New ANA Award Chart, Delta’s New “Sale”, And Insight Into Google Flights. Travel News I Missed Last Week

It was a crazy week of travel for me, so I got fairly far behind on my blog reading.  Here’s a few of the key posts I missed from around the world of travel this week.

Google Flights is answering any and all questions.  I’ll be interested to see how deep they go, and I applaud them for doing it.  I was nervous when they took over ITA Matrix a few years ago, my favorite travel tool.  Results-oriented, I was right, but I wish I was wrong.  There have been lots of problems since then, though I do believe they’re trying.  And, I’m glad to hear they’re answering questions in an open forum.  Question 1:  When will I be able to rely on your pricing engine?

The new ANA award chart is out, and it’s something you need to wrap your arms around to be able to leverage the best deals for travel.  How do I know this?  Every time I’m lucky enough to have a joint presentation at Frequent Traveler University with Summer(Mommy Points), she reminds me I need to get off my, ahem, and start figuring it out.  Sometimes, I’m just too busy/lazy/exhausted to take advantage of every opportunity in this game, but Summer makes it easy with this breakdown on the new chart.  Don’t be me.  Listen to Summer!

It’s entirely possible I’m just trying to butter her up for our joint sessions at Frequent Traveler University in Dallas this weekend.

United continues to stack up customer-unfriendly moves (alongside their Flyer Friendly campaign, irony).  One unintended benefit United used to offer was the ability to extend your elite benefits to people who fly on award tickets booked using your miles.  Free Economy Plus seating, checked bags and the occasional upgrade were all big pluses.  It really did feel like a technical limitation of their systems as opposed to an actual benefit they wanted to offer.  That’s why it wasn’t surprising when it went away.  One Mile at a Time reminded me that this officially dies in just a couple of days.  Last chance to book those tickets for friends and family with those benefits.

Brian Cohen of The Gate called my attention to the fact that Delta is now using their saver award level (the old 25,000 mile awards prior to when they eliminated their award chart) as a “sale” price.  I wasn’t anywhere nearly as concerned as some others about the chart going away.

Hyatt Place London Heathrow is opening later than expected.  That’s a bit of a bummer for me, as I was loosely contemplating it for a summer trip where we might come back from London.  That being said, the Churchill may be an option again by then, if not as close to the airport.

By the way, have you checked out Le Chic Geek yet?  I’ve always been a big fan of the two headliners of Heels First Travel.  Keri is continuing Heels First while Jeanne is starting anew.  Both are worth following.

If you’ve had access to PreCheck in the past due to your elite status with an airline, that may be coming to an end.  This doesn’t affect you if you bought into PreCheck or have Global Entry.  While I doubt this will thin the lines out a whole lot, a shorter line is a better line.

The post New ANA Award Chart, Delta’s New “Sale”, And Insight Into Google Flights. Travel News I Missed Last Week was published first on Pizza In Motion.

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