MilePort = "Best Widget"

In last week's "Nobody Asked Me, But..." column (subscription required), noted business-travel writer Joe Brancatelli had the following to say about MilePort:

"MilePort is the best widget I've ever seen for managing frequent-travel programs. And it's free. It was developed and is being promoted by Tim Winship of FrequentFlier.com and Harris Turner, who has a long history in loyalty marketing."

MilePort now supports almost 120 loyalty programs, allowing users to consolidate account data from multiple programs and improve their earning and rewards results.

Media Query

A reporter for a major newspaper is writing a story on spa usage by business travelers at U.S. business travel hotels--NOT resorts and NOT business travel hotels outside of the U.S.

If you use the spa in your hotel on domestic business trips and are willing to discuss this on the record, please reply by this Friday, August 25. The reporter will want to interview you about which hotels/spas you use; how often; why; if your usage has changed over time.

Please submit your office and cell numbers and e-mail address to query@frequentflier.com.

Bankruptcy Watch

As the Friday (9:01 p.m. CDT) start date approaches for a threatened series of strikes by Northwest's flight attendants, it's anyone's guess whether walkouts are imminent and, if they are, how seriously the airline's flights would be disrupted.

Last week, Northwest filed an appeal to deny the attendants permission to strike, but the court unaccountably scheduled the hearing for Friday, just nine hours before the labor disruptions could commence.

While there had been some hope that the airline and its union would reach an accord before the deadline, the two sides have since allowed negotiations to lapse and no new meetings are planned.

As I opined in a recent SmarterTravel.com blog entry, the victims of the standoff are consumers holding Northwest tickets for travel on Friday and beyond.

The best we can suggest is that they monitor the situation closely and be prepared to make alternate arrangements if flights are cancelled.

FrequentFlier Forum Topics

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

In the "Airline Programs" Forum, bobd46 poses a question that has occurred to many mileage collectors: "I just called the American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum desk to cash in some miles for an upgrade on a flight to Frankfurt in December. The agent told me that he could upgrade my outbound flight from DFW, but no seats were available on the inbound flight at this time. When I checked the seat reservations page, I saw that only five out of thirty five seats in Business Class were reserved for that flight. When I mentioned this to the agent, he said that 'they' like to hold seats if 'they' think they can sell them.

"I have heard this answer several times. While this is an understandable business decision... my question is - who is 'they'? Is there a committee that makes this determination on a flight by flight basis? Some individual in the FF organization? A computer program? Does anybody know who makes this decision?"

Max Bialystock thinks he knows: "I was told that it's a bunch of little old ladies eating pastry in a Polish bakery in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. No?"

The above elicited the following from bobd46: "I always pictured some guy sitting around trying to stick pencils in the ceiling, and every so often reaching over to his computer and punching in 'AA71 FRA-DFW Jan 4 - No Seats Available.'"

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

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CO Miles + iPod at ShareBuilder

Continental OnePass members can earn 2,000 miles for opening a new OnePass Sharebuilder account and making a stock purchase. And through Oct. 31, they'll also receive a free iPod Shuffle for subscribing to the Standard or Advantage Pricing Program for three consecutive months.

ShareBuiler is an online brokerage specializing in automatic investment plans.

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More Miles for Dollar Rentals

Between Aug. 15 and Nov. 15, Dollar Rent A Car is offering 1,000 bonus miles per qualifying rental through seven airline programs (Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways).

Bonus is awarded for rentals of intermediate or larger vehicles for three or more days at participating Dollar locations worldwide. Rentals must be picked up Sunday through Wednesday.

Use promotion code DLR6 when making reservations. Twenty-four hour advance reservations are required.

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Etihad Air to Launch New Mileage Program

According to a news release from the airline's P.R. agency, "Etihad Airways, the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates, has uncovered exactly what travellers look for in a loyalty program."

As part of the development process behind its new mileage program, launching Aug. 30, the airline researched consumer attitudes toward loyalty programs. Among the findings:

:: 30% of the survey's 1,754 participants believe that the standards of rewards offered have decreased in terms of actual benefits to the individual over the years.

:: 79% per cent felt that the programs were simply regarded by airlines as clever marketing ploys rather than as a genuine service to their customers.

:: 77% percent lamented that the only people to benefit from the rewards cited were business travelers.

Will Etihad's new program be the new benchmark for the industry? Stay tuned.

