U P F R O N T

Is the Trend Line Turning Up?
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For the past 2 years, frequent flyer programs have been on a downward spiral, variously injuring and insulting their members with added fees, higher award levels, and more onerous policies. We've covered the garden-variety travesties in the "Miles & Points" section of this newsletter, and highlighted the most egregious mileage misdeeds in periodic "B-a-a-a-d Doggie" sections. (For a romp through the past year's events, all back issues of the newsletter are posted at http://frequentflier.com/ffp-news.htm.)

It's too soon to say for sure, but there are signs that the tide is turning.

Outgoing Delta chief Leo Mullin recently enjoined workers to rededicate themselves to customer service after a period of what he called "laser-like attention to cash flow." We'll have to see whether that translates into positive changes for SkyMiles members. But Delta's current experiment with all-coach service featuring seats with 36-inch pitch is an encouraging emphasis on ratcheting up service instead of squeezing customers.

In stark contrast to moves by some carriers (notably Delta and Continental) to make elite status harder to attain, United's suite of changes to the Mileage Plus elite tier was overwhelmingly positive.

In Nov., when Northwest announced upcoming changes to WorldPerks, the airline took pains to emphasize that they would not follow Delta and Continental's lead in restricting full elite credit to unrestricted fares.

And yesterday's announcement by American (see below) is more of the same.

Isolated cases? Perhaps. But one gets a sense of momentum here, an inkling that such positive changes will be the rule rather than the exception in the coming months.

In short, I think we've hit bottom, and that we're in store for a 2004 that's heavy on the upside.

Think I've been over-imbibing in holiday cheer? In the interest of accountability, we'll revisit my prediction in a year.

In the meantime, what's your sense of the coming year, mileage-wise? Better? Worse? More of the same?

Holiday Publication Schedule
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The Crier will not be published next week (Christmas) or the following week (New Years).

The next issue will be in your in-box on Jan. 7, 2004.

Best wishes for the holidays

O N S I T E

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

Gary has details of the latest miles-for-telecom offers. Kleimig is just short of Exec Platinum in AAdvantage... or is he? Paul weighed in on airport dining. And much more...

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

> More...

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

American's Elite Mods
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American added AAdvantage to the "good news for 2004" side of the ledger with yesterday's announcement of changes to the elite level of their program for 2004.

First, what won't change: miles and segments will continue to count fully toward elite qualification, just as they do currently, with no earning penalty for cheaper tickets. That's good news for budget-conscious business travelers and others who travel frequently on restricted coach fares. They will still earn full credit toward elite status.

What's new is the earning rate for elite-qualifying points. Here's the comparison:

                   [1] Y, B fares
                   [2] H, K, M, Q (except AA transatlantic fares booked in Q), W, V
                   [3] G, L, N, S

To summarize, rates for the highest- and lowest-priced fares remain the same. But those purchasing tickets in the 2 higher coach tiers earn an extra .5 points per mile. And the bonus for business-class tickets is upped .25 points per mile.

The new rates will apply retroactively to 2003 travel for 2004 elite status.

Bottom line: American found a way to give higher-paying customers more, without rewarding thriftier customers any less.

Note to Delta and Continental - It's not rocket science.

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Bonus for Charging AA Tickets to a MasterCard
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Through Dec. 31, flights booked on American, American Eagle or AmericanConnection at AA.com and charged to a MasterCard will earn 2,500 AAdvantage bonus miles.

Charge the same trip to a Citi/AAdvantage MasterCard to earn an additional 1,500 miles, for a total of 4,000.

Bonus for MasterCard charges is in addition to the ongoing 1,000 bonus-mile offer for online bookings.

While the deadline for booking is Dec. 31, travel may take place anytime between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31, 2004.

Registration by Dec. 31 is required, either at the below link or by calling 1-800-882-8880 and citing promotion code MCBNS.

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America West's (Mostly Bad) News
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When the announcement begins "America West is maintaining the benefits Elite members value most when flying with us," you know there's bad news to follow.

Sure enough, effective Jan. 1, 2004, FlightFund elite members will receive fewer elite bonus miles. The new scheme: 100%/50%/25% bonuses for Platinum/Gold/Silver elites respectively, versus the current 125%/100%/50% bonus rate. Plus, Platinum Reduced Top Value Award redemptions will be discontinued.

