Issue #98  --  June 15, 2000

<< U P F R O N T >>

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Win 50,000 Frequent Flyer Miles!
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The countdown continues toward Issue 100...

As you know if you read last week's issue, we're marking the occasion with the "100 Criers" prize drawing: Every subscriber in our database on the day we publish Issue #100, June 29, will be automatically entered to win one of 53 prizes from 13 companies, including--

o 50,000 American AAdvantage miles from American Airlines (http://www.aa.com)
o Copies of "Fly Free As Easy As 1-2-3" by David Crandall
o 50,000 Delta SkyMiles from Delta Air Lines (http://www.delta-air.com)
o Eliteflyer luggage tags (http://eliteflyer.com/)
o 50,000 greenpoints from S&H greenpoints (http://greenpoints.com)
o Two nights stay at any Hilton HHonors hotel in the continental U.S. (http://www.hiltonhhonors.com/)
o Subscriptions to InsideFlyer Magazine; FlyerTalk T-shirts and luggage tags; and Frequent Flyer coffee mugs from InsideFlyer (http://www.webflyer.com/)
o Cool hats and T-shirts from JohnnyJet.com (http://www.johnnyjet.com)
o "Diving in Malaysia" books from Malaysia Airlines (http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/)
o Free 1-week GSM phone rental from Planetfone (http://planetfone.com)
o Subscriptions to "Travel Holiday" magazine donated by SmarterLiving (http://www.smarterliving.com/)
o 25,000 SmartMiles from SmartMile
(http://www.smartmile.com)
o Autographed copies of "The Penny Pincher's Passport to Luxury Travel" by Joel Widzer
(http://www.travelerstales.com/)

We will notify winners by e-mail following the drawing on June 29. Prize winners must respond to the award notification within 7 days or their prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner selected. HOWEVER...

We received the following objection from Bob (and similar notes from others)--

"It seems strange that a website devoted to people who are frequent travelers would have a condition to their contest that denies the prize to someone who is not able to access their computer for a week after the drawing - maybe because they are traveling !!!"

Point taken. SO... If you know that you will not have access to e-mail during the 1-week period during which we will be notifying winners, June 30 - July 7, send an e-mail to mailto:drawing@frequentflier.com with the following information--

o The e-mail address at which you receive this newsletter
o Your name, mailing address and phone number

After the drawing, we'll compare the winners list to the out-of-town list, and anyone on both lists will be protected.

We continue to receive prize donations from companies in the travel and loyalty area, so check the website for a current prize list.

>> More <<
Prize Drawing

<< M I L E S >>

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Earn OnePass Miles for AT&T Long Distance
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Continental Airlines announced today that the two companies have entered into a joint marketing agreement that will allow frequent flyers to earn valuable OnePass miles for every dollar spent on AT&T Residential Long Distance services.

For every dollar spent on residential long distance calls, AT&T users will earn five OnePass frequent flyer miles.

Under the terms of the agreement, mileage may be earned on an array of AT&T services. AT&T and Continental will be working to expand member earning options to include Internet, wireless and cable usage, as well as online billing.

To enroll and start earning OnePass frequent flyer miles, customers may call 1-800-255-4600.

[Editor's note - The obvious question is: Will the new AT&T relationship replace the longtime relationship with MCI; or will OnePass offer miles for both AT&T and MCI? I assume the former, as these agreements are typically exclusive, but wasn't able to confirm this with CO by press time.]

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Continental

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Get an Insurance Quote, Get FlightFund Miles
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America West Airlines this week rolled out a new FlightFund program that allows qualifying members to earn frequent flyer miles by requesting an automobile insurance quote from member companies of American International Group, Inc. (AIG).

Members who respond to the no-obligation mail offer will receive 250 FlightFund miles if they request a free quote.

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America West

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Diners Club Doubles
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Earn double Club Rewards points on any purchase charged to your Diners Club card before June 30, 2000.

