Issue #87  --  March 30, 2000

<< U P F R O N T >>

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The Pudding Guy Weighs In
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Just when I thought the buzz generated by last year's Healthy Choice promotion was winding down, I find a note in my inbox from no less a personage than the Pudding Guy himself, reprinted below:

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Hi,

I'm the guy referenced in your March 23 issue that earned more than a million miles through the Healthy Choice promotion buying $0.25 cups of chocolate pudding. I've spoken with the people responsible for this promotion several times since the media picked up my story, and I thought I'd pass along a little information.

First, a little about my experience. I sent in my UPCs back in May of last year, so my order wasn't part of the avalanche that Healthy Choice received towards the end of December. Like another reader wrote, I also went to considerable effort to make the order as easy to process as possible. I put 10 UPCs per page, numbered each page, and noted references on each receipt. However, I still had to wait a long time for my certificates. Then I had to wait on the airlines. My miles weren't posted with American until January of this year.

The folks at ConAgra tell me that the response to this promotion was nearly double what they expected. This is at the heart of the delays. I heard from them this week, and they said they're working extremely hard to get the certificates out to everyone as soon as possible. I'm sure everyone will get their miles in the end. Remain patient, and don't start booking those tickets quite yet.

Sincerely,
David Phillips

  ================== end quote ===================

Sounds like good advice. And David has certainly earned the right to be called an expert in the miles-for-pudding field.

In a subsequent exchange of e-mails, David added 2 further points of interest regarding his epic mileage quest: 1) he invested 40-80 hours in the project; and 2), he managed NOT to gain weight, in spite of the pudding glut, "because 12,150 cups of pudding weigh over 2,600 pounds, and I had to haul them around countless times in the process!"

<< M I L E S >>

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US Airways' "Sorry" Miles
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As we've come to expect from airlines attempting to regain momentum after an actual or threatened strike, US Airways is strewing the comeback trail with bonus miles and fare discounts.

US Airways is offering customers double Dividend Miles for all US Airways, US Airways Shuttle, US Airways Express and MetroJet flights taken through May 15, 2000.

And, making the offer all the more attractive, the bonus miles count toward Preferred Status.

As an added incentive, customers will receive 5,000 bonus Dividend Miles the first time that a reservation is made online and 1,000 bonus Dividend Miles thereafter, for tickets purchased roundtrip through usairways.com on US Airways, the US Airways Express carriers, US Airways Shuttle or MetroJet through June 30, 2000.

In a separate but related move, US Airways is discounting tickets purchased through April 3. See the article below, in the "Steals & Deals" section.

>> More <<
US Airways

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Austrian Joins Star Alliance
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The Austrian Airlines Group joined Star Alliance on March 26, becoming the 10th member of the global alliance.

The group comprises Austrian Airlines, Lauda Air and Tyrolean Airways, serving more than 120 destinations in 67 countries with a combined fleet of some 90 aircraft. Almost 8 million passengers used their services in 1999.

With the new addition, the Star Alliance members are: SAS, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA- All Nippon Airways, Ansett Australia, Austrian Airlines Group, Lufthansa German Airlines, Thai Airways International, United Airlines and VARIG Brazilian Airlines.

Singapore Airlines is set to join the alliance next month, to be followed later this year by Mexicana Airlines and British Midland Airways.

>> More <<
Star Alliance

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Northwest Gives Miles for (E) Mail
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We received a heads-up from a Crier reader about the following Northwest offer, and included it in a recent "Reader Rants & Raves" section of The Crier. Northwest just this week communicated the promotion to the general public, and made available full terms and conditions of the offer. Here 'tis...

Northwest will give 1,000 WorldPerks bonus miles to passengers who register Northwest email updates. Customers must register their email online by April 30, 2000.

The email updates will contain special promotions, announcements of new routes or services, WorldPerks information, weekly CyberSavers markets and WorldVacation package offers.

