Here is a quick “tip” to look around for reward nights in the Hilton system. There is something going on with the reward points needed for a free night. Hilton just started the options to book “Premium” rooms with points. Many problems have been reported about not finding standard rooms any more at some high end Hiltons around the south pacific mostly. With the only rooms with reward nights were running well over 150,000 points per night. These hotels are a Hilton ...

 First off I’m not a Marriott guy at all, and I have only been to a few Marriott hotels around the world in the past five years, and have never really been impressed. The program and hotel offerings never really fit my travel pattern. Never the less, I was happy to be a guest at this new-er hotel in Beijing. It was booked in conjunction with a cruise from Singapore to Beijing with a land tour of China, this is the hotel that Princess Cruise Line used in Beijing. I was ...

Well here we go again yet another Hilton in the UK that is just sub par. Is there any Hilton brand standard people that work in the UK? or is just bad Hilton's in the UK the standard?

This hotel is not as horrifying as the Hilton at the Manchester Airport, but still has some issues! I have a copy of the Hilton Brand Standards guide and this hotel is just blatantly doing what the hell they want. Closing the Executive Lounge at 8pm 7 days a week, not having a bed type choice in the ...

This is good news for anyone who likes the Star Alliance, now there are some new ways to burn some miles in Europe.

SAS launched 17 new routes this year. Next March SAS will launch flights between Copenhagen and Shanghai.

From what I'm told here are the new routes that SAS will offer:

New routes from Copenhagen:

Kaliningrad. March 25 .

Katowice. March 26

Malaga. March 31.

Split. May 12.

Dubrovnik. ...

A very good source tells me that Virgin Atlantic will buy "most of" bmi (British Midland International) within 90-120 days and Virgin Atlanic will join Star Alliance within a year after that. The bmi name will go away and the Virgin Atlanic name will stay after they fully join. Lufthansa is ready to sell bmi after they off load a few more LHR slots trying to make some money back from their "investment". My source adds that Lufthansa wants to make sure that who every they sell too will keep ...

Ok well I’m impressed! I think I could have found the love of my life.. ok that might be a little too far but this UA phone agent went above and beyond.. and found something I did not even see when I was looking. Now that is good.

I always do my homework and know what flights I want when booking a reward. I check out the reward seats that are out there, have the airline I want to fly with the flight number.. I put the reward puzzle together then make the call. I also have my ...

If you are looking for a good rate at a Hilton in Europe, Middle East or Africa there is a "Flash" sale till this Wed Oct 12. Mostly weekend nights with rooms from only £50. With more than 50,000 rooms available in the sale. All rates are fully pre pay rates you have the option to book with or without breakfast.

The sale ends Wednesday! http://bit.ly/re858B

 I love the city of Warsaw and in the past I have really enjoyed the Hilton in Warsaw. This time the Hyatt had a rate I just could not pass up. 80 Euro a night and I was also able to apply one of my Diamond Suite Upgrades.

I really like this hotel! The staff and service are top class.

Check in is was very professional and by the book, it could have been a bit too scripted but I guess that is not a bad thing.. There was one comment at check in that was a bit odd.. ...

Blackstone the owner of Hilton worldwide, has just purchased the small hotel chain Mint in the UK. Mint Hotel, formerly known as City Inn, began just over a decade ago with a single venue in Bristol. It now boasts a chain of eight hotels, including sites in Leeds, London and Manchester. There is one Mint outside the UK in Amsterdam. The Mint Hotel at the Tower of London is the largest hotel in the city of London with 538 rooms

Some reports are that Hilton will add the Mint brand to ...

After the drama of some rumors posted online about what the new UNITED mileage program would look like, many are relieved that the changes are not th at bad, and in fact do give some extra perks to higher status level folks, but taking some things away from the entry level elite members.

I reported back in mid August that UNITED leaked some false info out to get peoples reactions and also cut down on the blow when they indeed made the official announcement. It appears that is what has ...

So when I was looking to book one of my, Europe-to-Europe Star Alliance reward bookings, I found a way to fly from Manchester, UK to Istanbul, Turkey all on wide-body aircraft, all on Asian Airlines, all with reward space. So let the fun begin!

If you do not know my MO on booking rewards in Europe, I want to get the most out of my 25K UNITED miles. I love the 24 hour “max connection time” rule… this allows for a nice day in a city. (note that when staying in one ...

A bit random.. but I'm sitting in the Scandinavian (SAS) Lounge, in Brussels, getting access with my Continental Airlines status, flying Brussels airlines on a ticket purchased from British Midland International (bmi), getting mileage credited to my UNITED account.. Got to love the power of the Star Alliance.

So I typically have a bit lower expectations for airport hotels, well the Hilton Manchester Airport (MAN) in the UK has just reinforced that. Sure I will be here only one night, for a very early flight.. but the little things matter to me. The check in experience was ok but I was not told I was upgraded as a HIlton Diamond, but sadly the only way I could tell that I was in fact “upgraded” was a sign on the door of the room stating “Deluxe Room”

The ...

Well what started out to be a simple mileage run from London to Denver on UNITED, turned out to be a bit more exciting. I booked the following flights:

LHR-ORD-DEN

with a return

DEN-EWR-LHR

I was using two systemwide upgrades to confirm all the flight including the CO flights, I was looking forward to checking out the CO Business First product.

Then the forecast was not looking good to fly thru New York, so I called UNITED and got rerouted via ORD on ...

SWISS International will be changing its branding. A new logo will be adopted starting in October. It shows a SWISS tailfin with its Swiss-cross design, reflecting the livery of the company’s aircraft and enabling SWISS to be instantly recognized as “the airline of Switzerland”.

SWISS’s advertising and promotional materials will also be given a clear new look.

 “I am convinced that, with our stronger brand profile, we will be better ...

The long delayed Hilton Frankfurt Airport and Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport is reported to be opening a bit ea rlier then last expected. I’m told now that both hotels will open sometime this December. The dates on Hilton.com have been jumping all around and as of this post still list an opening date of May 2012. I was informed today that both hotels are on track for Dec.

 The Hilton Frankfurt Airport will have a total of 249 rooms, 89 of them Executive, 16 Suites, 1 ...

As “rumors” about the new UNITED mileage plus program has hit the Internet, and is now all over frequent flyer blogs and forums some might think the people at the top of UNITED are mad about the “leak”. A confidential insider at UNITED tells me this is “all part of the PR plan”, he adds “This is a free way to gauge the reaction of program members”.

I know many might roll your eyes at the prospect of UNITED leaking info to get a reaction, ...

A few weeks back I booked my First flight with US Airways in a very long time, I need to fly from MAN (Manchester, UK) to Seattle and I found a very attractive fare for US Airways Envoy class. It booked as (Z) Business for the over the Atlantic legs and (A) First for the domestic legs. The long haul flights from MAN-PHL and return are with the US Airways A330-300. The A333 is currently equipped with recliner type seats 2-2-2 in Business.

There is also one row of the former US Airways ...

As a loyal Hilton Diamond for the past 6 years I think I have reached the point were I’m going to jump ship. Don’t get me wrong there are some real nice Hilton Family hotels out there, and they have hotels all over the world. The VIP treatment is very good in Europe and Asia, but when it comes to some unpublished changes to the Hilton Honors program I see the writing on the wall. Hilton is playing games, and could possibly be guilty of a form of bait and switch.

Hilton ...