Book Summer Award Flights to Hawaii Now

On June 4, 2012, Hawaiian Airlines will launch new daily service between New York and Honolulu.

That's good news for those in the New York area, who currently have very limited options for non-stop flights to Hawaii.

There's good news on the pricing front as well. For those ready and willing to book now through November 20, Hawaiian is offering an introductory fare of $212 each way for travel between June 4 and June 30.

But for frequent flyers, the really big news lies behind the headlines: ready availability of award seats on what will undoubtedly become, in time, a highly popular route. Which is to say, a route on which frequent flyer awards will be in short supply.

For now, though, there are plenty of seats available to those looking to redeem their frequent flyer miles. And not just to members of Hawaiian's own HawaiianMiles program, which is of limited interest to most mainlanders. Hawaiian is also a partner in American's AAdvantage program, which means that AAdvantage members may redeem their miles for Hawaiian flights.

In Hawaiian's program, award prices for Hawaii-mainland flights are 20,000 miles each way for restricted coach, 40,000 miles each way for restricted first class. In AAdvantage, prices for award travel on Hawaiian flights are 22,500 each way for restricted coach, 47,500 miles for restricted first class. And because AAdvantage members can't book Hawaiian awards on American's website, they'll pay a service charge to book through American's call center.

Whichever flavor of miles you opt to redeem for Hawaiian's new flights, redeem them sooner rather than later. As the new service is publicized, and promoted with fare sales, the seats will be spoken for, leaving ever-fewer unsold seats for would-be award travelers.

A Reliable Strategy for Using Miles

As it is with Hawaiian's upcoming New York flights, so it is with any airline's new flights, making this a reliable strategy for navigating around the constraints on frequent flyer award availability.

Whenever an airline launches a new service, there will initially be a surfeit of unsold seats. That's bad news for the airline, but good news for travelers hoping to use their frequent flyer miles.

Other Posts of Interest

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• Which Airline Programs Are the Most (and Least) Generous?
• Earn More Shopping Miles From United
• Fly to Tokyo in Business Class for 50,000 AAdvantage Miles
• American Offers Double AAdvantage Miles on Caribbean Flights
• Are Pricier US Airways Miles Still a Buy?
• Double Southwest Points on Baltimore/Washington, Denver, Phoenix Flights
• Alaska Airlines Doubles the Miles for Fall Flights

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Win a Three-Night Trip to London

London calling?

Enter The Foundary's "London Calling" sweepstakes by November 30 for a chance to win a trip for two to London, including three nights at the Kensington Hotel and a $1,000 allowance to offset airfare (or as much of the airfare as that will cover).

To enter, become a member of The Foundary (a flash sale site for home and lifestyle products) by entering your name and email address in the online form. No purchase required.

The Fine Print

• One entry per person
• Entrants must be at least 18 years old
• Approximate retail value (ARV) of the prize: $2,750

As sweepstakes go, this isn't among the most lucrative. On the other hand, it's not widely publicized either, so the odds of winning should be considerably better than with some higher profile giveaways.

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Earn More American AAdvantage Miles for Holiday Shopping

The holiday shopping season is upon us. And like it or not, you're going to spend, spend, spend.

How much? According to a recent Gallup study, the average American plans to spend around $712 on Christmas gifts this year, down just a tick from the $715 reported a year ago.

The good news is that much of that spending can (and should) earn frequent flyer miles or point for buyers.

Of course, if you charge gifts to a travel-rewards credit card, you'll earn at least one mile for every $1 charged. But that's modest compared with the potential earnings for buying presents through a mileage mall linked to one of the airline or hotel loyalty programs.

The mileage malls typically mount bonus offers during the last two months of the year, like this one for the AAdvantage eShopping mall.

Offer Details

Through December 31, members of American's AAdvantage program can earn up to 1,000 bonus miles when shopping at any AAdvantage eShopping mall retailers, as follows:

• Earn 500 bonus miles for spending at least $500
• Earn 1,000 bonus miles for spending $1,000 or more

To earn the bonus, you must first click the "Opt In" button on the offer page.

And "Your AAdvantage eShopping account must be open and set to receive special offer emails at the time of the awarding of AAdvantage bonus miles in order to receive the spend bonus."

