I give United grief about a lot of things, but one task it does very well is providing information on award space for nearly all its partners on United.com. They have one of the best award search engines such that I rarely have to call an agent to book an award. Sometimes I can even change it online.

So why are they removing the ability to see award space for Singapore Airlines? It’s not like there was very much to begin with, and there are reports that other Star Alliance partners like AviancaTaca had access to more than United. Yet this is what UA Insider announced yesterday on FlyerTalk:

I wanted to give you an early heads up about an upcoming change to the Star partner award availability you see displayed online. Singapore Airlines and United have agreed to remove Singapore Airlines inventory from our award flight search results on united.com and on the United Mobile App. This will take effect starting tomorrow, December 13, You will still to be able to book and change award reservations involving Singapore Airlines by calling our reservations lines.

Okay… but it doesn’t solve any obvious problem. And as far as we know award availability isn’t changing — United is just making it more difficult to book. This confuses me. At least they’ll waive the extra fee for booking an award online, right?

Nope.

The simple reason–and this is a consistent policy across all airlines which are not yet online–is that there is substantial additional work required to price and ticket these awards in our contact centers.

I’m not sure here if UA Insider is referring to United’s own policy or the policy at other airlines. The language is a bit vague. But if the latter, the most obvious counterexample is British Airways.

I love BA’s Avios points for the ability to book cheap award flights on Alaska Airlines. It’s a pain to have to call them before their call center closes at 4 PM (more like 3 PM in practice) but at least they always waive the fee without even having to ask.

Removing award space for Lufthansa I could understand. There’s a lot of phantom award space out there and it would reduce confusion and complaints. But the same isn’t true for Singapore. The only good reason (from United’s perspective) for implementing this change is that fewer people will know Singapore Airlines has award space available, and even those who do may be less willing to pay the fee to book it. So United doesn’t have to pay Singapore if its customers don’t book awards. This is likely nothing more than a cost-saving measure.

An alternative perspective being discussed on FlyerTalk is that Singapore has made or will make similar moves to remove award visibility through other programs; I haven’t confirmed this and am only repeating others’ rumors. So this may not be United’s choice and it could be an effort to improve Singapore’s exclusivity. Singapore has long liked to pretend its better. I happen to agree, but that’s not how alliances are supposed to work.

The post United.com Hides Singapore Airlines Award Space appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

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Amol and I have spoken at length about the benefits of British Airways’ Avios program, which uses a distance-based award chart that is often cheaper than most other award booking options. For example, you can book non-stop flights on partners like American Airlines and Alaska Airlines for as little as 4,500 points (instead of 12,500 miles). Avios is also one of the cheapest ways to get to Hawaii at only 25,000 points round-trip in economy class.

Another benefit of Avios is the ability to form a Household Account to pool points from more than one individual. Megan and I have each applied for the British Airways Visa Signature card I discussed yesterday, and after meeting the spend requirements to earn the maximum bonus amount we will each have 125,000 Avios points. Rather than book pricy awards individually or try to balance the withdrawal of points from one account at a time, we have created a Household Account that will — eventually — reflect the combined balance of 250,000 points. More points in one pot are always easier to work with. (And parents could more easily take advantage of the points their children earned to book their own weekend escapes.)

Household Accounts used to come with a potentially serious limitation. As an individual I could book awards for myself or any other person. But by creating a Household Account we limited ourselves to only bookings awards for the people who joined the account and living at the same address. Even if I fudged the details and made our parents and siblings change their addresses, that still means I couldn’t book an award, say, for my college friends. And I couldn’t change the names listed on the account more than once every six months. In exchange for the flexibility of pooling points, British Airways effectively said those were the only people for whom you could book tickets.

Now, the rules of Household Accounts have been loosened to allow you to book Avios awards for other individuals who don’t live at the same address. They don’t even have to have an Avios account. This is not the same as adding new people to the Household Account and including their points in the pot. Rather it is a separate “Family and Friends” list of people who may benefit from the accumulated points in the shared account. You can add up to five additional people to this list. You are still limited to booking awards for people who are either (1) a member of the Household Account or (2) on the Family and Friends list.

There are still several limits on the flexibility of the Family and Friends list that, like the Household Account, and meant to prevent you from booking tickets for more than these five people. Most significantly, you cannot remove a person from the list until they have been on it for six months.

The change makes it possible to book tickets for that college friend, additional family members beyond the original seven, or someone who was previously unwilling to skirt the rules by changing his or her address. If you face a situation with more family members than slots for your Household Account, I’d recommend adding to the Household Account only people who are actively earning Avios points. The “freeloaders” who mainly benefit from the redemption side of the equation should be added to the Family and Friends list.

The post British Airways Loosens Rules for Household Accounts appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

Megan and I took a two-week tour of Southeast Asia during our honeymoon in August/September of this year. Here’s the Trip Report Index:

• Booking the Honeymoon
• Asiana Airlines Business Class (SEA-ICN, HKG-ICN, and ICN-SEA)
• Seoul-Incheon Airport and Singapore Airlines Business Class (ICN-SIN)
• Singapore Zoo
• Singapore Airlines Business Class (SIN-DPS)
• St. Regis Bali – Part 1
• St. Regis Bali – Part 2
• Day Trip to Ubud
• Thai Airways Business Class (DPS-BKK, BKK-HKT, and HKT-HKG)
• St. Regis Bangkok
• Westin Siray Bay Phuket
• Conrad Hong Kong

Megan and spent most of our time in Bali at the St. Regis, but we did take one trip to Ubud, a mountain village that is on the must-see list for nearly all tourists that visit Bali. I agree that it is a must-see, but personally I could probably afford skipping it on future trips now that I have been there once.

We hired a driver through the St. Regis concierge at a rate of approximately $100 for the day, plus tip. We were met at 9 AM by a friendly driver and a well-maintained, spacious SUV. It was definitely a step up from the smaller Bluebird taxis. Many taxi drivers will offer to drive you to Ubud for the day, but the larger vehicle is worth it because it is definitely an all-day affair.

Our driver took us through the city traffic around Denpasar and made friendly conversation most of the way. I thought he struck a good balance between avoiding awkward silences and not being too chatty. In the process he learned a bit about America and we learned more about Bali.

I was skeptical at first about how this trip would pan out. He immediately proposed several stops along the way to Ubud, at little “villages” that made certain handicrafts that we might be interested in learning more about and possibly purchasing. I’ve run into such scams in Bangkok before and really didn’t want to be pressured into a hard sell. I wanted to visit Ubud and was paying for the privilege. Anything else was extraneous.

Fortunately our driver proved my suspicions wrong, and we actually enjoyed most of these detours. Our first stop was at a jewelry workshop. The elaborate designs on the side of the building enchanted Megan, and inside we could see several dozen employees each working on a single step in the manufacturing process: bending metal wire, polishing stones, or inserting gems into their clasps. It wasn’t particularly high tech, but it was far more professional than I expected. We bought a small pair of earrings for Megan and no one pressured us to buy anything more. It was much the same at the other places we stopped. Buy something if you like it, but there was no pressure.

Our second stop was a batik factory. Here, fabrics are dyed in multicolored patterns using wax to block out parts of the pattern, much like dying an Easter egg. Designers outside the storefront were applying the hot, brown wax to the white cloth in elaborate patterns. We didn’t get to see them dying the cloths and melting the wax out, but inside there were many scarves, shirts, and even artwork that we could purchase. None of this was particularly appealing so we took a look around and left quickly.

