Media Query

A reporter for a major newspaper would like to speak to Gen X and baby boomer business travelers about what they look for/like/dislike/need in hotels that they stay in on business (not vacation) trips.

If this is something you have strong opinions about that you are willing to discuss on the record, please respond to query@frequentflier.com with your name, age, profession, office and cell phone numbers and e-mail address by Friday, August 12.

FrequentFlier Forum Topics

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

In the "Airline Programs" Forum, xfaith has 19,000 United miles and 23,000 Continental miles. An award ticket from Montreal to San Diego is 40,000 miles. See the problem?

Also in the "Airline Programs" Forum, erpelumin has a related problem: "I'm interested in transferring UAL miles to another program that will ultimately allow me to use them for Amtrak tickets or other forms of consumer product exchanges. Any ideas on how to do this?"

And just to prove that not everything worth discussing is mileage-related, Loie poses the following in the "Credit Card Programs" Forum: "For regular, if not frequent, travel to Europe, does it make financial sense to open a bank account in, say, France or Italy, then tranfer funds to the account before traveling, thus having a foreign ATM card to draw out cash or a Euro checkbook? The goal would be to avoid all the various surcharges on using credit and ATMs, plus not having to carry large amounts of cash from the US. One other thought; Euro travellers checks..."

And much more. Questions, answers? Post them to the Forum!

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InterCon Online Booking Bonus: 1,000 AAdvantage Miles

In an interesting twist on the usual online booking bonus, InterContinental is offering Priority Club members 1,000 American AAdvantage miles for hotel stays at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites or Candlewood Suites that are booked online and completed between Aug. 8 and Sept. 30.

There's no limit on the number of times the bonus may be earned.

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America West Will Switch Credit Card Issuer

America West has signed a deal with Juniper Bank, a subsidiary of Barclays, to replace Bank of America as its credit card issuer beginning in January 2006.

By the time the deal takes effect, America West and US Airways will have merged, so the card Juniper Bank will be issuing is the US Airways Dividend Miles credit card, also currently issued by Bank of America.

According to a Securities and Exchange filing, America West will receive a signing bonus of $130 million, as well as $325 million in prepayment for airline miles.

It's 10,000 Continental Miles to Aruba

Continental OnePass members who book an Aruba vacation package of 5 or more nights from Continental Vacations will earn 10,000 bonus miles.

To qualify, booking must be made by Sept. 30 and travel completed by Oct. 31.

Promotion code: COVAUAMILE.

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Double Delta Miles with Amex Ticket Charges

SkyMiles members will earn double flown miles on Delta, Delta Shuttle, Delta Connection or Song flights within the contiguous 48 United States for every roundtrip ticket purchased at flysong.com or delta.com using an American Express card and flown between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31.

Registration is required.

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Earn 10,000 Northwest Miles for EarthLink Services

Until further notice, WorldPerks members will earn 10,000 miles for establishing new EarthLink Internet access accounts, including dial-up, DSL, cable or wireless BlackBerry.

Miles are deposited in the member's account after the 4th full month of service has been billed and paid.

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Southwest Extends Points Expiration

Effective today, credits in Southwest's Rapid Rewards program will expire after 24 months. The new policy replaces the 12-month expiration schedule which had been in effect from Rapid Rewards' inception and, unfortunately, has served as a model for the programs of JetBlue and other discount carriers.

Rapid Rewards members will pay a price for the extra time allowed to qualify for awards: beginning Feb. 10, 2006, capacity controls will be imposed on awards, replacing the current system of blacking out high-demand travel dates but otherwise allowing unrestricted access to award travelers. That change is certain to make awards harder to come by.

As we have stressed repeatedly, Southwest's 1-year expiration policy was a thumb in the eye of consumers and substantially undermined the program's value.

The new policy is a step in the right direction, but it is still much less generous than the policies of the mainline carriers, which allow miles to be extended indefinitely with any account activity every 36 months. And the upcoming capacity controls are a giant step in the wrong direction.

Having made the decision to modify the program, Southwest had an opportunity to do the right thing. They chose not to. Let's hope that JetBlue and other stingy discounters make the most of this lack of vision and not only match Southwest's move but make changes to their programs that truly honor and reward customer loyalty.

Any comments from our readers on this issue?

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Bonus Miles-for-Dining from United

Between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30, Mileage Plus members will earn up to 3,000 bonus miles for qualifying Mileage Plus Dining transactions, as follows:

   Dine 2 times to earn 500 bonus miles.
   Dine 4 times to earn 1,000 bonus miles.
   Dine 6 times to earn 2,000 bonus miles.
   Dine 8 times to earn 3,000 bonus miles.

Registration is required.

