|
UP FRONT..........................................................
Next Week's Format Change (continued)
.....................................
The final countdown continues for next week's introduction of HTML. We're in the process of fine-tuning the newsletter's new design, which is simple, clean and easy-to-read.
Since the change was announced earlier this month, we've received a continuous stream of feedback, overwhelmingly positive.
Look for the first HTML issue on Mar. 2. In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the new format, please e-mail me at publisher@frequentflier.com.
More: http://frequentflier.com/formatchange.htm
ON SITE...........................................................
FrequentFlier Forum Topics
..........................
As always, there's plenty of activity on the FrequentFlier Forum.
In the "Airline Programs" Forum, new business traveler Big Tech Daddy is looking for program recommendations: "I am already a member of Alaska Air's ffp, however they are somewhat of a regional hauler. I will be flying all over the U.S. Should I join a national carrier as well as maintaining the current one I have?"
Also in the "Airline Programs" Forum, oozabooza is searching for cruise awards: "I mean, if I have several hundred thousand miles, is there a way I can get a cruise without paying anything but tax?"
In the "Hotel Programs" Forum, iwanttofly wonders as follows: "I will soon be staying with the Grosvenor Resort in Florida, whats the best way to find if they are 'partnered' with an airline.?"
And much more... Questions, answers? Post them to the Forum!
More: http://frequentflier.com/forums/index.php
MILES & POINTS....................................................
Gold Rewards Is Now goldpoints plus
...................................
Carlson Hotels has replaced its Gold Rewards program with goldpoints plus.
Members of the new program earn 10 points per $1 spent at participating Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn, Country Inns and Suites and Radisson SAS hotels.
The new program has 2 elite tiers, offering bonus points and special treatment for frequent stayers, and allows members to earn points-for-purchases at more than 100 online retailers through the Gold Points Reward Network.
More: http://www.goldpointsplus.com/
Double Delta Miles at Novotel, Sofitel Hotels
.............................................
Through Apr. 30, SkyMiles members will earn double miles for public rate stays at Novotel and Sofitel hotels.
More: http://delta.com/skymiles/getmiles/hotel_partners/hotel_lto/index.jsp
Charge Delta Flights to Earn Triple SkyMiles
............................................
SkyMiles members will earn triple miles for every eligible Delta purchase of $265 or more charged to a Delta SkyMiles credit card or Delta SkyMiles Business credit card from American Express between Feb. 15 and Mar. 15.
Registration is required.
More: https://www109.americanexpress.com/
Independence Doubles the Points
...............................
Members of Independence Air's iCLUB frequent flyer program will earn double iPOINTS for all Independence Air flights booked online at FLYi.com and completed by June 30.
More: http://www.flyi.com/
Northwest Doubles Rental Miles
..............................
Between Mar. 1 and May 31, WorldPerks members will earn a 25% bonus for 2 qualifying car rentals, a 50% bonus for 3 rentals, and a 100% bonus for 4 rentals. If the rentals are charged to a WorldPerks Visa card (Platinum, Signature or Business), the bonuses will be doubled. WorldPerks car rental partners are Alamo, Dollar, National and Thrifty.
Registration is required.
More: http://www.nwa.com/offers/mileagedriver
Double TripRewards at W. Canada Ramadas
.......................................
Members of Cendant Hotels' TripRewards program will earn double Points for qualifying stays at Ramada hotels in Western Canada between Feb. 3 and Apr. 30.
Follow the link below for a list of participating properties.
More: http://tr.triprewards.com/TripRewards/control/ramadacawest
United Bonus at Ameritrade
..........................
Through Mar. 31, Mileage Plus members can earn up to 25,000 bonus miles when opening a new trading account at Ameritrade.
For an initial deposit of $1,000, the bonus is 3,000 miles; a $5,000 deposit earns 8,000 miles; and a $50,000 deposit earns 25,000 miles.
More: http://www.ameritrade.com/united/
Bonus from United Cruises (CORRECTION)
......................................
[In last week's Crier, we mistakenly reported that the deadline for completing travel to earn the online booking bonus is Jan. 31. The correct end date is Dec. 31. Here's the corrected story.]
Mileage Plus members will earn 2005 bonus miles for cruises booked online by Apr. 30 at United Cruises. Travel must be completed by Dec. 31.
The bonus is combinable with other mileage offers, including a bonus of up to 25,000 miles for Celebrity Cruises booked by Feb. 28.
More: http://www.united.com/cruises
5,000-Mile Bonus for US Air Packages
....................................
Dividend Miles members will earn 5,000 bonus miles for Bermuda travel packages at The Fairmont Hamilton Princess or The Fairmont Southampton booked at USAirwaysVacations.com by Feb. 28 and completed by Apr. 30.
Packages include air, hotel and airport transfers.
More: http://www.usairwaysvacations.com//dble_divmiles.asp
STEALS & DEALS....................................................
Deal Alert from SmarterTravel.com
................................
1) Europe Fares on Icelandair from $234
Europe-bound travelers departing from Baltimore, Boston, Minneapolis, New York, or Orlando should check Icelandair's new Europe sale. Prices start at $234 roundtrip, and destinations include London, Paris, and Reykjavik.
Travel at the lowest prices is valid on Mondays through Thursdays through Mar. 31. Book tickets by Feb. 28. Fares require a Saturday-night stay, and the maximum stay is 30 days. Travel from Apr. through Aug. is available at higher prices. New York departures are valid beginning on Mar. 11.
More: http://www.smartertravel.com/air/deal.php?id=8233
2) Sale Fares on America West from $39
Plan your domestic spring travel now with America West's latest sale. Prices start at $39 1-way, and destinations include Las Vegas; Portland, OR; San Diego; Seattle; and more.
