www.kristraveler.com » Loyalty Programs

airfarewatchdog – Get answers to all your airline related questions!

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:57:59 +0000

I found out about airfarewatchdog a couple of years ago when I was searching for airfare deals, and since then I became a huge fan of these guys. Their search engine is not really that different from many others I typically use, though their fare alerts typically show unadvertised deals, based on the departure airport(s) and destination you choose in your profile.

Nonetheless, the big value-add of airfarewatchdog is in the Q&A section. There you’ll find all the answers that you once had and and didn’t know who to ask. By subscribing to their newsletter you can get those Q&As directly in your inbox and if have stepped on a plane recently, you will find at least one of their tips quite useful.

For you to have an idea, these are some topics I’ve learned from them:
- How Bereavement fees work in airlines
- Best time of the year to book your next vacation
- Information on Baggage Fees
- What to do when the airlines lose your luggage
- Compensation when they sell out or cancel your flight
- and many many more….

Check out their website and let me know what you think or how it was useful for you!

airfarewatchdog – Get answers to all your airline related questions! is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

This post was submitted by Kris.

Booking an Award Trip? Here are some tools!

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:14:16 +0000

I had mentioned about Expert Flyer here on kristraveler.com before. Here’s another article from the WSJ that gives more details of how it works and also mentions another tool – MileageManager.

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Have Miles but Can’t Get a Seat? How to Snare One

JANUARY 14, 2010 By SCOTT MCCARTNEY

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Even though recession-weary consumers may want to cash in frequent-flier miles to get free trips and upgrades more than ever these days, it’s gotten harder to snare those awards.

Continental Airlines, the only U.S. airline to report award redemptions monthly, says awards and upgrades claimed in its frequent-flier program were down 20% in the first 10 months of 2009 compared to the same months of 2008.

And this year may be even tougher. Since airlines aggressively reduced capacity through the economic downturn, they’ve filled flights fuller with paying customers and appear to have reduced availability of award seats and upgrades. As the economy picks up, passenger demand for seats will get tighter.

“Awards and upgrades will be harder to find, unless you are constantly looking,” said Chris Lopinto, president of ExpertFlyer.com, a service used by road warriors that focuses on airline inventory and seat availability.

Landing the free seat you want using frequent-flier miles has long been one of the biggest frustrations for travelers. The prizes offered by airlines are enticing, but the seats never seem to be available on the flights and routes you want. Some people try to call airlines at midnight 11 months before the date they plan to travel—typically when booking opens for a flight—to be first in line for frequent-flier award seats. Some know to check repeatedly because airlines change inventory daily. And many give up the search, letting miles accumulate and cursing airlines for selling false hope.

New Tools

Still, there are several new tools available to help you find that elusive award. Some airlines have made it easier to find award seats—when they are available—and several Web sites have tools to help you search. ExpertFlyer and another site called MileageManager.com have award alerts that send you an email when a frequent-flier seat or upgrade opens up on a flight you want.

Airlines often hold back frequent-flier award seats or upgrades on popular flights, hoping that bookings by fare-paying passengers will be strong. But if seats don’t sell as briskly as predicted, awards can be made available for booking in reservation systems at anytime.

ExpertFlyer’s award alert feature works on 22 airlines worldwide, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, a unit of Hawaiian Holdings Inc., in the U.S., plus Air Canada, Air China, Air France, which is a unit of the Air France KLM Group, Qantas Airways and others. ExpertFlyer says that more than 50% of customers who look for an award actually find one that works for them.

Using the alert system, it takes about 25 days on average for travelers to find the award they want, says Mr. Lopinto. His customers typically look for seats about 10 weeks in advance, and the most-searched-for award is a business-class upgrade. “More and more business travelers book into economy and then try to use their own miles to upgrade into business,” he said.

MileageManager’s AwardPlanner function lets you put in up to five different itineraries and when availability is found, AwardPlanner alerts you by email so you can book it. The award alert service works with 10 different airlines: American, British Airways, Continental, Delta, Deutsche Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.

MileageManager requires you to register your frequent flier accounts with the service, turning over your airline account number and password, before its AwardPlanner function can be used. Both MileageManager and ExpertFlyer offer free trial periods, but after that MileageManager is $14.95 per year and ExpertFlyer costs $9.99 a month.

Checking Alliances

On the airline side, road warriors suggest checking alliance Web sites—StarAlliance.com, oneWorld.com and SkyTeam.com—that show flights on partner airlines that may not be displayed on your own airline’s booking site. Those partner airlines may have award seats available, but you’ll need to call to find out. LOT Polish, for example, might offer something that doesn’t automatically show up on UAL Corp.’s United Airlines’ Web site, but you can often use your United miles to book it if you know what to ask for.

