O N S I T E
FrequentFlier Forum Topics
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As always, there's plenty of activity on the Forum.
Jean provides encouraging news on the Qualiflyer program. Christhian is wondering whether ClickRewards is a worthwhile program. Hugo has a heads-up on a 5,000-mile offer from MCI. Hal is looking to top off his MyPoints account. Charisse says: Let's keep the Prima Rewards conga line moving! Vovchik is searching for OnePass promotions. And much more...
Do you have questions, answers? Post them to the Forum!
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M I L E S & P O I N T S
Alaska Air Raises Award Levels
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Beginning Sep. 1, 2001, members of Alaska's Mileage Plan will have to part with more miles when redeeming for peak and first-class award travel on Alaska and Horizon Air, as well as some international travel. Saver awards for coach travel on Alaska and Horizon -- the largest category -- will remain unchanged.
Current redemption levels will remain valid for award travel booked by midnight, Aug. 31, 2001, for travel through July 31, 2002.
It's a disappointing move, but Alaska gets points for at least giving members 6 month's notice of the change.
Current and new redemption levels for travel awards on Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are as follows:
Redemption Levels
Travel Award Current New
U.S./Canada Coach Saver 20,000 miles Unchanged
U.S./Canada Coach Peak 35,000 miles 40,000 miles
U.S./Canada First Class
Saver 30,000 miles 40,000 miles
U.S./Canada First Class
Peak Award 50,000 miles 60,000 miles
Mexico Coach Saver 30,000 miles Unchanged
Mexico Coach Peak 45,000 miles 60,000 miles
Mexico First Class Saver 45,000 miles 60,000 miles
Mexico First Class Peak 60,000 miles 120,000 miles
For changes in award levels for Mileage Plan partner airlines, see Alaska's website.
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Air Canada Says "Oui, Oui" to Paris
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Aeroplan members can earn double miles for nonstops between Montreal and Paris, from Apr. 1 - 30, 2001. The bonus applies to all published fares.
Paris flights also figure in Air Canada's 50th anniversary promotion: Every time Aeroplan members (Canada residents only) fly anywhere with Air Canada or Air Canada Regional in Executive First or Executive Class on a full-fare J booking class ticket between Apr. 1 and May 31, 2001, they'll automatically be entered in a drawing to win 2 Executive First tickets to Paris.
A total of 25 pairs of tickets (50 tickets) will be drawn at random on June 5, 2001.
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Opt In to Earn US Air Bonus
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Dividend Miles members can earn 500 bonus miles by signing up to receive an e-mail notification when their Dividend Miles statement is posted online. To receive the bonus, log on to your Dividend Miles Account and sign up by June 30, 2001.
Diners Expands Points-to-Miles
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Diners has added American AAdvantage and Delta SkyMiles to its Miles-To-Points option, allowing Club Rewards members to exchange frequent flyer miles for Club Rewards points which can then be redeemed for travel and merchandise from the Club Rewards catalog.
Mileage Plus was already participating in Points-to-Miles, so with the addition of AA and DL, all of the "Big 3" are onboard. Cardmembers may exchange 1 American, Delta, or United mile for 1 Club Rewards point in 10,000-mile increments up to 50,000 miles per year, per program.
Flexibility always comes at a price. Since, on the earning side, you accrue 2 Club Rewards points for every $1 charged, and 2,000 points can be redeemed for 1,000 miles in most airline programs, the Points-to-Miles exchange effectively reduces the value of your miles by 50%. If that sounds steep, remember that it actually compares favorably with the conversion cost incurred with exchanges made through Points.com.
Use Diners Points to Cover Closing Costs
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Also new from Diners, members of Club Rewards can now use their points to cover closing costs when buying or refinancing a home.
By securing a mortgage through CitiMortgage, which offers loans nationwide with a variety of fixed- and adjustable-rate options, Diners Club cardmembers may redeem 20,000 Club Rewards points to help pay for closing costs in $100 increments. CitiMortgage also provides cardmembers with preferred rates, reduced costs, Address Express (a complimentary address change notification service) and a free school report.