Deal or No Deal

The bonus for spending at the $500 and $1,000 levels amounts to one mile per $1 spent -- not enough by itself to make this a definitive argument for buying through the AAdvantage mall.

However, if that bonus is combined with one or more bonuses offered by individual AAdvantage eShopping merchants -- and the mile per $1 awarded for using an AAdvantage-linked credit card -- the total mileage payout could be significant, as much as 10 miles per $1.

Let's see ... 712 x 10 = 7,120 miles, more than a quarter of the 25,000 miles required for a free domestic award ticket. Who said giving shouldn't be rewarding?

Reader Reality Check

Do you make it a point to channel your Christmas purchases through a mileage mall to take advantage of the miles on offer?

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• Double Southwest Points on Baltimore/Washington, Denver, Phoenix Flights
• Alaska Airlines Doubles the Miles for Fall Flights

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Does a 50% Discount Make Delta Miles a Buy?

When it comes to selling frequent flyer miles, US Airways has established itself as the Discount King, with frequent promotions allowing travelers to buy miles for 50 percent less.

With this latest mileage sale—its fourth in a year—Delta is making a case for itself as the Discount Queen.

Offer Details

Through December 31, SkyMiles members who use a Delta SkyMiles credit card issued by American Express to buy miles will earn a 100 percent bonus on the purchased miles.

SkyMiles members may purchase a maximum of 60,000 miles per year, which translates into 120,000 miles with the bonus.

Delta miles are regularly priced at 3.5 cents each (a 25 percent price increase since last year's promotion, incidentally), plus a 7.5 percent federal excise tax. So 60,000 miles would normally cost $2,257.50, including tax. With the bonus, you can buy 120,000 miles for that price.

Deal or No Deal

The requirement that the Delta miles be charged to a specific credit card won't be an issue for anyone who already holds a SkyMiles credit card. But for those who don't, this offer is effectively a sign-up promotion for American Express. Do you want another credit card in your wallet?

But the more pressing question concerns the miles themselves. All frequent flyer miles are not created equal. In particular, the value of any airline's miles depends in large part on that airline's policy on award availability. In other words, when you go to redeem the miles, how hard is it to find award seats to desirable locations?

There's no final word on which airlines deliver the best value, awards-wise, but Delta has come in for considerable criticism, based in part on studies that found the airline among the least generous in making award seats available to frequent flyer program members.

That caveat aside, spending just over $2,000 for enough miles to fly to Asia or Europe in first or business class is definitely a noteworthy deal—if you can book the award flights at Delta's so-called "Low" availability prices. If award seats are only available at the "High" prices—185,000 miles each way for a premium seat to Asia, for example—the value of the offer quickly deteriorates.

This is, in short, a potential deal.

Reader Reality Check

Delta miles—a buy, or not?

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• Alaska Airlines Doubles the Miles for Fall Flights

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Southwest Doubles the Points on Chicago-California Flights

Traveling between Chicago and either Northern or Southern California through the first quarter of 2012?

The good news for mile-collectors is that there's a frequent flyer battle raging on those routes. So be sure to factor the generous mileage bonuses into your travel planning.

American ignited the mileage slugfest by offering double redeemable miles and double elite-qualifying miles through March 31, 2012, on the following routes:

• Between Chicago and Los Angeles
• Between Chicago and San Francisco

Also:

• Between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Los Angeles
• Between Dallas/Ft. Worth and San Francisco

American's promotion sparked a counterpunch from United, which is also offering double redeemable and double elite-qualifying miles, through January 31, 2012, for United or Continental flights between:

• Chicago and Los Angeles
• Chicago and San Francisco
• Chicago and Orange County

Beginning today, there's a third bonus option: Southwest.

Offer Details

Southwest is offering double Rapid Rewards points—both redeemable points and elite-qualifying points—for travel on the following routes between November 10, 2011, and March 31, 2012:

• Chicago and Los Angeles
• Chicago and Burbank
• Chicago and Ontario
• Chicago and Orange County
• Chicago and San Francisco
• Chicago and Oakland
• Chicago and San Jose
• Chicago and Sacramento

To receive the bonus, bookings must be made by January 15, 2012.

Registration is required and must also be completed by January 15, 2012.

Unlike the American and United promotions, Southwest does not restrict the bonuses to Rapid Rewards members who live in California or Illinois.

