U P F R O N T

There's a New Mileage Program in Town...
============================

... And its name is AirMilesMart.

AirMilesMart is cut from the same cloth as ClickRewards and WebMiles, 2 well-publicized failures which fairly epitomized the implosion of dot-coms generally, and online loyalty programs specifically. Which begs the question: Why participate in a program which faces long odds of surviving?

I posed just that question to AirMilesMart's chief, Kevin Quilliam, who responded as follows:

"Your skepticism is reasonable based on the high profile failure of ClickRewards and others. The key difference between the sites is in the business plan. AirMilesMart uses existing, proven affiliate programs and makes a profit on every transaction, albeit a small one. Programs like ClickRewards gave away millions of dollars worth of miles as part of promotions designed to build their customer base without regard to profits. ClickRewards also had a proprietary merchant network, huge staff, and an office in downtown SF, creating large fixed costs which we avoid by using already established affiliate networks to do the back end merchant processing.

"I can't promise you any unbelievable promotions like buying magazines and getting over 100 miles per dollar, but I think I do have a sustainable model that will be around for a while and give people a fair number of miles for their purchases. I have also set the redemption levels very low at 500 points for most programs, so members will be able to redeem their miles frequently and will not feel trapped into the program in case they decide they don't like it."

As a potential AirMilesMart user, but also as someone mindful of the high failure rate of similar programs, what particularly struck me in Kevin's comments was the 500-mile minimum for redemption. That's reassuringly low, allowing one to minimize the risk of losing his investment should AirMilesMart not succeed.

AirMilesMart awards, in most cases, 1 point for every $1 spent at a long list of online merchants, including Ashford.com, Brooks Brothers, Cooking.com, DisneyStore.com, OfficeMax, Sharper Image, etc. Points convert 1:1 for miles in the programs of Air Canada, American, America West, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United.

> More...

O N S I T E

New on the FrequentFlier Forum
==========================

Nabeel wonders: How hard would it be get mileage credit in 2 programs for the same flight? Matthew has miles in multiple programs and wants to combine them. Ronald, as always, is a veritable font of info on lesser-known offers. And much more...

Do you have mileage-related questions, answers, anecdotes? Post them (and read others') on the FrequentFlier Forum.

M I L E S & P O I N T S

Mother's Day: Gifts for Mom (Miles for You)
====================================================

Time is running out to do something good for the Mom in your life, and earn miles for yourself in the process.

Most programs have specials on offer from their florist partners, as well as from affiliated confectioners, jewelers, and merchandisers generally.

Delta Skymiles members, for example, can earn double miles (20 miles per $1 spent) by calling 1-800-FLOWERS or visiting http://www.1800flowers.com and using promotion code "DEL" through May 31, 2002.

Also from 1-800-FLOWERS, members of American AAdvantage and Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles can earn 200 bonus miles in addition to the normal 10 miles per $1 spent. Use promotion code "AA2" for AAdvantage or "HAM2" for HawaiianMiles bonus miles. Offers valid through May 22 and May 31, 2002, respectively.

Or combine cash and miles at MilePoint.com (http://milepoint.com) to get Mom a gift certificate from Amazon, Land's End, Sharper Image or Spiegel.

We could go on, but you get the idea...

Use Cash & Miles for NWA Honolulu Flights
===========================

WorldPerks members can use Cash & Miles for travel between select cities in the U.S. or Canada and Honolulu, Hawaii. Prices start at 20,000 miles plus $240. Save 500 miles by purchasing Cash & Miles fares online.

Purchase tickets by Aug. 31, 2002, for travel originating May 13 through Dec. 15, 2002. Travel must be completed by Dec. 17, 2002. Purchase tickets at least 7 days in advance of travel; a 2-night stay is required.

To use Cash & Miles, you must be a WorldPerks member with at least 20,000 miles in your account, and have a credit card with a U.S. or Canadian billing address.

> More...

Up to 25,000 Bonus SkyMiles for S. America Flights
====================================

SkyMiles members can earn up to 25,000 bonus miles for roundtrip flights to 5 South American cities between May 1 and June 30, 2002.

Bonus applies to U.S.-originating roundtrip Delta flights, connecting through Atlanta, to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bogota, Columbia; Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil; or Santiago, Chile. Tickets booked in D, J or C class (the C class ticket only applies to the Bogota flights) will earn 25,000 bonus miles; tickets booked in Y, B, M or I class will earn 15,000 bonus miles; and tickets booked in H or K class will earn 5,000 bonus miles.

Bonus may be earned no more than twice, for a maximum of 50,000 bonus miles.

Register for this promotion at http://delta.com/skymilesoffers or by calling call 1-800-558-3358 and entering promo code 2041.

