U P F R O N T
Errata: the Ueberroths, Unscrambled
============================
It's not often that we (OK... me, I, Tim) make a mistake, at least in this newsletter. Last week was the exception that makes the rule. In spite of a niggling sense of "Wrong!" I identified 1 of the 3 new MilePoint.com board members as 'Joe Uebberoth' and listed among his credentials past stints with the Los Angeles Olympic Committee and Major League Baseball. Here it is, a week later, and the e-mails are still coming: "It's Peter Ueberroth, NOT Joe..."
The plot is actually slightly thicker than a simple Joe-for-Peter swap. In fact, it was Joe who was named to MilePoint's dream-team board. Joe is Peter's son. And Peter (who was indeed president of the L.A. Olympic Organizing Committee and Commissioner of Major League Baseball), is himself a MilePoint advisor. But NOT a board member. So: 2 Ueberroths, father and son, 1 a board member, the other an advisor.
Going forward, if MilePoint will just observe the "one family member per company" rule, we'll be less likely to make these mistakes.
Thanks and apologies to everyone who a) noticed, and b) took the time to point out the error.
O N S I T E
FrequentFlier Forum Topics
==========================
As always, there's plenty of activity on the Forum.
John is searching for ways to earn miles-for-investments. Shirley wants a credit card which allows her to consolidate miles. Kevin shares a US Airways story. W is seeking recommendations for a mileage manager that runs on a local PC (rather than on the Internet). Tim needs 4,000 Alaska Air miles. There's even a thread on mad cow disease. 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
TWA Dies; Aviators Miles Don't
====================================================
It's a done deal.
TWA is now TWA Airlines LLC, "American Airlines' newest subsidiary." That's just the beginning of the end--in a matter of months, TWA will be completely integrated into American and the "TWA" name will go the way of Pan Am and Eastern.
As we've been projecting, the outcome is an overwhelmingly positive one for members of TWA's Aviators program. Not only will Aviators miles be protected, they will be converted to AAdvantage miles, which are by most measures more valuable than the Aviators currency.
> The End of Aviators
There is still no official end-date for the Aviators program. American has committed to notifying Aviators members 6 months prior to termination, so we can expect the program to remain in operation at least through Sept. 2001.
> Partner Changes
If you are an Aviators member, be on the lookout for partners withdrawing from the program, which could affect your earning or redemption opportunities. Since the program's demise is now a virtual certainty, some companies may decide to exit as soon as their contracts allow.
> In the Meantime
If you are currently a member of both Aviators and AAdvantage, you can choose to earn miles for flights on TWA LLC, TWE and TWA Connection in either program.
> The Final Transaction
When Aviators ends, members' miles will be transferred into their AAdvantage accounts and reflect on their AAdvantage statement as a bonus. To insure that the conversion goes smoothly, American recommends that members of both programs be sure that the member contact info (name, mailing address) is exactly the same in both their Aviators and AAdvantage accounts. We would add a corollary: be sure to save a record of your latest Aviators balance, in case the auto-transfer somehow goes amiss.
What is a bit less clear is how the miles of Aviators members who are NOT AAdvantage members will be handled. Early on, AA indicated that they would automatically establish AAdvantage accounts for Aviators-only customers, and then transfer the TWA miles into the newly established accounts. There's some evidence which suggests that AA may be backing away from that promise.
We're seeking clarification from AA on this and will keep Crier readers apprised. In the meantime, it's probably a good idea to set up an AAdvantage account, if you don't already have one.
MWE Offers Bonus for New Credit Card Sign-Ups
===========================
Sign up for a Midwest Express Gold or Business MasterCard between Apr. 1 and June 30, 2001 to receive 10,000 bonus miles the first time you use the card. For regular cards, the activation bonus is 5,000 miles.
The MWE cards award users with double miles on the purchase price of tickets charged on Midwest Express, Skyway, and Midwest Express Connection. There's also a monthly prize drawing for Gold and Business cardholders: each charge entitles the cardholder to 1 entry in a monthly drawing for free tickets on MWE.
Annual fees are $45 for the regular card and $70 for Gold or Business cards. Currently the variable APR is 19.4% for the Gold and Business cards and 21.4% for the regular card.
Book Donations Earn HHonors Bonus
====================================
Members of Hilton HHonors can earn 1,000 HHonors bonus points by donating children's books to Homewood Suites by Hilton's "Drive Literacy Home" book drive.
To participate, drop books at any Homewood Suites property through May 26. All collected books will be donated to local children's charitable organizations.
