Marriott Offers $25 Back on Weekend Nights This Summer

It's summer, and weekend hotel stays are part of many travelers' vacation plans. With the economy still in a funk, however, consumers are still keeping a close eye on their spending.

That seems to be the thinking behind Marriott's new offer for weekend stays this summer.

Offer Details

Between May 28 and September 6, guests at participating JW Marriott and Marriott hotels in the continental U.S. and Canada will receive a $25 Visa gift card for each weekend night (Friday or Saturday night) charged to a Visa card, up to a maximum of two gift cards for two nights.

Gift cards can be used wherever Visa debit cards are accepted.

Qualifying stays must be booked at least 14 days in advance and by July 16, using promo code V12.

Deal or No Deal

What amounts to a $50 rebate for two nights' stay is a meaningful incentive. And the offer is combinable with Marriott's free-night promotion.

But before taking advantage of this or similar offers, it's always wise to check rates both with and without the promo code, to be sure you're not paying extra to earn the bonus.

With that in mind, I compared rates for a Friday-night stay in mid-June at three Los Angeles-area Marriott hotels, test-booking at the V12 rate and the rate offered to Auto Club members.

Using the V12 promo code on Marriott's website, the rate at the L.A. Airport Marriott was $129, the L.A. Marriott Downtown rate was $169, and the Marina del Rey Marriott was $199.

Booking at the Auto Club rate as a reality check, the prices quoted were $123, $161, and $208 for the Airport, Downtown, and Marina del Rey Marriotts, respectively.

So in two cases, the V12 rate was slightly higher, while in a third case, it was slightly lower.

Conclusion: This can be a good deal, but you'll have to check to confirm that the offer-related room rate is, if not the lowest available, at least low enough that the rebate isn't obviated by a higher price.

Reader Reality Check

Given the room rates at most JW Marriott and Marriott hotels, the gift card is effectively a rebate of between 10 and 20 percent. Is that enough?

How do you feel about gift cards, versus cash or bonus points?

Multiply Your American Miles? Or Hide Your Wallet?

Taking a page from the playbooks of United (Mileage Plus Award Accelerator) and US Airways (Dividend Miles Multiplier), American is now offering AAdvantage members the opportunity to purchase extra miles when flying on American.

As always with such offers, the question comes down to price: how much those extra miles cost, and how much they're worth.

Offer Details

With American's new Mileage Multiplier, AAdvantage members can choose to purchase double or triple the base miles normally earned for any American, American Eagle, or AmericanConnection flight for about 3 cents each, plus a 7.5 percent federal excise tax.

The bonus miles must be purchased within 24 hours of the member's flight, either at an airport self-service check-in machine or when checking in online at AA.com.

Taking an example from American's press release, AAdvantage members normally earn 1,121 base miles for flights between Dallas and Miami. With Mileage Multiplier, travelers could pay $34 to earn an extra 1,121 miles for that flight, or $68 to earn an extra 2,242 miles.

Mileage Multiplier purchases are non-refundable.

Deal or No Deal

There are several ways to evaluate Mileage Multiplier.

First, in relative terms, is it competitive with the Award Accelerator offered by United, an airline that American competes head-to-head with?

While the prices hover around 3 cents per mile in both cases, United includes the 7.5 percent federal excise tax in its rates while American does not. So American's final price will be 7.5 percent higher than United's. Is an American mile worth 7.5 percent more than a United mile?

Then there's the question of absolute value: Are AAdvantage miles worth 3 cents apiece? Savvy travelers are certainly capable of recouping that and more, by redeeming their miles for expensive flights and upgrades. But by my calculations, the average value of a frequent flyer mile is around 1.2 cents. So unless buyers make a concerted effort to get outsized value for their miles, they're overpaying at 3 cents each.

It's also worth pondering the underlying logic of Mileage Multiplier. Isn't the basic premise that actual flyers should be able to purchase miles at a better rate than non-flyers? Otherwise, what's the point?

But American already sells miles through buyAAmiles, for between 2 cents and 2.75 cents apiece, plus a $30 service charge. That means that, except when purchasing small lots of miles, where the service fee raises the per-mile cost above 3 cents, it's cheaper to purchase miles through buyAAmiles than through Mileage Multiplier.

American's news release notes that the 3-cents-per-mile price is an "introductory cost." That's usually a signal that prices will eventually rise. And that would make a bad deal even worse.

