While 30,000 points round trip between NYC and London sounds like a steal, it is less of a steal when you include the $656 in taxes and fees on top of that. World Traveller Plus is 45,000 miles plus $750 on that route.

They’re also offering 25% off redemptions to Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, and Dubai. That JFK-NRT flight will be 75,000 miles + $1,028, please. In coach.

It’s a terrible deal, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t share it.

Fares are good on British Airways flights and American Airlines operated flights that have a BA code share. Not available from Houston, Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa or Phoenix and is very limited from Chicago.

He didn’t mention one that has been taunting me for some time: you can transfer Starwood points to Hilton Hhonors at a 1:2.5 rate. How? By transferring SPG points to Hawaiian Airlines or Virgin Atlantic (20k SPG to get 25k frequent flyer miles), and then transfer into Hhonors at 1:2.

The question, of course, is whether this is a good deal. The answer is basically, no. However, it’s not a terrible deal in some cases. SPG points are worth something like 2-2.5 cents per point (in general, and yes I know this can vary); while Hhonors points seem to value out at something like .6-.8 cents per point. So perhaps at the very top end of the conversion it’s equal, but in most cases you’ll be “losing value” by transferring.

However, sometimes you just need to top off your points to get an award – it’s nice to know there’s another option out there to do it (you can transfer from American Airlines, but that only gets you 1.6 points per mile). Membership Rewards points transfer in at 1:2. So from a transfer perspective, it’s the best of the options (or the best of some not great options, depending on how you look at it).

If you’re not a frequenter of Hilton Hotels (for example, if you’re me), you’re likely confused by the mish-mosh of award charts out there (this FT thread is very helpful). At its best, top level Hiltons (category 7, not the Waldorf properties) can be had for 37,500 points per night when you’re staying between 4-7 nights). That’s roughly 15,000 Starwood points per night – about the cost of a Category 5 SPG hotel. At that point, while perhaps it’s not exactly an even exchange, it wouldn’t be crazy to transfer SPG points to pay for those Hilton hotels.

Waldorf Astoria hotels also have a discount program when you’re booking multiple nights. Most of those hotels (excluding “premium room only” properties) cost 60,000 Hilton points per night. There are discounts, though, for multi-night stays (15% for 4 nights; 20% for 5 nights; 25% for 6 or more nights). A 6-night stay would be 270,000 Hhonors points, or 110,000 SPG points (roughly). Again, it’s not exactly even, but it’s not insane either, especially if you don’t use Starwood points to transfer to airlines for premium travel (which is primarily how I’ve used them, and really where you can get huge value for those points. But I know that many people don’t use these points that way….).

I bring this up just to highlight another of the reasons why the Starwood program is so fantastic — it’s got a huge range of properties; great airline transfer possibilities; and if you don’t really care whether you stay at a 4-star Starwood resort or a 4-star Hilton Resort, it can offer some decent possibilities to transfer over to Hilton.

You must register here to sign up for the promotion.

- First checked bag is now free for you and 4 others.
- You’ll earn double miles on office supplies, telecom and car rental.
- When you renew your card, you’ll get a 5% bonus on the previous year’s spend (effectively letting you earn 1.05 points on every purchase, and 2.10 points on the bonus categories above, though that’ll cost you the $95 annual fee).
- Priority boarding
- 25% off in-flight purchases
- You’ll get a $99 companion certificate after you spend $30,000 annually (weak!)

Although the official offer is for 30,000 miles after $1,000 in purchases in 3 months, if you apply through this link you’ll get 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in 3 months (plus the annual fee is just $75).

(UPDATE: I spoke with the AAdvantage folks, and existing cardmembers CAN get these new benefits by calling the number on the back of your card and ask to be upgraded to the CitiBusiness AAdvantage World Mastercard that includes these new perks.)

I received an email for my flight from LAX to Auckland at the end of the month asking me if I wanted to bid on an upgrade from Premium Economy (the class I’m booked in) to Business. The text of the email reads:

Want an upgrade? Make us an offer and go OneUp!

