Next Week Is Christmas

Since many of our subscribers will be away from their inboxes for the holidays, we'll be publishing a short issue of the Crier next week, probably on Thursday instead of Wednesday.

If you haven't placed your orders yet for those Barbies and PlayStations and Cuisinarts at your favorite online retailer, it's probably too late for Christmas delivery. But don't forget: the bonus mile offers at many of the airline and hotel mileage malls are in effect through December 31. So there's still time to stock up on miles before the end of the year. (See our "Savvy Santas" article for a roundup of shopping bonuses.)

And finally, best wishes to all for the holidays!

FrequentFlier Forum Topics

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

In the "Airline Programs" Forum, Dan wonders whether the $140 in taxes he paid for an Aeroplan award ticket is the norm: "Can someone tell me how much they pay on other programs when redeeming? I heard on United it's much less. Since united is Star Alliance I am thinking of going there for next year. What about American?"

Also in the "Airline Programs" Forum, Homer finds himself stonewalled by United's Premier Exec desk: "I sent a complaint letter to Customer Relations at the United Premier Executive Desk (using the address supplied in the Premier Exec packet) on Oct. 20. When no reply was received in a month, I sent a follow-up letter with a copy of the original. Another month has elapsed and still no reply!

"Is this typical of the state of customer relations at a major airline these days?"

Questions, answers, opinions? Post them to the Forum!

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American Donates Miles for UNICEF Contributions

Through January 31, 2008, AAdvantage members will earn two miles for every $1 donated to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

A few sobering factoids from the website: $2 immunizes 20 children against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough; and $12 provides 20 packets of high energy biscuits, specially developed for malnourished children in emergency situations.

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Choice Privileges to Add Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn

Beginning January 1, 2008, all 1,000+ Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn hotels will be included in the Choice Privileges program. They were previously covered by the EA$Y CHOICE program. Program members will earn five points per dollar spent on Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn stays.

EA$Y CHOICE members can redeem stamps for room credit until March 31, 2008, or exchange the stamps for Choice Privileges points until December 31, 2008.

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Earn Up to 10K Miles for Cruises at Continental.com

Members of Contiental's OnePass program can earn up to 10,000 miles when booking cruises at continental.com.

Earn 1,500 miles for cruises up to five nights, 3,000 miles for six to eight-night cruises, 5,000 miles for nine to 12-night cruises, and 10,000 miles for cruises lasting 13 or more nights.

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Global Points Exchange Facilitates Mileage Trades

Points.com has launched the beta version of its Global Points Exchange (GPX), allowing Points.com members to trade miles and points of participating programs. So far, the list of participating programs is limited to American, Aeroplan, Alaska Air, Frontier, and Iceland Air.

Members can either post a trade, specifying what type of miles they want to give and receive, or browse the offers of other would-be traders. Members are free to propose any exchange rate they choose, but for airline miles, trades are likely to be one-for-one at least initially.

Naturally, trading miles is not free. The fee is comprised of two parts, a $6.95 "processing fee" for Points.com, which is waived for the time being, plus trading fees imposed by the airline program. To trade American AAdvantage miles, for example, the trading fees would be $80 for between 1,000 and 5,000 miles, $130 for 6,000 - 10,000 miles, and $180 for 11,000 - 15,000 miles.

As is the case with purchasing miles from the airlines, the fees are too high to justify the convenience, except perhaps in emergencies and when very small quantities of miles are involved.

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Deal Alert from SmarterTravel.com

1) Domestic Fares on Delta from $118

Domestic flights through early March are on sale from Delta. Fares start at $118 round-trip, and featured destinations include Las Vegas, New York, Cincinnati, and Salt Lake City.

Travel is valid from December 14 through March 7, 2008. Book tickets at least 21 days in advance. Book by December 31, 11:59 PM ET.

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2) Sale Fares on AirTran from $44 Each Way

Through Thursday, AirTran is offering sale fares from $44 one-way or $88 round-trip. Destinations include Chicago, Ft. Myers, Milwaukee, and Orlando.

Travel is valid from January 4, 2008 through February 27, 2008. Book by December 20, 11:59 PM ET.

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Win a Trip for 2 to Mazatlan, Mexico

Enter Dunhill Vacations' sweepstakes by December 28, 2008, for a chance to win a trip for two to Mazatlan, Mexico, including air from Los Angeles and four nights' hotel. To enter, sign up to receive Dunhill's newsletter or refer a new subscriber.

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[Visit http://frequentflier.com/sweeps.htm for more travel sweepstakes.]

Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel

"If you haven't already done so, I would suggest you look into the changes to Aeroplan's elite benefits for next year.

"Once again the program is being devalued. Very disappointing for those of us who made the effort to qualify for special status.

"Loyalty, why bother?" [Jonathon]

[FrequentFlier.com replies - We'll have a summary of the upcoming Aeroplan changes in a future issue.]

Until next week...