Our third and fourth stops were at an old Hindu temple and an art gallery. The outdoor temple was an interesting experience but perhaps not as edifying as it might have been if our driver had come with us. It was at this point we realized our driver was really just that: he drove us from point to point and made suggestions, but we were on our own when we arrived. I was fine with that as I have never been a huge fan of guided tours. The art gallery was the only place where we became more concerned about the role driver played in guiding our purchasing decisions. It was more expensive than the other places we visited, and since it was raining during the 30 minutes we spent there we couldn’t really go anywhere else. But it was all very pretty and one of the better stops along the road.

The art gallery was quite impressive, not just the artwork on display but also the building and courtyards.

Other than the jeweler, the only other shop we purchased from was the woodshop at our final stop before Ubud. This was also the only place with a hard sell. We were given a short tour of the carving and staining process (relatively unimpressive, using shoe polish rather than actual wood stain). Many of the carvings were some kind of phallus, some of them key chains and others four-foot tall sculptures — as if anyone would want that in their living room.

We did see a few jewelry boxes, and I suggested Megan buy one since she had always complained about not having enough places to keep her jewelry. And this is where things got interesting.

The “official” list price was 900,000 rupiah, but the dealer who followed us around claimed to be able to do better. I hate bargaining, so it’s good he offered because I was ready to walk away at 900K (about $75). He went back and forth between us and his “boss” doing all the haggling for us, eventually getting down to 400K rupiah. He made it sound like he was cheating his boss and dropped a fairly obvious hint he expected a bribe for his assistance. He got an extra 50K for his trouble.

Is 450K still too much? Maybe. But what is a fair price when you’re buying your wife a present on your honeymoon? I’m just impressed that this guy did all the haggling on his own. For the record, I don’t haggle. The merchant will either offer a fair price or he won’t, and I’ll pay or I’ll walk away. In this case both parties ended up happy.

Finally we made it to Ubud. I was not impressed with the village itself. There were lots of touristy shops there selling the usual crap, and more temples like the one we already stopped at but overrun with other tourists taking photos. I was glad we had stopped at the shops along the way and gotten this over with. The only things we did in Ubud were eat lunch and visit Monkey Forest. Lunch was great and cost about 200K.

Monkey Forest, however ,was the highlight. I loved Monkey Forest. Absolutely and without reservation. Megan was about ready to leave as soon as we arrived. I left when I was good and ready, smelling like monkey for the rest of the day.

See, I’ve worked with all kinds of animals as a biologist. My favorite course in high school was anatomy, when we got to dissect a member of every phylum. The fetal pig was a highlight. And in college and graduate school I’ve worked with worms, mice, rats, fish, and rhesus macaques. The macaques terrified me for most of my internship at the National Institutes of Health, yet I enjoyed the experience because there are so few opportunities to interact with primates in the United States. Megan’s fear is an example of this. By and large our culture is afraid of what we can’t control.

Monkeys are everywhere in Asia, not just in Monkey Forest, and I was determined to interact with them in an environment free of cages and collars. So when our driver dropped us off and warned against buying any bananas, the first thing I did was reach for my wallet. As you can see from the photos, they very much enjoyed my generosity.

Some of them were more eager than others for a banana.

Yes, I got chased a few times.

The monkeys had their own temple.

About as close as Megan ever got.

I will warn you that primates are very strong for their size, and they aren’t restrained by human ideas of “right” and “wrong.” If they want that banana, they will get it. Think of a toddler with the strength of a teenager who has nothing left to loose. My best recommendation is to give the camera to someone else and keep the bananas out of sight in your pockets. Their sense of smell is not as good, but they will follow you if they can see you are holding food. A few who had clearly had their fill already were content to sit and watch.

On our way back we made only one request, a stop at a kopi luwak farm to try the infamous coffee made when civets eat coffee cherries and poop them out. Their digestive system is said to impart a unique flavor to the beans, and the difficult of harvesting them in bulk makes it the most expensive coffee in the world.

Our driver knew of one place that had opened recently with small plots of several kinds of plants, including coffee, chocolate, tea, and more. We got to see the civet they kept on the premises. And we paid about 10K rupiah for a tasting of different teas and coffees (5K is the usual tasting fee, plus 5K extra for the kopi luawack). I can’t say the kopi luwack impressed me, as a Seattle coffee snob, but it could be due to the way they prepared the coffee and left the grounds in the cup. It certainly wasn’t bad. The teas were much better — and also sweeter.

We got back to the hotel around 6 PM, just in time to head to one of the St. Regis’ restaurants for dinner. Overall it was a great experience and one I am very glad we took. I’m not sure you need to explore the rest of the island on every day of your trip, as I might suggest if you were visiting Hawaii, but you should certainly make at least some effort. The people of Bali were always friendly and welcoming, and the prices in Indonesia for a trip like this may seem high but are generally affordable once you convert them back to U.S. dollars.

The post Honeymoon Trip Report: Day Trip to Ubud appeared first on Hack My Trip.

       

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This Thursday, I’ll be back at the monthly meetup for frequent flyers in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve been absent for a long time from these monthly meetings with readers, but thanks are due to Biggles for keeping them going. Because I do still have several deadlines on my schedule — but also because it’s actually a decent bar with nearby parking — I’m going to host the meetup at TanakaSan in the Via6 building at 6th Avenue and Lenora.

I live upstairs, but I will be waiting in the Mezzanine area overlooking the lobby around 5 PM, near the pool table and other games. Feel free to stop by and chat about travel, particularly all the recent changes to United, American, Alaska, and Delta and how they affect the Seattle market. Parking is available on side streets and in the underground garage.

Where?

TanakaSan
2121 6th Ave
Seattle

When?

Thursday, December 19
Starting around 5 PM

The post Seattle Meetup at TanakaSan on Thursday appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

Last week I suggested that airline elite status may not be justified for some people any longer as programs have changed their rules and their award charts in the past year or two. I promised to follow up with a quick evaluation of the current programs and where they still offer some value to their customers. I am going to try to keep a positive spin on this even though I’m planning to leave United Airlines next year. And since I lined up a lot of criticisms last week, today I’ll give them priority.

I was willing to give United my business for three years as a Premier 1K because of three main benefits. First, United served the cities I visited. I could reach friends and family in places like Amarillo, San Francisco, and Orange County without too many inconvenient detours. Second, United has a large presence in both Asia and Europe — two continents that have been recent interests of mine. And, third, I have appreciated the complimentary upgrades for companions even though the policy is no longer quite as beneficial in practice as it was under the old United, pre-merger.

Such value kept me with United even with some customer service issues. MileagePlus use to be considered one of the more valuable loyalty programs (and may still be). They had a valuable award chart and partnered with many excellent international partners. The MileagePlus Select credit card I signed up for several years ago was actually quite good, offering the chance to earn triple miles plus a few elite qualifying miles when I bought United tickets.

As someone who does a lot of domestic travel, I appreciated the complimentary domestic upgrades more than any international upgrade certificates, regardless of their restrictions. And as someone who does a lot of travel with a companion, I appreciated that her upgrades were complimentary, too.

The problem is that in the past year United has made several changes to reduce the value of its loyalty program for some people. The introduction of Premier Qualfiying Dollars effectively places a value on every customer, no matter how many miles they fly. What matters is how many dollars they spend, instead. Credit cards like my trusty MP Select have been replaced with others like the MileagePlus Explorer that share the benefits of Silver and Gold status with anyone willing to pay an annual fee. And elite mileage-earning bonuses have been reduced, meaning even Premier Gold status is no longer worth much if you only get a 50% bonus.

