Issue #60  --  September 23, 1999

<< U P F R O N T >>

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Merchandise Rewards?
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One of the trends we see developing in travel rewards programs is the expansion of the awards universe to include non-travel options for mileage redemption. While there are exceptions, most programs currently limit awards to various travel-related services: airline flights, hotel room nights, etc. And indeed, it is the attractiveness of travel awards that has made the programs the huge success they are today.

But there are signs of change. Flights are running full, which means that frequent flyer award seats are in very short supply. With the increase in the number of mileage-earning options, more consumers are earning more miles than ever before, which means there's greater demand than ever for those few available award seats. And most of those miles will never expire. Increasing demand, decreasing supply... it's a classic "something's got to give" scenario. And it's a pretty sure bet that airlines are looking to increase the supply side of the equation by adding merchandise awards to their traditional travel offerings.

What's your feeling about merchandise rewards? We have 2 polls up on the site to take the temperature of our readers:

  1. Should the programs include merchandise awards?
  2. What types of merchandise awards should be offered?

Please go to http://frequentflier.com/ffp-voterewards.htm and cast your vote. While you're there, see what your fellow travelers think.

>> More <<
Vote here!

<< M I L E S >>

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Marriott Consolidates, Revamps Guest Programs
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Beginning Oct. 4, Marriott is (a) merging Marriott Miles into Marriott Rewards, and (b) enhancing Marriott Rewards.

>> Goodbye Marriott Miles
Participants in the former Marriott Miles program will be automatically enrolled in Marriott Rewards and receive new membership cards. The Marriott Miles program will no longer be offered; however, existing airline designations will remain unchanged unless specified by the member.

>> Hello Marriott Rewards
Marriott is tripling the number of hotels offering frequent flyer miles and more than doubling the number of miles previously offered -- as many as three miles per dollar charged to the guest room, depending on the category of hotel used.

Effective Oct. 4, 1999, Marriott Rewards members can earn miles at more than 1,650 hotels on any of 34 domestic and international airlines.

Members will automatically earn three miles per dollar on the airline of their choice whenever they stay at Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites, Renaissance Hotels and Resorts, Marriott Vacation Club International, Marriott Conference Centers.

Marriott Rewards members will also be able to earn frequent flyer miles for stays at the company's moderately priced and extended-stay hotels. For each dollar spent (room rate only), the following brands will automatically award one frequent flyer mile: Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, TownePlace Suites by Marriott.

For all 1,650 participating Marriott locations, miles are awarded regardless of the room rate paid and there is no restriction on length of stay. No flight is required in conjunction with a stay. Participating airlines include:

- Aces           - British Airways   
- Aeropostal     - Cathay Pacific 
- Air Canada     - Continental 
- American       - COPA  
- ANA            - Crossair 
- AOM French     - Delta
- Austrian       - KLM 
- Avianca        - LACSA 
- Aviateca       - Lauda Air

- Lufthansa    - TACA
- NICA         - TAP 
- Northwest    - Turkish
- Qantas       - TWA
- Sabena       - Tyrolean
- SAETA        - United
- Singapore    - US Airways
- Southwest
- Swissair

As an added bonus, American Airlines Advantage members who belong to Marriott Rewards will earn double miles for stays between Oct. 4 and Dec. 21, 1999. Also, effective Oct. 4, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards becomes the newest member of the Marriott Rewards airline partner portfolio.

For members who prefer points over frequent flyer miles, Marriott Rewards offers 175 different point-redemption award options to choose from including hotel stays, cruises, golf packages, rail passes, ski packages, theater tickets, theme park passes and complete vacation packages (hotel, air and car rental). Members earn 10 points per dollar charged to their room (five points per dollar at Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites) and can redeem as few as 7,000 points for a free night at a Fairfield Inn.

As in the past, earning Marriott Rewards points and frequent flyer miles for the same stay is not permitted. Members must indicate whether they want to earn miles or points when making a reservation, or at check-in.

According to Marriott, more than 11 million travelers have enrolled in Marriott Rewards, making it the world's largest hotel frequent guest program. Over the next 18 months, membership is projected to reach 13 million with a significant percentage represented by non-U.S. residents. Marriott is also promising to increase its roster of Rewards-eligible hotels to more than 2,000 by year-end 2000.

Kudos to Marriott for unifying its programs. The dual program offering was confusing to consumers, travel agents, and (yes, us too) to the media.

>> More <<
Marriott Rewards online

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Austrian Will Join Star Alliance
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Austrian Airlines will join the Star Alliance in April 2000.

Austrian's move is as interesting for what it isn't as for what it is. And what is isn't, notably, is a continuation of its longstanding relationship with Delta, including membership in the Atlantic Excellence alliance. As more and more airlines associate themselves with Star and Oneworld, would-be competitive alliances--anchored by Delta and Northwest, for example--are left with fewer and fewer potential partners with which to cobble together a global network of their own.

Current members of Star Alliance are Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Ansett Australia, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai, United Airlines and Varig Brazilian Airlines. Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) will join Star Alliance next month and Mexicana will become a member in the summer of 2000.

