We know there’s plenty of people saving—or even hoarding—those frequent flyer miles in hopes of the next great redemption or value. Now just might be the best time to cash some in, as United Airlines is running a decent sale on redeeming MileagePlus miles for an award ticket.

The airline is offering up to a 25% discount on "free" flights—plus taxes and fees of course—to most destinations in Europe as well as Central and Southern Africa. The biggest savings are available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as you’ll only get a 20% discount during other days of the week. There’s probably all kinds of permutations and calculations involved with your dream ticket, but a basic 60,000 mile coach ticket to Europe from the United States can now be had for as little as 45,000 miles round-trip. ]]> kjb 2012-01-09T09:50:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/30/0391/2090

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!! Finally finally finally US credit card companies are getting wise to the need for cardholders to have EMV-enabled cards, which you may better recognize as the ones with the embedded chip on the left side.

We've been following the progress of this since earlier this year when both Wells Fargo and Chase began issuing limited amounts to their highest spending, heaviest traveling cardmembers. Now the technology has finally trickled down to the level of Chase's British Airways Visa Signature.

This card, thanks to generous past sign-up bonuses and the fact it has no foreign transaction fees, is now carried by many American frequent flyers who will no doubt benefit from being able to shop like the rest of Europe—with the chip-and-pin instead of a swipe-and-sign. Like us, who've felt the sting of being turned down because a register was no longer equipped for our archaic VISA (example: Amsterdam Schiphol train station). ]]> JetSetCD 2011-11-30T17:07:36-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/14/51344/301

We already talked about how the CEO of Qantas decided to counter industrial action by shutting down the complete worldwide operations. Since that weekend, Qantas is back up in the skies with a new motto, "Book with confidence and certainty," and a lot of explaining to do for the more than 70,000 passengers that were left stranded.

Leaving travelers stranded and with unanswered questions, Qantas had to do something. During the shutdown, the company offered to reimburse those who needed to re-book on different airlines, even pay the difference of airfares. For those who decided to stay in the city in which they were stranded, Qantas paid hotels, meals and phone calls up to a certain amount. If you were one of the unlucky passengers and you're still struggling to figure out what you get from all this, visit Qantas' website for more details.]]> jetflyboy 2011-11-15T16:09:18-05:00 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/2011/11/8/746/69263

There’s a new airline getting ready to land in the United States, and if all goes well it’ll save you a few bucks when trying to head south of the border. Interjet is a low-cost carrier based in Mexico, but they’re now planning to expand outside of the country into our backyard.

Their first flights will be a nonstop option between San Antonio and Mexico City, and the plan is to start flying back and forth beginning at the start of December. Flights will run each day of the week with a couple on weekdays, but there will only be single flights doing their thing over the weekend. Obviously the airline is excited about their expansion, so they’re even offering round-trip flights for around $250 to celebrate. ]]> kjb 2011-11-08T12:12:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/20/8260/4493

There are plenty of awful ways to redeem your frequent flyer miles, but United Airlines is partnering up with PayPal to add another. We might be a little harsh in our assessment, but seriously, you're going to get the best value redeeming for a flight—so keep saving up for the trip to Tahiti.

Anyway, beginning next year PayPal users&3151;thanks to some help from ezRez Software—should be able to utilize United MileagePlus miles at pretty much any retailer that accepts PayPal for payment. The plan is that you'll buy your stuff directly through online retailers and that your frequent flyer account will be deducted upon placing your order. You won't have to go through United or their online shopping mall, so it should be at least a more streamlined experience.

Like we said initially it might not be the ideal place to burn some frequent flyer miles. However, if you're just dying for the latest iPad—and already have completed your travel bucket list—having another option might be a good thing. Happy shopping!

[Photo: United Airlines] ]]> kjb 2011-10-20T13:00:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/16/20377/580
One of the old Virgin Blue Velocity Gold cards

Virgin Australia, the airline formerly known as Virgin Blue, not only changed their name back in May, but flipped the flying game in Australia.

More recently, the Aussie airline upped the ante competing with Qantas by offering a Velocity Frequent Flyer status match for other airline's frequent flyer programs. With a simple email and proof of your current status with a competing program, Virgin bellied up to the bar and automatically (not to mention quickly) upgraded any member to the corresponding status in Velocity. ]]> jetflyboy 2011-10-18T16:13:16-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/