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United Airlines is offering a “sale” on economy class award tickets to London Heathrow. Flights must originate anywhere in the US or Canada, excluding Hawaii, and travel must be completed by March 31. In addition to the miles, you’ll pay about $75 or $80 in taxes.

This is an excellent deal if you live in smaller cities without nonstop service to the UK. (Fargo to London costs the same as New York to London…) But if you’re flying from New York City, where American is currently offering flights to London for $365 round trip, including all taxes (other airlines are charging just a few bucks more), then you may be better off paying cash and keeping the miles.

However, tickets “purchased” with miles generally have fewer restrictions than the cash tickets. You can circumvent Saturday-night stay requirements, for example.

Bottom line: if you find award availability, be sure to check the cash fare for your specific dates before you finalize any award.

Bonus: An even better limited time offer on United is their reduced economy class mileage award to China, also through March 31. Only 45,000 miles to Beijing, Shanghai, or Hong Kong!

tags: travel | air travel | frequent flyer | United Airlines | London | China

In recent weeks, airlines have added destinations and frequency on trans-Atlantic routes. USAirways announced new destinations in Lisbon, Milan, and Stockholm, while Delta added Dakar and Johannesburg.

Plus, all-business class startups Maxjet and Eos Airlines have opened for business. (Both of these carriers fly solely from New York’s JFK to London’s Stansted Airport, not to the larger Heathrow or Gatwick airports.)

Are lower fares coming for the busy summer tourist season? Don’t bet on it.

At least not yet, and not in coach. Demand has been strong, and capacity has not reached saturation levels. For example, Continental raised capacity 16.8% last year, but increased revenues 26.6%.

Where you might actually see downward pressure, especially in the summer, is in premium cabins.

Get to know Z fares.

When you buy a plane ticket, it books into a fare basis code, or “bucket,” which starts with a letter. (These letters vary by airline.) Full-fare, refundable economy fares, for example typically start with the letter Y. First class is usually F, P or A, and business class is commonly C, D, or J.

“Z” fares are commonly discounted, nonrefundable business class fares. They are common on trans-Atlantic routes in the summer, when business travel (and paid business class) tends to subside and tourist travel ramps up. Sometimes, they will cost little more than an economy class ticket. Last July, for example, I recall an economy fare to Germany for nearly $1300. Ouch. The Z fare for business class: $1600.

Bottom line: If you’re looking for summer travel across the Pond, and prices seem high, be sure to separately search for both business and economy fares. You might just find a premium-class deal.

Yesterday, I posted about a new fee to look out for when renting a car. But when I posted, I had missed this NYT article that points to another recent change in terms that potentially affects renters:

Among the most noteworthy changes are these: Hertz is holding its customers responsible for “any and all” loss or damage to a rental car resulting from natural disasters, from hailstones to hurricanes. If you return a rental car after hours, Hertz may continue charging you for the car until the rental office reopens (it used to consider the vehicle returned when you brought it back). And it abbreviated the grace period for returns to 30 minutes, from one hour.

The grace period is the real nuisance, in my opinion. I have frankly taken the 1 hour grace period for granted for some time, and I’ve used it. It’s time to start checking the terms of the rental agreements more closely. If Hertz is doing it, others will likely follow. The other changes seem rather intuitive to me, and I was surprised that they weren’t the norm, anyway.

What surprises me a little is that Hertz, which seems to portray itself as a premium brand, and typically is the most expensive in the markets where I’ve rented, would nickel and dime their customers like this. It’s bad publicity. And as the article points out, the travel industry doesn’t really want the minutiae of these rate hikes made explicit:

I was allowed to speak with him only on the condition that a member of the company’s public relations staff be present. Mr. Kilduff jokingly referred to him as “the guy in Mutual of Omaha’s ‘Wild Kingdom,’ up in the tree, waiting to take a shot.”

Where would Marlin Perkins rent?

tags: travel | car rental

Not exactly breaking news (see this, err, vintage article…) but a good idea nonetheless. Save yourself the buck seventy five by listening to a 10-second advertisement. 1-800-FREE-411.

http://www.free411.com/

Hat tip to Dave H.

tags: phone | free stuff

It’s been nearly a year since I rented a car which actually came with a full tank of gas. Seemingly every time, the needle is hovering somewhere near 3/4 tank.

