Delta Airlines JFK

The loyalty race moves to the airlines with an offer from Delta for a fast-track to elite status promotion. We have seen the hotel chains trying to grab a loyal customer base with Starwood and Hyatt offering elite fast-track promotions already in 2008. I expect at least one other airline to follow pace in this competition for capturing 2008 market share for the traveling public.

Delta SkyMiles Promotion Terms & Conditions

Offer:

Earn double Medallion Qualification Miles/MQMs on all Delta-coded flights booked and purchased on delta.com between March 31 and April 30, 2008 and flown between March 31 and June 30, 2008.

Eligibility:

You must be a new or existing SkyMiles member with a U.S. mailing address in your SkyMiles account to take advantage of this offer. To participate in this offer, eligible members must register online between March 31 and April 30, 2008.

Travel Period:

Travel must be between March 31 and June 30, 2008. All travel must be completed by June 30, 2008.

Validity:

Medallion Qualification Miles are based on a multiple of distance flown and fare class purchased for qualifying flights and do not include bonus miles. Medallion Qualification Miles are used for Medallion status qualification and are based on calendar year activity.

Miscellaneous:

Medallion Qualification Miles will post to the SkyMiles account of the qualifying member 6-8 weeks following the end of the promotion, which is June 30, 2008.

SIN is Singapore, Changi Airport.

Loyalty Travelers based in the United States learn that Singapore is the farthest destination in flight miles a person can easily fly to from the USA on a variety of carriers and have an easy and affordable experience.

Singapore generally requires a US-Japan-Singapore routing and this is an 8,444 mile flight distance from San Francisco-Tokyo-Singapore (SFO-NRT-SIN).
New-York City-Los Angeles-Tokyo-Singapore (JFK/LGA/EWR-LAX-NRT-SIN) is an astounding 11,250 miles one-way. Mileage runners even figure out ways of adding additional flight segments to these basic routings for 1,500 or more flight miles.

The rationale for making a “mileage run” long distance itinerary is apparent when considering the miles earned in the frequent flyer member’s account and the elite qualifying flight miles credit. After attaining 50,000-flight mile elite status, a flyer earns a 100% flight mile bonus on qualifying economy fares with any one of the major airlines Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, or US Airways. The perks of complimentary flight upgrades, international lounge access, and other benefits await the elite flyer.

It is always good to know the rules for miles earned for your ticketed fares. The booking class of your ticket determines upgrade eligibility, miles earned, and eligibility for frequent flyer elite status qualifying miles (or points).

April 2008 Mileage Run Sample:
I’ll use United Mileage Plus as the carrier for this example, although a nearly identical calculation will apply for flyers in the other major airline loyalty programs of Alaska, American, Northwest, Delta, Continental, or US Airways.

Feb 28, 2008 a New York, (JFK)-Singapore (SIN) ticket, prices today at under $1,100 for all United Airlines itineraries. (Prices fluctuate and may occasionally drop below $1,000 from eastern US or below $800 from western US departure cities).

Tip: Quick mileage calculations between airports is available from the website: Great Circle Mapper, http://gc.kls2.com

The first choice of the lowest-priced itineraries offered by United.com is JFK-NRT-SIN routing in economy class “S” booking code. “S” booking code is ineligible for Mileage Plus cabin upgrades with miles or elite certificates since it is an all international flights itinerary.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

United Airlines Flight #837 (1-stop, plane change)
Depart New York, JFK 7:09
Arrive Tokyo, Japan, NRT 14:10 (next day, Thursday)
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 6,745 miles

Thursday, April 3, 2008

United Airlines Flight #803
Depart Tokyo, NRT 17:50
Arrive Singapore, SIN 23:55
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 3,324 miles

Thursday, April 10, 2008

United Airlines Flight #804
Depart Singapore, SIN 7:15
Arrive Tokyo, NRT 15:15
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 3,324 miles

United Airlines Flight # 852 (1-stop, plane change)
Depart Tokyo, NRT 18:00
Arrive New York, JFK 22:33
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 6,745 miles

Summary: JFK-SIN, United Airlines, “S” booking class,
$1,069.24 and earns 20,146 Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and
20,146 frequent flyer Award Miles (+ elite and/or promotional bonuses)

Although the screen states the flight is a one-stop, the ticket buyer must click the Plane Change links on the United reservations screen to see where the plane stops. A change of aircraft is required in San Francisco.

