I love booking travel from my iPhone. There is just something cool about being in a remote location with absolutely no sight of civilization and being able to book award travel.
For example, a year ago we stayed at the Westin St John and weren’t exactly happy with the room at that time. So one day I happened to have my iPhone on the beach and after checking out the My Virgin Islands App, I decided to look for other hotels.
I fired up the Priority Club Rewards application (I happen to know one of the guys who built this app), and I searched for a nearby hotels. St Thomas didn’t look good, so I checked San Juan Puerto Rico. Nothing like a little night life and casino action to liven up a Caribbean vacation. Bam, we were booked for a few nights at the InterContinental on Isle Verde before heading over to the Ritz Carlton San Juan.
An email I received from Qantas recently illustrated how you can now book flights on the mobile Qantas application among other things:
- Receive SMS Flight Updates
- Check flight status
- View your bookings
- View worldwide flight timetables
- Check your points balance
- Access lounge information
- Check in for domestic Australia flight
- Access a virtual boarding pass for domestic Australia flights
- Find contact numbers for Qantas offices worldwide
But this got me thinking about when we’ll see the ability to book paid flights and award flights through a mobile application. I’m sure there are a few at this moment. And I know you can just fire up a web browser, but it isn’t the same. The web browser on a smart phone forces you to zoom in just to be able to see the entry fields.
The airline carriers I fly don’t have the ability to book flights through the iPhone. So it got me wondering who does allow award bookings or paid bookings through an iPhone application?
Win Free Gogo Wifi One-Time Pass
We are giving away a free Gogo Wifi pass for sharing your tips on booking awards through an iPhone application. Simply answer the following question in the comments section for a chance to win a free Gogo Wifi pass.
- What is your best tip for using a mobile phone application to book an award?
- Example: I used the iPhone Priority Club application to book an award night in San Juan Puerto Rico from a beach on St John in the US Virgin Islands
Bottom Line
Technology is changing the way we live our lives and certainly the way we travel. If you share how mobile technology has changed your travel booking style, you’ll have a chance to win a free Gogo Wifi pass.
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About The Weekly Flyer
The Weekly Flyer writes about travel from a business traveler perspective. He travels the world every week accumulating points and miles along the way.
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Use awardwallet to see If u have enough miles to book the award!
Remember that if your hotel/airline doesn’t have the ability to book via an app, you can always go into your browser and search in desktop mode and book through the full site (especially usefully on a tablet)
Double-check your cancellations made on mobile apps, especially SPG. I’ve made several cancellations on the app, only to call the service center a day or two after to find the reservations still active in the system.
If you have google chrome app for iPhone you can request “desktop version” of any website
Capture a screenshot for your record when done
I was just curious how you use data plan in a remote locations – certainly not paying full price from US carriers
Hi MM – I have ATT and I am grandfathered into an unlimited Data plan. I also think the iPhone worked in US territories under my plan including San Juan and St John / St Thomas.
I use kayak pro to find my next vacation destination/it shows all destinations on a map with the cheapest airfare from wherever you are
HotelTonight App.
My best tip is to have the awardwallet app on my phone. I’m able to log in and check balances, then go from there.
I also have a “contact” in my phone address book where I store my FF#s, website login name and passwords (or password hint) so that I have them with me. You can delete the contact when you get home if you’d like, but at least you have the information with you when you are traveling.
awardwallet, of course.