Bottom line: Mileage Multiplier is a Profit Multiplier for American, and a Dicey Deal for consumers.

Reader Reality Check

What's a frequent flyer mile worth to you?

Are there any circumstances under which you'd buy miles at 3 cents each?

And the Award for the World's Best Frequent Flyer Program Goes to ...

"What frequent flyer program do you participate in?"

That's a question I'm asked often. The answer is simple: American AAdvantage. But the qualifier causes some head-scratching: While I'm an AAdvantage member, it's not because it's the best program.

So when I was asked for my pick as the SmarterTravel Editors' Choice best airline loyalty program, American's AAdvantage program wasn't it. That would suggest that I recommend AAdvantage for others. I don't. But it's not because AAdvantage isn't the best program.

Huh?

What really raises eyebrows, and sometimes hackles as well, is what I say next: There is no best airline loyalty program.

No best program? But ...

Best Because ...

What there is is a best program for you, given your travel and consumption behavior.

American works for me because I live in Los Angeles and travel often to New York, Boston, and Miami.

And therein lies as solid a definition of "best" as I've been able to devise: The best airline program is the one that provides you with the most rewards for the least effort and expense.

I won't presume to tell you what program is best for you. But I will tell you how to go about choosing a best program yourself. So rather than an Editors' Choice, consider this an Editors' Guidelines for Choosing.

Home & Away

Many program participants earn the bulk of their miles from traveling. For them, the choice of program will be dictated largely by two factors: where they live, and where they travel.

Where they live determines their hometown airport. And most airports have one airline that operates a disproportionate share of that airport's flights. More often than not, that airline will be your best choice for mileage earning, because it is most likely to have the most non-stop flights to the destinations you visit the most.

If their hometown airport is served more or less equally by two or more airlines, where they normally travel should narrow it down to a single carrier.

In my case, while there is no single uber-dominant carrier at Los Angeles International Airport, American is among the largest. And it has more non-stop flights to New York, Boston, and Miami than any other airline serving LAX.

If those two considerations aren't sufficient to push you into one camp or another, here are some other tie-breakers:

Promises, Promises

Award availability is one of the key determinants of an airline program's value. While there's no definitive source of reliable data comparing program members' success in redeeming their miles for free flights, a new study by ezRez Software and IdeaWorks attempts to bring some clarity to the issue, and illustrates just how wide the gap can be between the most and least generous programs.

The findings, ranked according to their success rate in test-booking award seats, were as follows:

1. Southwest (99.3 percent)
2. Alaska (75.0 percent)
3. Continental (71.4 percent)
4. United (68.6 percent)
5. AirTran (67.9 percent)
6. American (57.9 percent)
7. Delta (12.9 percent)
8. US Airways (10.7 percent)

While it would be overly simplistic to choose a program based solely on an airline's award generosity, it could certainly tip the decision in the direction of the carrier with a significantly better record. If the choice were between, for example, Delta and Continental, and they were neck-and-neck otherwise, the program with award seats available 71.4 percent of the time would get the nod over the one with only 12.9 percent.

Eyes on the Prize

Another important consideration is a traveler's goal in earning miles. For the great majority of program participants, the goal is a free domestic ticket, typically priced at 25,000 miles.

But if you're a bona fide road warrior, your focus is likely on the perks associated with elite status, in particular upgrades to first class. In that case, the programs of Southwest and other discount airlines are off the table—some airlines have no first-class cabins, so upgrades simply aren't possible.

Buyer or Flyer?

Do you earn the bulk of your miles for retail transactions, rather than from flying?

All modern airline programs feature affiliated credit cards, so no matter which program you swear allegiance to, you're covered for earning one mile or more for every dollar charged to a card.

But only the largest programs have mileage malls, extensive networks of online retailers that award miles for purchases.

And of the large mileage malls, Delta's SkyMiles mall is the largest, with more than 500 participating Internet merchants.

It's a Family Affair

Airline programs are hardly stand-alone affairs. American's AAdvantage boasts more than 1,000 companies that award miles for purchases, representing every retail and service sector.

Compare that to JetBlue's TrueBlue program, which only awards points for flights on JetBlue, transactions with one hotel chain and one car-rental company, and charges to a program-linked credit card.

Bigger, when it comes to partner rosters, means more opportunities to earn miles. And more miles means more awards.

But it's not just a matter of how many partners. It's also a matter of which partners.

