U P F R O N T

Whatta Week!
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Wow, what a difference a week makes!

Last week was a real yawner in the Crier's corner of the world. But this week more than compensated, with both the good-news and bad-news taps turned on full.

<> Midway Airlines (http://www.midwayair.com/)
North Carolina-based Midway declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, citing declining passenger loads and industry-wide price cutting. Midway will continue operating, but with fewer flights to fewer cities. If you have Midway tickets for an upcoming flight: http://www.midwayair.com/passenger_info.html.

Midway is an earn-and-burn partner in the frequent flyer programs of both Continental and Northwest.

<> Flooz... (http://flooz.com)
... flew the coop. Gone, leaving only a terse "Out of service" message on its website. See "Online Rewards Watch" below.

<> Eliteflyer.com (http://eliteflyer.com/)
Now appearing on the Eliteflyer.com website: "With regret, we will be closing Eliteflyer.com forever due to a lack of operating revenue." We'll miss Jason Pauls' site and newsletter for Canadian frequent flyers, and wish him well with his new endeavor, BCFlyer, "British Columbia's Frequent Flyer Authority."

<> Emery Worldwide (http://www.emeryworld.com/eww/emeryweb/)
Facing an FAA threat to ground its aircraft, cargo carrier Emery Airfreight stopped flying its own planes and furloughed 800 of its 1100 employees. The company will continue operations using sub-contractors to deliver freight on its behalf. At issue: safety lapses, likely exacerbated by pressures to reduce costs in a soft economy.

The bad news was somewhat offset by a steady outpouring of new miles and points promotions, including 2 attractive offers from Diners Club and an enhanced online-booking bonus from Northwest (see "Miles & Points" below).

And in the mixed-bag category, there was US Airways' post-failed-merger plan, including use of more regional jets (bad news) and entry into a major global airline alliance (good news).

O N S I T E

FrequentFlier Forum Topics
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New on the Forum... Akbar is looking for the best ways to use 200K Amex points. Jean has the low-down on Alitalia's defection from the NW-KLM camp. Dglawless is in the market (NOT the gray market) for Delta miles. Everyone is discussing the AA 20/20 promotion. And more...

Do you have questions, answers? Post them to the Forum!

> More...

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

Earn United Miles for MSN Use
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Mileage Plus members can earn up to 12,500 miles for signing up for Internet access with MSN at $21.95 a month through Dec. 31, 2001.

Earn 1,000 miles as a signing bonus, plus 500 miles per month for 23 months as long as you remain a subscriber. Subscribers receive a customized version of the MSN Explorer Internet browser, featuring a "My United" button that provides quick access to United information.

Sign up at http://united.com or at 1-800-373-3676.

Diners Points Exchange for 20% More AAdvantage Miles
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Diners Club cardholders will receive a 20% mileage bonus from American Airlines when they transfer Club Rewards points to their AAdvantage account between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31, 2001.

Diners Club points normally convert to AAdvantage miles at a 1:2 rate. I.e., 100,000 Club Rewards = 50,000 AAdvantage miles. During the promotional period, 100,000 points could be exchanged for 60,000 miles, an additional 10,000 miles.

To participate, first register for the promotion at http://www.aa.com/offers, using promo code DC20B. Then call Diners to convert your Club Rewards points at 1-800-234-4034.

Redeem 25% Fewer Diners Points for Southwest Awards
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If you're more inclined toward Southwest, Diners Club has a deal for you too.

Club Rewards points can be redeemed for a free ticket on Southwest from now until Sept. 30, 2001, for 25% fewer points -- 24,000 Club Rewards points versus the normally required 32,000 points.

Call Club Rewards at 1-800-234-4034, and refer to item number 2400, or visit http://www.dinersclubus.com.

Alaska Doubles Miles to DCA
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Beginning Sept. 4th 2001, Alaska Airlines will launch daily nonstop service from Seattle and same plane, one-stop service from Anchorage to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). To promote the new services, Alaska is offering double Mileage Plan miles on flights to/from DCA through Dec. 15, 2001.

Bonus Offers for DFW, SJC Flights Booked on AA.com
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Earn 1,500 bonus AAdvantage miles for each roundtrip booked on AA.com between Aug. 7 and Sept. 5, 2001, for travel to or from Dallas/Fort Worth on American or American Eagle. Travel must be completed by Sept. 30, 2001. A maximum of 2 round-trip bonus mile awards per person will be awarded.