This always bugs me, because you’re supposed to return the fuel at the same level, and it’s quite hard to fill the tank to precisely 5/8 or 3/4 tank. Go below that point, and they’ll charge you extortionary fuel prices. Go above that line, and you’re giving a gift of gasoline to the company. Over time, I’m sure the company makes out quite well with this, charging penalties to some and pocketing free gas from the others. Win-win for them.

So now Budget and Avis have come up with a new way to annoy and exploit the renter, and they have the chutzpah to say that this is a convenience. Keith Alexander in the Washington Post reports:

To help offset gasoline prices, Budget Rent a Car is imposing an additional $9.50 charge on all vehicles driven fewer than 75 miles.
[…]
The new charge is aimed at renters who drive short distances and don’t fill up their tanks before they return because the gas gauge still reads “full,” even though the tank is a few gallons short. In the past, Budget filled the tank and billed the customer the highest rate. But now, Budget will impose the $9.50 charge even if the renter tops off the tank before returning the car. The charge will be removed only if customers show their gas receipt to a Budget agent, one traveler has already reported, slowing travelers often rushing to catch flights.

…and I’m sure they’ll be asking every customer for their gas receipt and happily volunteering to take that charge off. Sure. What a convenience!

Keep that gas receipt, show it to the attendant when you return the car, and watch the bill.

tags: travel | car rental

This is truly sad.

The corpse of a man was recovered from the wheel cavity of a PIA plane after it landed at the Karachi Airport on Friday night.
[…]
“Either he has died of freezing cold during the flight or of suffocation,” he added.

Of course, everyone wants something for free, or something worth more than what you paid for it. Yet somehow, urban legends of the free airline upgrade are more widespread than, say, stories of paying for a Kia Rio and driving off with a Porsche Cayenne instead… or buying a bottle of Yellow Tail and drinking Chateau Petrus instead… or… you get the point.

This past weekend proved it’s still okay to perpetuate the myth that anyone, including the person who buys rock bottom coach fares and travels once a year, has the chance — nay, the right! — to a free upgrade to business or first class. We have the BBC to thank for perpetuating the myth.

Granted, it also throws in some pretty funny ideas (that didn’t work) for how to get that free upgrade:

Attempts include baking check-in staff a cake and wearing a plaster cast to fake a broken leg, according to one travel survey.

Staff at Virgin Atlantic even reportedly had one man turn up wearing a fake beard and claiming to be the brother of the airline’s chairman, Richard Branson.

Cute. The cake is a nice touch. (Would you eat a stranger’s cake?) And the beard and cast are classy. Some might even call that fraud.

To be fair, the article suggests you’re unlikely to get that upgrade, but they don’t make it seem as unlikely as it really is, and they don’t take the time to explain how most upgraders actually do it: by spending miles, elite upgrade certificates, or (increasingly commonly) cash.

The only time passengers who aren’t elite-level members of the airline’s frequent flyer program are even remotely likely to get a free upgrade is when flights are oversold. If the airline has more economy class passengers waiting to fly than they have economy class seats, then it’s cheaper for them to either bribe a few people into taking a later flight (with vouchers for future travel or cash, depending on the route) or upgrading a lucky handful. This is known as an “operational upgrade” or “op-up.”

So how do you get an op-up? Don’t count on one. Ever. If you get one, you’re really, really lucky. The airlines generally know in advance that they’re oversold, so they’ll upgrade their highest elites even before check-in.

Of course, it can’t hurt to ask, and if you do, ask nicely. Volunteering to be bumped (for compensation, naturally) might be the next best thing.

I’d leave the fake beard at home, though.

tags: travel | upgrades | air travel | frequent flyer

As if I need another form of procrastination, now there’s Upgrade — the blog for those who want to travel in style but don’t want to spend a lot doing it. Thanks (I think) to Dr. Vino, himself a regular blogger, for encouraging me to do this.

Welcome aboard!