Deal or No Deal

If you're a Southwest loyalist—and especially if elite status in Rapid Rewards is a priority—this offer pushes Southwest to the top of the list for travel on the targeted routes. Assuming, of course, that Southwest's fares are competitive with American and United's.

And if you're program-agnostic, Southwest's offer is comparable to those of American and United, giving travelers a robust suite of options for earning significant bonuses on popular routes. Nice!

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• Alaska Airlines Doubles the Miles for Fall Flights

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British Airways Visa Card Delivers Fine Dining Discount

While Chase, the card issuer, won't divulge specifics, last year's 100,000-mile sign-up bonus for the British Airways Visa credit card undoubtedly swelled the ranks of American cardholders.

With such an outsized bonus, getting cardholders was easy. Keeping them as long-term customers is much tougher.

One way of maintaining cardholders' interest and engagement is with card-related promotions. Indeed, Chase and British Airways had a very clever offer in place through October 1: a $100 credit for using the card to charge two meals at select New York City restaurants.

That offer has now been extended through the end of the year.

Offer Details

Through December 31, British Airways Visa credit cardholders will receive a $50 statement credit when using their cards to charge meals at any New York restaurant with a star rating from the 2011 Michelin Guide. (Michelin awards one, two, or three stars to the top-rated restaurants. Needless to say, star-rated establishments also tend to be among the most expensive.)
There's limit of two credits per card, for a total of $100. The bill for each qualifying meal must total at least $50.

Michelin's three-star restaurants:

• Daniel
• Jean Georges
• Le Bernardin
• Masa
• Per Se

And a sampling of the one- and two-star restaurants:

• Gordon Ramsay at The London
• Momofuku Ko
• Aureole
• Del Posto
• Gotham Bar and Grill
• River Cafe
• Spotted Pig

Credits post six to eight weeks after qualifying charges.

Note that Peter Luger, the popular one-star Brooklyn steakhouse, doesn't accept credit cards and therefore is not included in the promotion.

Deal or No Deal

For anyone who will be fine-dining in New York during the promotion period, this amounts to a nice discount on a pricey meal, or perhaps a reason to upgrade from a mid-priced eatery to a world-class restaurant.

On a personal note, I have the card, and if I were going to be in New York over the holidays, I would happily use this promotion as a handy excuse to work two special meals into my itinerary.

Reader Reality Check

Does this offer affect your dining plans?

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American Sweepstakes Features Two 150,000-Mile Prizes

Six domestic trips in coach. Or a first-class trip to Europe, to South America, or to Japan. Those are a few of the ways 150,000 frequent flyer miles might be redeemed.

But first the miles must be earned. Or, easier, won.

Enter American Airlines' sweepstakes by December 15 for a chance to do just that. The sweepstakes features two grand prizes:

• 150,000 American AAdvantage miles
• 150,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles

It's quick and easy to enter. Just type your name, email, phone, and frequent flyer number and hit "Submit."

Want to get away for free? Check out Tim Winship's current picks of the best current travel rewards sweepstakes.

The Fine Print

• Open to legal residents of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico who are 18 years or older.
• Limit: one entry per AAdvantage member and/or Mileage Plan member.

The Value of a Mile?

As a side note, sweepstakes terms and conditions routinely state the Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of the prizes on offer, which they will report to the IRS and the winner will have to declare for tax purposes. In this case, the ARV of the 150,000 AAdvantage miles is deemed to be $2,985, or around 2 cents apiece. That's pretty standard for frequent flyer mile sweepstakes. However, the ARV of the 150,000 Mileage Plan miles is set at $4,215, or 2.8 cents each.

Alaska's miles are worth 40 percent more than American's?

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Stay in Touch

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United Matches American's Elite Bonus for Chicago Flights

In reviewing American's bonus offer for flights between Chicago or Dallas and Los Angeles or San Francisco, I observed that the bonus was "notable for doubling both the redeemable and the elite-qualifying miles," and doing so "on some popular routes, for a long time."

The same can be said of United's new promotion for some of the same routes. No mystery there: United's offer is clearly a response to American's. But it still falls short of American's incentive in one crucial respect.

