I’ve been on top of this PremierMiles situation since the day Citibank announced the upcoming devaluation. I can only thank my stars and yours that the devaluation is coming with a notice, and not unlike the time when Jet Airways and Citibank broke up relations overnight. Citibank will put the new transfer rates into effect from February 1, 2015, where each airmile conversion will work from 1 PM = 1 airmile to 2 PM = 1 airmile. So far, no changes are envisaged to hotel conversions. This means, even when you effect a transfer on January 30, 2015 you will still get a 1:1 conversion when it lands up into your frequent flyer account. I’ve seen loads of emails and…
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Club Carlson Promo: 15K bonus for 2-nights & 30K bonus for 3-nights (+10K targetted)
Club Carlson is known to have one of the richest promotions history out there. They’ve frequently come out with 50K bonuses for one night promotions, so their Q12015 promotion is no less spectacular. This one is called “Extend Your Stay”, and is valid for stays between 12 January 2015 to 29 March 2015. Club Carlson is offering a 15,000 Club Carlson points bonus in case you have a 2 night stay on eligible rates with one of their many hotels around the world. In case you have a 3 night stay, you get 30,000 Club Carlson points as bonus. You need to register here. How much is that worth? Club Carlson redemption stays start at 9,000 points per night for…
PremierMiles Transfer: Air India Flying Returns
PremierMiles Devaluation w.e.f. February 1, 2015 PremierMiles to Etihad Guest conversion Since the devaluation of PremierMiles was announced last week, I am trying to post on all the options available for all of us to transfer into various frequent flyer programs, our hard earned PremierMiles. Yesterday, I wrote a post on Etihad Guest, and today, it is time for Air India’s Flying Returns program. I’ve covered bits and pieces of the Air India Flying Returns program over the times. Air India joined Star Alliance last year, so your miles on AI can now be used for redemptions on Star Alliance member carriers as well. On a whole, I find Air India’s program to be an expensive program, in comparison to…
PremierMiles Transfer: Etihad Guest
The year started on a not so great note, with Citibank announcing the devaluation of the PremierMiles transfer options. Over the next few days I am hoping to write posts evaluating in brief the options for transferring your PremierMiles, in case you are not happy with the new redemption rates of (2:1). Let us go straight off the bat with evaluating Etihad Guest. Since Jet Airways pulled out from the redemption options of PremierMiles in 2012, the only option for PremierMiles transfer for flying around India on award tickets was Air India or Kingfisher (since defunct). But Etihad joined the PremierMiles transfer options a while ago, and this seems like a great option to be able to fly in India,…
Get an on board meal free if you book your Indigo flight by 4 Jan 2015
Indigo is promoting its mobile app with a unique promotion. If you book a flight by tomorrow (January 4, 2015) using the mobile app, Indigo will provide you with a free on-board vegetarian meal (usually a selection from their on-board menu of a sandwich/snack and a drink). Of course, as the promotion states, you need to make a booking at least twenty four hours prior to travels. I don’t see any other terms and conditions or promotional codes to be used. I’ve always loved Indigo for their funky meal packaging, and here is my last experience flying Indigo a few months ago. Join over 4000 people who check-in daily to find out about the best in travel.Free emails (once-a-day) |…
Some thoughts behind why PremierMiles were devalued
Yesterday, I put out the sad news about PremierMiles conversion changing from 1:1 to 2:1 and also the relatively minor devaluation of using PremierMiles as cash for booking tickets. I have a feeling I should lay out an educated guess about why conversion options are being hit more than the use as cash. This, is all a result of inflation over the years, as well as the foreign exchange movements over the years. First, about the inflation. I know inflation does not directly impact the price at which conversions should happen, and loyalty programs regularly adjust their redemption rates to account for inflation. However, maybe the price at which the loyalty programs sell to banks and other establishments also changes…
Happy New Year Giveaway!
Hi folks! Here is wishing all of you safe travels and lots of travel in 2015. Because it is a new year, a lot of things start on a fresh note, and it is great to hear from you all as always! I’m always very appreciative of all the feedback you give me on the blog here, and very interested in helping you make your travel better. I feel like a small giveaway, so I’ll be happy to start the year to pay one of you in kind for your thoughts. I’d love to hear two things from all of you: What was the most interesting thing about travel you learnt from this blog or yourself over the last year?…
Citibank sharply devalues PremierMiles, another time!
I hate to start the New Year with some sad news. In 2011, I’d called the Citibank PremierMiles the best travel credit card around in India, because you could earn 1 airmile across airline programs for every INR 25 spend, and then you could earn 1 airmile across airline programs for every INR 10 spend for air tickets or booking via specific websites. With effect from February 1, 2015, all that changes.Citibank is devaluing the transfer ratios for the transfer to their partner airlines from 1:1 to 2:1, which means, 2 PremierMiles = 1 Airline Mile. For your reference, the following airlines are partners with Citi for conversions to airmiles: Cathay Pacific Delta Airlines British Airways Thai Airways Malaysia Airlines…
Jet Airways offering tickets INR 2015 onwards
Merry Christmas folks. Sorry, Santa had a lot of places to be last night and he just woke up a while ago. The sales are back in full force, and while I don’t write about each and every sale on my blog, this one looks like it makes the cut. Jet Airways is back with the first sale for the 2015 season. They are offering domestic Economy tickets at INR 2015 onwards, for travel between 01 February 2015 to September 30, 2015. For Business Class seats, tickets are going at INR 7,999 onwards. Ticket classes on sale are B, O & W for Economy and P for Business, and these are non-refundable tickets. Tickets need to be booked by December…
30 AwardWallet Codes going away today
It is that time of the month again, where I am putting out my stash of AwardWallet codes for all of you. Like you’d know, AwardWallet is a website that allows me to track my points and miles totals across loyalty programs in a one-view format. AwardWallet provides a free account, which tracks all your accounts for free, but only displays upto 3 expiration notices. There is also AwardWallet Plus, which costs you $5 upwards for 6 months (you choose the price), and allows for details on all your accounts to be tracked along with the expiry notices. Now, if you haven’t had an AwardWallet account ever, you could sign up for a free 6-months usage of AwardWallet Plus with…
A Detailed Look at the Club Vistara Program
A few days ago, I had put out the first glimpse of the Club Vistara program, the revenue-based frequent flyer program for the new airline Vistara, which is taking wings on 9 January 2015. Now, here is a first look at the Club Vistara program and how it will operate. Enrolment: Membership is open to members of all ages, except that if you are/you have kids below 18 years of age, the parents need to sign a consent form before enrolling the kids. Like I mentioned earlier, you get 500 points when you enrol for the program and take your first flight within a month. Points Earning: It is widely known by now that Vistara will have a revenue-based frequent…