Sharon Adcock, a publicist for the entertainment industry and elite-level member of United’s program, says she usually has success using StarAlliance.com to get free tickets or upgrades even when United’s Web site says nothing is available.

“They tell me they don’t have anything and then I say, What about this one? What about that one? I manage to get award tickets the way I want,” she said.

Charles Witt, a facilities planner who travels the world, has the same kind of success using alliance Web sites.

“If you lead the airline, it can work out. That’s part of the game, too. You know the answer before you ask the question,” he said.

More Options

Airlines have long told customers that flexibility is the key to booking awards—a willingness to travel on different days or even to different cities increases your chances of finding an award. But now airlines are also becoming more flexible and giving customers more options to redeem their miles. That’s because it is actually in the airlines interest to encourage fliers to use miles.

A change in accounting rules has made it more expensive for airlines to carry unredeemed miles on their balance sheets. And miles have become a huge cash generator for airlines, primarily by selling them to credit card companies that give them out as customer rewards. If the miles lose their shine by being difficult to use, credit card companies may curb their purchases. Last year, American pre-sold $1 billion worth of AAdvantage miles to Citicorp, propping up the airline financially and showcasing the importance of miles.

In an effort to spur mileage redemption, Alaska Airlines began offering one-way awards in 2007, allowing customers to use miles for just a one-way ticket, or mix-and-match different mileage levels into one round-trip. The result has been a sharp rise in award redemption for that airline. In 2008, the number of awards redeemed with frequent- flier miles jumped 26% and mileage balances in accounts declined, according to Alaska, a unit of Alaska Air Group Inc. (The airline hasn’t yet reported 2009 redemptions.)

AMR Corp.’s American and Delta now offer one-way award pricing as well. Continental and US Airways Group Inc. also allow different award levels to be combined. A flight at the cheapest award level, typically 25,000 miles round-trip for domestic itineraries, might be available for the outbound part of a trip, but not available for the return the customer wants. Book the return at the 50,000-mile level, and you get the seats you want for a total of 12,500 outbound plus 25,000 for the return, or 37,500 miles total.

Most airlines also now offer calendars on their Web sites that quickly show customers what dates have awards available, and at what mileage levels.

Still, many consumers find using miles frustrating, especially when they focus on scarce awards like summertime trips to Europe. That’s an area where there’s huge variation in availability at different airlines.

IdeaWorks, a Wisconsin-based loyalty-program consulting firm, did 6,400 booking queries last year to rank airlines by award availability on trans-Atlantic flights. The study looked for flights between April and November and found that Iberia had the most liberal offering among 10 U.S. and European airlines, with 83% of the Iberia queries offering award seats. Lufthansa’s program was second at 66% and British Airways third at 63%.

American out-distanced U.S. airlines with 58% of queries successful. United offered awards on only 18% of queries made and US Airways, which has far fewer flights to Europe than larger rivals, offered award seats on only 4% of the queries IdeaWorks made.

The study reinforces the importance of checking partner airlines: Iberia is a partner of American, for example, but American’s Web site doesn’t automatically display all available awards on its partners, IdeaWorks noted.

Booking an Award Trip? Here are some tools! is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

Expert Flyer – How to upgrade your seats

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:01:28 +0000

I’ve used Expert Flyer’s service before, and while I’m still not convinced it was worth my $9.99 a month for finding upgradeable seats - as with other free tools such as SeatCounter (which I talk about in this post) I can track the flights I need myself – I found it useful for other features, such as the ‘Fare Information’ that would give me more options for itineraries and carriers that a typical search engine wouldn’t find.

As I said, I’m still debating if it’s worth it or not, so I may give it a try again in the future.

For those that haven’t heard of their service, here’s a recent article on the Wall Street Journal with more details.

Stuck in a middle seat? Here’s a trick for upgrading

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nov 16 2009 | By Scott McCartney

Can’t get the seat you want on an upcoming flight? Now there’s a waiting list, of sorts.

ExpertFlyer.com, a subscription service popular with hard-core road warriors, has added a feature that will alert you when a currently occupied seat you want opens up for a flight. If you want a specific seat, such as a bulkhead or exit row, you can get notice if it becomes available. If you are stuck in a middle seat, for example, you can sign up for alerts for any aisle or window seat.

