U P F R O N T

Holiday Publication Schedule
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With the upcoming Christmas and New Year's holidays, we'll be publishing the Crier as follows:

Dec. 26 - No newsletter
Jan. 2 - If there's breaking news, we'll publish; otherwise, not

During our off-week(s), if you find yourself suffering from mileage withdrawal, by all means visit the website and join the conversation on the Forum which runs 24/7.

Holiday Travel; Note to Santa
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Several readers have asked whether I planned any mileage runs over the holidays. Answer: no. Reason: this year, comfort trumps miles. So I'll be driving up the coast from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, spending quality time with old friends, and visiting as many of the wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley (Byron, Rancho Sisquoc, Sanford, Zaca Mesa) as I can. There's no air travel required, and I stay in a cheap motel. So my only miles will be earned for charges (motel, meals, cases of wine), but that's all.

Speaking of mileage runs, the miles and points have been flying every which way in a desperate attempt to revive travel. Great for us mileage hounds, and grist for our editorial mill. But let's not let the short-term glitter of inflated incentives blind us to the medium- and long-term prospects for the industry. The clear and present danger is that the current funk will so destabilize the more precarious airlines that we'll find ourselves with fewer choices, higher prices and degraded service.

So my single-item wishlist for Santa: Whatever it takes (and I'll defer to the North Pole economists to craft a sound recovery package), give us enough viable airlines to insure a robust, highly competitive, consumer-driven travel industry. We deserve it. Really!

Last but hardly least, I wish all Crier readers a safe and rewarding holiday (be it spent cocooning or mileage-hunting) and a happy, peaceful New Year.

O N S I T E

End-of-Year Focus: AAdvantage
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The year 2001 is almost over, and none too soon. Bright spots were few and far between. What really stood out, and deserves consumers' recognition and gratitude, was American's treatment of members of TWA's Aviators program. For more on the Aviators acquisition and an interview with the president of AAdvantage, see the article online.

> More...

New on the FrequentFlier Forum
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"I wanted to go to Australia in November of 2001. I had only had Delta miles so about a year ago I found this forum. As a result of all your help I have gotten over 200,000 United Miles for two business class tickets to Australia in one year. I just booked the first half of our trip and will book the second half when it is 330 days from my return date. Many many thanks to FF forum. You are all wonderful!!!!!"

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

> More...

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

ClickRewards: "Suspended"
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In the Oct. 10 issue of the Crier, we reported on the bankruptcy of Netcentives -- parent company of ClickRewards -- and urged the following: "My recommendation (and what I have done myself): cash out your ClickMiles now, while you can."

If you failed to heed our advice, it may be too late. Their website is no longer accessible, except for a front page with the following:

"The ClickRewards program has been temporarily suspended as to all redemption and earning opportunities. Please check back to this site within the next two weeks for a further update regarding the program. We will not be responding to customer service inquiries during the pendancy of this suspension. Thank you for your patience during this time."

Don't know what 'pendancy' means, but it can't be good.

Double Miles for Delta Shuttle
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Delta Shuttle is offering SkyMiles members double miles on all Delta Shuttle flights flown between Dec. 16 and Dec. 31, 2001.

Earn double the actual miles flown or double the 500-mile minimum, whichever is greater, after each qualifying flight. In addition, SkyMiles members earn a bonus of 1,000 miles for each round trip or 500 miles each way for each ticket purchased at delta.com. No registration required for either of these offers.

Delta Doubles Miles for Brussels Flights
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SkyMiles members traveling between New York (JFK) and Brussels on Delta-operated flights from Dec. 16, 2001 through Mar. 31, 2002, will earn double miles.

In addition, double base miles, which count toward 2002 elite Medallion status, will be awarded on select BusinessElite and select economy fares. Offer applies to fares booked in J, D, I, Y, B or M class. Other fare classes receive double miles that do not count toward Medallion status.

To register for this promotion, members residing in the United States, Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands can call 1-800-558-3358 and enter their SkyMiles number and code 2050, or visit http://delta-offers.com/jfk.