Passengers will have 500 bonus miles deposited into their WorldPerks account four to six weeks after registration. An additional 500 Bonus Miles will be deposited in members accounts in September 2000, if the member remains registered in the online email database. WorldPerks members must provide their WorldPerks number and a valid e-mail address and agree to receive promotional emails from Northwest Airlines. Current e-mail registrants can also qualify for the promotion. The offer is valid for WorldPerks members residing in the 50 U.S. states and Canada.

>> More <<
Register at Northwest's site

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Cathay Awards Flights for Fewer AAdvantage Miles
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Cathay Pacific is discounting award flights for summer travel.

Through July 30, 2000, AAdvantage members can request awards at the lower levels for travel between June 1 - August 31, 2000. Required AAdvantage miles--normal and reduced--are as follows:

From N. America to:      Normal         Reduced
                          Miles           Miles

>> Economy Class
Hong Kong                70,000          55,000
Asia, Japan              75,000          60,000
Pacific, Middle East
or Africa                85,000          70,000

>> Business Class
Hong Kong                85,000          70,000
Asia, Japan              95,000          75,000
Pacific, Middle East
or Africa               100,000          85,000

>> First Class
Hong Kong               125,000          90,000
Asia, Japan             135,000          95,000
Pacific, Middle East
or Africa               140,000         105,000

Miles required for upgrades are also available at lower levels.

>> More <<
American

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Triple ClickMiles for New ClickRewards Members
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If you're not a member of the ClickRewards program, you can enroll now and earn triple ClickMiles through April 1, 2000.

This offer is co-sponsored by Delta, and you must enroll on the special sign-up page referenced below.

>> More <<
Triple-mile sign-up page

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Canadain Bows Out of Oneworld
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Beginning June 1, Canadian Airlines' name will no longer be included on the Oneworld alliance partner roster.

Canadian was a founding member of Oneworld, along with American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. Canadian announced late last year that it would withdraw from Oneworld after it was purchased by Air Canada, a member of the competing Star Alliance group.

For now, Canadian will remain a partner in American's AAdvantage program.

>> More <<
Canadian

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

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Deal Alert from SmarterLiving.com
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Two hot deals from SmarterLiving.com...

>> Fare War: Domestic, Caribbean, and International Fares from $160 R/T

US Airways has put select domestic, Caribbean and international travel on sale, with round-trip fares starting at $160. US Airways will take an additional 5% off tickets purchased online.

For more details, go here.

>> AirTran's Grade A Deals from $68 Round-Trip!

AirTran Airlines has put between April 3 and June 8 on sale, with round-trip fares starting at $68. Tickets must be purchased by April 3.

For more details, go here.

<< B U S I N E S S T R A V E L T I P S >>

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Things to Know Before You Go
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The following is part of a continuing series of business travel tips from Chris McGinnis's "The Unofficial Business Traveler's Pocket Guide--165 Tips Even the Best Business Travelers May Not Know."

>> Some Final Pretrip Tips (Part 1 of 2)

o Always write down your hotel and car rental confirmation numbers on your airline ticket jacket or in your daily organizer. These numbers are vital if your reservation is lost, the computers are down, or you are denied your room or car. When getting your confirmation number, ask for your reservationist's name. The reservationist will be more likely to make sure that all parts of your reservation are correct if she knows her name is attached to it.

o To get the lowest rate, you must ask for it two or three times throughout the reservations process. Reservationists are trained not to give away the store if they don't have to, so be sure to ask. "Is this the lowest rate available?" "Are there any specials on now?" "Can I get a better deal?" "Is the corporate rate the lowest rate?" "What other cheaper rates are available?" "What do I have to do to qualify for the cheapest rate?" Check airfares before you depart. Has a low-cost carrier recently added flights to your destination, and brought down fares across the board? Shop around at the car rental counters for the best rate; use your reservation only if you can't find a better deal.

