TalkMail 7.27.21

TalkMail 07.31.21 — Asked to Downgrade With No Details of Compensation; Using a Travel Credit is More Expensive Than Cash; and Much More Trouble viewing? [Click Here]( [flyertalk] TALKMAIL July 31, 2021 [msg] News & Views This section contains the latest news and views pertaining to FlyerTalk and its members. New Spirit Airlines | Free Spirit Forum is Now Open on FlyerTalk A forum on FlyerTalk dedicated to discussions of topics of interest to passengers who travel on Spirit Airlines — in which they can discuss aspects pertaining to the ultra-low-cost carrier and its frequent flier loyalty program, which is known as Free Spirit — has been launched. Please be sure to stop by and contribute to this forum should your travels include using Spirit Airlines — or, at least, enjoy reading the latest about what is going on with Spirit Airlines and its Free Spirit program. [[->]View Thread]( Reminder: Coronavirus and travel Forum on FlyerTalk To keep yourself updated with the latest news and information pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic — which originated in Wuhan in China prior to spreading to most other countries and territories around the world with a minimum of 194,365,567 confirmed cases and contributed to the deaths of at least 4,163,416 people — please refer to the Coronavirus and travel forum, where you will find plenty of discussions pertaining to this topic. [[->]View Thread]( [msg] Hot Threads “Hot Threads” are not necessarily those with the most content — rather, they are the ones that seem to generate the most interest. They stand out for their timeliness, originality, humor, quality of the information and/or ideas they contain and the concerns they raise. They are listed in no particular order. Asked to Downgrade With No Details of Compensation Offered Unable to sit with knees bent for greater than eight hours, dgross redeemed miles to book two seats in the business class cabin to fly with a companion from Dallas to Maui within the next couple of months — but a representative from the airline called to ask if they are interested in downgrading their seats to those in the economy class cabin due to the flight possibly being oversold; and no details of compensation were offered. If dgross refuses to comply with the request, could they be involuntarily downgraded anyway on the day of the flight? [[->]View Thread]( Using a Travel Credit is $444.00 More Expensive Than Paying With Cash? When Trappy looked to book a ticket between London and Denver in February of 2022 using cash, the cost was $1,762.50 for two people; yet when attempting to use a travel credit of $2,062.50, the exact same trip increases to a cost of $2,206.50 in the same fare class. What are the reasons why using a travel credit would increase the price by an extra $444.00? Worse is that similar experiences have happened to other FlyerTalk members… [[->]View Thread]( Watch Out: Rental Car Company Charging Customers Erroneous Fees of Hundreds of Dollars Hundreds of dollars in fees are erroneously being charged to customers by one particular rental car company. For example, D3KingAmerican was mistakenly charged a smoking fee of $400.00 after using a rental car for only eleven hours; and jizen was surprised with a cleaning fee of $350.00. Although getting those erroneous fees successfully refunded can be difficult, m907 offers what may be an easier solution. [[->]View Thread]( A New Top Tier Elite Status Challenge Which is Open to Everyone? Elite status challenges allow eligible applicants to achieve elite status easier with fewer requirements than normal — so imagine the reaction when strayersong revealed a way to earn the highest elite status which the World of Hyatt program has to offer. You can strive to achieve Explorist status through the remainder of the year with the option of earning Globalist status through February of 2023 — but find out the reasons why not all FlyerTalk members have apparently been fortunate enough to qualify for this challenge. [[->]View Thread]( Top Tier Elite Status Benefit Not Honored At Hotel Property Despite having earned top tier elite status in the loyalty program, the hotel property at which 1cairobeller stayed would not honor the benefit of either complimentary breakfast or a credit for food and dining; and instead offered 1,000 points — which is not what 1cairobeller wanted. Was this a case of the front desk agent mistakenly identifying a lower tier of elite status — or could this have been a stealth measure applied to save on costs? [[->]View Thread]( Warning: Category Changes of Hotel Properties With No Notice? Booking a reservation at a particular Category 5 hotel property earlier this month, stvr attempted to book a second room a mere nine days later — only to find out that the hotel property suddenly jumped to Category 6 with no advance notice or warning. Are