U P F R O N T
Gentlemen, Start Earning Points
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You may have heard the term 'NASCAR dads' used to refer to a demographic group targeted in recent political campaigns. (NASCAR claims 75 million fans and stock-car racing is the country's largest spectator sport.)
The NASCAR connection resurfaced again this week with the launch of Best Western's Speed Rewards program.
According to David Kong, Best Western's Sr. VP Marketing and Development, Speed Rewards is a subset of the chain's well established Gold Crown Club International (GCCI) program, with the same earning and redemption opportunities at its core but different lifestyle-focused features at the margins.
In explaining the new program's marketing premise, Kong cited an "exact match" between the demographics of Best Western customers and NASCAR fans. That correspondence in turn suggested the opportunity to create a program with "lifestyle relevance" to that group.
At the most superficial level, all Speed Rewards-related collateral -- membership cards, print pieces, etc. -- will have a racing motif. More substantively, the program's reward side will include jackets, caps and other merchandise with NASCAR logos and racing themes. And there will be periodic NASCAR-themed special events, such as the launch sweepstakes (see "Sweeps & Freebies" below).
While there are no program-specific earning partners yet, negotiations are underway to add various NASCAR-related earning opportunities to Speed Rewards.
One can imagine extending this lifestyle-segmentation tactic to create ever-more targeted iterations of a given program, not unlike the strategy of some credit-card issuers who offer affinity cards for bass fishermen, Yankee fans, alumni of various colleges and universities, and so on.
But affinity segmentation is no guarantee of success. The law of diminishing returns would suggest that the approach will work cost-effectively only with the largest consumer groups. And there is the danger of overpopulating the loyalty program universe, leaving consumers confused and ambivalent.
One is reminded of the AOL AAdvantage program, launched with great fanfare and even greater expectations, but which never gained traction with the digitally inclined segment of the market and was finally unceremoniously shut down.
For now, we're in the wait-and-see stage of a race which has only just begun.
For more information and to enroll, see http://www.goldcrownclub.com/.
Current GCCI members who wish to convert their memberships to the Speed Rewards program may call the GCCI customer-service center at 1-800-237-8483. Any GCCI earnings will be carried over to the new Speed Rewards account so there's no penalty for switching.
<< O N S I T E >>
FrequentFlier Forum Topics
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Paula wonders whether BA can refuse to redeposit her miles if she has to cancel an award trip. George explains why he's walking away from the miles and points game forever. Gary discovers "mystery miles" in his account. 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 >>
America West Offers Elite for 1st Class
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To promote its aggressively discounted first-class fares, America West is offering FlightFund members silver elite status after 3 first-class roundtrips and gold after 6 roundtrips.
Qualifying tickets must be purchased between Mar. 4 and June 30, and travel completed by Sept. 6.
Registration is required.
> More...
Cingular Offers OnePass Bonus for Telecom Services
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Continental OnePass members can earn up to 10,000 OnePass miles by signing up online for new wireless service at Cingular.com.
Earn 5,000 miles for activating a data-only plan on Cingular's Mobitex network or a calling plan costing $29.99 - $59.99 per month.
Earn 10,000 miles for calling plans costing $60 per month or more.
> More...
Delta's Magazines-for-Miles Goes Online
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SkyMiles members may now redeem miles online for subscriptions to selected magazines and newspapers, including Time, the Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, etc.
Subscriptions begin at 400 miles and can be as high as 7,200 miles for the daily Hollywood Reporter.
To promote the program, members will receive a 1-time bonus of 100 miles for their first subscription order placed on or before June 15.
> More...
Frontier's Sign-Up Bonus
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Frontier is offering a 1,500-mile enrollment bonus for new EarlyReturns members. Follow the below link.
> More...
Marriott Intros New Rewarding Events Program
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Beginning Apr. 1, meeting and event planners will earn 3 Marriott Rewards points or 1 airline mile for every $1 in eligible meeting charges (rooms, food, beverages, meeting room rental, coffee breaks, audiovisual equipment flowers, props and decorations) at Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance and Courtyard by Marriott hotels through the new Rewarding Events program.
Participants are awarded Silver Elite status after 2 meetings in a calendar year, Gold after 5 meetings and Platinum after 7 meetings.
On the award side, members may earn credits toward future meetings, in addition to the standard Marriott Rewards offerings.
> More...
Northwest/KLM Bonus for Int'l Flights
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WorldPerks members will earn 10,000 bonus miles for each roundtrip international Y/B-fare flight on Northwest or KLM between now and Apr. 15.
Register prior to travel and by Apr. 15.
> More...
Southwest Extends Online Booking Bonus
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In the first of what will probably turn out to be a continuous string of such extensions, Southwest has changed the end date of its online booking bonus from June 30 until Dec. 31, 2004.
The promo: Rapid Rewards members receive 1 bonus credit for each roundtrip, or a half-credit bonus for one-way trips, booked on southwest.com and flown by Dec. 31.
(You will recall that the previous, more generous version of this promo was extended again and again for a total run of 7 years.)
> More...
Double Up at the Mileage Plus Mall
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Through Mar. 31, earn double miles for purchases made through the Mileage Plus Mall at Eddie Bauer and Restoration Hardware, and triple miles at Macys.com. Plus, earn 200 bonus miles plus 4 miles per $1 spent at OfficeMax.com through Apr. 15.
> 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...
Ted Sale Fares from $58
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Take advantage of United's new promotion of its low-cost carrier, Ted, with sale fares from $58 roundtrip. Travel is valid from Apr. 26 through June 11. Purchase tickets at least 14 days in advance, and by Friday, Mar. 19.
With this promotion, Ted is competing with other low-cost carriers JetBlue and Song, and the sale fares were some of the lowest around. Ted's fares were the lowest on 4 of the 5 routes we checked, but it's still worth shopping around to make sure you find the lowest fares on your route.
> More...
London Spring Sale Fares from $286
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Virgin Atlantic has brought back its London spring sale fares for a limited time only. Prices start at $286 roundtrip from a handful of U.S. cities, for travel through May.
Departures from Boston, Los Angeles, or San Francisco are valid through May 30, and you can depart from New York or Washington, D.C., through May 31. The lowest prices from San Francisco are only valid for departures through Apr. 4. Book tickets online only, at least 7 days in advance, and by Wednesday, Mar. 24. Book Boston fares by Friday, Mar. 19.
> More...
<< S W E E P S & F R E E B I E S >>
Enter Best Western's NASCAR Sweepstakes
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Sign up for Best Western's new Speed Rewards program (see "Upfront" above) by Apr. 30 to be automatically entered to win a trip for 2 to any NASCAR race, including air, hotel and a die-cast model car autographed by Michael Waltrip (a famous stock car driver).
Speed Rewards members will receive an additional sweepstakes entry when staying at Best Western through Apr. 30 at BestRates room rates.
> 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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"I have been reading the so called horror stories about Delta. I find them hard to believe.
"Since Jan. 1 when they went to unlimited upgrades I have been upgraded on every flight. I was even upgraded on a coach FF ticket. I guess my luck is just better than most or maybe they have an attitude that ticks the crew off. We encountered one lady who loudly announced 'First Class, coming thru.' She grumbled because they allowed wheel chair types and babies to board ahead of her. Oh, I am only gold elite."
- John
"Last month I tried to redeem some miles with Delta. Because of outsourcing I got static and women whose English was extremely limited. I tried three times and gave up. (Booked a flight on USAir).
"Where can I find out if anyone else is having this problems with Delta????"
- Maureen
[Anyone...?]
Until next week...
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