One or more of your flights is eligible for our new OneUp upgrade program. OneUp lets you make an offer to upgrade one cabin – from Economy class to Premium Economy or from Premium Economy to Business Premier. You tell us what you’re prepared to pay, and we’ll let you know 3 days before your flight if your offer is accepted. So, what are you waiting for – make us an offer!

I was thinking about it, and although the difference between Premium Economy and Business is about $1100 each way, I was willing, at first blush, to pay $179 each way to upgrade. Well, that wasn’t an option:

You can see in the cool little tool, that the landing page shows a $590 bid each way, with the little dial set at a “very poor” chance it will be accepted. Now, if I’ve learned anything from Priceline, always ignore it if they tell you there is a “very poor” chance.

The lowest bid, however, is $360 and the highest bid is $1570 each way. The high end is ridiculous, as I could’ve bought the ticket for less. $360 is not ridiculous, but when I think about paying $720 out of pocket, it makes me a little bit sick. Also, it’s telling me my chances at $360 each way are “very poor.”

Then I thought about it this way: United wants 30,000 miles + $350 each way to upgrade to business class from a mid-level economy fare. So perhaps this is a deal, since (assuming I’d get it for $350, which I likely won’t) they’d want 30,000 miles each way in addition to the price.

I’m likely going to pass on this, unless someone can convince me I should bid $360 (at least 1 way) for the upgrade from Premium Economy. Eh, who am I kidding? It’s my money – why am I asking you if I should spend it?

In any case, I thought that although this program is likely pissing off every ANZ frequent flyer (and me, since United won’t let me upgrade a Premium Economy ticket to Business with miles, even though I CAN upgrade using a cheaper coach ticket), it’s a pretty cool idea (at least I thought my friend Doug would like it).

(UPDATE: I bid $350 for the return flight. I’m on the ANZ SpaceSeat on the way down, which I’m interested in trying. I’m less interested in the non-SpaceSeat Premium Economy on the 747 on the way back. I’ll report back if I get the upgrade.)

• Austin—San Diego
• Baltimore/Washington—Ft. Myers
• Baltimore/Washington—San Diego
• New York LaGuardia—Chicago Midway
• Kansas City—San Diego
• Chicago Midway—Oakland
• Chicago Midway—San Diego
• Chicago Midway—San Antonio
• Chicago Midway—Seattle
• Chicago Midway—San Francisco
• Chicago Midway—Tucson
• Minneapolis/St. Paul—Phoenix
• St. Louis—Tampa Bay

Again, offer is only good today.

After you register here, your second and third stays will earn 2,000 miles each. Then your 4-11th stays will earn 2,500 miles per stay (you must choose to earn Delta miles, rather than Hyatt points).

Offer is good at Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Place , Hyatt House or Hyatt Residence Club hotels.

(As Gary points out in the comments, this is good for 12 different airlines. At least you know I’m not just stealing from other blogs…nor, apparently, am I doing any research before I post anything). Details on all airlines here:

Bloggers (myself more than included) talk frequently about the Chase Business Ink Bold, primarily because (at least until recently) you could get 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points after $5,000 spend (it’s now 25k on signup, then 25k after $10,000 spend). I don’t write much about cash back cards, but if you are a business owner looking for a cash back card, you could do worse than the Chase Ink Cash card.

The benefits are that you get 5% cash back on office supplies, landline, cellphone and Internet (up to $25,000 in spend); 2% on dining and gas; and 1% on everything else. They come in the form of a points system, but basically you’re getting cash back. Also, there’s no annual fee. The Capital One Spark Business Cash card gives you 2% on everything, but there’s a $59 fee after the first year. You can do the math yourself about which card makes more sense for you. Frankly, you’re probably better off with the Chase Business Ink Bold, but if you’re looking for pure cash back on a business card, this is a good one.

The normal offer is for $100 cash back at signup, then $150 additional cash back after $5,000 in spend in 3 months.

However, I found this link that gives you $100 cash back at signup, then $200 cash back after $5,000 in spend in 3 months. Is that a huge deal? No (I told you that in the first sentence, cut me some slack). But $50 is $50, and if you were thinking of applying for this card, you’ll take the extra $50. Figured I’d just pass along since I found the link with the better offer.