Offer Details

Between November 3, 2011, and January 31, 2012, MileagePlus and OnePass members residing in Illinois or California can earn both double redeemable and double elite-qualifying miles for United or Continental flights between Chicago O'Hare and Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Orange County.

Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

If you're flying between Chicago and Southern or Northern California, between now and January 31, you can now choose between American or United-Continental to earn double elite and redeemable miles.

As incentives go, double elite-qualifying miles are particularly desirable. And since both American and United have plenty of flights on the targeted routes, they'd be the logical choices even without the bonus.

The difference, though, is the promotion period. The United bonus is only in effect through January 31, while American's remains in effect through March 31 of next year.

Other Posts of Interest

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• Alaska Airlines Doubles the Miles for Fall Flights

Stay in Touch

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Southwest's Best Car Rental Bonus May Be the Best Price

At any given moment, most of the major car rental companies are offering bonuses in most airline loyalty programs.

So, for instance, members of Southwest's Rapid Rewards program currently have their choice of bonuses for renting from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, and Thrifty.

For all the "Double," "Triple," and "2,400 Bonus Point" headlines, the bonuses turn out to be more alike than they are different.

• Alamo - Double Rapid Rewards points for rentals of three or more days through December 31. Plus a 30 percent discount.
• Avis - Double points for three- or four-day rentals; triple points for rentals of five or more days, through December 31. Plus a 30 percent discount.
• Budget - Double points for three- or four-day rentals; triple points for rentals of five or more days, through December 31. Plus a 30 percent discount.
• Dollar - Double points for rentals of three or more days through December 31. Plus a 30 percent discount.
• Hertz - Double points for rentals of three through six days; quadruple points for rentals of seven or more days, through February 29, 2012. Plus a 30 percent discount.
• Thrifty - Double points for rentals of three or more days through December 15. Plus a 30 percent discount.

(The normal Rapid Rewards earning rate for car rentals is 600 points per rental, so double points would be 1,200, triple would be 1,800, and so on.)

The other key variable here is of course the competing rental car companies' rates. Since many of the offers require a rental of three days or more, I test-booked a sample three-day rental of a mid-sized car for the period November 15 through November 18.

The results:

• Alamo - $122.04
• Avis - $244.56
• Budget - $164.71
• Dollar - $135.09
• Hertz - $252.85
• Thrifty - $135.09

So while Hertz and Alamo both offer 1,200 Rapid Rewards points for a three-day rental, you'll pay twice as much to rent from Hertz, at least in our test booking.

If you're a Hertz partisan, or a business traveler whose company mandates renting from Hertz, the higher rates may be a non-issue. But for more price-sensitive travelers, the combination of Alamo's best price and competitive bonus is likely to be a winning one.

That's not to say that Alamo's value proposition will always be the superior one. In other scenarios—different locations, different travel dates, different classes of car—a different car company might have better rates. And if you're willing to look beyond Rapid Rewards, there may be better bonuses offered through other airline loyalty programs.

Bottom line: To find the best deal overall, you'll have to look beyond the marketing headlines.

Reader Reality Check

How much extra are you willing to pay to stay with a preferred provider or to earn frequent flyer points?

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InterContinental Offers $100 Flight Credit for Weekend Stays

Travelers who book and complete a weekend stay of two or more nights at InterContinental hotels (InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites) between November 4, 2011, and April 29, 2012, will receive a $100 rebate on an airline ticket.

To receive the flight credit, InterContinental customers must submit a copy of their hotel bill. In return, they will receive a Flight Credit Award pin number, which must be registered at www.activateaward.com/IHG-FFC.

Then, finally, to receive the $100 rebate, flight bookings must be made through a designated travel agent, ATG. "A Saturday night stay and 14-day advance purchase of your Award flight is required by the travel agent for this promotion."

There's a limit of three flight credits per person during the promotional period. But, "recipient of multiple Awards cannot travel more than once per calendar quarter."

Registration is required, and must be completed by November 28.

Deal or No Deal

Depending on the price paid for the qualifying two-night stay, a $100 flight credit could translate into a rebate of 50 percent or more.

But this nominally rich promotion is at least partly spoiled by its excessive terms and conditions and convoluted redemption procedure.

Bottom line: A $100 flight credit is a juicy incentive, but you'll have to jump through hoops to get it.

Reader Reality Check

Is it worth it?

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