Tagged With "frequent flyer awards"
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Re: AA "new tail" wins in close employee vote
Heavy sigh. Good taste seems always to be a minority attribute. I may be forced to rethink my frequent flyer situation, unless they opt to promote the minority to lifetime business class. It seems only fair.
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Re: Eat Out at Restaurants on the Cheap
That's a great tip, TravelRob! I've been using the emiles I've generated for frequent flyer miles, but this really does sound like a much better option! Thanks!
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Re: Please Don't Squeeze the Passengers: Airbus
If this standard were adopted, it might be the single greatest improvement in quality of travel in economy class. 17 inches is alright if no one is beside you, a rarity today. On an Transocean flight, it make sleeping very difficult indeed. I'm glad to see Airbus take this proconsumer stand.
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Re: Please Don't Squeeze the Passengers: Airbus
Airbus has taken a major step in passenger comfort with the introduction of the new Airbus 380, their new double-deck airliner. Just as a large cruise ship will sail choppy seas in much greater comfort due to its size and sophistication, the new 380 is so much more smooth, quiet and comfortable up in the skies. Sure seat sizes and configuration will vary between operators but certainly the overall 'environment experience' is so much nicer
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Re: Please Don't Squeeze the Passengers: Airbus
Interesting point, Mac. Large planes with bright decor somehow seem to me roomier, even if the seat is the same size. I think there's a balance between physical comfort and "feel" that airlines may not always recognize. On the other hand, I've been on 777s that had so little division of space that my mental image was sitting in a huge concert hall...and felt a bit uncomfortable from that!
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Re: Please Don't Squeeze the Passengers: Airbus
I've never flown an A380, Mac. They still haven't caught on in North America, where Boeing clearly dominates the market. One thing that I've wonder about is with all those people to board (somewhere over 500), is the process of getting on and off the plane very slow or have they figured out how to make this move along with reasonable efficiency?
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Re: Please Don't Squeeze the Passengers: Airbus
It seems as if the terminals that they use have many more access ramps (fingers) to spread the loading and unloading, plus, of course, the terminal also needs to have sufficient immigration desks and baggage facilities. So far our experiences have been good but I can imagine just how it could foul up!
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Re: Sri Lanka: A Land Like No Other. (Part 5) The Elephants of Pinnawala
Thanks, PortMoresby! And we've not even been to the sacred tooth relic in Kandy, the medieval ruins of Polonnaruwa, the beautiful hill country filled with tea plantations and "The World's End", a wildlife safari at Yala National Park, nor any of the nice beaches (but keep reading -- reports on these are coming). Sri Lanka is a great destination, especially now that the civil war is over. I was doubly lucky to not only be able to visit a dear friend there but to have time to leisurely explore...
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Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP
I've seen a lot of "award creep" in my days, and I think there's more to come. A "mile" is worth less and less all the time. It's clear that airline miles aren't worth banking for any period of time. Use them when it's logical to do so. They likely will be worth less in the near future. Thanks for the link, PHeymont.
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Re: Up, Up and Away: Airline miles cards with big bonuses
I LOVE my airline credit card, but it's great to have all this information in one place to see if I could do better. Probably not without some whopping fees, but whopping bonuses, too. Thank you sir, for showing us all these choices!
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Re: Up, Up and Away: Airline miles cards with big bonuses
I have a Delta American Express Platinum card that has served us well. The fee is higher than the gold card, but we can check two bags free, priority boarding, and a free companion pass yearly. We fly two or three times a year and the value of the waived baggage fee and the companion pass far exceed the $150 annual fee. The card also accrues one mile for each dollar spent and lately has offered cash back incentives. For example: spend $15 at Panera's using the card and receive $5 credit on...
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Re: JetBlue at JFK: A most unusual rooftop lounge
Is it a "frequent flyer" only lounge, or open to all JetBlue passengers?
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo, #53
I was about to post another clue on this one when I checked the email and found that the problem had been solved. Chris Christiensen, founder and host of the best (and award winning) travel podcast in the world, the Amateur Traveler , nailed it with one shot. It is Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. I'll post a brief discussion on this on Thursday and another puzzle will be ready for you the same day.
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Re: Twitter Changing it's Website
And if you have a Twitter account and would to connect with us, please do so by clicking on the blue Twitter button just to the right of this comment on our social media toolbar. Or connect with us using any of our other Social Media platforms like Pinterest and Facebook. We also have a new YouTube channel. Not that much uploaded yet, and it's not Best Picture Academy award quality, but it's intended to give you a feel for travel to different places from they eye of a fellow traveler. Want...