ExpertFlyer.com

A screen shot from ExpertFlyerLike fares, seat inventory jumps around a lot before a flight departs. Sometimes airlines block seats and then open them. Other times people with reserved seats cancel or change flights. Seats open up as premium customers get upgraded. But unless you keep checking the seat map for your flight, it’s hard to follow. ExpertFlyer can now check for you on 84 different airlines around the world.

ExpertFlyer costs $4.99 a month for basic service, or $9.99 a month (or $99.99 for one year) for premium service. The seat alert function is available only with premium service. Two other nifty features that alert you when specific frequent flier award tickets and upgrades become available, or when a specific fare class such as discounted business class opens up, are also available only with premium service. The fare class and upgrade/award alert features work on only 22 airlines, but include Delta, American, Alaska and Hawaii in the U.S.

ExpertFlyer’s bread-and-butter service for heavy duty travelers allows users to peer into the booking inventory of airlines. ExpertFlyer lets you hunt for a specific fare class that may come with upgrade privileges, for example, but you have to immerse yourself in the arcane world of airline booking codes.

The growing number of alert tools available to frequent fliers can really help cut through the complexity of airline tickets. Yapta.com offers alerts on fares for specific flights you may be shopping, or specific hotels. FlightStats.com offers alerts on flight delays and cancellations. Airlines and larger booking sites are offering more and more, and savvy travelers are finding they can help. Share some of your favorites with other travelers in comments.

Expert Flyer – How to upgrade your seats is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

Finding number of seats available in a flight

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:58:53 +0000

I was trying to get an upgrade for my next flight to Hawaii, though upgrade seats were sold out. And since there’s no waitlist for upgrades, I have to check on a daily basis to see if anything opens, otherwise try my luck 2 hours before the flight at the airport.

SeatCounter is a simple website, though makes the process much easier to check number of open seats available under each booking class on several airlines at once. While I could still find that information through other ways, I like that I can get the info I need in one step and even compare with other airlines if I’m comparing flights before booking. No spending 15 mins on phone with customer service anymore… now I just have to cross my fingers for two seats to open up on class U for Hawaii and vacation here I go!

Finding number of seats available in a flight is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

Save miles when booking your award trip

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:44:43 +0000

Gary Leff, from the View from the Wing blog, launched a service for booking award trips – something I hadn’t heard so far though long needed. While his service is not cheap, and you may not see the value for a simple round trip domestic travel, his customized and detailed work can come in handy for those with complex itineraries, international trips, and other, especially when trying to combine miles and points from different programs and/or for many passengers.

For more information on this service, go to BookYourAward

Save miles when booking your award trip is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

A Guide to: Argentina

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:20:43 +0000

I often get questions about Argentina, where to go, what to do, how many days in each place, and what are the things one should not miss in a trip to this wonderful country…The latest one was from a family friend that was traveling to Argentina for a 7-10days, and was in doubt if they should stay the whole week in Buenos Aires or what other places were worth visiting during their vacations in the South. Here were my recommendations:

Known for its tango, meat, soccer and few icons in arts & sports (Mercedes Sosa, Piazzolla, Maradona, to name a few), there are attractions for all types of tourists – from the party-all-the-time youngster to the socialite, or the outdoor hikers to the intelectual geek.

“Buenos Aires is indeed a wonderful city, but you can visit the best touristic points and more in about 3-4 days, so I would definitely recommend for you to do a side trip in the remaining days if you can. If you’re really tight in time, one option could be taking a boat or fly to Uruguay - Punta del Este is very popular for their beach and have lots of activities and events going on during summer (though it gets empty during the rest of the year), and you can get to see enough of Montevideo if you stay a day there before going to Punta. If you’re really interested in visiting Uruguay but don’t want to go all the way to Montevideo or Punta, I would suggest a day trip to Colonia, a small town right on the other side of the river from Buenos Aires, that you can go by boat (Buquebus does that trip) and get to know the town on foot in just a day, and you’ll get an idea of the country.