The New York to Tokyo routing requires a plane change in San Francisco, yet the two separate flights are given a single flight number. United Mileage Plus calculates the ticket as a non-stop flight for frequent flyer flight miles earned. This ticket will earn 20,146 flight miles for $1,069.24.

An alternative routing for the New York, JFK to Singapore “S” booking class ticket provides the frequent flyer with 22,363 award miles for $1,087.24, and also adds Hong Kong airport to the itinerary.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

United Airlines Flight #877
Depart: New York, JFK 8:00
Arrive: Los Angeles, LAX 11:14
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 2,475 miles

United Airlines Flight #867
Depart: Los Angeles, LAX 12:56
Arrive: Hong Kong, HKG 18:45 (Thursday, next day)
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 7,246 miles

Thursday, April 3, 2008

United Airlines Flight #895
Depart: Hong Kong, HKG 20:00
Arrive: Singapore, SIN 23:35
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 1,603 miles

Thursday, April 10, 2008

United Airlines Flight # 804
Depart: Singapore, SIN 07:15
Arrive: Tokyo, Japan 15:15
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 3,328 miles

United Airlines Flight # 838
Depart: Tokyo, Japan 16:05
Arrive: San Francisco, SFO 09:10 (Thursday, same day)
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 5,124 miles

United Airlines Flight # 010
Depart: San Francisco, SFO 11:20
Arrive: New York, JFK 20:03
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 2,586 miles

Summary: JFK-SIN, United Airlines, “S” booking class,
$1,087.24 and earns 22,363 Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and
22,363 frequent flyer Award Miles (+ elite and/or promotional bonuses)

Perhaps the greatest benefit is the ability to upgrade the transcontinental USA flights in “S” booking class since these are now domestic flights. Although the other itinerary also has two transcontinental domestic flight segments, these flights are under a single international United flight number and thus international upgrade rules apply.

A United ticket from New York, JFK to Singapore has itinerary choices that make a huge difference in loyalty program benefits for a small difference in cash. $18.00 is a small price to pay for 2,217 extra flight miles towards elite status and mileage upgrade credit, in addition to the extra frequent flier miles for awards and the potential for a transcontinental domestic upgrade.

Elite Frequent Flier Bonus Miles

A Premier Executive, 50,000-mile status member with a 100% flight miles bonus will earn 22,363 elite bonus miles on the Hong Kong routing.

$1,087.24 fare / 44,726 Mileage Plus miles = $24.31/1,000 miles earned.

Travel earns miles at a lower rate than buying miles through the airlines or credit cards.

**************
The Quest for Frequent Flier Elite Status

Two trips between New York and Singapore a year on United can easily earn 45,000 elite qualifying miles and earn 90,000 frequent flyer miles. These earned miles are redeemable for a Business Class Star Alliance award from the USA to Europe (80,000 miles) or South America (80,000 miles) or North or South Asia (90,000 miles). And a frequent flyer would only need one additional 5,000 mile trip, like New York City – San Francisco (JFK-SFO), to earn 50,000-mile elite status within the calendar year with United Mileage Plus.

United Airline Mileage Plus Business Class Star Alliance Awards:

80,000 miles Business Class award, US/Canada-Europe using United Airlines or any of these 11 Star Alliance partner airlines which currently operate flights between North America and Europe: Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, TAP Portugal, US Airways.

90,000 miles Business Class award, US/Canada-Asia using United Airlines or any of these partner airlines which currently operate flights between North America and Asia: Air Canada, Air China, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways.

Ric and tour guide, Cuzco, Peru, May 2000

Presidents Week Vacation – February 2000

I was anxious and suffering a vacation hangover upon my return from Holland at the end of my two week trip for flying on five member airlines of the Oneworld Alliance for a 100,000 frequent flyer miles bonus. Travel euphoria withdrawal was a shock to my mind.

