Check Your Passport, Join the (Long) Line

We alerted Crier readers to the new rules which took effect in January, requiring U.S. citizens to present a valid passport when returning to the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.

According to the State Department website: "ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, if applicable."

We wondered at the time whether the beefed-up requirement would overload the passport-issuing operation and cause a backlog in applications, especially in the run-up to the summer travel crush.

It has done exactly that.

As a result of the increase in applications, new passport requests can take as long as 10 weeks to fulfill. And even the expedited service, which costs $60, takes two weeks or more.

If your summer plans call for a new passport, review your options on the State Department website and begin the application process without delay.

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FrequentFlier Forum Topics

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

Do bonus miles (as opposed to regular miles) count toward extending the life of previously earned miles? Cowboyinbrla, posting on the "Airline Programs" Forum, thought so, but Delta begged to differ. "Their response was that these were 'Bonus Miles' (which are nowhere defined on the SkyMiles website) earned through a partner and don't count towards extending your mileage expiration. There's no indication anywhere on the Delta/SkyMiles site that these would be any different from regular partner-earned miles."

And in the "Hotel Programs" Forum, limorider100 wants to regain his elite status: "Does anyone know if Hilton HHonors still offers incentives to get back your status once it is downgraded for lack of stays? Is there a way to get Gold/Diamond status without staying 16/28 occasions?"

Questions, answers? Post them to the Forum!

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Alaska Doubles Miles for Santa Rosa Flights

Through June 30, Mileage Plan members will earn double miles on Alaska flights between Santa Rosa/Sonoma County and Los Angeles or Seattle.

Registration is required.

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Double American Miles for Raleigh/Durham Flights

Between May 1 and July 31, AAdvantage members will earn double miles on newly launched American Eagle flights between Raleigh/Durham, NC, and Kansas City, Jacksonville, FL, or Louisville, KY.

Registration is required.

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More Continental Miles at Caribbean Wyndhams

Through July 1, Continental OnePass members can earn double or triple miles for qualifying stays at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts and Viva Wyndham All-Inclusive Resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean.

To earn the bonus, guests must provide a Wyndham ByRequest membership number when making reservations and have their earning preference set to Continental OnePass miles.

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Up to 25K Delta Bonus Miles for Partner Transactions

Between April 1 and May 31, SkyMiles members can earn 5,000 bonus miles for as many as five "unique partner activities."

"Only one activity per partner is allowed, only one Buy Miles activity is allowed, only one SkyRewards partner (e.g., SkyMall, LATHER, Organic Bouquet, Vinesse, Great American Days, Samsonite and Java City) activity is allowed, and only one SkyMiles Credit Card activity is allowed." See Delta's website for more fine print defining what constitutes a unique partner activity.

Registration is required.

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Frontier Doubles the Miles Between Denver and Louisville

Between April 1 and May 15, members of Frontier's EarlyReturns program will earn double miles for nonstop Denver-Louisville flights.

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Northwest Offers Double Duluth Miles

Through May 31, WorldPerks members will earn double miles for Northwest flights from Duluth to selected cities as listed on Northwest's website. (This is a competitive response to a similar offer from Midwest.)

Registration is required.

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Deal Alert from SmarterTravel.com

1) JetBlue Spring Fares from $39 Each Way

JetBlue has announced a new spring sale with fares from $39 one-way. Destinations include Boston, Las Vegas, New York, Orlando, and Aruba.

Travel on most routes is valid from April 23 through June 19. Days of the week vary by route. Fares require up to a 21-day advance purchase and must be booked by April 20.

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2) Spring Fares to/from Denver on Frontier from $98

Through Thursday, Frontier has a sale on flights through Denver. Destinations include Los Angeles, New York, Cancun, and Vancouver.

Travel is valid through June 13 on off-peak days. (Domestic and Canada fares are valid from 12 p.m. on Mondays through 12 p.m. on Thursdays, and from 12 p.m. through 12 a.m. on Saturdays, and Mexico fares are valid Mondays through Thursdays.) Book U.S. and Canada tickets at least 10 days in advance, and by April 12. Frontier has not listed an advance-purchase requirement for Mexico fares.

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Win a Trip for 2 to Israel

Through April 30, enter Continental Airlines' "FLY AWAY" sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip for two to Israel, including air and four nights' hotel accommodation.

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

Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel

"I am having a problem redeeming my air miles.

"My husband & I are thinking of giving up our cards due to the fact that we cannot seem to redeem miles readily anymore. For example, we haven't been able to upgrade to business class for the past 2 years. We are required to buy H tickets to allow us the privilege of the possibility of upgrading however. We arrive 4-5 hours prior to our scheduled flight only to be turned down.

"We have had gold United Airlines Chase visa cards for well over 10 years. I realize that there are more people utilizing their cards these days but there just isn't a point in having one if you can't ever redeem your points. This year we decided to use all our miles so that we could finally discontinue using them. Remember, we also pay a fee once a year to keep these cards. I called in March to try and schedule a flight to Germany or Italy in September or October. They publish the fact that if we use the saver plan it will cost us 80,000 miles each round trip and that the standard plan requires you to us to use 180,000 miles for a round trip. Unfortunately, I only have 140,000. I was told that we could schedule a trip on the standard plan but that they did not release ANY tickets for the saver plan clients. My question is why do they even advertise this? I was told to schedule my trips off season, Jan. or Feb. and I would be able to get plenty of upgrades and full tickets. I would rather stay home than visit these countries in the freezing rain or snow, not to mention that our businesses do not allow us to vacation during that time of year.

"I even wrote to Lufthansa, a member of the Star Alliance with United and they told me the same thing. Travel in the winter. I always feel cheated when I can't upgrade my tickets after paying for a H ticket only to find myself sitting next to someone who didn't pay for a special fee ticket who is enjoying the same treatment as I'm receiving.

"I would appreciate it if you could give me information on how I can redeem these miles this year so that my husband & I can finally cut our cards in pieces.

"Thanks a million." [Carole B.]

[FrequentFlier.com replies - This is too complex a topic to tackle in this section. Suffice it to say that we will be posting a feature on the FrequentFlier.com website which explores strategies and tactics for successfully securing award seats in this era of maddening capacity restrictions.]

"US Airways has canceled my frequent flyer mileage. I have been a member since 1990. I will admit, it has been a long time since I have had any activity on US Airways. I called them 2 years ago and they said I had 36,000 miles. I was not notified of the cancellation. Is there anything I can do?" [Jim B.]

[FrequentFlier.com replies - US Airways made a good faith effort to notify Dividend Miles members of the recent change in mileage expiration policies, so members who lost their miles have no legal recourse. However, it's always worth contacting US Airways and pleading your case. There's a chance they will be willing to reinstate the expired miles as a goodwill gesture. Let us know if you have any luck.]

"Starting in June, Spirit will start charging $10.00 to check each bag. Will they charge extra not to lose the luggage?" [Steve S.]

Until next week...