Issue #81  --  February 17, 2000

<< U P F R O N T >>

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New Forum on FrequentFlier.com
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In last week's issue, we mentioned the "new" FrequentFlier Forum. That was the good news. The bad news, as several readers have pointed out, is that in the process of upgrading the forum software, the formatting of older messages was destroyed. So messages posted on the forum more than 12 days ago (prior to the upgrade) lost their paragraph breaks, punctuation, and capital letters. Result: each affected message looks like a long run-on sentence.

Our apologies to everyone for the eye strain required to read older messages. Since all new posts will be properly formatted, the problem will disappear over time as newer posts push the older ones off the board.

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The FrequentFlier Forum

<< M I L E S >>

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Delta Adds SkyMiles Partners
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Delta and E*TRADE have launched a new partnership that awards bonus miles to SkyMiles members who open online trading accounts with E*TRADE.

SkyMiles members who deposit $1,000 when opening a new E*TRADE account will earn 5,000 bonus miles; members depositing $10,000 will earn 10,000 bonus miles; and members depositing $50,000 will earn 25,000 bonus miles.

Separately, SkyMiles has established a partnership with Latin America hotel company, Grupo Posadas.

Offering more than 60 hotels and nearly 12,000 rooms in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States, the Grupo Posadas family of hotels includes Caesar Park, Fiesta Americana and Fiesta Inn.

Delta SkyMiles members may now earn 500 miles for each qualifying stay* in select Caesar Park or Fiesta Americana hotels and 250 miles for each qualifying stay at Fiesta Inn hotels.

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o Delta
o E*TRADE
o Caesar Park
o Fiesta Americana
o Fiesta Inn

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TWA Ups FareRewards Bonuses
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TWA is offering up to triple FareRewards miles in TWA's Aviators frequent flyer program for those who travel through April 30, 2000.

FareRewards offers customers who purchase first-class, business-class and full-fare coach tickets one bonus mile, excluding taxes, for every dollar spent on those fares. For any travel on those fares through April 30th, those miles will be tripled.

During the same period, FareRewards mileage will apply to all other discounted published fares. That means that even travelers who don't fly on full fares will receive at least one bonus mile, excluding taxes, for each dollar spent on published fares. The bonus mileage applies to TWA, Trans World Express and Trans World Connection fares.

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TWA

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Austrian Air Will Quit Dividend Miles
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As of March 26, 2000 Austrian Airlines will no longer participate in the Dividend Miles Program.

Dividend Miles members will be able to accrue Dividend Miles on Austrian Airlines flights through March 25, 2000, and redeem Dividend Miles for award travel on Austrian Airlines through September 22, 2000. Award tickets will be valid one year from the date of issue, and all award travel must be completed by September 22, 2001.

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US Airways

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Earn Bonus Miles on Northwest's New Italy Flights
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Northwest Airlines passengers can earn 10,000 WorldPerks bonus miles by flying roundtrip on World Business Class fares on Northwest's new daily nonstop service between Detroit and Rome or Detroit and Milan between April 2 and June 30, 2000. Customers can earn 5,000 WorldPerks bonus miles roundtrip when flying in any other paid class of service.

Northwest will inaugurate daily nonstop service in the Detroit -- Rome and Detroit -- Milan markets beginning April 2.

To take advantage of the promotion, you must reside in the United States or Canada, and register for the promotion at least one week before travel and no later than April 30, 2000.

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Register by calling 1-800-508-2000, ext. 9825, or at http://www.nwa.com/offers/italy

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Upgrade in Latin America
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Through December 20, 2000, any first- or business-class passengers traveling on American Airlines, or American Airlines travel partners in Latin America, will receive an upgrade to a suite or a Club room when staying at any of the Inter-Continental or Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts in Latin America.

American Airlines Travel partners in the region include Grupo TACA, Aerolineas Argentinas, TAM Brasil, and LanChile.

To receive the upgrade, present your first or business class ticket or boarding pass upon check-in.

The upgrade program is offered through Bass Hotels & Resorts' hotel reward program, Priority Club Worldwide. If you're not a member of Priority Club, you will be automatically enrolled upon check-in.

Participating Inter-Continental and/or Crowne Plaza hotels are located in Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Domincan Republic, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Brazil.

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o Crowne Plaza
o Inter-Continental

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Northwest, America West Bonus for Las Vegas-Tokyo
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America West Airlines and Northwest Airlines have joined up to offer to their members the following offer.
 
Earn up to 10,000 WorldPerks OR FlightFund Bonus Miles for roundtrip travel on the Northwest Airlines nonstop from Las Vegas to Tokyo (NRT) between Feb 1 and April 25. Members in either program earn 10,000 bonus miles roundtrip for purchased First or World Business Class travel and 5,000 miles roundtrip for coach travel booked in Y, B, or M class. Travel must be on Northwest flights 77 and 78. Mileage may only be accrued in one frequent flyer program.

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Details are available here.

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Bonus Miles, Discounts for Midwest Express Flights
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Midwest Express Airlines and Skyway Airlines are offering reduced fares to select markets for travel completed by September 30, 2000. In addition, Midwest Express Frequent Flyers earn double miles for travel February 12 through April 30, 2000, on all Midwest Express and Skyway flights.

Sale fares will be available through midnight Central time Friday, February 25, 2000. The sale is two-tiered: Tier One fares are valid for travel through April 30, 2000 and must be purchased at least 7 days in advance of departure. Tier Two fares are valid for travel May 1 through September 30, 2000 and must be purchased at least 14 days in advance of departure.

