Are Discounted Delta Miles a Deal?

Unfortunately for any airline that sells its own miles directly to consumers—and most do, because it's a hugely profitable side business—US Airways has set the value bar prohibitively high with its recurring 100 percent bonuses.

Taking advantage of the US Airways offer effectively cuts the cost of purchased miles in half, making them a good buy, even a great buy if they're redeemed for pricey business-class international flights.

By contrast, other airlines' bonuses for purchased miles, which generally hover in the 25 percent range, improve the value proposition only modestly.

This offer from Delta is a significant improvement over the average miles-for-sale promotion but still falls well short of US Airways'.

Offer Details

Through March 31, Delta SkyMiles members will receive a 50% bonus when purchasing miles for their own accounts or as gifts for other members.

The normal price of Delta miles is 2.8 cents each, plus 7.5 percent excise tax, with a 60,000-mile annual maximum per account. Including the bonus, the per-mile price is reduced to 1.9 cents, plus tax.

Worth noting, if you're thinking of establishing a new SkyMiles account just to take advantage of this offer: "Buy and Gift Miles may only be received into SkyMiles accounts that have been established for at least 10 days and have earned at least one mile since enrolling in the SkyMiles program."

Deal or No Deal

For perspective, purchasing the 25,000 miles required for a round-trip domestic coach ticket (hypothetically, since sales are only in 2,000-mile increments) at 1.9 cents each amounts to $475, plus $35.63 in excise tax, for a total of $510.63. With the average cost of a domestic coach ticket—and one that's unencumbered by an award ticket's capacity controls—currently at around $350, it's hard to justify paying that much for miles.

Put another way, since US Airways' latest 100 percent bonus for purchased miles is also in effect through March 31, is there any reason to pay a premium to purchase Delta miles over US Airways miles, given that both may be redeemed for flights on multiple airline partners, to most corners of the world?

On the other hand, if you're already committed to the SkyMiles program, and just need a few thousand extra miles to top off your account, paying 1.9 cents certainly beats paying 2.8 cents a mile.

Reader Reality Check

Delta is selling. Are you buying?

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"Like" AAdvantage to Earn Up to 100,000 Miles

American has launched an aggressive—and potentially lucrative—social media campaign to support the AAdvantage program.

According to the airline's news release: "American Airlines, which this year celebrates the 30th anniversary of its AAdvantage program, has launched Facebook and Twitter channels dedicated to the wide range of opportunities to earn AAdvantage miles with American Airlines and its growing list of AAdvantage participating companies. American is the first U.S. airline to launch dedicated social media channels focused on earning miles."

As American will discover, social media are only as good as the value delivered through them.

For now, making good on the promise to award miles through its new digital communications channels, AAdvantage is giving away miles on Facebook.

Offer Details

Through March 31, AAdvantage members can earn between 100 and 100,000 miles in the Mystery Miles sweepstakes on Facebook.

To enter, follow these steps:

• Visit and "Like" the AAdvantage Facebook page.
• Click on the Mystery Miles link on the left.
• Enter your AAdvantage number in the form and click "fly."
• You'll receive a confirmation of the number of miles won.

As of Wednesday this week, American reports that 14 people had won the 100,000 miles. When I entered this morning, I won 200 miles.

To give you a sense of scale, as of 10:00 a.m., the page had been liked 215,392 times.

Deal or No Deal

Quick, easy miles ... what's not to like?

Longer term, however, I'm an agnostic on the corporate use of social media generally, and American's in particular.

The information deployed via Facebook and Twitter could just as easily be published on American's website. And it should be.

Wouldn't American's resources be better used to improve the program fundamentals, instead of on one-off promotions and duplicate communications?

Ultimately, I will only truly like the AAdvantage Facebook page and Twitter feeds if they add extra value to my membership experience. When I clicked on "Like," I was really thinking "Like, provisionally."

Reader Reality Check

Like or not like?

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New Starwood Award Rates From March 1st: 93 Decreases, 84 Increases

Unlike airline award prices, which tend to remain more-or-less stable over extended periods of time, many hotel loyalty programs make annual adjustments to the prices of free nights, moving individual hotels into higher- and lower-priced award categories to reflect, presumably, changes in room rate and demand.

Effective March 1, Starwood will make its adjustments for the year, moving 93 hotels into lower (cheaper) categories, and 84 hotels into higher (more expensive) categories.

