Citibank has been working on two new products to replace the existing Citibank Ultima, which has been their lifestyle and travel credit card in India for about five years or more, and was their product equivalent of the American Express Platinum. Over a period of time, the Jet Airways and Priority Pass privileges went away and the product proposition was vastly reduced. Since American Express launched their Centurion in India, Citibank will be relaunching the Ultima to compete with the Amex Centurion, and Citibank Prestige will be launched in India at INR 20,000 plus taxes to be the lifestyle credit card for Citibank. My guess is this product will be issued as a Visa product in India, while it is…
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Hyatt offering 3000 bonus points at 2 hotels in India
One of the two hotel currencies that are much wanted around the world are Hyatt Gold Passport Points, and for the lack of a co-branded credit card, they are pretty hard to earn in India. Hyatt does take to the bonus route on new hotel openings, and at this moment they are offering bonuses of 3000 Gold Passport points at two of their latest Indian hotels. Firstly, there is the Hyatt Regency Ludhiana, which has recently opened and is offering 3000 bonus points for stays between March 1 and May 31 2014. The offer code for this is 3KGP and needs to be put on your reservation before you check-in. There is also the Hyatt Raipur, which has opened a…
Your Citibank Double Miles have posted
Citibank had launched a Double your Miles promotion in November 2013, where the top 5000 registered spenders were going to get upto 50,000 extra PremierMiles. The miles were going to be credited to the accounts of the top 5000 spenders by the 15th of March 2014. So, last night, I checked into my account by sending a text message “Rewards xxxx” to (+91 9880752484) where the xxxx were the last four digits of my Citibank PremierMiles credit card. And I noticed a bounty of an extra 49,000 PremierMiles in my account. So, if you registered for the Citibank PremierMiles Double Miles promotion in 2013, check your accounts and you’ll find out if you were the top 5000 spenders or not.…
Status Match available on Air India Flying Returns
SBI credit cards started to issue Air India co-branded credit cards last year, and they are maybe one of the best airline credit cards out there from an Indian perspective. Take an example, if you get the Signature version of the card, you get: 20,000 Air India miles to start-up on payment of first year annual fees 1 Air India upgrade voucher on sign-up 20,000 Air India miles bonus on spending INR 3 lakhs in the year 20,000 Air India miles bonus and Air India Silver Club status on spending INR 5 lakhs in the year 50,000 Air India miles bonus and Air India Gold Club status on spending INR 10 lakhs in the year Air India / SBI Cards…
Amex Platinum Reserve and Jet co-brand cards available at INR 5,000 for first year
One of the less widely covered American Express Credit Card on my blog is the American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card. Originally meant to be the credit card version of the American Express Charge Card, the Credit Card comes with some limited but still useful benefits. While a full review of this product will have to wait, here are some of the benefits of this card: 22,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points on signup 1 Membership Rewards Point for every Rs.40 spent Access to the American Express Lounges at Delhi and Mumbai Dosmestic Airports Complimentary membership to Taj Epicure Plus Gold Tier in the Taj Inner Circle program Priority Pass, with two complimentary visits per annum Now, the usual fees for…
Last Call: OneWorld Sapphire via American Express Platinum ends March 2014
One of the benefits offered by American Express Platinum Charge Cards in some markets, including India, UK & Canada has been Complimentary Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Gold Status. This equates to oneworld Sapphire status, which provides you with the following benefits: Business Class Priority Check-in Preferred Seating Business Class Lounge Access with one guest Priority Boarding While this is not an advertised benefit, the reason for that is that this benefit is being withdrawn with effect from 31 March 2014. However, American Express has confirmed that for anyone who is holding the card or gets the card before 31 March 2014 and is able to get their completed form across for Cathay Pacific Gold, they will be able to honour…
Indigo stops charging for (most) window and aisle seats
A while ago, I wrote on this blog about how Indigo was inferring unbundling rules on their own tangent, offering upto 72% of the seats on the plane as pay for selection, which was not in spirit of the Indian regulations. They tried being creative earlier as well, even trying to charge for the middle seat. Basically, they were trying to charge for as many seats as possible to maximise revenue. Anyhow, after the post, I see things have changed. I recently booked my parents on another Indigo flight, and after booking up the trip, it was time to assign seats as well. Out here, I saw that the number of seats offered for premium seat assignment was way less…
Will Olacabs compensate for my time?
There are good times and there are bad times, and then there are ugly times with cab companies. One of the reasons I depend on chauffeur driven services is because it helps me be more productive since I can just continue to work while they get me to my destination. In Delhi, all the more I need to depend on one because there are no taxis that I can flag down the road and make a move. Last week, one such day, I was reminded how things can go horribly wrong and the service providers would just leave you to the mercy of the Gods, maybe. I had a meeting to make it to, and I only had my mobile…
Grand Hyatt Mumbai offering 50% off for stays till Sep 30, 2014
Reader Varun Checker, pointed me to a great promotion running at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai, which is are celebrating their 10th year, by offering a straight 50% off discount on Hyatt Daily Rates if booked before March 17, 2014. The promotion offers 50% off for stays booked till March 17, 2014 and made between March 15, 2014 and September 30, 2014. This is a prepaid non-refundable rate, however, there are no restrictions on length of stay, so you could stay for as little as a day or as long as a month here on this rate. Take a look here, the base room is available at INR 4,250 plus taxes (about US$70), and this is cheaper than the cheapest prepaid…
Clipper Lounge, Mumbai Terminal 2
Mumbai Airport Terminal 2 Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Kochi Airport Clipper Lounge Cochin Air India 682, Cochin – Mumbai, Economy Like I mentioned last week, I’d taken a short getaway out of town last week, and I booked a trip out on Air India, partly to check out the new Terminal 2 at Mumbai Airport, which has been built recently. Air India is the only airline which offers domestic segments out of the international section of the airport as well, so, I thought of them. My first thoughts about the Terminal 2, Mumbai Airport are here, while here are some pictures of the airport lounge which is being used by the airlines. Apart from the airline lounges, there is also…
Upto 75% India airfare sales extend till Feb 27 and Jet Airways joins in
On Monday, I wrote about the sale that SpiceJet and Indigo sparked, where they offered discounted pricing on flights at least a month out. They called it “75% off compared to last-minute prices” however, I’d like to look at it more like a marketing gimmick, because who in their right minds would compare last minute fares to 30-day fares. The point is, there is still saving if you book now as compared to booking ten days down the line. The sale has now been extended by SpiceJet to 27th February 2014 midnight, as a response to Jet Airways coming into the fray. Indigo is in the fray as well, but no official word on if the sale is up till…
