redeeming air miles, “tricky” business

Posted on April 15, 2011 by hugmamma

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News about airlines always grabs my attention because both my husband and I are former airline employees. He had worked for Pan Am; I had worked for Iran Air, and then TWA. Probably because we were always opposite the table from management, and are now paying passengers, I’m always sensitive to air carriers trying to “pull the wool over our eyes.” So the Wall Street Journal article “What Airlines Are Hawking” had me wondering “what now?”

We accumulate air miles with a couple of different airlines. We don’t really work at it like a science, knowing how restrictive their use can sometimes be. But we do redeem them from time to time. As a result of what I’ve just read I will, however, start looking at air miles differently. Evidently passengers can redeem them for more than a free trip these days. How about “Plastic surgery, big-screen TVs, IPods, lawn tractors, diamond necklaces, VIP passes to sporting events, casino gaming chips, dinner with the New York Yankees and designer handbags.” And, it seems, the inventory continues to grow. But there’s a catch.

Aha! Didn’t I warn you that the airlines might be up to their usual trickery? What a passenger’s air miles are worth depends upon his or her ranking by the air carrier. How’s that you say? “Airlines charge customers radically different prices, depending on their status and credit card.”

David Yu, who travels so much he has platinum status in Delta Air Line’s frequent-flier program figured he’d be the one to get the best prices. Using miles, he’s bought a computer printer for his college-age daughter, a handbag for his wife and TV speakers for himself.

“I’ve got miles to burn so I consider it free,” he said.

But when he told a co-worker he was thinking of spending 42,600 miles on the Bose headphones, she said she had just purchased the same product from Delta for 34,100 miles. They compared offerings on side-by-side computers, each logging in with their Delta frequent-flier number. Her price was 20% lower than Mr. Yu’s, even though she’s not an elite-level frequent flier with Delta and has fewer miles in her account.

United Airlines Boeing 777 N775UA @ Paris CDG ...

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So what’s up? According to Delta, merchandise pricing isn’t based upon a customer’s accrued miles or past buying history. While Yu received a sizeable discount off the regular price, 68,100, of the BOSE headphones, his co-worker got an even bigger discount because she has a Delta American Express gold card. Yu doesn’t. Furthermore a passenger who is a diamond-level frequent-flier and holds a fancy Amex Skymiles card “can get triple the buying power out of each mile than a regular frequent-flier without the co-branded credit card,” according to Jeff Robertson, Delta’s VP who oversees the Sky-Miles Program. United Airlines Mileage Plus managing director, Krishnan Saranathan adds “The more valuable the program member, the better the redemption rate.”

Primary lures for the frequent-flier programs remain free airline tickets and hotel rooms. But with air carriers selling more miles to partners like credit card companies, it makes good financial sense to encourage passengers to redeem miles for “merchandise which gobbles up miles without opening up more airline seats or hotel rooms for award.” Delta now offers 6,000 items and in excess of 30 different gift cards. When air fares are low, redeeming miles for merchandise, mostly travel-related, is popular. When air fares rise, it’s more attractive to redeem miles for air tickets.

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There’s been renewed fervor in frequent-flier miles since airline offerings have stepped “outside the box.” For example, Delta “is auctioning a spring training package that includes dinner with New York Yankee manager Joe Girardi and pitcher Joba Chamberlain, and a trip to China to build homes with Habitat for Humanity.” Last year American Airlines “sold three packages to the Kentucky Derby, including passes to special clubs and invitation-only dinners, for a total of 1.6 million miles.” For Paul Terrault, owner of a metals-trading company, who’s on the road more than 100 nights a year,

Winning an auction for 290,000 Hilton HHonors points–a trip with VIP perks to a Formula One race in Montreal with his son in June–hooked him on the program.

“No one gets access like that,” he said of getting into the hospitality suite and Hilton-sponsored garage. “I’m a jeans, gym shoes and Harley T-shirt guy, and they treat you like a million bucks.”