If you have a couple more days however, I would suggest going to the Patagonia instead. You can fly to San Carlos de Bariloche, that although it is famous for its ski resort area in winter time, is beautiful during summer time as well, as it is surrounded by lakes and mountains. If you’re interested in outdoor sports, they have options for hiking, horseback riding, golf among other, but also excellent places for dining and shopping. Apart from Bariloche, you can also do some side trips to Villa La Angostura, and San Martin de los Andes, both my favorite in Argentina. They are less popular than Bariloche, thus less ‘commercial’, which some people might prefer. This whole area is called Región de los Lagos (Lakes region), and you can drive from Bariloche to San Martin through the Seven Lakes – a longer but fun drive. A good website to learn about lodging, sports & attractions and general information for this region is: www.interpatagonia.com

Another option is the Wine country, where most of the famous wines (Malbec) from Argentina come from. The main city is Mendoza, very close to the Chilean border in the Andes, and where the mount Aconcagua is located. You can also fly to Mendoza from Buenos Aires, and do side trips from there, such as the wine route, for a tasting in the local wineries. It is also close to the best ski resort in the country, Las Leñas, though in spring/summer it’s also a great place to enjoy the outdoor. (More info on www.welcomeargentina.com/mendoza)

As for Buenos Aires, most guidebooks will probably already give some information on the most important places to visit in the city. The Casa Rosada, Avenida de Mayo (Avenue where the Casa Rosada is), Calle Florida (Florida Street, several shops, where you can buy high quality leather coats too), Boca (where Diego Maradona’s Boca Juniors soccer team’s stadium is located) and San Telmo neighborhoods I would say are the most popular ones and not to be missed.

Apart from those historical sites, the food and music in Argentina are excellent. A typical breakfast would include Medialunas de Manteca (their croissant), Empanadas (a stuffed pastry) for snack or appetizer, and some type of meat in the ‘Parrilla’ (= Grill) and potatoes (baked potato or any other type) for the main meals. The best cuts of meat in the menu are Lomo, Bife de Chorizo and Ojo de Bife. For the more adventurous, a very typical dish is the Parillada, a mix of sausages, blood sausages, kidneys and other ‘interesting’ items… You will probably notice some people in the streets carrying a thermo bottle – they drink Mate (local tea) the whole day, especially in winter, so they carry a big bottle and the Mate herb everywhere they go, especially when going to parks.

For music, the Tango is everywhere. There are some broadway-type shows that include dinner (Senor Tango, Cafe Tortoni or Viejo Almacen), that are a lot of fun, but you can also find the authentic Tango right in the streets, or in a Milonga (Tango Houses where the locals go to dance).If you’re looking for the real experience, I would recommend going to a Milonga to see the locals dancing and enjoying the music – most places also offer tango classes before they open the dance floors. La Viruta is a very popular and known one. You can find out about other ones with a quick search on the internet, but make sure to look for reviews or ask at your hotel about them to make sure you’re going to a good one…

Other favorite places include:

- Restaurants in Puerto Madero, overlooking the river (Cabaña Las Lilas, La Caballeriza and El Mirasol for good options – although the first two are a bit pricier – for Argentine meat, Aires de Patagonia for food from Patagonia). There’s also a Casino close to the main street, in a Mississippi house boat style, at the port, since gambling is not legal in the city.

- Restaurants, Coffee Houses and walking around the streets of Las Cañitas neighborhood, starting at the intersection of Baez and Arevalo streets. Argentines are also famous for their ice cream, and although Freddo is the most popular, the best in town according to the locals is Persicco – you can find a branch also in this neighborhood.

- Craft fair and flea market in San Telmo

- Walk around Palermo Viejo and Palermo Hollywood (one next to the other, new area with several design furniture stores and also good restaurants)

- Tango street dancers in Calle Florida, Recoleta (corner of Av. Quintana and Plaza Francia, this is also a very nice/fancy neighborhood), and in Caminito (touristic neighborhood, next to Boca, where the houses are all painted different colors)

Note to the wise:

- Take sneakers or low heels, as you’ll walk a lot! It is very easy to use public transportation (taxis are very cheap and subways are safe) and as the city is reasonably flat, it’s feasible to do most areas on foot.

- Calle Florida may seem great for shopping, though prices there are typically higher than in shopping centers or other areas in town. It’s only worth buying things there if you don’t have much time, as a lot of stores are concentrated in the same place. Beware of pick pocketing in this area as well, as in any crowded touristic place.

- Fake money in Buenos Aires is very common and unfortunately I was caught with at least one fake bill in my hands every time I’ve been there (costing me several hundred pesos!) as I didn’t know how to detect them. The locals will know how to identify them, being a tourist you’re more likely to end up with one and only to notice when you’re trying to pay something. Smaller currency houses (Casa de Cambio) may give you fake bills, so always look for a larger or a chain brand (i.e. Metropolis or Western Union; see the post I wrote about exchanging money), but the most common is through taxi drivers, who are known to give fake bills. Beyond giving back fake money as a change, a typical situation would be you wanting to pay for the trip with a $100 peso bill, and the driver makes a quick switch and returns the fake $100 saying your bill is not acceptable. To avoid being ripped off, learn how to identify the real bills, and also try to carry smaller bills in your wallet, especially to pay for cab rides.