These days, the new sweet spot for United is no longer Premier 1K (for the upgrades) or Premier Gold (for bonus miles and international lounge access) but rather Premier Platinum. With a co-branded United credit card, customers can still bypass the PQD requirement by spending $25,000 per year on their credit card or changing their address to one outside the U.S.  All that’s left is to fly 75,000 miles in a year.

And for that, you continue to get access to some complimentary upgrades, though I doubt they will clear very often with so many Premier 1Ks about. The 75% mileage earning bonus is not awful, though still not as good as the 100% offered by United’s competitors. And you’ll still receive two regional upgrades each year. The real value is that Platinum members still receive free same-day changes to revenue fares and free changes and cancellations on award tickets. This means you can continue to freely earn and redeem miles earned through other avenues, such as Ultimate Rewards-affiliated credit and charge cards.

If you do get a United-branded credit card, they’re not too bad. I don’t think they’re really worth it for the benefits if you already have elite status, but they stand out in two ways:

• Primary rental car insurance coverage with both the MileagePlus Club and Explorer cards, meaning Chase steps in before you have to file a claim with your own insurance company.
• A generous 1.5 miles per dollar on all purchases with the MileagePlus Club card, making it ideal for manufactured spend.

I’m not sure that the Club card is actually worth it for a membership to the United Club given that they have downgraded the food and beverage offerings at these airport lounges. But it’s not too difficult to get some extra value out of the bonus miles. If you were a Premier Platinum member, I’d probably recommend this card over the Explorer. Use it for manufactured spend, as I suggested, to get the PQD waiver and 37,500 miles.

And United’s miles are still valuable due to some flexible routing rules. No, not as flexible as they used to be, but pretty darn flexible when compared to Delta, which makes it hard to find any saver award space, or American, which has some limiting stopover rules. It’s just painful if you want to redeem United’s miles for first class on another carrier. As long as you’re still traveling in business (which is perfectly alright in my book) then you will probably be okay under the new award charts.

The post Is Status Worth It? The Case for United Airlines appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

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• If you're just going for the PQD waiver and you'll stop the ... by Jose
• I think United provided the foreign address option as most ... by Scottrick
• This is one view but not mine. First off you should not be able ... by NB

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Jeff Zidell just announced on MilePoint and FlyerTalk that Hyatt Gold Passport’s newest promotion will launch on January 15, 2014, and run through April 30. This is a fairly long promotional period of 3.5 months — a good thing since you’ll have the chance to choose one of two valuable opportunities.

We all loved when Hyatt offered Faster Free Nights during the recession, with the chance to earn free nights at any Hyatt hotel after just a couple of cheap stays. Jeff has previously said that we are unlikely to ever see that again. That doesn’t mean Hyatt can’t do something similar.

At registration, Gold Passport members will have to choose between two bonus opportunities:

Choose Free Nights

This opportunity lets members earn a free night at any Category 1-4 hotel worldwide after staying five nights. You can earn a maximum of four free nights after completing 20 qualifying nights. The free nights will be redeemable with no blackout dates through July 31, 2014. Here are some examples of Category 4 hotels I’ve stayed at in the past:

• Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf (good for tourists)
• Hyatt Regency San Francisco (close to BART)
• Hyatt Regency Boston (recent remodel)
• New York-New York (part of M Life partnership in Las Vegas)
• Hyatt at The Bellevue (Philadelphia)
• Grand Hyatt Seattle (better upgrades)
• Hyatt at Olive8 (also Seattle; better breakfast)
• Park Hyatt Toronto (excellent rooftop bar)

A few truly excellent Category 4 hotels are moving to Category 5, but there are still some good choices here.

Choose Bonus Points

Hyatt likes to offer exponential bonus awards, increasing the number of points earned at each qualifying tier. This promotion is no different, offering just 5,000 points when you stay 5 nights and 50,000 points when you stay 20 nights. Those 50,000 points are worth two nights at a category 6 hotel under the new ward chart that goes into effect on January 7, 2014.

• Stay 5 nights, earn 5,000 points
• Stay 10 nights, earn an additional 10,000 points (15,000 total)
• Stay 15 nights, earn an additional 15,000 points (30,000 total)
• Stay 20 nights, earn an additional 20,000 points (50,000 total)

Which Strategy Should You Choose?

The free nights strategy offers a fixed award at every qualifying tier, rewarding members who think they may only have a few qualifying stays during the offer period. Those who know they will book all 20 nights should probably pick the bonus points. If you fall short, the extra 20,000 points between 15 nights and 20 nights may even be worth a mattress run.

Free nights are still more valuable to those people who think that’s how they would use any bonus points. A category 4 award night will normally cost 15,000 points under the new award chart. Even at the high end, when the bonus points increase exponentially, free nights are worth more because four Category 4 award nights are 60,000 points.

An obvious drawback of free nights is that they expire three months after the promotional period ends. You better have plans to use them before that time is up.

I am more inclined toward the bonus points. Not necessarily because I think I will book all 20 nights but because I could combine the points with those I already have for more valuable awards. I also won’t have to worry about my points expiring.

Registration begins on January 9, 2014, and at that time I’ll be sure to share a link for you to sign up. See the post on MilePoint for more terms and conditions.

The post Hyatt’s “Endless Possibilities” Promotion Begins on January 15 appeared first on Hack My Trip.

       

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Alaska Airlines, like much of the Pacific Northwest, sometimes seems to me like it lacks the attention it deserves in this country. But for the most part it works better that way. Surrounded by hundreds of miles of forest with only a few large cities, we do things without interference from the rest of you. A local insurance company even has creative ads celebrating Seattle stereotypes.

The biggest problem with Alaska is that they aren’t all that useful if you want to leave our protected enclave. There are lots of flights within the Pacific Northwest and to other states on the West Coast (including Alaska and Hawaii) — but not much beyond the Rockies. Connections are less common, making mileage runs impractical. On the other hand, they fly to just about every little airport in this region, and it’s also where American Airlines has its weakest presence, so many of their customers may find themselves on an Alaska Airlines codeshare.

This route map (only slightly outdated) doesn’t even bother to show the entire United States.

Perhaps in response to more direct and shorter flights, members can earn status with fewer flown miles. You can, for example, earn MVP status with only 20,000 miles instead of the 25,000 most carriers require, and MVP Gold status requires only 40,000 miles instead of 50,000. But these discounted qualification terms only apply if you fly solely on Alaska Airlines; those who credit partner flights must meet the usual standard.

Partnerships like the one with American are important because Alaska’s international network is almost non-existent. But again, Alaska turns this to its advantage. Like Southwest, it can focus on providing excellent service in the domestic market. It also partners with a very diverse group of other airlines. Instead of joining a regular alliance, it works with a mix of mostly SkyTeam and Oneworld carriers like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, British Airways, and AirFrance. You can earn and redeem miles on all of them through Alaska’s Mileage Plan program.

Earn miles, yes, but there are few reciprocal status benefits. Only American and Delta offer recognition to Alaska Airlines’ elite members, and only Delta provides these members a shot at an upgrade (a very slim one, naturally, coming after Delta’s own customers).

To make up for the lack of such things as international upgrades and a large alliance, Alaska provides generous benefits to its elite members. MVP Gold members — who, remember, can qualify with only 40,000 miles — can cancel their tickets at any time before departure and receive a full credit for a future flight. This is a benefit no other major U.S. carrier provides with the exception of Southwest Airlines. Even ordinary customers will soon be able to cancel tickets 60 days in advance. (I’ve discussed before why most travelers –the vast number of infrequent ones — should consider Mileage Plan.)

Upgrades are not always easy on popular routes, but I’ve had pretty good success as an MVP Gold and even got upgraded with Megan on a flight to Hawaii over a holiday weekend. Other times I’ve been upgraded on award tickets. There just aren’t as many elites as you would find among one of their giant competitors.

