Monthly Archives for July 2016.
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill extending authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, which would otherwise expire on July 15. The bill is expected to be approved by the Senate as well. Related: Hotel Booking: How to Get the Best Deal In addition to funding current FAA programs through September 30,…
J.D. Power this week released results of its 2016 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, the 20th in its series of annual reviews of traveler satisfaction. The study measures consumer satisfaction in seven areas—reservations, check-in/check-out, guest room, food and beverage, hotel services, hotel facilities, cost and fees—across eight hotel segments, including luxury, midscale, economy/budget,…
In 2014, when JetBlue launched Mint, its premium lie-flat service, between New York and Los Angeles and San Francisco, it was mostly seen as a limited response to the premium services offered by the full-service carriers on those especially competitive routes. But then JetBlue added Mint service between Boston and Seattle. And Boston and Barbados.…
How much is a monopoly worth? Plenty, for sure. But it’s no easy matter to precisely quantify its value in any particular situation. Which makes United’s latest 8-K regulatory filing a matter of some interest. But first, a little background… With control of around 75 percent of the airport’s flight capacity, United has enjoyed near-monopoly…
TripAdvisor (SmarterTravel’s parent company) is the undisputed king of hotel user reviews. This week, it begins its quest to attain the same status in the realm of airline flight reviews. Beginning yesterday, TripAdvisor users were invited to share their qualitative and quantitative assessments of their airline experiences. Other users will be able to read the…
While American’s AAdvantage program and US Airways’ Dividend Miles program were consolidated into a single program more than a year ago, following the American-US Airways merger, the question of which of the two programs’ credit-card partnerships would remain in place was left unresolved. Would it be Citi, which has issued co-branded AAdvantage cards since 1987?…
With no published award-price charts to refer to, members of Delta’s SkyMiles program don’t know when award prices are higher or lower than normal. That’s because there is no baseline to use as a reference point; there is no normal. Or rather, normal is whatever Delta chooses to publish as the price for an award…
Enter the Family Circle “Sail Away with MasterChef” sweepstakes by August 31, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a seven-night MasterChef cruise for two, including air to and from the cruise port, and a $650 check to cover port charges and other trip expenses. Related: Win a 6-Night Tour of India for…
Following is our regular summary of the latest travel news and best frequent traveler promotions reviewed during the past week. If it was a good deal—or a notably bad deal—from an airline, hotel, or car rental loyalty program, you can read all about it here, and plan your travel accordingly. How NOT to Use Loyalty…
It’s a basic premise of savvy loyalty-program participation that the best return-on-investment is to be had by redeeming points for the program host’s own services. Airline miles are best redeemed for flights, and hotel points are best redeemed for free room nights. Sure, all major programs offer alternative award opportunities—consumer electronics, clothing, event tickets, and…
Want to enroll in the TSA’s PreCheck trusted-traveler program? Got 9,000 points in Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program? Now you can redeem the latter for the former. Through August 22, Rapid Rewards members can cash in 9,000 points for an authorization code that allows them to apply for PreCheck membership without paying the $85 application fee.…