A roster of affected hotels isn't on Starwood's website yet, but the company supplied me with the following (advice follows the list):

Property / Award Category Change From 2010 to 2011
Sheraton Great Wall from 3 to 2
Sheraton Tianjin Hotel from 4 to 3
Luxury Collection/Windsor Bengaluru from 5 to 4
Westin Resort Macau from 4 to 3
Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers from 5 to 4
Sheraton Hanoi Hotel from 4 to 3
Le Meridien Royal Shanghai from 5 to 4
Aloft Beijing from 2 to 1
Le Meridien Chiang Rai Resort from 3 to 2
Aloft Bengaluru from 3 to 2
Aloft Chennai from 3 to 2
Luxury Collection/ITC Royal from 5 to 4
Westin Nusa Dua from 3 to 4
Sheraton On The Park from 4 to 5
Sheraton Surayaba Hotel & Towers from 1 to 2
Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers from 1 to 2
Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort from 3 to 4
Westin Langkawi from 4 to 5
Luxury Collection/ITC Mughal Agra from 2 to 3
Sheraton Noosa Resort from 4 to 5
Sheraton Rajputana Palace from 2 to 3
Sheraton Grande Walkerhill from 3 to 4
Sheraton Kobe Bay from 3 to 4
Sheraton Taipei Hotel from 3 to 4
Westin Chosun, Busan from 3 to 4
Westin Sydney from 4 to 5
Westin Melbourne from 4 to 5
Four Points by Sheraton Sydney from 3 to 4
Four Points by Sheraton Chung Ho from 1 to 2
W Seoul Walkerhill from 4 to 5
Luxury Collection/ITC Sonar Kolkata from 3 to 4
Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort from 2 to 3
St. Regis Singapore from 5 to 6
Sheraton Haikou Resort from 2 to 3
Sheraton Changsha Hotel from 2 to 3
Sheraton Urumqi Hotel from 3 to 4
Le Meridien Jakarta from 1 to 2
Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu from 1 to 2
Sheraton Wenzhou from 2 to 3
Sheraton Ningbo Hotel from 2 to 3
W Retreat Koh Samui from 6 to 7
Sheraton Zhoushan Hotel from 1 to 2
Four Points by Sheraton Lhasa from 2 to 3
Sheraton Qiandao Resort from 2 to 3
Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai Vashi from 2 to 3
Westin Siray Bay from 3 to 4
Westin Sendai from 4 to 5
Sheraton Jinan from 1 to 2
Four Points by Sheraton Geelong from 2 to 4
Sheraton Deira Hotel, Dubai from 5 to 3
Le Meridien Dead Sea from 3 to 1
Le Meridien Abu Dhabi from 6 to 4
Hotel Excelsior, Naples from 6 to 5
Sheraton Metechi Palace Hotel, Tbilisi from 4 to 3
Sheraton Palace Hotel, Moscow from 6 to 5
Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan from 4 to 3
Sheraton Bologna Hotel & Conference Center from 3 to 2
Sheraton Genova Hotel & Conference Center from 3 to 2
Sheraton Cairo Hotel, Towers and Casino from 4 to 3
Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel from 5 to 4
Sheraton Abu Dhabi Resort from 6 to 5
Santa Marina Resort & Villas, Mykonos from 7 to 6
Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai from 4 to 3
Sheraton Khalidiya Hotel, Abu Dhabi from 5 to 4
The Westin Valencia from 5 to 4
Le Meridien Barbarons from 5 to 4
Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi from 6 to 5
Al Sondos Suites by Le Meridien from 4 to 3
Dar Al Sondos Hotel Apartments by Le Meridien from 3 to 2
Sheraton Gambia Hotel Resort & Spa from 3 to 2
Castillo Hotel Son Vida, Mallorca from 6 to 5
Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Dubai from 4 to 3
Four Points by Sheraton Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai from 5 to 4
Sheraton Prague Charles Square Hotel from 5 to 4
Sheraton Bratislava Hotel from 4 to 3
The Westin Excelsior, Rome from 5 to 6
Hotel Gritti Palace, Venice from 6 to 7
The Park Lane Hotel, London from 4 to 5
Four Points by Sheraton Brauneck from 1 to 2
Sheraton Munich Arabellapark Hotel from 3 to 4
Sheraton Oman from 4 to 5
Sheraton Skyline Hotel London Heathrow 3 4
Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel & Conference Center from 4 to 5
Sheraton Casablanca Hotel & Towers from 3 to 4
Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel and Towers from 4 to 5
Sheraton Djibouti Hotel from 2 to 3
