Issue #89  --  April 13, 2000

<< U P F R O N T >>

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Dreaming of Amex, Not
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Thanks to everyone (too many to list by name) who responded to last week's request for a sanity check.

As it turns out, I wasn't dreaming... the American Express promotion I thought I'd heard advertised does indeed exist. (If it hadn't, I was prepared to seek out a psychiatrist with expertise in the area of frequent-flyer-miles obsession.)

In fact, there are 3 slightly different promotions currently in effect. For specifics, see the "Miles" section below.

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Debit Cards Earn Miles, Too
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While not as pervasive as mileage-earning credit and charge cards, there are debit cards which award miles for purchases. Actually there are only 2 such cards. But if either complements your overall mileage strategy, it could be worth considering.

The full article is up on the site at http://frequentflier.com/ff041200.htm.

<< M I L E S >>

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Amex Bonuses for Gas, Supermarket Purchases
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As mentioned above, there are actually 3 distinct promotions now in effect for various permutations of Amex card--the various Amex-branded cards linked to Membership Rewards, the Delta SkyMiles card (an Amex-issued Optima card), and the Hilton Credit Card from American Express (also issued by Amex).

In each case, cardholders earn bonuses for gasoline and supermarket purchases between April 1 and June 15. The bonuses themselves differ, however, as do geographic requirements.

>> American Express Membership Rewards
American Express cardholders in select U.S. cities earn double Membership Rewards points for purchases made at supermarkets and gas stations between April 1 and June 15.

Cardholders who live in the following cities will earn double points every time an eligible American Express card (which MUST be linked to the Membership Rewards program) is used to pay for purchases at participating supermarkets and gas stations: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Atlanta.

>> Delta SkyMiles Credit Card
Holders of Classic, Gold and Platinum Delta SkyMiles credit cards will earn double miles every time they use their cards for purchases at participating supermarkets and gas stations from April 1 through June 15. Unlike the Membership Rewards offer, the Delta version is national--no restrictions on which cities a member uses for his billing address.

>> Hilton Credit Card from American Express
In the case of the Hilton card, the difference is in the bonusing rate: instead of double the normal rate, Hilton cardholders earn 3 HHonors points instead of 2, for a 50% bonus.

>> More <<
o American Express
o Delta
o Hilton

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America West Double Miles
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America West is offering double FlightFund frequent flyer award miles for select coast-to-coast itineraries purchased through www.americawest.com. Tickets must be purchased by April 16, 2000, for travel between April 17 and June 30, 2000.

Customers who purchase any ticket for travel through Dec. 31, 2000, on the America West website also receive 1,000 FlightFund bonus miles.

Sample mileage earnings, including 1,000 bonus miles, follow.

    Market Award Miles Earned (Round-trip)
    Atlanta - Los Angeles 8,784
    Boston - Burbank, Calif. 11,400
    Newark, N.J. - Ontario, Calif. 10,636
    Los Angeles - Miami 10,368
    Orange County, Calif. - Philadelphia 10,516
    Ontario, Calif. - New York/JFK 10,720

>> More <<
America West

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Star Alliance to Add More Partners
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Beginning July 1, 2000, the Star Alliance will have 2 additional airline partners: British Midland and Mexicana.

The new additions will bring to 15 the number of Star partners, making it far and away the largest of the airline global alliances.

>> More <<
Star Alliance

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Continental Offers Miles for Online Trading
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Continental this week announced a partnership allowing OnePass members to earn miles for investing.

Effective April 10, DLJdirect, the online brokerage service of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, will become a partner in the OnePass program, Continental's frequent flyer program.

OnePass members will earn miles when they do their online trading through DLJdirect, earning 10,000 miles when they open and activate a DLJdirect account with a minimum $10,000 account transfer or deposit.

>> More <<
o Continental
o DLJdirect

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Wyndham Is New America West FlightFund Partner
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Beginning April 15, America West FlightFund members will be able to earn miles for stays at participating Wyndham hotels.

FlightFund members will earn 500 miles for every qualified stay at any of Wyndham's 168 properties in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. And as a launch promotion, from April 15 to June 30, 2000, FlightFund members will earn triple miles, or 1,500 miles, for every qualifying stay.

>> More <<
o America West
o Wyndham

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Wyndham Offers Triple Miles in 10 Airline Programs
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With the addition of America West (see above), Wyndham will partner with 10 airline programs. And between April 15 and June 30, 2000, frequent flyer members who stay at any Wyndham Hotels & Resorts or Summerfield Suites by Wyndham property and pay a qualifying rate will receive 1,500 airline miles instead of the usual 500 in any of those 10 programs.

Partner airlines participating in the Wyndham Triple Miles promotion, include American, America West, Canadian, Continental, Delta, Legend, Midwest Express, TWA, United and US Airways. Airline miles are earned for one airline on a per stay basis. Miles will be awarded only for rooms purchased by a member for his/her own occupancy and is limited to one room per member per stay.

>> More <<
Wyndham

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Northwest ConnectFirst Bonus
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Northwest Airlines is rewarding customers who enroll, purchase and travel on qualifying ConnectFirst fares by June 30, 2000, with up to 20,000 WorldPerks bonus miles.

ConnectFirst offers a free upgrade to first class for the cost of a full-fare coach class ticket when customers connect through Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul or Memphis. In addition to earning regular flight miles, customers can earn the following:

 -- Fly on a ConnectFirst fare (four segments) and receive 5,000 WorldPerks bonus miles

 -- Fly on a second ConnectFirst fare (four additional segments, or eight segments total) and receive an additional 15,000 WorldPerks bonus miles

You must register through Northwest reservations, 800-508-2000, registration number 6158, or through Northwest's web site, registration number 1796, at least seven days prior to travel and no later than June 23, 2000.

