Issue #124  --  Dec. 12, 2000

<< U P F R O N T >>

>> 'Tis the Season...

   Even the Grinch knows: we're smack dab in the middle of the season of giving and receiving. Miles, that is. And this year, as never before, you can both earn miles when purchasing gifts and use miles to obtain them. Among other things.

In this special holiday issue, we have some timely tips for making the most of your miles over the next couple of weeks, whether you earn 'em, use 'em, or give 'em away.

Enjoy. And have a great holiday.

<< E A R N 'E M >>

>> Charge It!

   The premise is simple: Since you're going to spend a bundle on holiday gifts anyway, you may as well earn a bundle of miles in the process. And if a bundle of miles is good, a big bundle is better, and a bigger bundle is better still.

Delta, for example, recently changed the earning rate for SkyMiles credit cards to "Always Double Miles." Actually, it's not quite always -- the double miles are offered for charges at supermarkets, gas stations, drug stores, home improvement stores, and the U.S. Postal Service. But with some creativity, you should be able earn double miles for many holiday purchases.

Another change, also timely from a holiday shopping standpoint, is Hilton's recent upgrade of the HHonors credit card. The new card rewards users with 3 HHonors points for non-hotel charges, and 5 points for charges at HHonors hotels.

Whichever mileage card you choose to use, do use one. (If you don't have a mileage card, see the "How to Choose a Card" section of FrequentFlier.com, link below.)

>> More <<
o Delta
o Hilton
o How to Choose a Card

>> ClickRewards

   Although you have more options than ever, ClickRewards remains the gold standard of miles-for-online-purchase portals. Basically, the ClickRewards program lets members earn ClickMiles for purchases at participating online retailers. And the ClickMiles can in turn be redeemed for miles from 10 airline programs (American, America West, British Air, Canadian, Continental, Delta, Northwest, TWA, United, US Airways).

Naturally, you'll want to use your mileage card to charge purchases with ClickRewards merchants, thereby multiplying your mileage takeaway.

>> Amex Offer Zone

   If you participate in the Amex Membership Rewards program, this is a good time to check out the Offer Zone on the Amex website. There you'll find discounts, free shipping, bonus points and other special members-only offers from many, many participating merchants. The merchants are arranged both by category and alphabetically, so it's easy to find offers which meet your particular needs.

>> Charger Beware

   One caveat: Don't overpay for miles. If the item you wish to purchase is also available through a no-miles discounter, compare the with- and without-miles prices and compute the price-per-mile (price difference divided by the number of miles). If you're paying more than $0.02/mile, you may be better off forgoing the miles in favor of the lower price.

<< B U R N 'E M >>

>> Hotel Programs Have the Goods

   In general, the hotel programs have done far more than the airlines to expand their award catalogs beyond free travel and include merchandise suitable for gifts. And this would be just the season to take advantage of the frequent stay programs' points-for-merchandise awards.

If you have points in the Marriott Rewards program, for example, you can redeem them for a selection of gift-worthy merchandise from SkyMall, including gift certificates, consumer electronics and sports equipment.

Bass Hotels' Priority Club members are offered a limited award catalog online, but can call a Priority Club agent to select additional items from more than 50 brand-name manufacturers.

Hilton offers HHonors members a selection of merchandise awards online, augmented by a recently distributed paper catalog.

>> More <<
o Marriott Rewards
o Bass Priority Club
o Hilton HHonors

>> MilePoint.com

   If the hotel programs are old standbys, the fresh new face on the miles-for-merchandise scene is MilePoint.com.

With MilePoint, you can combine miles from 6 airlines (America West, Continental, Delta, Northwest, TWA, US Airways) and points from Hilton HHonors into a single currency, MilePoint Money. The MilePoint Money can then be used as partial payment for goods and services at participating e-tailers and for full payment for a wide range of magazine subscriptions.

The MilePoint model has 2 noteworthy features: 1) you can combine miles from different programs (all but impossible normally), and 2) your miles have a value of $0.02 when used for partial payment at merchants in the MilePoint network.

>> AOL AAdvantage Rewards

   This newly launched offshoot of the first frequent flyer program has a distinct digital orientation, as you would expect from a program co-offered by the world's largest ISP, OAL.

Whereas MilePoint makes it possible to use miles to partially pay for merchandise, AOL Rewards allows miles to be used for full payment. You can redeem your Rewards miles for 60+ items, ranging from a Harry Potter novel to a Sony Playstation. The weakness in the Rewards redeem-miles-for-merchandise proposition: the value of the miles is substantially less than the $0.02-per-mile value of miles redeemed for free airline tickets.

<< G I V E 'E M A W A Y >>

>> Give the Gift of Miles

   There's a "share the bounty" feeling in the air this time of year that gets people thinking about helping those less fortunate than themselves. There are many ways to scratch that itch, including donating miles that will be used for air transportation for those in need. All the major airlines (as well as some hotel programs and ClickRewards) have miles-for-charity programs. And making your generosity all the more meaningful, the airlines typically match donated miles. For specifics, use the Program Profiles link below to view a summary of each airline's charitable program, including supported charities and contact info.

[Editor's note on taxes. Our sources tell us, and the airlines' tax attorneys agree, that mileage donations are NOT tax deductible. While this is the majority view, I have heard recently from several would-be donators who were told by IRS agents that their mileage donations would be deductible. Before even thinking about a deduction, get a second and third opinion. Worst case: a questionable deduction could trigger a full audit.]

>> More <<
Program Profiles

>> Double Diners Points for Donations

   For those who want to donate cash rather than miles, here's a way to do it AND earn miles in the process.

Use your Diners Club card to charge a donation to any of 9 non-profit organizations, and Diners will reward your generosity with 2 Club Rewards points for every dollar donated. Offer is good through January 31, 2001.

>> Give CO Miles with OnePass MilePass

   Yet another option for using miles in the spirit of the season is to take advantage of Continental's limited-time MilePass promotion.

Through January 31, 2001, OnePass members may transfer miles to any other OnePass account for a service charge of $4 per 500 miles. Giving someone a few thousand miles to top off their account and qualify for a free ticket will earn you Santa status in most circles. On the other hand, there's no sense in giving someone 25,000 OnePass miles, since the giver would pay $200 to make the transfer when he could, for free, simply redeem those same miles for an award ticket issued in the name of the recipient.

>> More <<
Continental

>> Miles4Sale.com

   The Miles4Sale.com website launched less than 2 weeks ago, and already they report over 100,000 transactions. As the name suggests, a transaction here consists of buying miles. And while you can buy them for your own account, Miles4Sale is really about buying miles as gifts for others. They sell "Gift Baskets" of 500, 1,000, 2,500 or 5,000 miles for $19.95, $39.95, $99.95 and $179.95 respectively. The giver chooses the number of miles and a greeting message, after which the recipient is notified by e-mail or regular mail, and can choose to receive the miles from any of the participating airlines -- currently Continental, Delta and Northwest.

While you can purchase miles directly from some airlines -- and usually for $0.025 per mile, versus Miles4Sale's $0.04 -- that option is typically limited to topping off your own account when redeeming for an award. So this new wrinkle is something worth watching.