Rapid Travel Chai

The results of my recent credit cards apps are slowing coming in and mostly negative, when I get back to the US I’ll have the final tally. I have been reading mid-year status reports from View from the Wing and Pizza in Motion, I may take a stab as I am yet again shifting my airline strategy and still don’t give a darn about hotels beyond the latest bonus.

Airlines:

• Alaska “Shocked” When Delta Partnership Went South, Delta Comments on Competition (Point Me to the Plane). Had they ever met the Delta people face to face and not though they are arrogant sharks?
• Delta, Gol boost air accord in $446 mln stock, debt deal (Yahoo Finance). Delta pumps more money in Brazil. Last time I was in Brazil in April I was surprised to see Sky Priority benefits working well.
• The Full Airline Chart for Same-Day Change Fees (Map Happy). I might value my AA Platinum status if this fee were waived.
• KLM and Air Malta sign a code-share agreement (Travel Daily News). A pseudo-SkyTeam option to Matla, joining Alitalia’s Rome flight.
• airberlin: New frequent flyer collaboration with Air Seychelles (Travel Daily News). Seychelles has the islands, not the chain hotels.
• Redeem BA Avios On Qantas Ex-Australia Without Fuel Surcharges (One Mile at a Time). Chipping away are fuel surcharge gouging.
• United Airlines To Offer Swanky Cowshed Amenity Kits (Live and Let’s Fly). Cow shed seems appropriate branding for United.
• Special Report: Delta’s Secret Skymiles Devaluation (Live and Let’s Fly). More Delta shenanigans.
• Can Everyone Please Stop Panicking About Their Avios… (Dan’s Deals). AA flights still not bookable online, the BA Singapore call center is an alternative to US hold times.
• The Delta 747 Attacked by Hail (Wandering Aramean). Wow. Sad to see another Delta 747 possibly retired (early).

Hotels:

• Intercontinental’s New Top Tier Elite Status Makes Me Want to PerSpire (View from the Wing). New hollow top-tier status, with no devaluation to the Platinum status I carry with my IHG credit card. My question, are there are Mosaic Spire’s out there?
• Magic of Miles Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Dubai (Magic of Miles). One of two Park Hyatts I have visited. I like the hushed, ominous feel, seeming as if the guests are arms dealers, dictators, soldiers of fortune, and points collectors.
• Choice Privileges is a weird loyalty program (The Free-quent Flyer). Typically quirky take on a blue-collar program that has value more than many realize.
• Is This The World’s Most Expensive Hotel Soap? (One Mile at a Time). When I tagged along on a business trip of my wife to Argentina, she stayed at some hotel that used this Hermes soap. I hated it. To her lasting shame, I used the unscented soap that was intended for the bidet.
• SPG’s (not really) richest Sheraton promotion (Wandering Aramean). I might have gone for one of these on my business trip to China this week if the Sheraton’s were not all over my company cap and better SPG options were under. And if I used one free weekend night, to avoid angering my wife, I’d need to pay for another.

Credit Cards:

• Do not close the Barclaycard Arrival Plus Card–Get Even! (The Lazy Traveler’s Handbook). Practical, hit ’em hard advice on changes to the card.
• Rick’s Picks: This Bank Tells Me “You Are Not Creditworthy” (Frugal Travel Guy). Great fun, including sage advice, “I’d love to tell you that my Saturday call went well. They never do on weekends.”
• (Canada) Best Credit Cards for Extended Warranty (Pointshogger).

Manufactured Spend:

• 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Manufactured Spending (Point Chaser). This ‘game’ invovles real money and real consquences, so I cringe when people call it a game.
• Putting the brakes on SyncAssist (Wandering Aramean). I realize Amex Sync offers can be profitable, I just find them annoying and don’t bother. If you want to continue, Bet You Didn’t Know: Automatically Register for Only the Amex Offers You Want (The Frequent Miler).

Blogging:

• My job? I blog. Here’s the answer to your next question… (The Frequent Miler). Well written and as a BoardingArea blogger myself, I appreciate the candor on what BoardingArea is and is not.
• The Real Deal with Being a Blogger + Losing Chase Links (Deals We Like). Another look inside blogging.
• Miles and points blogger Air. Land. Sea. visits a German city not Frankfurt or Munich. Our Day in Nuremberg, Germany.