The Christmas holidays 1999 were designed to celebrate my 40th birthday and the days had been a whirlwind tour of Europe. I dubbed it our “industrial tour” because the routing took us from London to Manchester on British Airways, Manchester to Amsterdam on Cathay Pacific, and Amsterdam to Barcelona on Christmas Day and back to Amsterdam on December 26 for another 3 nights in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Rotterdam blew our minds as the most cosmopolitan city we had ever visited. Rotterdam is a mix of world cultures.

The remedy for a vacation hangover is to start planning the next trip. I desired another adventure to energize my soul with the buzz of planning travel.

Fortunately, I had a quick recovery for my vacation hangover on January 7, 2000. I learned about the possibility for a one million mile bonus by flying with a group of Latin American airlines. It took a few days to ascertain the authenticity of the offer. And another week passed before the details were published on the LatinPass website.

I then worked through three weeks of intensive travel planning.
I planned an itinerary for the 500,000 mile bonus with six flights through Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela, and either Puerto Rico, Aruba, or Curacao. Using free award tickets from California to Central America or South America would drop the cost of airfare to under $2,000 and the miles earned would be sufficient for six Business Class tickets with KLM Airlines, a LatinPass affiliate airline, from San Francisco to Europe.

There were some reservations in planning the LatinPass tour, and I am using reservations in the hesitation sense.
1. Guatemala having a major volcanic eruption
2. Caracas having devastating floods
3. Terrorist kidnap danger in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

I mapped out a dozen routings for flights. The routes changed all the time. The key to this trip for me was getting several free award nights at Starwood and Hilton hotels. I actually planned on using Starwood points for hotel stays on this trip and needing the points I developed a scheme for the first two weeks of February to accumulate Starwood points.

Starwood Preferred Guest became a partner in the internet company ClickRewards and for the months of February and March 2000, ClickReward miles were worth 2 Starpoints or double the normal exchange rate. In addition to that bonus, FTD had a Valentine’s Day special offer for double ClickRewards points. I was able to earn 16,000 Starpoints by purchasing $550 in gift certificates for several shops where we regularly shop anyway. I bought $110 in Barnes and Noble gift certificates and while in Denver I purchased Let’s Go Central America 2000.

My first ticket purchase for the LatinPass promotion was a KLM roundtrip from London to Amsterdam for the Easter week vacation. I booked The Pulitzer Hotel for 7,000 Starpoints. The cheapest cash rate for the week was $350 per night. I also redeemed 45,000 HHonors points for two nights at the Amsterdam Hilton.

My initial LatinPass itinerary to South America and Central America required two trips and were designed via these routings:

First LatinPass Trip: 12 flights and 7 nights
San Francisco – Guatemala City (American Airlines award ticket 30,000 miles) (SFO-GUA)
Guatemala City – San Salvador, El Salvador (GUA-SAL) – Aviateca Airlines $100 one-way
San Salvador, El Salvador – Managua, Nicaragua (SAL-MGA) – Taca Airlines $175 one-way
Managua – Miami, Florida (MGA-MIA) – Nica Airlines $500 one-way
Miami, Florida – Caracas, Venezuela (MIA-CCS) – Aeropostal $250 one-way
Caracas, Venezuela – Bogota, Colombia (CCS-BOG) – Avianca $250 one-way
Bogota, Colombia – San Juan, Puerto Rico (BOG-SJU) – ACES $450 one-way
San Juan, Puerto Rico – San Jose, Costa Rica (SJU-SJO) – Lacsa $300 one-way
San Jose, Costa Rica – Guatemala City, Guatemala (SJO-GUA) – Copa $250 one-way

Second LatinPass Trip: 6 flights and 4 nights
San Francisco – Quito, Ecuador (American Airlines award ticket – 60,000 miles Business Class)
Quito, Ecuador – Lima (UIO-LIM) – SAETA $330 round-trip
Lima, Peru – Cuzco, Peru (LIM-CUZ) – Taca Peru $170 round-trip

This LatinPass scheme kept me up all night thinking and I decided to ask for a week off work and fly the six airlines. Then I kept thinking how easy it would be to get 8 airlines in one trip as I showed above. And then I figured why not just go for one million miles since it only costs about $1,000 to $1,200 more.

