U P F R O N T
Beenz Teeters; Netcentives Reels
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Hard on the heels of last week's bad news from CyberRebate (Chapter 11), there are signs of trouble at 2 of the industry's best known online rewards programs, Beenz and ClickRewards' parent, Netcentives. See "Miles & Points" below for more.
O N S I T E
Points.com Makes Mileage Exchange Easy
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The new Points.com mileage exchange makes it easy to quickly convert miles from one program into miles in another program. But you'll pay a high price for the convenience. Is it worth it?
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FrequentFlier Forum Topics
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As always, there's plenty of activity on the Forum.
Papa1231 has the lowdown on Holiday Inn's free companion-ticket offer. Matthew is searching for one-way airline awards, for half the miles required for a roundtrip award. Rony is looking for ways to qualify for American's 20th anniversary promotion. Jean has an update on Pointsuniverse. TomBrew discovered a new wrinkle in the Kellogg's promotion. Ronald, as usual, makes everyone's life-of-miles easier and more lucrative with LOTS of tips and links. 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
10,000-Mile Bonus for AAdvantage MasterCard
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Apply for a new Citi Gold AAdvantage World MasterCard or Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage World MasterCard and earn 10,000 AAdvantage bonus miles.
The bonus miles will appear on an AAdvantage mileage summary 8 - 10 weeks after your first purchase with the card. Offer expires June 30, 2001.
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BA Doubles Miles for Summer Roundtrips
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Members of British Air's Executive Club North America will earn double miles for qualifying transatlantic flights between May 25 and Aug. 15, 2001.
Double miles will be posted to your account upon completion of each qualifying transatlantic roundtrip or 2 1-way transatlantic sectors in a full fare (F, A, J, D, W, Y, Y2 and B classes) between any North American BA gateway and the U.K. Tickets must be purchased in the U.S., Bermuda, Bahamas or Canada. Register for the promotion before travel.
Earn Bonus SkyMiles for Prague Flights
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SkyMiles members traveling on CSA Czech Airlines flights with a Delta-coded ticket between New York/JFK or Newark and Prague can earn up to 10,000 bonus miles.
Between May 15 and July 31, 2001, SkyMiles members earn 10,000 bonus miles for roundtrip or 5,000 bonus miles for 1-way business class trips, and 5,000 bonus miles for roundtrip or 2,500 bonus miles for 1-way economy class trips.
Register for this offer by calling 1-888-558-3358 and entering code 1049.
Starwood Awards Bonus for Latin America Stays
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Starwood's Miles-By-Night Latin America promotion rewards hotel guests with 1,000 bonus miles from participating airline frequent flyer programs or 1,000 bonus Starpoints for every night they stay at participating Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, and Luxury Collection hotels in Latin America.
The offer applies for stays from June 1 through Sep. 30, 2001, and there's no limit to the number of bonus miles or points that can be earned.
Register online or by calling 1-877-782-0040.
Austin Flights Earn AAdvantage Bonus Miles
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American is offering up to 4,000 bonus AAdvantage miles for flights to/from Austin, TX.
Each Austin roundtrip earns 1,000 bonus miles, and you can earn the bonus twice during the promotion period for a total of 2,000 extra miles. Book your Austin flights online at http://aa.com to earn another 1,000-mile bonus for each roundtrip. Total bonus: 4,000 miles.
To qualify, make reservations by June 12, 2001, and complete travel by August 17, 2001. You must register prior to your trip using promotion code RMAUS.
Avis Offers AAdvantage Bonus
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Avis is offering AAdvantage members 100 bonus miles for every year they've been an AAdvantage member when making qualifying rentals of 3 or more days including a Saturday night.
That's right: the longer you've been an AAdvantage member, the more miles you earn. The offer is in addition to the standard 50 miles per rental day and ends Aug. 31, 2001.
Use AAdvantage/Avis Worldwide Discount Number (AWD) K817118 when making reservations. Offer can only be used once during the promotional period.
NC, GA Residents Earn Double Dividend Miles
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US Airways' Dividend Miles members in North Carolina and Georgia can earn double miles for ALL flights between May 23 and July 15, 2001. These miles count toward 2002 Preferred elite status.
Qualifying Dividend Miles members will receive double the actual miles flown or double the 500-mile minimum, whichever is greater, after each paid flight on US Airways, US Airways Shuttle, MetroJet, or the US Airways Express carriers.
Register at http://www.usairways.com/dividendmiles/2325.htm, or call 1-800-872-4738, and use registration code 2325.
Summit Hotels Joins BA Exec Club
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Summit Hotels will join British Airways' Executive Club from June 1, 2001.
Executive Club members will earn 500 miles per stay on eligible rates and, subject to availability, free upgrades and late check-out at any Summit hotel. Summit is offering double miles from July 1 to Aug. 31 for stays at 80 participating hotels (about half of Summit's 160 hotels).
> More...
Online Rewards Watch: Beenz, Netcentives
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According to the Financial Times, the founder and CEO of Beenz.com has resigned, and the business will "wind down at the end of June if no buyer for it is found."
It's unusual that consumers receive such explicit advance notice of a possible shutdown. If I were one of Beenz's 5.4 million members, I would cash in my Beenz points immediately. Better to be safe than sorry.
Meanwhile, the gold standard of online rewards programs, ClickRewards, is losing its chairman, West Shell, and CFO, Jack Longinotti.
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...
ATA's Getaway Sale Extended: Fares Start at $198 R/T
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ATA has extended its "Getaway Sale" until Friday, June 1. Round-trip fares start at $198, and tickets booked online receive an additional $10 discount.
> More...
Cross-Country Fare Sale from National
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National Airlines has released a cross-country fare sale, offering savings on most of its routes for off-peak travel through Dec. 18. Purchase tickets at least 7 days before departure, and no later than Friday, June 1.
> More...
I N D U S T R Y N E W S B I T E S
One Year Later: United + US Air = Unlikely
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It's been a full year since United and US Airways announced plans to merge. While the tie-up was initially given better-than-even odds of succeeding, the outlook has changed dramatically as the economy has softened and the financial health of both carriers has deteriorated.
Analysts now use terms like 'unlikely' and 'moribund' to characterize the merger's chances. And while both carriers continue to publicly promote the plan, rumors are that internal working groups tasked with implementing the merger have been disbanded.
All of which begs the question: Will US Airways be forced into bankruptcy, as Stephen Wolf fervently claimed was inevitable in the absence of a merger? Or was Mr. Wolf just crying... wolf?
Consumer Reports Blasts Travel Agents
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It has long been the battle cry of travel agents that they were a travel buyer's best friend, using their knowledge and resources to deliver the best available values to their clients. According to a new study by Consumer Reports Travel Letter, agents are delivering on that promise only 50% of the time.
The study found that fully half of a sampling of travel agents failed to provide prospective customers with the lowest available airline fare. Consumer Reports stopped short of a definitive diagnosis, but clearly suspected that agents were allowing override commissions to undermine their objectivity.
The report is a black eye for agents, already battered by airline commission caps and competition from online agencies like Expedia, Travelocity and Hotwire.
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Until next week...
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