Sign Up with Earthlink to Receive WorldPerks Bonus
================================================
Through the end of Apr., WorldPerks members can earn up to 4,000 bonus miles when signing up for Internet access with Earthlink. After that, earn 5 WorldPerks miles for each $1 spent on Earthlink service every month, and 7 miles for each $1 if for Elite members.
To sign up, call Earthlink at 1-888-EARTHLINK, ext. 60038, and mention registration code 400060773.
New Tel Aviv Flights Earn Bonus SkyMiles
===================================
SkyMiles members who fly on Delta's new JFK-Tel Aviv flights will earn double miles for coach and triple miles for BusinessElite roundtrips.
Tel Aviv flights launch on June 1, and the bonus is offered from June 1 through Aug. 31, 2001. SkyMiles members in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean must pre-enroll for this offer by calling 888-558-3358 and entering promotion code 1025.
Singapore Air Offers Bonus SkyMiles for Transpac Flights
==================================
Through May 31, 2001, Singapore Airlines is offering SkyMiles members bonus miles for Transpac nonstops, as follows:
To/From To/From First Raffles Economy
Class Class Class
New York Singapore 5,000 3,000 1,000
Newark Singapore 5,000 3,000 1,000
Los Angeles Singapore 5,000 3,000 1,000
San Francisco Singapore 5,000 3,000 1,000
Los Angeles Taipei 5,000 3,000 1,000
San Francisco Hong Kong 5,000 3,000 1,000
All SkyMiles members are eligible for this promotion. Members residing in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean must pre-enroll for this offer by calling 1-800-558-3358 and entering promotion code 1010. This promotion excludes fares booked on Q, X, G and N.
FlightFund Doubles Miles for Big Sky Flights
==========================================
Big Sky Airlines is the newest partner in America West's FlightFund program.
To promote the tie-in, FlightFund members will earn double miles for Big Sky flights from Apr. 6 - June 30, 2001 on all Big Sky flights that connect with America West in Denver, Spokane or Dallas.
S T E A L S & D E A L S
Deal Alert from SmarterLiving.com
=================================
This week's hot deals from SmarterLiving.com...
Delta Offers Savings to/from Florida
-------------------------------
Delta has announced a fare sale with savings on travel between Florida and select U.S. cities valid for travel through September 13. Purchase tickets by Wednesday, April 25. Most major U.S. airlines have matched this sale.
> More...
Savings on Spring Travel to Asia
--------------------------------
Korean Air has released sale fares for spring travel from select cities in the U.S. to destinations throughout Asia. Fares are available for travel through May 4. Purchase tickets online only, at least four days before departure, and no later than Monday, Apr. 30.
> More...
I N D U S T R Y N E W S B I T E S
Consumer Groups Slam Orbitz
======================================
Fifteen consumer groups and the American Antitrust Institute have urged DOT Secretary Norman Mineta to just say "No" to Orbitz, the online travel agency owned jointly by the 5 largest airlines poised to launch this summer.
The central concern is that Orbitz, by virtue of its special relationship with the airlines, may exercise an unfair advantage over independent online agencies like Travelocity and Expedia. According to the group:
"Air transportation is at a fundamental decision point, and Orbitz is an important part of that decision.
"We could very well end up with three major airlines and no independent travel agent industry helping consumers navigate to the best terms and conditions of travel. This would be very different from anything we have ever known, and it bodes poorly for consumers."
Airline Site Traffic Up; Online Agencies Flat
====================================
A just-released study by Jupiter Media Metrix shows airline sites growing faster than travel sites overall and, significantly, narrowing the lead of online travel agencies.
Ratings data from February 2000 and February 2001 show unique visitors to all travel sites increased 23.5%, from 24.4 million to 30.1 million. Visitors to airline Web sites increased 26.1%, from 8.2 million to 10.4 million, while visitors to online travel agencies increased only 7%, from 14.4 million to 15.4 million.
The top airline sites were Southwest Airlines with 2.9 million unique visitors in February 2001, followed by United and American with 2.5 million and 2.4 million visitors. From February 2000 to February 2001, the top 3 sites had traffic increases of 19.8%, 40.6% and 26.4% respectively.
The top online travel agencies were Travelocity with 6.9 million unique visitors in February 2001, followed by Expedia and Priceline with 6.8 million and 3.0 million unique visitors. Compared to February 2000, Travelocity was down 3%, Expedia was up 10.2% and Priceline was down 21.9%.
Until next week...
|
