From Delta: Double, Triple Miles for South America Flights

If your travel plans include flights to South America, Delta's new bonus offer could make the trip a more rewarding one.

Offer Details

Through November 30, Delta SkyMiles members can earn double miles for coach (fare classes Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T) and triple miles for BusinessElite (fare classes J, C, D, S, I) flights to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Brasilia, and Santiago, Chile. The offer will also apply to Delta's new flights between Detroit and Sao Paulo, set to launch on October 21.

The bonus miles do not count toward status, but may be earned an unlimited number of times.

Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

If you're headed to Argentina, Brazil, or Chile during the promotion period, it's hard to argue with double or triple miles.

The only semi-competing offer I found is from American: 5,000 bonus miles for round-trip in business class or 2,500 bonus miles in coach on new flights between Miami and Brasilia and between New York and Rio de Janeiro, between November 18 and December 10.

Reader Reality Check

If you see comparable or better offers for travel on these routes, please post them in the reader comments section.

Win 12 Free Southwest Trips for Two

No, Parterpalooza does not refer to Southwest's just-announced acquisition of Atlanta-based discounter AirTran.

Rather, Partnerpalooza is Southwest's new multi-faceted promotion designed to encourage awareness and use of the various earning partners in the Rapid Rewards program.

There are three aspects to Partnerpalooza: instant wins, the sweepstakes, and bonus Rapid Rewards credits.

As is typical in such promotions, the instant-win part consists of consolation prizes for those who don't win a sweepstakes prize, including free night certificates from the Venetian and Palazzo hotels in Las Vegas; Hertz and Alamo car rentals; Best Western $100 gift cards; La Quinta room nights; Teleflora gift certificates; and so on.

What puts the palooza in Partnerpalooza is the sweepstakes, which features the following prizes:

• Grand Prize: 12 Rapid Rewards award tickets and a Rapid Rewards companion pass for one year
• First Place: Six Rapid Rewards award tickets and a Rapid Rewards companion pass for one year
• Second Place: Two Rapid Rewards award tickets and Rapid Rewards A-List status for one year.

If you try reading through the wordy and convoluted terms and conditions, you're likely to find yourself overwhelmed by the promotion's complexity. Keep-it-simple-stupid is not spoken here.

Since your odds of winning are miniscule, it's not worth spending the time and energy slogging through the fine print. Just begin at the registration page and follow the prompts, depending on your level of interest.

1. Register to earn one sweepstakes entry. (To participate, you must be a Rapid Rewards member.)
2. Play the instant-win game.
3. Refer friends to receive an additional chance to play the instant-win game.
4. Use Rapid Rewards partners to receive more sweepstakes entries.
5. Use Rapid Rewards partners to earn up to four bonus credits -- one credit for using three different partners during the promotion period; four credits for using six partners.

I'm not an active Rapid Rewards member, but I do have an account. So I registered for the sweepstakes (one entry) and played the instant-win game (lost).

Southwest loyalists, on the other hand, might want to increase their use of Rapid Rewards partners, to snag both the bonus credits and the extra sweepstakes entries.

Either way, it's an easy matter to enter the sweepstakes, and worth a shot.

Partnerpalooza ends on December 15.

With Southwest Takeover, Whither AirTran Frequent Flyer Credits?

Today's announcement that Southwest will acquire AirTran for $1.4 billion raised eyebrows. While the move is consistent with the industry trend toward consolidation, no one I know was anticipating a Southwest-AirTran tie-up.

The get-together also raises questions, not least for members of the two airlines' frequent flyer programs.

Answers weren't immediately forthcoming. The news release was terse at best, offering only this: "The carriers' frequent-flyer programs will be combined over time, as well."

Still, we know how the combination is likely to play out, and what events might intervene to change the outcome.

Rapid Rewards + A-Plus = ?

The typical merger scenario—think Delta and Northwest, or United and Continental—has two mileage-based programs being consolidated into a single mileage-based program. While the combined programs may have different rules and policies at the margins, they share a common currency, miles, and are therefore easily combinable.

Can the same be said of Southwest and AirTran's programs, neither of which use miles as the basic unit of earning?