American, for instance, recently advised members of its program that, effective July 1, they can no longer earn miles for stays at Marriott hotels. If you have been earning a significant portion of your American miles for stays at a Courtyard by Marriott, say, that change might be enough to nudge you away from AAdvantage and into a program that still partners with Marriott.

The Bottom Line Is Yours

The above are among the criteria for choosing a frequent flyer program. There are others.

For some consumers, airline fees are a determining factor—some airlines impose more fees (US Airways); others charge fewer (Southwest).

Maybe trips to Italy are your principal travel priority, and you only want to fly Alitalia. Through its participation in the SkyTeam alliance, Alitalia is linked to Delta, which means that you can earn and redeem Delta miles for Alitalia flights.

And so on.

There are almost as many best programs as there are reasons for choosing them. Which is why, when it comes to airline loyalty programs, your mileage will vary.

US Airways Offers 50% Bonus for Car Rentals, Hotel Stays

US Airways has been on a promotional tear.

Currently, they're offering a 1,500-mile sign-up bonus for new Dividend Miles members.

And they're doubling the miles for all US Airways flights competed between April 13 and June 15.

They cut the price to transfer miles to other Dividend Miles members through May 31.

And on three separate recent occasions, US Airways effectively halved the price to purchase miles.

The latest addition to the list: a bonus for doing business with US Airways' rental car and hotel partners.

Offer Details

Between May 24 and July 31, Dividend Miles members will earn 50 percent more miles for transactions with all rental car and hotel partners, including hotel points transfers.

To earn the bonus, program members must choose to earn Dividend Miles from the partner when making reservations, checking in, or when requesting points transfers.

Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

It's hard to argue with a substantial bonus. It applies to rentals, stays, and transfers at all of US Airways' many car and hotel partners. And it's in effect for more than two months. All good.

The issue raised by this, and all US Airways' aggressive efforts to boost mileage-earning, is the reward side of the program. No matter how generous the offer, miles are only worth earning if they're readily redeemable for free flights. So, just how redeemable are US Airways miles?

A recent Idea Works report on award availability found that US Airways miles could only be successfully redeemed 10.7 percent of the time—the worst performance of all the U.S. programs surveyed.

You may be able to do better, by booking by phone instead of online, or by using miles for free flights on US Airways' airline partners instead of on US Airways' own flights. Or not.

Bottom line: Look before you leap.

Reader Reality Check

The elephant in this room is the usability of US Airways miles. If you're a Dividend Miles member, how difficult have you found it to book award flights?

Do you agree that US Airways is the stingiest airline when it comes to frequent flyer awards?

Free Night After Two Carlson Stays - Best Summer Hotel Promo?

The theme of this summer's hotel promotions is free nights. And for good reason: With U.S. hotel occupancy rates stuck below 60 percent, according to the latest report from hotel research company STR, the major hotel chains have plenty of empty rooms to give away.

But not all free-night offers were created equal.

Through June 30, Hilton is offering HHonors members a free night after either four qualifying stays or 10 nights.

Marriott is offering a free night after three stays, between June 1 and August 31.

Omni is offering a free night in conjunction with a paid weekend night through September 6.

And through July 31, Starwood Preferred Guest members can earn a free weekend night after every three paid stays.

The latest free-night promotion to be launched is from Carlson Hotels.

Offer Details

Between June 1 and August 31, members of Carlson's goldpoints plus program can earn one free night after two qualifying stays at Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns & Suites, and Park Inn hotels.

Free nights may be booked starting July 15, 2010, for stays completed between September 1, 2010, and February 28, 2011.

Up to seven free nights can be earned during the promotion period, after 14 stays.

Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

Of the current free-night offers, this may be the best so far.

The qualification hurdle—two stays, which could be as few as two non-contiguous nights—is low.

The free nights can be earned multiple times, unlike Omni's offer, which is limited to one free night per member.

The most significant limitation is the period during which the free stays must be consumed. But while the redemption period is during the less desirable fall and winter months, it's a full six months, and there are no day-of-the-week or other niggling restrictions.

Reader Reality Check

If you've run across a more generous promotion for summer hotel stays, please share.

United Waives Upgrade Co-Payments for Elites

With planes packed and free coach awards harder than ever to come by, upgrades are one of the best uses of frequent flyer miles.

We still refer to them as mileage upgrades because, not so long ago, miles were all it took to upgrade. No more. The trend is toward requiring a cash co-payment in addition to miles, at least for upgrades from the cheaper coach tickets that most travelers normally purchase.

