The Upgrd Podcast

In this week's discussion we cover airline news, Star Alliance and Red Carpet Club domestic lounge access, and Ben's tour of beautiful LAX airport. Also we discuss: Delta's recent fine for the way it handled denied boarding and compensation Viewer mail on credit card earning for hotel stays, an EWR flyer's question about where to credit miles after reaching Platinum on CO, and questions about the United Mileage Plus Dining program A review of RCC member access to other star alliance clubs while traveling domestically on UA and more... Please leave feedback below or through the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

By Upgrd Podcast - Upgrd Podcast In this week's discussion we cover airline news, Star Alliance and Red Carpet Club domestic lounge access, and Ben's tour of beautiful LAX airport. Also we discuss: Delta's recent fine for the way it handled denied boarding and compensation Viewer mail on credit card earning for hotel stays, an EWR flyer's question about where to credit miles after reaching Platinum on CO, and questions about the United Mileage Plus Dining program A review of RCC member access to other star alliance clubs while traveling domestically on UA and more... Please leave feedback below or through the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

In this week's show we talk with Sara, a flight attendant who regularly blogs at theflyingpinto.com. We asked many questions including listener submitted questions such as: How does scheduling work? How has the job changed since you started? What are your best airline jokes? Funniest / strangest passenger stories? Anyone join the Mile High Club on your flights? Do you get many gifts from passengers? and many more. Please leave feedback and questions for future episode below or using the contact us page on this site. Be sure to subscribe in itunes to get automatic downloads to your MP3 player.

By Upgrd Podcast - Upgrd Podcast In this week's show we talk with Sara, a flight attendant who regularly blogs at theflyingpinto.com. We asked many questions including listener submitted questions such as: How does scheduling work? How has the job changed since you started? What are your best airline jokes? Funniest / strangest passenger stories? Anyone join the Mile High Club on your flights? Do you get many gifts from passengers? and many more. Please leave feedback and questions for future episode below or using the contact us page on this site. Be sure to subscribe in itunes to get automatic downloads to your MP3 player.

Vroom vroom! Once you've enjoyed your hots nuts at 30,000 feet and are at your destination, which car rental company should you use? This week's show discusses car rental companies and their elite programs. Including: The differences in the elite programs between Hertz, Avis, National, and the others Which program we prefer and recommend Straight from the early jungle bus scene in "Romancing the Stone", Matthew discusses how he gets around on the ground. Also we chat about the new Delta Airlines - Los Angeles to Sydney - service starting July 1. Who will be the big losers with all the overcapacity in this market? What do you think? Don't forget to subscribe in itunes, and take our survey.

By Upgrd Podcast - Upgrd Podcast Vroom vroom! Once you've enjoyed your hots nuts at 30,000 feet and are at your destination, which car rental company should you use? This week's show discusses car rental companies and their elite programs. Including: The differences in the elite programs between Hertz, Avis, National, and the others Which program we prefer and recommend Straight from the early jungle bus scene in "Romancing the Stone", Matthew discusses how he gets around on the ground. Also we chat about the new Delta Airlines - Los Angeles to Sydney - service starting July 1. Who will be the big losers with all the overcapacity in this market? What do you think? Don't forget to subscribe in itunes, and take our survey.

This week, we discuss the state of airline websites for booking round trip tickets and frequent flyer awards.  As many have complained before, the airline websites are still a mixed bag of old and new technology searching for a unified user experience and accuracy of pricing and results. We discuss: The general user interface problems with most of the legacy carrier's websites Other websites you may use when trying to book award inventory Our strong difference in opinion on which site is most usable - our use of one website so frequently has altered our perception of what makes a site "good" Some general news including the sub $4 price that many US based airline stocks are at currently Are there any US Airways or Alaska Airlines mileage program experts out there that would like to participate in one episode? If so contact us today! The next two episodes will be covering car rental programs, and hopefully an interview with a flight attendant. Send in your questions for both!

By Upgrd Podcast - Upgrd Podcast This week, we discuss the state of airline websites for booking round trip tickets and frequent flyer awards.  As many have complained before, the airline websites are still a mixed bag of old and new technology searching for a unified user experience and accuracy of pricing and results. We discuss: The general user interface problems with most of the legacy carrier's websites Other websites you may use when trying to book award inventory Our strong difference in opinion on which site is most usable - our use of one website so frequently has altered our perception of what makes a site "good" Some general news including the sub $4 price that many US based airline stocks are at currently Are there any US Airways or Alaska Airlines mileage program experts out there that would like to participate in one episode? If so contact us today! The next two episodes will be covering car rental programs, and hopefully an interview with a flight attendant. Send in your questions for both!

