News And Notes For Saturday, August 17th, 2013

Delta is raising the price of international award tickets again.  As View From The Wing points out, these are not small increases.  25% more miles for some of the common routes, like US to Europe, is “gulp” worthy.

Were you one of the lucky folks who got in on this awesome “mistake” status challenge offer from American Airlines before it went away?  If not, it’s just another good reason to keep an eye on Milepoint for travel secrets you won’t find every day.

Or, on a more somber note, were you one of the people that had US Airways Dividend Miles account hacked?  Heels First Travel has a painful first hand look at this ugly situation.

Lucky reports on the official announcement of codesharing between American Airlines and TAM.  American already has a good number of flights to South America.  This extends the opportunity to earn AAdvantage miles on more flights to and in South America, though I’m not clear from the outset whether you can earn EQMs or just redeemable miles (the press release I read was a bit vague).

They also announced award redemption for flights between the US and Brazil on TAM as well as other flights on TAM to the rest of South America.  I don’t have a ton of experience searching for awards on TAM but Lucky says finding premium cabin space can be tough.  Even if that’s true, I suspect you can still use this to find your way around South America.  And, if the codeshare relationship does end up featuring EQMs, that makes this a pretty neat addition.

Are you a woman heading out on a trip, not sure how much to pack?  Road Warriorette has a good how-to on filling your suitcase right.  Although, if you stay at Hyatt hotels, you can leave the curling iron behind with their Hyatt Has It program.

Have you ever had cognac delivered to your hotel in a Rolls Royce?  This is what $1,000 for a half ounce of booze looks like.

Hope you’re enjoying the weekend, wherever you are!