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Indigo makes change/cancellation charges time dependant w.e.f. April 1, 2015

Indigo has been at the forefront of monetising everything, including 500 grams excess baggage on hand which they’d not let inside the cabin. However, they’ve now worked out a new model on how to charge change/cancellation charges, which looks pretty reasonable to me. The move is towards rewarding early changes and cancellation by charging them lesser fees, and to penalise those who change/cancel at the last minute by charging them a higher fees. This is applicable for bookings made on or after April 1, 2015. For bookings made before April 1, 2015, the old rates continue to be charged, which is INR 1500 per change/cancellation on domestic bookings and INR 2000 per change/cancellation on international bookings. Personally, I don’t fly…

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Now you can earn KrisFlyer miles for Vistara flights

One of the first discussions that happened after the launch of Vistara, was the close affinity that Vistara and Singapore Airlines share, and hence the fact that they will partner in terms of a loyalty program engagement. At the launch event in December 2014, the airline did announce Singapore Airlines/Silk Air as one of their first partners, and when I recently discussed Club Vistara with them, they indicated a partnership was coming soon. And it happened a couple of days back. From 30th of March 2015, there is a partnership which is live between Vistara and Singapore Airlines, which allows for the fliers on one airline to earn miles on the other’s frequent flyer program. Here is how you can…

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90 More AwardWallet+ codes for all of you!

Earlier this week I gave away a lot of AwardWallet+ codes. I realise it is an important tool in everyone’s arsenal when you are trying to keep your miles and points in order, so I keep fishing for more of them. I also keep getting messages that a lot of people don’t get them. So I put out a stash as soon as there are reasonable numbers available. 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…

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Are all airports in India withdrawing Premium privileges?

A few days ago, I happened to read a news article, where it discussed that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the authority responsible for aviation security setup across India, had ordered to remove the special screening queue for Business & First Class passengers. The argument used by BCAS was: We can’t have empty queues at Business Class queue when Economy queues have all the rush. According to another report, the segregation already was repealed as of February 26, 2015. However, while passing through Delhi earlier this month, I did not see these measures implemented. Just yesterday, I was at Mumbai Airport’s Terminal 2, and I noticed that the special queue for Business/First Class passengers for passport control was…

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Over 40 AwardWallet+ Codes going away

It is that time of the month, 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 this…

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Park Hyatt Goa sold to ITC Hotels

a sign on a wall

One of my favourite resorts closer home is the Park Hyatt Goa. I go over at least once a year, and while I did not write about my last trip in 2014, here is a review from 2012 when I went there for the first time. The Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa recently changed hands, something that caught me unaware. While Hyatt manages the property, the hotel was owned by a company called Blue Coast Hotels, which is a hotel development company and has many hotels around India including the Park Hyatt Goa and the  Sheraton Chandigarh. The hoteliers apparently pledged the Park Hyatt Goa property, one of their oldest hotels, to raise loans to build more hotels. However,…

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Trident Privilege offering 1 night free to new referral accounts

Trident Privilege is the loyalty program for the Trident Hotels chain, the business hotels label of the Oberoi Group. You earn points for every stay at the hotel, starting from 10 Points per INR 100 spent at the Red tier, going up to the Platinum tier where you get 12 points per INR 100 spent. You can redeem points for stays, dining and spa. You can also redeem for stays at the Oberoi Resorts. The following Trident hotels participate at the moment: Trident, Agra Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai Trident, Bhubaneswar Trident, Chennai Trident, Cochin Trident, Gurgaon (Delhi NCR) Trident, Hyderabad Trident, Jaipur Trident, Udaipur Trident, Bandra Kurla, Mumbai To increase its member base, Trident Privilege has been offering a referral…

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Jet Airways offering 2x-3x miles between Delhi and Goa/Hyderabad

One of the strategies Jet Airways used to protect its market on the Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Delhi-Ahmedabad sectors, which were launch sectors for Vistara, was to offer 2x base miles on these sectors in Economy, and 3x base miles in Business Class. This promotion comes to an end on March 31, 2015. A few days ago, Vistara announced their flights to Goa and Hyderabad. At that time, I wondered when would Jet Airways be reacting by announcing more miles on these segments, and they did do this yesterday, however, they made me wait for over a month! Anyhow, just last evening I got word that JetPrivilege will be offering bonus miles for travel from 18 March 2015 to 31 May…

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SPG Gold with a single stay for APAC members

One of the easiest way to get Starwood’s Gold status, is to have an address in the Asia Pacific, hold a MasterCard World or MasterCard World Elite, and make just one eligible stay. You of course, need to register here, before you get started with the process.   Starwood’s SPG Gold status confers on you the following benefits: 4pm late checkout Complimentary welcome gift 50% more Starpoints Room upgrades at check-in when available I don’t count on it much since Starwood’s benefit recognition for elites varies significantly, but the one consistent bit is the 50% extra starpoints you earn as a Gold member. This is an offer that has gone on for a few years now and I posted about…

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Etihad offering 3x miles in Biz/First and 2x miles in Economy

A few days ago I wrote about some must sign-up for offers with Etihad Airways, including one to just sign up for a new account. Time to add one more to the list, if you are able to book any tickets on Etihad by March 22, 2015. Etihad Airways is offering an opportunity to earn triple miles if you are flying a premium cabin, and double miles if you are flying economy with them by May 31, 2015. You need to register here, and then book here. The registration needs to be done prior to making a reservation, so don’t miss out on that step. I love the Etihad products, and their new planes are even more exciting. Join over…

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