I’ve said this once before and I’ll say it again. Miles are the new fool’s gold. With the numerous restrictions and now expiration dates, it’s no wonder I no longer have loyalty towards a single airlines. In fact, I flew my last flight of the year with United – just enough to make Premier status. I will be flying Southwest here on out for the rest of the year. Hopefully I get enough flights for a companion pass so my wife can travel for free whenever I book a flight on Southwest…without restrictions.
Do you wonder why there are expiration dates? This Chicago Tribute article gives you the details.
Just a few highlights:
The airlines are making a bid to get excess miles off their balance sheets. United, for example, had approximately 508.8 billion outstanding unused miles at the end of 2006. It estimates that 70.5 billion of those (about 14 percent) will go unused and probably expire under the new policy.
That’s enough expiring miles at 25,000 miles per ticket for nearly 3 million free domestic flight awards. Or if each mile is worth 2 cents (using a common measure of the value of miles), about $1.4 billion dollars worth of miles. Just at United.
That’s right – when you let miles expire, you lose big-time and the airlines save themselves a cargo-load of greenbacks. You have to keep your account(s) active by flying on the respective airline in order to extend the expiration date. This is not really an issue for frequent flyers, but the restrictions are still ridiculous.
A couple of tips for avoiding the expiration of miles:
Take a paid flight on the airline or an alliance partner (for example, a United frequent flier who takes a Lufthansa flight would qualify).
Redeem miles for a flight, upgrade or even a magazine subscription.
Use a credit card that awards frequent-flier miles. You can “buy a pack of gum for $1” and keep your account active, says United’s Urbanski.
Stay at a hotel that offers miles in the carrier’s program. If you usually receive frequent-guest points in the hotel’s program, you will have to forfeit them at least for one stay.
Rent a car and ask to have miles credited to your program (though some car rental agencies will charge an added fee).
Cash is always better than miles, so don’t fool yourself into thinking you should save those miles for a last minute flight that would otherwise cost you $500. My bet is on the restrictions that keep you from redeeming those miles. Try to plan well ahead and spend those miles as soon as you can. Read the fine print - there are usually cash penalties for booking too close to the departure date when using miles.
Good luck. Don’t let those hard-earned miles go to waste. You earned ‘em, so don’t forget to use them.
Ohare Airport (ORD) has had free charging stations for a while now, but it looks like it’s becoming a trend. That’s good news for business travelers and probably good for all the new iPhones.
From the abc.com website:
To promote the free service, Samsung and LAX will have representatives at all the charging stations to show electronically challenged travelers how they work.
How they work? People who can’t figure out how to plug in their gadgets probably shouldn’t have one!
If you fly American, you may appreciate the new feature. Southwest has had this feature for as long as I remember, but imitation is the highest form of flattery.
The link takes you to a flash demo of the upcoming feature.
I’m slightly spoiled with my ubiquitous wireless access thanks to my EVDO connection. If you haven’t jumped on the EVDO train and you travel every week, I suggest you bring it up in the next company meeting. Sitting in the airport waiting for your plane to arrive doesn’t have quite the same sting if you can busy yourself with news, sports, YouTube, email, and everything else available with a wireless connection.
For those of you without EVDO connections, HotelChatter just completed their assessment of the best hotel chains of 2007 for free WiFi.
It looks like Marriott came ahead thanks to the free WiFi offered in their less expensive properties (Courtyard, Residence Inn, etc.). Personally, I’d rather have a nice bed than free wireless. Marriott is obviously targeting a different customer segment with their free WiFi. The only other properties I recognized as possibilities for the business traveler, besides the Marriott, were The W and The Omni and their free WiFi was limited to the lobby areas. That really just narrows it down to the Marriott low end properties for business travelers. If you’re staying at the W or the Omni and you’re on a business trip – you’re not likely traveling on a weekly basis and paying $9.95 / night isn’t really a big expense.
As a Marriott Platinum Member, I usually enjoy free internet access regardless of the Marriott. I’m sure most memberships programs offer the same benefits at the top levels.
Still, having a high-speed wireless connection at your disposal can’t be a bad thing so check it out.
DHL is offering a copy Fodor’s 1,001 Smart Travel Tips, a 400-page collection of great tips and ideas from the international travel-savvy editors at Fodor’sk as compensation if you spent a few minutes filling out a survey. It doesn’t seem like a bad deal if you don’t mind providing a little feedback and some personal information (of course!).
DHL’s sell line:
You’ll learn how to find the best prices for flights, hotel rooms and rental cars, avoid hassles at the airport and elsewhere, make the most of web resources, and much, much more. Plus, the book features local customs for dozens of international destinations. And it’s yours free just for completing our short survey.
