Monthly Archives for August 2016.
The best hotel loyalty programs? There are the usual suspects. InterContinental’s IHG Rewards. Starwood’s Preferred Guest. Marriott Rewards. Hilton HHonors. And then there are the winners of the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hotel Rewards Programs for 2016-17 study. The survey’s top programs, with their scores (on a scale from 1 to 5, with…
InterContinental Hotel Group’s next points promotion, dubbed Accelerate, begins next month. Offer Details Between September 6 and December 15, IHG Rewards members can earn “at least 30,000 bonus points upon completion of all offers presented.” This is another of IHG’s personalized promotions, with a multitude of different offers available to program members with different profiles…
Enter the Jarlsberg “Perfect Pairing” sweepstakes by September 12, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a four-night trip for two people to Oslo, Norway, including air and hotel. Related: Win a 5-Day Trip for 4 to St. Pete, Florida, with First-Class Air To enter, provide the requested information (name, email, etc.) on…
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. Delta Ups the Ante with…
With revenue-based earning and high-priced awards, it’s not easy to get good value from Delta’s SkyMiles program. Periodic award sales, like this one, offer a welcome opportunity to tilt the value equation back in favor of the consumer. Offer Details Through August 25, SkyMiles members can book discounted award tickets to Europe, in coach or…
Lay back, relax and enjoy the flight in the comfort, privacy and exclusivity of your own suite. Delta Air Lines is redefining international business class travel with the introduction of the Delta One suite, the first business class cabin to feature a sliding door at each suite. Whether Delta’s new business class seats qualify as…
Since the rideshare service’s beginning, Uber has featured its drivers as a key element in its self-promotion. From the company’s website: What makes the Uber experience truly great are the people behind the wheel. They are mothers and fathers. Students and teachers. Veterans. Neighbors. Friends. Our partners drive their own cars—on their own schedule—in cities…
Airlines for America, the trade group representing the interests of U.S. airlines, is predicting that 15.6 million travelers will fly during the Labor Day weekend (Wednesday, August 31 – Tuesday, September 6). That’s a 4 percent increase over last year’s 15 million Labor Day flyers. According to A4A: “U.S. airlines are well positioned to meet…
The recent computer meltdowns at Southwest and Delta, two of the country’s most efficient and financially sound carriers, resulted in thousands of cancelled and delayed flights, disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of travelers. And they were just the latest incidents in what has come to seem like a systemic problem. Why? And what…
Air Koryo claims for itself the distinction of being the “unique national flag carrier in DPR Korea,” by which it presumably means to say it’s North Korea’s only flag carrier. But it may also be unique in at least one other respect. Related: The Best U.S. Mileage Program, and the Worst Where other airlines prohibit…
The best frequent-traveler program? If you read this column regularly, you already know the answer: It’s the program that delivers the most rewards (free flights, elite perks), given your individual travel and consumption patterns. Some programs boast more earning opportunities; others are more robust on the rewards side. Some programs stand out for their award-seat…