Service in first class is nothing too special, but I wouldn’t say it’s worse than any other domestic first class cabin. I actually like that there are no seat-back IFEs. The buzzing televisions on United drive me crazy and distract from my reading. Customers are given the option to use a portable digEplayer instead. The service is consistently friendly, which means more to me than any hard product. And the meals are a little different, too. My observation is that flight attendants often receive and cook the food in one large container before spooning it out onto individual plates. That means no baked-on cheese or sauce that detracts from the appearance, and the plates are neither too hot nor too cold. On that flight to Hawaii we got a special printed menu and meal choices.

If Alaska could do one thing, I’d appreciate some in-seat power. And it’s unfortunate that the bulkhead (Row 6) is the only row in economy class with extra legroom. At least there is no solid barrier at your feet.

Customers who fly 75,000 miles on Alaska only or 90,000 miles on Alaska and its partners can obtain MVP Gold 75K status, but the perks aren’t that much greater than MVP Gold. You’ll get an extra 50,000 bonus miles, the chance to nominate a family member to MVP, and four passes to their Board Room airport lounge. You can already get lounge access with the American Express Platinum Card, though I guess you could use the passes for a family member to save the $25 companion fee. And the MVP nomination will be of most use to someone who doesn’t fly with you very often and share in your benefits.

Suggested Goal: “Settle” for MVP Gold

My recommendation is that most people seek MVP Gold status. It’s more obtainable than most people think, and it offers a level of recognition similar to the top tiers at some other carriers once you strip away the benefits that don’t match up. Compare it to mid-tier status at other airlines (which might be a more fair comparison, since none of those offer international upgrades) and I think it blows them away in what’s promised and in the ability of Alaska to deliver.

If you are a fan of mileage running, be wary. I pointed out in the beginning that crediting flights from partner airlines raises the qualification requirement from 40,000 miles to 50,000 miles. I know that Alaska doesn’t have good mileage runs and its partners may offer better ones. But consider the cost of doing so. The first 10,000 miles you earn effectively count toward nothing if, instead, you think you had a chance to earn status by flying on Alaska alone. If you already knew you’d have to include some “regular” travel on parter airlines, then you’ve bitten the bullet and may as well do a mileage run or two.

I’ll end with a compliment: Alaska is one of the few airlines that has made meaningful enhancements to its loyalty program in the past year. Despite a few devaluations to their award chart, they have added benefits, improved the onboard product, and offered a number of decent sales and promotions. They’re also still expanding their route network out east, trying to play better offense in an increasingly competitive industry. Unlike some airlines, I would not be worried about what the future holds if I decided to switch my loyalty to Alaska.

The post Is Status Worth It? The Case for Alaska Airlines appeared first on Hack My Trip.

       

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It seems like there’s a mad dash for hotel chains to partner up with Las Vegas resorts, an area where most brands don’t have a strong presence. The latest announcement is between Starwood Preferred Guest and Caesars Total Rewards, which will offer the chance to earn points and credit toward elite status for one program by staying at the other beginning January 9, 2014.

Earn Starpoints at Caesars Resorts

SPG members who have their accounts set to earn points (not miles) will be able to earn 2 points per dollar at participating Caesars resorts, up to a maximum of 100,000 Starpoints per year. Members will also be able to double dip and earn points through the Caesars Total Rewards program, as well, though I’m not going to spend too much time discussing a casino rewards program in this post. Just know there is some value in transferring Total Rewards points out to a program like Hawaiian Airlines.

Earn SPG Elite Status at Caesars Resorts

You also have the opportunity to earn up to ten nights toward SPG Gold or Platinum status each year. It is not possible to earn elite qualifying stays. These two limits are probably to prevent you from getting super cheap elite status with Las Vegas mattress runs — and I’m surprised Hyatt is any more lenient on the matter.

Although you can earn points (see above) for up to three rooms booked under your name, you can only earn elite qualifying nights with the room you personally stay in. This is a bit of step down from SPG’s normal rules, which permit earning points and status from up to three rooms. However, you can still earn elite qualifying nights if you choose to redeem points for an award stay at a Caesars hotel. I don’t recommend this as most Las Vegas hotels have pretty good rates if you plan in advance.

Many More Participating Hotels

I don’t particularly mind the limit on 10 elite qualifying nights per year because I’m only in Las Vegas for one or two weekends. Maybe I’ll bump that up to three with all the partnerships, but it’s unlikely I will earn my status just through such partner stays.

Instead, the most exciting thing about SPG and Caesars’ new partnership is that it includes many hotels outside of Las Vegas — unlike the Hyatt/MGM partnership.  These include:

• Bally’s Atlantic City, NJ
• Bally’s Las Vegas, NV
• Caesars Atlantic City, NJ
• Caesars Palace Las Vegas, NV
• Flamingo Las Vegas, NV
• Harrah’s Atlantic City, NJ
• Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, NV
• Harrah’s Las Vegas, NV
• Harrah’s New Orleans, LA
• Harrah’s Reno, NV
• Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, NV
• Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace, NV
• Paris Las Vegas, NV
• Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, NV
• The Quad Las Vegas, NV
• Rio Las Vegas, NV
• Showboat Atlantic City, NJ

My eye is on Harrah’s and Harvey’s in Lake Tahoe, which are adjacent to the Heavenly ski resort. Ordinarily there are not many options to make use of my elite status when I go to South Lake Tahoe other than a very expensive Marriott time share property. But the two casinos are pretty good and much cheaper.

Benefits for Total Rewards Members

As I said, I’m not going to go into detail on a casino rewards program in this post because they tend to be more complicated. But Total Rewards members will have the chance to earn some Starpoints and some Total Rewards members will be getting SPG Gold status, which is already easily obtained with an American Express Platinum card or a few other benefits. Similarly, many MGM elites get only Platinum status with Hyatt, which is offered through a credit card with an even lower annual fee.

It seems both hotel chains want to avoid an influx of gamblers to their top elite tiers. I’m not sure I understand the point of that. One employee at MGM’s Hakkasan club was surprised when he saw my NOIR card and said I must spend a million dollars a year, and a friend was talking about the program with me and suggested that there were only 100 NOIR members before the partnership. I think both of those comments are extreme, but it does seem to me that the casinos are more selective in their earning criteria and that these guests would be reasonable additions to Hyatt and Starwood’s top tiers.

Recap of Competing Hyatt/MGM Partnership

To provide comparison, earlier this year Hyatt Gold Passport teamed up with MGM Resorts’ Mlife program, offering similar earning power but also reciprocal elite status. I can stay at any of MGM’s Las Vegas properties and earn qualifying nights and stays as well as Gold Passport points.

My Hyatt Diamond status was matched temporarily to Mlife’s NOIR tier, but otherwise I’ll get Platinum status in future years. Such status makes it possible for me to get priority reservations and entry to most of MGM’s restaurants, shows, and clubs even though I’m not a big gambler. Many Mlife elites got Hyatt Platinum status — though there are reports that a few were given limited-time Diamond status.

Conclusion

The SPG/Total Rewards partnership is not nearly as lucrative in terms of status as the Hyatt/MLife partnership, but it does offer another way to boost your progress during the year. It is most valuable to those who are trying to qualify for SPG Platinum status with nights, probably for the suite night awards you earn at 50 nights per year or some of the other benefits at 75 and 100 nights. If you normally qualify with 25 stays, you’ll see less value.

