Delta, Chelsea FC And All Of Their Friends

There is something that caught my eye, though, even more so than the contest itself. While reading the description of Delta One, their new first class product, I was struck by just how many partners Delta has. Here it is:

• Room to dine, work and relax in 180-degree flat-bed seats with direct aisle access and Westin Heavenly® In-Flight Bedding
• Seasonal, chef-curated meals with wines expertly paired by Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson
• Travel essentials featuring Kiehl’s skin care products provided in our TUMI amenity kit
• Endless entertainment from Delta Studio enjoyed with our noise-cancelling headset

That’s a very impressive list of partners, and let’s not forget that Delta is the official airline of Chelsea FC. I count four in the description alone. And, at least to me, it indicates the future of the travel business.

It’s Been Done before, Sort Of

In the mid-1980s, United thought it would be a good deal to roll up the travel industry. It bought Hilton, Westin and Hertz, changing the name of the company to Allegis. It wasn’t long, though, before the world caught on to the fact that the way to enhance the value of profitable companies is not to combine them with an airline. The company’s pieces were sold off shortly thereafter.

In my opinion, the airlines are handling the “roll up” model better now, by partnering, rather than acquiring. I think that this is the way we will go, as airlines have not only their in-industry alliances but also a broad network of travel options offering benefits with particular vendors.

For now, though, good luck, and I hope you get to enjoy all the partner benefits on Delta One to see Chelsea FC.

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Flat RASM Is The New Up

At the beginning of the quarter, American Airlines had estimated total RASM to range from -2.5% to -0.5%. Last week, however, American raised those numbers due to better than expected sales. Now, the fourth quarter’s RASM could come in anywhere between -1% and +1%. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a plus sign.

Is All Well for American?

Investors sent the stock up 4% on the news, but there’s certainly nothing to guarantee that pricing will remain (or even turn) positive.* Let’s look at a couple of the positive and negative factors:

• Positive: The holiday shift actually worked against American in October and December. The Jewish holidays shifted into October this year, dampening traffic for the month. Likewise, the last day of the traditional Christmas vacation period falls on Sunday, January 1, shifting leisure traffic from the end of December into the beginning of January. That shift should be a benefit for next quarter.
• Positive: Oil prices are up significantly, having risen from the mid-30s (per barrel) to about $53 per barrel today. When oil prices rise, airlines raise prices to offset the cost. More important, though, is the effect on the discount airlines. Since fuel represents a bigger portion of their total costs than it does for the legacy carriers, the discounters must raise their “junk” fares. That fare hike provides cover for legacy carriers.
• Negative: The number that American gave us was total RASM, not passenger RASM. Total RASM includes fees, credit card earnings, etc. If we were to look strictly at the passenger portion of the number, it might tell a different story.
• Negative: It’s still the airline industry, which has traditionally been unable to sustain profitability. As profits go up, labor demands will, as well. Capacity will also creep into the system. The discounters have targeted the Transatlantic region for new flights, while the US carriers may round capacity up, rather than down, as profits rise.

*No change to the standard policy: This post does not represent an offer to buy or sell stocks, nor should it be taken as advice. It’s for informational purposes only.

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Buying A Cruise from A Travel Partner

As travel companies look for new sources of revenue, commissions from cruise lines begin to look good. Cruises are one of the few remaining modes of travel that still pay a commission to agents. Since you’re not going to be on a hotel or airline’s website if you aren’t interested in travel, these places are natural destinations for cruise lines to build a book of business. Buying a cruise from a travel partner works the same way as making any other purchase through their dedicated shopping site. You’ll get points or miles based on how many dollars you spend. You may also get a bonus based on the length of the cruise (which is usually correlated to the cost).  The travel agent partner buys the points from the airline/hotel and pays them to you out of their commission.

But…

The question is, do you want to buy a cruise through a travel partner. The answer is, as always, “it depends.” Travel agents are typically willing to throw in extras, such as an on-board credit, a drink package, etc. It’s easy enough to compare an individual agent’s offering with what you can get online. But there is another factor to keep in mind, and I cannot stress this one enough: There is a certain advantage to having an individual, experienced travel agent on your side, as opposed to a call center. Cruises are complicated vacations. If something goes wrong, you’ll want to have confidence in the person you are calling to fix it. It’s a lot easier to find that person through a friend of family member than it is through a random 800-number. I’m not implying that the mass travel agents don’t know what they are doing, but I want to know who the agent on the other end of the phone is. If I know it’s somebody with twenty years of experience booking cruises, I’ll be much more comfortable. That’s worth more than a drink package.

