U P F R O N T

The Crier Is an Old Turtle
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Thanks to the many readers who e-mailed their congratulations on the occasion of the Crier's 150th birthday (last week's issue).

And a special "Thanks (huh?)" to Aaron, who compared the Crier to a Galapagos tortoise. Having recently seen one (Oh, vision of saggy, reptilian ugliness!), I had to wonder how far he meant the comparison to extend. In addition to their longevity, the turtles are weighty (over 350 pounds), finicky eaters, and have scaly feet. And they're an endangered species.

Save the turtles (and spare the comparisons)!

O N S I T E

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

Jason has a tip for earning an easy 900 miles. Howdy is trying to remember what happened to the miles in Eastern's program. Michael just received TWA upgrades, apparently on the strength of his AAdvantage Platinum status. Wickman is looking for a mileage credit card for small business. 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

America West Launches Miles-for-Shopping Mall
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Following in the footsteps of miles-for-merchandise initiatives from American, Delta, Northwest and United, America West this week introduced the FlightFund Mall, an online marketplace for FlightFund members.

Once enrolled, members begin earning FlightFund miles with every dollar spent on purchases at more than 200 retailers in the Mall, including Barnes and Noble, Dell, Eddie Bauer, Hallmark, Hammacher Schlemmer, Lands End, Martha Stewart, Mattel, Old Navy, Sharper Image and Walmart.

> More...

Crowne Plaza Triples Rewards for Summer Stays
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Between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2001, qualifying stays at Crowne Plaza hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South America earn triple points or airline miles.

Register online (link below) by entering your Priority Club number and code 4399.

> More...

Delta Features Online SkyMiles Statements
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Delta now offers SkyMiles members the option of receiving monthly statements and newsletters online. Online statement subscribers will be sent an e-mail reminder each month and will no longer receive paper statements in the mail. The e-mail reminder will contain a message prompting subscribers to check their statement activity and mileage balances, as well as a link to the online information at delta.com.

SkyMiles members can visit delta.com, select the E-mail Programs link and follow the prompts to become an online statement subscriber.

[Hint from Chris McGinnis at The TICKET: Wait until Delta offers a SkyMiles bonus to make the switch.]

US Air Doubles Boston - Baltimore Miles
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Fly any nonstop or direct US Airways flight between Boston and Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Airport through July 31, 2001, and earn double miles.

Register at http://www.usairways.com/dividendmiles/2350.htm prior to departure, or call 800-872-4738 and select bonus registration 2350.

Bid SkyMiles in Awards Auction
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Delta's latest "More for Your Miles" auction is open for bids.

SkyMiles can bid frequent flyer miles on 10 new travel packages in the latest auction, closing midnight, June 17, 2001.

Auction packages include a trip to the NCAA Football Kick-off Classic, a Cancun beach retreat, 6 days in Moscow, and a tour of the pyramids.

For more information, click on "More for Your Miles Auction" on Delta's website.

Northwest Adds WorldPerks Partners
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WorldPerks has 4 new partners: Borders.com, Chumbo.com, FTD.com and Thrifty Rental Car.

- Borders.com: From now through July 31, customers will earn 4 WorldPerks miles for every dollar spent.

- Chumbo.com: From now through Aug. 31, WorldPerks members will earn five miles for each dollar spent on software packages and 3 miles for each dollar spent on single software titles.

- FTD.com: Earn 10 WorldPerks miles for each dollar spent.

- Thrifty Rental Car: Members earn 250 WorldPerks miles for any rental up to 7 days and 500 miles for rentals 8 days or longer. Also, customers will earn 25 miles after 3 parking visits at a Thrifty airport parking location within 12 months.

Double Aeroplan Miles for Toronto - Greensboro Flights
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To promote new service between Toronto and Greensboro, Air Canada is offering Aeroplan members double miles when travelling round trip for the first time between June 11 and Aug. 11, 2001.