The post Exciting New Partnership Between SPG and Caesars appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

Comments

• As someone who loves in NJ, this is pretty exciting. I was ... by Haldami

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Starwood Preferred Guest’s “Bring on the Nights” promotion for the start of 2014 is now accepting registration. Even if you don’t think you’ll participate, you should always register for promotions just in case. This offer lasts from January 5 through April 30, for example, but registration ends on February 28. That means if you later find yourself booking some Starwood hotels in March or April and haven’t registered, you’re out of luck.

Read my original post on this promotion for more details. I think it’s a decent offer, but not as good as the one wrapping up now. Guests receive the same 2,500 bonus Starpoints with every 5 stays. However, they do not get double points with each stay — an additional benefit of the current Q4 promotion.

The post Registration for SPG Q1 Promotion Now Open appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

Comments

• Yes, per T&Cs: “This promotion may be combined with other ... by Scottrick
• Is this stackable with a 2x points offer for requalifying for ... by Shane

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Don’t forget to stop by Tanakasan tomorrow for drinks and discussion about all things travel. I’ll be downstairs in the Mezzanine around 5 PM. Tanakasan is located at 2121 6th Ave. Get more details by reading the original post.

The post Reminder: Seattle Meetup Tomorrow appeared first on Hack My Trip.

       

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I generally don’t have nice things to say about Delta’s Sky Miles frequent flyer program. But Delta has also been making many changes lately that earn them a second look. So, as I did for United’s Premier Platinum tier (75,000 miles) and Alaska’s MVP Gold tier (40,000 miles), today I’ll make the case for pursing status with Delta Air Lines.

Delta generally comes across as a very well run airline. I hear mostly good things about customer service, they seem to offer good elite recognition and treatment, and they have some clever business practices. Why hedge fuel with prices with contracts when you can just buy an oil refinery? Why invest in expensive new aircraft when you can refurbish old ones (some savings go to pay for the higher fuel burn)? There are plenty of small aircraft that last 30 or 40 years. And the Crossover Rewards program with SPG is fairly creative. United’s “me too” partnership with Marriott is little more than an offer of free hotel status.

Thus it was not a big surprise when Delta began moving aggressively into the Seattle market. This is what I would expect from a company that, like Alaska, does things a little different. I think they recognize the growth potential up here, both for domestic traffic and as a jumping off point to Asia. In fact, while American and United battle it out with lie flat seats between SFO/LAX and JFK — routes Delta competes on, as well — only Delta offers a similar premium product from Seattle to JFK.

Still a lot of Alaska code shares on the West Coast, like American, but Delta is adding a few routes of its own.

I talk about this stuff because I think Delta is a very good airline for frequent flyers even if they aren’t a good airline for frequent flyer programs. You give up some of your benefits in exchange for a well-run airline, and I would not mind flying with them if I had a company to foot the bill and book me into higher fares. When I discussed United, I mentioned that one reason why I was willing to tolerate poor customer service was a very generous frequent flyer program. I would love an airline that does both well, but one or the other is generally sufficient to attract and retain customers.

SkyPesos … ahem, SkyMiles … are one of the least valuable domestic frequent flyer currencies. This is not to say they are always of low value, but using them wisely takes some skill and patience. I shouldn’t have to book some random return trip in order to get a good one-way award price. And while a three-tier award chart isn’t bad in itself, the upper and middle tiers seem to have the most common availability.

If you’re going to fly Delta, most of the value will come from the elite benefits and the customer service — not the miles. (They did, after all, devalue the award chart twice in the last year, most recently with no notice.)

Delta’s 25,000-mile and 50,000-mile tiers don’t get you many benefits that are unique from competitors’ programs. Like with United and American, you can replicate many of the same perks with a co-branded credit card. Instead, I will focus on the Platinum (75,000 miles) and Diamond (125,000 miles) tiers. Delta was the first to a four-tier elite program, and while United followed it and American probably will, too, it stands out by significantly raising the bar for the top tier. No other loyalty program requires 125,000 miles to reach the upper echelon. Is it worth it?

Both receive a generous baggage allowance, preferred seating in economy class, and complimentary upgrades for themselves and a companion. These are similar to what Gold members get without all the extra miles. They get a free drink in economy class, which American offers its 100,000-mile fliers and Alaska offers its 40,000-mile fliers.

Platinum and Gold members both get 100% bonus miles, but Diamond is a step higher with a 125% bonus. It’s a small boost that doesn’t impress me much. What is impressive is the complimentary SkyClub membership for Diamond members. I don’t know of any other U.S. airline that offers lounge access on wholly domestic flights as an elite benefit. But still, I suppose you could always just apply for an American Express Platinum Card and save yourself the trouble of mileage running your way to the top. You’ll still have access to SkyClubs on same-day Delta tickets even after American Airlines ends its partnership with Amex.

Some of you are wondering when I’m going to get around to Medallion Qualifying Dollars. Delta was first out the gate with this spend-for-status requirement, followed by United. But I haven’t complained about it nearly as much as I have about United’s Premier Qualifying Dollars because Delta offers a credit card spend waiver for all elite tiers while United excludes its top tier from this option. It is an unfortunate trend but not a serious concern.

If you’d asked me a few weeks ago which SkyMiles elite tier to go for, I probably would have recommended Platinum — the same verdict I gave for United and for the same reasons: a reasonably good shot at complimentary upgrades, a good mileage bonus, and some fee waivers for same-day changes and award tickets. Delta did offer systemwide upgrades, but they were almost worthless.

Amol discussed the changes to these upgrades quite well. Unlike the old version, they will be applicable to almost all fares except the most deeply discounted E fares. This seems a fair compromise and still better than United’s W-fare requirement that can cost 50% or more above typical advance-purchase K/L fares. I don’t expect every airline to be as generous as American is with completely unrestricted upgrades. The catch is that Platinum members will only receive Regional upgrades, while Diamond members will have the option to select Global upgrades. If you do a fair amount of international travel, then making the effort for Diamond status could be worthwhile.

Delta also improved the upgrade process to Hawaii, making routes from the West Coast eligible for complimentary upgrades. This is consistent with programs like United (whose flights from Houston and the East Coast require a regional upgrade instrument).

What we have here is an airline with a good route network, good service, and efforts to improve the value of its loyalty program. The miles are still not much to get excited about, but I think either Diamond or Platinum status is a worthy goal. It depends a lot on your travel patterns: whether you fly international or domestic and if you have a boss already willing to buy business class fares for you. It also depends on whether you can fly 125,000 miles in a year, which would impress even me.

The post Is Status Worth It? The Case for Delta Air Lines appeared first on Hack My Trip.

       

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In the spirit of their current #nonstopservice campaign, Alaska Airlines is picking up the tab for those who plan to fly home for Christmas on December 23 and 24. You can make a reservation through the Uber app, and Alaska will pay up to $50 of your bill. As usual for Uber, taxes and tip are included in the quoted price on the app, so this could easily pay for most of your ride.

Unfortunately, the promotion is only for trips to the airport, though I guess that makes sense as these are the people most likely to be potential Alaska Airlines customers (not those flying in, who could have their own preferred carrier in their respective home markets). I’d like to use it on my trip back on the 24th since Megan will be returning early and taking the car with her. Oh well.

Download the app on your phone, pick SeaTac as your destination, and the first $50 should be automatically charged to Alaska’s account during the two-day promotion.

More Terms & Conditions:

• The complimentary on-demand car service is for rides to Sea-Tac Airport only.
• Passengers whose rides exceed the free $50 trip will have the additional fee charged to their credit card on file.
• Uber rides available on a first-come, first-served basis. Cars typically seat four passengers and are available 24 hours a day. For information about Uber’s King County service area and pricing, visit http://blog.uber.com/UberSEAgift .
• The offer is valid while supplies last from midnight, Dec. 23 through 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 24.

