Earn Up to 100,000 American Miles After 10 Flights

"Earn Up to 100,000 AAdvantage Bonus Miles!"

That's the headline for American's new AAdvantage promotion.

There is a catch, however. To earn that 100,000-mile bonus, you'll have to complete 10 American or American Eagle flights. All 10 of those flights must be on different routes. And those different routes must be among American's newly added services, which means they're most likely flights to non-major cities (to put it politely).

Offer Details

Between April 9 and July 31, AAdvantage members can earn bonus miles for two or more different round-trip flights, as follows: 1,000 bonus miles for two flights; 4,000 miles for three flights; 6,000 for four; 10,000 for five; 15,000 for six; 25,000 for seven; 50,000 for eight; 75,000 for nine; and 100,000 bonus miles for ten flights.

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Qualifying flights must be to or from the following cities (listed alphabetically): Allentown, PA; Asheville, NC; Augusta, GA; Beijing, China; Charleston, WV; Cheyenne, WY; Eleuthera, Bahamas; Fargo, ND; Fayetteville, NC; Harrisburg, PA; Lexington, KY; Myrtle Beach, SC; Rapid City, SD; Scranton/Wilkes Barre, PA; Sioux Falls, SD; Treasure Cay, Bahamas; and Tri-cities, TN.

Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

This is a case where an eye-popping potential bonus is more or less obviated by an unrealistic hurdle to earning it.

Seriously, what are the chances of someone's flying to ten of the listed cities within a decade, much less by July 31? Let's say you manage to squeeze in four bonus-eligible flights while the promotion is in effect—still a stretch, but doable. That will net you 6,000 extra miles, which works out to just 1,500 bonus miles per trip.

For the majority of travelers, this is an underwhelming offer gussied up as something special in the air.

(As an example of an airline promotion that manages to deliver both value and accessibility, Southwest is offering double Rapid Rewards credits on all its flights through May 26.)

Reader Reality Check

While this promotion offers mediocre rewards for most, the combination of a daunting challenge and a major payoff will probably prove tempting to a zealous few.

Any mileage adventurers out there who will make it a point to earn the full 100,000 bonus miles? Identify yourselves, and keep us abreast of your progress.

Book Discounted United Award Travel by April 12

For the ninth time in just the past year, United is offering award tickets for fewer Mileage Plus miles.

Offer Details

Through April 12, Mileage Plus members can book Saver coach award flights within the continental U.S., and between the U.S. and Canada, for 10 percent fewer miles.

So, with the discount, the price of a round-trip award ticket would be 22,500 instead of the 25,000 miles normally required; and a one-way would be reduced from 12,500 to 11,250 miles.

Travel at the discounted rates must be booked on united.com, and travel must be completed by May 26.

Deal or No Deal

United's last domestic award discount, in October 2009, was a hefty 20 percent. So this is a bit of a letdown percentage-wise.

And as I've complained in reviews of past United award discounts, giving program members just a few days to commit to an award trip at the reduced rate detracts from the offer's usability and undermines the discount's goodwill effect.

Still, any discount beats paying the full price for award tickets. And making these discounts a regular feature of Mileage Plus, as United has done, unquestionably adds value to the program.

Reader Reality Check

Have any Mileage Plus members taken advantage of these discounts? If so, please share any comments on seat availability at the reduced rates.

And looking specifically at this offer, is a 10 percent discount a difference-maker for you?

Southwest Doubles Frequent Flyer Awards on All Flights

Double frequent flyer credits. On all routes. From Southwest.

That's a combination you don't often see. In this era of micro-targeted marketing, systemwide airline promotions are rare. (Too inefficient.) And Southwest in particular has never been aggressive with its Rapid Rewards promotions. (Too expensive.)

But it's a sign of these desperate times that one of the industry's most profitable players is offering a bonus across its entire flight network.

Offer Details

Between April 7 and May 26, Rapid Rewards members will earn double credits on all Southwest flights booked on Southwest's website.