Earn 1,000 AAdvantage bonus miles for each roundtrip booked on AA.com between Aug. 13 and Aug. 26 for travel to/from San Jose on American or American Eagle. Travel must be completed by Sept. 30, 2001. A maximum of 2 round-trip bonus-mile awards per person will be awarded.

Both offers require pre-registration at http://www.aa.com/offers using promotion code RMDFW for Dallas and RMSJC for San Jose flights.

Earn Extra Dividend Miles for DFW Flights
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Dividend Miles members can earn up to 1,500 bonus miles for each roundtrip purchased on usairways.com between Aug. 13 and Sept. 5, 2001, for travel to or from Dallas/Ft. Worth on US Airways. Travel must be completed by Sept. 9, 2001. Offer is limited to 2 roundtrip tickets, and is combinable with the standard 1,000-mile online booking bonus.

Register prior to departure at http://usairways.com/dividendmiles/8254.htm.

Northwest Ups Online Booking Bonus
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Customers who purchase their Northwest tickets on the airline's website will receive 5,000 WorldPerks bonus miles for their first online purchase and 2,500 bonus miles for each subsequent online purchase through Dec. 31, 2001.

The revised bonuses represent a 25% increase for first-time bookings and a 150% increase for subsequent bookings. The offers do not apply to CyberSavers, Award Travel Reservations or Northwest E-Biz Perks.

> More...

Northwest Offers Awards for Miles-and-Cash
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Northwest is offering WorldPerks members the option of combining flier miles and cash for award travel on selected flights. Award travel using miles and cash can be booked between Aug. 13 and Oct. 31, 2001, for travel between Sept. 5 and Dec. 20, 2001.

Domestic awards begin at $128 plus 10,000 miles roundtrip, Trans-Atlantic awards at $199 plus 20,000 miles, and Trans-Pacific awards at $360 plus 20,000 miles. Tickets must be purchased at least 14 days in advance of travel and a Saturday night stay is required.

You'll also receive a 500-mile discount on the mileage portion of the fare when travel is booked at http://www.nwa.com.

> More...

Ameritrade Offers Mileage Plus Bonus
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Mileage Plus members can earn up to 25,000 miles for opening and funding an Ameritrade account by Dec. 31, 2001. Mileage varies according to initial deposit, as follows--

- 3,000 miles for an initial deposit of $500 or more
- 8,000 miles for $5,000 or more
- 25,000 miles for $50,000 or more

> More...

Homecare Generates ClickMiles
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Schedule a home service with myHomeKey to earn 500 ClickMiles.

myHomeKey is a nationwide network of more than 40,000 home service professionals, including maid and handyman services.

Online Rewards Watch: Flooz
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Notwithstanding $50 million in financing and celebrity spokesmanship from no less than Whoopi Goldberg, venerable (by 'net standards) online currency provider Flooz.com is providing online currency no more.

While there are unconfirmed reports of a possible merger or other survival scenario, all we know for sure is what's on the Flooz website: "We are currently unable to process your transaction. We are working very hard to resume Flooz.com web site operations. Check back for further updates."

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...

Airlines Lower Chicago Fares, Remove Sat. Night Requirement
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United Airlines has lowered fares and eliminated the Saturday night stay requirement on select flights to/from Chicago (O'Hare).

> More...

Savings to/from Cities in the Southwest From $60 R/T
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Southwest Airlines has released sale fares to/from cities in the Southwestern U.S. including Las Vegas, Phoenix, and destinations in Texas.

> More...

S W E E P S T A K E S & F R E E B I E S

AA.com Drops Flag on Road Rally Sweepstakes
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Prizes for the Road Rally sweepstakes include a Volkswagen Beetle, choice of travel packages, DVD players, etc.

To enter, log on to http://www.aa.com/promo, complete the registration form, and answer 5 AA.com-related questions.

Questions will change every 2 weeks. The contest ends Sept. 25. Winners will be randomly selected and will be posted on the site every 2 weeks. The grand-prize AA.com Mobile will be awarded at the end of the promotion.

Until next week...