The post Alaska Airlines Offering Free Uber Rides to SeaTac appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

Comments

• No, they don't. by Scottrick
• The T&C's don't seem to require that you fly AS by Carl

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I was pretty pleased with myself two weeks ago when I posted about my experience giving up my seat on an overbooked flight on United Airlines in exchange for a shorter itinerary and an upgrade. Examining my account statement later it turns out I did have to redeem my regional upgrade on my new flight, which wasn’t an issue. But in order not to mislead you too much, I need to warn you that I didn’t get the fare-class bonus miles as I thought the agent and I had agreed.

See, I told the agent that it was very important to fly from Seattle to Newark via San Francisco in order to earn enough miles to requalify for Premier 1K status, and the direct itinerary he was proposing would leave me short of that target. He and I both seemed to think that if he rebooked me in Y (instead of my original L fare) that I would get a 50% bonus on elite qualifying miles to make up for this change. I was satisfied with this and didn’t even get the usual denied boarding compensation.

A few readers warned me that it might not work out as I hoped, and they were right — though in my defense if an agent says you should get the bonus miles I think its fair to expect them. It is true that ordinary rebooking and upgrade scenarios don’t get you a new fare class. I thought in this case that maybe the agent had done something differently.

Fortunately everything worked out in the end and I was able to request original routing credit a week after the trip. I also received the electronic travel credit I didn’t originally get at the gate. I never asked for it, but it was a nice gesture for the inconvenience.

In the future I should take my own advice from an earlier post and request that the itinerary be marked as an “involuntary change.” This makes it much more likely that you will be successful requesting original routing credit even if it didn’t turn out to be an issue this time. Perhaps it helped that we were so close to the end of the year; I might have found a less sympathetic agent if it were January.

The post Update on Upgrade Shenanigans appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

Comments

• This year I was a Platinum at (99999) when I took my 7500 miles ... by Vansh
• I had a printed receipt indicating the change for that segment. ... by Scottrick
• I didn't particularly care about getting a fare-class bonus. It ... by Scottrick
• I usually take a screenshot of the Y-class flight on my ... by Vansh
• It's not a bug or glitch, it's by design, and worked correctly ... by Chase
• I could write a whole book on United schenanigans after my ... by Michelle S

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Wrapping up my series this week, today I will make the case for elite status on American Airlines. You can also read what I thought earlier about United, Delta, and Alaska and the “sweet spots” in each of their loyalty programs. But much of what I say about American should be taken with a grain of salt. We don’t really know what changes to expect from the merger of US Airways and American Airlines. We’ve been told to expect a level of service comparable to American, which has tried to position itself as a premium domestic carrier. Yet the guys running the show are from US Airways, which I would put in a very different category.

Because it takes time to integrate an airline (major changes probably won’t go into effect until 2015), and because of the suggestion the new American will hew closely to the old American, I will conduct my analysis on the existing American Airlines AAdvantage program except where noted.

The new American Airlines will be the largest airline in the world, surpassing United Airlines. However, it will still have a very weak network on the West Coast, particularly the Pacific Northwest. Even Delta, which its new expansion in the Seattle markets looks more impressive to me. And while both American and Delta partner with Alaska Airlines to fill in their West Coast gaps, I am more impressed with Delta’s partnership that includes reciprocal upgrade privileges. As an American AAdvantage elite living here, it’s possible that many trips may begin and end with segments on Alaska Airlines in economy class.

I hope that the merger and exit from bankruptcy will provide the necessary capital and freedom from distraction to pursue some expansion in these regions. Until then, it’s fortunate that American has good partners like Cathay and Alaska. But knowing that there are areas American doesn’t serve with its own planes can be important. In the past I was devoted to United for international economy class because I could get extra legroom. That’s not an option with American if they don’t even fly where you’re going, though it may not matter if most of your international travel is on premium cabin award tickets.

Service on American Airlines has been fairly good the few times I’ve experienced it, both on award tickets this year and during a short-lived status match to Executive Platinum in 2012. Portions of food, and the variety and flavor, and certainly better both in the forward cabin and in the lounge. I would be more willing to pay for airport clubs if they actually offered food for sale rather than cheese cubes and crackers. American does, and now that they are pulling out of their partnership with American Express, I can say that I impressed enough during my few visits that I might consider buying a membership.

Beyond that, I don’t want to talk much about service quality. It is too easy to drop the ball during a merger. Let’s hope everything works out.

So on to the frequent flyer program itself. As with United and Delta I do not think there is much incentive to obtain Gold (25,000 miles) or Platinum (50,000 miles) if the benefits you care about like priority boarding and free checked baggage can be replicated with a co-branded credit card.

American does offer a few advantages over its competitors, however. Instead of complimentary upgrades ranked by status, American requires customers to earn and redeem 500-mile upgrade instruments. You’ll get 4 for every 10,000 miles you fly (a built-in 20% upgrade success rate) that let you choose when upgrades are most important to you. And what’s even better, you can buy more of these 500-mile upgrades at only $30 each. A red-eye from Los Angeles to Miami is only $150 to upgrade even if it still means waiting in a queue for upgrade space to open up.

Despite this, I think Executive Platinum is where the value lies with American Airlines. There is a big jump from the 50,000 miles that get you Platinum status to the 100,000 miles that earn Executive Platinum, but it could get filled in after the merger since US Airways already has four elite tiers. And matching that big jump, the benefits are very different, too. If you want waivers on award change fees, this is the only way to get them. But most of the improvements are on the upgrade issue. EXP members don’t need to worry about 500-mile upgrades because they are eligible for complimentary upgrades. Oddly enough, you have to request the upgrade when you book, though I’m told the success rate is pretty good.

This difference creates a hiccup when flying with a companion. Companions will need their own 500-mile upgrades just like other elite tiers, and as an Executive Platinum member with complimentary upgrades, you don’t earn any. So each time you fly with a companion you may find yourself shelling out to buy some 500-mile instruments. They’re not that expensive, but it is annoying.

The other major upgrade difference is that American provides EXP members with 8 unrestricted systemwide upgrades. There are no limits to the fares or routes on which you can apply them. It’s very similar to Delta’s recent changes, suggesting American is not likely to abandon them in the merger. Both are big improvements over United Airlines’ W-fare restriction on international upgrades. However, United also offer separate regional upgrades without fare restrictions, and if you are doing primarily domestic travel, then your 10 upgrades as a United 1K outnumber 8 for an American EXP. I expect that a new 75,000-mile tier at American would probably include 2 systemwide upgrades among its benefits.

There are so many improvements to Executive Platinum benefits over Platinum benefits that I find it difficult to recommend a lower tier at this time. American is an airline that, so far, has sought to provide the best recognition to its most frequent travelers. There is a strong disincentive to drop down to a lower rung, unlike at Delta, United, or Alaska where the middle tiers are still pretty good.

In summary, here are my recommendations for each airline’s award program, with links to he related posts. I think there’s a pretty good distribution of earning requirements here, suggesting each program has its own strengths.

