Monthly Archives for December 2016.
Need a vacation? You’d be hard pressed to find any American workers who would not nod affirmatively, vigorously, to that query. So you might assume that anyone with employer-paid vacation time would take full advantage of that time off. To take a vacation. You’d be mistaken. As a new Bankrate study shows, more than half…
Tired of slow inflight WiFi, or worse, no WiFi at all? Southwest has you covered. Or will have you covered, when its newly announced upgrade program is in place. By the end of next year, all 700-plus Southwest aircraft will feature onboard WiFi. That’s not the case today, as the carrier’s B737-300 Classic planes lack…
Alaska Airlines has been much in the news lately, with its acquisition of Virgin America and the announcement that it will be severing ties with longtime marketing partner Delta. Eclipsed by those high-profile stories was this week’s announcement of enhancements to its Mileage Plan loyalty program, and, more importantly, a forward-looking statement regarding the program’s…
Ever since Delta began ramping up operations in Seattle, Alaska Airlines’ hometown and main flight hub, the relationship between the two airlines has been disintegrating. And there was plenty to disintegrate. The carriers were long-time partners in each other’s frequent-flyer programs, and they code-shared on a host of flights. They were, in the industry vernacular,…
In case you were wondering, the best hotel loyalty program is Choice Privileges. That’s according to USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The nominees were picked by USA Today editors and a panel of travel writers, and the winners were then chosen by popular vote, by readers. Here’s their list of the 10 best…
While the Marriott acquisition of Starwood closed in September, the two companies’ integration is far from complete. In particular, Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest continue to operate independently, although members may now link their accounts, transfer points, and have their status matched. For better or for worse, the new promotions for Marriott, Starwood, and…
Enter the WGBH “Masterpiece 2017” sweepstakes by March 15, 2017, for a chance to win the grand prize: a seven-night trip for two to Great Britain, including air, hotels in Leeds and London, some meals, tours of various Masterpiece Theater shooting locations. To enter, provide the requested contact information (name, email, etc.) on the sweepstakes…
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. These Are America’s 10 Best…
InterContinental Hotels Group has announced the latest in its series of personalized Accelerate promotions, for stays beginning next month. Offer Details Between January 1 and April 15, IHG Rewards Club members can earn “at least 30,000 bonus points” for completing a series of tasks targeted to each member’s individual stay and earning history. Related: Hilton…
Choice Hotels has gotten a lot of traction with travelers with its recurring promotion featuring a free night at any of 1,500 lower-priced Choice hotels after two stays. And that’s as it should be: It’s an unusually rich offer. For travelers who were expecting more of the same, Choice’s new promotion, for winter stays, will…
As any road warrior worth his rollaboard will tell you, the country’s airports are no friendlier than its skies. Ancient terminal buildings, threadbare carpets, stinky restrooms, poorly designed crowd control, sparse seating, unappetizing food concessions… the list of travelers’ gripes is a long one. But according to J.D. Power’s newly released 2016 North America Airport…