As it happens, AirTran clearly had Rapid Rewards in mind when they designed their program, so both airlines' programs use credits as their loyalty currency. And their award charts are essentially the same, too.

A-Plus members earn one credit for every one-way AirTran flight, and need 16 credits, amounting to eight round-trip flights, for a round-trip award ticket.

In Southwest's program, members also earn one credit for each one-way flight, and also receive a free round-trip award ticket after eight paid round-trips.

There are some disconnects. AirTran operates a proper business class, so upgrades and business-class tickets are available to A-Plus members but not to Rapid Rewards members. Assuming that Southwest keeps to its all-coach product, that will be a downgrade for A-Plus members transitioning to Rapid Rewards.

On the other hand, Southwest's expiration policy is more consumer-friendly than AirTran's, giving Rapid Rewards members 24 months to reach award thresholds before credits disappear, where AirTran expires credits after a draconian 12 months if members don't have elite status or a program-affiliated card.

Overall, the two programs are more similar than they are different. And access to Southwest's much larger flight network, for earning and for rewards, should go a long away toward mitigating any loss of benefits

Which Rapid Rewards?

There's another program-related variable in the merger scenario that warrants mention. Without disclosing details, during the past year Southwest management has confirmed that a redesign of Rapid Rewards is underway. And in November 2009, Rapid Rewards' chief Ryan Green told me that the new program would be launched "sometime this year."

If that's still the schedule, and given that we're already on the verge of this year's fourth quarter, it might make sense to introduce the new Rapid Rewards (assuming the current name will be retained) slightly ahead of the merger with AirTran, and transition both existing Rapid Rewards members and AirTran A-Plus members to the new Southwest program at the same time. Two birds, one stone.

That could constitute a major change, both for Southwest and AirTran customers.

My prediction is that the new Rapid Rewards will be a revenue-based program, like Virgin America's Elevate and JetBlue's redesigned TrueBlue. Such programs offer much more transparency than traditional schemes, but also limit the opportunities to leverage the programs to yield outsized value.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

For now, what is most important to AirTran loyalists is that they can expect an orderly transfer of their credits to Southwest's program.

And the value of their credits should remain roughly the same, at least while the current Rapid Rewards program remains in place.

If and when Southwest launches its revamped program, there will no doubt be an exhaustive discussion of the merits of the new versus the old programs, and how the change affects the value of previously earned Rapid Rewards credits.

Today's merger announcement means that AirTran customers will now be part of that discussion.

Triple Miles for American, United Flights (But Mind the Asterisk)

There's been a lot of hand-wringing lately regarding the lack of transparency in airline pricing, particularly as it applies to the minefield of fees and surcharges that have become a fixture on the travel landscape.

But there are other aspects of the airlines' mind-numbing pricing schemes that are every bit as opaque, and every bit as in need of a bracing dose of clarity.

A new offer from United, matched by American, illustrates the point.

Offer Details

Triple miles on United's flights between New York and Los Angeles or San Francisco? That's what United's website says ("Earn triple award miles between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles or San Francisco").

United's email announcement puts it slightly differently: "Fly in the comfort of our Premium Service and earn triple award miles."

Premium Service (p.s.) is what United calls the upgraded seating and service offering on the airline's flights between New York and both Los Angeles and San Francisco, featuring more legroom throughout the coach cabin, lie-flat seats in first class, better meals, and so on.

So the proposition seems to be that you'll earn triple miles—good—when traveling on United's most comfortable domestic flights—again, good.

However, lurking in the promotion's fine print is the following restriction: "Offer valid in F, A, C, D, Z, J, Y, B, or M booking codes."

In the test bookings I made on United's website, the booking codes associated with the most affordable fares—the fares any rational coach traveler would naturally book—were V or T, neither of which would be eligible for the bonus.

The problem here isn't the restriction to higher-priced tickets. That's a marketing decision that United has every right to make. And as a legal matter, they've disclosed the restriction, albeit in tiny type, and in language that is likely to leave the average travel consumer more confused than enlightened.

And compounding the problem, they've promoted the offer as though no significant restrictions apply.