• United Airlines — Premier Platinum (75,000 miles)
• Alaska Airlines — MVP Gold (40,000 miles)
• Delta Air Lines — Platinum Medallion (75,000 miles) or Diamond Medallion (125,000 miles)
• American Airlines — Executive Platinum (100,000 miles)

The post Is Status Worth It? The Case for American Airlines appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

Comments

• Thanks Scott. Would also like to see more Pacific NW expansion ... by CreditWalk
• The Citi Executive AAdvantage World MasterCard offers 10K EQM ... by Scottrick
• The TPAC map was my fault. Trying to do finish up this series ... by Scottrick
• A couple of things. Perhaps is dramatic for effect, and ... by Gary Leff
• Is there away to earn qualifying points with American via ... by Deltaflyer

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I’m going to try out Silvercar this afternoon when visit my family for the weekend. It’s some fancy rental concept that has a fleet entirely composed of silver Audi A4s. I don’t care about the car so much (I’m quite fond of my Civic) as I do about other features like an included navigation system and a simple $5 fee for them to fill up the tank at market rates. Anyway, they offered me a free rental (plus $20 in taxes) so it should be interesting to try and report back.

But my real dream rental car is not an Audi A4. It’s this car made entirely of Lego bricks. Just ask my dad — I have four giant boxes of Legos at his house that he has been trying to get off his hands for years. Maybe he just hasn’t bought me enough Legos, because then I could build my own Lego car and motor down the Golden Gate Bridge at 18 mph. (HT to Slashdot)

The post My Dream Rental Car appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

I don’t normally make errors when I book flights and hotels. In fact, I’m a bit OCD on the matter and have been known to look back and forth between the Internet browser and my calendar so many times that the page times out due to inactivity. So imagine my surprise when I got a web check-in notification from Hyatt today about my stay at The Driskill in Austin, TX. My immediate thought was, “But I’m not going to Austin today!” It doesn’t help that I’ve been sick all week and already had to skip out on breakfast with a reader.

So, after attempting to clear my throat, I got on the phone to fix this mess.

The first thing you should do in a situation like this is call the hotel’s in-house reservations team. They generally have more power than a centralized reservations desk to override things like that pesky cancellation deadline. It also helps to have new dates of travel. In this case it wasn’t that I wanted to cancel a reservation past the deadline but rather wanted to move it to the correct weekend. Third, my reservation was made earlier this week, making it more plausible that I had planned on arriving sometime a few months — not days — later.

And I don’t know if this mattered or not, but the reservations agent who assisted me thanked me for my loyalty as a Gold Passport Diamond member. Fixing customer screw-ups is not an elite benefit, but in my experience elite status does encourage employees to be more cooperative.

My biggest problem was that the rate I booked by accident was incredibly low at only $170 a night. The Driskill is normally $350 or more and has lots of sold-out weekends this summer. I could either pay a $170+tax cancellation penalty or rebook at the new rate of $360. I asked the agent to give me some time to think it over and call my wife, so she put a note in my file in case I got someone else next time (Another reason to call in-house reservations: apparently only their own team and read these notes.) The only catch is I had to make a decision before local check-in time.

Eventually I decided to go with the higher rate on the correct weekend rather than pay the penalty. My reservation was changed, not cancelled, and they were able to find me a lower rate of about $320. It does seem like I’m paying through the nose, but other hotels in the area are already at $170-200 for that weekend, and if I booked one of them instead and paid a $170 penalty then the total cost would not be far off. My ridiculously good rate at The Driskill was too good to be true. Now I have a less good rate, but still not bad. At least it will make for an interesting first trip to Austin.

The post But I’m Not Going to Austin Today… appeared first on Hack My Trip.

       

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Hyatt has announced many changes lately to their Gold Passport loyalty program, including a new award tier, some higher award prices, and new Points + Cash awards (which can be upgraded and earn elite status). We heard about potential changes to their gift card offerings well over a year ago at Star MegaDO 4, but now we have some details.

Beginning January 8, Hyatt is eliminating its Hyatt Stay Certificates — as well as Weekend and Spa varieties — to replace them with Hyatt Nights Certificates. Stay Certificates were somewhat confusing since they served a very similar role as gift cards but were only valid at participating properties in a range of categories. Sort of like award nights but not really. And they weren’t eligible for elite status. About the only good thing was that they often provided remarkable value before the categories were reshuffled and brought much closer to the regular cost.

The new Hyatt Nights Certificates will only be available to registered businesses and for use as corporate incentives, auctions, credit card programs, etc. (Perhaps also a sign of changes to the Hyatt Visa? No news there…) My verdict is that anything that was lost was lost a while ago, and this new change is not one to worry about.

Second, Hyatt is adding a new kind of gift card, an eGift Card that is delivered instantly and valid at all Hyatt hotels in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. This will be in addition to existing physical gift cards and Hyatt Check Certificates, which can be used at more international properties. It’s a small improvement of convenience but, again, not something to get worked up over.

Note that you still have the option to get a 10% discount on Hyatt Gift Cards. Although the limit is $7,000 in purchases, the first $2,000 in opportunity runs out at the end of this year. Learn more about which properties accept each form of payment.

The post Hyatt to Revamp Stay Certificates and Gift Cards appeared first on Hack My Trip.

       

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Make no mistake, Marriott’s MegaBonus promotion does offer some value. For the first quarter of 2014 it’s offering 35,000 Marriott Rewards points to some members after staying 20 nights, which is comparable to the 20,000 points Hyatt is offering during its Q1 promo. (HT to Loyalty Traveler)

However, other members are seeing reduced offers. If you got an offer for a free night in Category 1-5 before, it may only be for Category 1-4 now. Hyatt is also offering free nights, but I think their Category 4 is higher up the ladder and they are also offering more of them. Marriott is only offering up to two free nights.

MegaBonus typically offers different offers to different people, though the official press release only mentions the first offer. Here are offers already reported on FlyerTalk (the official press release only mentions the first one, but some have reported being able to to request a better one):

• Free night at Category 1-4 hotel after second stay (max 2)
• Free night at Category 1-5 hotel after second stay (max 2)
• 25,000 points after 15 paid nights, plus 15,000 more points after 20 nights (max 40,000)
• 35,000 points after 20 paid nights, plus 15,000 more points after 25 nights (max 50,000)
• 35,000 points after 20 paid nights, plus 2,000 more points for every additional paid night (max 55,000)

Registration is open now through March 31, 2014. Eligible stays must be completed between February 1 and April 30, 2014.

And if you’re a new member, View from the Wing reports that this is stackable with another bonus opportunity to get one free night at a Category 1-5 hotel when you stay twice in the first 4 months.

The post New Marriott MegaBonus a Bit of a Downgrade appeared first on Hack My Trip.

       

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A few weeks ago, I managed to fly Turkish Airlines Business class on their 777-300ER. Turkish Airlines features fully flat beds and free wifi throughout their aircraft fleet. In addition, their food is made through gourmet catering company Do&Co. Read my report for more info on how the flight turned out!

Pre Flight: Turkish Business Class Lounge

I was transiting in Istanbul after arriving from Shanghai. Naturally, I headed to the Turkish Business Lounge to wait for my upcoming flight. The Turkish Lounge is often called one of the nicest lounges in the world. At first sight, it looks like an old baron’s mansion. Complete with pool tables and secure luggage storage, I couldn’t find any faults in this lounge. It was also the only lounge in the world where I saw a line form for breakfast!

Movie Theatre Room

Library/Pool Table

Luggage Storage

Computer Station

I landed from my previous flight at 5 AM and my next flight wasn’t till noon so I had a chance to take a shower. While signing up for the shower, I noticed that the lounge offers their transiting passengers a “suite” to rest in. When I inquired, the agent showed me some rules that included:

• Must transit from other Turkish long-haul flight. CHECK
• Must be in transit for 8 hours. Transit was 7 Hours & 30 Minutes
• Must be connecting to Turkish long-haul flight. CHECK

I asked the agent to make an exception and she stated that they were very strict about the rules and couldn’t even waive one of the requirements even though it was a measly 30 minutes difference!