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Continental Mileage Bonus for First-Time E-Bookings
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Continental announced an online promotion that will provide up to 4,000 OnePass bonus miles for customers who, for the first time, use the airline's website to book a Continental flight.

This offer is valid for Continental flights booked and flown between now and Dec. 31, 1999. The 4,000 mile bonus consists of a 3,000 mile first-time purchase bonus and an existing 1,000 bonus for E-Ticket purchase.

>> More <<
Continental

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Northwest and Malaysia Link Frequent Flyer Programs
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Northwest and Malaysia Airlines have signed a commercial cooperation agreement which will include frequent flyer program reciprocity, code-share service, and "seamless" flight connections.

Members of Northwest's WorldPerks frequent flyer program can earn and redeem free travel awards on all Malaysia Airlines flights. Similarly, members of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich frequent flyer program can earn and redeem travel awards on all Northwest flights.

The partnership strengthens both airlines' services in the U.S.-Malaysia market. Northwest inaugurated service to Kuala Lumpur on February 25, 1999 with flights three times weekly from the United States via a stop at Osaka, Japan. Northwest is the only U.S. airline to serve Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operates Los Angeles-Kuala Lumpur service via Tokyo, Japan and Taipei, Taiwan. Malaysia Airlines also operates between Newark, New Jersey and Kuala Lumpur via Dubai.

With the new agreement, a Northwest flight code will appear on Malaysia Airlines' service between Kuala Lumpur and Los Angeles. Similarly, a Malaysia Airlines' code will appear on Northwest's Kuala Lumpur-Los Angeles flights. The two carriers plan to expand code-share service in the future to include domestic U.S. and domestic Malaysia routes.

The partnership features all the benefits of seamless service, including issuance of all boarding passes at initial check-in and "through" luggage check to final destination.

>> More <<
o Malaysia Airlines
o Northwest

<< S T E A L S & D E A L S >>

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Air France Discounts Europe
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Air France is discounting fares from the USA to over 80 European destinations.

The sale is from September 21 through October 5, 1999 for departures from November 1 through March 31, 2000. The following are examples of round-trip fares to Paris from:

    New York (JFK/EWR), Boston $328
    Miami $378
    Washington, D.C. $388
    Atlanta and Chicago $408
    Cincinnati $438
    Houston $468
    San Francisco $478
    Los Angeles $528

Fares are subject to government approval. Friday, Saturday and Sunday travel $25 additional each way. Other restrictions may apply. Tickets must be purchased within 48 hours of confirmed reservations. Saturday night stay is required with a maximum stay of 30 days. Blackout dates are December 14, 1999 to January 9, 2000. Taxes and government imposed fees are not included.

>> More <<
Air France online: http://www.airfrance.com

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Continental's Fall Fare Sale
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Continental Airlines is offering discounted fares of up to 35 percent off of its excursion fares for fall travel to U.S. destinations (excluding Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and select European destinations.

Customers who purchase tickets on line through Continental's website will receive an additional five percent discount off the sale fares for travel within the 48 contiguous states.

Travel must take place between Oct. 5, 1999, and Dec. 15, 1999, some holiday blackout dates apply. Tickets must be purchased by Oct. 1, and a 14-day advance purchase with a Saturday night stay is required. Tickets are nonrefundable, seats are limited and other restrictions may apply.

>> More <<
Continental

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Days Inn's Software Giveaway
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Reprising a similar promotion last year, Days Inns is offering guests a choice of six software titles such as: Web Studio Express, Print Artist 6.0, MasterCook Express 4.0, Hoyle Classic Games, 3D Ultra MiniGolf, and Blaster Learning System Activity CD. And customers who chose to pay for their stay using their American Express card can also pick a second title absolutely free -- a value of up to $50.

To be eligible, guests must stay at any Days Inn hotel in the United States between September 13 and December 31, 1999. Guests then pick up an order form at the front desk, fill it out, and mail it along with a copy of their hotel receipt and $4.95 for shipping and handling.

<< T R A V E L O N L I N E >>

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BA Partners with Travelocity
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Just a week after announcing an equity investment in Rosenbluth Interactive (parent company of Biztravel.com), British Airways is announcing another big move in the online space.

British Airways and Travelocity.com this week announced a strategic marketing and sales agreement that includes access to British Airways' flights and services throughout Travelocity.com.

Travelocity.com will provide users with British Airways information and promotional exposure for the airline's "showcase" United Kingdom and worldwide destinations from 22 United States gateways. The agreement is designed to target Travelocity.com members living in the United States, and designates British Airways with "partner" status.

In addition to schedule and fare information, Travelocity.com will prominently feature British Airways throughout the site, including a designated location on the Travelocity.com homepage and integrated British Airways content and information in the Destination Guide and Road Warrior sections of the site.

British Airways predicts that based on current growth trends, online sales could represent 50 percent of the airlines' bookings by 2003. Through research and industry analysis, British Airways is preparing for exponential growth of online sales by introducing these and other initiatives to better assist customers and heighten exposure to a growing audience of online users.

