more valuable for any given purchase. The December issue of Inside Flyer contained a nice overview of mileage earning online malls.

Sometimes, however, mileage earning and cash back can be combined. 1-800-Flowers awards miles by having you enter a promotion code and your frequent flyer account at the end of a transaction. So clicking through a rebate or mileage mall link will let you double-dip. (1-800-Flowers returns a 6% rebate via Ebates.)

Always check to see whether you can get cash back or miles from a merchant (just by clicking on a link to get to the merchant's web page) before purchasing something online!

Posted by gleff at 7:55 AM | Comments (0)

Triple Miles from Philly and Other USAirways Star Alliance Bonuses

In an attempt to leverage its frequent flyer program to defend its presence in Philadelphia, USAirways is offering triple miles between that city and 22 destinations. Registration is required.

USAirways is also offering lots of bonuses for flying specific routes on its Star Alliance partners.

Route-specific bonuses include bonuses for flying Austrian Airlines to Vienna (specific fares only), from 5,000 to 50,000 miles for flying United from Dulles to Zurich (on all fares except S, L, and T), and from 5,000 to 50,000 miles for flying United from Chicago to Osaka (looks like all fares earn something).

USAirways is also offering carrier-specific double miles on Asiana, bmi to Heathrow, Singapore, Thai, and Varig. These are all restricted to specific fare classes and require registration.

Posted by gleff at 6:37 AM | Comments (0)

Self-defense in the skies

In an era where most onboard knives are still plastic, it remains possible for passengers to defend themselves in the event terrorists attempt to takeover a plane. That's the message of a new book, Never Again: A Self-Defense Guide for the Flying Public. (Hat tip to Bob Poole.)

David Grimes offers a review.

If the bad guy is still breathing after that punishment, you can whack him in the head with a soda can, which the authors describe as an "effective short-range missile." And, proving that I was wrong all along about the usefulness of neckwear, a tie is said to make an excellent wrist restraint.

Even the TSA doesn't seem to mind.

"While we do not endorse any particular product, we certainly support the effort to raise the vigilance level of the traveling public, plus the public in general," Transportation Security Agency spokeswoman Lauren Stover said.

Added Capt. Paul Onorado, vice president of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations: "We want the passengers in the back armed with knowledge."

Posted by gleff at 6:04 AM | Comments (0)

Private Screeners Are At Least As Good If Not Better Than TSA Screeners

Bob Poole compares TSA screeners to private contractors and finds both lacking:

April saw the release of three reports comparing the performance of TSA screeners and those employed by TSA-managed contractors at the five pilot program airports (now known as the PP5): San Francisco, Kansas City, Rochester, Jackson Hole, and Tupelo. Weighing in were Bearing Point (under contract to TSA), the Inspector General's Office of the Dept. of Homeland Security, and the General Accounting Office. There was some good news, for those who fought to have this option included in the law that federalized screening. All three studies found that the PP5 screening was as good as or better than TSA screening. And all five of the PP5 airports want to continue going that route. The bad news, from the classified versions of the reports, is that overall screener performance - TSA and private -- is still pretty bad. And that certainly raises the question of whether increasing the training, more than doubling the numbers, and tripling the cost of the screening workforce has bought us much of anything.While airlines increase and decrease service levels all the time, TSA hiring practices don't follow suit (and private contractors are subject to the same constraints imposed on them). The TSA recognizes the problem of its months-long process controlled from Washington, but won't reconsider its centralized staffing model.

Private contractors are coming up with innovative workarounds, however.

Despite the over-centralization noted by all three reports, which greatly hinders innovation by the PP5 contractors, they have still managed to come up with some ways of increasing their effectiveness - for example, by hiring (lower-cost) "baggage handlers" to move checked bags to and from the explosive detection equipment, so that higher-paid baggage screeners can spend their time on actual screening. One of the PP5 companies is developing a program to hire part-time college students as baggage handlers.

Posted by gleff at 5:56 AM | Comments (0)

Continental Says So Long to Ellington Field

The Dallas Morning News carries a eulogy for Continental's Ellington Field service which ends September 7th. This airport on the south side of Houston offered service to Continental's hub at Houston Intercontinental, providing convenient checkin and free parking to many in addition to 500 frequent flyer miles for each segment.

In a similar vein I miss United's Baltimore-Washington Dulles service which ceased September 6, 2001. Atlantic Coast flew Jetstream 32 aircraft several times a day for this roughly 38 mile flight, giving me an extra segment credit and extra miles each way in addition to generally a lower ticket price.

Posted by gleff at 4:13 AM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2004

Another Great Investment of Tax Dollars

MidAmerica Airport, built in the 90s at a cost of $313 million ($220 million from the federal government), was supposed to be a second St. Louis airport. This in spite of the fact that the existing St. Louis airport has struggled to keep service.