First Day of LatinPass Run March 31, 2000

I completely rerouted my trip from the February planning. I waited until this morning to pack a suitcase and at the last minute I threw in my Sharper Image mini-luggage cart. I didn’t pack much: socks, underwear, 4 shirts, jeans, and Teva sandals. I didn’t bring a raincoat. I figure I won’t be outside much. I actually had jeans in the car and at the last minute before leaving the airport I went out to get them.

I am flying in seat 5A, the first row of Business Class. It has been a few years since I’ve flown this class and the comfort level is really incredible. I had to read the card on the seat control functions to learn the features of all these buttons. There are 7 knobs for adjustment and the seat goes damn near horizontal. I have the leg rest up and the head rest out and it more comfortable than any place I sit at home. I have my own video monitor with a choice of five movies and several audio channels. The flight has been incredibly smooth so far.

The plane is over Nevada and the Becks beer has arrived. The movie hasn’t yet started and I feel like I am in a near full-service bed, trapped between a video monitor straight up in front of me, a tray table horizontally across my lap and a headphones cord draped diagonally across my chest. It is good I do not feel the need to go anywhere quickly. I am on a 767 to Miami that continues on to Buenos Aires. San Francisco was gorgeous today and forecast to be 75 to 80 degrees.

So what else did I pack? I brought a flashlight, a tape recorder, an alarm clock, a camera and 7 rolls of film.

The coolest feature is being able to listen to music while watching a flight map of the current plane position. The sun is just about setting over Duncan, Oklahoma. This is so cool.

I ate a bland Hindu rice and veggie meal and drank a couple of glasses of cabernet for dinner. We are traveling at 626 mph at 37,000 feet altitude. The outside temperature is -73 F. There is a 120 mph tailwind.

I drank a couple of more Becks and grooved on New Age music and tripped on the lights of Florida. This was quite a ride. Passed over Tampa Bay as I listened to Celtic tunes with a tartan blanket across my legs to cover my bare knees against the cabin cold. I can’t wait for the harsh reality of Miami 80 degrees F at 10 pm at night. The flight attendant just offered me another Becks with only 15 minutes of flight time left. I love Business Class. I declined the beer. This buzz is just right and Miami is below. This is fun.

Avianca Airlines flight #9 on-time departure from Miami to Bogota, Colombia. The safety instructions for the flight are running in Spanish with German subtitles. Guess I will wait and see if American comes up. This flight is a 767-300 and only about 25% full in economy. I am in the back section of the plane and look to be the only person seated next to someone on the entire aircraft. The woman beside me is Spanish speaking, but holds an American passport. I moved two rows back to the empty three seats in the middle section of the plane. The safety messages are now playing in English with French subtitles as the aircraft taxis down the runway.

Flying over the Caribbean Sea and the water below is a shade of light blue, so different from the dark Pacific Ocean of the California coast. The colors are hypnotizing. Looking down on the wisps of clouds sitting above the light blue water gives the illusion of gazing up into the bright sky. The imagery is beautiful.
The white edges of sea breaking on the shoreline of Cuba breaks the hypnotic azure spell. The green agricultural landscape of Cuba comes into view.

The drink cart coming down the aisle refocuses my attention. There are 2-liter bottles of Coke and Diet Coke, and 1-liter bottles of scotch and vodka. I receive a can of Club Colombia, Bavaria Brewery, 4% Colombian beer. The two women flight attendants do not appear to be even 20 years old. Several men are also working the aisles. This flight has a large crew to service a small passenger load.

The island of Jamaica appears much browner and extensively developed compared to the interior green cultivated farmlands of rural Cuba. Jamaica passed by quickly as we skirted the western end of the island over Negril. The sea once again is reflecting the white clouds and mirrors the sky.

