FrequentFlier.com

The Best Current Frequent Flyer Deals & Offers

Posted by Tim Winship on September 21, 2011

The only thing better than earning miles and points is earning more miles and points, and earning them faster.

Here we collect and summarize the best frequent flyer bonuses and discounts on offer from the airlines, hotels, rental car companies, and credit card issuers.

Know of a miles or points promotion that should be on our list but isn't? Let us know and we'll get it into the queue for a review.

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US Air Brings Back to 100% Buy-Miles Bonus

Posted by Tim Winship on June 01, 2012

US Airways has been toying with various versions of discounted miles-for-sale offers since the summer of 2009, beginning with a simple 100 percent bonus on purchased miles. Some of the subsequent iterations reduced the bonus or tied it to the use of US Airways' shopping toolbar. But the original promotion, simple and generous, is still the best.

Through the end of the month, it's back.

Offers Details

Between June 1 and June 30, Dividend Miles members will earn a 100 percent bonus on up to 50,000 miles purchased for their own accounts.

Miles normally sell for 3.5 cents each, plus a 7.5 percent "tax recovery charge." The bonus effectively halves that, to about 1.9 cents per mile.

If you're not already a Dividend Miles member, note the following: "Dividend Miles accounts less than 12 days old are not permitted to Buy, Share or Gift miles."

Deal or No Deal

In the beginning, US Airways miles were priced at 2.5 cents apiece. So with the bonus, the effective price was just 1.25 cents each, plus tax. At that price, there was a strong case for buying enough miles for, say, a business-class award ticket to Europe.

But that case is harder to make today. Since the original deals, US Airways has raised the price of miles twice, first to 2.75 cents and most recently to 3.5 cents each. That's a hefty 40 percent increase.

Even as the price has risen, the availability of award seats has come under pressure as airlines worldwide have been flying fuller.

And the price of that business-class award ticket to Europe? It's been raised from 80,000 miles to 100,000 miles.

So this offer doesn't rate the same unqualified "strong buy" that it once did.

It's still possible, however, to buy enough miles for a business-class trip to Europe that might cost $6,884 (Los Angeles - Frankfurt, Lufthansa) for around $1,881.

Reader Reality Check

Have you purchased US Airways miles in the past? Are they still a "buy"?

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JetBlue and Hawaiian Air to Link Mileage Programs

Posted by Tim Winship on May 31, 2012

Beginning June 5, members of JetBlue's TrueBlue program will be able to earn and redeem points for flights on Hawaiian Airlines, and members of Hawaiian's HawaiianMiles program will be able to earn and redeem miles for flights on JetBlue.

On the earning side, TrueBlue members will earn one point for every two miles flown on Hawaiian for most fares.

And HawaiianMiles members will earn one mile per mile flown on most coach fares (Y, E, K, H, Q, B, L, V, R, M fares), but only 50 percent of flown miles on the cheapest coach tickets (O, U, S fares).

Award pricing details haven't yet been made available and are presumably still being finalized.

Hawaiian's website currently shows a table of "estimated" award prices, based on the price of a comparable paid JetBlue ticket. For example, a ticket worth $100 - $179 would require between 15,000 and 20,000 miles.

And JetBlue's site is mum on the number of TrueBlue points required for award flights on Hawaiian.

For now at least, the frequent flyer integration remains a work in progress. To earn miles on the other airline, you'll have to call their reservations center to register your member number. And to book award flights on the other airline, you'll have to call your own program's service center.

Notwithstanding the system disconnects, which should be addressed in time, the new partnership is a welcome step forward for both programs.

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New from Priority Club: Digital Rewards

Posted by Tim Winship on May 30, 2012

Effective immediately, members of InterContinental's Priority Club Rewards program may redeem their points for digital rewards, including music downloads, games, and software.

To bring the digital rewards into the program's award catalog, Priority Club turned to the first club, "a global provider of digital rewards," for a turnkey solution that integrates seamlessly with the Priority Club website.

While the selection of software titles is underwhelming, there is plenty to choose from in the music and games categories.

According to the website, there are more than 7 million music tracks available. While the prices can be as low as 300 points per track, most recent hit songs were 400 points each.

Prices for computer games ranged from 800 points to more than 15,000 points for the likes of Call of Duty.

And software prices start at 1,150 points and go up from there.