American, for example, now charges 15,000 miles plus $50 each way for upgrades from discount coach fares on domestic flights. And for Europe flights, the cost to upgrade is 25,000 miles plus $350 each way.

Continental charges 15,000 miles, plus a co-payment between $50 and $150, for domestic upgrades, but the cash surcharges are waived for elite members of its OnePass program.

While Delta does not currently impose cash surcharges for upgrades, neither do they allow upgrades from cheaper fares. So you might have to purchase a pricier ticket to use miles, which amounts to an unpublished surcharge.

US Airways has no co-pays for domestic upgrades, but upgrading on Europe flights costs 30,000 miles plus $300.

And United charges between $50 and $100, in addition to 15,000 miles each way, for domestic upgrades from discount coach; and Europe upgrades cost as much as $500 each way, plus 20,000 miles.

In what may turn out to be a sub-trend to the industry-wide spread of upgrade surcharges, United has announced that, effective immediately, elite members of Mileage Plus will be exempt from cash co-pays when using miles to upgrade on flights within the continental U.S., Alaska, and Canada, including United's transcon p.s. service.

The new policy applies to Premier, Premier Executive, 1K and Global Services members, as well as any travel companions included on the same reservation.

Good News, Bad News

For Mileage Plus members who routinely use miles for upgrades, the waiver adds significant value to elite membership.

But there's a troubling downside to the new policy as well. One of the featured benefits of elite membership is "unlimited complimentary" space-available upgrades on domestic flights.

Waiving the cash fee for mileage upgrades—which are confirmed before complimentary elite upgrades—will certainly result in more elites using their miles to upgrade. And that can only mean fewer first-class seats available for elites hoping for a comp upgrade.

With so few available first-class seats, it's a zero-sum game for upgraders. So United is giving with one hand but taking away with the other.

No doubt United is well aware of both the positive and negative effects of the change, and is betting that, on balance, Mileage Plus elites will be more favorably disposed to the new approach than to its predecessor.

What must also have factored into United's decision was the beneficial effect on the airline's books. Frequent flyer miles are recorded as a contingent liability for accounting purposes, and more elite members redeeming more miles for upgrades will reduce that liability.

Whether the real-world result will be a liability or an improvement for United's best customers remains to be seen.

Reader Reality Check

It's too soon to judge whether and how much this will add to the difficulty of getting a complimentary elite upgrade, but I can only imagine waitlists getting longer, especially for lower-level elites.

Do you agree?

Will the new benefit offset the downside?

With Rewards Credit Cards, Your Mileage May Vary

With the economy on the mend, credit card issuers are on the prowl for new customers. In particular, they're looking for consumers who can afford to spend and are at low risk of default. Members of travel loyalty programs, with their higher household incomes and spendy dispositions, fit the desired demographic profile to a T.

Today, program members routinely receive solicitations for credit cards linked to the major airline or hotel programs bundled with generous sign-up incentives—typically enough bonus miles for a free ticket with the airline cards.

But there are even more lucrative deals circulating in the blogosphere that, if nothing else, indicate just how highly the card issuers value frequent flyers' business.

Two current promotions—one for a Marriott credit card, the other for a United card—are cases in point.

Marriott Offer Details

If you visit Marriott's website, you will find the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa card promoted with the following incentives: 30,000 bonus points, a free annual night, bonus elite-qualifying nights, and 15,000 bonus points after a seven-night award stay.

The annual fee is $65.

However, if you followed this link, sent to me by a reader, you would find an application for the same card, with same annual fee, with the same sign-up incentives. Except instead of 30,000 bonus points, this offer is for 50,000 bonus points.

United Offer Details

You'll find a similar disparity between the public and not-so-public promotions for the United Mileage Plus Visa Signature card.

On United's website, the card is promoted as follows: 30,000 bonus miles after spending $250, a free one-way upgrade certificate, and a $25 travel certificate after the first purchase.

The card's annual fee is $60.

But there's an alternative online application form here, where the same card is promoted with a whopping 50,000-mile bonus. And while the annual fee is also $60, it's waived for the first year.

Deal or No Deal

Both offers, interestingly, are from Chase. It's Chase that issues the British Airways credit card that was promoted recently with a 100,000-mile bonus, the largest I've ever seen.

That offer was launched and withdrawn, relaunched and re-rescinded, and re-relaunched and re-re-rescinded, whipsawing consumers between hope and exasperation with its on-again-off-again status.

