Author: Alan | Page 48

Gay Travel Discount on Alaska Airlines

March 22, 2015March 20, 2015

While browsing Facebook I came across a sponsored post by Alaska Airlines which is rather common. The focus, gay travel, was new. Or at least I hadn’t seen it before.

When I clicked through the ad I found that Alaska has an entire web page on their site devoted to discounts to various LGBTQ Pride events. The discounts are short term (I’m assuming only over the Pride weekend/event) and relatively small (7% or 10%), still a nice acknowledgement and support of the LGBTQ community.

Clearly Alaska has made promoting equality as a company a priority; they score a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Alaska is one of only five airlines to score a perfect 100.

Boeing 777 Memorabilia

May 30, 2017March 19, 2015

I was going through a bunch of my old stuff today and found some fun Boeing 777 memorabilia from the launch in 1994. Hard to believe the 777 is almost 21 years old!

My father worked for Boeing for 40+ years and used to give me freebies that the company gave their employees. While I have thrown away a good amount over the years, I kept a hold on to these items (probably because they were so small!)

First item is a sealed commemorative coin from the first 777 roll out on April 9, 1994.

See the rest of the Boeing 777 memorabilia below:

Mileage Run Beijing in Business Class

July 23, 2022March 17, 2015

I was alerted to an amazing business class fare from Washington DC to Beijing by OneMileataTime. In the rule of travel hobbyists, I booked immediately and knew I could sort out details later. I couldn’t pass by a mileage run in business class.

I am glad that I booked quickly because the fare was gone in less than an hour. Read more to find out additional details.

Daily Getaways Valuation

July 25, 2022March 17, 2015

The US Travel Association is once again running its Daily Getaways promotion. Beginning March 23 there will be a different offer for a limited time each day. An interesting change this: there is NO added discount for using an Amex card. You can find discounts on rental cars, hotels, and theme parks. Only the first three weeks’ offers have been posted as of this post.

Likely the most popular offers will be for the hotel stays that, for the most part, come in the form of loyalty points. Below I have created a grid that shows the cost per point for each of the hotel point offers.

Soccer Flights Discounted on Alaska Airlines

July 23, 2022March 16, 2015

If you are a fan of Major League Soccer or just want a deal on a flight, check out this promo that Alaska Air is running. 10% off flights during the week of away games to the opponents city. What it basically breaks down to is a 10% discount between two cities for a week throughout the next 6 months.

Hyatt Diamond Challenge 2015

July 25, 2022March 14, 2015

Note: As of June 1, 2015, the Hyatt Diamond Challenge 2015 has been updated. Diamond status is now good through February 2017. Reports are also in that you can directly contact Hyatt Gold Passport at 1-800-228-3360 to enroll in the Elite Tier Offer. Read more here.

I first signed up for Hyatt Gold Passport last summer after I learned about their relationship with Mlife. Since I was a Gold Mlife member I received Platinum status with Hyatt’s loyalty program. I had signed up for hotel loyalty programs before, but with the purpose of earning miles on Alaska Airlines for my stays. In 9 months I have accrued 20,000 points with HGP through my stays at Mlife hotels in Vegas and Hyatt hotels.

The benefits of Platinum HGP status are minimal; it was devalued even more last month when all guests were given free wifi. Reports over at Flyer Talk have some people being offered a Hyatt Diamond Challenge (also known as the Hyatt Gold Passport Elite Tier offer) with 12 nights in 60 days. Some said the offer was targeted only to those with a high number of stays in 2014 while others said they were able to enroll in the challenge by contacting the property of their upcoming stay.

I have four booked reservations between now and June so I emailed the two properties that had an email posted on their website.

Poo causes flight diversion

March 22, 2015March 14, 2015

Airplane bathrooms can be disgusting. But I had never heard of a plane diverting due to someone stinking up the lavatory until today. If this article from the Daily Mail is to believed, this week a British Airways flight from London to Dubai had to turn back because of a terrible smell coming from the toilet.

Upon landing back in London, a politician on the flight tweeted the following:

Insane! Our BA flight to Dubai returned back to Heathrow because of a smelly poo in the toilet! 15hrs until next flight… #britishairways

— Abhishek Sachdev (@CllrAbhiSach) March 12, 2015

Apparently what was supposed to be a brief delay turned into having to wait until the next day for a replacement flight.

Car2Go vs Zipcar: Which service is right for you?

