Superfly.com –Enhanced Loyalty Program Based Fare Search Engine

by | Nov 25, 2011 | Uncategorized | 2 comments

Was reading up on some changes to SuperFly.com and thought the changes are worth sharing with you. I discovered most of this today, so apologies if some of this information is not new.

Superfly was launched about a year ago, designed as a basic airline fare search engine. Now, it has the ability to break down your fare to show you what your miles are worth based on the fare you are paying. The site takes into account your elite status so it automatically calculates the value, per mile, of the fare that you searched for. For example, I searched for a fare from GRR to SNA and the search engine returned the following information and fare breakdown:

GRR-SNA was quoted at $388 R/T. It broke down the value of the fare into the fare’s “value proposition”.

Quoted from fare search: (this is just a copy/paste of text, the site is far more grapichs rich)

The price of this ticket is $338. The cost includes most taxes in fees. This is the amount your credit card will be charged. You will have the opportunity to confirm this payment on the checkout page of the booking site.

The value of the rewards is $107. This is the personal value of the rewards you would receive from purchasing this ticket. We calculate it by multiplying the distance you fly and the your personal base value of a mile or point and adding in any class of ticket bonus, elite status multiplier and any minimum miles per leg.

The total value of the ticket is $231. This is the value of the ticket for you. It combines the cost of the ticket and the value of the rewards. Remember, the cheapest ticket, rarely offers the best value.

I love how the breakdown takes into consideration your Elite Status. It also returns the search results sorted by your Frequent Flyer Program so its less sorting on your part.

When you first sign up for Superfly.com (it’s free!), you can select your Airline and Hotel Loyalty programs, and Superfly will log into those programs on your behalf to determine how to breakdown your fare’s value.

I thought this is a great way to look at what you get as an Elite Flyer in your Loyalty Program. Until now, I have been a big fan of Kayak.com, but after playing with SuperFly.com, I think its time for a change.

Lufthansa’s Winter Ski Specials

by | Nov 25, 2011 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Lufthansa has launched its specials to Europe for Ski Season. Depending where you live, it actually is not that much further to go and Ski in Europe than some US based Ski destinations. Plus you get to tell your friends that you went Skiing at places like Kitzbuhel or Zermatt instead of your normal state side Ski Resorts. Not to mention the opportunity to take in the ambience and hospitality of a classic Alpen Village in Switzerland, Austria or Northern Italy. Wish I was a skier, because I’m sort of talking myself into flying to see the Alps in the Winter.

The fares are attractive. An example fare of Charlotte (CLT) to Zurich comes in at $775 (Round Trip / Inclusive of Taxes). Newark (EWR) to Vienna (VIE), is about $875 for mid January departures and 5-7 day stays.

Lufthansa.com has a nice page that lists the various Ski Resorts near destinations that they serve. You can visit the site FROM THIS LINK and see where Lufthansa can take you this Winter.

One important hint: If you book a trip that will involve taking your own Ski Equipment, please call Lufthansa’s Reservation Line within 24 hours of booking your trip. Lufthansa asks that you let them know if you are traveling with Skis so that they can reserve space for your oversized ski luggage on your flights, especially on the smaller regional aircraft that fly to the Ski destinations.