Happy, Unharried Holiday Travels

Due to the July 4th holiday, and the fact that many of our readers are either already on the road or getting ready to head out to the airport, we're keeping this issue of the Crier short. We'll be back with a full issue next week.

Reflecting on the holiday crush -- which should be mitigated somewhat by the recession -- I'm reminded of an aphorism coined by an unlikely source, Jorma Kaukonen, former guitarist with the Jefferson Airplane: "Happiest is he who is harried least."

Good and safe -- and unharried -- travels to all.

"Up Front" Blog Entries

Following are some of Tim's recent blog posts:

• Dine Out for Double Miles
  Six airlines are offering 10 frequent flyer miles for every dollar spent at more than 10,000 restaurants. Having a leisurely lunch sure beats flying a thousand miles.
• Frontier and Midwest Will Be Frequent Flyer Partners
  Republic's plan to buy Frontier and Midwest creates new frequent flyer opportunities for travelers, and gives Midwest a new lease on life.
• Virgin America Expands Its Mileage Program
  With the addition of Avis and Budget, Virgin America has begun addressing its loyalty program's woeful lack of earning partners.
• Have Airline Ticket Prices Finally Hit Bottom?
  Ticket prices could, finally, be on the rise. Which means the time is right to book without fear of buyer's remorse.

The FrequentFlier Forum - Hot Topics

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

In the "Credit Card Programs" Forum, DJHerm received the following notice by mail: "Because you are a valued Citi/AAdvantage cardmember, we're giving you a great opportunity to earn 500 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles for every $500 you spend on supermarket, drugstore and gas station purchases, as well as utilities such as phone service, cable/satellite TV and Internet service, and water and energy payments between 6/1/09 and 11/30/09." Nice!

And in the "Contests & Sweepstakes" Forum, ronald has info and links to a sweepstakes to win a stay at the Boston InterContinental hotel.

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

:: More

Returns next week.

Deal Alert from SmarterTravel.com

1) Europe Sale Fares on Delta From $398

Fall flights to Europe are on sale from Delta. Fares start at $398 round-trip, and destinations include Budapest, Dublin, Madrid, and Venice.

Travel is valid from August 17 through October 24. Book by July 6, 11:59 PM ET.

:: More

2) Southwest's Milwaukee Sale Fares From $49 Each Way

Southwest has announced a sale to promote its new Milwaukee service. Introductory prices start at $49 one-way or $98 round-trip for travel in November and December.

Travel is valid Mondays through Thursdays and Saturdays from November 1 through December 17. Book by July 30, 11:59 PM PT.

:: More

Win a Trip for 2 to Fiji

Enter VIV Publishing's "VIV It Up in Fiji" sweepstakes by October 11 for a chance to win a one-week trip for two to Fiji, including flight from Los Angeles, and seven nights' hotel accommodation.

:: More

[Visit FrequentFlier.com for more travel sweepstakes.]

Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel

We welcome reader feedback on issues related to travel generally and frequent flyer programs in particular. Please use this link to submit comments.

Delta -- 'No Longer the Airline It Used to Be'

"I have elite status on Delta and have had ever since I had to stop flying with TWA and switched to Delta. Delta is no longer the airline it used to be, and your readers' raves and rants which this week are only about Delta bear this out.

"Formerly when there was a problem on a flight, they immediately offered a voucher; nowadays they only offer apologies. Delta seems bent on grabbing as much as they can while giving as little service as they can get away giving. They seem to forget that there are other airlines out there, and some of those do receive positive reviews from their passengers: Virgin Atlantic comes to mind, not to mention most of the Asian airlines." [Nancy E. - Rome, Italy.]

Another Delta Comment

"I note your take on Delta.

"I have been able to travel Boston to Manila each year with 60,000 miles on Northwest and American. I have 500,000 miles on Delta through American Express card of 38 years. Impossible to get 60,000, only 90,000 or 120,000 so all of a sudden miles are worth much less.

"Even Delta Corporate cannot help." [Dick M.]

US Airways, Reconsidered

"I was getting a little disgusted with US Airways (charges for luggage, no free 25,000 mile roundtrip awards available during the summer, etc.), but low and behold I now love them.

"I am an amputee and practically live in my wheelchair 24/7. My husband and I took a trip to Las Vegas last week and on the return flight somehow my wheelchair frame was broken while in the cargo hold. I did not notice this until I returned to my home and immediately reported it by phone. It was 1:30 AM and the person on the phone was very apologetic and gave me a number to call in the morning. I called the number and the person said there is no problem and they would replace the chair. They even made arrangements with a company in Chicago to bring me a loaner chair until they could get me the new one. Well now I have a new chair and everything is great.

"My thanks again to the great people in the US Airways luggage department." [Marsha in Chicago]

Until next week...