The Anchors Away Promotion

Fortunately, the Anchors Away promotion means that you don’t have to worry about any of that. Entering is simple. Simply fill out your information at the contest site and you’re in. Yes, you are giving the company your email address. Do what you like with their emails. You can win one of five prizes, including the Grand Prize of 500,000 HH points, a 4-night hotel stay and a $2,500 cruise certificate.  “First Prize” is 250,000 points and a $500 cruise voucher. Yup, you’re going to be responsible for the taxes, so read through the terms and conditions. Hilton values points at 0.5 cents each for tax purposes. That’s not an entirely unreasonable valuation. Of course, you should see your tax adviser for further details.

The Bottom Line

I love these contests that require nothing more than an email. You have nothing to lose and could end up with a really nice prize.

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December to Adventure: $20 Fares

Well, at least they started off with a bang. The first day of December to Adventure gives you a shot at $20 fares (one-way, of course). Since the deals are changing daily, you don’t even get the usual two days that come with the usual JetBlue flash sale. Instead, you have until 11:59 pm EST to decide where you’re going to go and book the tickets. And it’s not just the short-hauls, either, with some long north-south and transcon routes added into the mix. My first look showed plenty of availability, although not necessarily on the day that you want to go, with the most seats on sale midweek. They’re heavy on the vacation destinations, so Orlando and Las Vegas appear prominently.

Terms And Conditions

Explore select cities in the U S of A for just $20 one-way.

• Book today only (the earlier of 11:59 PM ET or local time) or while supplies last.
• Fares valid on specific flights at the specific dates and times listed only.
• Fares include government taxes and fees.
• Subject to availability. While supplies last.
• Blue fare only on sale.

The conditions aren’t terrible. Because they control the timing, you don’t have to worry about blackout dates. They simply won’t make fares available if they don’t want to. Also, the fares are only for Blue fares, which means that you might still end up paying extra for your baggage. Still, the fares are so cheap that you can book it and, if you end up not using it, you’d be out as little as $40. Obviously, you’re not going to pay change fees, since there’s no reason to change the ticket. You might as well just drop it and book a second one.  Combine this with the cash back shopping deal that Melinda wrote about and you’ll have a very profitable, or at least inexpensive, holiday.

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Sign up for The ShopTrue Newsletter to Win

Today, everyone is throwing discounts at you to get you to shop through their website. Cash back shopping, or shopping online through a miles portal, is normally a lucrative business but, as the holiday shopping season “officially” begins, there will be more deals than ever. You’ll have a bunch of emails sitting in your inbox, but I’m going to focus on this one, since it’s one of the few that has a contest attached. You enter simply by adjusting your profile page at JetBlue to receive the ShopTrue newsletter and you will be entered to win 65,000 TrueBlue points. There isn’t even a long form to fill out or anything to buy.

As usual, terms and conditions apply. Read them carefully. If you live outside the 50 states, DC or Puerto Rico, sorry, you’ll have to look elsewhere for your free TrueBlue points.

What about The Shopping?

The purpose of the contest is, of course, to get you to shop at the JetBlue online shopping portal. Is that something you want to do? Well, it depends. As much as airlines, hotels, cash back sites, etc. try to decommoditize their products, shopping portals is one area where it is difficult to do so. With cashback shopping sites, it’s easy to figure out how much you are getting. Miles and points are a little tougher, since you have to attach a value to each point. In the case of JetBlue, one TrueBlue point is worth approximately 1.5c in redemption value. So, sign up for the ShopTrue newsletter, but be careful about where you actually do your shopping.

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Amazon and Target might be convenient, but you should also consider shopping at an independent retailer. You’ll be supporting not only a local merchant but your community, as well. The prices may be slightly higher, but you know where the money is going.

Shop Small for Double Points

For the past few years, American Express has offered “Small Business Saturday.” If you shopped at a qualifying local business, American Express would give you a credit.

This year is slightly different. Instead of offering a credit on a particular day, American Express is offering double reward points for shopping at qualified merchants between now and the end of the year. True, you may not value Membership Rewards points highly, but other American Express cards count as well, both business and personal ones. For instance, the Starwood Preferred Guest card is offering an additional Starpoint per dollar spent. Those points are worth 2-3 cents each, depending on how you use them. If you’re particularly generous, you should also know that there is a limit on the rewards. You only earn double points on the first $100,000 of personal card spend and $250,000 on your business card.

