The never-ending saga of Qantas and the rebuilding of a reputation continues and today the process got a boost. While Barack Obama was touring Oz, John Travolta made a surprise appearance on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne. He wasn't a passenger but he was in the business class cabin of the B767.

We know that the Saturday Night Fever star is a world ambassador for the flying kangaroo and actually has a retired Boeing 707 parked in his driveway. We also know that he has been featured as a captain in the in-flight safety announcement. Now, he turns up to present the most frequent flyers with Qantas' top status, Platinum One. Unfortunately, this was a one-off presentation; he was just in town for a 91st birthday bash Qantas decided to throw for the elite status flyers. ]]> jetflyboy 2011-11-17T14:30:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/8/43352/0701

This month means more than just the beginning of holiday travel season; it also marks the beginning of a new era at British Aiways with the re-branding of their frequent flyer program to "Avios." Say cheers to the former loyalty program managed by AirMiles on November 16th.

Basically, BA Miles used to be managed through AirMiles who has done the re-branding. BA is just using the program as a "currency" to redeem flights and hotels. This shift is to align with the frequent flyer programs of its joint venture partner, Iberia, and mirror other Oneworld partner airline programs. Executive Club is sticking around and its members will be accruing Avios points instead of BA Miles. Don't worry, if you have heaps of points in Executive Club, you won't loose them.

The move to Avios is not just a name change, but the program claims to make earning points and higher status levels, as well as redeeming points for flights and upgrades, far easier. Let's see if they're right. ]]> jetflyboy 2011-11-10T11:27:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/2/21/8413/09370

Some airlines use social media outlets a little bit better than others, but at this point pretty much everyone is on Facebook and/or Twitter, with the exception of social media-snobby Ryanair. Now that all the basics are covered it seems like airlines are getting even more specific with their online activity and contacts. American Airlines is one of the first to do so, as they’re launching new accounts on Twitter and Facebook specifically for their AAdvantage frequent flier program.

They’re the first airline in the nifty fifty to dedicate their social media efforts on earning miles, and their new accounts will be designed to help one and all fatten up those mileage accounts. We’re hoping for some promotions or contests, as we are in need of some serious help if we’re going to score a freebie on AA anytime this decade. ]]> kjb 2011-02-21T08:58:46-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/10/4/1414/27641

We always get suspicious when airlines start talking about giving customers "more control" and "more choice," since that usually means downgrading reward tiers and charging for things that used to come for free. Getting to choose whether to have food on a long flight or pay for checked baggage has never left us feeling particularly empowered. Nowadays pretty much any airline policy change is enough to get us nervous, and that's particularly true whenever they start to tinker with loyalty programs and elite status.

So naturally we've been anticipating with dread the details of how the American Airlines/British Airways/Iberia merger will affect their frequent flyer programs. So far so good, with the announcement coming out over the weekend that BA is increasing the miles that you get for Discount Economy tickets, from 25% to 100%. BA miles are also now good for AA upgrades, and vice versa. And the airline is even promising to upgrade some of their Executive Lounges. ]]> Omri 2010-10-04T14:44:35-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/8/17/134214/928

Want a free trip to Dubai on Emirates plus $5,000, plus the chance to exhibit your artwork at an international art fair? You're in luck because Emirates wants to make it happen for a promising talent, so long as they think you're as good as Damien Hirst.

You see, Emirates is searching for emerging artists to enter their contest to replace the Damien Hirst artwork on their Skywards loyalty program cards. If you win, you'll be flown to Dubai for the unveil, get a place for your portfolio to be shown in the Art Dubai Fair in March 2011, and be handed the $5,000 (think Dubai shopping spree). ]]> JetSetCD 2010-08-18T09:36:24-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/5/24/144848/583

A few weeks ago, we dished over at HotelChatter about our friend Brian Kelly, who successfully made a transition from lowly desk jockey to jetsetting superhero with the Ryan Bingham-esque moniker, The Points Guy. He dished on the best hotel reward points programs, told us which ones to avoid, and shared his favorite tricks for getting suite upgrades.

This week, we queried him on airline loyalty programs to discover his picks of the moment, where he sees the industry trending in general, and what you, the average traveler, can do to fly business class while everyone else is getting stuck in coach. Here’s what he had to say.
]]> EricRosen 2010-05-24T17:00:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/12/10/145558/50

Never underestimate the ability of Flyertalk forum members to find every last way to maximize their frequent flier miles. The newest scheme to emerge from the boards goes way beyond "make sure you do your holiday shopping through rewards websites" and involves buying currency from the US Mint with your credit card, pocketing the miles, and then driving to deposit the coins and avoid fees. The Wall Street Journal has more details:

At least several hundred mile-junkies discovered that a free shipping offer on presidential and Native American $1 coins, sold at face value by the U.S. Mint, amounted to printing free frequent-flier miles. Mileage lovers ordered more than $1 million in coins until the Mint started identifying them and cutting them off. Coin buyers charged the purchases, sold in boxes of 250 coins, to a credit card that offers frequent-flier mile awards, then took the shipments straight to the bank. They then used the coins they deposited to pay their credit-card bills. Their only cost: the car trip to make the deposit.

]]> Omri 2009-12-10T15:21:55-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/