The official explanation from Chase was that the offer was targeted, intended only for a select few members of British Airways' mileage program who met certain criteria. But, according to Chase's narrative, news of the promotion spread virally, well beyond the intended recipients.

No doubt that's part of the story. I suspect, however, that Chase wasn't altogether averse to accepting the extra card applications from non-targeted consumers.

If the British Airways offer is any indication, and the more aggressive Marriott and United offers are similarly targeted, success rates in snagging the bigger bonuses will vary.

I know of people who earned the British Airways bonus with no issues, and at least one person who met the promotion's terms and wasn't awarded the advertised bonus.

So while the rewards can be considerable, there's also an element of risk in responding to targeted offers that didn't specifically target you.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that you pursue the highlighted offers. The purpose of this blog post is to shine some light on a marketing practice that isn't well understood, and can therefore lead to confusion and disappointment.

If you do decide to pursue what may be targeted offers, you should only do so with the understanding that, because you were not among the offer's intended recipients, you might only receive the publicly advertised benefits, not the more attractive version of the offer.

It's also a good idea to take a screenshot of the promotion's landing page, in case you later need proof of the offer's details.

Reader Reality Check

If you've had experience—positive or negative—qualifying for targeted promotions, please share your experience.

Which Airline Rewards Programs Are the Most Rewarding?

The airlines' mileage schemes are routinely referred to as rewards programs. But how rewarding are they? And how do they compare, rewards-wise?

We know a lot about the airlines and the details of their business. How much revenue they generate, and how much they spend in the process. How many bags they mishandle. How many passengers they fly, and how many miles they fly them. The average cents per mile made on every ticket. The percentage of their seats sold and unsold.

What we don't know is how they deliver on the promise implicit in their mileage programs. What are the odds that an airline's frequent flyer program member will be successful in redeeming miles for an award flight?

Nobody knows.

It's not in the airlines' annual reports. And if you ask the airlines directly—as I have on many occasions—they will claim that they don't have the data.

There are around 100 million Americans who participate in one or more airline programs. All of them would like to know how their program performs, and how that compares with the performance of other programs.

Such transparency is at the very heart of what makes capitalism benefit consumers. Give us all the information we need to make informed buying decisions, and let companies compete for our business.

With frequent flyer programs, however, all consumers have to go on is their own experience, and whatever anecdotal evidence they can gather through water-cooler reports.

That's hardly a solid basis for choosing to focus one's mileage-earning in one program rather than another.

There is, however, a new study by ezRez Software and IdeaWorks that shines some light on the airlines' relative generosity in making seats available to award travelers.

Over a two-month period, the companies made 6,160 test bookings on the websites of 22 of the world's largest frequent flyer programs. Their success rates in booking award flights varied enormously, from a high of 99.3 percent to a low of 10.7 percent.

If it were widely known, such a pronounced disparity would clearly affect the value that consumers expect from participating in these programs, and should push travelers away from the underperforming programs and toward programs that offer a better return on their loyalty.

Following are the report's results for the nine largest North America programs, ranked from most generous—Southwest, which had award seats available for 99.3 percent of the award trips—to the least:

1. Southwest (99.3 percent)
2. Air Canada (93.6 percent)
3. Alaska (75.0 percent)
4. Continental (71.4 percent)
5. United (68.6 percent)
6. AirTran (67.9 percent)
7. American (57.9 percent)
8. Delta (12.9 percent)
9. US Airways (10.7 percent)

Is this the final word on award availability? Hardly. As such studies must be, this is just a sampling of routes, during one particular slice of time. Choose different routes, at different times, and the results might be different. The picture would also change if test bookings by phone were added to the online bookings. And important players like JetBlue, Spirit, and Virgin America weren't included.

But this is a down payment on the kind of information travel consumers need and deserve.

Long term, I've called for the government to require the airlines to collect and report data on their programs' award availability. That's the only way full transparency will be achieved.

Without it, airline passengers' loyalty is just a leap of faith.

Reader Reality Check

How do the report's findings compare to your own experience?

Should the government force the airlines to fully disclose the success rates of their program members in redeeming their miles for free flights?

What information would be helpful in assessing your mileage program's value?

Frontier Will Sever Frequent Flyer Ties With AirTran

Yesterday, I posted a blog entry reviewing a new AirTran promotion designed to poach Midwest's best customers: Milwaukee-area frequent flyers. For context, I noted that AirTran had a frequent flyer program relationship with Frontier, with whom Midwest is in the process of merging.

