Some things are like the Unicorn, and getting a Jet Airways voucher upgrade is like one of them. Jet Airways gives out a certain number of paper upgrade vouchers to elite members of the Jet Privilege program: 1 to Silver, 3 to Gold and 5 to Platinum members. I had explained the use of these vouchers in this post a couple of years back, and the same rules exist still. Upgrades are not so hard to use in any other program that I am a member of, such as American Airlines. Many a times, you can get instant confirmations, and at other times they will place you on an upgrade waitlist, which is known to everyone, is rule based, and…
You guys make it worth it!
I’ve been writing this blog roughly for about 3 years, and when I started writing this blog, it was because of my own concern that there was no one place to get access to miles & points resources from an Indian perspective. Yes, there is Flyertalk but you need your geek quotient to be high to be around there and get a hang of everything happening there. Its been a long journey, and at the right time I guess, because over the past 3 years I’ve seen points and miles taking mainstay in India with various airlines rejigging their travel programs to make it more accepted with the common folk, and the flurry of the Jet Airways, Air India and…
Air India extends 25% award redemption discount till 30 June 2014
In late April, I had written about Air India’s Flying Returns program offering a 25% discount for redemption tickets on Air India flights, for flights which will be taken before May 31, 2014. This is a very generous discount promotion, because of two reasons: The promotion is valid for domestic and international flights both, only on Air India metal, unlike Jet Airways 20% discount past 2 years which was only valid for Domestic flights. The promotion is valid across classes of travel, all the way up to first class. Now, they have extended this promotion for travel in June 2014 as well, and as a result if you will book yourself a ticket on Air India via miles, you should…
Air Asia to sell INR 5 tickets till June 01, 2014
Air Asia is going to be starting its ticket sales for its India operations which will start between Bangalore – Goa and Bangalore – Chennai in a few days. To come out with a splash, they are selling INR 5 base fare tickets, 15000 of them. Other tickets will go away at INR 990 later. Be aware that the Bangalore – Goa route will start on June 12, while Bangalore – Chennai route will operate from June 19 onwards. Here are the schedules: BLR-GOI I51320 1510-1625 GOI-BLR I51321 1655-1805 BLR-MAA I51211 0555-0655 MAA-BLR I51212 0730-0830 BLR-MAA I51217 1835-1935 MAA-BLR I51218 2050-2150 The tickets for this promotion are valid for booking till June 1, 2014 and flying till October 25, 2014.…
Marriott offering 1 free night on 2 paid nights in India (via Expedia)
Marriott Hotels is working with Expedia in India to offer 1 free night on 2 paid nights promotion, valid for bookings made till August 31, 2014 and stays till September 30, 2014. Under this promotion, you can choose to stay for 2 or more paid nights at a participating Marriott property in India, and you can add on a complimentary night at the end of your stay. Alternately, you can collect a complimentary voucher on check-out, which can be used for a stay at a later date, however this stay will also be at the same hotel. The following is a list of Marriott properties in India: Courtyard by Marriott Ahmedabad Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru JW…
Air Asia India to fly Bangalore-Goa for INR 990 a.i. from June 12
Yesterday, I put in some details about the expected start of Air Asia India from June 12, 2014. Further, my prediction was that Chennai (MAA) – Bangalore (BLR) was going to be the first route for them. Turns out I was not entirely correct with that. Air Asia will be operating Bangalore (BLR) – Goa (GOI) on June 12, 2014 as its first flight at 3 PM. They have priced the tickets at INR 990 all inclusive, and plan to turn around the plane in 30 minutes. And not all tickets would be at these prices. The next route to be operated will be Bangalore (BLR) – Chennai (MAA) which will operate 2x daily frequencies. So it will be a…
Air Asia India set to launch on June 12, 2014
Air Asia India has been a long time in the coming, and it is going to be here now in two weeks. They have been assigned the tailsign I5 by IATA for Indian operations. As per Tony Fernandes on Twitter, tickets will go on sale tomorrow (May 30, 2014) and the first flight will take place on June 12, 2014. Very very proud to announce AirAsia India open for sale tomorrow. Wow. First flight June 12th. Ser you all In India on the 12th. — Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) May 29, 2014 I’ll fill you guys in the details when I can get some more. Related Posts: Air Asia India all set to launch Air Asia is coming to India,…
Ginger Hotels offering a free night on booking today
Ginger Hotels is the budget hotel arm of the Tata Group, the same people who run the Taj Chain of Luxury Hotels, and offers hotels across India in prominent cities and tourist destinations at very reasonable prices. I’ve stayed at their New Delhi Railway Station Yatra Niwas property and it was very good value for the price paid. Ginger Hotels is running a flash sale, where they are offering 1 night free on every reservation made, and is valid for booking till end of 29th May 2014, and stays till July 31, 2014. Under this promotion, you could book any number of nights, and the chain will comp you one night of stay. I was able to pull up quite…
DGCA oversteps its brief, issues passenger comfort circular
The Directorate General for Civil Aviation, which is India’s aviation regulator, does not have a clue of what it can and what it can’t do. As a result, people in their office think that they can regulate anything that has the word aviation in it, or air, or something like that. They’ve tried intervening in fare sales, airline pricing and so on. However, from the “About DGCA” page on their website, updated in September 2013, their key function is listed below as: Directorate General of Civil Aviation is the regulatory body governing the safety aspects of civil aviation in India. I consider that sorted then, about the real purpose of DGCA is to take care of aviation safety and that…
Reminder: Register for Citibank PremierMiles 2x on Foreign Spend
Beginning of this month, Citibank announced its 2x miles promotion for International Spends, which came just in time for the summer season. To be able to get 2x miles on your international spends, you do need to go over here and register for the promotion, and then all your international spends between May 1, 2014 and June 30, 2014 will be counted for awarding upto 25000 bonus PM miles. Remember, the deadline to register is May 31, 2014 and you need to receive an acknowledgement from Citibank within 7 days confirming they received your registration and everything is okay. You can read further details about the promotion in this blogpost. Here are the detailed terms & conditions. Related Post: Citi…
Airbnb offering upto INR 4000 off to Amex India cardholders
Airbnb is a website where you can rent out lodging offered by other hosts in their homes in the form of a room, a bed or a complete apartment by itself. They have recently entered into a tie-up with American Express in India, to offer Amex’s Indian card members a discount of 50% (upto 4000 INR) for one booking per registered member. Here is how it works. You select a property on AirBnb, get your price quote in INR, then plug the coupon code which is AMEX#### (the #### are your Amex Card’s first 4 digits). This brings up the discount on your reservation and then you can go ahead and pay the rest of the amount. You can book…