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More United Miles for Back-to-School Purchases

Through Sept. 30, Mileage Plus members will earn up to 6 miles for every $1 spent at selected Mileage Plus Mall retailers, including Sears, Ofice Max and Old Navy.

You must begin shopping at the Online Mall portal to earn miles.

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Charge School Expenses to Earn More United Miles

Continuing the back-to-school theme, Mileage Plus members will earn double miles for every $1 charged to a Mileage Plus Visa card over $1,000 for school-related items, including tuition, school bookstore purchases, tickets to school-related events, etc.

Bonus applies to payments to public, private, elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities.

Visa automatically tracks purchases from merchants linked to schools.

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Healthy Hotel Stays
Provided by Healthy Travel Network

Business travel is fraught with stressful events, from flight delays to rental car hassles to difficult customer meetings. Try some of these relaxation tips to wrap-up your day and help you get a good night's sleep:

• Pull up a chair by the hotel pool, dip your feet in, and close your eyes for 10 minutes.
• Spread a towel on the floor. Turn off your cell phone, TV, and radio. Get into yoga corpse pose for 10 minutes.
• Fix a cup of decaffeinated tea.
• Take a relaxing shower or bath.
• Turn off the TV and read a non-work related book or magazine for 10 minutes.
• Call a long-lost friend or loved one.

For even better sack time, remember to avoid caffeine, alcohol, over-eating, and exercising just before bedtime.

Sign up for the monthly Healthy Travel Network newsletter to get more travel fitness tips and news.

Deal Alert from SmarterTravel.com

1) Florida Fares on US Airways from $138

Orlando, Ft. Myers, and Sarasota are among the cities on sale with US Airways' Florida offer. Prices start at $138 roundtrip for travel this summer and fall.

Travel is valid Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Nov. 17. Book tickets at least 10 days in advance. US Airways has not listed a booking deadline.

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2) Sale Fares on Ted from $98

United's recent domestic sale has spawned domestic sales from several other carriers, including its own low-fare arm, Ted. Prices for Ted's sale start at $98 roundtrip, and destinations include Las Vegas, Miami, and Phoenix.

Travel is valid Mondays through Thursdays through Nov. 17. Book tickets at least 14 days in advance, and by Aug. 12. The maximum stay is 30 days.

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Win 5 Nights in the Dominican Republic

Enter World Publications' Dominican Republic sweepstakes by Dec. 15 for a chance to win 2 nights at the Hodelpa Caribe Colonial in Santo Domingo and 3 nights at Casa Colonial in Puerto Plata. All other expenses, including airfare, are the winner's responsibility.

Limit: 1 entry per person.

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Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel

"Nice article on Elite upgrades. I agree with your overall conclusion. I thing that it is not that impossible to get upgraded. My sixteen-year-old daughter took a flight last week from Syracuse to Dallas. She flew on Delta as a Silver Medallion, which she qualified for due to their special of taking one flight from select cities one of which was Syracuse. On a highly discounted fare she as a Silver was upgraded on all segments except for one. from Dallas to Atlanta. I thought that that was good, given the low status and low fare.

"And of course you know my story: All upgrades all the time!" [Joel Widzer, author of "The Penny Pincher's Passport to Luxury Travel"]

"Over the years I have eaten at American Airlines dining locations that purport to give bonus miles to patrons. Over the years I have only received 1 bonus.

"By the time my statement arrives I have forgotten which locations I've eaten at. I don't have time to keep track of my dining nor do I have time to call AA and request the miles.

"In my opinion, it is AA's responsibility to apply the appropriate mileage to my plan as advertised...

"So, in my opinion, AA dining bonus is a scam." [Ben U.]

[Editor's Note - Complaints about the airlines' miles-for-dining programs are rare. On a personal note, I make it a point to eat at least once a week at restaurants participating in the AAdvantage dining program, and I can't recall their ever having failed to credit my account. Suggestion: call AAdvantage Dining at 1-800-479-5981 and bring the issue to their attention. There's probably a problem with the credit card registered to earn miles.]

"I enjoy the FrequentFlier newsletter and find the new HTML version easier to read.

"In the first several issues in the new format, I noticed a number of errors that I chalked up to coding problems or typos. However, these continue to appear even in the issue I received today. Since I don't know if the problems will show up if I simply send it back to you, I converted it to PDF, highlighted the items in question and attached the file.

"I am using Microsoft Outlook as my email client and don't see this problem in any other newsletter I receive. Since I didn't see it mentioned in the newsletter, I was wondering if I am the only one experiencing this.

"Again, thanks for a very informative newsletter." [Ira K.]

[Editor's Note - In the PDF file Ira sent, there were indeed some strange characters and dropped blocks of copy. Anyone else have similar issues? Please do let us know.]

Until next week...