Sheraton Pretoria Hotel from 4 to 5
Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa from 3 to 4
Sheraton Carlton Hotel Nuernberg from 3 to 4
Sheraton Tirana Hotel from 3 to 4
The Westin Cape Town from 3 to 4
The Westin Leipzig from 3 to 4
Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun from 3 to 4
Le Meridien Chari from 3 to 4
Le Meridien President from 3 to 4
Le Meridien Piccadilly from 5 to 6
Arion Resort & Spa, Astir Palace, Athens from 5 to 6
The Romanos, Costa Navarino from 5 to 6
The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos from 5 to 4
The Westin Resort & Spa, Puerto Vallarta from 4 to 3
Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar Resort & Spa Los Cabos from 5 to 4
Sheraton Mendoza Hotel from 4 to 3
Sheraton Bogota Hotel from 3 to 4
The Westin San Luis Potosi from 2 to 3
Sheraton Guayaquil Hotel from 2 to 3
Sheraton Montevideo Hotel from 3 to 4
Four Points By Sheraton Curitiba from 3 to 4
Sheraton Barra Hotel & Suites from 4 to 5
Four Points By Sheraton Cali from 2 to 3
Four Points By Sheraton Monterrey Linda Vista from 1 to 2
Sheraton Sao Paulo WTC Hotel from 4 to 5
Aloft Dulles Airport from 4 to 2
Sheraton Norfolk Waterside from 3 to 2
Sheraton Houston Brookhollow from 3 to 2
Sheraton Gateway Hotel Los Angeles from 3 to 2
Sheraton Reston Hotel from 4 to 3
Sheraton Charlotte Airport Hotel from 3 to 2
Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport from 3 to 2
Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan Chelsea from 5 to 4
Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel from 4 to 3
Westin Tampa Bay from 4 to 3
Westin DFW Airport from 3 to 2
Four Points by Sheraton Chicago Downtown from 4 to 3
Sheraton Pleasanton Hotel from 3 to 2
Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel from 4 to 3
Le Meridien San Francisco from 5 to 4
Aloft Charleston Airport from 3 to 2
Sheraton Herndon Dulles Airport from 4 to 3
Sheraton Suites San Diego from 4 to 3
Aloft Chesapeake from 3 to 2
Le Meridien Dallas Galleria from 3 to 2
Aloft Portland from 3 to 2
Aloft Arundel Mills from 3 to 2
Sheraton Tribeca New York from 5 to 4
Four Points by Sheraton Jacksonville from 3 to 2
Four Points by Sheraton Tempe from 3 to 2
Aloft Rancho Cucamonga from 3 to 2
Westin Lake Mary from 4 to 3
Sheraton Atlanta North from 3 to 2
Westin Dulles Airport from 4 to 3
Aloft Frisco from 3 to 2
Aloft Overland Park from 3 to 2
Aloft Richmond West from 3 to 2
Aloft Phoenix Airport from 3 to 2
Four Points by Sheraton Cary from 3 to 2
Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Durham from 3 to 2
Four Points by Sheraton Pineville from 3 to 2
Luxury Collection/The Joule from 5 to 4
Four Points by Sheraton Columbus Airport from 3 to 2
Four Points by Sheraton San Antonio Northwest from 3 to 2
Aloft Bolingbrook from 3 to 2
Aloft San Antonio from 3 to 2
Aloft Harlem from 4 to 3
Four Points by Sheraton San Jose from 4 to 3
Four Points by Sheraton Oklahoma City Airport from 1 to 2
Sheraton Cavalier-Saskatoon from 3 to 4
Four Points by Sheraton Huntsville Airport from 1 to 2
Sheraton Philadelphia City from 3 to 4
Sheraton JFK Airport Hotel from 3 to 4
Sheraton Duluth Hotel from 2 to 3
Sheraton Augusta from 2 to 3
Element Arundel Mills from 3 to 4
Element Summerlin from 3 to 4
Aloft Dallas Downtown from 2 to 3
Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia Airport from 3 to 2
Sheraton Parsippany Hotel from 4 to 3
Westin Peachtree from 4 to 3
Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek from 3 to 2
W Atlanta - Perimeter from 4 to 3
W San Diego from 5 to 4
Luxury Collection/US Grant from 5 to 4
Luxury Collection/SLS Beverly Hills from 6 to 5
Sheraton Centre Toronto from 3 to 4
Westin Harbour Castle from 3 to 4
Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas from 5 to 6
Westin River Front Mountain Villas from 4 to 5
Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas from 4 to 6