(Remember to mention or key in any offer codes noted for each merchant to take advantage of this offer.)

o Atelier America Inc. 800-201-7333
o BravoGifts.com 888-560-1999 www.bravogifts.com (Code# DIN455)
o ClubsofAmerica.com 800-800-9122 www.clubsofamerica.com (Code# DC200)
o Femail Creations 800-969-2760 www.femailcreations.com (Code# M04314)
o greatfood.com 800-841-5984 www.greatfood.com
o Hana Flower Company 800-952-4262 www.hanaflowers.com (Code# DC20)
o Interstate Music 800-462-2263 www.interstatemusic.com (Code# 0914DZ)
o Lizell 800-718-8808 www.lizell.com (Code# A316)
o North Shore Magazine northshoremag.com
o Pioneer Press Newspapers pioneerlocal.com
o Sentry Safe 877-273-6879 www.sentrysafe.com
o Turiya 800-245-1044 turiya.com

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Diners Club

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Earn Double ClickMiles at 7 E-tailers
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ClickRewards members earn double ClickMiles for qualifying purchases at the following online merchants: bluefly.com, Cooking.com, eve.com, Fossil.com, FTD.com, Garden.com, Sparks.com.

Offer ends June 19.

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ClickRewards

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Tour Operator Offers Mileage Plus Miles
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Abercrombie & Kent has become the newest partner in the Mileage Plus frequent flyer program.

Customers who book vacation packages from one of seven A&K brochures between June 1 and December 31, 2000 can earn 5,000 Mileage Plus bonus miles. Travel must be completed by December 31, 2001. Mileage Plus bonus miles will only be awarded after completion of travel.

>> More <<
To take advantage of the United/Abercrombie & Kent 5,000-mile promotion, customers should contact their travel agent or Abercrombie & Kent at 800-323-7308 and provide the representative with their Mileage Plus number. They can also contact Abercrombie & Kent via e-mail at info@abercrombiekent.com.

<< 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...

>> Buy a Round-Trip Ticket, Get a $99 Companion Fare!

Buy an American Airlines ticket on Travelocity.com by Sunday, June 25 for at least $229 round-trip, and receive a coupon for a future round-trip companion ticket for $99.

For more details, go here.

>> West Coast Bargains Start at $73 R/T

American Airlines has released a sale on West Coast travel, with round-trip fares starting at $73. Travel is valid from most cities beginning June 14. Fares are available online only and must be purchased at least seven days in advance of travel.

For more details, go here.

<< T R A V E L F A C T S >>

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Inflight Magazines Well Thumbed By Passengers
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They may be considered a captive audience, but air travelers find inflight magazines to be a valuable part of their in-air entertainment, according to results of Plog's On-Trak Poll, which surveyed 1,000 travelers in May 2000 about their reading habits on air trips.

Three out of 5 passengers (61%) report that they at least skim the inflight magazine found in their seat pocket, and almost one-quarter read it thoroughly. On the other hand, 15% never look at in-flight magazines.

Advertisers and contributors will be further encouraged by the fact that 16% actually take the magazine with them at the conclusion of the flight, for future reference, or to pass on to someone else. The largest majority of travelers (83%) leave the magazines where they found them, in the seat pocket. A scant 1% says that no inflight magazine was available to them.

Travelers who habitually take fewer air trips per year (5 or fewer) and those over age 55 are most likely to leave the plane with the magazines. More moderate flyers (6-10 trips) than other groups examined read the magazines thoroughly, while those with incomes over $100,000 are likely to flip through rather than read carefully.

Results are derived from Plog Research's On-TRAK Poll, conducted among respondents who have taken at least one air trip in the last 12 months. The error margin is +/- 3.2% at the 95% confidence level. Plog Research is an NFO Worldwide company.

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Plog Research

<< 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."

>> Laptop Lugging
It's estimated that business travelers buy about 5 million new laptop or notebook computers each year. If you are considering buying a notebook or upgrading to a newer model, your main consideration should be weight. Notebooks are getting lighter and more powerful all the time. For example, many new top-of-the-lone models pack a floppy as well as a CD-ROM disk drive, a big 12-inch color screen, a 4-hour battery, stereo speakers, a built-in AC adapter, and a standard keyboard in a neat 6- to 7-pound notebook-sized box. But do you really need all that? If you are willing to give up things like floppy or CD drives and full-size keyboards, some sub-notebooks can weigh as little as 4 pounds.