American's marketing communications are only marginally clearer. Their website reads as follows: "Fly our transcontinental service between New York and Los Angeles or San Francisco. Earn triple AAdvantage miles." There's no asterisk or other indication that the offer is restricted in the headline. Only after reading halfway through the offer details will the attentive reader discover a reference to "select Economy Class" fares, with no further elaboration except to cite the alphabet soup of eligible booking classes: F, J, Y, D, I, A, P, H, K, or M.

The bonuses, American and United's, are in effect through December 31.

Deal or No Deal

Triple miles: Excellent.

Restricting the offer to more expensive fares: Unfortunate.

Promoting the offer as though no such restrictions apply: Shameful.

Reader Reality Check

Have you ever purchased a ticket expecting to earn a frequent flyer bonus only to discover, too late, that the fare you paid was ineligible for the promotion?

Ritz-Carlton Goes Beyond Recognition With New Rewards Program

Last week one of the world's most venerable hotel brands launched its own loyalty program.

Think "putting on the ritz" and "ritzy."

That's right, the hotel group is Ritz-Carlton. And its new frequent-stay program is Ritz-Carlton Rewards.

For all its hold on the minds and pocketbooks of consumers, the Ritz-Carlton collection numbers just over 70 properties, scattered all over the world. That's not enough hotels to mount a robust single-brand loyalty program—frequent travelers want in-network hotels in every city they visit. And ideally, a hotel program features brands at a range of price points, to accommodate members' varying needs, depending on whether they're on a spending binge or a budget-friendly weekend getaway.

In Ritz-Carlton's case, a solution to the scale problem was close at hand.

It's no accident that Ritz-Carlton Rewards sounds a lot like Marriott Rewards. Ritz-Carlton is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marriott, and the new Ritz-branded program is essentially a clone of the existing Marriott Rewards scheme, with the addition of a few extra benefits to give it its own identity.

Program Overview

On the earning side of the program, members accumulate points for stays at Ritz-Carltons as well as around 3,300 Marriott family hotels, as follows:

• 10 points per dollar on room rate only at Ritz-Carlton hotels
• 10 points per dollar on all spend at Marriott, JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance
• 10 points per dollar on room rate only at EDITION, Courtyard by Marriott, SpringHill Suites, Fairfield Inn
• 5 points per dollar on room rate only at Residence Inn, TownePlace Suite

That's virtually identical to the earning rate and hotel line-up available to Marriott Rewards members (who may now earn points for Ritz-Carlton stays, for the first time). Also as with Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards members may choose to earn miles in 32 airline programs instead of points.

On the award side, free nights are offered at both Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels, at levels identical to those in the Marriott Rewards program. In addition—and here's where we see some differentiation—points may be redeemed for awards from upscale travel provider Abercrombie and Kent, Vera Wang, National Geographic Expeditions photography workshops, and Neiman Marcus.

Elite status is also a carry-over from the Marriott program. Entry-level status is awarded after 10 nights, with higher tiers reached after 50 and 75 nights.

Choices, Choices

Current Marriott Rewards members may switch to the new Ritz-Carlton program at any time. But it's either-or. You cannot maintain accounts in both programs.

Which raises the question: Which program should you engage with?

For Ritz-Carlton loyalists, it probably makes sense to convert their Marriott Rewards accounts to Ritz-Carlton Rewards accounts. Points balances will be unaffected, and you'll be eligible for bonuses for Ritz-Carlton stays and other program-specific promotions.

As an example, new Ritz-Carlton Rewards members are being offered a free night at a Ritz-Carlton after two Ritz-Carlton stays completed by December 31.

If the majority of your stays are at Marriott's other brands, stick with Marriott Rewards to take advantage of rich promotions specific to that program, such as the recurring MegaBonus offers.

Putting on the Points

The luxury end of the hotel market has traditionally been a pretty staid place, marketing-wise. The prevailing attitude was that customers' loyalty was won or lost with top-drawer service and amenities, not with points and freebies.

The new Ritz-Carlton program challenges that assumption, and will almost certainly spur more loyalty-related initiatives from the likes of Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula, and Four Seasons.

Recognition is good, as are rewards. But both are better.

Southwest Launches Mileage Grab for Denver Flyers

The next three months could be an uncommonly rewarding period for travelers flying to or from Denver.