Making the Best of the Changes

Knowing in advance which hotels' award rates will be modified, and how, gives Preferred Guest members an opportunity to make the best of the upcoming changes. Here's how:

• Check the list for any hotels that you'll staying at over the coming year.
• If your property isn't on the list, book your stay whenever it's convenient—the changes are irrelevant.
• If the free-night rate will increase after March 1, book it at the current rate before February 28.
• If the free-night rate will decrease on March 1, wait until March 1 to book it at the new lower rate.

Reader Reality Check

Do the changes affect you?

US Airways Discounts Weekend Award Trips

Late last year, United introduced Weekend Saver Awards—discounted award flights for travel on select routes the next weekend.

The concept harkens back to American's Net SAAver Weekend Getaways, Delta's Weekly Web Fares, and United's own E-Fares—last-minute discounts on paid tickets, promoted via email and booked online.

When extended to frequent flyer award tickets, such discounts are a win-win. Program members get a significant discount on award trips, and the airline dispenses with its mileage liability on flights with plenty of empty seats.

Apparently it wasn't enough of a win for United, though, because the airline discontinued the Weekend Saver Awards without comment or explanation (although United's website still includes the following teaser: "Visit mileageplus.com again as Weekend Saver Awards may be back!").

US Airways, however, is reviving the idea with its new Dividend Miles MileSaver awards.

Offer Details

Dividend Miles members can book award travel on select routes for 15,000 miles, instead of the 25,000 miles normally required, departing on February 25 or 26 (Friday or Saturday) and returning February 27 or 28 (Sunday or Monday).

Eligible routes:

• From Charlotte to Kansas City, Chicago, St. Louis, Jackson, Cleveland
• From Philadelphia to Kansas City, Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland
• From Phoenix to Memphis, Austin, Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose

Bookings must be made by February 26.

The normal $75 "quick ticketing" fee will be waived if eCertificate ES022111 is cited when booking.

Deal or No Deal

A 40 percent discount certainly warrants attention.

On the other hand, the limited routes and travel period seriously constrain the offer's applicability.

Bottom line: For opportunistic travelers, traveling from Charlotte, Philadelphia, or Phoenix, this is a solid value—a chance to save big on a weekend trip.

Looking ahead, members of the Dividend Miles program should keep an eye out for similar deals on flights from their hometown airports.

Reader Reality Check

Does this offer work for you?

In general, would you take advantage of last-minute discounts on weekend award trips?

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Q&A: How Can Frequent Flyer Miles Be Transferred Between Spouses?

Question

My husband has 160,000 miles on United and is no longer able to travel due to severe lung disease. Is there any way I can transfer his miles to my account or use his miles without paying a transfer fee?

Or given the cost of transfer fees, should we just forget it and let the miles expire?

Answer

United does have a provision for transferring miles between Mileage Plus accounts. But it'll cost you to do so: 1.5 cents per mile, plus a $35 service fee. Since the average frequent flyer mile is only worth about 1.2 cents, the fee makes such transfers financially illogical, except perhaps in situations where a few miles are needed to top off an account to reach an award threshold.

And even if you deemed those costs reasonable, there's an annual limit of 15,000 miles that may be transferred to any one account.

But this is actually a good-news story.

Since you're willing and able to use the miles yourself, there's no reason to transfer the miles from your husband's account to yours. The fees and transfer limits are moot.

When you're ready to travel, simply have your husband book the award ticket in your name (or for that matter, in the name of anyone he chooses). It's done all the time and is entirely consistent with program rules.

Here's the relevant section of the Mileage Plus program rulebook:

Awards may, at the request of the member, be issued by Mileage Plus in the name of the member or in the name and for the use of any other person. If an award ticket is to be issued in the name of someone other than the member, United may require the member to execute the request for the award transfer in person at a United ticketing location, by endorsing each certificate redeemed in favor of the specified designee and providing official photographic identification.

You mentioned in your note the possibility of just letting the miles expire unused. By no means should you allow that to happen. Assuming they have a value of 1.2 cent apiece, the miles in your husband's account are worth $1,920. That may not be enough to fund your retirement or splurge on a Ferrari, but it's not chump change.