In this week's frequent flyer discussion, we talk about the mid-tier (50,000 mile) elite level of the major carriers in the U.S. We know many of our listeners maintain this status and want to know some of the differences of the programs including: Free upgrades vs coupon or sticker paid upgrades First class seat count and how it affects your choice of airline for upgrades Whether you should choose a program based on your location only Does a program like Delta or Continental, with their current 75,000 mile top tier, make it easier to get to the next level We also discuss Continental's recent comments that a merger is not out of the question anymore, and recent Delta Airlines changes. New flash player below to make it easier to listen. Just click the play button (if you have flash installed in your browser).

By Upgrd Podcast - Upgrd Podcast In this week's frequent flyer discussion, we talk about the mid-tier (50,000 mile) elite level of the major carriers in the U.S. We know many of our listeners maintain this status and want to know some of the differences of the programs including: Free upgrades vs coupon or sticker paid upgrades First class seat count and how it affects your choice of airline for upgrades Whether you should choose a program based on your location only Does a program like Delta or Continental, with their current 75,000 mile top tier, make it easier to get to the next level We also discuss Continental's recent comments that a merger is not out of the question anymore, and recent Delta Airlines changes. New flash player below to make it easier to listen. Just click the play button (if you have flash installed in your browser).

By Upgrd Podcast - Upgrd Podcast This week we discussed a number of listener questions about frequent flyer and hotel programs. In addition to written questions received via email and on the upgrd.com site, we recorded a few questions in person at a recent SFO dinner.  Some questions include: Is the standby option (via a different routing) some sort of 1K only perk? Which hotel program is best for someone residing in Canada that might not be eligible for US based credit card pomotions? What to do with United SWUs? Where to post miles after crossing 100,000 elite qualifying miles? Ben answers "How to get travel credits instead of a free ticket" in denied boarding situations on this blog and more... Please write additional questions for our next Q&A discussion. Also, a new survey will be up at upgrd.com/survey shortly.

This week we discussed a number of listener questions about frequent flyer and hotel programs. In addition to written questions received via email and on the upgrd.com site, we recorded a few questions in person at a recent SFO dinner.  Some questions include: Is the standby option (via a different routing) some sort of 1K only perk? Which hotel program is best for someone residing in Canada that might not be eligible for US based credit card pomotions? What to do with United SWUs? Where to post miles after crossing 100,000 elite qualifying miles? Ben answers "How to get travel credits instead of a free ticket" in denied boarding situations on this blog and more... Please write additional questions for our next Q&A discussion. Also, a new survey will be up at upgrd.com/survey shortly.

By Upgrd Podcast - Upgrd Podcast Join us in this week's frequent flyer discussion about the Priority Club hotel loyalty program. We try to answer the "how much is a point worth" question specifically in relation to a much cheaper stay on priceline. Also we discuss: United twares and other twitter nonsense Irate United 1Ks SkyAmerica - destined to failure before it launches? Priority Club promotions Value of PC points Intercontinental Ambassador and Royal Ambassador program Please email questions or  leave a comment below.

Join us in this week's frequent flyer discussion about the Priority Club hotel loyalty program. We try to answer the "how much is a point worth" question specifically in relation to a much cheaper stay on priceline. Also we discuss: United twares and other twitter nonsense Irate United 1Ks SkyAmerica - destined to failure before it launches? Priority Club promotions Value of PC points Intercontinental Ambassador and Royal Ambassador program Please email questions or  leave a comment below.

By Upgrd Podcast - Upgrd Podcast This week we are fortunate enough to be joined on our frequent flyer discussion by Scott O'Leary, Managing Director, Customer Experience, for Continental Airlines. Some of you may know him as CO Insider from Flyer Talk. Our contributors had a number of questions for Scott, but to keep things to a sensible timeframe not every question made it. Some topics we discussed: Continental Airlines award availability Starnet blocking!!! Will CO ever have SWUs? 737-900 on LAX-HNL Hot nuts, not-dogs and more... Please send us questions for our upcoming Q&A episode. Also, please take our survey if you have not already. Please accept my apologies for the audio quality. The computer, with the main recording crashed, and I had to use a backup that included many room noises that normally would have been muted.