As I mentioned yesterday, I’ll be about 11,000 Premier Qualifying Miles (PQMs) short of Platinum status for 2014 after flying what I have booked for the rest of the year. And I’m currently debating whether to go for Platinum, or settle with lifetime Gold. At this point, my travel plans on United Airlines and Star…
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Pondering United Premier Platinum Over Gold for 2014
“To Plat or not to Plat, that is the question.†I started pondering this last night after updating my mileage spreadsheet to see that after flying what I have booked for the rest of the year, I’ll be about 11,000 miles short of Premier Platinum next year. I had long resigned myself not to go…
Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: August 12, 2013
A sampling of industry news that caught my attention today: A new United Club at the San Diego airport opens tomorrow, coinciding with United’s move to Terminal 2 West, which includes a new ticketing lobby, baggage claim area, and improved dining and shopping. Check out the size of the globe logo on the club’s entry…
Amenity Kit (Non) Review: Turkish Airlines Economy Class
I recently published Amenity Kit Reviews for both the Turkish Airlines Business Class and Comfort Class (premium economy) offerings, and a couple of readers mentioned that economy passengers also receive kits. From the Comfort Class review, reader PAB said: I already knew that some airlines (none of them U.S. carriers, of course) provide coach passengers…
Rumor Mill: United Adding Seats to CR7s, American-US Airways Reciprocal Lounge Access
A couple of threads caught my attention this week on Flyertalk and Milepoint with rumors that United (Express) will add a row of seats to its Canadair CRJ-700s, and lounge reciprocity for American and US Airways fliers begins September 1. And yes, while these are both unconfirmed as of this posting, they certainly sound plausible.…
Amenity Kit Review: South African Airways Business Class
In this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews, I take a look at the business class offering from Star Alliance member airline South African Airways. A very special thanks goes out to Jason at Food, Wine and Miles who donated this kit back in May for a review – I’m thrilled to have it in my…
United’s Revenue Model for Elite Status Is Only the Beginning
Earlier today, I quickly posted the news that United Airlines will introduce a new Premier Qualifying Dollar (PQD) revenue requirement in 2014 to maintain or achieve elite status, in addition to the normal mileage requisites. It didn’t come as a shock to me and I promised to share more of my thoughts about the change.…
Amenity Kit Review: Air China Business Class – 2013 Edition
In this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews, I take a critical look at the business class offering of Star Alliance member Air China. A very special thanks goes out to Very Good Points for sending it my way. For a better description of each category and the 7-point scale for scoring, please review my introductory…
Help a Reader: Where Should I Spend My 100-150K Miles Annually?
I received the following question from Peter and he (and I) would love additional feedback beyond what I provided. First, his question: I fly 200K – 250K for business (mostly China) and try to divide it between UA and AA to keep my top tier status with both. I will turn 40 soon and don’t want…
Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: January 14, 2013
I plan to bring back this once-regular post here on Frequently Flying as I’m sure I’m not the only one who enjoys a quick snippet of notable airline, hotel and travel industry news of the day. It’ll be back as often as possible pending work, travel and other distractions. As advance notice, I’ll be flying…