Put another way, 160,000 miles are enough for a round-trip first-class flight anywhere in the world United or its partners fly. For many, that would be the trip of a lifetime.

That's not an opportunity to be missed.

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Four Ways to Bulk Up on Dining Miles

The days of ongoing lucrative dining-for-mile bonuses from most airline and hotel loyalty programs are gone.

In their place is an on-again-off-again grab-bag of bonuses, from a hodgepodge of suppliers, ranging in value from moderately noteworthy to eminently forgettable.

The most recent more-or-less industry-wide offer was five airlines offering various bonuses for newly enrolled dining-miles members, through December 31, 2010. Sign-up bonuses are nice for newbies, but they don't move the needle for those who already include eating out among their regular mileage-earning routines.

Still, earning frequent flyer miles for dining out—something you'd presumably do even without the added incentive—is among the easiest of the many ways to bolster your loyalty program account balance. Earning the typical five miles per $1 spent at participating restaurants is a better payout than you get through most other program-affiliated companies. And there are the occasional worthwhile offers that make a decent deal a great one.

With that in mind, here are four current miles-for-dining promotions:

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members can earn 1,000 bonus miles by completing three qualifying dines, totaling at least $20 each, by March 16. Registration is required.
• American Airlines AAdvantage members can earn double miles for up to five dines through March 31 by registering for the promotion and filling out a review within 30 days of visiting the restaurant.
• United Airlines Mileage Plus members can earn double miles for all dines through February 28 by registering for the promotion and filling out a review within 30 days of visiting the restaurant.
• InterContinental Priority Club Rewards members can earn 1,000 bonus points for every $100 spent on qualifying dines through March 31, up to a maximum of 5,000 bonus points after spending $500. Registration is required.

Reader Reality Check

Are miles on your menu?

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Good News for Mileage Plus Members: United's Economy Plus Is Here to Stay

One of the key outstanding questions surrounding the United-Continental merger has been that of United's Economy Plus seating section: Would it be retained on United's planes and extended to Continental's fleet?

Yesterday, both of those questions were answered in the affirmative.

Economy Plus Has a Future

United Continental announced that Economy Plus will remain in place on the aircraft in United's fleet; and, beginning in 2012, Continental planes will be reconfigured to include Economy Plus as well. There were no specifics given as to the timeframe for the Continental makeover, just a rather vague allusion to a "multi-year conversion."

United currently offers Economy Plus on 359 of its own aircraft and more than 150 United Express regional jets. When Continental's fleet is fully converted, Economy Plus will be available on more than 700 planes, accounting for more than 40,000 Economy Plus seats, "the largest amount of extra legroom economy seating available to customers of any airline in the world," according to United.

A Plus for Frequent Flyers

For members of United's Mileage Plus program, the news comes as a relief, confirmation that a featured benefit of the elite program will survive the inevitable merging and purging that follows a merger.

In addition to selling Economy Plus as an annual subscription and on a flight-by-flight basis, United makes it available to elite members of its program, automatically, if an upgrade to first class isn't available.

As such, it's been an important backstop to first-class upgrades, giving Mileage Plus elites a minimum comfort expectation when booking United—not first class, but a significant upgrade from normal coach.

For Continental partisans, the prospect of a predictably available upgrade from basic coach to Economy Plus is a definite improvement.

Continental currently offers its elite OnePass members access to a makeshift version of United's Economy Plus, bulkhead and exit-row seats with varying degrees of extra legroom. Better than nothing, but a slapdash solution to a problem definitively addressed by the Economy Plus product.

Comfy Coach Alternatives

For frequent flyers, or coach-class flyers willing to pay a modest premium for extra legroom, Economy Plus gives United a significant competitive advantage over most other U.S. carriers.

But United doesn't have a monopoly on more-room-in-coach.

JetBlue routinely self-promotes as the leader in comfy coach: "JetBlue offers the most legroom in coach of any U.S. airline (based on average fleet-wide seat pitch) and super-spacious Even More Legroom seats."

And earlier this month, Delta announced plans to offer a premium economy section, dubbed Economy Comfort, with more legroom on international flights, beginning this summer.

For many travelers, who find themselves caught between too-spartan coach and too-pricey business or first class, the hope is that such hybrid products will further proliferate, providing a better option for affordable comfort.

Still TBD

Now that the fate of Economy Plus has been clarified, customers of United and Continental can turn their attention to other questions that bear on travel comfort and, ultimately, on the value of the Mileage Plus program.

