I came across this video last week from Canadian anthropologist Felix Pharand. He spent 13 years making this 3 minute animation that illustrates every road, shipping lane, and flight path on earth.

You can read more about the project here and view a narrated version at vimeo.com/anthropocene/shortfilm.

Business ExtrAA is the American Airlines rewards program for small business, and there are two new promotions worth mentioning:

Earn Up To Triple Business ExtrAA Points

For U.S. domestic non-stop travel between New York and select cities, register using promotion code APR12NYCBONUS by June 30, 2012 and travel between May 1 and June 30, 2012 to earn:

• Triple points for travel on First Class, Business Class or Main Cabin Full fares
• Double points for travel on Other Main Cabin fares

Travel between New York and these cities:

Atlanta
Austin
Baltimore
Boston
Charlotte
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Columbus
Dallas/Fort Worth
Detroit
Indianapolis
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Miami
Minneapolis
Nashville
Norfolk VA
Orlando
Pittsburgh
Raleigh Durham
San Diego
San Francisco
San Juan
Seattle
St Louis
Tampa
Washington DC.

Points are earned at a rate of 2 points per $10 spent on travel and round-trip domestic awards are available for 2,000 points. (Something to note – until recently, flights origination out of DFW and Miami earned points at half the rate – only 1 point for every $10.  As of April 1, flights originating from both airports earn 2 points/$10).

Registration is required before travel. Go here to sign up or for complete details.

National Small Business Week

The U.S. Small Business Administration proclaimed May 20-26 as National Small Business Week. American Airlines appreciates all that small businesses do for the U.S., promoting innovation, job creation, and economic competitiveness.

To celebrate, we will offer your company a one-time bonus of 300 Business ExtrAA points if you fly anywhere on American Airlines between May 20, 2012, and May 26, 2012.

Sign up here using promo code NSB300BONUS.  Registration is required before you travel.

Here’s a chance to travel like a celebrity, and to meet one.  American Airlines just launched their new Guaranteed Smoothness Sweepstakes to promote their Five Star VIP travel assistance, and the winner of the drawing will receive a VIP trip to Los Angeles and will get to meet Michael Bublé.
From the promo page:

Beginning today, the American Airlines Five Star Service Guaranteed Smoothness Sweepstakes offers customers the opportunity to register for the chance to win a VIP trip to Los Angeles complete with American’s Five Star Service and an exclusive, VIP meet-and-greet with legendary smooth jazz singer Michael Bublé.

“Our celebrated Five Star Service offers customers personalized assistance that ensures an expedited and hassle-free travel experience,” said Nancy Knipp, American’s Managing Director – Premium Services.

“The lucky winners of our sweepstakes will experience firsthand the smooth Five Star Service travel experience and will be treated like a VIP from start to finish during this once-in-a-lifetime journey.”

Some details of the prize

Through June 11, 2012, customers can register at www.aa.com/buble for the chance to win an exciting trip package that includes two First Class tickets to Los Angeles (LAX);

Five Star Service for two;

an exclusive, VIP gathering with Michael Bublé;

A $2,000 American Express gift card to be applied toward hotel, dining, shopping and more.

If you’re not familiar with American’s Five Star service, it’s one-on-one personal assistance at the airport to escort you through the check-in and security process to minimize wait times and stress, and to get you to the Admirals Club where you can relax before your fight:

Here’s a list of 5 Star services:

Coordinate with Car Service
Curbside Meet & Greet
Assist with Check-in including exclusive Flagship Check-in at participating airports
Expedite through Security Queue
Admirals Club Lounge Access
Pro-active Flight Monitoring and Priority Re-Accommodation during Delays
Escort to Gate
Coordinate Special Requests with In-Flight Crew
Pre-Boarding Assistance

It cost between $125-$200 for Domestic Five Star travel assistance.   The service has received good reviews (like this one from Marshal Jackson when he purchased Five Star Service for his mom as a Mother’s Day gift), and though I can’t imagine actually needing the assistance for myself, I’ve been tempted to try it just so that I can check out the Flagship Check-in area at LAX.  