It should be no surprise, then, that the second St. Louis airport had problems. MidAmerica is seeking to recoup some of the additional subsidies it provided to Great Plains Airlines, now no longer operating and in bankruptcy.

No airline currently offers scheduled service at MidAmerica Airport.

Posted by gleff at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)

Startup Carrier Shuts Down After a Week

I'm so glad for regulators here and abroad. The EU model is especially appealing. Because regulators never let anything like this happen.

Oh, wait.

Passengers aren't going to get refunds, but maybe the Irish government will refund tax dollars that were supposed to ensure this didn't happen?

The irony is that every time government fails, there is a call for more government.

In a brief statement, JetGreen Airways apologized to customers for closing down the business without warning but said it would not repay any of the more than 40,000 people who had bought tickets, including more than 400 people expecting to fly home Wednesday from their Spanish vacations.

Posted by gleff at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2004

Marriott Rewards Milestone

Marriott Rewards hit 20 million members in its program this week and awarded the 20 millionth member with airfare and a week's hotel stay for two at any Marriott property and lifetime Platinum status.

And I thought I got a good deal when I named the new Sheraton Checkin Kiosk.

Posted by gleff at 6:00 PM | Comments (0)

20,000 Miles for a New United Visa

The 20,000 mile signup bonus for getting a new United Visa is still available.

This one doesn't waive the $60 annual fee, though.

Posted by gleff at 1:26 PM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2004

United's Finance Shop in Disarray

United Airlines, struggling to exit bankruptcy, is counting on government-backed loans from the Air Transporation Stabilization Board, which was set up after 9/11 to overcome (perceived) temporary financial market disruption.

Somehow the ATSB still exists. United says they can't access funds in the private market, which they judge to be a market failure but may really be a reflection of United's prospects for profitability.

The Financial Times (sorry, no link handy) carries a piece suggesting United's financial planning is in disarray.

Mr Brace had just been told that a mistake had been found in the companies' forecasting model, dubbed Gershwin. Somehow, one-off annual savings of $275m in 2003 had been included in the forecasts for 2004-2007. Worse, it destroyed forecasts Mr Brace had given just days earlier to United's executive council, of $200m pre-tax income for 2004.

According to an Examiners report relating these events, filed with the
Illinois bankruptcy court at the end of March, Mr Brace then told his team to "fill the $300m hole." They did. Yet on December 13th more problems emerged. There was a new $456m hole.

A presentation slide from a meeting two days later called for further
"Possible Hole Filling" measures to resolve "the $456m budget gap to enable bankruptcy exit."

At its worst the report paints an unsettling picture of a stretched
executive team veering from crisis to crisis, struggling with the demands of bankruptcy restructuring, and raising questions about whether the airline is ready to exit the protections of chapter 11.

It also revealed a corporate governance breach. Key parts of a business plan were redacted from the version sent to the executive board without their knowledge amid fears they would be leaked by union members on the board. "In retrospect would I have done it in the way that we did? No," says Mr Brace, referring to the handling of the document.

Perhaps the worst thing that could happen to United would be a government-backed loan. The biggest problem the major airlines face is their labor costs. If United gets the loan they'll exit bankruptcy and lose their leverage to reduce costs.

Maybe that's what private capital markets understand, and why United has a hard time raising funds without the government indemnifying lenders against loss.

Posted by gleff at 5:02 PM | Comments (0)

Mileage Plus Visa Offer

The United Mileage Plus Visa is available with a 15,000 mile signup bonus and fee waived the first year.

This was sent as part of a targeted email, but past practice suggests that it should work for anyone. Apply at the link above and print out the page which indicates the fee is waived.

In addition, my experience is that existing cardholders can take advantage of these offers and obtain a second card.

Posted by gleff at 4:37 PM | Comments (0)

Discounts at Site59

Site59, the last minute travel package site, is offering $50 off $500, $75 off $750, or $100 off $1000 through May 14th with Promo Code: S59SALE.

Posted by gleff at 2:52 PM | Comments (0)

Two for One to Paris

Air France is offering a two-for-one sale from the US to Paris.

Book by May 15th for travel October 15th through March 2005. December 17th - 24th is blocked out, and a Saturday stay is required.

Prices from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and DC start at $505 for two roundtrips with other cities slightly higher. Taxes are extra.

Posted by gleff at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

May 9, 2004

How to Find the Best Hotel Deals

Priceline

this 2003 article from the Washington Post

About.com has a good, clear explanation of how free re-bids work. That's probably the single most important 'trick' to learn.