Delta Offers 5,000-Mile Bonus for Transcon Flights
================================================

Between May 16 and Aug. 15, 2002, SkyMiles members can earn a 1-time 5,000-mile bonus for roundtrip cross-country flights in first or BusinessElite class.

The bonus applies to selected flights between New York or Boston and Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, Seattle or Portland, Ore. Since the offer is restricted to designated flight numbers, it's important to verify in advance that your flight qualifies. Do so here.

To register, go to http://www.delta-offers.com/transcon, or call 1-800-558-3358 and enter promo code 2030.

Mandalay Hotel Stays Earn FlightFund Miles
===================================

Beginning May 1, FlightFund members can earn between 150 and 350 frequent flyer miles for stays at Mandalay Resort Group hotels, as follows:

Northwest Offers Mileage Transfers
==================================

Through Dec. 24, Northwest WorldPerks members may transfer miles to other members' accounts by paying a $25 processing fee plus $0.01 per mile.

Each member may transfer up to 50,000 miles per year to other accounts, and receive a maximum of 10,000 miles from other accounts.

> More...

Air Tahiti Is New WorldPerks Award Partner
==========================================

Effective May 1, WorldPerks members may redeem miles on the following Air Tahiti Nui routes: Los Angeles-Papeete, Tokyo-Papeete, Osaka-Papeete and Papeete-Auckland.

Air Tahaiti will be a redemption partner only. No miles are awarded for paid flights.

United Doubles Miles on Three Flights
=====================================

Mileage Plus members traveling between New York and San Francisco, Dallas and San Francisco, and Dallas and Los Angeles will earn double flight miles from Apr. 16 through May 31.

Register prior to travel at http://www.united.com/mpd904reg or by calling 1-800-447-6772, code 954.

Earn Reader Miles from United
=============================

Subscribe to any of 50 newspapers to earn up to 1,000 Mileage Plus bonus miles.

Papers on offer include USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and many local dailies.

> More...

S T E A L S & D E A L S

Deal Alert from SmarterLiving.com
=================================

This week's hot deals from SmarterLiving.com...

Bermuda on US Airways from $285
-------------------------------
US Airways has announced sale fares to Bermuda as low as $285 roundtrip. Departures are valid from Apr. 30 through June 21.

Despite the fact that Bermuda's high season is upon us, US Airways' sale fares are the lowest available on every route we checked. Even so, shop around before booking to ensure you find the lowest price on your route.

> More...

Bali on Cathay Pacific from $599
--------------------------------
Save on a spring trip to Bali with Cathay Pacific's "Deal of the Month" fares starting at $599 roundtrip. Flights are only available from Los Angeles and do not include additional taxes and fees. Cathay Pacific allows stopovers in Hong Kong at no additional charge. Travel is valid from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31.

> More...

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

Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel
======================================

"I recently logged into my Continental Airlines frequent flyer account and was presented with a page titled 'Review OnePass Member Advisory.' I read the page and was shocked to find this paragraph:

"'Inactive Membership - If no mileage is deposited in your account for 18 consecutive months, commencing after June 1, 2001, your membership will be cancelled, and your miles will be forfeited.'

"I haven't noticed this in your newsletter. It would be a good idea to let other members know. I've never heard of this with another program."

- Maynard

"It should be noted that while most hotel chains now boast "the lowest rate anywhere" on their own websites, those rock-bottom fares are mostly non-cancellable. If you do cancel, 100% of the rate will be charged to your credit card. Really need to read the rate restrictions when booking on hotel websites."

- Mark

"In your recent newsletter, you state: 'National Car Rental - Frequent Flyer Service Charge Beginning July 13, National will introduce a Frequent Flyer Service Charge in the amount of $0.50 per day for qualifying rentals in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico when renters choose to receive Frequent Flyer miles or credits.'

"Since National is owned by Alamo, will Alamo also be charging this surcharge?"

- Al

[Editor's Note - Alamo and National are both owned by Vanguard Car Rental. At this point, Alamo collects a "Frequent Flyer Tax Recoupment Surcharge" to cover the federal tax on the cost of the miles awarded at time of rental. The federal excise tax in question is 7.5%, and Alamo is probably purchasing airline miles at somewhat less than $0.02 apiece. So, assuming you're earning 50 miles per rental day, the surcharge would be 7.5% x $0.02 x 50, or $0.08 per day, significantly less than National's new Service Charge. There's no word yet from Alamo on whether they'll be following National's lead on this.]

S W E E P S & F R E E B I E S

Win AAdvantage Miles from Points.com
====================================

Enter Points.com's 3rd anniversary sweepstakes by June 30 to win 1 of 10 Grand Prizes of 100,000 AAdvantage miles each.

There are several ways to enter, including signing up for Points.com membership and making an exchange to or from an AAdvantage account.

> More...

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

Until next week...