The snacks on the plane were something different to eat. Coctel, a Colombian product – crunchy chick peas and faba beans – kind of like Corn Nuts. I also received Achiras, original Colombian biscuits made expressly for Avianca. They are made from cottage cheese and achira starch to make a biscuit. They are quite tasty and different. I can’t think of another food they taste like. It is a kind of mini-bread stick with a cheesy flavor, sort of Cheetos-like, but definitely different.
The subtle differences of travel. Despite the hassle of a language barrier there are entertaining, ordinary changes like the kinds of snack foods served on a Colombian airline compared to United Airlines. The little alterations make all the difference in the travel experience.

We have just crossed the Colombian coastline and the rivers, brown with sediment and silt, flow into the Caribbean. There are no coastal cities below us and we cross over to land. I picked up a Colombian paper on the plane and the Bogota section had an article about deaths and 59% of people who die of unnatural causes are murder victims. Traffic accidents account for 21%, suicide 8%, 9% by accidents, and 2% undetermined causes.

Tomorrow, April 2, 2000, is some kind of Colombia Peace Day ribbon campaign, being promoted by a newspaper half-page ad.

The sky was too hazy to see the ground once we crossed over Colombia. Flying into Bogota the skies cleared and the beautiful countryside appeared below. We passed over farmhouses and country estates. An upscale country club golf course was on the outskirts of the city. The few cars on the streets below appeared to be moving slow. Most people on the roads were traveling on bicycles. Bogota Airport is situated in a beautiful valley about ten miles from the downtown urban sprawl. The region looks to be about 20 flat square miles surrounded by mountains.

[Feb 2008 note: This is interesting to see my enthusiasm for air travel back in 2000. Back in the days when travel was solely for fun. I ended up with 1,014,000 LatinPass miles. The miles allowed me to live about 4 months in the Hilton Hotels after transferring most of the airline miles to Hilton HHonors over the course of several years.]

The Laguna Resort and Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel (12/2003)

March Madness Triple Pointer

Another Easter vacation break is coming up in March. When a spouse works in public schools in the USA, Easter week vacation is a given.

The combination of points and miles I currently have at my disposal had me looking at flights to Japan. I have transited through Tokyo more than a dozen times, however, I have never flown on a ticket allowing a free stopover. I am quite familiar with the Narita (NRT) airport.

Mexicana miles are my connection to Japan. Back in 2002, Kelley and I earned about 60,000 miles in our Mexicana Airlines accounts when the airline was a Star Alliance member. There was a 5th Anniversary of the Star Alliance promotion for 55,555 miles earned if a frequent flier flew 5 Star Alliance member airlines. I purchased 5 tickets from Lufthansa, United, Air Canada, British Midland, and Austrian Airlines. Each ticket consisted of four flight segments. For example: Lufthansa went Amsterdam-Frankfurt-Munich outbound and Munich-Frankfurt-Amsterdam on the return flights. We flew 20 flight segments and submitted one boarding pass from each ticket to four different airlines. We received the 55,555 mile bonus with Lufthansa Miles&More, Air Canada Aeroplan, ANA Mileage Plan, and Mexicana Frecuenta. Since 2002, I have added to the accounts through other activities and both Frecuenta accounts now have 100,000 miles.

Mexicana airline partner awards still include several of the Star Alliance airlines. A feature of Mexicana Frecuenta is the ability to purchase large amounts of miles. The price at $22/1,000 miles makes this a lower cost alternative than many other airlines. Japan Airlines is the newest airline partner of Mexicana. The low cost of miles and high value award tables seem to have prompted an awards table makeover for Mexicana Airline Partner tickets using miles.

As little as two years ago I could have traveled in First Class from the USA to nearly any country in the world for 100,000 Mexicana miles. Now I have the option of LOT Polish Business Class from New York to Warsaw for 80,000 miles; American Airlines USA–Europe for 90,000 miles, or the high value ticket routing of Tokyo-Sydney or Tokyo-London in First Class for 100,000 miles.

A Japan Airlines First Class award ticket using my Mexicana miles is what prompted me to look at the fares between California and Tokyo. And what I found prompted me to sign up for the American Airlines Platinum Challenge.

$753 all-in fare, Monterey – Tokyo, March travel, “W” booking class.