The best uber resource for informed Priceline bidding is Bidding For Travel.com. Some users are unhappy with the level of moderation there, but it is indispensable for the lists of hotels by zone and quality level and the tremendous amount of successful and unsuccessful bids that have been posted. Their Hotel FAQ is also important reading to understand how to get the hotel(s) you want in the right location and at the best price. Furthermore, their discussion boards contain really interesting tips such as advanced rebidding techniques that increase your free re-bids beyond those conventionally recognized.

An alternative to Biddingfortravel.com is BetterBidding.com which is newer and not quite as extensive. It does cover Hotwire as well as Priceline, so adds some unique value (see below).

How to earn miles for your Priceline booking: If you bid through eBay's travel portal, you earn 1500 eBay Anything Points. This past blog post of mine explains that through June 30, 2004 you can convert those points into just over 1500 American Airlines miles -- three times as many miles as most hotels award on traditional bookings.

Hotwire

Hotwire

BetterBidding

Traditional Booking Methods

SideStep

TravelAxe is another downloadable tool, much more powerful than SideStep. It's probably the ultimate hotel booking device -- it goes out to the different travel portals, pulls results for a huge number of hotels, and shows a comparison of rates in a simple grid. Indispensable.

Hotel Reservation Service often offers the best price on rooms.

QuickBook is a consolidator which is useful in some cities, often beating the best price elsewhere.

Once you've settled on a hotel, check the rate on the hotel's website. Many chains don't give points or frequent guest benefits to people who book through other channels, so if the price is the same book through the hotel directly. If the hotel's price is higher, check out their website's "Best Rate Guarantee" -- I'll need to write about this later as some are easy to work with and others are sketchy. But they all hold out the promise both of matching rates and giving you something extra.

How to Decide Which Hotel to Book

Don't believe 'star ratings' or at least recognize that some ratings are more reliable than others. Hotels.com used to allow properties to "self rate" meaning that a hotel would decide how many stars it got! Now they at least do some checking and independent verification. Expedia's star ratings are notoriously unreliable. AAA and Mobil guides are far better, but even there the guides don't visit each property regularly.

When considering a property, search for reviews. TripAdvisor.com is a good source of hotel reviews. Just recognize that different people have different experiences and standards, so they may be set off by things that wouldn't bother you one bit. For instance, resorts have expensive food. Pretend you're eating out at a nice restaurant in Manhattan at every meal. For folks who don't expect that, they're likely to write a negative review. The best approach is to read alot of reviews and look for common themes across several writeups.

BetterBidding has hotel reviews and so does Epinions and Biddingfortravel.com.

Other Things to Consider

sleeping in the airport

bhatnasx

Make sure that when you've booked a room through a conventional channel, that you join that hotel chain's loyalty program. First you'll earn points (towards hotel stays) or miles in your favorite airline program. Plus members of a hotel's loyalty program often get preferred treatment such as room upgrades.

Check out Webflyer's searchable database of hotel bonus promotions some of which may require advance registration. No reason to miss out on bonus points for a stay you're already making!

Posted by gleff at 6:45 AM | Comments (0)

How to Find the Best Airfare Deals

Websites to Use When Searching for Airfare

Orbitz

SideStep is a downloadable program that detects when you're searching for travel and sends out whatever you enter into a website to the various airlines, searches their sites directly, and then collates the results.

Mobissimo is even more powerful than SideStep. It is also a metasearch tool. It goes out to the airlines and the other travel booking sites like Travelocity to get its results. It's web-based rather than a software download. It even searches consolidators (such as onetravel) and international sites (like zuji and opodo). Powerful, but not good for searching over a range of dates or airports.

Kayak is similar to Mobissimo but with an interface that I like better. Another worthwhile web-based tool for the arsenal.

Get 5% Off from United's Website. When their telephone reservation volume is high, they redirect you to the web with an offer of 5% off. The specific URL changes each time, but it just redirects to the link I've provided. You have to log into the site (with your frequent flyer number and password) in order to use it.

FareChase

On The Fly Travel

Checking Alternate Airports

In my home town of Washington, DC the price from Dulles to Oakland is generally much cheaper than flying Dulles to San Francisco because of competition from JetBlue. Many flights departing Baltimore are cheaper than those departing Dulles or Reagan National because of competition from Southwest (though Airtran brings down the price on several East Coast routes from the other airports).

Whenever possible, check alternate airports both for departure and arrival: Oakland or San Jose rather than San Francisco... Santa Ana, Burbank, Long Beach, or Ontario instead of Los Angeles... Baltimore rather than Washington's Dulles or Reagan... West Palm Beach or Ft. Lauderale instead of Miami.. just to name a few.

Expedia Used to Have Cool Tools, They Don't Offer Them Anymore Not directly, anyway. But the direct links still work.

