What’s your favorite designation for economy class? One friend calls it ‘scum’, another calls it ‘the hostel section where deodorant is purely optional and seldom used, where odor is a cross between a porta potty and a Parisian supermarché mid August.’
I call it ‘peasant’ and those who don’t churn call it home. Since I don’t have the bank to back up my bravado like Trump, let me be clear that these terms are used in jest. Don’t bother commenting about your sensitivities.
The reason I ask is because I’m in the process of booking another undeserved long-haul flight. I’m looking to fly first while my companion, a graduate from points weakling to points semi-pro, has to fly business. The look of disappointment when I informed her that her AA balance wasn’t quite high enough to splurge for first was priceless. Mind you, it was only a few months ago that she was content enduring coach as a points novice to Maldives flying for 40 hours, stopping in three continents just to get there for a price of $33 in taxes.
How quickly things change. Now, it’s no longer, ‘where are we going?’ but ‘what kind of plane are we flying? What champagne is being served?’ Those not in the points game will find this devolution shallow but I can’t help but be proud of all my friends who have embraced the TPOL lifestyle and send me itineraries of great points redemptions.
Though points have allowed Ms. TPOL to see the world in style, it’s remarkable how she quickly forgets what coach is like. This is evidenced by her refusal to call recon when she doesn’t get an instant credit card approval, a behavior easily rectified by showing her pics of angled-flat seats.
Disclaimer: TPOL recommends you Shut Up and Book! We never know when this whole game will end leaving us all riding dirty.
TPOL: When business class is no longer good enough
You ever find yourself going down a winding street in the middle of the night when all of a sudden a 200lb deer decides to jaywalk? If you’re riding in your new car or perhaps if you’re riding in a rental while on a trip, the temptation may be to steer your way around the deer forgetting that your Chase Ink car rental insurance has you covered. That could prove to be a fatal move for you and your passengers.
Instead, do as we did yesterday: Calmly slow down, brace, brace, brace, and watch Mr. Deer hit the driver side of the cover, go up in the air, bounce off of the passenger windshield which surprisingly did not break, and fall onto the side of the road.
“It all happened so quickly,” is often said in these life changing circumstances. Only this time it all happened so slowly. We saw deer. Deer saw us. We struck deer. Deer is no more.
Is Alaska’s Free Companion Fare Useless? Some think so, some do not. Some think the whole debate post was useless (see comments). It’s no Southwest pass and getting to Tahiti is cheaper than going to Hawaii. That’s not a big selling point for me, Andaz Maui notwithstanding. Also, I ran a marathon in Alaska. Going to visit my buddy Robb up there again and convincing someone else to go see the old man is a tough sell. Finally, I have so many points and believe in Avios so much that the idea of paying for a ticket pains me, though I am risking life and limb flying Allegiant to Vegas for what is surely the greatest Hyatt Diamond Challenge ever.
But enough about me, this post is about you Alaska Airlines lovers. I have 6 more passes that I don’t want to see go to waste and will be handing out the codes a few months before each expire. This post may be a bit premature since they don’t expire till May 2016 and I just gave away the one that expires in October. But in the interest of good faith and because I’m in a good mood that college football is starting, I will give one away now, free of charge.
All you have to do is follow me on Twitter or Instagram and hashtag #TPOLinAlaska to enter. The winner will be announced on Sunday.
Note: The actual rules make it cumbersome for me to giveaway the pass. I’m going off of what a reader said who told me that I didn’t need to be involved in the redemption.
I have 7, that’s right 7, Alaska Free Companion fare tickets to use with varying expiration dates. I pay full price for one ticket and my companion gets to fly for ‘free’- $121 extra. I’ve made a couple of bookings that were decent deals but haven’t been impressed by Alaska’s fares to use them more often.
In the end the fare split between two people looks like what I would pay if I purchased two tickets from another carrier. I am more than happy to give away these companion fares but the rules make it cumbersome. Still, there is some value to be found if you live in remote areas like I do at present.
Below are a couple that are decent given that Southwest doesn’t fly these routes.
Anyone have any ‘sweet spots’ they’d care to share?
It’s been a hectic week. Booking Tahiti, sleepless nights worrying about Club Carlson, and skipping my marathon training run had me exhausted. But reading about the bombing in Thailand underscores just how trivial my points worries are. My thoughts are with those in Thailand. The cowardice acts of terror that try to intimidate both the locals and tourists are disgusting. The motive for the bombers was to kill the tourism industry yet such callousness won’t dissuade me and so many others from going to one of the greatest cities in the world. The love of travel is a unifying theme that brings people together from all over the globe. That adventurous spirit will not be curtailed because of the despicable acts of a few individuals.
We’ve all had an up and down relationship with Club Carlson. That much is not in dispute. There were the good days outlined here and then the bad. To close the chapter on this saga, I received 2 E-CERTS good for one free night at any Club Carlson hotel. Add that with the present balance on my account and the 44,000 bonus that will post next year on each and I have enough for 4 nights. That doesn’t include my upcoming stay in Iceland.