When another Formula One trip, to Brazil, went up for auction, Mr. Terrault grabbed that, too, for 420,000 points.

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But there’s a caveat to all this. Buyer beware! While some of the merchandise up for redemption are true values, others aren’t. United Airlines offers a 10-inch Sony digital picture frame for 25,000 miles. The same frame can be had, with memory card, almost anywhere for $150. Instead those same miles could be exchanged for a discounted round-trip domestic ticket on UAL worth a minimum of $300, or even twice that amount.

Beat the airlines at their own game, and…

there’s probably a seat for you on the stock exchange…hugmamma.

decorating tip, “change it up”

Posted on September 13, 2010 by hugmamma

Growing up, our family never bought a stick of furniture. Everything was a hand-me-down, or a thrift shop leftover. Needless to say nothing matched. Since one of my Saturday chores was housecleaning, I taught myself to meld what most might consider junk. I didn’t know it then, but my passion for antiques and vintage collectibles probably grew out of necessity. Overstuffed armchairs, a long sofa with missing springs, a vintage, stand-alone radio whose flat top displayed religious articles, along with an assortment of odd pieces was my introduction to decorating. Each time I swept and dusted, I also rearranged the furnishings, even if it was just a nudge here and there. I continued this practice during my stint in retailing, during and after college. As a sales clerk and then a department manager, I was advised to “change things up” regularly. Customers would perceive that the store was constantly bringing in new merchandise, when in fact it wasn’t. To this day I redo my rented space in an antique mall, which always derives compliments from management and customers alike. Reworking the space freshens the look, and casts each item in a new light. It also helps with the “bottom line,” sales.

My house undergoes the same rearranging, more so in the past than now. Older age brings contentment with the status quo. Forty years of housekeeping will do that. “Been there, done that!” However friends and family will attest to the fact that the holidays consume my time and energy as I transform my home into a wonderland. For Halloween and Christmas my stored treasures are retrieved from the garage and incorporated into my furnishings. As in bygone days I have fun blending furnishings, with seasonal decor. Rather than relegate normal household items to the bins from whence the ornaments, wreaths, and garlands came, I intermingle all to enhance every room, including the bathrooms. I usually “pull out all the stops” for the holidays, because it always gets a jaw-dropping reaction. There are drawbacks, however.

It usually takes me 2 weeks of cleaning and decorating, to dress 5 or 6 medium-sized trees for display in various rooms, to hang garlands with ornaments atop cupboards, to create elaborate centerpieces for the kitchen island and dining room table, to configure a unique vintage vignette across the fireplace mantel. And that’s only a sampling of the holiday facelift. THEN there’s the dismantling, not done until April the last couple of years. Having taken so long to arrange, I’m in no hurry to destroy my masterpiece. Luckily my husband enjoys my creativity, or else he’s a saint for humoring my eccentricities. Probably a little of both. Friends don’t mind either. They enjoy a prolonged Christmas, especially when it’s in my house, not theirs.

So while visiting with my daughter, it’s fun for me to redo her apartment. Physically and mentally spent at day’s end, learning and dancing new choreography, she is only too happy to let me “have at it.” She enjoys her mismatched furnishings, bistro table and chairs from Pier 1, ottoman from Bed, Bath and Beyond, long, antique dresser serving as a side table, antique Queen Anne side chair in need of reupholstering, vintage corner cupboard in a pretty, muted yellow. My daughter has grown up with my eclectic taste, and passion for vintage and antique furnishings. And we both love a good bargain, so Target is always one of the stops when we’re out shopping for something new.

Well I’m off to perform some “magic” on my daughter’s apartment. Will chat again later. Enjoy all the moments of your day…

hugs of energy, as you go about your day…hugmamma.

acknowledging trivia

Posted on August 14, 2010 by hugmamma

We tend not to notice the “small stuff” we accumulate as part of our daily routine. Sometimes it’s good to pause and take note, for these things must be worthwhile if they’ve become part of our lives. So here’s what makes me “tick.”

