Fly the Concorde for $1259 Roundtrip

[heartsurgeon]

How could the plane be incredibly loud if you are traveling faster than sound?

sound of all the popping champagne corks!

 

[feralkid]

Sit with celebrities

Or sit next to some other pathetic bloke who spent twelve hundred dollars on magazine subscriptions.

 

[huesmann]

Originally posted by: Krk3561

EDIT: Seats are not as comfortable as the First Class seats in modern BA jetliners (767, 777, Airbus A3xx etc.)--they are much smaller. Also, it is incredibly loud.

How could the plane be incredibly loud if you are traveling faster than sound?

Cause the engines are travelling faster than sound right next to you!

 

[cyfan2001]

Sitting next to celebrities is overrated anyway. I sat next to Sean Penn on a Southwest flight to LAX. (No kidding!) It's hard to NOT ask the question you really want to...like: "Is Madonna freaky in bed?!"

On a more serious note, you could fly from LAX to Sydney Australia RT using this method for $960 when Expedia says the cheapest ticket is $1800...

or...if you shop at Saks Fifth Avenue you can buy each set of 5000 points for $60 and turn them in for a $75 gift certificate or...check here

http://www.starwood.com/preferredguest/starpoints/merchandise_options.html

Linkified

 

[kindest]

id rather swim to London then take the Concorde.

 

[feralkid]

id rather swim to London then take the Concorde

I think they only sell round trip tickets.

 

[Bob151]

Sweet deal! I'm finding this one too hard to believe. The Anandtech effect might get the president of one of these companies fired.

Hope it works out for anyone trying this.

Who has stepped up to the plate thusfar?

 

[tigerbait]

Originally posted by: kindest
id rather swim to London then take the Concorde.

 

[kindest]

Quote

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
id rather swim to London then take the Concorde
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I think they only sell round trip tickets.

ok Ill swim there and scuba back.
If this deal really works, seems pretty damn sweet.

 

[MTVsucks]

couldnt you use the magazines you donate to charaties as a tax write off to?

 

[Utterman]

Originally posted by: MTVsucks
couldnt you use the magazines you donate to charaties as a tax write off to?

You can most likely do that. I know the pudding guy got a tax write off for what he donated.

 

[luv2chill]

My mouth is watering over this!!

Hmm... I need to plan another trip to Europe anyway... I need to find a way to do this. Flying in a Concorde is something I've wanted to do since I first saw one. Plus, I love the idea of actually arriving "before" leaving. Conventional jets are too slow to make that happen.

And seeing as it's doubtful I'll ever get to go into space in my lifetime (possible, but doubtful), this would be the next best thing.

What I want to know is... who is eating the $11,000 I'm saving by getting my ticket this way?

Time to start working overtime!!!!

l2c

 

[ThePresence]

Hmmm.......
How much does a normal NYC-UK flight cost?

 

[Nack]

presence,

That all depends on what kind of promos the airlines are running. A few years ago, I flew roundtrip from Detroit to Paris for $200. London was about the same price, I just chose Paris. Sometimes they will give the seats away for gas money to get buts in them, sometimes they will charge you a grand. Just depends.

The real question is... Can you eat $1200 worth of caviar in 3 hours?

Nack

 

[XFreebie]

that "sitting next to celebrities" thing is overrated... i heard on leno that michael jackson bought 2 seats the other week and he wore a fuschia mask and flew with a small wooden boy next to him (pinochio puppet). some celebs, u Do Not want to sit next to...

 

[Slikkster]

Also, remember that every Concorde flight comes with a commemorative kit with silverware,

Wow, just what we need to hear in the age of terrorism...commemorative weapons when their own get confiscated at check-in...

 

[RSMemphis]

Well, if Leno said it, it must be true. *gasp*

I can't believe someone sat next to Sean Penn on a Southwest flight. That's mighty cool.

 

[huesmann]

Originally posted by: RSMemphis
Well, if Leno said it, it must be true. *gasp*

I can't believe someone sat next to Sean Penn on a Southwest flight. That's mighty cool.

If it's true, Penn must be hurting for $$$.

 

[huesmann]

Oh, BTW, you still need to pony up for your flight to NYC. Does the Concorde fly anywhere else in the US?

 

[sgopal2]

Originally posted by: huesmann
Oh, BTW, you still need to pony up for your flight to NYC. Does the Concorde fly anywhere else in the US?