Additionally, members will receive a Class of Service bonus equal to 50% of their actual miles flown for Business/BusinessElite travel through Mar. 31, 2002, instead of the standard 25%. The Class of Service bonus applies to fares booked in J, C or D classes and excludes fares booked in I class. Fares booked in I class will receive the standard 25% Class of Service bonus.

MilePoint Does Discounts
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In an interesting departure from its original business model, MilePoint.com has launched OutletOne, an online discount mall offering merchandise at up to 70% below retail.

To take advantage of the discounts, MilePoint members redeem 250 miles or points per order. At $0.02 per mile, in other words, you'll be "spending" $5.00 worth of miles in order to realize a significant discount on the purchase price.

As with bricks-and-mortar outlet stores, most (all?) of the OutletOne merchandise consists of discontinued items. In just a few minutes of surfing the site, I found 2 products I wanted AND felt were great deals: an ATT cordless phone, discounted from $90 to $35, and a Swiss Army watch, discounted from $170 to $79. Both were discontinued models, which bothered me not at all.

> More...

AAdvantage Awards Discounted for Citibank Cardholders
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Citibank has released the list of 48 AAdvantage award destinations available at discounted mileage levels between Jan. 1 through Mar. 31, 2002.

The discounted awards are a special benefit for Citi Gold AAdvantage, Citi Gold AAdvantage World MasterCard, Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage, Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage World MasterCard and Citi AAdvantage Business cardmembers.

> More...

US Airways' Bonus for New Members Flying to Caribbean
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New Dividend Miles members whose first flight is on US Airways/US Airways Express to the Caribbean will earn 2,500 bonus miles.

Offer is valid between Dec. 3, 2001 and Feb. 28, 2002, for U.S. and Canadian residents. The enrollment bonus cannot be applied retroactively and is not valid for current Dividend Miles members.

> More...

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...

Last-Minute Holiday Travel Sale Starting at $78 R/T
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Delta Air Lines has released a fare sale for travel on specific dates over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Purchase tickets online only and by Friday, Dec. 28. No advance purchase is required.

> More...

'Home for the Holidays' Sale With 20% Online Savings
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Vanguard Airlines has released a "Home for the Holidays" fare sale with 20% savings on all fares booked online by Sunday, Dec. 23. Fares are valid for travel through Feb. 28, 2002.

> More...

S W E E P S T A K E S & F R E E B I E S

Win "One and a Million" Sweeps
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Apply for an Alaska Airlines Platinum, Gold or Classic credit card before Jan. 31, 2002, to be entered in the "One and a Million" sweepstakes.

Grand Prize: a trip for 2 to the Pac-10 Basketball Tournament in Los Angeles, including roundtrip air, hotel accommodations, tournament tickets, and $1,000. The winner will also have the opportunity to make a half-court shot to win 1 million bonus, 50,000 bonus miles for a successful free throw, and 20,000 bonus miles for a successful lay-up.

Other prizes include 5 pairs of Alaska Airlines systemwide ticket vouchers and 50 Pac-10 garment travel bags.

> More...

[Other travel-related sweepstakes and giveaways are online at http://frequentflier.com/sweeps.htm.]

R E A D E R R A N T S & R A V E S

Transferring Aviators Miles (cont)
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We continue to receive reports from readers on their experiences -- mostly positive -- transferring miles from Aviators to AAdvantage.

"My TWA Aviators miles transferred very smoothly; I was impressed. But, I just spoke with American's customer service department, and was told that Aviators miles flown this year will NOT count towards American's elite status. Apparently they've received a lot of flack because she said they'd reevaluate that decision after the new year, but for now, TWA miles flown this year will not count for any elite status."

- Mark

[Editor's note - My understanding is that Aviators miles earned during 2001 WILL count toward 2002 elite status in AAdvantage. The necessary recalculations will be finished by the end of Feb. 2002, probably much sooner.]

"I actually switched over myself and my husband as well as both of my children without any problem.

"For my oldest son who lives in New York I had to speak to a representative at both TWA & American. They were both really helpful. In all it was a very easy experience."

- Jan

"What really bugs me is that my Aviator miles had no expiration date, but now as AA miles they expire in 2004. Now I must use them or lose them!!"

- Sandra

Until next week...