Airline Fare List

Fare Compare

Travelocity Also Has a Fare List Engine

Where Can I Go Inexpensively From Where I Live?

Yahoo!'s Best Fares

SmarterLiving Airfare Deals (This link defaults to Washington DC, reset to your own city)

Travelocity's Dream Maps (This link defaults to BWI, reset to your own airport)

Sites to Check for Period Good Deals

Travel Zoo Top 20

MSNBC's Travel Deals Blog

Also sign up for Scott Carmichael's Airfare Deals e-mail alert list which sends out alerts on pricing glitches and similar offers.

Air & Hotel Package Deals

Site59

Priceline Vacation Packages

Advanced Tools

Class Availability Tools

Mathias Metzger's Availability Tool (Software Install, Very Powerful)

ITA Software. This is the programming and logic behind Orbitz. Very powerful search features. I highly recommend reading their help section.

Where Should I Sit On the Plane?

Seat Guru

Seat Expert is similar to SeatGuru, covering several international carriers not listed on Seat Guru.

How Can I Earn the Most Miles for My Trip?

Unofficial Guide to American Airlines AAdvantage

Unofficial Guide to United Airlines Mileage Plus

Webflyer's Searchable Database of Current Mileage Promotions

How Many Miles Will I Earn for My Trip? The "Great Circle Mapper" allows you to enter routes using airport codes and it will tell you how many miles from each airport and display the route on a world map.

Free Frequent Flyer Miles. Gary Steiger compiles a great and well-organized resource with the best frequent flyer mileage offers for various activities -- from flight bonuses to the best frequent flyer credit card signup offers.

Flyertalk.com is a huge bulletin board with over 2.5 million posts focused on miles and points. Everything you could ever want to know can be found here.

Miletracker is a great free downloadable program to track all of your miles and points programs.

Posted by gleff at 6:30 AM | Comments (0)

May 7, 2004

Why Priceline Acquired Travelweb (and Lowestfare.com)

Jared Blank offers a basic point that I was too dense to see. Priceline acquired Travelweb, the hotel booking service, for the same reason they began offering retail airfare -- so that they could sell travel to consumers whose bids failed.

They don't expect consumers to start at Priceline for their retail travel, but they don't need to lose all of their customers who are unsuccessful with their opaque bidding product.

Posted by gleff at 6:21 PM | Comments (0)

The Business of the Backend of Bookings

Expedia, which processed most of its airline bookings through Worldspan, has inked a relationship with Sabre. It's unclear how much Expedia business will move over, but I was surprised to learn that Expedia accounts for more than 10% of Worldspan revenues.

Posted by gleff at 4:56 PM | Comments (0)

Boston Attacks Airport Congestion Sort Of

Boston's Logan Airport plans to adopt peak pricing for landing fees.

Prices certainly matter, but the specific plan amounts to

Mn attempt to pacify all sides, from airlines likely to balk at the fees, to passengers concerned about long delays, to regulators that want to head them off.The specifics are unfortunately driven by an attempt to pacify litigious constituents, and ignore some really great ideas. A couple of months ago Lynne Kiesling wrote about the potential for auctioning off slots to allocate them to their highest valued uses and control congestion. (I argued then that technological solutions to improve air traffic control were equally important.)

Posted by gleff at 4:40 PM | Comments (0)

New Service to New Zealand

Air New Zealand is offering $748 roundtrip airfare to inaugurate its new San Francisco-Auckland service.

Service starts June 30th, and also represents a great opportunity for frequent flyers with miles in United or USAirways accounts to head Down Under. There are likely to be award tickets available as these flights are just now bookable.

Posted by gleff at 3:00 PM | Comments (0)

May 5, 2004

Miles for Music is Now Online

The Sony-United Airlines music download partnership is now online. They're promoting it with a live Sheryl Crow concert about a United flight from Chicago to Los Angeles.

This new website allows you to redeem 10,000 United miles for 100 song downloads or 10 album downloads. At a rough rule of $1 a song, this deal translates into a value of one cent a mile -- hardly the best use of miles, but also about average for mileage-to-merchandise redemption opportunities. And it could certainly be a good use for acounts with either stray mileage or an abundance of miles (after all, how many first class flights to Hong Kong or Sydney can one person take?).

The partnership also provides 2 miles per dollar spent on music downloads when paying with the United Visa instead of the usual one mile per dollar on standard purchases (but only on purchases of $20 or more).

The mileage cost per song is about where I would have expected it to be, though I would have liked to see more options for fewer songs and fewer miles. Perhaps that will come as the site gets off the ground.

The one caveat I'm hearing so far is that the music won't work on an ipod (or MacOS more generally).

Posted by gleff at 1:53 PM | Comments (0)

May 3, 2004

My take on this year's Freddie Awards

A full recap of