I believe that BA only has two of the birds...I'm not sure what the exact schedules are, but from what I know they only fly between New York (JFK) and London (Heathrow).

Air France also has a couple of the concorde birds....I believe they fly from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris (CDG) to New York (JFK). This offer is only good on British Airways because of the generous 2:1 transfer rate from Starwood -> BA. You could also fly the Concorde on Air France but it would cost you more miles.

 

[sgopal2]

Here are some trip reports from Flyertalk.com:

Trip report of someone who took advantage of the Starwood -> QF -> BA Concorde promo:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/002884.html

Pictures of the Bird and some in-flight pictures:
http://www.newchannels.de/paulusst/ssc/concorde.html

Another trip report (see link above):
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/002856.html

Yet another:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/002835.html

 

[RonKatcher]

The only problem I see is that, as per the Starwoods website:

"Starwood Preferred Guest members can transfer up to 39,999 Starpoints into Qantas Frequent Flyer points at a 1-to-2 ratio. And for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred, you'll earn 5,000 bonus Starpoints, which will be automatically added to your transfer."

Accordingly, one transferring would then have 84,998 (79,998 + 5,000 bonus) in Quantas miles, well short of the 125K needed for the trip.

 

[broadwayblue]

Originally posted by: RonKatcher
The only problem I see is that, as per the Starwoods website:

"Starwood Preferred Guest members can transfer up to 39,999 Starpoints into Qantas Frequent Flyer points at a 1-to-2 ratio. And for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred, you'll earn 5,000 bonus Starpoints, which will be automatically added to your transfer."

Accordingly, one transferring would then have 84,998 (79,998 + 5,000 bonus) in Quantas miles, well short of the 125K needed for the trip.

that is the daily transfer maximum. basically you have to transfer them in 20,000 point blocks.

 

[sgopal2]

RonKatcher:

I couldn't see anywhere on the SPG.com website that the limit for transfers is 39,999....I agree w above and think that its the daily limit.

From the spg.com website:

http://www.starwood.com/preferredguest/starpoints/transfer_ff_checkRoc.html

To transfer your Starpoints to a frequent flyer program, select an airline from the list below. Enter the number of Starpoints you would like to transfer, then click "Continue."

You may transfer up to 99,999 Starpoints, with the exception of Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and United Airlines, who set their own limits.

If you are a Platinum member, there is no minimum point transfer requirement. Gold members have a minimum point transfer of 1,500 Starpoints, and Preferred members have a minimum point transfer of 2,500 Starpoints.

The frequent flyer programs listed below are those that we currently have in your profile. If you wish to add another airline, select it from the pulldown list and enter your frequent flyer number. Your profile will automatically be updated with this information.
The exchange rate varies by airline. Please note the exchange ratio of Starpoints to frequent flyer miles, which is listed after each airline. Please make sure the name on your Starwood Preferred Guest account matches the name on your Frequent Flyer account, or your transfer will not be completed. You may only transfer Starpoints to a Frequent Flyer account that is in your name. Members may only transfer Starpoints into their frequent flyer accounts once per airline within a 24 hour period. Airline mileage transfers are final. Once Starpoints are transferred into airline miles/points, they cannot be returned to Starpoints. NOTE -- Qantas is the only airline with a favorable 1:2 mileage ratio for transfers -- SG

For every 20,000 Starpoints, Starwood will award you with an additional 5,000 Starpoints, which will automatically be added to your transfer?making a free flight that much closer.

Here is the math again:

21 InsideFlyer subscriptions = 52,500 Starpoints (21 x 2500 starpoints for each subscription)
Transfer Starpoints -> Qantas in blocks of 20,000
1) 20,000 Starpoints -> 40,000 QF miles + 5,000 bonus = 45,000 QF miles
2) 20,000 Starpoints -> 40,000 QF miles + 5,000 bonus = 90,000 QF miles
3) 12,500 starpoints -> 25,000 QF miles = 120,000 QF miles
Total starpoints redeemed: 20K + 20K + 12.5K = 52.5K
Total QF miles you end up with: 120K (including 5K Starwood threshold bonuses)

This is well below the 99,999 starpoint limit for mileage transfers. This has been done many times by members at flyertalk.com. It really does work!

Happy flying!

 

[PHiuR]

that plane is sexy