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Hertz #1 Bonus, Award Discount

Between Sept. 5 and Dec. 15, members of the Hertz #1 Club will earn 100 bonus points for qualifying rentals.

Program members should use promotion code "ZE1" when booking and cite their #1 Club number to earn the bonus.

Separately, and also through Dec. 15, #1 Club members can redeem 250 points for a Free Weekend Rental Day -- half the normal requirement.

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JetBlue Gives Points New Lease on Life

As we've maintained from its launch more than four years ago, JetBlue's TrueBlue program has been the poster child for lackluster mileage programs. For an airline of JetBlue's accomplishments in other areas, TrueBlue is just plain embarrassing.

With only a single partner, an American Express co-branded credit card, and points that expired after just 12 months, TrueBlue's utility to its core customers, leisure travelers, was marginal at best.

On Thursday last week, JetBlue moved to at least address the customer-unfriendly points expiration policy. Effective immediately, program members can extend the life of their points an additional 12 months every time they charge $200 or more, or a JetBlue ticket, to the Amex JetBlue card.

Plus, according to a joint JetBlue-American Express news release, "As a thank you for being loyal customers, we've also automatically extended the expiration date of every single JetBlue Cardmembers' TrueBlue points through August 16, 2007."

The ability to extend the life of earned points beyond one year certainly makes TrueBlue a more viable program, albeit one that remains woefully short on earning and awards partners.

And really, if using a credit card keeps points active, shouldn't flying on JetBlue do the same? After all, TrueBlue is supposed to reward loyalty to JetBlue, not to American Express.

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20 WorldPerks Miles per $1 Spent at Magazine.com

Through Sept. 30, WorldPerks members can earn 20 miles per $1 spent on over 1,400 magazine subscriptions at Magazine.com.

There's also a $5 discount offered on selected magazines.

Use the FrequentFlier Mile Search to find other miles-for-merchandise opportunities.

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Deal Alert from SmarterTravel.com

1) Central and South America Fares on American from $329

Flights to Central and South America are on sale from American. Prices start at $329 roundtrip for travel into 2007.

Departures are valid Mondays through Thursdays from Sept. 2 through Dec. 8, and from Jan. 8 through Mar. 27, 2007. Travel must be completed by Apr. 26, 2007. Book tickets at least 14 days in advance, and by Aug. 25. Fares require a Saturday-night stay, and the maximum stay is 30 days.

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2) Hawaii Flights on Sale with Aloha

Aloha is offering Hawaii flights for travel through late September. Fares start at $149 one-way, and destinations include Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island.

Travel is valid from Aug. 21 through Sept. 30. Book tickets by Aug. 29.

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Win a Trip for 2 to Miami + NASCAR Tickets

Enter the Fairfield Inn Road Race sweepstakes by Oct. 15 for a chance to win one of five trips for two, including air and hotel, to view the NASCAR Busch Series Ford 300 race and the NASCAR Nextel Series "Ford 400" race over the Nov. 17 - 19 weekend.

Also up for grabs: 2,000 $100 Marriott Fairfield Inn Gift Cards.

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Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel

[The following query from Betty was included in last week's newsletter. We responded that while the card's fine print warned that the bonus was "valid for first time United Mileage Plus cardmembers only," real-world practice sometimes diverged from published policy. That would seem to the case here. United assured us that Betty could indeed reapply and earn the 20,000-mile bonus, although the card issuer reserved the right to deny bonuses to applicants who were deemed to be gaming the system by canceling and reapplying suspiciously often. The note below from Tracy further reinforces the policy-practice disconnect.]

"I've been getting a lot of offers for a United Airlines VISA card that will give me 20,000 bonus miles for the first purchase. About 8 years ago I availed of this offer but cancelled after using it for about a year. If I apply and am sure will be approved, will I get again the 20,000 bonus miles?" [Betty]

"Betty wrote in asking about getting her bonus miles for a second United credit card. My experience is that United and its affiliated credit card companies do not enforce the "one time only" rule. I am on my 2nd card, and my husband has one as well - and both of us got the free miles." [Tracy P.]

"I cannot find Olympic Airways listed with any of our frequent flier programs--Delta, United, or Continental. Am I missing something? We have a scheduled Greece trip coming up." [Deb M.]

[FrequentFlier.com replies - Olympic is one of the few major international carriers that doesn't partner with one or more U.S. airline programs. They do have their own program, Icarus, but it won't do you much good to join and earn miles in that program unless you'll be flying Olympic on a regular basis.]

Until next week...