the days where the loyalty programs of lodging companies used to give advanced notice of hotel properties changing categories gone forever — or is this merely an anomaly upon which stvr accidentally stumbled? [[->]View Thread]( The Most Expensive Economy Class Fare Which Can Be Found Flights between Santa Rosa and Paris selling for as much as $13,373 for a seat in the economy class cabin may seem like a lot of money which could cause hesitation and “sticker shock” — but that is nowhere near the fare of $48,018 for a coach class ticket; and one FlyerTalk member claims that tickets in the economy class cabin for one particular route was selling for as much as $70,000. Find out which flight routes are purportedly commanding such ridiculously high prices. [[->]View Thread]( [msg] Notable Quotes Select humorous, insightful, particularly informative or interesting content is posted here while providing whatever context necessary. Say That Again? Loyalty is WHAT?!? In response to a bad experience which horkyroj had with an airline as an elite member of its frequent flier loyalty program, Repooc17 posted what at one time would have been considered a sacrilegious and blasphemous comment on FlyerTalk: “Loyalty is overrated, and is largely an one-sided deal. We are merely business transactions to airlines. Make the money work for you when purchasing tickets (schedule / cost) rather than the other way around. “Go free agent and never look back.” [[->]View Thread]( [msg] FlyerTalk Bio In each edition of the TalkMail newsletter, we select a biography posted in a thread called “Who We All Are” and highlight it here for all to see. Get to know your fellow FlyerTalk members! This issue’s bio: threecap, from December 25, 2019: “Who: Private equity and real estate investor (invest in and buy companies and RE portfolios.) Left my comfy job doing this to start my own company doing same in Q2 2019. I’ve been UA silver the last few years but will earn platinum this year. My second post on FT after lurking for some time. Happily married for 13 years and have two amazing kids, a 12yo boy and 10yo girl. “When: I’ll get UA platinum when I touch down from ORD=EWR around 10:50am on 12/31/19. “How: travel for work to visit our operating teams, properties, new acquisition opportunities, etc. but also take family leisure trips whenever possible “Where: LAS, SAN, ORD, MSP, HDN, IAH, MIA, ATL, RSW, even DLH and a few others I’m missing. Left a few EQMs out there, as the family went to LHR on BA and CDG on AF. “Why: status is important to me but I’m unsure why. I think it’s because I notice the better treatment I get when I need anything along the way. Airlines run a complicated business, and **** happens, so having status helps get you help. “What: Because my flights are determined by time more importantly than price, I think I may be among the rare winners in the new mileage plus game. EWR is incredibly convenient for me, far more so than ACY, TTN, LGA or JFK, so my flying future is pretty tied to UA anyway. I earned 75% of my PQM after I started my firm, and we are growing fast, so I imagine my status will be 1k next year without attempting to achieve it specifically. [[->]View Thread]( [msg] TalkMail Tips In this section, you will find helpful tips that have been offered by other FlyerTalk members on subjects that range from travel to hygiene and, thankfully, everything in between. How to No Longer Be Loyal to Marriott If you have been thinking about severing your loyalty to Marriott once and for all — especially after what its new chief executive officer said about how important are members of its Bonvoy loyalty program — then be sure to read the steps porciuscato posted in this discussion, which fellow FlyerTalk members have been praising. [[->]View Thread]( Inexpensive Ways to Save on Gasoline in the United States — Some For No Cost At All If the cost of gasoline or other fuel for a vehicle — whether it is your own vehicle or a rental car — has been increasing to the point at which you feel distress, fear not, as lo2e launched a list last year of various service station chains across the United States which offer a discount on gasoline for using their mobile software application program or a card which is specific to a particular brand. This discussion is required reading for anyone who wants to save money on fuel within the United States. [[->]View Thread]( [msg] Expert Hotel Reviews Expert advice is offered by fellow FlyerTalk members on where to stay around the world — and where not to stay. COMO Uma Ubud All you need to do is look at all of the photographs which were taken by clubeurope and you will know why the COMO Uma Ubud resort property in Bali is highly recommended — in addition to the friendly, warm, and courteous service by members of the staff at this small and personalized property in Indonesia. Excellent food