Issue #101  --  July 6, 2000

<< U P F R O N T >>

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And the Winners Are...
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The "100 Criers" prize drawing is history.

Last Thursday, after the 100th edition of The Crier went out, we randomly picked the winning subscribers, after which all winners were sent e-mail notifications. As we go to press with this issue, we've heard back from approximately half of the prize winners.

If you didn't win anything in the "100 Criers" drawing, don't despair: we've listed several million-mile drawings in the "Miles" section below. Try, try, try again.

Again, thanks to our subscribers and sponsors for making the first 100 issues possible!

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Prize drawing winners

<< O N S I T E >>

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Updated: Postcards; New: Alliance Article
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The TravelGram section of FrequentFlier.com has been revised to allow users to send a digital postcard faster and more efficiently. With the changes, you will get to the "Send" button with fewer keystrokes. Give it a try.

With airline alliances a hot topic, the time was right to evaluate the benefits of these global airline groupings which promise travelers the world. The first part in the series of alliance articles is up in the "Articles" section.

Also, if you were out of town and unable to access last week's issue of The Crier, and you participate in hotel programs, have a look at Issue #100, which included more than the usual number of hotel program roll-outs, promotions and partnerships.

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o Postcards
o Articles
o Last week's Crier

<< M I L E S >>

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Win 1 Million AAdvantage Miles...
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This seems to be the season for mileage contests and sweepstakes. Taking this week's crop in alphabetical order, first up is American...

To participate in the "MillionAAir Travel Trivia Game" sweepstakes, you must (1) register your AAdvantage number and contact info, (2) answer 5 token questions (really, they're very simple), and (3) answer the Million Mile Question (more difficult--I had to resort to an Internet search to find the answer).

Having completed the above steps, and assuming you answered all 6 questions correctly (as I did), you're entered to win both the grand prize of 1 million AAdvantage miles and 10 first prizes. The first prizes range in value from 10 miles, if only the first question was answered correctly, to 111,110 miles, if all 5 trivia questions are answered correctly.

All online entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 31, 2000. Players may enter as often as they like, but in the case of multiple entries, only the highest score entry received will be eligible for the Sweepstakes.

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American

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Or 1 Million SkyMiles...
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You can also win 1 million frequent flyer miles from Delta.

To promote SkyTeam, the Delta-led airline alliance, Delta will award a million-mile first prize, a 500,000-mile second prize, a 100,000-mile third prize and 100 fourth prizes of 10,000 miles each. You'll need your SkyMiles membership number to enter the sweepstakes, beginning July 19 through October 15, 2000.

We'll have full entry details in a future issue of The Crier.

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SkyTeam

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Or 1 Million Virgin flying club Miles...
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Last but not least, there's Virgin's "Miles Million Air" drawing:

"To celebrate the 10th anniversary of flying club - our frequent flyer programme - we're turning six people around the globe into mile millionaires."

There will be 1 million-mile winner in each of the 6 areas Virgin Atlantic flies to: UK/Northern Europe, Southern Europe, USA, China/Hong Kong, South Africa and Japan. The winners will be picked in August and notified by e-mail by August 14.

To enter the draw, you must be a member of flying club with a registered account online.

If you're already a member of flying club, you must register for an account online if you don't yet have one by July 24. Once registered, you will receive an activation key (unique security code) which you can use to activate your account by 7 August. Once your account is registered, you are entered in the million miles drawing. In addition, all registrants will receive a bonus of 1000 flying club miles.

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Virgin's "Miles Million Air" drawing

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HHonors Members Earn Bonuses with 8 Airlines
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Members of Hilton's HHonors program earn mileage bonuses with 8 participating airlines for stays at participating Hilton and Doubletree hotels in the Americas between July 4 and September 4, 2000. Bonus varies according to the airline, as follows:

>> American Airlines

Earn 2,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after every 2 Double Dip stays. This special bonus is in addition to the Points & Miles you normally earn for Double Dip stays.

>> America West Airlines

Earn triple FlightFund miles for your Double Dip stays with America West Airlines.

