U P F R O N T

Got the Freebie Heebie Jeebies?

So while we have a lull in the action, following is a summary of the 3 "families" of free ticket offers now in circulation:

Offer: Fly 2 roundtrips between New York or Boston and select cities in Florida or California to earn 1 free roundtrip systemwide coach ticket.
Dates: Feb. x (start varies) through Apr. 15
Participating Airlines: AA, DL, UA
Notes: In American's offer, all fares qualify; Delta excludes T fares; and United excludes any fare requiring a Saturday stayover.
Links--
AA - http://aa.com/apps/netSAAver/ViewPromotions.jhtml
DL - http://delta.com/twoforone
UA - http://united.com/1for2

Offer: Fly 1 transatlantic business or first-class roundtrip to earn 1 free roundtrip systemwide coach ticket.
Dates: Feb. x (start varies) through Apr. 15
Participating Airlines: DL, NW, UA
Notes: Flights on KLM and Lufthansa count toward qualifying in the Northwest and United offers respectively.
Links--
DL - http://delta.com/travel/sp_offers/transatlantic_020604/index.jsp
NW - http://nwa.com/offers/tatlwbc/
UA - http://united.com/page/article/0,1360,50720,00.html

Offer: Fly 3 roundtrips to earn 1 free roundtrip coach ticket for travel within the continental U.S.
Dates: Feb. x (start varies) through Jun. 15
Participating Airlines: CO, NW, UA, US
Notes: In United's offer, the 2nd freebie, earned after 6 qualifying roundtrips, is in first class. Qualifying US Air flights must be booked on www.usairways.com.
Links--
CO - http://continental.com/
NW - http://nwa.com/promo/123free2
UA - http://united.com/fly3fly6
US - http://usairways.com/dm/3652

<< O N S I T E >>

FrequentFlier Forum Topics
==========================
As always, there's plenty of activity on the FrequentFlier Forum.

Upgradeless wonders whether others are having better luck getting upgrades on United. Marathon Man reports on his Aspen ski trip (courtesy of Mileage Plus). Kathryn has comments on Capital One's Miles One program. And much more...

Do you have questions, answers? Post them to the Forum!

> More...

<< M I L E S & P O I N T S >>

Alaska Discounts Awards
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With the 7,000-mile discount now in effect, Mileage Plan members can travel between the Bay Area and select Pacific Northwest cities for 13,000 miles (versus 20,000 normally).

Discount applies to Saver awards booked online at alaskaair.com for travel on Alaska Airlines between San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland or Sacramento and Seattle, Portland, Boise or Vancouver BC, between Apr. 20 and June 9.

In addition to the standard Saver award blackout dates, the 7,000-mile discount is not available on May 27, 28, 31, and June 1.

> More...

American Doubles JFK-Phoenix Miles
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Through Apr. 30, AAdvantage members will earn double miles on American's new nonstop service between New York and Phoenix.

Register prior to travel by calling 1-800-882-8880 and entering promotion code NYPHX, or register online at http://aa.com/offers.

Continental's Buy-3-Fly-Free Offer
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OnePass members who fly 3 roundtrips on Continental between Feb. 12 and June 15 will earn a free electronic ticket for travel anywhere Continental flies in the 48 contiguous United States.

Free tickets may be redeemed for travel between Sept. 1, 2004 and June 15, 2005. Free tickets are capacity controlled, require a Saturday night stay and are subject to a 14-day advance-booking requirement. There's a maximum of 2 free tickets per member.

Booking classes Q, I, S, W, T, X and L are not eligible and coach tickets cannot include a Saturday night stay.

> More...

Double Delta Miles for Tax Payments
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Tax payments charged to the Delta SkyMiles credit card at www.officialpayments.com between Feb. 15 and Apr. 15 will earn double miles.

If you're not familiar with Official Payments, they are a middleman between the IRS (which is prohibited from paying the merchant fees associated with credit card payments) and taxpayers. Official Payments also facilitates credit card payments to other state and local tax agencies.