Fares are each way based on roundtrip purchase, and require a Friday- or Saturday-night stay.

Tier One fares are available for travel through April 30, with a 7-day advance purchase. Tier Two fares are available for travel May 1 through September 30, with a 14-day advance purchase. A Friday- or Saturday-night stay is required. Tickets are nonrefundable.

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Midwest Express

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New Mileage Site: MileSource.com
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MileSource is the latest program to offer "miles" for various online activities: visiting and/or making purchases at participating online retailers, and referring friends to the program.

The MileSource currency is AwardMiles, which can be redeemed for free flights on American, Continental, Delta and Northwest. Award thresholds are roughly equivalent to those found in airline programs--e.g., 25,000 AwardMiles can be redeemed for a free ticket within the U.S.

As we said about WebMiles in a recent issue of The Crier (http://frequentflier.com/ffc-0127.htm), these programs can be worthwhile, especially if you're a frequent buyer rather than a frequent flyer. But bear in mind that AwardMiles cannot be combined with miles in your airline account(s).

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MileSource.com

<< 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...

>> Major Spring Fare War!

Several major airlines have put spring travel on sale through February 18, with savings of 5-40%. Travel is valid off-peak days between February 21 and May 24. Northwest, Continental, Delta, US Airways, American, United and America West are among the major airlines battling for your spring travel dollars.

Details are here.

>> Great Deals To Europe
Now is a great time to head to Europe, with a variety of deals presently being offered to help you get there.

a. US Airways is offering special sale fares to Europe, starting at $250 round-trip.

Details are here.

b. Northwest Airlines also is offering low fares to Europe this spring, with round-trip ticket prices starting at $368.

Details are here.

<< I N D U S T R Y U P D A T E >>

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BizFlex Fares from Northwest
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Northwest introduced a new class of business fares late last week that are 40 percent cheaper than unrestricted full coach walk-up fares, hoping to attract travelers who don't want to build a Saturday night stay into the trip to save money.

BizFlex fares require a roundtrip purchase at least 10 days in advance and a one night minimum stay. They are nonrefundable and subject to a $75 change fee and can be purchased through travel agents, at Northwest ticket offices or on the company's Web site.

With BizFlex fares, a roundtrip flight between Minneapolis and Omaha is $392, compared with the full coach fare of $654; the fare between Detroit and Boston is $628, compared with full coach fare of $1,046, and the Memphis-Portland, Ore. BizFlex fare is $1,050, compared with $1,750 for full coach.

The fares are about 10 percent more expensive than Saturday night stay fares purchased 14 days in advance and will cost 20 percent to 30 percent more than restricted tickets purchased at least 21 days before travel. The airline's initial projection was that the new fare would generate about $50 million in annual revenue, without significantly "diluting" its current business-fare revenues.

After the new fare was introduced, other airlines matched the price but eliminated the 10-day advance purchase requirement, forcing Northwest to discontinue BizFlex in selected markets. Northwest claims that after the change, BizFlex fares are still available to 60% of its customer base in more than 80% of its markets.

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Northwest

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Airline Alliances, the WSJ Take
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Global airline alliances are big news these days, and have a lot to do with the all-important partner networks which define the competing frequent flyer programs.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article this week, assessing the alliances from a consumer standpoint. It's a good overview of a situation all travelers should be monitoring.

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WSJ on Alliances

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America's Most Admired Airlines
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Fortune magazine released results of its "Most Admired Companies" rankings this week. The rankings reflect the opinions of 10,000 executives who were asked to rate companies on a variety of measures, including quality of management, innovativeness, product quality, etc.

For the top 10 airlines, the results were as follows (from most to least admired):

1. Southwest
2. Continental
3. American
4. Delta
5. United
6. Alaska
7. Northwest
8. America West
9. US Airways
10. TWA

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Fortune's Most Admired Companies

<< B U S I N E S S T R A V E L T I P S >>

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Things to Know Before You Go
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The following is part of a continuing series of business travel tips from Chris McGinnis's "The Unofficial Business Traveler's Pocket Guide--165 Tips Even the Best Business Travelers May Not Know."

>> Beware of Fees

International travelers should be wary of "departure fees" usually required as you clear customs on your way out of the country. Many countries require that the payment (sometimes hefty) be made in cash at the airport. In the United States, the steep $24 fee is added to the cost of your airline ticket.

Chris McGinnis
Travel Skills Group
PO Box 52927
Atlanta, GA 30355
http://www.travelskills.com

<< T R A V E L O N L I N E >>

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New Websites from Delta, America West
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In the past few weeks, Delta and America West have rolled out completely redesigned websites. In both cases, the changes are for the better--clearer navigation; more attractive graphics; robust content.

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o America West
o Delta

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

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For a Laugh: Alien Song Animation
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Occasionally, we wander completely off the travel path and recommend a website with only the most tenuous relationship to airlines, frequent flyer miles, and the like.

This is such an occasion. In the same vein as the Dancing Hamster site we suggested last year, this week's suggestion is a bit of computer animation with no more pretension than to be simply funny. It is.

Take a minute away from whatever you're doing for a laugh.

(You'll need the QuickTime plug-in to view this. If you don't have it, it's worth downloading. And it's free.)

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Alien Song animation

Until next week...