The Terms and Conditions (aka fine print):
Promotional offer valid upon survey completion. Expires on date specified in advertising and/or while supplies last. Offer is nontransferable, nonnegotiable, and cannot be used for cash; void where prohibited. DHL reserves the right to cancel and change terms/conditions of offer and promotion without notice. Limit one per person. DHL has the absolute right to deny premium fulfillment to any survey submitted through unauthorized channels, altered web sites, by fraudulent means or in the event erroneous information is submitted. Offers cannot be delivered to P.O. boxes. DHL employees are not eligible. All services may not be available in all areas. Subject to DHL’s Terms and Conditions as published at dhl-usa.com and/or as set forth on the waybill of the country of origin. ©2007 DHL Express (USA), Inc. All rights reserved.
Amazon
has the book for $9.95.
I came across an interesting article on the My Travel Rights website which explains your rights should your flight be delayed or canceled. Here’s a clear explanation of Rule 240:
Before airline deregulation in 1978, Rule 240 was literally a federal requirement. Nowadays, it’s a term describing what individual airlines will do for late or stranded passengers. In fact, the major airlines have filed “conditions of carriage” with the U.S. Department of Transporatation (DOT) guaranteeing their respective Rule 240s.
Here’s how you can protect your rights:
Always carry a printed copy of your airline’s Rule 240
Visit the website for links to various airline policies related to this rule and others
Read Rule 240 carefully before you use it
For example, Rule 240s generally apply only to delays that are absolutely the airline’s fault, such as mechanical delays. They do not apply to what the airlines call “force majeure” events: weather, strikes, “acts of God,” or other occurrences that the airlines say they cannot control.
Be polite but very firm about your rights under Rule 240
You’ll win most battles at ticket counters when you say the phrase “Rule 240” and show the agent your printed copy of the airline’s policies. However, don’t hesitate to keep going up the chain to supervisors if you’re not satisfied. Sometimes, airlines will even go beyond Rule 240 requirements in the name of customer service.
Knowledge can sometimes be a life saver.
News from down in my neck of the woods – looks like the Chicago Transit Authority will be installing flight information displays at the Clark / Lake train station for both O’hare and Midway. That’s convenient. Hopefully this spurs other stations and cities to do the same.
Thanks for the tip, Nauman.
Front page news of USA Today:
A rash of fires on planes has spurred the government to plan new restrictions on how airline passengers may carry lithium batteries used to power laptop computers and cellphones.
Fire safety officials, airline pilots and consumer groups are pushing for new rules on the batteries. At least nine fires involving lithium batteries have happened on airplanes or in cargo destined for planes since 2005, according to federal safety records reviewed by USA TODAY. None of the fires caused serious injuries.
At first glance, this doesn’t look positive for business travelers. It would be very difficult for me to give up my extended lithium-ion battery, much less function as a consultant. Upon closer review, it appears batteries within carry-on luggage may be preferred over check-in luggage, so that is positive news.
We’ll see how it shakes out, but hopefully the airlines (and TSA) doesn’t impose additional restrictions on their best customers, namely the business travelers.
New updates to the forth-coming Registered Traveler program:
You will be able to keep your shoes on thanks to the advances of shoe-scanning technology! The newly developed kiosk will be able to scan your shoes for bombs while testing your fingers for traces of explosive-making materials. Sounds like fun.
The article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal says nothing about whether it will replace the numerous other security mechanisms. I’m very excited about going through a metal detector, the air puffing machine, and finally, a shoe scanning and finger testing machine.
I wonder when we’ll have that x-ray machine from the movie, Total Recall.
That’s what I’m hearing. This comes on the heels of a USAir hostile take-over bid for Delta Airlines last month for $8.7 billion.
From a business viewpoint, it looks like it makes sense, since each airline is focused on different regions, although they share many of the same routes, especially between each other’s hubs.
Chicago-based United is the nation’s fourth-largest carrier in terms of passenger traffic and is strong in the Midwest and Asia. It has major hubs in Denver, Chicago and at Washington’s Dulles International Airport. Its parent company, UAL, has a market capitalization of about $4.8 billion.
Houston-based Continental is the nation’s sixth-largest carrier and has major hubs in Houston, Cleveland and Newark. It has strong links to Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. It has a market capitalization of about $3.9 billion.
Nothing is set in stone, and there are a few things standing in the way such as: * Approval by federal regulators * An agreement between Northwest Airlines and Continental that gives Northwest the means to block a merger
What does this mean?
Well for the carrier employees, it likely means layoffs as duplicate flights are cut.
For carriers, it means lower overhead costs, which ideally would be passed onto the customer. Logically-speaking, many people would believe less competition means higher prices, but I point you to an article on a study done in 2000 specifically around airline mergers.
The study by the Economic Strategy Institute, a free market-oriented public policy research group, analyzed 322 individual markets currently served by the six carriers with the largest networks.
Assuming consolidation into three carriers, it found competition would soar 74 percent among markets with access to two or more major metropolitan centres, or “hubs,” while decreasing in 13 percent of cases and remaining unchanged in another 13 percent.
Who knows what it means to frequent fliers – my first guess is our status and the our points would be devalued as consolidation takes place. We’re talking more frequent fliers on less flights and more points being spent on less flights. On the flip side, it also opens up the possibility of more destinations so who knows?
I guess we’ll find out, shortly.