So much for selection -- what do the new rewards deliver in terms of value?

As a point of reference, most songs purchased through Apple's iTunes service cost $1.29 apiece. Paying 400 points for a $1.29 track means you're getting $0.003 (three-tenths of a cent) in value for every Priority Club point.

If, on the other hand, you redeemed points for a free night's stay, you might find yourself cashing in the minimum 10,000 points for a stay worth $75. That works out to getting about $0.01 (1 cent) per point.

Clearly, using points for music downloads represents significantly poorer value than redeeming points for free stays.

No surprise there. With non-travel rewards, the underlying economics generally don't allow the program operator to price the digital rewards attractively. So from a pure value standpoint, consumers are much better served by using their points for free room nights.

Still, there's a place for low-priced rewards, even if they're also low in value. As the Priority Club press release points out:

Leisure travelers, particularly families, want value from their hotel loyalty programs. Digital Rewards is a flexible option to help those with low point accumulations find an alternative point redemption option. And, all members will benefit from the fact that the Digital Rewards offers have been easily integrated with Priority Club's existing point redemption choices.

Case in point: me. I have a few thousand Priority Club points and no plans to increase my account balance, even to the modest 5,000-point level at which I could redeem for a discounted PointBreaks award. I'm sure I can find five or six tunes to add to my music collection and zero out my account in the process. I'll just stay focused on the music itself, not the fact that I'm overpaying for it.

Reader Reality Check

How attractive do you find Priority Club's new digital rewards?

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Win a Trip for 4 to Oahu

Posted by Tim Winship on May 29, 2012

Enter Disney's "John Carter Blu-ray" sweepstakes by August 31 for a chance to win the grand prize: a five-day trip for four to Oahu, including air, hotel accommodations, and a $500 room credit. There are also 50 runner-up prizes: Panasonic Blue-ray players.

The Fine Print

Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are at least 13 years old at the time of entry and are members of the Disney Movie Rewards program (free membership).
Limit: One entry per person, plus up to an additional 49 entries in exchange for Disney Movie Rewards points.
Approximate Retail Value ("ARV") of each grand prize: $4,800.

Somebody has to win, right? Might as well be you.

Want to get away for free? Check out our picks of the best current travel rewards sweepstakes.

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Choice Hotels Offers Bonus for Summer Stays

Posted by Tim Winship on May 29, 2012

Between May 17 and August 15, members of the Choice Privileges program will earn a total of 8,000 points after two stays. That's however many points you would have earned for the stays plus enough bonus points to bring the total up to 8,000.

Mind the definitions of "stay." For Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, or Ascend Collection hotels, a stay is defined as any number of consecutive nights at one hotel regardless of check-ins or check-outs. For Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, or MainStay Suites hotels, a stay is defined as two or more consecutive nights at one hotel.

What's the big deal with 8,000 points? In Choice Privileges, it's enough for a free night at one of 1,500 lower-priced hotels in the Choice network. Or, for purposes of this promotion, it's enough points for a $50 gift card, which normally requires 16,000 points. For U.S. members, the following gift cards are available: BP, Chevron/Texaco, Darden, ExxonMobil, Macy's, Sears, Shell, Sunoco, Uno Chicago Grill.

But notwithstanding the headline, which might lead you to think that the only bonus on offer is the gift card, the actual bonus is the extra points. You can keep them, redeem them for a free night, or redeem them for a gift card.

Deal or No Deal

I'm not a fan of gift cards generally, and the limited selection of merchants in this case makes them even less attractive.

On the other hand, earning enough points for a free night, albeit at a lower-end hotel, after two stays is potentially a high-value offer, especially if the qualifying stays are single nights at lower-priced properties.

Reader Reality Check

There are plenty of hotel promotions available for summer stays. What's your choice?

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Marriott's Summer Promotion: 1 Free Night After 2 Stays

Posted by Tim Winship on May 24, 2012

Aside from Club Carlson's, Marriott's may be the most attractive summer hotel promotion.

Offers Details

Between June 1 and August 31, Marriott Rewards members can earn one free night in a Category 1 - 4 hotel after every two paid stays, up to a maximum of three free nights after six paid stays.

Registration is required and must be completed by June 30.

Free night certificates are valid for one year from the issue date.