> More...

There are also changes to the awards side of the program. In place of the simple, generous award chart currently governing domestic awards, a new distance-based award chart will take effect in 2004. Award trips of up to 750 miles 1 way will be lowered from the current 20,000/40,000 miles for restricted coach/first class to 15,000/30,000 miles. And longer award trips will be priced higher, at 25,000/50,000 miles for restricted coach/first class.

> More...

Delta Gets on the Mileage Mall Bandwagon
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A tad late for Christmas shopping, Delta has replaced its anemic SkyMiles Holiday Shopping micro-mall (5 participating retailers) with a full-fledged online mall featuring more than 100 e-retailers, including BOSE, Circuit City, Eddie Bauer, gap.com, L.L.Bean, sharperimage.com, Target, etc.

Depending on the retailer, SkyMiles members earn up to 10 miles per $1 spent at Skymilesshopping.com.

Holders of the Amex Delta SkyMiles credit card will earn 1,000 bonus miles when charging their first purchase on the site between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28, 2004.

Delta's mall is operated by Advantex Marketing, a Canadian company which runs similar programs for United and US Airways.

With Delta's mall in place, American is the only major airline without a robust miles-for-merchandise offering.

> More...

Loews Metro Man Package
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Weaving together 2 oh-so-current threads -- "Queer Eye" makeovers and the newly minted "metrosexual" demographic designation -- Loews Hotels has come out (pun intended) with a novel package, the Loews Metro Man, "a 24-hour transformation featuring services to educate, pamper and makeover a man."

Specifically, in addition to a 1-night hotel stay, Metro Men receive a 2-hour tasting meal, etiquette info, wine instruction, manicure or pedicure, haircut and shave and a consultation with a personal shopper. Or there's the Metro Man Deluxe: all of the above plus waxing, a facial, dental bleaching, etc., over the course of a 2-night stay.

Both packages also include 12 months of Platinum membership in LoewsFirst rewards program.

Price for the basic package begins at $525 at the Loews Beverly Hills Hotel and reaches $2,370 at The Regency, a Loews property in Manhattan.

(A metrosexual is a highly style conscious, straight, urban male who embraces what were traditionally thought of as feminine traits. Really... I don't make this stuff up.)

> More...

Spanair Joins US Air Program
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Effective Dec. 16, Dividend Miles members may earn mileage credit for Spanair flights. Coach fares earn actual flown miles, and there's a 50% bonus for business class. Spanair miles count toward Preferred status, and Spanair flights earn Preferred bonus miles.

There's no start date yet for award travel on Spanair.

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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...

Sale fares to the Caribbean from $168
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US Airways has announced sale fares to 24 destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America, including Costa Rica, Mexico, and Belize. Travel is valid from Jan. 5, 2004, through Feb. 12, 2004. Book tickets by Tuesday, Dec. 23.

> More...

Low fares to China, Japan, etc. from $480
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Find low fares to the Far East with Asia sales from Northwest and United. Northwest is offering sale fares to a variety of cities in Asia starting at $584 roundtrip, while United's sale is only for travel to Tokyo, Japan, from $480. Travel dates and booking deadlines vary by airline.

> More...

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

Win 1 Million HHonors Points
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Between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31, 2004, enter Hilton's "Daily Million Point Giveaway" to win 1 of 106 daily prizes of 1 million HHonors bonus points each. That's right, they will give away a total of 106 million miles.

Automatic entries are triggered by Double Dip stays between Jan. 1 and Apr. 15 booked and paid for with a Visa card at hiltonhhonors.com or at any Hilton Family website. Those stays also earn 500 HHonors bonus points.

Or enter without making a purchase, by mailing in an entry form.

> More...

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

S I T E 2 S E E

MileDonor Makes Mile Donations Easy
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For those with surplus miles and a charitable bent, MilesDonor will help them use the former to address the latter. The site neatly pulls together the miles-for-charities opportunities at all major programs, making it a simple matter to donate miles to a host of worthwhile charities.

'Tis the season!

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Until next year...