Not every card is eligible, but most are, including most Membership Rewards Cards, most Blue Cash cards and certain travel cards, including ones from Delta, Hilton and Starwood. Business cards also qualify. Rather than list every eligible and ineligible card, I’ll refer you to the FAQs, where they are listed. Important: You need to register your cards beforehand to earn the double points and eligible cards need to be enrolled separately.

Where to Go

American Express provides a list of merchants eligible for Shop Small. Just pull up your zip code and prepare to do your holiday shopping.

The Bottom Line

Is American Express running the Shop Small promotion to get more people using and accepting their cards? Probably. But you’ll be helping out a local merchant and your community while earning double rewards. Sounds like a win-win to me.

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Arrival

I arrived at the hotel midday, after an hour-long trip from La Guardia. The hotel has the dreaded second-floor lobby, with the entrance on the ground and an elevator to the actual lobby. I had checked in on the phone, so all I had to do was stop by the front desk and pick up my keys. As a Gold member, I also received coupons for free appetizers at the hotel happy hour, which took place on the second floor.

Renaissance Times Square Room

Renaissance does not have a brand identity, so Marriott is emphasizing the “local hotel” concept. Each property is supposed to offer some sort of local flavor, which they tried to do in the lobby of this property. To their credit, they also had activities for guests, such as a cooking class, which I’m not used to seeing at New York hotels. Still, the whole thing felt a little bit hokey.

The room definitely had the New York flavor that I was used to: It was small and lacked outlets. There were two by the bed, but that was about it within reach. The bathroom was also small enough that the door blocked most of the photo.

The room had been renovated, but there were still some issues. The internet was not working for the first two hours of my stay. The television was fuzzy and the remote control came straight out of Pleasantville. Nothing serious, just enough to be annoying.

Room service is clearly on the way out in New York. There was none at the hotel and, unlike the Marriott East Side, where Seamless could provide door-to-door delivery, food had to be picked up on the ground level at the Renaissance Times Square. Sorry, no grabbing dinner in your pajamas.

Service And Value

It would have been nice to have working internet, but the crew at the hotel was, for the most part, friendly. My interactions with them were minimal.

Value was okay, not great. It was a disappointing room for $400 per night, but this is New York, of course. In the Big Apple, value is a relative term.

There was nothing particularly wrong with the hotel, but it wouldn’t be my first choice in the area, either. If you want to be in Times Square and you are able to get a decent rate, it’s probably not a bad option.

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Virgin America And The Space Between Us

Wikipedia describes The Space Between Us as an “American teen romantic science fiction adventure drama film.” Wow, really got all the bases covered, don’t they?

Regardless, the prize sounds pretty cool. Here’s the winner receives:

• Two round-trip tickets on Virgin America to Los Angeles for a December 11 screening. Sorry, you’ll be sitting in the main cabin. And yes, if you live in Los Angeles, they’ll give you vouchers for a future flight.
• A two-night stay at a Los Angeles hotel.
• Two tickets to the red carpet screening. Paparazzi not included.

Terms And Conditions

I repeat this with every contest but, like the safety announcement, it’s worth listening to. Always read the terms and conditions of the promotion.

You need to be an Elevate member and enter the contest here. Enter by December 1 to be eligible, but I would do it now, just in case. It takes about two minutes to fill out the form and costs you nothing to enter.

Whenever you enter one of these contests, keep an eye on the tax ramifications. Sometimes, the promoter will throw in a few bucks to offset the taxes on the prize. This contest does not do so. Virgin values the prize at $2,402, and you will be responsible for any taxes on it. Consult a tax adviser, not a blog, to determine your tax bill.

And that’s about all. Good luck, and hopefully you’ll be on your way to LA.

The post Virgin America: Win A Trip to See “The Space Between Us” appeared first on InsideFlyer.

• No advance seat assignments. At check-in, you get what you get and you don’t get upset. Yes, you could be separated from your kids. No, you can’t pay extra to ensure that you are separated from your kids.
• No ticket changes, even for a fee. You still have the 24-hour booking policy.
• No overhead space. If it doesn’t go under your seat, it gets checked. There is an exception for credit card holders, Star Gold members and Premier members.
• While you do earn redeemable miles, you get no credit for segments or miles toward elite status. You also get no lifetime mileage credit. Needless to say, there’s no chance to be upgraded.
• You’ll board last (unless you meet the exception requirements for bullet-point three), although how much does that matter if you don’t need overhead space?