As for the sweepstakes, I have to confess that I had heard the name Michael Bublé but wasn’t sure why he was famous (now I know), which isn’t a comment on him or his celebrity so much as the fact that my iPod is living in the 90′s!

From the terms and conditions:

• NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
• OPEN TO/ENTRY DETAILS: Open to legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years or older.
• Sweepstakes begins at 11:59 a.m. [Central time (“CT”) April 27, 2012 and all entries must be received by 11:59 a.m. CT time on June 11, 2012.
• PRIZE DETAILS: Two (2) Grand Prizes each with an ARV of $8,400. Total ARV of all Prizes: $16,800.

Go here to enter. Good luck!

Photo: Michael Bublé
Credit: Eva Rinaldi on Flickr

Just a short post this morning to tell you about a big summer promotion from Hyatt:

More Stays Means 5X More Miles And Even More Rewards

Make your next stay with Hyatt even more rewarding. Earn 4X more American Airlines AAdvantage miles after your 2nd and 3rd eligible stay and 5X more AAdvantage miles after your 4th through 11th eligible stay, at any participating Hyatt hotels from May 1– August 31, 2012.

To participate in this offer you have to be a Hyatt Gold Passport member. Just follow these instructions:

• Register on this page or by calling 1-800-30-HYATT (provide promotion code AA12S)

• Stay at any Hyatt hotel between May 1- August 31, 2012

• Book an Eligible Rate during each stay

• Ask to earn AAdvantage miles for your stay, provide your Hyatt Gold Passport number and AAdvantage number when you check in.

Go here for complete details or to read the terms and conditions.

Photo: Hyatt at Night – Mumbai
Credit: Mark Hillary on Flickr

London and Partners, the official promotional organization for London tourism, is sponsoring the new “Limited Edition London: More Magical Than Ever Before” sweepstakes.

The prize For Two Adults Includes these descriptions:

Round-Trip Coach Travel to London on American Airlines
American has served London since 1982, and today flies to London from seven US gateways: New York, Boston, Raleigh-Durham, Miami, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, with a total of 19 daily departures.

Three Nights Accommodation at a Thistle Hotel
Enjoy three nights stay in London (including breakfast) at a Thistle hotel of your choice. Thistle has 32 hotels across the country, many in superb city centre locations, including 10 in some iconic, central London locations.

£100 Shopping Voucher for Westfield London
With more than 300 shops and 65 restaurants, Westfield London is the London’s ultimate luxury shopping destination, and we are delighted to offer the winning couple a £100 gift card to spend onsite.

Two 2-day London Passes
The London Sightseeing Pass is a time and money saving pre-paid entry ticket giving you entry to your choice of more than 60 top London attractions including the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and a Thames River Cruise all for one fixed price.

Dinner and a Pint in a Taylor Walker London Pub
Visit the Prince of Wales pub in Drury Lane, Covent Garden for a pint of real ale and a classic British dish such as hand battered fish, chips and mushy peas, or a roast dinner of the day. The Prince of Wales is a traditional London pub situated in the heart of London’s theatre district.

To enter, all you have to do is provide them with your email address and a few other details (nothing too onerous in my mind) and then sign up for their newsletter.

The contest ends May 31, 2012, so go here for the rules, then go here to enter. Good Luck!!

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Here’s a great way to start your week off: Win AAdvantage Miles and Discount Codes

Win Miles – Today is the last day to vote in American’s AAdvantage Tips Facebook contest for a chance to win 5,000 AAdvantage Miles. You can also vote for your favorite Expert Tip (I’m participating) and help me win some miles to give away on the blog and to donate to AA’s Miles for Kids.

Win More Miles: Don’t forget that Monday is AAdvantage Day at the Frugal Travel Guy. Go share your favorite AAdvantage advice in the comments section for a chance to win 2,500 AAdvantage Miles!