Battery life is about to reach transcontinental flight limits. Most new units using newer lithium ion batteries last up to 4 hours. Older nickel metal-hydride batteries can last anywhere from 2 to 4 hours.

The near ubiquity of public PC kiosks with Web browsers (in hotels, airports, and convention centers) and new Web-based e-mail means that those who use laptops as little more than communications devices may be able to leave them at home.

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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Seating Rant (continued)
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Just want to say, we agree we Marcus. Continental Airlines moved our several month old seat reservations from front to terrible back row seats; center and window, when I need aisle for medical reasons!

 - ML

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No doubt many of us have had the experience related by Marcus in his letter "Seating Rant" when, after making careful plans in advance, our seating is totally screwed-up by an airline. Add this to the other screw-ups by the airlines and the attitudes of so many airline personnel, and is it any wonder that so many passengers board aircraft ready to vent air rage?

- Werner

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Hilton Rant
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What's the deal with the Hilton Honors phone system? It seems like everytime you call their 1800-hhonors number, you get put on hold for eternity. It's comical. You hear a woman's computerized voice slowly tell you that all customer service representatives are assisting other customers and then you get "your estimated wait is..... TWENTY..... FIVE..... MINUTES." You get so frustrated with the 800 number that you hang up 12 minutes into it and decide to call the 1-972-788-0878 number thinking that surely since you're paying for this call, that they will pick up. Wrong. And the fax number they give you is ALWAYS busy.

I travel almost 100% of the time for my work. One of the benefits my company gives me is keeping the flight miles and hotel points I accumulate from business related trips. After spending the past 7 months in a Hilton, I noticed that about 5 weeks were missing from my online Hilton profile. I have tried at least 5 times now over three months to have them post my points to no avail. What annoys me the most is that I should have hit Platinum in March but because I stay for weeks a time, and Hilton posts points after you checkout, I will not actually hit Platinum mid June - two weeks after my last checkout. This means I have effectively lost the Platinum level bonus for over 80 days that constituted a single stay.

It's just a big mess.

 - Jon

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Hilton Rave
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Hilton has created it own American Express card, that grants members double and triple points.

It is a great Deal.

 - Eric

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

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United Offers Free Inflight Movies
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United Airlines today announced that it will offer free headsets and movies to customers in all classes of service onboard domestic flights equipped with video programming, becoming the first major U.S. airline to do so. On video flights over three hours, United will offer a free feature film and short-subject programming (such as popular sitcoms and news shows).

Early this fall, United will add a second feature film on longer flights, and will also enhance its onboard audio and short subject video programming, giving customers a wider array of entertainment choices. Ninety-five percent of United's aircraft feature audio or video entertainment, more than any other domestic airline.

This is most likely a response to American's "More Space" initiative (fewer seats, more legroom in coach). As we opined on the occasion of American's announcement, it's heartening to see competition heating up in the area of customer service and comfort. Let's hope that the net result of these competitive skirmishes will be more comfortable seating and no-charge inflight entertainment on ALL U.S. carriers.

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American Offers One-Stop Curbside Check-In
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Within hours, literally, of United's announcement that it would henceforth not charge for inflight movies (above story), American issued a news release detailing its new OneStop Express Check-in.

OneStop Express Check-in allows travelers to both check bags AND receive a boarding pass before entering the terminal. The new skycap service is available to passengers with either electronic or paper tickets, and with or without pre-reserved seats.

The curbside service is available to passengers in 35 cities nationwide, and will be operational in another 30 cities by early July. Later this year, American will further expand availability to 21 additional domestic airports for a total of 86 airports --virtually all of its domestic airports.

In case you're interested, the skycaps' mobile ticket counters use wireless radio frequency technology to pass reservations data back and forth from the host server, and operate on a self-contained power system to withstand climate extremes (think O'Hare, mid-winter).

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American

<< 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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One caller informed the agent that he and his wife were frequent fliers on the airline. He wanted to know if, since they always traveled with their dogs and paid the extra fee for them, the animals couldn't get frequent flier numbers too.

[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]

Until next week...