Rapid Travel Chai

United:

• My big action of the week was taking on a United 1K status challenge. By requesting by 6/30 but will complete the challenge after 6/30, I will qualify through Feb 2015. Some last-minute surprise business travel in July will help, but getting 35,000 PQMs in 90 days during the summer lull and expensive leisure travel period may be tough.
• I am learning to be very careful in booking during this challenge to avoid any codeshares, I almost booked one segement that is operated by US Airways and one by ANA. Must be United/United Express/Copa metal.
• Showing how much I need to learn about United, my first flight is JFK-SFO which I learned is some p.s. service not eligible for complimentary upgrade, what a start! Wandering Aramean took pity on my ignorance and even offered one of his RPUs, which I then had to look up and see what that meant.

Delta:

• Nothing – it’s United time. 🙂
• Well, I do note, via Loyalty Lobby, that Hawaiian is walking away from Delta entirely, last day to redeem is 7/31 so act fast if you have a need. No surprise after Delta shunted them to tier 4 of their ‘enhanced’ partnerships.

Club Carlson:

• Still running their 10,000 bonus points per two night stay through July 21, I will have one business stop in California to scoop up a last 10,000.
• Now that the Club Carlson credit cards are attracting referral commissions for select bloggers you will hear more soon, I think only summer vacations have slowed the spilling on ink. One Mile at a Time puts in his thoughts about the Club Carlson program being too generous to last. Thanks to one commentor I see that the credit card award last night free benefit is now capped at 50 nights per year, which is hardly unreasonable.
• I remain surprised at how snooty so many people are about Carlson properties. They are generally very nice overseas and improving in the US.

Still on my to-do list:

• New Stackable First Hotel Booking Bonus from Rocketmiles (View from the Wing).
• Etihad BusinessConnect 5,000 mile sign-up bonus more lucrative than I thought (One Mile at a Time).
• IHG multi-night bonuses through July 31, I may have a business stay or two but have not pinned down how many nights those will be (Loyalty Lobby).

Others:

• Barclay’s Bank Adds an Online Shopping Portal for Bonus Points (Travel Summary).
• Hertz Extends 6 AAdvantage Miles Per Dollar For Rentals Through The End Of The Year (Pizza In Motion).
• Hotelclub.com Member Rewards Vs Hotels.com Welcome Rewards (Saverocity).