Latest ClickRewards Offers
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- Through Father's Day, earn triple ClickMiles on every Cooking.com purchase and receive free economy shipping on orders over $100.

- Beginning June 13, earn 3 ClickMiles per dollar for all purchases at gap.com.

- Through Aug. 31, earn up to 5 ClickMiles for every dollar spent at DisneyStore.com: orders under $75 receive triple miles; $75 to $125 orders receive 4 miles; and orders of $125 or more receive 5 miles. Plus, shipping and handling is free on orders over $50.

- Through July 11, earn up to 12 ClickMiles for every dollar donated to the AIDS Foundation of St. Louis: 4 miles per dollar when you donate $1 to $199; 8 miles per dollar when you donate $200 to $499; 12 ClickMiles per dollar when you donate $500 or more.

MilePoint Adds Partners
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MilePoint members have 3 new options when redeeming miles or points--

- Hotwire is offering MilePoint members an opportunity to convert 500 miles into a $10 voucher to use through MilePoint.com on the first air, hotel, or rental car booking. (Note: Only one voucher per MilePoint member.)

- With CitiMortgage, use miles toward $500 in closing costs or a 1/4-point to use to buydown your interest rate.

- MileShopper is MilePoint's bargain basement, where members can redeem miles and points for up to 30% of already-discounted purchase prices on more than 80,000 products.

Later this month, members of Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles and Midwest Express Airlines Frequent Flyer will be able to use their miles to shop through MilePoint.

China Southern's Sky Pearl: Growing
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China Southern reports that its Sky Pearl program is growing by more than 20,000 members a month, and is on track to reach 500,000 members by the end of the year.

Sky Pearl Club launched in Nov. 1998, and has since grown to 430,000 members. Just over 90% of Sky Pearl members reside in mainland China and Hong Kong, 1.4% in the U.S., and the rest elsewhere.

> More...

Skywards: 200K After First Year
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Meanwhile, in another part of the world, Skywards -- the frequent flyer program operated jointly by Emirates and SriLankan -- closes out its first year with almost 200,000 members onboard.

> 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...

Cross-Country Fare Sale Starting at $198 R/T
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ATA has released sale fares on cross-country routes throughout its system valid for travel between June 20 and Oct. 26. Purchase tickets by Sunday, June 24.

> More...

Summer Savings for International Travel
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United Airlines has released a fare sale with savings on travel to destinations worldwide, and Northwest is offering sale fares to Asian destinations.

> More...

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

MilePoint Will Reward Most Valuable Customer
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From June 8 through July 31, MilePoint will monitor miles and points redeemed through all members' individual accounts. At the end of the period, the member with the most miles redeemed will be crowned this summer's Most Valuable Customer and win a trip for 2 to London.

The prize includes roundtrip New York-London airfare on British Airways, 4 nights at the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel and a personalized tour of the British Museum with a private dinner in the museum's restaurant.

> More...

AOL AAdvantage Gives Away Millions
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Members of AOL AAdvantage can enter the Summer Miles Sweepstakes to win 1 of 20 100,000-mile prizes.

The Summer Miles Sweepstakes is offered only to U.S. residents who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry. Promotional period is June 11 - June 30, 2001. Limit: 1 entry per person.

If you're an AOL member or Netscape user, there's a special variant of the sweepstakes, held every Thurs. through June, featuring 1 million-mile drawings. Look for the "Your Summer Getaway" link on AOL (4 PM to Midnight EDT), Netscape (4 PM to Midnight PDT) or CompuServe (all day).

> More...

I N D U S T R Y N E W S B I T E S

Labor Forecast
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> Comair
Comair, the nation's second largest commuter carrier, has reached a tentative agreement with its striking pilots, paving the way for service resumption after a 2.5-month walkout.

Look for Comair to make liberal use of bonus SkyMiles to rebuild its customer base once operations get back underway.

> American
According to Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, President Bush will use "all the tools available to him" to forestall a strike by American's flight attendants on June 30.

Until next week...