Southwest has just announced a double-points promotion for all its Denver flights.

And while there are no matching offers yet from Frontier (which is based in Denver) or United (which operates a Denver hub), there probably will be.

Offer Details

Between September 23 and December 15, Rapid Rewards members will earn double credits on all Southwest flights to or from Denver.

Southwest Rapid Rewards members can earn one bonus credit on all Southwest Airlines flights into or out of Denver from Sept. 23 through Dec. 15, 2010.

With the bonus, members earn two credits for each one-way flight. For Business Select fares, members earn 2.25 credits on short-haul flights and 3.0 credits on long-haul flights.

Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

Double credits. Denver. For almost three months. All good.

For Southwest loyalists, this rates a strong "buy."

If Southwest isn't your preferred carrier, put off booking as long as possible to see which other airlines respond to Southwest's bonus with offers of their own. As alluded to above, there's a good chance that Frontier and United, at least, will feel compelled to match.

Reader Reality Check

Denver and double credits. What's not to like?

Fly to Tahiti for 20% Fewer American Miles

United has come in for plenty of praise in this blog for their regular award discounts, a nice tie-in with their current advertising claim that Mileage Plus is "the mileage program that wants you to use your miles."

American, not so much.

So the new discount offering award flights to Tahiti for 20 percent fewer American miles is a welcome addition to the frequent flyer landscape.

Offer Details

Between September 18 and October 15, American AAdvantage members can book award flights on Air Tahiti Nui for 20 percent fewer miles—59,000 miles for round-trip coach, 99,000 miles for round-trip business class.

Travel at the discounted rates can take place any time between September 15, 2010, and March 31, 2011, except for the following blackout dates for business-class travel: December 18 - December 29 for flights from Los Angeles to Papeete; and December 18, 2010 - January 7, 2011, for flights from Papeete to Los Angeles.

The award discount is being promoted together with a 2,500-mile bonus and fourth night free for stays at any of seven South Pacific Management hotels in Tahiti. Booking requirements and stay dates are the same as for the award flights.

Deal or No Deal

Twenty percent is a decent discount. And Tahiti is a desirable destination. So if you're inclined toward the sun-and-fun end of the travel spectrum—and you have some AAdvantage miles to burn—this offer certainly warrants consideration.

The caveat would have to be in the area of expectations management.

Discounting awards on a particular route strongly implies that there are in fact plenty of available award seats on that route—either because consumer demand is weak, or due to a conscious effort on the airline's part to allocate more seats for mileage redemption. But that isn't always the case.

Air Tahiti's Los Angeles - Papeete flights operate nine times per week, using Airbus A340 jets with about 250 coach seats and 24 business-class seats each. That's not a lot of seats.

Will Air Tahiti make enough awards available to meet the increased demand this discount will inevitably create? As always with frequent-flyer seat availability, only the airline knows for sure.

Reader Reality Check

Anyone with first-hand experience booking award travel on Air Tahiti?

Were award seats easy to come by? Difficult? Impossible?

Sun screen recommendations?

US Air's 100% Bonus Changes the Mile-Buying Game

When it comes to buying frequent flyer miles from airlines, the standard advice usually comes down to a single word: Don't.

With the average value of frequent flyer miles stuck at around 1.2 cents apiece, paying almost 3 cents to purchase miles just doesn't make good financial sense.

Discounting the price of miles—as airlines routinely do—can tip the value equation back in favor of the consumer, somewhat. But the typical discounts of 20 or 25 percent just aren't enough to make miles an unqualified buy. What it takes is a discount or bonus that effectively cuts the price of purchased miles in half.

US Airways has been doing just that in recent months, in the process positioning themselves as the industry's premier mileage discounter.

No sooner did their last such offer come to an end, on September 15, than they rolled out a new double-miles-for-sale promotion.

Offer Details

Between September 16 and November 15, US Airways Dividend Miles members will earn a 100 percent bonus on miles purchased for their own accounts or as gifts for other program members.

There's a limit of 50,000 miles that may be purchased, which translates into 100,000 miles with the bonus.

Registration is not required—the bonus will be applied automatically at check-out.