>> More <<
Northwest

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Triple Delta Miles for Dollar Rentals
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Dollar Rent A Car is offering triple bonus miles to all Delta SkyMiles members who rent a mid-size or larger vehicle for 2 or more days through June 23, 2000.

SkyMiles members must mention "DL3" when making reservations to receive their bonus miles. Customers renting a mid-size vehicle or larger from participating DOLLAR locations in the United States or Canada, should provide their SkyMiles membership number at the time of rental, along with the DOLLAR insert members will be receiving in their March SkyMiles statement.

For reservations and restrictions, SkyMiles members can book online at dollar.com and should enter "DL3" in the promotion code field when making a reservation, call the DOLLAR reservations number at 800-800-4000, or their travel agent. With this offer, Dollar will credit SkyMiles members with 150 miles per rental day instead of the usual 50 SkyMiles per rental day.

>> More <<
Dollar

<< 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...

>> Cross-Country Fare War: Travel for $198 R/T

Start off your summer with a bang! Fly coast-to-coast for $198 round-trip on America West, Southwest, TWA and US Airways. Travel is valid between April 13 and September 11. Tickets must be purchased by May 3.

For more details, go here.

>> Discover Card Users get 25% Cashback on All Sabena Flights

Use your Discover Card to purchase a flight from the United States to any Sabena destination worldwide and get 25% cashback. Travel is valid through April 30. Tickets must be purchased by April 25.

Sabena flies out of the following US cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago (O'Hare), New York (Newark and JFK) and Washington (Dulles). Sabena flies to over 40 different countries.

For more details, go here.

<< I N D U S T R Y U P D A T E >>

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Airline Quality Ratings, 1999
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With all the belly-aching about poor airline service, it's important to step back occasionally and try to separate fact from myth, anecdote and just plain fiction.

The latest reality check on our gut reaction to the state-of-the-industry is the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) report, released this week.

The AQR is compiled annually by 2 academics, and uses as its raw data the results of yet another report, the DOT's Air Travel Consumer Report. The AQR basically assigns weighted averages to 14 elements deemed important to consumers when judging the quality of airline services and re-compiles the DOT data using the weighted averages.

Looking just at the overall scores of the U.S. major airlines, the 1999 results, from best to worst, were as follows:

  1. Southwest
  2. Continental
  3. Delta
  4. Northwest
  5. Alaska
  6. US Airways
  7. American
  8. America West
  9. TWA
 10. United

>> More <<
The AQR Report

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

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What to Bring and How to Bring It
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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."

>> Choose the Best Luggage (Part 1 of 2)

o Don't sacrifice strength and durability for price. Look for bags with durable stitching and zippers, metal buckles, and padded handles or shoulder straps. If you afford leather, buy it. Otherwise, look for heavy-duty "ballistic" nylon, or nylon and leather combinations. Color? When in doubt, opt for black--it doesn't show scuffs and always looks good. However, black bags are more difficult to identify on the luggage carousel. Make yours unique by tying on a bright piece of yarn or dabbing on a spot of bright paint.

o Many business travelers are now opting for soft briefcases rather than the traditional hard-sided attaches. Laptops fit more comfortably into the top-opening, soft-sided models, and they stow more easily on the plane. In choosing a soft-sided case, look for full-grain leather as opposed to less expensive leather grains. The investment will pay off in durability and appearance.

o "Wheels" were once used almost universally by flight attendants--the ultimate road warriors. But more and more business travelers are trying out wheeled luggage these days. These carry-on-sized suitcases are typically made of durable nylon with built-in wheels and an extension handle that adjusts to the traveler's height. The telescoping handle should feel sturdy and lock into place when extended. Also look for wheels that are as far apart as possible. This will make the suitcase easy to maneuver and keep it from tipping over.

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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Check-In Sit Com
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I just have to relate this incredible experience I had this morning.

I was next in line at the ticket counter at ASA Columbus GA for ticketing on a flight to Atlanta on a small EMB120 Brazilla aircraft. The fellow ahead of me was traveling with several other people and was handling the check in of the luggage. He spoke broken English so I suspect he may have been a foreigner. The agent informed him that each passenger is allowed only three pieces of luggage and that he had 5 bags too many and had to pay $50 per bag so it would cost him an additional $250. He seemed a little annoyed but agreed to pay. She then proceeded to tell him that one of the additional bags was over the 40Lb limit by 2Lbs so did he want to pay an additional $50 ($300 total) or remove some of the contents and pack into one of the bags that was under the 40Lbs. Mind you he already checked about 15 other bags. He began to mildly protest and the agent argued that it "was a very small plane". She acquiesced the additional $50 just as I was about to intercede. Certainly any action taken such as moving things from one bag to another or charging more money was not going to create more room in the planes cargo hold or make it any lighter. Please feel free to use this in future Frequent Flier Crier issues

 - JB, Orlando

<< 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 woman called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to who?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT and I'm overweight. Is there a connection?" After putting her on hold for a minute while I "looked into it" (I was actually laughing), I came back and explained the city code for Fresno is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tags on her luggage.

                             * * *

I just got off the phone with a man who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these damn planes have numbers on them."

[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]

<< S I T E 2 S E E >>

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US Airways' New Website
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We've sniped at US Airways in the past for their rather half-hearted attempt at a website. We'll snipe no more.

The new site looks good, and functions well. There was clearly an effort made to keep important information within 2 or 3 clicks from the homepage. And the homepage itself is robust, including a reservations function, sign-in for Dividend Miles members, and flight status checker, in addition to clear navigation icons to other sections of the site. Plus, for techno-aesthetes, there's a slick, Flash-animated site tour.

This is an upgrade with a capital 'U.'

>> More <<
US Airways

Until next week...