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Business Select tickets earn 2.25 credits for flights less than 750 miles, three credits for flights 750 miles or more.

New reservations only. Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

With the bonus, a round-trip Southwest flight earns four credits, and a free ticket is earned after four round-trips. Business Select customers earn more, and receive a free ticket even faster.

This promotion is generous, comprehensive, and refreshingly free of caveats and restrictions.

The only complaint about the offer is that it's not in effect longer.

Reader Reality Check

This looks like a no-brainer to me. Any naysayers out there? If you're not already a Southwest customer, is the bonus enough to influence you to book Southwest over a full-service carrier like American or United?

Hilton Offers Free Nights, but Not So Fast ...

Hilton has dubbed its new promotion Fast Ways to Free Stays.

What's fast? According to Hilton, earning a free night after either four stays or 10 nights. A quick check of my Random House dictionary shows the following definition for 'fast': "done in comparatively little time; taking a comparatively short time." Hilton's copywriters must have consulted a different dictionary.

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Offer Details

Between April 6 and June 30, Hilton HHonors members can earn a free night or double base points after either four qualifying stays or 10 nights.

Registration is required, at which time program members must opt for either free nights or bonus points.

The free night certificate must be used within one year.

Deal or No Deal

First, the upside:

• There's no limit to the number of times the bonuses can be earned.
• The free night can be taken any time within a year.
• With Hilton's network of more than 3,500 hotels, there's a vast choice of awards, including some very high end properties in some highly desirable locations.

What will give many travelers pause, however, is the qualification hurdle: four stays or 10 nights, within three months.

That puts the bonuses out of reach of all but a small segment of the traveling public, mostly business travelers. And it's not as though there aren't plenty of hotel promotions with much lower requirements.

Hyatt, for example, is offering a free night after just two stays between March 26 and June 30.

And Choice Hotels is offering enough bonus points for a free night after two stays completed between February 22 and April 30.

Arguably, a free night in smaller hotel networks like those of Choice and Hyatt has less value than a free night in Hilton's collection of 3,500 hotels worldwide. So the Hilton promotion does have potential value for those who meet the qualifying criteria. Inarguably, though, a free night earned after two stays is within much easier reach than a freebie after four stays.

In a recent interview in InsideFlyer magazine, Hilton HHonors chief Jeff Diskin vowed that the program was moving in the direction of "being more broad in our system promotions," rather than focusing exclusively on ultra-frequent travelers. Perhaps future promotions will deliver on that promise. This one does not.

Reader Reality Check

Given your travel plans for the next three months, is this offer meaningful for you?

US Airways Cuts Price to Transfer Frequent Flyer Miles

Got US Airways frequent flyer miles? Wanna give them to someone else?

Between April 1 and May 31, Dividend Miles members can earn a 100 percent bonus when transferring miles form their accounts to someone else's account. So, for every mile transferred at the normal rate of 1 cent per mile, plus a $30 processing fee, two miles will be transferred.

Up to 50,000 miles may be transferred, which would amount to 100,000 miles with the bonus.

Transfers must be made in multiples of 1,000. So the cost to transfer 25,000 miles, enough for a free domestic ticket, would normally be $280, including the processing fee. With the bonus, you'd have to transfer 13,000 miles, but the cost will drop to a more manageable $160.

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"Manageable" is relative, of course. There's a school of thought that says any cost to transfer your own miles is too much. You already paid to earn the miles once, right? That's a discussion for another time.

Deal or No Deal

Until the end of last month, US Airways had a similar offer in place for miles purchased for the member's own account, or purchased as a gift for another member. It was the third time that offer had been deployed, and I'd given the promotion generally favorable reviews.

Similarly, half-priced mileage transfers are potentially game-changers—at a half-cent each, it begins to make financial sense to at least consider sharing some miles.

But there's a dark side to these cheaper miles that needs to be discussed.

I was rooting around in US Airways' financial statements for 2009 and came across the following: "The number of travel award redemptions during the year ended December 31, 2009, was approximately 0.8 million, representing approximately 4 percent of US Airways' mainline RPMs during that period."