>> Continental Airlines & Northwest Airlines

Earn either double Continental OnePass or Northwest WorldPerks Bonus Miles for all Double Dip stays with either of these airline partner programs.

>> Delta

Earn 2,000 bonus points and 2,000 Delta SkyMiles after every four Double Dip stays. These bonuses are in addition to the Points & Miles you already earn for Double Dip stays.

>> Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Members can earn triple credit (1.5 credits per stay) for every Double Dip stay. Show your HHonors and Rapid Rewards membership cards at check-in.

>> United Airlines

Earn one United Mileage Plus mile per qualifying dollar spent for Double Dip stays. These bonus miles are in addition to the standard HHonors Points & Miles that you already earn for Double Dip stays.

>> US Airways

Earn double HHonors Base points and double Dividend Miles for all Double Dip stays.

[A Double Dip stay is one for which you earn both HHonors points and airline miles.]

>> More <<
For a list of participating hotels, visit http://www.hiltonhhonors.com , or from the U.S. or Canada call 1-800-552-0852 and request FaxBack document #124.

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Northwest Offers Miles for Online Trades
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Between July 8 and September 30, WorldPerks members can earn up to 50,000 Northwest WorldPerks Bonus Miles when they open an E*TRADE brokerage account.

The program is available to WorldPerks members who open an E*TRADE brokerage account with a minimum initial deposit of $1,000. WorldPerks members will earn 5,000 Bonus Miles for opening an E*TRADE account with the minimum initial deposit, and 10,000 Bonus Miles for a deposit of $10,000 or 25,000 Bonus Miles for a deposit of $50,000. As E*TRADE customers, WorldPerks members will also earn 5,000 Bonus Miles for each referred friend that opens an E*TRADE account. Through this program WorldPerks members can earn up to 50,000 Bonus Miles per year.

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Northwest

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Two Canadian Programs to Merge in 2001
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As expected, Canadian Airlines and Air Canada confirmed this week that Canadian Plus and Aeroplan, the 2 airlines' frequent flyer programs, will be merged into a single program starting in 2001.

Effective January 1, 2001, all outstanding Canadian Plus points will be fully converted to Aeroplan miles on a one-to-one basis. Over the next several weeks, nearly three million Canadian Plus members will receive instructions by mail detailing the process for converting Canadian Plus points to Aeroplan miles.

Canadian Plus memberships remain valid until the end of the year. Canadian Plus and Aeroplan members may currently redeem points on either airline. Commencing in early January 2001, Canadian Plus members, as new members of Aeroplan, will be able to redeem from the combined total of their Canadian Plus points and Aeroplan miles.

The combined programs will have a member base of over 5 million members.

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o Air Canada
o Canadian Airlines

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Earn a Palm from Continental
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Continental.com is giving away 50 Palm handheld computers. But you'll have to earn one, literally.

Continental will reward the top 50 online purchasers between June 1, 2000 and July 31, 2000 with Palm VII handheld computers. Qualifying travel must be completed by August 31, 2000.

Continental's website features weekly updates of the dollar amount necessary to place you among the top 50. Current qualifying purchase amount: Approximately $6,300.

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Palm Offer

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Korean Skypass Members Now Earn Miles-for-Calls
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Korean Air Skypass members can now earn 5 miles for every dollar spent on WorldCom's consumer products and services, as follows:

o Residents of the U.S. are eligible to receive Skypass miles for MCI WorldCom traditional long-distance services and the MCI WorldCom Calling Card.

o Non-U.S. residents are eligible to receive Skypass miles for the MCI WorldCom Calling Card with WorldPhone service.

o Customers may earn up to 5,000 bonus miles when they sign-up for MCI WorldCom long-distance. Additional bonuses are available to those who sign up on-line.

You can enroll by calling 1-888-846-7021 (US) or 712-943-6539 (overseas collect).

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o Korean Air
o WorldCom

<< 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...

>> Fly Three Round-Trips, Get One Free

ATA is offering loyal customers a chance to earn one free round-trip ticket for flying three round-trips or six one-ways between now and midnight CT on August 31.