Biofreze was recommended to me by my chiropractor for use when I’m too lazy to pull out an ice pack for my aching muscles, which is always. Its label reads “Penetrating, long-lasting pain relief from: Arthritis, Sore Muscles & Joints, Back Pain.” From time to time, I have all of the above, often at the same time. I use it in spray form; my daughter uses a roll-on. This product is a lot easier to use than rubbing on BenGay or Tiger Balm. There’s no residual smell and I don’t need to wash it off my hands so I won’t inadvertently rub some in my eyes. I would imagine it’s obtainable on the internet.
Here’s an update on my “dry mouth.” I guess you could say I healed myself when I stopped using antihistamines. Doctors beware! Here I come!…Interested in being my first patient?
Run, don’t walk to your local Trader Joe’s. If you don’t have one, then petition for one! Their merchandise is the closest thing to homemade that I’ve ever tasted. And my taste buds are really finicky, ask my husband, my daughter, my in-laws. My mantra is “If it doesn’t taste great, it’s not worth the calories!” It’s become my husband’s and daughter’s philosophy as well.
About my stack of Wall Street Journals, there must be at least 25 shoved into a cupboard waiting to be perused. Yes, I have difficulty tossing them out without so much as a “look-see.” Then there’s the stack of 6 or so in front of me on the computer desk. I looked at them, and saw some interesting articles, which I have yet to fully read. Now you know why I don’t subscribe to anything.
Probably won’t read this book for some time, but its title intrigued me “Hero of the Pacific – The Life of Marine Legend John Basilone” by James Brady. Has anyone ever heard of this man? My husband hasn’t, and he’s a walking encyclopedia about World War II. Well, I wanted to read this bio with “…revealing stories of Basilone’s youth in the Rockwellian any-town of Raritan, New Jersey, in the 1920s and 1930s; his first cross-country railroad trip with fellow soldiers in 1935; and his decisions to leave the Army and, later, join the Marines.” Basilone would go on to be a “…Marine gunnery sergeant known to his buddies as ‘Manila John’ ” who “first displayed the courage, tenacity, and devotion to duty that would define the remainder of his brief life and the manner of his death two years later on…Iwo Jima” Sounds like a story about men for men, but it’s also about a small town guy just doing his best with what life served up. Mightn’t this be any man, or woman’s, biography?
Had unexpected company for dinner this evening. A nephew and his girlfriend “Facebooked” me asking if we wanted to meet for dinner since they’d be in our “neck of the woods.” We invited them to dine with us. So I set aside blogging for a few hours, and my husband eased out of his recliner where he was watching “Patton” on TV. We drove to Trader Joe’s for a few groceries, came home and threw together a nice meal. It was a pleasant change to spend time with young folk. They’re in their 30’s, so they were old enough to “get” our humor, like my husband teasing that he’d trade me in for 2 – 30 year olds, a running joke since we were in our 40’s. They seemed to enjoy the side dish of sautéed, seasoned Portobello mushrooms, for they ate them, without squishing up their faces in disdain. And they didn’t rush off when friends texted asking what time they’d meet up at a local tavern. I think they enjoyed our company too. Our house always rings with laughter, even when my husband and I are the only ones here.
Was just cuddling one of my Maine Coone-mixed breed cats, Juneau. He’s so desperate for attention that he tends to body slam anybody or anything nearby. Picking him up is like lifting a Costco size bag of potatoes. Watching him as he burrowed down into my chest, eyes closed as I stroked his head, these lines came to mind: “Three kittens, no mittens, no home, no mom. Three kittens found mittens, found home, found mom, found love.” How can I not love my pets, who give so much and expect so little in return.
As you can see, I’ve returned to blogging and my husband is snoring in front of the TV with the “movie looking at him.” Our nephew informed us that that’s what his dad, my husband’s brother, said happens when he falls asleep watching TV. I guess like brother…like brother.