Chris McGinnis
Travel Skills Group
http://www.travelskills.com

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

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Mileage Cards #1
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I personally use an AMEX optima card through Starwood that allows us to transfer the points to ANY of our airline accounts in small or large blocks as well as our children's account. We earn 1 mile for 1 dollar. I think you really missed out on this one, not only is AMEX the best company to deal with as a consumer but having the flexibility to deal with all my frequent flyer accounts with one card is the easiest way to earn what I need.

 - Susan

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Mileage Cards #2
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I read with great interest your newletter every week.

I noticed 2 things this time:

1. In your article about mileage card you forgot the clickrewards/compubank debit card. Go to www.compubank.com and click on the clickreward logo. Basically it offers 1 clickmile for each dollar spent. The best is this unknown deal with UAL: http://www.clickrewards.com/promotions/ualmarch.html which offers from March 1st to June 15th double miles on UAL for every dollar spent. Even clickrewards didn't know about the offer !!

2. Your link to FF program data disclosure is dead.

 - Havane

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AirTran Service... Not
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One of the difficulty of flying the AirTran carrier is the delays.

Mechanical problems results in AirTran flying in mechanics, since one of the cost cutting moves is not base AirTran mechanics in all cities. One example is the #957 connecting flight I had last week from Atlanta to DFW. Delayed over 5 1/2 hours, with no possibility of going to another airlines, because no other airlines will honor the tickets. The flight originated from Memphis, which had no mechanics to fix a pressure gauge problem. They were flying two mechanics in from New Orleans to Memphis, but the mechanics flight was delayed due to mechanical problems.. Result - extremely angry passengers in a terminal which had no food service and which customer service did not come to the gate until the flight was delayed 4 hours.

Request then demands for vouchers resulted in a insulting offer of $25 towards future flights.

My 6:32 arrival turned into midnight. The memory of D** [name withheld], the team captain from customer service is unpleasantly imprinted on my brain after he repeatedly talked down to and insulted passengers.

In the words of one customer service rep, you get what you pay for on a discount airline.

 - Barbara

<< T R A V E L O N L I N E >>

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Gomez Rates Airline Websites
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o Which is the best airline website overall?
o Which is best for business travelers?
o Which inspires the most consumer confidence?
o Which sites let consumers choose from all major airlines when searching a flight?

These are some of the questions addressed by the Gomez Spring 2000 survey of airline websites.

According to the Gomez scorecard, United, Northwest and Continental have the best websites overall. Alaska got top honors for ease of use. And Delta's site was judged best for Internet airfare shopping.

In addition to rankings along a variety of axes, there's a review of each site showing its key benefits and shortfalls.

>> More <<
Gomez airline website ratings

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VARIG Will Auction Seats Online
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VARIG Brazilian Airlines will hold three separate Internet auctions during the next two months, beginning April 3 and ending May 15, allowing prospective travelers to bid for both one-way and roundtrip flights from New York and Miami to several destinations in Brazil. Bidding is via the airline's North American website. A minimum of 5 seats on each flight for which bids are being accepted will be awarded to successful bidders.

The 3 auction periods will be April 3-17, April 18-May 1, and May 2-15. Destinations to be auctioned in Brazil include Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Fortaleza, Recife, Belem and Manaus from Miami. Departure dates southbound are April 24-June 03, while northbound travel dates are April 25-June 04, 2000.

The auction is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada over the age of 18 and only on VARIG operated flights. All travel must originate in the U.S.

>> More <<
VARIG

<< F R E Q U E N T F L I E R F U N N I E S >>

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True (Funny) Travel Stories
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A man called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that this is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked at the map and Florida is a very thin state."

                             * * *

I got a call from a man who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I replied, "No." He said, "But they look so close on the map."

[FrequentFlier Funnies are true stories told by pilots, reservations agents and other travel industry professionals, from William Joric's "Air Sick Humor." The book can be purchased at the FrequentFlier Bookstore at http://frequentflier.com/ffp-books.htm]

Until next week...