Travel is valid through June 6. Book tickets online, at least 14 days in advance, and by Mar. 3.
More: http://www.smartertravel.com/air/deal.php?id=8320
SWEEPS & FREEBIES.................................................
Win a Celebrity Cruise
......................
Enter the Celebrity Cruise's Pole-to-Pole sweepstakes by Mar. 31 for a chance to win a cruise for 2 to your choice of the Arctic, the Antarctic or the Galapagos Islands, including roundtrip airfare and transfers to the cruise's departure port. Other prizes include Caribbean cruises, computer bags and martini-making kits.
More: https://rccl.bridgetrack.com/sweeps/pole/entry_form.htm
[Visit http://frequentflier.com/sweeps.htm for more travel sweepstakes.]
READER RANTS & RAVES..............................................
Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel
......................................
"Despite Continental's claim that elite upgrades are processed beginning 5 days prior to departure, they don't release any seats if coach is mostly full. Now that they have lowered first class fares, Continental's always witty and sometimes clever pricing department sometimes prices first below coach. This means an elite member could actually pay a higher price for a coach seat and end up staying in coach because they decided at a later date to sell lower priced first class seats to random customers. I thought all airline stupidity was due to attempts at maximizing the revenue they get for each seat? Here we have a clear and unambiguous example of an airline not only making the wrong choice to maximize seat revenue, but also doing it in a way that angers its best customers." (OG - NWA Platinum, Louisville, KY)
.........../
[In response to a rant in last week's Crier, wherein a US Air agent sent his daughter back to the check-in counter to obtain a new boarding pass because she'd put the original in her mouth...]
"All who work with the public are trained to assume that everyone has a communicable disease until proven otherwise. Sad to say but it's a new world out there--others don't want to handle something that's been in your mouth. Also, the gate agent could have handled it with more understanding." (Rich)
.........../
FrequentFlier, I have just read two of three rants this week. I am just majorly unhappy with the ignorance that some persons have surrounding different subjects.
"First, in response to the mother, complaining about that her daughter flying to Germany, had placed her ticket between her lips, and was then going to give it to a representative to broad the plane. I would give her hell and certainly tell her to get another ticket too! Are people not aware of the diseases that people can transfer with their saliva?? One being Hepatitis B and C, which may I add can stay ALIVE on her ticket for a week. So, anyone that would touch it, can be exposed to a very deadly disease. Give the guy a break. Has she read anything on the SARS outbreak, 800 strains of pneumonia, etc. Don't put your ticket in your mouth, ... etc. Your body and your diseases.
"Secondly, The women who was charged $10 a ticket because she could [not] use a computer. She can sure e-mail the Crier to complain though. I'll give twenty bucks for my tickets free to the Maldives Islands that usually cost $3,000 to $6,900 each.
"Come on people!!!" (Wendy)
.........../
"I work for Delta AirLines and just wanted Michael (who complained about having to pay a $10 ticketing fee for over the phone issuance of an international award ticket) that he had to pay that fee because there is no way to book award travel on the web site, it MUST be booked over the phone. Not all award travel needs to be, but international does. There is much more involved with proper names etc, matching passports, which unfortunately, many people are oblivious to. They don't seem to realize that airlines can be fined if everything is not correct. Some people just like to complain.... even for $10. Sorry if it took away from his vacation.
"P.S. If $10 is going to ruin your international vacation, maybe you're not ready to go yet!" (Amy)
........../
"I recently booked a flight and traveled on VAA [the "other" British airline, whose very name triggers spam filters] from Newark, NJ to London. I only paid about $288 roundtrip for the ticket and booked the ticket through the VAA website. Since I don't belong to the VAA frequent flier program I decided to earn miles for this trip with their partner, Delta Air Lines. However, about a month after traveling the miles still didn't appear in my Delta SkyMiles account. After writing Delta and providing them copies of my ticket receipt and boarding passes I was told that Delta does not award miles to any bookings made in the "L" class of service. They also advised me to check the Delta website for the most accurate information on mileage rules. When I did this I found out that it does not state that "L" class of service on VAA cannot earn miles. It shows the restricted classes of service for all of their other airline partners but shows VAA as having no restrictions. How are travelers supposed to know these rules if they cannot be found in writing? And why would Delta advise me to check their website when it's not even mentioned on their website?" (Todd in Albany, NY)
.........../
"Please warn all prospective members of the United Silver Wings program to read all the small print and between the lines before joining the program. The promised discount tickets have many, many restrictions.
"In the original PR I saw about the program, I was made to think that I would get a $100 off coupon for any trip between the United States and Europe using Lufthansa and/or United. The ticket price had to be over $450. I tried to order tickets from United online but was unable to do so. I then called United and tried to make my reservations with the discount. The United agent told me she would reserve seats for my husband and me but we would have to send in the coupons or go to the nearest airport to complete the transaction.
"Since we live close to Dulles, I went to the United counter there. After 30 minutes of trying to book the tickets with the discount by computer, the agent called her help desk. They were unable to assist her. Finally she read the small print which showed that only a few designated classes of tickets were eligible for use with the $100 United discount coupon. I would have had to purchase a ticket for $300plus extra to get the $100 discount.
"My husband and I had specifically purchased our United Silver Wings Plus memberships in order to take advantage of the discount to Europe. United's answer to my questions about this issue was to say that if I wanted a refund, I should return all the materials they had sent me.
"Beware of premium offers from United!" (LS - Reston, VA)
.........../
If you have a rant or a rave, e-mail us at rants@frequentflier.com.
Until next week...
|
