Issue #123  --  Dec. 7, 2000

<< U P F R O N T >>

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Holiday Travel, Interruptus?
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The prospects for holiday travel are looking less than rosy. Scrappy Texas-based Legend Airlines filed for protection under Chapter 11. Shortly thereafter, 16-month-old National Airlines followed Legend's lead and declared bankruptcy. Delta's labor problems (shades of United!) have resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations over the past week. And labor-management discord threatens to disrupt the operations of several other major carriers as well.

Whatever your holiday travel plans may be, this year more than ever it will behoove you to have a backup plan, use paper tickets (in case you're forced to have them endorsed over to an alternate carrier), and generally follow the peak-season advice you've read here in the past. Unless, that is, you do the smart thing and JUST STAY HOME.

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Special "Holiday Earn & Burn" Issue
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In addition to the regular Thursday edition, look for a special Crier issue early next week focusing on holiday mileage earning and redemption opportunities.

<< O N S I T E >>

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

Jon poses the question: Do bonus miles count toward elite status? (Answer: Almost always, not.) Kaleem has 26,000 Lufthansa miles and wants suggestions on using them. (Philippe has some ideas.) Chase is looking for ways to transfer his NW miles to another program. Linda has an update on the miles-for-Nutrigrain-bars promotion.

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

>> More <<
The FrequentFlier Forum

<< M I L E S >>

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Countdown to Elite: 3 Weeks to Go
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Time's running out! If you haven't yet accrued the necessary miles, segments or points to qualify for elite status in 2001, you have just 3 weeks to do so.

Just a friendly reminder from your Mileage Mama...

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Amtrak Guest Rewards (continued)
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We reported last week on the newly launched Amtrak frequent-rider program, Guest Rewards. We have since received further information on the rewards side of the program, which is also now available on the Guest Rewards website. Here are the highlights:

Rental Car Awards (Hertz) - Redeem 7,500 Guest Rewards points for 2 free weekend days, 10,000 points for 2 non-weekend free days or a $100 Award Check Voucher, 25,000 points for 1 free week.

Airline Miles - Redeem 5,000 points for 5,000 airline miles from Continental, Midwest Express or United.

Hotel Stays - Redeem 10,000 - 27,500 points for free hotel nights at Sheraton/Westin. Or at Marriott, redeem 10,000 points for a free weekend night, or 15,000 points for a non-weekend night.

In addition to the above, and free Amtrak tickets, the program offers gift certificates at a range of retailers and restaurants ($50 for 5,000 points), and movie theater tickets (4 tickets for 5,000 points).

Confirming our original guess based on limited information, this is hardly a compelling program. Assuming an airline mile to be worth $0.02, spending $5,000 on Amtrak tickets to earn 5,000 airline miles amounts to a 2% discount or rebate. The discount rate is even worse for gift certificates: spending $5,000 to earn a $50 certificate is just a 1% return.

So, is Guest Rewards going to increase train usage? Not a bit. On the other hand, if you have to take the train anyway, you may as well take advantage of the added value, little as it is.

>> More <<
Amtrak Guest Rewards

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Northwest Offers Bonus for New Biz Class
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Northwest has revamped it business class product and is promoting the launch by awarding 10,000 bonus miles to customers who purchase and travel roundtrip in World Business Class to Asia, Europe and beyond through January 31, 2001.

You must register prior to travel, and no later than December 31, 2000, using registration code 8020.

>> More <<
Northwest

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American Eagle Promotes New Flights with Extra Miles
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Beginning January 4, American Eagle will launch new flights between Richmond, VA, and Chicago, between Washington, D.C., and Columbus, OH, and between Washington, D.C., and Toronto. To promote the new services, AAdvantage members will earn double miles through March 31.

To earn the bonus, register prior to travel at 1-800-882-8880 or http://www.aa.com/offers using the applicable promotion code (Richmond, VA - Chicago: code DBRIC; Washington, D.C. - Columbus, OH: code RJDCA; Washington, D.C. - Toronto: code RJYYZ).

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Icelandair Offers Double, Triple Points
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Purchase a special Icelandair Frequent Flyer fare for travel in December to Iceland, Europe, Scandinavia or the United Kingdom and receive double or triple Saga Bonus-Frequent Flyer award points.

Depart between December 1 and 14 or December 24 and 31 to receive double points. Depart between December 15 and 23 to receive triple points.

>> More <<
Icelandair

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Northwest Extends Online Booking Bonus
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Northwest's first-time online booker offer has been extended through June 30.

The offer: WorldPerks members earn 4,000 bonus miles when making their first Northwest reservation on the airline's website.

>> More <<
Northwest

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Delta Adds Czech Carrier to SkyMiles Lineup
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CSA Czech Airlines, the national carrier of the Czech Republic, became a SkyMiles partner on December 1, allowing SkyMiles members to earn miles on all CSA-coded flights and redeem on all CSA-operated flights.

CSA has been invited to join the SkyTeam global alliance, which includes Aeromexico, Air France, Delta and Korean Air on April 1, 2001. Delta and CSA will begin codeshare flights March 25, 2001.

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Southwest Offers Bonus for Onsite Car Rentals
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Southwest has added the ability to make rental car reservations on its website, and is offering bonus miles to those who do so.

Rapid Rewards members who book rental cars with Alamo, Budget or Hertz, in conjunction with Southwest flights, earn double credits.

For Alamo and Budget, the double credit offer is valid for cars picked up by January 31, 2001. For Hertz, the offer runs through February 28, 2001.

>> More <<
Southwest

<< 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...

>> Savings to/from Florida and the Caribbean

US Airways has announced a sale on travel to/from destinations in Florida and the Caribbean. Purchase tickets by Monday, December 11. Other U.S. airlines have matched the Florida fares.

For more details, go here.

>> Winter Travel to London and Ireland Starting at $239 R/T

Virgin Atlantic has released a sale on winter travel to London, with round-trip fares starting at $239. Aer Lingus is offering a "2 for 1" sale to Ireland, with fares from $549 for two passengers.

For more details, go here.

<< S I T E 2 S E E >>

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Afraid to Fly?
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If fear of flying is an issue for you, as it apparently is for tens of millions of Americans, have a look at the FearOfFlying.com website.

There's both a commercial and an informational aspect to the site. Commercially, they are selling a program and individual counseling to overcome fear of flying. Without commenting on the Soar program (since we haven't tried it and don't know anyone who has), I can recommend the site's discussion board, the FAQ (frequently asked questions), and live chat.

If I were afraid to fly (not the case, thankfully), FearOfFlying.com could be an important source of information and moral support.

>> More <<
FearOfFlying.com

Until next week...