Are you busy chasing airline status? I have been for the first 6 months of the year but still have a ways to go. I’m chasing status with both American Airlines and United Airlines. Status may not be what it used to be, but it’s still incredibly helpful if you leverage it correctly. Achieving 25, 50 or even 100,000 miles in a year takes hard work and careful planning.
A million miles is a lot. And yet, I know plenty of folks who surpassed a million quite some time ago. And, it’s not the 10 million Up In The Air Ryan Bingham fictitiously amassed. But, it’s my first million. They always say the…
It’s really the other way around. I got an e-mail from Suzanne Rubin, President of the AAdvantage program today, with some information about a job they’re hiring for that’s likely a dream job for some folks who follow along here: I wanted to pass…
It’s been an interesting debate so far. First, Jeanne from Heels First Travel spelled out why she thought US Airways had the best domestic upgrade process. Then, I laid out all the reasons American why American had to be the clear winner. While it…
As part of my domestic upgrade showdown, it’s time to lay out why the system employed by the American Airlines AAdvantage system is superior to US Airways. First, I wanted to thank Jeanne from Heels First Travel for staking out the positive points of the…
When United and Continental announced their merger a few years ago, they trumpeted something like $2 billion in savings that could be realized from combining the two companies. Fast forward to the 1st quarter of 2014 and the airline lost a half billion dollars…
Uber wins a key legal challenge in London. There have been massive protests against Uber in a number of European cities. This specific lawsuit was trying to classify the smartphone Uber drivers use to communicate distance via GPS as a “meter”, which can only…
For the month of July, Starwood Preferred Guest is offering a 20% bonus on transfers to American Airlines and US Airways. [divider] I’ve always regarded Starpoints as one of the most valuable currencies. One of the main reasons they’re so valuable is the generous…
PointsHound announced changes today that increase your earning potential on many hotels around the world. In the example cases they gave, the increases are north of 40% more miles or points. I took a look at a few hotels I frequent and did see higher earning rates on a few, though not as big as 40% more. In speaking with Pete VanDorn from PointsHound, these changes are a combination of their recent acquisition by Points.com and the strength of new relationships with certain hotels and hotel chains where bigger commissions are leading to bigger rewards for customers.
Now that American Airlines and US Airways have announced reciprocal upgrades, elite members have to recalibrate their thinking. There’s still some questions, but we know as of yesterday that the process is working, at least for AAdvantage elites on US Airways flights. AAdvantage elites…