Save Money: High jumping blogger Michael W, over the at Michael W Travels, is sponsoring a drawing today to give away two American Airlines discount codes. To win, all you have to do is leave a comment on his blog. While you’re there, check out his Top 5 Animal Encounters post; it’s a feature in this month’s ScotteVest newsletter (congratulations Michael W!).

Photo: London Underground
Credit: _dChris on Flickr

Passengers traveling from Los Angeles to JFK today will get to take part in a high altitude film festival. From a USC Annenberg School of Communications press release:

Universal Pictures partnered with USC Annenberg to develop ideas to celebrate the Studio’s 100th anniversary.

Now, one of the USC students’ ideas is taking off on April 30 with the first-ever inflight film festival to commemorate the Studio’s legacy and 100 years in moviemaking. Universal Pictures is teaming up with American Airlines to welcome customers onboard Flight 1 and Flight 22 with this special in-air transcontinental film festival featuring two of Universal’s beloved films, Field of Dreams and Seabiscuit.

As a toast to Universal’s special day, customers onboard select American Airlines flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will be invited to sit back and enjoy the films. Gift bags will be distributed at the gates of participating flights prior to departure, giving customers a coupon for a free 15-minute inflight internet session, headphones and classic movie candy.

You don’t have to be a passenger on one of the two flights participate:

Fans will have a chance to be one of 10 winners, randomly selected from qualifying tweets. Winners will receive an in-air Universal Centennial Blu-ray prize pack. Anyone can join in for a chance to win by using the hashtag #Universal100 in their tweets from April 30 through May 1.

Go here to read the press release and follow @AmericanAir for more details.

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Here’s a great way to start your week off: Win AAdvantage Miles and Discount Codes

Win Miles – Today is the last day to vote in American’s AAdvantage Tips Facebook contest for a chance to win 5,000 AAdvantage Miles. You can also vote for your favorite Expert Tip (I’m participating) and help me win some miles to give away on the blog and to donate to AA’s Miles for Kids.

Win More Miles: Don’t forget that Monday is AAdvantage Day at the Frugal Travel Guy. Go share your favorite AAdvantage advice in the comments section for a chance to win 2,500 AAdvantage Miles!

Save Money: High jumping blogger Michael W, over the at Michael W Travels, is sponsoring a drawing today to give away two American Airlines discount codes. To win, all you have to do is leave a comment on his blog. While you’re there, check out his Top 5 Animal Encounters post; it’s a feature in this month’s ScotteVest newsletter (congratulations Michael W!).

Photo: Universal’s logo in the ’40s
Credit: PappyV on Flickr

Today is the last day to enter the oneworld travel alliance “Go for the Emerald” sweepstakes.

Discover the benefits of the oneworld alliance.
You might be rewarded with a trip for two around the world.

As a frequent flyer, you can enjoy many benefits that help make travel an easier and more rewarding experience through the oneworld alliance.

We invite you to discover these benefits in our hidden object game, Go For The Emerald. And when you travel through the three rooms named for oneworld tiers the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald rooms youll discover the great benefits you have wherever you fly.

Plus, you’ll have a chance to win two round-the-world tickets in Business Class.

You’re allowed up to five entries, so if you played when it was first released, but haven’t played again, then this is the time to increase your odds of winning. But hurry, the contest ends tonight. From the official rules:

•  NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

• There is a limit of a total of five (5) entries per email address regardless of entry method.

•  ENTRY DETAILS: Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years or older.

•  Sweepstakes begins at 11:59 a.m. Eastern time (ET] February 22, 2012 and all entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET time on April 27, 2012.

•  PRIZE DETAILS: One Prize consisting of 2 oneworld Explorer 3- continent tickets, ARV $21,480.56.

Go here for the complete rules and visit oneworld.com/emerald to play,

Good luck and have a great weekend!

I was looking through the most recent American Way magazine and found an offer from Bose that’s better than the one you’ll find at AA.com.  The website displays the usual 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent on a Bose purchase.

Here’s the better offer I found  in the back of the current American Way. 

