Last Reviewed: 7/15/2011
Like many loyalty programs (especially airline programs), you need to channel your inner Isaac Newton to understand and master all of the angles and rules of the program. The Delta Skymiles program is no exception. Read the rest of this entry »
2/14/2011
Right now I’m in the air, about 8 hours into my 10 hour flight to London Heathrow. Flying Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy (courtesy of my full-time employer). Just a couple of days ago I returned home from Aruba (personal trip!) on United and was upgraded for a 4-hour leg of that flight to their Economy Plus.
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Last Reviewed: 7/17/2010
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The Discover Escape credit card (aka Escape by Discover) masquerades as a travel credit card, but is really falls into what I believe is a unique class of cards which I would dub “restricted cash-back credit cards”. Restrictions aside, this piece of plastic is a heavy hitter, and is frequently at the top of the PlasticIQ Ranking Engine. You can apply directly for Discover Escape, or continue reading this review for more insights into why even Clint Eastwood would have wanted this card in his back pocket when he popped out of the Bay soaking wet.
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For those of you contemplating getting a hotel loyalty credit card in order to eventually pursue some tropical booty surfing at a distant resort, PlasticIQ takes you one step closer to your dream by helping you answer the question: “So how much are Marriott Rewards Points really worth?” (for the impatient types, we have determined the value to be $0.0088 per point, but strongly encourage you to read the remainder of the post to understand why.)
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There are three levels of Amex Rewards—Membership Rewards Express, Membership Rewards (which is what this article is focused on), and Membership Rewards First. We have blogged separately about the Express program in our post What is the value of American Express Membership Rewards Express Program Points?
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According to the Best Western website, there are more than 4,000 Best Western hotels in over 80 countries. It’s rumored that John Wayne filmed an action scene in each and every one of them.
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The Starwood brand encompasses the following 9 brands: Sheraton, Four Points, the W, Aloft, The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Westin Hotels, Element, and St. Regis.
Since PlasticIQ is endeavoring to determine the value of the numerous airline frequent flyer programs in existence, it’s critical that we establish standards to enable a fair, apples-to-apples comparison amongst the various programs.
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Flying Club is the name of Virgin Atlantic’s frequent flyer program. And Richard Branson is the name of their founder and CEO. And he is my idol. Hmm, where was I…Oh yes, one of the challenges of valuing miles from this program is that mileage requirements for free flights vary by specific departure location, requiring a more city-to-city analysis. If you just want to learn more about the program, read our post, Summary of the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Program.
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Mileage Plus is the frequent flyer program from United. Awards are classified as either Saver or Standard. As you might surmise, Saver Awards require less miles to obtain, but come with blackout dates and capacity control restrictions, whereas Standard Awards do not. Note that United is a member of the Star Alliance (a partnership of more than 20 airlines aimed at extending their collective global footprint).