As a point of comparison, American gave away 8.9 percent of its seats as frequent flyer awards during the same period, and both Southwest and United gave away 8.3 percent of theirs.

In other words, when it comes to making frequent flyer awards available, US Airways is less than half as generous as three of the airlines it competes with.

As US Airways' annual report points out, "The use of inventory management techniques minimizes the displacement of revenue passengers by passengers traveling on award tickets." Indeed!

While these US Airways offers look good on their face, this may be a case of getting exactly what you pay for. That 50 percent discount may reflect the real value of US Airways miles.

Continental Offer Is More Complicated Than Generous

As the name might suggest, Continental's new Mileathon promotion is one of those big, convoluted marketing initiatives designed to generate revenue by offering bonuses for a wide range of transactions that ultimately bolster the airline's bottom line.

That's fine in theory, as long as the promoted purchases are fairly priced, and the bonuses are worthwhile.

Between April 1 and June 30, OnePass members can earn credits for selected partner activities, including credit card sign-ups, online bookings, Continental ticket purchases, hotel stays, car rentals, vacation packages, cruises, and so on. (Hotel stays, car rentals, vacation packages, and cruises must be booked on continental.com to qualify.) After the promotion period, the credits are converted into bonus miles.

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So, for example, OnePass members earn 30 credits for signing up for a new Presidential Plus MasterCard. That's the most lucrative activity, credits-wise. Buying a full-fare Continental BusinessFirst ticket earns 20 credits, as does the purchase of a Presidents Club lounge membership. At the low end of the earning spectrum, enrolling in OnePass earns two credits, and booking online at continental.com earns just a single credit.

Five credits convert to 500 bonus miles; 10 credits are worth 1,000 miles; 20 credits convert to 2,500 miles; and so on up to 175 credits, which net 100,000 miles or a $1,000 Miles for Merchandise gift card.

Registration is required, and only activities completed after registering count toward the bonuses.

Deal or No Deal

Most of the per-transaction bonuses are tiny, so you'd have to be extraordinarily active, and spend a boatload of money, to earn a significant bonus.

For perspective, to earn 85 points—which convert to 25,000 miles, enough for a free round-trip domestic ticket—you would have to book 22 hotel stays, or 15 cruises or vacation packages.

In short, the promotion is complicated and not particularly rewarding.

On the other hand, if you're already a Continental loyalist, and some of the qualifying transactions are already on your to-do list, it's worth registering and taking advantage of the extra miles.

But even here, there's a caveat: If you're planning to book travel-related services on continental.com, be sure to comparison-shop. Best-rate guarantees notwithstanding, you might find better deals elsewhere.

Virgin America Links to V Australia, Virgin Blue

It was just two weeks ago that Virgin America added another hotel to its Elevate frequent flyer program, expanding its partner roster to include two rental car companies, two hotel groups, a mileage mall, and a credit card.

Sure, that's a modest lineup compared to the programs of the bigger airlines, which offer opportunities to earn and redeem miles at hundreds of companies representing almost every industry segment.

But while Elevate remains a small program, its growth has been eye-popping. And it's been intelligent—the partnerships make sense, and add real value to program membership.

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Today's announcement that Virgin America is linking its loyalty program to Velocity, the program of V Australia and Virgin Blue, extends the winning streak, affording Elevate members additional opportunities to earn points and, eventually, to use their points for free flights to Australia and other Asia-Pacific destinations.

For now, the trilateral relationship is limited to earning: Members of the Elevate and Velocity programs can earn points when flying on any of the three airlines.

The real value of this tie-up will be on the award side. Elevate members will be able to cash in their points for free flights later this year, with prices for V Australia flights starting at 40,000 points.

As welcome as the new partners are, there's another Virgin-branded airline that would be an even more robust addition to the Elevate program: Virgin Atlantic. With that airline's flights to London and beyond, Virgin America could claim to offer worldwide earning and awards.

Not bad for a small program operated by a relatively new airline.