Category Archives for Uncategorized.
I don’t want to spend money unnecessarily, for features I won’t use or because bloated machines always have tradeoffs (like weight or battery life). At the same time cost isn’t the primary constraint since this is a productivity tool for me.
What advice can you offer?
I wouldn’t mind being targeted as a business traveler, the ads might be relevant and advertisers know I’m likely a good customer. (Well, maybe I’m not..) Airlines could target offers to heavy travel app users and a more granular version would let United make offers to heavy users of the American Airlines app, Marriott to make offers to users of the Hilton app, and this could be the future of status match.
The odd thing is that Uber hasn’t told me they’ve extended my status. It’s a great opportunity to capture loyalty with members but the program doesn’t bother to communicate. Which is just another sign that Uber has largely given up and is almost indifferent to its loyalty program. They know they have good customers they want to keep, but they’ve consistently devalued the elite program which was only modestly rewarding to start with.
This case only came to light because of the sheer scale – over $300,000 in credit card rewards without the purchase of bona fide goods or services.
However anyone who bought, stay, a million dollars or more in dollar coins from the U.S. Mint is lucky that the IRS cannot audit back that far in the absence of a fraud on the relevant tax returns.
Business travelers are suffering now, without being able to pad their incomes with fraudulent expense reports. The travel industry as a whole is suffering more. Travel agents aren’t selling very much travel.
Hopefully none will resort to the sort of temptation that Cheryl Ethan Travel Services is accused of.
One of my miles and points New Years resolutions is to be sure to earn miles or cashback for all your online purchases, and I recommended EV Reward to search for earning opportunities. For cash back sites, I used Fatwallet the most, followed by e-bates. Signing up blind for e-bates doesn’t come with any bonuses. Being referred by an existing member gets both the new member and referring member $5 most of the time (after the new member makes a qualifying purchase). Through the middle of February, though, e-bates is currently offering a $10 signup bonus (again, new members have to make a qualifying purchase — by February 14). So this is a good time to sign up and start using e-bates. To be clear, using the link about does earn credit for me as…
Online Travel Review has a Christmas message for travelers: complaints aside, the world looks pretty good. We can travel basically anywhere in the world on a whim. Average roundtrip airfares between New York and London were about $6500 (in today’s dollars) back in the 1950s. I could fly there for $500 in 2 weeks. Despite rising fixed costs, airfares continue (for the most part) to be incredibly affordable in ways that most other countries can only dream about. It’s changed the way we keep in touch with friends, go on vacation, and do business. We’re all better off because we can fly off to Michigan to visit friends for $150, when driving the same route would cost about $180 in gas. Frequent flyer programs and the growing airline alliances have allowed us to visit roughly…
Southwest is promoting its new San Francisco service (they used to serve the airport then stopped, offering flights only into the other Bay Area airports) with a new member promotion for its frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards: start out with 8 credits (halfway to an award ticket) and earn double credits for all flights in and out of San Francisco through October 31.
The W Hotel Store 40% discount on beds is back through August 31 using discount code WH7G4. This is an employee code, so it’s up to you whether you’re comfortable using it. It’ll work for online orders without difficulty, it certainly has in the past.The W bed itself is the plush top with a featherbed (get the featherbed protector too so the feathers don’t poke you!). But you also have pillowtop for a softer effect. A queen plush top bed with boxspring and frame is less than $750 delivered with this offer.
To show just what a dork I am, last night I went to see Weird Al in concert at the Warner Theatre, and was surprised at just how much it’s possible to enjoy something while remaining ironic and detached. On Jenni‘s recommendation, I’ll go see Rocket Science this weekend, and really looking forward to it. Apparently it’s a better debate movie than the one my old coach consulted on. The Washington Post reviewed it today. Yoram Bauman, The Standup Economist has a new comedy routine up on YouTube. I loved his “Principles of Economics Translated”… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgB6mFmYEcM&e
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