Deal or No Deal

As I've pointed out before when reviewing similar US Airways offers, the bonus allows you to buy 100,000 Dividend Miles miles for $1,375, not including fees and taxes. That's a significant expenditure, to be sure. But value-wise, it's enough for a business-class award ticket to Europe on one of US Airways' Star Alliance partners—a ticket that could easily cost more than $6,000.

If you're inclined to fly business class, the opportunity to do so for more than 75 percent less than the published fare has to be a compelling proposition.

And even if your Europe plans call for economy-class flights, the cost of enough miles to fly business class instead may not be much higher than the cost of coach tickets.

I often use the term "game-changer" to describe what a particular promotion or program feature fails to be. This promotion succeeds.

Reader Reality Check

Is this a game-changer for you?

Have you taken advantage of US Airways' previous mileage discounts?

Continental to Sever Frequent Flyer Ties With American Express

If you're a member of Continental's OnePass program and have an American Express card linked to the Membership Rewards program, the ability to convert Membership Rewards points into OnePass miles adds value to both programs.

And if your American Express card is of the Platinum or Centurion variety, the ability to use Continental's airport lounges is also a win-win for both cardholders and Continental customers.

But, according to a news release issued yesterday by American Express, the Continental-American Express relationship—and the value that it delivers—will disappear on September 30, 2011.

The breakup is neither a surprise nor a game-changer.

Continental is in the final stages of merging with United, which has no relationship with American Express. In fact, United is joined at the hip with the issuer of its Mileage Plus credit cards, Chase, whose cards compete with those of American Express. So when the Continental-United merger firmed up, American Express must have realized that its tie-up with Continental was doomed. And the company has taken steps to plug the hole that would be left by Continental's defection.

The addition of US Airways to the list of airlines that offer airport lounge access to Platinum and Centurion cardholders was almost certainly a move to preemptively add back some of the value lost with the termination of the Continental partnership.

And American Express will add two additional perks to the Platinum and Centurion card benefits packages, beginning December 1:

• $200 Airline Fee Credit — American Express will reimburse cardholders up to $200 annually for such airline expenses as baggage fees, flight change fees, in-flight food, and airport lounge day passes.
• 20 Percent Travel Bonus — Cardholders who use Pay with Points to pay for their travel will get 20 percent of the points credited back to their accounts.

In the end, this change will be minimally disruptive by the standards of frequent flyer program realignments.

But it serves as a reminder that frequent flyer tie-ups, and the value they provide, are temporary, dependent on variables that are beyond the control (and sometimes beyond the understanding) of consumers. Change is the only constant—plan accordingly.

InterContinental's Promotion Dilemma: Free Night or Double Points

Free nights or bonus points?

Not exactly Sophie's choice, those are the options available to members of InterContinental's Priority Club Rewards program in the company's upcoming "Sweet Dilemma" promotion.

Offer Details

Between September 20 and December 31, Priority Club Rewards members can choose to earn one of the following bonuses:

• A free night after every two stays, up to a maximum of five free nights after 10 stays
• Double Priority Club points or airline miles after the second stay at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, and Holiday Inn Express hotels, and starting with the first stay at Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites

The double points or miles bonus is pretty restriction-free. But there are several noteworthy conditions affecting the free nights option:

• First, and least important for most U.S.-based travelers, stays at IHG's Asia-Pacific hotels do not count toward earning free nights. (Nor can the free nights be taken at Asia-Pacific hotels.)
• More significantly, the free nights must be used between December 1, 2010, and June 1, 2011.
• And most significant is this: "Because they come so easy, you'll earn Free Nights during the course of the promotion instead of base points, miles and elite points."

Priority Club members must register for the promotion by December 20, indicating their choice of bonuses.

Deal or No Deal

If the free nights were offered on top of normally earned points and miles, the choice of bonuses wouldn't rise to the level of a real dilemma. For most, the clear and easy choice would be the free nights over the double points.

But factoring in the no-points aspect of the free night option goes a long way toward equalizing the value of the two offers, making the choice a more difficult one.

So yes, this offer does pose a bit of a dilemma. The good news is that there's good value to be found in either option.

Reader Reality Check

Your choice: free nights or double points?