Earn 1200 American Airlines AAdvantage miles with the purchase of Bose QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones.

Whether you’re mid-flight, at work or relaxing at home, QuietComfort 15 headphones reduce the noise around you—so you’ll enjoy music and movies with fewer distractions.

 The Bose QC15 headphone does a remarkable job keeping out unwanted noise, and they’re great for music and movies.

They’re also great for sleeping. One of my favorite uses is to connect the headphones to my iPad, and then launch my favorite sleep app, Sleep from Red Hammer Software.  

The headphones seal out the world, and the sounds soothe me to sleep.   Only the scent of a chocolate chip cookie being baked on board can wake me.  

(By the way, you’ll find a list of some other sleep aid Apps here.)

But back to the Bose promo:  According to the Magazine ad, the 1,200 Bonus AAdvantage Miles offer expires June 30.  Go here to read the fine print or to place your order.

I don’t fly Delta very often, but when I do I always enjoy the flight: I like that they serve Coke Zero and I’m a big fan of their Biscoff cookie.

Something else I enjoy, in a weird sort of way, is their safety video. If you’re a Delta flyer, then you’ll know what I’m talking about, and if you’re not familiar with the video….well, it’s not easy to describe.  Take a look:

The woman is Delta flight attendent Katherine Lee, otherwise known as Deltalina to her many Delta fans. She looks like a super model and she’s able to deliver the line “A water evacuation is also unlikely, but just in case” so pleasantly, that touching down the ocean sounds like fun.   Not surprisingly, the video has a cult like following among the Delta Points types.

I’m a fan too.

I was skimming through Google reader the other day and happend to see this thread in the Delta forum at FlyerTalk:

New DL Safety Video

My reaction?  Say it isn’t so!!!

The first time I saw this video I was struck by how bizarre it is; it’s like watching a David Lynch film.  There are all these little odd and memorable moments.  Ignoring it isn’t easy, and it’s hard not to like. Here are a few of the details I always notice:

Premium class passenger tapping his toe.

Red exit lights: The second rule of surviving a robot uprising teaches us to beware the glowing, red eyes.  There’s something a little unsettling by the way the red light activate, especially with the music. If the plane goes down in water, then it might be a fight to get the floating seat cushion away from the seat.

You’re reminded to keep your seatbelt fastened, and there’s even a little turbulence in this scene.   The guy looking up at the “fasten seat belt sign” has the classic disaster movie expression on his face.   Maybe his fellow passengers should be more concerned.

The life vest.

And then there’s “The Sparkle”.  A little bit of humor in this odd spot, or an odd bit of humor in a little spot.

And now, the two most memorable scenes in the video,

Exit rows:

And the climax:  Smooooking is noooooot alloooowed!

It’s hard to imagine any sequel being as good is this.

It’s back (though I’m not sure that it ever went away) but Netflix is offering a new 2,500 AAdvantage Miles promotion to new customers.

Watch TV episodes & movies and earn AAdvantage miles!

• Bonus offer! Earn 2500 American Airlines AAdvantage miles when you become a paying member of Netflix.
• Instantly watch TV episodes & movies streaming over the Internet right on your TV.
• Plus, you can also watch instantly on your computer too!

Offer Terms and Conditions:

• Offer is valid to new Netflix subscribers only.
• Current and previous members are ineligible.
• One redemption per household.
• Miles will be awarded for a new paid subscription only and require, at time of sign up, linking directly from this page and entering a valid American Airlines AAdvantage number.
• Please allow 8-10 weeks for mileage postings.
• Purchase or redemption of gift subscriptions is not eligible to earn miles.

If you’re already a Netflix customer, here’s something that you might enjoy. It’s CNBC’s original Inside American Airlines: A Week In The Life documentary series.  

It aired in 2006 and it just became available for streaming.  Obviously much has changed in six years, but operationally it’s still much the same and it’s fascinating to watch.

Go here to preview Inside American Airlines: A Week In The Life.  Go here to sign up for the Netflix offer.