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Re: TravelGumbo Blogger HistoryDigger Wins National Travel Journalism Award
Award well deserved. Toutes mes félicitations!
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Re: TravelGumbo Blogger HistoryDigger Wins National Travel Journalism Award
Well deserved award for a captivating, well- researched and well-written story. We're very proud of you!
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Re: Three tons of pumpkins take Europe prize
Years ago, i worked at the Alexandria Gazette with a photographer who was known for this kind of pose. Once, he took a photo of anaward presentation in which only two pairs of hands and the award could be seen. Must be a relative of this photographer...
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Re: 100 Years of Flight in Kitty Hawk, NC
I empathize with your rainy, muddy experience. That is no fun. As I recall, Kitty Hawk is also very windy, one of the reasons the Wright brothers chose it. They knew if they could fly their plane into the wind for some distance, no one could challenge the fact that they had flown a heavier than air machine. I regard this as one of the greatest stories of the 20th century. Two creative guys from a bicycle shop in the midwest designed and developed a successful flying machine. It didn't take a...
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Re: Emirates Adds a 3rd US Frequent Flier Partner
There are a lot of possibilities with these airlines to both have budget flights and earn lots of miles. The combined route maps must be interesting.
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Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 3) Kenmare, Gateway to the Ring of Kerry
Originally Posted by Neil McAleer: Great sequence. Dr Fumblefinger! The scale of Kenmare and the care of Kenmare are its two most attractive characteristics. Neil M Thanks, Neil! I enjoyed the very colorful and pretty nature of the town. It was a busy enough, but still a very relaxing place to be. And the next morning we were off early to do the Ring of Kerry, which I'll post next week. That trip begins literally a minute out of Kenmare, so extremely convenient. I'd like to welcome Neil to...
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Re: Tampa Bay Automobile Museum: 3) cars from the USA and UK
Great pics of great cars. I will put the Tampa Bay Museum on my list of things to see. Additionally, The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky is awesome, as well. It includes a 50's diner cafe featuring period stuff for lunch. Less than a mile away is the Corvette assembly plant, which offers tours. This is the only place in the whole wide world where Corvettes are assembled. Both are definitely worth a visit. The National Packard Museum is located In Warren, Oh and is small, but...
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Re: Canada's Westjet enters Trans-Atlantic market
Westjet has been promoting this to its frequent flyer members (like yours truly) for months now. They have extensive routes in North America, including Mexico and the Caribbean, but this is a big change in their business model. I'm not sure if this will work well, though. Westjet only flies Boeing 737s (much like Southwest, for example). That transatlantic journey is a long and uncomfortable one to make in a single aisle aircraft. In contrast, Air Canada, the other major Canadian airline,...
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Re: If you're happy and you know it...press here, please!
It certainly has seemed to me that Heathrow doesn't care (it's probably true for JFK, too, but I'm not a stranger there). In fact, I go out of my way to avoid Heathrow. Between the airport experience itself (especially with a T3-T5 transfer) and BA's high surcharges, I've taken to trying to make all my transfers through Madrid or Barcelona. In fact, on my trip this month, I save a good bit by taking American on award tickets to Barcelona and paying my way on Vueling to Marseille. I could...
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More Frequent Flier changes in the air
The world of award travel and elite perks continues to shake and shift. Delta, which like United, has switched for next year to awarding flight miles based not on distance but on price paid for ticket—a move that hurts many frequent...
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Update: Loyalty Programs and Credit Cards
For some of us, credit cards are more than a convenient way to pay—they are the lifeline to free travel through loyalty programs. Between points for purchases and bonuses for opening or upgrading credit card accounts, it's possible to get quite...
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Please Don't Squeeze the Passengers: Airbus
Airbus, the big European planebuilder has urged airlines to go with 18"-wide seats, up from the standard 17" in use now. Their studies indicate that the extra width makes a BIG difference in passengers' ability to sleep on long flights (which are...
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Emirates Adds a 3rd US Frequent Flier Partner
Emirates Airways, which serves over 130 cities on 6 continents from its hub in Dubai, has added another U.S. frequent-flyer partner: Virgin America, which flies from 7 of Emirates' 8 U.S. cities. Emirates already has links with JetBlue and Alaska. The...
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United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP
United Airlines has released a new award chart that bumps up the miles required for nearly all business and first-class awards, and (for the first time) makes flights on its Star Alliance partner airlines cost more miles than on United. Details HERE
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New Target for Thieves: Frequent-flier miles
If you believed all the whining about how this airline's or that airline's loyalty programs were no longer worth anything...a ring of thieves didn't, and have turned frequent flier accounts into new targets for thefts. Both American and United...
