U P F R O N T
Expiring Companies, Disappearing Miles
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This week's issue includes stories on 2 company closures which will affect the miles and points community -- the first a bricks-and-mortar operation (Roots Air), the second an online rewards venture (FlyFree.org).
And to keep with the failing company theme, in Site2See we're recommending a website which monitors the pulse (or lack thereof) of online companies, including rewards programs.
O N S I T E
FrequentFlier Forum Topics
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As always, there's plenty of activity on the Forum.
RobV initiated a very interesting thread regarding transferability of MyPoints offers. Dglawless has a question about the AAdvantage 20-partner promotion. Ellen just noticed that her United miles didn't post, and wants to claim them after the fact. Chris is wondering whether to make a major purchase through CyberRebate. 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
Roots Air: Cradle to Grave in 41 Days
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In what may be the shortest-lived airline venture ever, Canada's Roots Air will terminate service on May 4 after exactly 41 days in operation. Ticketed passengers will be accommodated on Air Canada flights.
As reported here, Roots had offered its customers a co-branded version of Alaska Air's frequent flyer program, Roots Air-Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. No word yet on the fate of miles earned in Roots' program.
This is a step backward for Canadian commercial aviation, which sorely needs competitors -- even small ones -- following Air Canada's acquisition of Canadian International last year.
> More...
WorldPerks Bonus for Ashford Purchases
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Between May 1 and June 30, 2001, WorldPerks members can earn 500 bonus miles for their first Ashford.com purchase over $250 when charged to a WorldPerks Visa or WorldPerks Visa Business card. Bonus is in addition to the standard miles earned with WorldPerks Visa Cards and Ashford.
> More...
"Fly'N Qualify" for Aeroplan Elite
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From May 10 to July 10, 2001, Aeroplan members can earn bonus Qualifying Miles when flying on J, C, Y, M, or T booking class tickets on Air Canada or Air Canada Regional flights. (Qualifying Miles are miles which count toward earning elite status.) The bonus varies according to fare type.
> More...
Continental Is New Amtrak Rewards Partner
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Amtrak has added a third airline partner, Continental, to its Guest Rewards frequent-rider program.
The Amtrak program awards 2 points for every $1 spent on Amtrak tickets, and 500 points for Acela Express or Metroliner business class trips between select Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., city pairs, or 750 points for first class.
Rewards members can redeem 5,000 points for 5,000 OnePass miles. Given Amtrak's earning scheme, you earn 1 airline miles for every $0.50 spent. Or, to put it another way, you'd spend $12,500 to earn the 25,000 airline miles required for a free domestic coach ticket in most programs.
Other airlines participating in Amtrak Rewards are Midwest Express and United. Members can also redeem Rewards points for Hilton HHonors points, with 5,000 Amtrak points converting to 10,000 HHonors points.
> More...
Flowers for Mom, SkyMiles for You
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Through May 14 (the day after Mother's Day), SkyMiles members can earn 300 miles for purchases of $29.99 or more, plus 100 miles for every additional $10 spent, at 1800FLOWERS. Call 1-800-FLOWERS (1-800-356-9377) or visit http://www.1800flowers.com. Mention your SkyMiles number and promo code 43M (regular members), 43S (Silver Medallion and Gold Medallion members), or 43P (Platinum Medallion members).
Northwest Adds Thrifty to Partner Roster
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As of May 1, WorldPerks members can earn miles for Thrifty car rentals.
Unlike the 50-miles-per-day offered by Northwest's 6 other car rental partners, Thrifty is offering 250 miles for rentals of 7 or fewer days, and 500 miles for rentals lasting 8 days or longer. In addition, members earn 250 miles by parking at the same Thrifty Airport Parking lot 3 times within 12 months.
Double Dividend Miles for Portland - Washington Flights
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Between May 20 and July 31, Dividend Miles members earn double miles when flying US Airways Express between Portland, Maine, and Washington National. Register by calling 800-872-4738 prior to departure and using promo code 2300.
America West Extends Online Booking Bonus
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America West is extending its offer of 3,000 bonus miles for each roundtrip ticket purchased at http://www.americawest.com to include travel through Dec. 31, 2001.
Online Rewards Watch: FlyFree, MyPoints, Beenz
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> Flyfree.org
The latest dot-bomb in the online miles space is, apparently, FlyFree.org. We began receiving reports last week that the FlyFree website was down. At some point, the site was brought back online, with only the following text message:
"Effective Immediately:
"Flyfree.org is ending it's Rewards Program. We wish to thank all of our members for their participation in Flyfree.org. We believe Flyfree.org provides an excellent resource for frequent travelers on the internet, so we hope we will be able to offer a rewards program again some time soon. Thank you for your interest in Flyfree.org."
Conspicuously missing from the above is any mention of how those who are owed miles (including some of our readers) should go about collecting them. Repeated calls to FlyFree went unanswered, and no one responded to our messages requesting return calls.
> MyPoints
More bad news from the online rewards area comes from MyPoints, which has raised levels for a number of awards, including Alaska Air Mileage Plan miles.
With effect June 1, MyPoints members will have to redeem 2,250 points to get 1,000 Alaska Air Miles -- a 50% increase over the previous requirement. Also increasing will be award levels for awards from Circuit City, Home Depot, Target, prepaid fuel cards and MyPoints Webcertificates.
For the record, we'd like to see MyPoints (and any rewards program) give consumers 6 month's notice whenever making a change which negatively affects the value of their earnings.
> More...
> Beenz
The following is from a website which monitors news and rumors of bankruptcies and layoffs among dot-com companies (see Site2See section below):
"Rumor has it June 29th (give or take...) is Beenz.com's final day. Apparently senior management will all be paid off with 2.5 years salary as severance. Not sure about the grunts, but it's probably safe to say they ain't gettin no 2.5 years."
Remember, this is only a rumor.
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...
10% Online Savings on Domestic and International Travel
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Delta and Northwest are offering online savings on domestic and international travel.
> More...
New Sale Fares for Spring Travel to Mexico
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Several airlines, including American, America West, United, Aeromexico, and Delta, are offering savings from the U.S. to destinations in Mexico.
> More...
I N D U S T R Y N E W S B I T E S
USA Today: FFP Articles Online
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If you missed last week's series of USA Today articles on the 20th anniversary of frequent flyer programs, the entire collection of stories is online here.
S I T E 2 S E E
Seek Truth Where Rumors Abound
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When I hear gossip about the declining fortunes of a dot-com company, I immediately logon to the f**kedcompany.com website and run a rumor-check (1st cousin to a reality-check) on the information. Because where's there's smoke, there's sometimes more smoke; and where there's more smoke, there's often fire.
Naturally, there are no guarantees as to the accuracy of the information. Much of it is, by definition, gossip and hearsay. And it is often fueled by the bitterness of ex-employees. But because that gossip typically comes from company insiders, albeit disgruntled ones, it can help you stay ahead of the information curve.
Warning: the comments are not censored, so the language can be offensive and the posturing obnoxious. Even the company's name is quasi-obscene.
> More...
Until next week...
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