For more details, go here.

>> American Airlines Puts Bermuda On Sale

American Airlines has picked Bermuda for the International City SAAle. Purchase discounted, round-trip fares to Bermuda from a select number of cities for travel until the end of August.

For more details, go here.

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

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Getting to and from the Airport
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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."

>> By Taxi
In most major cities you can just walk out of the airport or onto the curb and hail a cab. In smaller towns, beware--or plan ahead. There may not be enough taxis, and getting one could mean a long wait, especially if your flight arrives at an off-peak hour. Plan on waiting even longer if it is rainy or cold.

Most taxis have a laundry list of extra fees that you need to be wary of. Surcharges for ordering a cab by phone, per piece of luggage, airport pickup, time of day, and additional passengers seem to be at the driver's discretion. It is best to ask how much your ride will cost before the trip begins, even if there is a meter. Better yet, ask a friend or hotel concierge for a ballpark figure for how much you should spend on a cab to the airport. If you feel gypped, ask for a receipt with the driver's name and meter number on it.

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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Airline Humor
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Tim,
Here's some cute clean airline humor to consider for your next newsletter:
 
The passengers were leaving the plane after landing, and one smiling, satisfied passenger paused to congratulate the flight attendant.

"Stewardess," he said happily, "I want to compliment you and the crew and especially the captain for getting here right on time. It's not often that an airline gets to where it's going exactly when they claim it will. I'm going to call your home office and let them know how pleased I am."

"Why, thank you, sir," the flight attendant answered, "but I think you should know--this is yesterday's flight."

 - Dick

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American Rave
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Kudos to American Airlines:

Just flew one of the reconfigured American Airlines planes in coach and wanted to say a very public thank you to AA for finally doing something about the unbearable conditions in coach. At 6'1'' and 205 lbs I could actually sit fairly comfortably on my 3 hour leg from SFO to Dallas Fort Worth. I will try my best to book most of my annual 50K-75K miles travel on AA from now on. So long, Delta.

 - Bjorn

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Sad MCI Tale
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Hi fellow travelers,

I apparently missed some of the earlier rants about MCI, but noting a MCI-related followup in a recent Frequent Flier Crier has prompted me to offer my sad tale.

I signed up for MCI a bit over a year ago to enjoy a 9 cent-a-minute rate to Germany and also to reap a bunch of frequent flyer miles promised to me in a mailer. I signed up over the internet to get the same rate via direct-dial and my phone card on Sundays. However, all hell broke loose after viewing my second invoice, in which I was billed over a dollar per minute for my calling-card-based Germany calls... for a total bill of over $300! I was told that since I changed residences without notifying MCI, my calling card discount rate had been canceled, and that it was my fault for not keeping MCI up-to-date with my new residence. MCI also refused to give me the remainder of my frequent flyer miles, too (over 5,000 of them)!

Note that MCI never contacted me about the rate change (they had my e-mail address... I even received my invoices online... nor did they even attempt to call me at my old number). When I asked them to point out the clause dictating a change-of-residence notice requirement, they told me, "Sorry, it's just our policy. You should have known." Followup letters and chats with a supervisor were unsuccessful.

So, to all of you fellow frequent flyers that get excited about the oft-mailed "Get 5,000 bonus miles!" ads that MCI shovels out, BEWARE! MCI is clearly not to be trusted.

Regards,
 - Adam

<< 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 supervisor reports speaking to an irate lady who was upset about not being able to "make a deal" with the airline. She wanted to cancel her itinerary during the busy holiday travel time and allow the airline to re-sell those prized seats, which she saw as a big favor. In return, she wanted free denied boarding compensation seats in advance. Explaining that while it's true that holiday flights are often overbooked, and frequently free seats are given as compensation for denied boarding, the supervisor denied the passenger's request. "Because passengers book several flights and don't cancel," she explained, "we have no way of knowing which flights will actually be oversold until we see who shows up." Not satisfied, the woman refused to give any information for canceling the flights she didn't intend to use and said in a low, mean-spirited voice, "Two can play at this game!"... and hung up.

[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...