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Thinking Cuba? Tickets not so easy yet!
Many Americans (myself included) are thinking much more seriously now about visiting Cuba with the relaxed process. But don't expect it to be smooth yet—veteran traveler Brian Kelly, who runs ThePointsGuy (an extremely useful site...
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Coolest Passport Award: Clearly Canada
Canada's new model passport, like everyone else's these days, is full of security tricks and techniques, but so far no one else has the incredible light-up colors that show under UV light, turning, say, a picture of a government building from sepia...
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British Air Avios: The rich will get richer and...
British Airways announced major changes in its Avios loyalty currency, which it shares with Iberia. While it comes dressed up in more guaranteed award seats, and lower off-season redemption prices, the big impact is that passengers in the cheapest...
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Airport playgrounds take off for kids
The GO Group supplies limos and shared shuttles at airports, but they've also taken a look at what goes on inside the airports, and found what they call the Top Five Airport Playgrounds for Kids, including the "Kids on the Fly" shown below at...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 27, 2015: Grapevine, Texas, Urban Wine Trail
Grapevine, Texas, is just north of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and a world away from what you would imagine a community this close to a major metropolitan area would be like. What you’ll find is Main Street lined...
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British Air adds year-round Iceland flights
British Airways will be flying Heathrow-Rekyjavik three times a week, starting October 25, becoming the first mainline trans-Atlantic carrier to offer year-round service. BA and others have operated summer services, but the winter has been largely...
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A little good news from Delta's SkyMiles: a lower fare
After months of mostly bad news for loyalty-program members, as numbers of airlines reduced opportunities for accumulating points by flying, and some also raised the cost in points for award tickets, Delta (one of the most criticized for previous...
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AA-USAir loyalty merger...and a maybe last chance
American Airlines will merge its two loyalty programs "within 30 days" according to e-mails sent yesterday to all members of the USAir Dividend Miles program, which will be folded into the AAdvantage program. All existing miles will transfer; for some...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 30, 2014: The Mural on Queen Street
Walking with friends on Queen Street in Charleston a few weeks ago, we spotted this large mural on the wall of a building, above a parking lot. It certainly looked familiar if somwhat altered; we recognized it as a take on Renoir's 1881...
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Airline scheduling: Hurry up and wait, or run like crazy?
Have you ever stopped to wonder, while planning a trip, how your airline’s schedule was planned? Especially when it seems you’re about to be condemned to a headlong half-marathon across the airport to a flight that leaves all-too-soon, or...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, April 23, 2015: The 1903 Wright Flyer, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
I heard a joke once that said "Y'know the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.? They actually have stuff in there!" Case-in-point, the 1903 Wright Flyer. Many reproductions of the Wright Flyer have been made, but this is...
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TravelGumbo Blogger HistoryDigger Wins National Travel Journalism Award
We at TravelGumbo are incredibly proud and pleased to announce that Whitney Stewart, HistoryDigger on Gumbo, has won a Bronze Award from the North American Travel Journalists Association for the 8-part series Finding Reiner, which ran in 2014....
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Waived Booking Fees on AA Award Travel
This may not be news to some of you, but it is new to me. Heading to the AAdvantage webpage to see what flights might be available, I discovered a notice informing us that American now waives fees when booking by phone, starting today, when reserving...
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Healy Hall, Georgetown University (Where Gumbo was #234)
Gumbo was visiting Healy Hall in Georgetown University. George G shares the history and some great photos of the site.
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Hawaiian Airlines gets restitution from drunk passenger
This time, it was the airline (and fellow passengers) who were abused.
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Four Ways to Savor Savannah
Stephanie Kalina-Metzger shares some of her favorite ideas on what to see and do when visiting Savannah, Georgia
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Paris: 2017 Best Baguette winner is chosen
The winner of the annual Best Baguette in Paris has been announced. The award gets cash and a special responsibility.
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United shakes up its award program
United introduces flexible (and potentially higher) award pricing and a new way to qualify for stopovers.
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Visiting Key West and the Hemingway House
Stephanie shares a visit to the Key West, a highlight of which was exploring the Hemingway home.
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Top five reasons to visit Baltimore, Maryland.
Why should you visit Baltimore? Stephanie outlines the top things to see and do in this charming city.
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Marriott, Alaska Airlines top loyalty program ranks
In U.S. News & World Report rankings, Alaska takes #1 for third year in a row, with Marriott topping the hotel program rankings.