For example, it remains to be seen whether the extra floor space required for Continental's new Economy Plus will come at the expense of existing first-class or coach seats. If first-class capacity suffers, upgrades to Economy Plus could come at the expense of upgrades to first.

Next question: Will the merged carriers opt to go with two-class service on international routes (like Continental), or three-class service (like United)?

And another: What will become of United's p.s. premium coast-to-coast service?

Reader Reality Check

How important to you is Economy Plus or another premium-economy option when choosing an airline?

How much value does Economy Plus add to the Mileage Plus program?

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Business-Class to Europe for $1375? Buy US Airways Miles!

The last time US Airways offered its much-discussed 100-percent bonus for purchasing miles was late last year.

When that offer was not extended—as it had been on several previous occasions—there was some question as to whether consumers had seen the last of the uber-lucrative promotion. Perhaps the airline had decided that the bonus was just too generous.

After a couple of months' hiatus, however, the offer is back, albeit with a new wrinkle.

Offer Details

Through March 31, US Airways Dividend Miles members can earn a 100 percent bonus on purchased miles, as follows:

• Earn a 75 percent bonus for all purchases, up to the maximum.
• Earn an additional 25 percent bonus by downloading, installing, and using the Dividend Miles toolbar at least three times during the promotion period.

A maximum of 50,000 miles are eligible for the bonus, so 100,000 miles may be purchased for $1,375 if both requirements are fulfilled to earn the full 100 percent bonus.

A couple of restrictions to bear in mind:

• "Dividend Miles accounts less than 12 days old are not permitted to Buy, Share or Gift miles."
• "Members who did not have a United States or Puerto Rico address on file as of 2/1/2011 are not eligible to receive the 25 percent additional bonus regardless of address updates."

Deal or No Deal

Compared to US Airways' past 100-percent bonuses, this one suffers slightly from the requirement to test drive the airline's toolbar to earn the final 25 percent.

Still, that's an easy enough hoop to jump through, and well worth the time and energy for anyone interested in cost-effectively scoring a large cache of US Airways miles.

And this promotion delivers solid value.

For perspective, 100,000 miles is enough for a restricted business-class award ticket to Europe or South America, on US Airways or a Star Alliance partner airline.

A quick check on Travelocity showed business-class fares to Frankfurt, Germany, from Los Angeles as high as $10,918 for non-stops on United and Lufthansa, and $8,871 for one-stop flights on US Airways.

Pay $1,375 for a flight that would otherwise cost $10,918? Even factoring in the hassle factor of finding award seats available for booking at the restricted 100,000-mile level, that looks like a sweet deal.

'Nuf said.

Reader Reality Check

Have you taken advantage of previous US Airways buy-miles bonuses?

If so, how did you redeem the purchased miles? How available were award seats?

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Delta Ditches Expiring Miles. An Era of Eternal Miles Ahead?

For this story, let's just go directly to the airline's own press release:

ATLANTA, Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/—Delta Air Lines today announced it has eliminated the SkyMiles mileage expiration, creating a new industry-leading benefit for all members. This program change is effective for all accounts as of Jan. 1, 2011, and makes Delta the only major U.S. carrier without mileage expiration.

And this, from an email sent out today to SkyMiles members:

You now can earn miles without worrying if and when they will expire as we have eliminated our mileage expiration policy—no asterisk, no fine print, no ifs, ands or buts.

To me, frankly, this came as a complete surprise. The current standard among legacy carriers—miles expiring after 18 months or two years—seemed a settled matter. The outcry following the 2007 change from the previous standard—miles expiring after three years—had long since subsided. And travelers had mostly accommodated themselves to the new reality.

Mileage expiration just wasn't a top-of-mind issue. Except that it was, for Delta.

Why Change Now?

So the question raised by Delta's move is why? And, why now?

Delta suffered a resounding P.R. hit in 2010 when evidence suggested that the SkyMiles program's highly touted three-tier awards structure had resulted in a significant decrease in the availability of lower-priced awards, forcing program members to pay higher average prices for Delta awards—the opposite of the advertised effect.

Undoubtedly exacerbating Delta's discomfort at being called out for its stingy award practices, United has been vigorously promoting itself as "the airline that wants you to use your miles," a not-so-subtle dig at Delta.

From my standpoint, the current Delta narrative has been a story of love lost and redemption sought, a company trying to regain the flagging trust and loyalty of its customers.

