FrequentFlier Forum Topics

As always, there's plenty of activity on the FrequentFlier Forum.

In the "Airline Programs" Forum, sergey_usa wonders whether a cancelled flight warrants compensation: "My wife's flight AA 173 from LGW to RDU on Oct. 8, after trying to take off twice, slowing down and returning to the gate and finally acknowledging the right engine was not working properly, was cancelled. She was provided meals and a hotel, and rebooked for the next day. Does anyone know if she is entitled to any other compensation, in particular under EU rules for monetary compensation?"

And in the "Credit Card Programs" Forum, Kohoutek provides a link to a 10,000-point bonus for the Starwood credit card from American Express.

And much more. Questions, answers? Post them to the Forum!

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Aeroplan to "Renew, Re-engage and Revitalize"

So claims the news release, inconspicuously headlined "Aeroplan Announces Two Program Changes." The real story: Aeroplan is radically revising its account and mileage validity policies. When the changes take effect, Aeroplan miles will expire after seven years. And accounts with no activity during a 12-month period will be terminated. Expired miles and closed accounts can only be revived by paying for the privilege.

"Effective January 1, 2007, Aeroplan will begin date-stamping Aeroplan Miles. This means that Aeroplan Miles issued on or after January 1, 2007, will have a date-stamp of 7 years (84-months) from the month the mile is accumulated. Miles in an account that exceed 84-months without being redeemed will be automatically deducted from members' balances on a monthly basis. All Aeroplan Miles issued prior to January 1, 2007 will be date-stamped as December 31, 2006, resulting in an end date of December 31, 2013. The average time between a member earning an Aeroplan Mile and redeeming it is approximately two-and-a-half years.

"Effective July 1, 2007, Aeroplan will change the terms of its mileage expiry policy to require members to have transacted with the program - either one accumulation or one redemption - once in a consecutive 12-month period. This means that, as of July 1, 2007 and onwards from this date, a member must have transacted once with the program in the 12 months prior to avoid expiry of all miles in the account.

"Effective today, members whose accounts expire, or whose miles exceed 84-months in an account, may re-instate those miles for a further 7 years (84-months) for an administrative fee of C$30 plus $0.01 per restored mile. Further, any Aeroplan member whose account has previously expired may take advantage of this re-instatement option."

The company's rationale? "These changes have been designed to renew, re-engage and revitalize Aeroplan's members' participation as the company evolves into a broad-based coalition loyalty program."

(Aeroplan is not alone in modifying its expiration policies. For a summary of other recent and upcoming changes, see this Extra Mile feature.)

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Earn Double ATA Points for Hawaii Flights

Between October 10 and December 10, members of ATA's Travel Awards program will earn double points for one-way or roundtrip flights between Phoenix, Las Vegas, Oakland, Los Angeles, or Ontario, CA and Hilo, Honolulu, or Maui.

Flights must be booked at ata.com to qualify for the bonus.

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Double Delta Miles at Conrad Hotels

Between October 1, 2006, and March 31, 2007, Delta SkyMiles members will earn double miles for stays at the Conrad hotels in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Miami. Also on offer: free breakfast for two for every day stayed.

Book Plan Code H9 to receive the bonus miles.

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$20 Best Buy Gift Card at Holiday Inn

Between October 1 and December 31, Priority Club Rewards members will receive a $20 Best Buy gift card after a two-night or longer stay at Holiday Inn hotels in the U.S. or Canada, charged to an American Express card.

Qualifying stay must be booked online at the promotion's special web page (www.holidayinn.com/amx). Stays at Holiday Inn Express hotels do not qualify.

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Redeem Hotel Points for More United Miles

Through December 31, Mileage Plus members can earn up to 5,000 bonus miles when redeeming points in the following hotel programs for United miles: Choice Privileges, Hilton HHonors, Hyatt Gold Passport, Marriott Rewards, Priority Club Rewards, and Radisson goldpoints plus.

When redeeming hotel points for 10,000-19,999 miles, member will earn 2,500 bonus miles. And when redeeming enough points for 20,000 or more miles, there's a bonus of 5,000 miles. (With Hyatt, convert 50,000 or more Gold Passport points to earn an additional 5,000 Mileage Plus bonus miles from Hyatt, for a total of 10,000 bonus miles.)

This bonus is not well documented on the websites of United or the hotel programs, so we'd suggest redeeming hotel points by phone to insure the extra miles are properly credited. Those numbers:

Choice Privileges - call 1-888-770-6800
Hilton HHonors - call 1-800-548-8690
Hyatt Gold Passport - call 1-800-228-3360
Marriott Rewards - call 1-800-450-4442
Priority Club Rewards - call 1-888-211-9874
Radisson goldpoints plus - call 1-888-288-8889

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US Air Offers Elite Status After 3 Flights

Between October 1 and December 31, US Airways Dividend Miles members can earn elite status for 2007 (good through February 2008) by booking first- or Envoy-class flights.

Silver elite is awarded for booking three roundtrips in first or Envoy class; Gold is earned after six roundtrips.

Travel must be completed by March 31, 2007.

Registration -- prior to ticket purchase -- is required.

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Deal Alert from SmarterTravel.com

1) British Airways Fares from $338

British Airways' latest promotion offers roundtrip airfare to cities in Europe, Asia, and Africa starting at $338 round-trip.

Travel is valid Mondays through Wednesdays from October 26, 2006, through March 25, 2007. Book tickets at least seven days in advance, and by October 19. Fares require a Saturday-night stay, and the maximum stay is 11 months.

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2) Central America Fares on Taca from $348

Flights to several countries in Central America are on sale from Taca. Destinations include Belize, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, and prices start at $348 roundtrip.

Travel is valid through December 13. Book tickets at least seven days in advance, and by October 24. Fares require a three-day minimum stay, and the maximum stay is 30 days.

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Win a Trip for 2 to Europe

Enter American Airlines' "Europe Fall Fare Sale" sweepstakes by October 31 for a chance to win one of three trips for two to Ireland, Belgium or Switzerland, including air and three nights' hotel.

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

Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel

"This is absolutely crazy. I am trying to redeem some of my Air Canada points travelling from DTW out to either LAS or LAX. When I go on the website and do a search of availability during a 6 week window there is absolutely no availability through either city pairs. However when I phone them they have availability. So what is the difference?

"The difference is that I don't pay through the website and do when I phone and go through the call center. It sure seems like a money grab! They are going through their Star Alliance partners however very, very poor showing and money grab." [Rev. Glenn S.]

"Can you please let us know how a non-profit agency like ours could qualify to have people donate airmiles to us? You will see that non of our trainers or other volunteers get aid, and we depend in large measure on donations and sales of professional materials from our website.

"I'm a trainer, and we've just finished a 15 month project in Tamil Nadu, where the tsunami affected so many people. We need to go back and follow-up on our trainees periodically, but we certainly don't have the money for tickets. It would be so wonderful if people would donate the airmiles for specific projects, or just so we could have a pool of airmiles to draw on.

"Can you suggest what we might do?" [Judith B.]

FrequentFlier.com replies - Unfortunately, it's always been a challenge for smaller charities to get meaningful support from the airlines for their travel needs. To the extent that airlines make frequent flyer miles available for charitable purposes, their largesse tends to be focused on large national organizations like the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, and the like.

The best advice we can give is to refer you to MileDonor.com (http://miledonor.com/), a website dedicated to helping those who need to travel find sources of travel support.

Good luck & keep up the good work!

Until next week...