and a private infinity swimming pool located just outside of the spacious and well-appointed villa certainly does not hurt the experience… [[->]View Thread]( Fairmont Ambassador Seoul Not speaking English fluently did not stop loccor from posting an expert hotel review of the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul — complete with plenty of photographs. Although loccor imparts plenty of reasons why staying at this hotel property in South Korea is not recommended — such as a poor location, a salty lunch for $80.00, and unacceptable service as only three of those reasons — let us just say that this new hotel property is not the place to celebrate a birthday. [[->]View Thread]( [msg] Trip Reports Follow fellow FlyerTalk members vicariously on their journeys around the world and learn from their experiences through the trip reports they have written and posted. Flying as a Passenger With the Newest Airline in the United States Breeze Airways is the newest airline in operation in the United States; and wahooflyer traveled from Richmond to New Orleans to try out the experience. Although the boarding process was not exactly a breeze, find out all of the details of the flight from gate to gate — as well as peruse all of the photographs which are included in this trip report. [[->]View Thread]( Southern Mexico for 15 Days With Family: Amazing Trip; But Not Without Problems Let us go back to 2019 when 808traveler and family traveled to southern Mexico for 15 days. This short report about an otherwise amazing trip includes an encounter with a bed bug; a flight delay of approximately seven hours; a canceled rental car reservation whose rate almost quadrupled for a downgraded vehicle; and two boys with autism who had a “meltdown” — among other things which went wrong. [[->]View Thread]( [msg] Community Page Normally, you can usually travel around the world and meet your fellow FlyerTalk members in person, as there is almost always something going on somewhere on this planet related to FlyerTalk — but due to the cancellations and postponements of such events, this section of the TalkMail newsletter is currently slowly returning to listing new events per issue. List of Gatherings of FlyerTalk Members For a comprehensive list of FlyerTalk member gatherings scheduled to have five or more attendees — many of which have been posted to FlyerTalk well in advance so that you have plenty of time to plan and therefore have no excuse not to attend — please refer to the following thread, tirelessly compiled by the moderators of the CommunityBuzz forum. [[->]View Thread]( [msg] Featured FlyerTalk Member Gathering August 7, 2021 As the organization of many events for FlyerTalk members to meet in person worldwide is currently on hiatus due to the pandemic, you may want to “attend” what GW McLintock calls “OMNI Bugger Virtual DO #13” — especially if you like to drink alcoholic beverages and get drunk — which he is organizing; and you are welcome to participate. At least you will not have to worry about going through a security checkpoint at an airport… [[->]View Thread]( [msg] FlyerTalk Member Gatherings August 1, 2021 New York Spend a sunny Sunday during a summer in the city with your host GW McLintock — who cannot actually guarantee a sunny day — and spot airplanes at Planeview Park at end of runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport. Toting a cooler with water and beer on ice and a blanket, GW McLintock will even pick up a large order of food on the way to the park. Pizza, knishes, sandwiches, or Tibetan food, anyone? [[->]View Thread]( August 20, 2021 Chicago If Sweet Willie is hosting an event, you know that FlyerTalk members are slowly meeting in person again — and for this gathering, enjoy Peruvian food such as delicious charcoaled grilled chicken, seafood fried rice, empanadas, ceviche, and papa rellena. Bring your own alcoholic beverage. You might also want to opt in for attending a professional baseball game prior to dinner. [[->]View Thread]( [msg] TalkMail Recommendations You might wonder — and perhaps even scratch your head — as to how content is provided for the TalkMail newsletter. Part of it is from recommendations by FlyerTalk members such as you. You Can Recommend Discussions on FlyerTalk for the TalkMail Newsletter If you believe that a discussion posted on FlyerTalk should be included in a future issue of the TalkMail newsletter, it is really easy to recommend for that to happen: simply go to the Thread Tools menu option at the top of each discussion; and amongst the choices in the pop-up menu is one called Suggest Thread for TalkMail. Choose that and complete the short form prior to clicking on the Send button. It is that easy; and it will only take a minute or so of your time. Thank you in advance for your valuable input. 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