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Oil!
Fuel Surcharges Hit Delta's Frequent Flier Program
Delta informed their beloved frequent fliers yesterday that effective August 15, all flights booked with SkyMiles will carry up to a $50 fuel surcharge. The airline also announced the impending release of an exciting "new multi-tiered Award program." More »
gas prices
Beware The "MPG Illusion" When Comparing Fuel Efficiency
Sure, switching from a gas guzzler to a highly efficient (and probably much smaller) car is best for the environment, but it's not a realistic solution for large families or people who can't afford it. But don't let the fact that you can't buy a 40 mpg car turn you off of a trade up in efficiency anyway. A couple of economists have pointed out that "using 'miles per gallon' as a measure of fuel efficiency leads people to undervalue the benefits of replacing the most inefficient automobiles." Their point: if you're driving a gas guzzler, even a small improvement in fuel efficiency can generate significant savings. More »
Trim a little here, trim a little there: beginning in July, United will no longer give customers a minimum 500 frequent flyer miles for short trips. The new policy will be to give only the actual trip miles. [Chicago Tribune]
travel
Booking Reward Travel On Continental Airlines Will Give You High Blood Pressure
Reader Mike has lots of frequent flier miles that he'd like to cash in with Continental Airlines. As he found out, this is extremely difficult. Here's an email he sent to the CEO of Continental, Larry Kellner: More »
surcharges
Budget's Free Frequent Flyer Miles Promos Will Cost You
Michael writes, " I was just reserving a budget rental car, and for some reason decided to actually read some of the fine print." Buried in the text was something called an "FTP Surcharge," which basically amounts to a participation fee for any frequent flyer promotion they offer their customers. More »
credit cards
15 Credit Cards With Good Rewards Programs
The financial columnist at MSN Money quizzed five credit card industry experts and a frequent flyer expert to find the best cards when it comes to travel programs, cash back programs, and savings programs. She narrowed it down to a top six—two in each category—and a bunch of near misses. More »
How to join that crazy club of airline mileage runners who take flights simply for the frequent flier miles and perks. [Gadling]
travel
United CEO Weighs Fees For Speedy Luggage Delivery
United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton is determined to wring added lucre from his now-profitable airline. Tilton is considering 250 unpopular ideas, such as charging economy-class passengers a fee to avoid receiving their luggage last, and spinning off United's already wounded frequent flier program, Mileage Plus.United appears to be following a strategy set by Air Canada, which gained billions of dollars after it emerged from bankruptcy in 2004 by spinning off its maintenance division and frequent-flier program into separate businesses, analysts say.More »
frequent flyer
US Airways Rewards Customers By Threatening To Charge Them $25 For Inactivity
A reader has forwarded us an obnoxious notice from US Airways that explains how they "reward" their frequent flyer program members: by charging them $25 if they're not active enough. So what are the best ways to remain active without spending $25 or making an unnecessary ticket purchase? More »
airlines
Delta Downgrades Frequent Flyer Miles
Upgrade: Travel Better informs us that ever so lightly, Delta adjusted its frequent-flyer redemption policy to make it worse for travelers:
Effective December 1, 2007, SkyChoice Award Ticket Reservations will no longer be available on every Delta flight in which a seat is available for sale. SkyChoice Award Ticket Reservations will continue to be available on most Delta flights, but seats will be limited and possibly unavailable on some flights.Nudge. Nudge. Nudge. At this rate, some day you'll actually have to pay a fine for accumulating frequent flyer miles.
Another stab in the back of frequent flyers [Upgrade: Travel Better]
10 credit cards that give you fat airline mile bonuses for signing up. Also, 9 more that do the same, but have an annual fee. [FiveCentNickle]
"Mileage Runners" try to get as many frequent flyer miles as possible by planning flights with as many connections as possible. [Wired via BoingBoing]
How badly must have the child been screaming for his tantrum over apple juice that "the stewardess didn't bring quickly enough" to force the plane to make an emergency landing? Maybe he was really crying because Delta, like every other airline, has been quietly liquefying his frequent flyer miles.
tax breaks
Donate Your Frequent Flier Miles To Charity
Why bother with frequent flier miles when you can donate them to charity?Many non-profit organizations have frequent flier mileage donation packages, and several major air carriers have developed charitable programs using earned miles. Some are exclusive partnerships geared to one or two specific charities, while others have multiple organizations with quarterly or monthly rotations, allowing all the participating charities equal time to receive miles.Peter Greenberg lists several charities that accept miles as donations, from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, to Save The Dogs, an Italian non-profit committed to rescuing stray dogs in Romania. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER More »
happy endings
United's Executive Customer Service Saves Your Honeymoon
Nathaniel is a Milage Plus member with United who has been saving his miles in the hopes of cashing them in for two tickets to Ireland for his honeymoon. When he finally got enough miles, he called United to book his reward seats and got a nice "talking to" by their customer service rep for not booking far enough in advance. More »
pointmaven
Update: PointMaven Now Uncovers Superior Hotel Reward Offers With Maps
When we reviewed PointMaven, a utility to help compare nearby hotel reward offers, we suggested that the site would be "infinitely more useful with an option to superimpose hotel locations on a map." We were pleasantly surprised to receive an email from Boaz Smueli of MileMaven.com:You've mentioned that "[PointMaven.com] would be infinitely more useful with an option to superimpose hotel locations on a map". That's absolutely correct!If there is anything we like, it's fast, responsive customer service. If you're planning on booking a hotel anytime soon, give PointMaven.com another look. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER More »
So here it is: PointMaven.com now shows the hotels and promotions on Google Maps. It currently supports 3 programs (Marriott, InterContinental Priority Club, Starwood Preferred Guest), and the others will be phased in.
pointmaven