A Guide to: Argentina is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

US Airways – Race to Preferred Status

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:54:05 +0000

US Airways reduced its threshold to achieve elite status for 2010. From 25K miles to achieve Silver status, now you only need 7.5K. The promotion period is short (2 1/2 months), but the threshold is low enough for you to be upgraded with one RT travel to Europe. Part of the miles you have accumulated throughout the year may also be counted to help you achieve the upgrade.

From their website:

Get ready for the fastest, easiest way ever to get (or keep) Preferred status. Just fly between October 1 and December 25, 2009 on any US Airways or US Airways Express flight, and you’ll earn Preferred status faster than ever before. The more you fly, the more you’ll earn. Think of it as an end-of-the-year shortcut.

Here’s how it works

* Fly 7,500 miles or 10 segments and earn Silver Preferred status

* Fly 15,000 miles or 20 segments and earn Gold Preferred status

* Fly 22,500 miles or 30 segments and earn Platinum Preferred status

* Fly 30,000 miles or 40 segments and earn Chairman’s Preferred status

Don’t worry, the miles you fly will also count towards the total miles you flew for the year – you’ll be awarded the highest status between the two. So if you fly 55,000 Preferred miles for the year but only end up flying 8,000 Preferred miles during the promotion period, you’ll still earn Gold status for the year.

We’ll determine and award your Preferred status on January 10, 2010. You don’t need to register (we’ll keep track of your flights). We told you it was easy!

Please see the promotion’s website for Terms & Conditions

US Airways – Race to Preferred Status is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

Double Miles on AAdvantage For Greater New York Area Members

admin — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:50:20 +0000

New York residents can earn double miles on all American Airlines flights for travel between July 29 and Dec. 31, 2009.

The double mile offer is valid on all American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection flights, even flights that don’t begin or end in New York.

Registration is required and to qualify for this promotion, your address on file with AAdvantage must have a New York, New Jersey or Connecticut mailing address. Tickets purchased prior to July 29, 2009 are also eligible to earn the bonus.

Double miles will be calculated at 100 percent of the base miles earned and bonus miles will not count towards elite qualification.

For more information about the promotion click here

Double Miles on AAdvantage For Greater New York Area Members is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

Earn Double AAdvantage Miles On All GOL Flights (Brazil) From August 1 – October 31, 2009

admin — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:00 +0000

Travel on a GOL flight on a qualifying* ticket in ALL CABINS, and earn DOUBLE AAdvantage® miles when you travel between August 1, 2009 and October 31, 2009 (dates inclusive). GOL has grown its fleet to 107 modern airplanes which serve 59 routes – 49 domestic markets in Brazil and 10 international markets between Brazil and Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Moreover, GOL’s domestic network offers flights to more cities in Brazil than any other carrier.

Just book your trip between July 8, 2009 and October 31, 2009 and register prior to travel.

There is no limit to the number of bonuses you can earn during the promotional period, and the bonus miles are in addition to your standard base miles and class of service bonus.

For more information click here

Earn Double AAdvantage Miles On All GOL Flights (Brazil) From August 1 – October 31, 2009 is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

Fast track to Gold or Platinum status with American Airlines loyalty program

admin — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:02:42 +0000

If you’ve achieved Elite status in any loyalty program in the travel industry, you know the perks that come with status can be very valuable…. Having Platinum status on American Airlines for example can get you access to the vip lounge, priority boarding and double miles on each of your trips, making it easier for to renew your status and redeem for awards and flights.

Here’s a shortcut to get you there faster with American – the AAdvantage Gold or Platinum Challenge. Simply fly the equivalent to 5,000 qualifying points during the following 3 months after you enroll in the challenge to achieve Gold status, or 10,000 Qmiles for Platinum status. That can easily be achieved on a transatlantic or even coast to coast multistop flight. I enrolled myself right before a trip from the US East Coast to South America and got the status in few days.

To enroll on the challenge, call American Airlines customer service (+ 1 800 882 8880) and ask for the Gold or Platinum Challenge.

American Airlines doesn’t have the challenge documented anywhere on their website, but here’s another site that seems to be a good source if you want to have more details on the program: American AAdvantage Elite Status Challenge

Fast track to Gold or Platinum status with American Airlines loyalty program is a post from: www.kristraveler.com