We all knew this was coming. The combining of frequent flyer accounts between legacy US Airways and American Airlines has taken longer than I thought it would. Hopefully, this means they have spent a lot of time ensuring that they get it right. They are targeting to combine during the second quarter of the year…
Gas prices have declined 40% this year, but you would never know it to look at airline prices even though fuel prices are their second highest expense (after labor). Alaska is the first airline to break the ice (yes, pun intended) and offer a great fare sale due to their lower costs. Here is the…
I don’t have any special knowledge, but like to think that I’m a smart guy. So this is the time off year for brave people to predict the future. In this case, I will focus on what I see happening for travel and miles this year. Airfares – Gasoline prices have fallen 40% this year,…
Before all your mileage/ point counters reset tomorrow, let’s take a look at how everyone did. I’ll review my plan vice results and ask you to chime in and compare. Airlines: Goal: United 1K Results: Only 62,046 EQM so no 1K for me for the first time in ten years. Interestingly, I had $7,036 in spend…
The Service Academies (West Point, Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and Air Force Academy) have their students get kind of caught in a Twilight Zone. They are members of the military and get paid, but the time does not count for retirement, they have a rank, but not for UCMJ purposes, etc. The same had been true…
“Tis the season for giving and a new cause (to me) for charity is Tripit’s effort to raise one million miles for the San Francisco Make-a-Wish Foundation. Here is their webpage explaining the cause and how to donate. Note that they only accept United, US Airways, and Delta miles. Yeah, I know, weird that they…
United has been trying very hard lately to disenfranchise it’s Mileageplus members. First, it mirrored Delta by adding PQDs in addition to PQMs or PQSs to achieve status with them (although some can still achieve status without PQDs). Then, it devalued it’s redemption rates on partner carriers. I guess they figured in addition to…
Over the three years of writing this blog, I have written more than a few times about Veterans Advantage and the discounts that veterans can get with their membership. I evaluated the 5% off on United and Lufthansa flights, car rentals, and other discounts such as Ford vehicle discounts. I also use the 20% CVS…
For those of you chasing United elite status, I’m sure the news of their PQD (premier qualifying dollars) requirement was disheartening. In addition to PQM (premier qualifying miles) or PQS (premier qualifying segments), you now must spend a minimum amount of money to reach a certain tier of status with them. There are ways…
I guess with a name like American Airlines, you should be the airline that supports our veterans more than most. American Airlines always shows their patriotism this time of year. They have several very cool veterans events and offer you the opportunity to get some extra RDM through donations to the USO. American is the…