As they normally do, Marriott has a default promotion, described here, plus a smattering of different offers targeted at program members who meet certain criteria. If you've been offered one of the non-standard bonuses and would prefer the free-night offer, you should be able to make the change by calling Marriott Rewards customer service.

Deal or No Deal

Marriott's recurring offer of a free night after as few as two paid nights has been a perennial winner. No mystery: it has all the hallmarks of a winning promotion -- simple, accessible, and generous.

This time around, against a backdrop of generally lackluster offers from other major hotel chains, Marriott's looks even better.

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New PointBreaks Hotels Available for 5,000 Priority Club Points

Posted by Tim Winship on May 23, 2012

Priority Club Rewards has just released the list of PointBreaks hotels available for award bookings for just 5,000 points per night through July 31.

By my count, the latest list includes 76 hotels in the U.S., 14 in Latin America, 24 in Europe, 12 in the Middle East/Africa, 18 in Asia, and three in Oceania.

With award nights normally priced from 10,000 points, the PointBreaks price represents a discount of at least 50 percent. This is unquestionably one of the best values offered by any hotel loyalty program. If you have Priority Club points to burn, it's definitely worth a look at the list of participating hotels to see whether any of them would meet your needs (or wants).

The usual caveat with PointBreaks: Rooms are limited, so it's first come, first served.

Reader Reality Check

Have you redeemed Priority Club points for PointBreaks stays?

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Priority Club's Summer Promotion Is 1,000 Bonus Points Per Night

Posted by Tim Winship on May 22, 2012

Between June 1 and September 3, Priority Club Rewards members can earn 1,000 bonus points or 200 bonus miles for every qualifying night at InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites hotels, up to a maximum of 20,000 points or 4,000 miles.

Registration is required, but the promotion registration page isn't live yet.

However, program members can get a head start by liking the Priority Club Facebook page and registering via Facebook. Any nights completed thereafter will qualify for the bonus.

Deal or No Deal

At most Priority Club hotels, members earn 10 points per $1 spent. So the 1,000-point bonus amounts to double points for a $100 night. Better than nothing, but not among the most generous bonuses on offer for summer hotel stays.

Reader Reality Check

This promotion gives Facebook users a couple extra weeks to earn bonus points or miles. Is that good marketing? Is it fair to those who choose not to use Facebook?

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Win a 7-Day Trip for 2 to South Africa

Posted by Tim Winship on May 22, 2012

Enter African Safari Consultants' "African Safari Getaway" sweepstakes by July 31 for a chance to win the grand prize: a seven-day trip for two to South Africa, including air, hotel accommodations, safaris, and some meals.

To participate, first "Like" African Safari Consultants' Facebook page, then register your contact information and click "Submit." Done!

Time required to enter: less than 30 seconds.

The Fine Print

Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry.
Limit: One entry per person.
Approximate Retail Value ("ARV") of the grand prize: $11,300.

Somebody has to win, right? Might as well be you.

Want to get away for free? Check out our picks of the best current travel rewards sweepstakes.

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Get a 25% Discount on British Air Award Flights

Posted by Tim Winship on May 21, 2012

Got British Airways frequent flyer miles (or as they're now called, Avios)?

If you took advantage of the 100,000-mile sign-up bonus for the British Airways credit card, or plan to before the June 7 deadline, you may be wondering how best to use your miles.

As has been reported and discussed extensively, the value of award flights on British Airways is significantly undermined by the sky-high fuel surcharges imposed by the airline.

This award discount might take some of the sting out of using Avios for British Airways award flights.

Offers Details

Through May 30, Executive Club members can save 25 percent on the price of British Airways award flights to London from Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Toronto, and Montreal, and through London to Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, and Dubai.

The discounts apply to travel in World Traveller (regular coach) and World Traveller Plus (premium economy), completed by December 31.

So, for example, with the discount the price of a round-trip award ticket from New York to London would drop from 40,000 Avios to 30,000 Avios in World Traveller, and from 60,000 to 45,000 Avios in World Traveller Plus.

Deal or No Deal

The discounts won't shield you from the onerous fuel surcharges imposed for award flights on British Airways. And the lower prices apply only on a limited number of routes.

But if any of the affected flights looked good to you before the discount, they can only look that much better now.

Reader Reality Check

Please share your experience, positive or negative if you've redeemed Avios for award travel.

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