In this Frequent Miler week in review around the web, we have the latest from the Southwest rumor mill (though this seems firm), the potential for more flat beds domestically in the future, why you don’t want to get into selling miles, and more top tips from around the net. Read on for this week’s recap.
A cautionary tale of selling your miles
This post is actually more than a week old, but Greg and I are often asked about mileage brokers. It seemed worth including here even though I’m a week late to the party. The truth is, I know almost nothing about them. My mileage balances are too valuable to me to risk getting my loyalty accounts shut down and have to stop playing this game. Besides, there are enough ways to earn cash back that I can’t imagine it would be all that attractive to sell miles in most instances. If you need a little more reason not to get involved in this realm, see this post from Miles Per Day.
Redeeming Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles – top tips
With the current transfer bonus, this post from Turning Left for Less is a timely reminder that Virgin Atlantic miles aren’t only useful for ANA and Delta. I don’t know what availability is like, but the redemptions on Hawaiian piqued my interest. See this post for the details on what you can book and when to book it.
United Airlines Will Put Lie Flat Seats on Boeing 737s
Flat beds on 737s could eventually mean more flat bed routes on which to redeem miles. I have to imagine that the expansion of JetBlue Mint service has put some pressure on other airlines to expand flat bed service. This might also make for some great opportunities to redeem LifeMiles well by playing a bit with connections. View from the Wing has more on what United has to say about it.
Southwest to Hawaii News: Buy & Fly by Late Fall 2018
Well this could get exciting — it looks like Southwest is going to hit the Hawaiian islands in time for holiday travel. Mele Kalikimaka. Mile Value has more on where, when, and whether or not Southwest’s famously friendly policies will apply to flights to and from the mainland. I certainly hope to get one of the first flights out — and with both my wife and I holding Companion Passes this year, maybe we’ll even be able to bring some company. I look forward to seeing what fares look like when this goes live.
United says the Excursionist Perk is not defined by time, except that it definitely is.
How long can your layover be on United award ticket before it becomes a stopover and you are forced to use the Excursionist perk for your connection? If you said 23 hours and 59 minutes, Windbag Miles has news for you, because it seems that United has made this policy a lot less customer-friendly without publishing the rules publicly. United is definitely showing poor form on this in admitting that they don’t publish the rules for everyone to see but any agent should know them. You’d think it would also be helpful for members to know the rules — but United seems to disagree.
That’s it for this week around the web. Check back soon for this week’s last chance deals.
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Interesting about the Excursionist benefit. Perhaps your Elite status plays a part not acknowledged? I just booked a friend from Toronto a flight to LA. And he arrives approximately 24 hours before we board a plane to Sydney. I thought it would not be allowed=—that he;d have to fly from CAN to CAL same day we depart. to AUS. Agent checked it—no difference in fare; no need to use the Excursionist benefit (I’m uncertain we even could because of the route and travel not within USA). But even more Interesting is that the quoted fare had I just booked him LA to Sydney was higher than the itinerary that I got which was Toronto LA Sidney. Just by a few dollars but in fact it was cheaper with a 24 hour layover! All i know is that when i broke thru from Gold to Platinum status it’s a news world of cooperation and customer service, and I’m greatly motivated to keep it, hence then trip to AUS which concludes 12/30 🙂