I saw that arguing would go nowhere so I didn’t even try. Instead, I headed to the shower. While the showers were nice, there was a fairly distinct odor coming from my shower stall. I took about an hour in the shower stall and by the time I got out, it was time for breakfast.

The breakfast is served in two different locations within the lounge because it is so big! There are also multiple drink and snack stations throughout.

Breakfast Spread

Breakfast Spread

Bread Selection

Drink Station

After a 5 minute wait in line, I managed to get my hands on some toast, eggs and potatoes. I’m not a chef but I partook in some culinary sorcery and added some ground pepper to make my meal one of kind!

When I finished up with my meal, I decided to catch up on some work but then I realized, I didn’t have any work. What followed was a mix of questioning my life and short intermittent naps. I woke up 3-4 hours later and decided to walk around the lounge. When walking, I found an entire area that I hadn’t seen before and it happened to be the most beautiful portion of the lounge. What looked like an open air garden atrium was actually just another huge part of this lounge with at least 50-60 more people there.

Grand Piano/ Atrium

Atrium

Two hours and four ginger ales later, boarding for my flight was announced. The gate happened to be right outside the lounge so I didn’t have to walk a lot.

Flight
Turkish Airlines TK 17
IST-YYZ (Istanbul – Toronto)
1:45PM-5:45PM (Actual 2:50PM – 6:20PM)
Duration: 10 Hours & 25 Minutes
Seat 9k Business Class

After boarding the flight, we were informed that the flight was delayed due to some passengers boarding the wrong plane. An Air Canada flight was parked right next to us and was heading to Toronto at the same exact time as us. To make matters worse, our flight was a codeshare with Air Canada so some people boarded on the wrong flights. It was the first time I saw anything of its kind!

While waiting, the crew introduced themselves to each passenger and offered us a Turkish lemon drink, after which the chef passed out the inflight menu.

Turkish Sparkling Lemonade

Chef

We eventually pushed back and were informed of strong headwinds that would push our flight to 10 hours and 25 minutes. I wasn’t complaining though! After take-off, the crew turned on Wi-Fi and to my amazement, it was free! Although the speed of the internet was slow, it was an awesome amenity offered to everyone on the plane.

Lunch service had started promptly and the chef had come around to pick up our personalized menu cards. The courses were brought out soon after.

The Turkish Mezze turned out to be delicious and had a mix of grilled shrimp, deli chicken and a mini-meat pastry.

The following appetizer was a combination of hummus and cheese mixed with some salad and delectable sauces.

The broccoli soup was absolutely delicious. I was extremely surprised at how it tasted, as I’ve never had it before. I’m now a recipe master for broccoli soup!

The fried rice with seasoned grilled shrimp was also a great choice on the menu. It combined a hint of spice with the tangy taste of tamarind.

Apple Pie

The food was also some of the best food I’ve had in the air. It was a refreshing change from the goose liver parfait I’m usually offered on Lufthansa! Either way, I loved the food.

After lunch service, I decided to get some sleep seeing how I wasn’t really able to sleep in the lounge. On the 777-300ER, Turkish has a 2-3-2 configuration for Business Class. At first, I thought it would be really inconvenient to the person sitting in the middle but it didn’t seem like that big of an issue to people as they just tip-toed over their sleeping neighbors! I however, managed to get an aisle seat. With my seatmate fast asleep, I decided to do the same. The Turkish Business seat is a flat 180 degree bed and offers a decent amount of space when flat. The foot cubby is also not small like other airlines (United, Austrian, Brussels, Swiss).

Seat Controls

I woke up in time to watch some movies and look around the cabin a little bit. The inflight entertainment selection is very wide and offers a variety of shows! I was pleasantly surprised!

Lounge Area on Plane

The service and food quality on Turkish were all excellent. The crew handled every passenger’s request in a timely fashion. The two times I asked for snacks, the chef personally came out with my requested snack and another tray full of sweets and Turkish delights. While sleeping, the crew left some chocolate and water for me to eat/drink if I woke up halfway. It was all so smooth and I applaud Turkish for having such a warm and friendly crew. They anticipated any needs and handled them with care.

After landing, it was a mad dash to immigration and I didn’t understand why everyone was in such a rush. Only when I got to the queue did I realize that the line was going to take 2 hours to get through. Three flights had landed at the same time including one from Jamaica. It looked like the customs officials were heavily questioning some passengers and even taking away some fruits that they had brought along. After 2 hours, I was finally out but realized that the hourly bus to downtown Toronto left 6 minutes before I passed through.

Overall, I would definitely fly Turkish again without hesitation. It is one of the best ways to get into Europe and also connect into Africa & Asia. Not to mention, class-leading service and food!

Turkish offers daily flights from Istanbul to Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C, Toronto and Montreal. They will also start flying to Boston in May 2014.

The post Trip Report: Turkish Business Class Istanbul – Toronto appeared first on Hack My Trip.

       

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One of the largest impediments to efficient manufactured spend in the Pacific Northwest is the absence of CVS. We have few or no places to buy Vanilla Reload cards here, which are the easiest way to reload (and later empty) a Bluebird card. But at CVS locations throughout much of the country there is actually a formal limit of $5,000 in Vanilla Reload purchases per day, and I’ve had few issues buying them with a credit card. The main problem is that I have to fly to another state to do it.

Here are the states with no current CVS Pharmacy locations:

• Alaska
• Colorado
• Idaho
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Washington
• Wyoming

So it was great news when I heard a couple months ago that CVS will be opening three (?) new stores in the Seattle area. I have had trouble pinning down the exact number, locations, or dates, but I have hopes at least one will be open in 2014 and that two of them will be within Seattle city limits.

Well, great for me (and most of you). But CVS has not been welcomed with open arms here. Most of the criticism has surrounded the store in the Wallingford neighborhood on NE 45th St. It was going to look like some generic strip mall drugstore, so the City Council actually passed an emergency measure that set a minimum density requirement. They tried to get CVS to build housing above, but they balked at that. CVS did go back to their architect to create three proposed redesigns that do a better job of incorporating the existing architecture and a mural.

I happen to think this is a good thing. Chase has recently purchased several old buildings in Seattle neighborhoods, nice brick buildings with elaborate cornices and other masonry, before replacing them with very plain boxes. Ugh. I kind of like that Columbia Tower, the second tallest building on the West Coast, carved out space for an historic hotel on the site that currently houses a McCormick & Shmick’s. But I digress…

The point is that CVS is coming. In Wallingford it will be at 2100 N 45th St. A second will be at the corner of 1st Ave S and SW 160th St in the suburb of Burien. (I heard someone say “West Seattle” at a recent meetup. I suspect this is what they meant.) And the third… I’m not really sure. But I think it will be right around the corner from my apartment! One of my search results pulled up a business listing from some service called Cortera and listed an address of 2013 4th Ave, just two blocks away and next to Dahlia Lounge for those familiar with the area.

The post Three New CVS Pharmacies to Open In Seattle appeared first on Hack My Trip.

        

Comments

• By: Three New CVS Pharmacies to Open In Seattle | Time to Jet Set by Three New CVS Pharmacies to Open In Seattle | Time to Jet Set
• It depends on my needs. Sometimes BA if working toward $20K or ... by Scottrick
• Scott, What card do you use to buy the reloads at CVS? by Eric
• $500 in a single transaction shouldn't be an issue. Use 2x $500 ... by Scottrick
• The same ID problem happened to me yesterday, although they ... by Charlie
• Oh yes baby! CVS come to momma! Take all my moneyyyyy now!! by rampartmovie

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