Media Inquiry - Make Your Voice Heard

Have you ever had to take a business trip in mid-late December or early January, or will you this year? If so, have you ever taken advantage of hotels' often cheaper rates during this period and stayed at a more expensive hotel or in a better room than you ordinarily would on a business trip?

If so, and would be willing to be interviewed by a reporter for a major newspaper, please reply here with a description of your upgraded hotel stay, plus your office and cell numbers and e-mail address by Friday, December 7.

FrequentFlier Forum Topics

In the "Hotel Programs" Forum, QF WP has added several offers to his ongoing tracking of Hyatt promotions.

And in the "Credit Card Programs" Forum, joelmeu is looking for feedback on one of the most heavily advertised of all rewards cards, the Capital One No Hassle Miles card: "Can anyone share any experiences with this card or with Capital One's miles rewards program? How has it worked out for you? Have you managed to earn close to a 2% reward?" (Please contribute to this thread if you have relevant experience to share.)

Questions, answers, opinions? Post them to the Forum!

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Earn More Miles at the AAdvantage eShopping Mall

Through December 31, AAdvantage members can earn bonus miles when shopping at the AAdvantage eShopping mall.

Members earn double miles for purchases charged to a MasterCard (any MasterCard, not just the Citi/AAdvantage MasterCard) at the following 25 eShopping mall retailers: Barnes & Noble.com, Blue Nile, Bose, Cabela's, circuitcity.com, Dell Home, drugstore.com, eLUXURY.com, Eddie Bauer, eToys, gap.com, GiftCertificates.com, Harry & David, JCPenney, JR.com, Kodak EasyShare Gallery, landsend.com, macys.com, Saks.com, The Sharper Image, Overstock.com, RedEnvelope, Sears, Staples, and TigerDirect.com.

In addition, shoppers will earn "threshold" bonuses for purchases at those same retailers. Charge $250 or more to earn a threshold bonus of 500 miles; charge $500 or more to earn a 1,500-mile threshold bonus; and charge $1,000 or more to earn a 4,000-mile threshold bonus.

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Extra Points, Status for New Gold Crown Club Members

New members of Best Western's Gold Crown Club who enroll through the below link by December 31 will automatically be accorded Gold elite status and receive 1,000 bonus points after their first stay.

Additionally, new members who charge their first stay to an American Express card will receive another 1,000-point bonus.

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Stay at InterCon to Receive a $50 Visa Gift Card

Through March 31, 2008, Priority Club members who charge Friday or Saturday night stays at an InterContinental hotel in the U.S. or Puerto Rico to a Visa card will receive a $50 Visa gift card.

Register prior to traveling.

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Double Points for Shopping at the Marriott Mall

Through December 31, Marriott Rewards members will earn double points for purchases at the fllowing Marriott Rewards Mall vendors: the Apple Store, Circuit City, Dell Home, DisneyShopping, JC Penney, Lands' End, Nordstrom, Overstock, Staples, and Target.

As always when shopping at mileage malls, be sure to stop first at the mall's landing page and register your membership number. If you proceed directly to the merchant's website, your purchases won't be tracked and points cannot be awarded.

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Deal Alert from SmarterTravel.com

1) Ends Tonight: $18 Sale Fares from Spirit

Through 11:59 p.m. ET tonight, Spirit is offering sale fares from $18 round-trip. Cities include Atlantic City, Ft. Lauderdale, Freeport, and Cancun.

Travel is valid from December 11 through January 17, 2008. Book by December 5, 11:59 PM ET.

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2) Holiday Sale Fares on Delta from $118

Holiday season flights are on sale from Delta. Fares start at $118 round-trip, and destinations include Atlanta, Orlando, and Las Vegas. American, Northwest, and United all have similar holiday deals.

Travel is valid from December 13 through January 7, 2008. Most fares require a three-day minimum stay.

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Win 2.5 Million Delta Miles

Enter Delta's "Tickets for Life" sweepstakes by December 15 for a chance to win the grand prize of 2.5 million SkyMiles plus $25,000 in cash. Daily prizes of 50,000 miles each will also be awarded.

Entries are received for purchasing Delta tickets or by mailing in contact information without making a purchase.

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

Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel

"I've enjoyed reading The Frequent Flier Crier for the past couple of years and have come away with some really good tidbits.

"Here's my take on something you may find interesting. Over the past few years United Airlines has offered a promotion whereby, for a fee, customers could double their frequent flier accrual miles during the 4th quarter. I never needed it (10 year plus Premier Exec) and was frustrated that for the upcoming year I would be duking it out with an inflated number of Premier, Premier Execs, and 1K members because of this 'loophole.'

"2007 has proven to be different. This past year many of the destinations I have flown to are not on United's route. Net effect is that I'm going to come up short for Premier Exec for the first time in a long time. No problem - I think - I'll just do what my peers have done in the past, pay $300 - $400 and double my miles towards acheiving Premier Executive status for 2008. Here's the rub - United has changed their strategy. No more bonuses. I'm out.

"Finally, the real reason why I even cared about earning Premier Executive status has been minimized. Since most of my flights originate from Denver, the real 'pearl' for Prem Exec is the ability to cut the ridiculously long security lines. It is my hope that with the pending arrival with FlyClear that United's little monopoly on this important feature is about to be squashed.

"Like most of us on your distribution list, frequent flyer miles are our 'crack' and the airlines are the dealers. United's customer service is so horribly bad that I am feeling a sense of relief that I'm no longer chasing miles in order to get a perk that they don't have exclusivity on - expedited security check in. My only hope is that FlyClear meets their January commitment..." [Cary S.]

"Don't often write in response to media requests (Frequent Flier Crier), and I'm not a 'typical' frequent (business) air traveler any more. But, the stuff about redeeming miles is the prompt.

"In the 20-years or so since these programs came on the scene, one thing should have been clear to all from the start: mileage programs are primarily a revenue source for the airlines; they are not out there for the convenience and benefit of travelers.

"That said, the travel press is consistent in encouraging travelers to pick one or two programs/airlines and stick with them.

"While not taking sides here, it should be pretty obvious that for domestic travel, Southwest's program wins hands down. What gets in the way is that so many people find some reason or another to criticize Southwest's low-fares and on-time service because it isn't a cruise ship. Yes, Southwest has made some program changes, too. But, it's always about supply/demand in any business. The Southwest program requires customers to use the reward within one year (but may be renewed for a nominal fee). Can't see how that's a burden on the consumer.

"As to overseas flights/carriers, too many people want the Moon for sixpence. The key is/has been flexibility/code share partner booking.

"If miles are 'expiring', it is not the carriers' fault. Use-it-or lose-it is a fair deal. From years of experience the worst carrier "offenders" are not airlines I'd fly, anyway.

"Finally, there are so many frequent 'deals' on business class fares, I'm amazed people are so cheap as to want to fly 'free' vs. convenience. They probably don't tip much in a restaurant, either. (And, oh yes, I've never lost any miles.)" [Ed N.]

Until next week...