Last night, Frontier issued a press release announcing it would sever its frequent flyer program relationship with AirTran, effective July 16.

The events—AirTran's promotion targeting Frontier's merger partner, and Frontier's subsequent rejection of AirTran—are almost certainly related, the former as cause, the latter as effect.

And even if the causal chain were less direct, this would be a case of Frontier's acting on the venerable principle that the enemy of my friend is my enemy.

As always happens when two airlines part ways, there are action items for members of the AirTran and Frontier programs. One action item, really. If you're a member of AirTran's program planning to redeem credits for a free flight on Frontier, be sure to make the award booking before July 16. And members of Frontier's program eyeing a free flight on AirTran should do the same.

Oh, and the drama continued this morning, when AirTran issued a news release of its own, announcing the expansion of its flight schedule in ... ta-ta! ... Milwaukee.

Aside from the entertainment value of such a very public break-up of a menage-a-trois gone wrong, this is a textbook example of competition benefiting consumers, at least in a specific market.

Assuming that Republic, the parent company of Midwest and Frontier, decides to remain a major presence in the Milwaukee market, the battle between Midwest (to be merged with Frontier later this year) and AirTran should keep ticket prices in check, service levels high, and frequent flyer bonuses in play.

For Milwaukee travelers, the AirTran-Midwest battle means friendlier skies ahead.

AirTran to Midwest's Best Customers: We Want YOU!

Ripped from the news release of an airline whose identity will become apparent:

Passengers who donate 50,000 Midwest Miles by June 14, 2010, to one of the program charities—which include the American Heart Association, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, the MACC Fund and others—will receive 32 A+ Rewards credits, or the equivalent of one round-trip Business Class ticket or two coach tickets. Donations of 100,000 Midwest Miles will net travelers 64 A+ Rewards credits, good for two round-trip Business Class tickets or four coach tickets. These credits are valid anywhere AirTran flies, including: Aruba; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau/Paradise Island, The Bahamas; Cancun, Mexico; and other exciting destinations.

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I had to read that three times before I was confident that I comprehended the proposition. And then I had to roll my eyes. Donate your Midwest miles and receive AirTran credits as an award? There's something peculiar about that picture.

While AirTran is a marketing partner with Frontier, and Frontier and Midwest are being merged, AirTran and Midwest are not otherwise related. In fact, they compete, and particularly vociferously in Milwaukee, Midwest's hub and AirTran's second-most-served city after Atlanta.

And therein lies the nub of this odd promotion. It's a battle for Milwaukee travelers.

Midwest is based in Milwaukee, and historically has enjoyed the hometown advantage. However, now Midwest is but a shell of its former self, and AirTran is making a bold bid to poach Midwest's best Milwaukee customers, encouraging them to swap their Midwest miles (and relinquish their future allegiance to that airline) for credits in the AirTran program (which gives them a reason to fly AirTran going forward).

It's a crafty move. And there's more to it.

In addition to the mileage swap, AirTran will match customers' Midwest elite status, further easing the loyalty switch from Midwest to AirTran.

Deal or No Deal

This offer is only available to Milwaukee and Northern Illinois residents, so it's moot if you don't qualify on that count.

If you meet the geographic requirements, the offer's value hinges on whether your best interests will be well served by AirTran's A+ program, or Midwest's Miles program. AirTran's program is a known quantity. But because Midwest Miles will be consolidated with the Frontier EarlyReturns program later this year, there's an element of uncertainty regarding the final form of that program. Indeed, this promotion from AirTran is in part an attempt to leverage that uncertainty to its own advantage.

Still, the merger of Midwest and Frontier will create a larger airline, with more routes eligible for mileage earning and redemption. And Republic, the company that now owns both Midwest and Frontier, has signaled that loyalty marketing will be a priority.

So there's good reason to believe that the post-merger program will be superior to the current Midwest Miles.

Whether it will be superior to AirTran's program remains to be seen.

Bottom line: This is an intriguing offer that gives disaffected Midwest customers an easy route to rewards and recognition in an alternative program. But with positive changes on the horizon, there's some risk in jumping ship now.

Reader Reality Check

Milwaukee residents, what say you? Is this offer enough to sway you, loyalty-wise?

And marketing mavens, is this a brilliant strategy for expanding AirTran's market share, or just more airline ham-handedness?