August 25, 2019March 12, 2015

Car2Go vs Zipcar: Which service is right for you? Many millennials find themselves thinking: Car2Go vs Zipcar. At the age of 30, after having a car since I was 16, I decided to sell my car and not purchase a new one. I live and work in downtown Seattle. Financially … Read more

Alaska Airlines and Ride Snowboards – contest

September 15, 2019March 12, 2015

Enter to win two roundtrip tickets on Alaska Airlines to one of the cities listed below plus a snowboard, boots, and bindings.

Click here to be taken to the contest website and to enter!

Grand Prize: You’ll receive two tickets to any of the snow destinations that Alaska Airlines flies including:

Mileage Run Istanbul

October 9, 2018March 11, 2015

Mileage run Istanbul…via Houston and Paris.

Last night I couldn’t sleep and was checking out some of my favorite people I follow on Twitter. I came across this tweet:

#Airfare Deal: [AF] Houston – Istanbul, Turkey. $702 r/t. Details: http://t.co/xIvbUjegnh $travel PREMIUM ECONOMY FARE! via @FareDealAlert

— The Flight Deal (@TheFlightDeal) March 11, 2015

I was intrigued so I booked. Here is why:

HBO for $12

March 22, 2015March 9, 2015

HBO is the best content provider out there, although Netflix is gaining on it with original content like House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Orange is the New Black. HBO has the best original content; past series like The Wire, The Sopranos, Band of Brothers, and new series like Game of Thrones, Veep, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and True Detective. Until today you had to have a cable subscription (read: sell your soul to the evil empire) in order to get HBO. But today that changed.

Single City: 24 Hours in Seattle

July 23, 2022March 8, 2015

The “niche” I wanted to focus on with this website was for people who travel alone either by choice or by default. As I’ve been writing entries, I’ve noticed that traveling along is not fundamentally different from traveling with a friend or group. Except for the fact that you have a lot more independence to do whatever you want.

However, sometimes there are times were you are alone and unsure what activities would be more comfortable than others as a single traveler. So I bring you the first installment of Single City; where I focus on activities in one city that are fun for someone to do by her/himself. This week I start with my hometown (which naturally I know better than any other city): Seattle.

Hyatt Regency Santa Clara Review

July 23, 2022March 7, 2015

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara for a weekend in October, 2014. The hotel is older, my guess it was built in the mid 1980’s, and has a large footprint of 501 rooms. The closest airport is San Jose (6 miles), a small airport that makes getting in and out easy.

I assumed it would be quiet on a weekend when business travelers were at home, but was I wrong! This is definitely a conference hotel (it is attached to the Santa Clara Convention Center in the heart of Silicon Valley). There were two conferences at the hotel (ironically neither were tech conventions); one was quilters the other was high schoolers. As you can imagine, I was disheartened to say the least. Luckily, the check in agent could tell I was not looking forward to a weekend with youngins, so he put me on the 13th floor away from the students. I thought he said he “upgraded” me as I am a Platinum HGP member, but it turned out that the only upgrade was that it was on a higher floor.

Alaska Airlines Spring Award Sale now live

October 9, 2018March 6, 2015

Readers of my website know that I am a loyal Alaska Air passenger, so I was excited to see the Alaska Airlines Spring Award Sale today. A big part of my loyalty to AS is not choice but the fact that 51% of all flights in and out of my local airport (SEA) are on Alaska. Delta is gaining on Alaska, but only accounts for 14% of all flights.

Screen Shot 2015-03-06 at 8.56.39 AM

Alaska just announced their Spring Award Sale for Mileage Plan members. You can score some great flights for 5,000 miles (+$2.50). For example, you can fly SEA>SFO roundtrip for 10,000 miles (+$5.00).

Gilt Warehouse Sale

April 7, 2015March 4, 2015

Gilt Warehouse Sale

Gilt is a website that presents daily deals of fashionable, designer clothing at discounted prices. While I am not a fashionista, I have browsed Gilt from time to time as I am a sucker for a good deal.

While planning my recent trip to Vegas, I came across a notice of an upcoming Gilt Warehouse Sale that was going to be in town the same dates I was. REI has a similar Garage Sale a few times a year that I have been known to camp overnight so I can be one of the first ones in. So I thought why not check out this sale. However, I couldn’t find any details about what this sale really was or reports from anyone who had been. I just had a the dates, times, and location of the sale.