After that I’ll probably still keep both cards open as the sting from losing the free night award will have worn off.
Five weeks of training is done for the Athens marathon and in order to keep myself honest and motivated, here’s my weekly diary of all things marathon.
Here’s what happened this week:
I skipped the pivotal 14 mile run to golf. I had some great shots but didn’t win the PGA Championship. So that’s not good for my training though I did walk the course.
Earlier in the week on speed day, I ran splits of 10*400 with each coming in around 1:35. That was good.
11 more weeks to go. Can’t be so damn lazy lest I end up looking like this guy:
The Internets is a buzzin about St. Nick dropping off a present to holders of the US Bank Club Carlson card which underwent an ugly makeover a few months ago. I just wrote about how one of my Club Carlson accounts was credited 7500 points without me having to call in and complain about the devaluation. Immediately thereafter, I read the news that US Bank was offering one night free at any Club Carlson resort in a hand delivered letter.
Though I checked the mail religiously, I had yet to receive anything. All my credit cards are set to paperless so it didn’t cross my mind that I failed to update my mailing address for this card before moving to Ulaanbaatar. Sure enough, it still says Arizona.
Maybe that’s why Christmas didn’t come early. Anyone else not receive a letter?
How do you use your points to plan a trip to Tahiti? Undoubtedly, it is one of the most challenging rewards to pull off even if your time availability is that of Santa Clause in July. Hotels simply don’t release award space and even when they do it can only be for one night at a time.
I speculatively booked two nights at IHG Bora Bora using a trick that worked for me then but is of no help now as the IHG calendar shows zero availability through July 2016. From there, I had to find Hilton availability, a topic for another post. Assuming you’ve cleared the huge hotel hurdle, the next challenge is to find all of these concurrently: award space.in business.for realistic points.
Not only has TPOL done it but I believe like my $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World and my Hyatt Diamond Challenge that I have done it better than anyone has before. Of course I have to thank MileValue who originally posted about the possibility of flying from North Asia to Oceania, stopping in New Zealand and back to North Asia in business all for 30k each way.
Here are the details of how I am flying from Shanghai to Tahiti to Auckland and back to Bangkok/Shanghai for 60,000 United Miles and $103.80.
The Planning
Find availability from PPT to AKL for 2 on Air New Zealand: Done but only in economy. There was business class last year for one so I’ll have to set an alert or ride coach for 5 hours.
Find availability from AKL to PPT for 2 on Air New Zealand: Same as above.
Find availability from PVG to AKL: There’s plenty of availability. This is the best part of the trip. I am flying for the second time the Dreamliner via Air New Zealand direct from Shanghai to Auckland.
Find availability from AKL to PVG: I chose to fly an indirect route to New Zealand so I could fly Thai Airways business class and review the lounge in Bangkok. I also am indecisive if I want to continue on to Shanghai or jump ship in Bangkok.
The Call
Calling United to book complex itineraries is not a horrible experience. The agent is patient and accommodating though she did try to say that the ticket was 62,5000 each way. I had to explain to her that the award chart clearly shows that North Asia to Oceania is 30k and there’s no way of getting there without stopping in New Zealand. I also had to point out that my 2 night stopover on the way back to Shanghai via New Zealand was permissible.
After an hour on the phone she successfully booked the tickets for 60,000 miles/person and $103.80.
The FAQ
Why are you staying for only 2 nights in New Zealand? Seems like a missed opportunity to see a lot more of New Zealand.
I could’ve stayed and maybe I will stay longer in New Zealand but I’m guessing 2 nights in Auckland is enough to see that city specifically and I don’t have the time and probably won’t have the budget following Moorea and Bora Bora to explore the nicer parts of the country. I did visit Windy Wellington as part of the RTW trip mentioned above.
Why are you flying RT to Shanghai? What about open-jaws?
First, the ticket has to originate from and return to North Asia which includes China, Japan, South Korea, and MONGOLIA! Shanghai is the best city in the world so I have no problem starting my adventure from there. As for the return, I’m giving myself the option to continue on to China or end my trip in SE Asia, naughty, naughty, hidden city style.
How many hours of glorious business class are we talking here?
Assuming no business class space opens from AKL-PPT in either direction and that I return to Shanghai, that’s over 28 hours of business class.
How far you going?
Great question. Let’s consult the Great Circle Mapper.
Did I read that correctly, all this for 60,000 United Miles? I thought there was a devaluation.
Yes my friends, that’s correct. For only 60,000 miles you can fly round trip from Shanghai to Tahiti stop in New Zealand for as long or as short as you want then return to North Asia or stay in Bangkok. As a point of reference, DTW-FRA one way on Lufthansa post devaluation is 70,000 miles and only 8 hours of business class on a zzz A340.
Taxes?
$100!
Did this really ticket? I want to see the itinerary.