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NW Offers 20,000 Miles to "ConnectFirst"
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Northwest passengers who travel twice on full-fare ConnectFirst tickets can earn 20,000 WorldPerks bonus miles. To earn the bonus, complete 2 ConnectFirst roundtrips (8 segments total) through Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit or Memphis between now and June 30, 2001.
You must register for this promotion before traveling, and no later than June 15, either by calling 888-955-7878 or online at http://www.nwa.com/offers/cf20k. Use promotion code 2029.
America West Triples Online Booking Bonus
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Effective Apr. 2, America West is awarding FlightFund members 3,000 bonus miles for every roundtrip ticket purchased at the airline's website for travel completed by June 30, 2001.
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Emirates Available for OnePass Award Boarding
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Effective Apr. 1, Continental OnePass members can redeem miles for award flights on Emirates.
Emirates awards begin at 80,000 miles for a roundtrip off-peak coach ticket between North America and India, Africa, or the Middle East.
Emirates has been a OnePass accrual partner since Aug. 1, 2000.
Online Rewards Watch
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> ClickRewards
Netcentives, parent company of ClickRewards, has reorganized its top management team and announced plans to cut 120 staff.
> MilePoint
In other personnel-related news, MilePoint.com has added 3 trophy directors to its board: Bob Crandall (former American Air chief), Sky Magary (longtime marketing exec with Northwest and United Shuttle president), and Joe Ueberroth (president of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Organizing Committee and former Commissioner of Major League Baseball, among other credits).
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...
Domestic and International Savings from American
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American Airlines has announced a fare sale on domestic and international travel with savings to destinations in North, Central, and South America, as well as to select cities in Europe.
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Travel Sales to/from the Eastern and Southeastern U.S.
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US Airways and Midway Airlines are offering savings on travel to/from the Eastern and Southeastern U.S. Fares are available for travel through Aug. 12. Purchase tickets by Monday, Apr. 9.
> More...
I N D U S T R Y N E W S B I T E S
Airline Quality: Declining
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The 2000 Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study was released on Monday, confirming what we already knew anecdotally to be the case: airline service continues to worsen.
The AQR ranked the 10 major airlines as follows for 2000, from best to worst: 1) Delta, 2) Alaska, 3) Southwest, 4) U.S. Airways, 5) Northwest, 6) American, 7) Continental, 8) TWA, 9) United and 10) America West.
Highlights--
o On-time performance of the 10 major carriers fell from 76.1% in 1999 to 72.6% in 2000.
o Complaints received by the DOT increased from 2.48 per 100,000 passengers to 2.98.
o Mishandled baggage incidents increased from 5.08 for every 1,000 bags checked to 5.29.
The study is conducted annually by Wichita State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute. The full report is available online here.
AA to Impose Surcharge for Paper Tickets
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BusinessWeek reports that American will, beginning Apr. 9, charge customers a $10 fee for issuing paper tickets. A number of travel organizations have taken exception to the surcharge, and not just because it makes travel more expensive. Here's the position of AAA, the largest leisure travel association in the U.S.:
"Until airlines establish systems that will allow air passengers to easily exchange their electronic tickets when forced to by delays, cancellations or other unexpected events, the airlines have no business asking travelers to pay extra for requesting a paper ticket. As air travelers currently endure one strike by Comair employees, and face the daunting prospect of possible strikes by major airlines employees this summer, paper tickets become a necessity to the traveler, not a luxury."
Expedia Won't Charge for KL/NW Bookings
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In a recent issue, we reported on the KLM/Northwest joint move to stop paying commissions for tickets sold by online travel agencies. In response, Travelocity, the largest online agency, imposed a $10 service fee for KL/NW tickets, and we suggested Expedia, the Internet's second largest online agency, could be expected to either follow Travelocity's lead, or simply stop selling KL/NW tickets altogether. In a surprise move, Expedia announced this week that it WILL continue selling KL/NW tickets, but that it WON'T charge consumers a fee for doing so. Expedia's official statement on their new agreement with KL/NW: "The terms are not material to Expedia's financial results. Details of the agreement are confidential."
Until next week...
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