Is United Basic Economy Brilliant Or Brutal?

Forbes wrote an article discussing the changes, in which it discussed the move:

But United Continental on Tuesday managed to announce a new wrinkle in its service that actually is both brilliant from a business perspective and contemptuous of consumers at the same time.

Actually, it’s neither. It’s hard to call the move brilliant, since it simply took what Delta had already done and added to it. On the other hand, it’s not contemptuous of consumers, because it’s exactly what consumers had demanded.

I understand that nobody is out there protesting that the airlines give too many amenities. But the fastest-growing airlines are in the ultra-low cost carrier segment. Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant have been able to grow capacity double-digits by pricing as low as possible and charging for ancillaries. United Basic Economy (and Delta’s, for that matter) is based on the same theory, except the base price is the “normal” price and you can buy down, instead of buying up, like you do on the ULCCs.

From a business perspective, BE makes perfect sense. Consumers* have proven time and again that they are attracted to the lowest ticket price. The majors simply have to match the lowest price, which costs them tens of millions of dollars in revenues. Basic Economy will allow them to offer the same product, but also send a signal that, if passengers want that product, they will have to give up some of the amenities. It’s how the real world works: You’re not going to get a BMW for the price of a Chevy.

Is Basic Economy A Stealth Price Increase?

Actually, no. The “base” fare won’t change. Basic Economy will simply be offered at a discount. A ticket that cost you $100 before the launch of BE will, all other circumstances being equal, cost $100 after the launch. There will simply be another option, likely $15-30 cheaper, if Delta is any indication. The biggest changes will be in markets where United competes head-to-head with a ULCC. The chances of getting last-minute tickets in “traditional” economy at the same price as a ULCC will drop precipitously.

Who Is to “Blame”?

The free market. True, the major airlines have spent years commoditizing their products and consumers have proven more than once that low fares are the driving factor behind their purchase decisions. But more choices, even if it’s a choice we don’t want, are probably better than fewer.

I can understand not wanting to fly United after this change. It only accelerates commoditization across the industry value proposition (even if it decommoditizes the product itself), and the choice of a ULCC or a legacy carrier just became a little different. But my guess is that Delta will eventually match United, and American will show a product very similar to United’s, as well. The cheap seats will exist, but it will become a question of who wants to purchase them.

*Obviously, this statement doesn’t apply to 100% of consumers, but it does reflect the vast majority of travelers. If you are reading this, there’s a good chance that you do not fall into that category.

Cover Photo: Creative Commons

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The JetBlue “Shuttle”

Few routes have suffered as much from airline service cuts as the shuttle, particularly the Boston-New York route. In the “good ol’ days,” the shuttles were the pride and joy of airlines. Above average service to business customers, who could simply walk up and board the next plane. Fill up one? They’ll roll out another. The shuttle was so prestigious, in fact, that some saw it as a stepping stone to the presidency. As airlines and their customers cut back, though, the carriers reduced amenities. Sure, you may get a bagel onboard now, but you could also find yourself on a claustrophobic regional jet.

The JetBlue shuttle (my term, not theirs), is the shuttle bus for the rest of us. They may not have the same amenities, but they are at least offering a few tokens to say, hey business travelers, we appreciate you:

Granted, almost every JetBlue flight offers the free Fly-Fi, but craft beer in the morning? Where else can you get that? And for those of you who wonder what a simit is:

Once onboard, other than the free alcohol, you won’t notice any differences. But for a 45-minute flight, what do you need?

Now, here’s the best part: JetBlue has introductory fares as low as $34 one-way. And because JetBlue is doing it, all the cool kids have to, as well. In fact, American has fares as low as $61 round-trip. The days of the mileage run may be done, but if you need a few segments or elite qualifying miles, this is your run.

The Downside

There’s only one negative to the trip, and that’s on the New York end. The flight arrives in (or departs from, depending on where you are going) the A Concourse of the B Terminal at La Guardia. You could be forgiven for not even knowing that there was such a concourse, given how desolate it is. When Au Bon Pain qualifies as fine dining, you know you need a gut renovation.

But if the terminal is the worst thing you can say about a flight, you’re not doing too badly. Enjoy your cheap trip to New York on the new JetBlue Shuttle.

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