>> More <<
o British Airways
o Travelocity

<< I N D U S T R Y N E W S >>

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Hertz Raises Rates
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We were going to run this in the << STEALS & DEALS, THE DARK SIDE >> section, but cooler heads prevailed. Here's the Hertz news release, verbatim:

PARK RIDGE, N.J., Sept. 17 -- Effective September 20, The Hertz Corporation, (NYSE: HRZ), the world's largest car rental company will raise all of its non-contract car rental prices in the U.S. $3 per day and $20 per week.

Commenting on the price increase, Frank A. Olson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, "Car rental remains one of the best values in the travel industry."

The take-it-or-leave-it tone of the Hertz release is... uh, interesting. One can easily imagine Mr. Olson pounding his fist on the table in the corporate boardroom, explaining in no uncertain terms to his cowering underlings why Hertz can and should unilaterally raise its prices. In the real world, though, it's the consumer who makes the final judgement as to a product's value. And personally, I'm not at all sure that car rental was such a great deal before Hertz raised their prices. And I'm $3/day less sure now.

>> More <<
Hertz

<< R E A D E R R A N T S & R A V E S >>

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AAdvantage/MCI Promotion (continued)
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On the issue of the American/MCI promo, I had recently considered switching telephone carriers and the response from MCI was the same as Cindi had mentioned and this was from several different individuals at MCI but something in my gut said don't do it.

On a another matter, AT&T rolled out their sign up program for the Personal Network Rewards Program. However, very difficult to obtain particulars on who is participating and the levels of the rewards. Has anybody seen anything on this new program?

Thanks, CEB

[CEB--Check out AT&T's website at https://www.personal.rewards.att.com/ or call 1-800-232-8200. From the scant info on their site, it appears that points are convertible to airlines miles only when converted first to hotel points. And you're right: no info on award levels, so it's difficult to evaluate the program's value.]

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Another Floyd Story
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I was down in Miami as well this last weekend. Boy was I scared... I had a rented convertible, that was about out of gas around 5:00pm heading to my scheduled flight at FT. Lauderdale. I stopped at three gas stations that had NO gas. I finally was gouged by paying about 20c more per gallon.

My trip to Miami/everglades/keys was a spur of the moment kind of thing. I got a great ticket rate on Southwest from Baltimore(130), rented a convertible from Alamo for about 30 a day. Using Priceline, I also stayed in the Weston resort on 89th st for 65 a night (was charged double tax, I have to straighten that out). I stayed down in the keys on Duval street at an amazing bed & breakfast for 60 a night. The whole 3 day weekend trip came out to be just under 450 dollars through smart planning including all my park entrance fees, as well as charter boats for snorkeling, bar tabs, food...everything!

There can be worse places to be stuck for conferences. :)

Your newsletter is stunning as always!

 -Rob

[Thanks, Rob. 'Stunning'? That's a first... blush, blush.]

<< S I T E 2 S E E >>

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Oops!
>>>>>
In the last week's "Site2See" section, we gave an incorrect URL (website address) for Southwest's revamped site.

The correct URL is http://www.iflyswa.com/ or http://www.southwest.com/ (both work).

Sorry for the mistake. And thanks to Karen and Neha for bringing it to our attention.

<< B A C K O F T H E B U S >>

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Laptop Connection Tip
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Here's a trick which I (painful admission) was very slow to learn...

When you're establishing a modem connection to the Internet (or to a company intranet) from your hotel room, you typically add '8' or '9' before the number, to get an outside line. The problem: the dialer, after you press "Connect," dials the numbers, including the leading '8' or '9,' in rapid succession. The result, oftentimes, is that one or more of the numbers are entered before an outside connection has been made. I.e., some of the numbers are being dialed before a dial tone has been established. The tip-off is that you will repeatedly get a recorded operator message, instructing you to check the number and dial again. Solution: type several commas (',') between the '8' or '9' and the remainder of the number. This creates a pause, allowing the phone system time to register the request for an outside number and respond with a dial tone, before the rest of the numbers are dialed.

In my experience, you are more likely to encounter the above-mentioned problem at smaller, older hotels, which presumably have less sophisticated phone systems.

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Star Gazing
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If you're in New York during the next few weeks, Air France is hosting a black and white print exhibit of celebrity passenger photographs, taken between 1955 and 1970, at this year's New York Film Festival, September 24 through October 10, 1999.

The collection of fifty photographs from the airline's archives includes images of Audrey Hepburn, Marcello Mastroianni and Marlene Dietrich. Back when aircraft were boarded from open stairs, Air France photographers snapped celebrity passengers as they arrived or departed from Paris. These photographs were then distributed to the press and many times would appear in the morning newspapers before the passengers arrived at their destination.

The exhibition at the Walter Reade Theater (behind Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center) is open daily to the public during between the hours of 2 p.m. - 9 p.m.

I won't have a chance to see the exhibit, but my guess is that these publicity photos will go a long way toward stirring up nostalgia for the "good old days" when air transportation was both a luxury and luxurious.

Until next week...