To make a $1,000 federal tax payment using a credit card, Official Payments charges the taxpayer a $24.90 "convenience fee." When that payment is charged to a card which awards the usual 1 mile per $1 spent, that amounts to paying 2.5 cents per mile, which is no great bargain. However, if the earning rate is 2 miles per $1, as with the Delta promotion, you are in effect buying the miles for 1.25 cents per mile.

> More...

[See similar offer from United below.]

Book Online to Earn Priority Club Bonus
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Prioriity Club Rewards members will earn 1,000 bonus points for qualifying stays booked online and completed by Mar. 31.

To earn the bonus, members must register for the promotion and book a qualifying stay on an InterContinental Hotels Group website.

> More...

Charge Tax Payments to Earn Double United Miles
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Between Mar. 1 and Apr. 30, tax payments charged to a Mileage Plus Visa card at www.officialpayments.com will earn double miles (i.e. 2 miles per $1).

> More...

US Airways' "Buy 3 Online, Get 1 Free"
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US Airways' version of the buy-3/get-1-free offers is different from other airlines' in notable 1 respect: the qualifying flights must be purchased online at www.usairways.com.

Otherwise, it's pretty much identical to the current offers from Continental, Northwest and United.

I.e., fly 3 qualifying roundtrips on US Airways, US Airways Express or US Airways Shuttle between Feb. 13 and June 15, to earn 1 free coach roundtrip within the continental U.S. or Canada between Sept. 1, 2004 and June 15, 2005.

L, T, S, V and W fare classes are excluded from this offer.

> More...

<< S T E A L S & D E A L S >>

Deal Alert from SmarterLiving.com
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This week's hot deals from SmarterLiving.com...

First-Class Fares from $298
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America West has once again announced first-class sale fares as low as $298, so you can take advantage of the flexibility and comfort that's associated with the forward cabin without paying full price.

If you like flexibility, these tickets are less restricted than most sale fares; no minimum or maximum stay is required, and you can fly any day of the week.

> More...

Domestic Sale Fares from $108
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You never want to spend too much on your airfare, and right now you can save on flights all over the country with sale fares from ATA. The airline's website lists the low price at $108 roundtrip, and we found great deals including cross-country flights starting at $158. Plus, ATA is offering low fares to Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

Travel is valid between Mar. 2 and May 26. Book tickets online only, and by Monday, Feb. 23.

> More...

<< S W E E P S & F R E E B I E S >>

"Take Time for Yourself" and Win
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Through Apr. 3, enter United's "Take Time for Yourself" sweepstakes online to win 1 of 8 golf or spa packages for 2 to Miami, including air and hotel. Sixty runner-ups will win 1,000 Mileage Plus miles each.

> More...

[Visit http://frequentflier.com/sweeps.htm for more travel sweepstakes.]

<< R E A D E R R A N T S & R A V E S >>

Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel
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[Coincidentally, both this week's notes concern Marriott. The first relates to last week's mention of the Marriott MegaBonus promotion. Following up on Jimmy's query, we've requested clarification from Marriott but so far haven't received a reply.]

"I am sure you have heard back by now that the '7 day' requirement is not for all. They are following the ways of the airlines and pick and choose how much a member's requirement must be.

"While my boss received a postcard saying '7 days' requirement as you noted in the newsletter, my postcard and sign up forces me to a '10 day' requirement."

- Jimmy

"One of the nicest things to happen to me in some time was a recent letter I received from Marriott Rewards. The letter stated that since I had been a member of Marriott Rewards for 20 years, and they were celebrating their 20th anniversary, they were upgrading me from Silver status to lifetime Platinum Elite status, to thank me for my loyalty to Marriott over the years!

"Things like this don't happen in this industry very much, and you can bet that they not only upgraded my status, but also my loyalty!

"Thank you, Mr. Marriott."

- Don

Until next week...