A more consumer-friendly expiration policy is the latest chapter in that story.

One Step Forward for SkyMiles Members

Whatever the history, and whatever Delta's goals and motives, the net effect of the new policy is positive.

All things being equal, a mile that isn't in danger of disappearing has more value than an expiring mile. And a program based on a more valuable loyalty currency trumps a program based on a lesser currency.

Of course, all things aren't equal.

But as Delta's news release takes pains to show, the airline is taking steps to level the playing field. In addition to the liberalized expiration policy, the airline has eliminated frequent flyer redemption fees and implemented rollover elite miles, two other significant benefits for SkyMiles members.

Industry Implications

The policy change potentially reverberates far beyond the SkyMiles program.

Should the members of the programs of American, United, US Airways, and so on expect to see comparable changes to the status of their miles?

Could Delta's initiative signal the beginning of an industry-wide shift, ushering in an era of eternal miles?

As the world's second largest airline, with one of the world's largest loyalty programs, Delta has the market mass to force a competitive response, which could gain sufficient momentum to effect a new industry standard.

Today, airline marketing executives are huddling in conference rooms in Dallas and Chicago and Phoenix to mull their reactions to Delta's newly liberated miles. As they do, frequent flyers whose miles still expire can only hope that they see SkyMiles as a force to be reckoned with.

Reader Reality Check

How important is this to you -- a baby step in the right direction, or a game-changer?

Factoring in this latest change, what's your current assessment of the SkyMiles program?

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US Airways Puts Elite Status Up for Sale

US Airways has been particularly aggressive in their efforts to sell frequent flyer miles, for a time regularly offering a 100 percent bonus on purchased miles, effectively halving their price.

From there, it is only a short hop to putting elite status up for sale as well. After all, selling elite status is simply selling elite-qualifying miles.

Offer Details

Members of US Airways' Dividend Miles program can buy as many elite-qualifying miles (EQMs) or elite-qualifying segments (EQSs) as they need to reach any of the airline's four elite tiers: Silver (earned after 25,000 EQMs or 30 EQSs), Gold (50,000 EQMs or 60 EQSs), Platinum (75,000 EQMs or 90 EQSs), or Chairman's (100,000 EQMs or 120 EQSs).

Pricing is as follows:

• $249 for 1-1,999 EQMs or 1-2 EQSs
• $399 for 2,000-4,999 EQMs or 3-6 EQSs
• $579 for 5,000-9,999 EQMs or 7-11 EQSs
• $789 for 10,000-14,999 EQMs or 12-18 EQSs
• $989 for 15,000-24,999 EQMs or 19-29 EQSs
• $1,299 for 25,000-49,999 EQMs or 30-59 EQSs
• $2,199 for 50,000-74,999 EQMs or 60-89 EQSs
• $2,999 for 75,000-99,999 EQMs or 90-119 EQSs
• $3,999 for 100,000 EQMs or 120 EQSs

Through May, the pricing will depend on the member's current or previous year's elite-qualifying activity, whichever is greater. Between June and December, pricing will be based on activity in the current year.

Status remains in effect through February 2012.

Deal or No Deal

Elite status is worth having, inarguably. The question raised by this initiative is: Just how much is it worth?

Assuming you're starting with no EQMs in your account, is it worth $1,299 to enjoy a year's worth of entry-level elite perks? Is it worth $3,999 to obtain the complete portfolio of Chairman's Preferred perks?

There's a bit of a paradox here. Elite benefits—upgrades, first and foremost—are worth the most to those who travel the most. But those who travel the most have the best chance of earning elite status by flying, and thus are the least in need of purchased EQMs or EQSs to attain elite status.

Perhaps that provides a clue to who stands to benefit most from this opportunity. As is typically the case with buying miles generally, buying your way to elite, or upgrading from a lower to a higher elite tier, may make the most sense for those who only need a few thousand EQMs to reach their goals.

Any offer that swells the ranks of the elite, as this will, is likely to draw mixed reviews from travelers who earned their status the old-fashioned way.

Many elite perks, and upgrades in particular, are a zero-sum game—there are only so many to go around. And if more program members are allowed into the elite fold, there's inevitably more competition for those limited benefits.

It remains to be seen how much this will affect individual members' upgrade success rate. But it can't help.

Reader Reality Check

How much is elite status worth to you?

If you already have elite status, how do you feel about US Airways selling it?

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