U P F R O N T

Operation Hero Miles
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Military personnel returning to the U.S. from Iraq and Afghanistan on emergency leave or for R&R are getting the short end of the stick. They're flown to 1 of 3 airports in the U.S. (Baltimore/Washington (BWI), Dallas/Fort Worth, or Atlanta) for free. But for the onward portion of the trip to their final destinations, wherever home might be, they're out-of-pocket for tickets on commercial airlines. And adding insult to injury, they're forced by circumstance to purchase expensive walk-up fare tickets for the connecting flights.

There is funding in the Congressional pipeline to cover these costs, but it is not yet available. Until that changes, several airlines -- Alaska, Delta, Southwest -- have mechanisms in place to allow frequent flyers to donate their miles for use in assisting the troops with their travel.

Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland has put up a website, Operation Hero Miles (link below), which fully explains the situation, tracks the progress of the travel funding, and provides details on mileage-donation procedures at the 3 participating airlines.

[This is not about supporting the war or the Bush administration's Middle East policies. It's about supporting young men and women caught in a bureaucratic snafu.]

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Dollars and Sense
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United was the last of the larger U.S. airlines to post its financial performance for the 3rd quarter, reporting a loss of $367 million for the period, a significant improvement over the $889 million loss a year ago.

Although a step in the right direction, it was the largest loss of any of the carriers we track, during what should be the industry's best quarter. Still, UAL chief Glenn Tilton was sanguine, predicting that United would exit bankruptcy next Spring and might even turn a profit for the full 12 months of 2004. In what could be a dangerous distraction to a company which can't afford a misstep, United confirmed it will proceed with its Denver-based low-fare airline-within-an-airline operation, beginning in Feb. 2004.

With United's figures included, the 3rd-quarter earnings season picture is complete:

                     * millions

O N S I T E

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

George advises: "U.S. Treasury will end paper savings bonds issuance starting on Dec. 30, 2003, which means no more miles for bonds through your credit cards. While I think it's good the government is moving into the electronic age, I'm saddened by the loss of the opportunities to earn miles through buying savings bonds."

And much more...

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

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

Air Canada Cuts Elite Miles for Cheap Fares
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Effective Oct. 1, Aeroplan members earn no elite-qualifying miles or segments for Tango fares (E,N and T booking codes).

Tango is Air Canada's brand name for its "value-focused" fares, sold only online at aircanada.com. On the upside, they have no minimum-stay requirements and allow itinerary changes for $25. The downside: Tango fares only earn 50% of flown miles (or a minimum of 250 miles); and the miles earned don't count toward elite.

Tango fares are available on Air Canada itself as well as on Air Canada Jazz and Air Canada 4-digit flight numbers operated by Air Creebec, Air Georgian Limited, Air Labrador, Calm Air, Central Mountain Air, Pacific Coastal and ZIP.

Aeroplan members will want to familiarize themselves with Air Canada's "simplified" fare structure -- complicated by every conceivable permutation of regular and elite-qualifying miles -- at http://www.aircanada.ca/oneway/.

Alaska Loves Canadians
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Apparently trolling for disaffected Aeroplan members (see above), Alaska is offering Canada residents a 2,500-mile enrollment bonus (in addition to the regular 500-mile bonus) when signing onto Mileage Plan by Dec. 31, and will match members' elite status in other airlines' programs, including Aeroplan.

Follow the below link to enroll, and for more information on the Canada Tier Match.

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Alaska Discounts Lounge Memberships
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Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, Alaska Air will waive the standard $100 initiation fee for annual Board Room airport lounge memberships, resulting in a net $225 fee for 1-year access. Alaska has lounges in 6 west coast airports.

Sign up in person at any Board Room location or call Board Room Administration at 206-392-5496. The promotion code is BRWB03.

MasterCard Offers OnePass Bonuses
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OnePass members who purchase Continental tickets by Dec. 31 at continental.com will receive 1,000 bonus miles for the flight plus an additional 1,000 bonus miles for charging the tickets to MasterCard. Travel must be completed by June 30, 2004, to receive the MasterCard bonus.

Separately, tickets purchased with a Chase Continental Airlines MasterCard before Dec. 20 will receive a free 1-year subscription to zagat.com, the online version of the Zagat restaurant survey.

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Delta Bonuses SLC-STL Flights
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Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, SkyMiles members will earn double miles on Comair's nonstop service between Salt Lake City and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Registration is required using promo code 4073.

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Check Into Hilton for Double Points, Miles
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Through Dec. 15, Double Dip stays at participating Hilton hotels at the best available non-restricted rate of the day in Latin America and the Caribbean will earn double miles or double HHonors base points.

Bonus miles are offered in the programs of Aerolineas Argentinas, American, Continental, Delta, GlobalPass, LanChile, United, US Air or VARIG.

When booking, use Plan Code EV for double HHonors points, Plan Code EQ for double miles.

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More Lufthansa Miles for US Air Flights
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In last week's Crier, we mentioned the double-mile offer for US Airways members traveling on Lufthansa flights, to promote the new link-up between Lufthansa and US Air. Here's the flip side: double Lufthansa miles for US Air flights.

Between Oct. 26 and Dec. 31, Miles & More members will earn double miles on the first roundtrip US Air flight. Registration is required.

> More...

Miles & More members may also enter the "Welcome US Airways" prize drawing to win 1 of 20 pairs of US Air tickets. Entry deadline: Nov. 30. No purchase necessary.

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[Question: How many Miles & More members are there in the U.S.? Answer: more than 860,000. The program has 8 million members overall, 3.7 million of whom live in Germany.]

From United: Refer-a-Friend Bonus
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Mileage Plus members who refer new members to Mileage Plus will earn 5,000 bonus miles when that person completes 1 paid, qualifying roundtrip between Nov. 1, 2003 and Jan. 31, 2004. The person referred will also earn 5,000 bonus miles for her first flight.

Up to 4 friends may be referred, for a total of 20,000 bonus miles.

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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...

London from Anywhere in the U.S. for $200
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This is the deal of the year. British Airways has announced a remarkable sale fare of $200 roundtrip to London from anywhere in the U.S., including the West Coast, not including additional taxes and fees. You can fly at this price through Apr. 4, 2004; a 7-day advance purchase is required.

Book tickets by Thursday, Nov. 6.

British Airways' 19 gateway cities include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas (Ft. Worth), Denver, Los Angeles, New York (JFK), Newark), San Francisco, and Washington (Dulles).

> More...

Sale fares to Bangkok from $599
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This month's featured city from Cathay Pacific is Bangkok, Thailand. Feb. or Mar. flights from Los Angeles or San Francisco are now on sale for $599 roundtrip, not including additional taxes and fees, and the fare is $799 from New York (JFK). Free stopovers in Hong Kong are also included in these prices.

Travel is valid from Feb. 1 through Mar. 31, 2004, on any day of the week. Book tickets online only and by Nov. 28. No minimum stay is required, and the maximum stay is 30 days.

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

Win a Mini from Delta
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The grand (and only) prize in Delta's Mini Cooper sweepstakes is... tata!... a 2004 Mini Cooper S-Type.

SkyMiles members are automatically entered each time they check in for a Delta flight at delta.com between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31.

It is also possible to enter by mail, without making a purchase or traveling.

> More...

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

Until next week...