Get shopping and stimulate that economy!

Luckily for you EXSCHLUB readers, I’ve got a big backlog of posts that should be coming through the rest of the week.

Stay tuned.

I’ll try to hit it up this afternoon and report back, but early indications are that I’m not likely to find anything to buy. Quoth Racked:

11:51am: Now I’m in men’s. It’s a peaceful oasis. There are maybe 20 guys here, plus a ton of eager, skinny salespeople wandering around. The menswear is really extreme—lots of bright colors and adventurous silhouettes. Tons of accessories: Nerd glasses, bags, Britishy shoes and sneakers, ugly underwear (possibly the ugliest underwear I have ever seen.)

We’ll see.

EDIT: Thanks for the catch Katherine.

I talked to a very nice women at JetBlue Executive Customer Service this afternoon about my issues. She found one single flight back to JFK from Las Vegas on a Sunday. Only problem was that there were no flights TO Las Vegas for that weekend. She didn’t apologize or even express sympathy with my situation. Her solution was to say and do nothing.

And of course in the time I’ve been trying to use my TrueFalseBlue points the price of the flights on the time I really want to go have skyrocketed to over $900 round trip.

Looks like the Wynn will have to wait.

FYI: If you’re on of the first 100 people to bring in one of your girlfriends many empty cosmetics packages to one of the following Origins stores on April 2nd you’ll get a free deluxe sample of A Perfect World Intensely hydrating body cream with White Tea.

 

Austin – Origins at Central Park

4001 N. Lamar Blvd. Suite 570

Austin, TX 78756

512-302-3267

                            

Boston – Faneuil Hall

1 Faneuil Hall Market Place

Boston, MA 02109

617-742-7447

 

Cambridge – Origins Harvard Sq

8 Brattle Street

Cambridge, MA 02138

617-868-8090

 

Denver – Origins Cherry Creek North

2800 E 2nd Ave

Denver, CO 80206-4902

303-388-0018

 

LA – Century City:

10250 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90067

310-772-0272

 

San Francisco – San Francisco Centre:

865 Market Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

415-537-9440

 

As you know the Wynn is offering two free nights for Amex Platinum card holders. Perfect opportunity to use my TrueFalseBlue points and put together a free weekend in Vegas. Easier said than done.

I logged into my TrueFalseBlue account and started looking at flights. I had no problem getting flights out of JFK in the evening so I could put in a full day at work and still make it to Vegas at a reasonable hour, but the ridiculousness became apparent when I tried to book a flight back.

Simply put there is not a single decent available reward flight from Las Vegas to JFK that leaves on Sunday. Sure there is the 1:00AM flight and a couple of scattered redeyes, but the 7:00AM, 11:30AM, and 1:50PM flights are never ever available period.

This wouldn’t be such a problem if TrueFalseBlue points didn’t expire. I’d bite the bullet buy a cheap flight and claim my hotel deal. But the points do expire one year after they were issued.

It’s a pretty good scam that JetBlue is running.

1. Sell tickets

2. Issue TrueFalseBlue points

3. Expire points in one year

4. Make decent flight unavailable

5. Profit!!!

I also want to point out how useless their customer service is. First I thought it was a bug in the system so I tweeted @JetBlue. They have a reputation for being really on the ball and helping customers out. Well, I was blown off and told to call the reservation hotline. Once I did I found out the scam that was being run. The phone agent said that he couldn’t find a single rewards flight for the next 4 months and agreed that it was pretty scummy of JetBlue to have this sort of bait and switch. He suggested that I buy two one way tickets and use the TrueFalseBlue points for the JFK-LAS leg. That’d be great except those tickets only cost about $150, it’s the return flight that starts at $350 before taxes and fees. For that I could get an entire round trip ticket on another airline.

In one last ditch effort to stay a happy JetBlue customer I tweeted them again last night. After explaining the issue I was met with silence.

It’s a shame really. JetBlue at one point was by far the best airline out there for all the reasons above. They just lost a previously happy and loyal customer.

Why do I bring this up? Well, the tend to have some great deals on watches throughout the day. I also bought my espresso maker from them for $80 when the retail price was over $400. While you’re at it, might as well buy a Roomba so you’re floors are clean.

With summer fast approaching, now’s the time to get a new pair of shades.