There is high value in one ticket bought and flown and American Airlines 50,000 mile Platinum status after the trip through February 2009.

Starwood Hotels Le Meridien Free Nights Promotion

This promotion is the biggest opportunity with Starwood Preferred Guest since 2003 when the Asia/Pacific Stay 5 earned a 50,000 points bonus. Another reason I was looking at a Japan Airlines award is the opportunity of a First Class Japan Airlines award to Bali, Indonesia. The interesting feature of Bali is the ability to hotel hop around the island while quickly qualifying for two promotions at low nightly rates.

The two Hyatt hotels, the Grand Hyatt Bali at Nusa Dua and the Bali Hyatt, and Starwood’s Le Meridien Nirwana Golf and Spa Resort, Bali all have rates below $150.
Le Meridien Nirwana has rates as low as $95 for most nights in March. The Bali Hyatt was as low as $100 for most nights. There is a 21% tax and service fee.
Egypt has dirt cheap Le Meridien rates, Germany has European comforts at Le Meridien hotels in several cities in relaticely close proximity, and Bali has beach resort living.

Do the math: Le Meridien promotion awards 4 free nights at Le Meridien hotels for 7 Le Meridien stays by March 31, 2008. Starting at Le Meridien Bali and alternating nightly with Bali Hyatt means Day 1, 3, 5, 7 are at Le Meridien and days 2, 4, 6 at the Hyatt. 7 nights x $125 night = $875 for a week in Bali. Tokyo has two Le Meridien hotels and the rates are as low as $160/night all-in for some nights in March. Add $500 for 3 nights in Tokyo.

$1,400 for 10 hotel nights would earn Hyatt Platinum status (and free Clear Airport membership) and 4 free nights at a Le Meridien hotel to be used by March 31, 2009. Le Meridien Bora Bora is an eligible redemption hotel and this property will be reclassified as a Category 7 hotel next week for a nightly redemption rate of 30,000 points in low season and 35,000 points for high season.

The Hyatt lover loyalist could just bounce between the Hyatt hotels and quickly add up the Hyatt elite qualification stays with “Stays Count Double”. A two week Bali vacation could send you home with Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite status for under $2,000. The Stays Count Double promotion lasts through March 31, 2008.

The Loyalty Traveler Triple Pointer is American Airlines to Tokyo ($753 cost) and Platinum elite status through a challenge. Le Meridien Pacific Tokyo and Le Meridien Grand Pacific Tokyo and Le Meridien Bali for 7 stays and 4 free nights to come ($850 cost; future value about $2,000). 3 nights at the Bali Hyatt and Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum status with Stays Count Double promotion ($350 cost). $2,000 cost, plus a whole lot of added value for the Loyalty Traveler.
Loyalty Traveler sees the possibilities.

And if you don’t have the miles for First Class to Bali, United members can fly between Tokyo and DPS, Bali airport for 40,000 United Mileage Plus miles. From the USA, Bali is a 60,000 mile economy award flight. Another option is 20,000 miles on United from Tokyo to Bangkok or Singapore, and then a second 20,000 mile award from that location to Bali. This earns an additional city for no additional miles.

Help! My Airline Status Is Falling and I Need a Boost Up

Travel is the quickest way to earn elite status, loads of miles and points, and upgrades for flights and hotels.

I was called up to the United First Class cabin, minutes before takeoff, on a crowded flight home from Denver last week. I had been sitting for 10 minutes in an economy class exit row seat. The bulkhead panel offered no visual distractions and I had some wine and cheese. There wasn’t a movie. I was fairly productive in working through the flight.

I realized that next week I will not have a sufficient level of elite status in any frequent flyer program to earn an elite bonus of 100% miles for flights. My low tier status means a significant reduction in “seat scored per upgrade attempts” on United flights. A premier member in Mileage Plus has a difficult time in successfully navigating the upgrade waitlist. This is the first time in 8 years I have dropped below Mileage Plus Premier Executive (50,000 mile) elite status.

I only had about 55,000 butt-in-seat miles for 2007, and like many frequent fliers basing decisions to a large degree on fare price (meaning a fair price), my miles were divided between two different airline alliances – Star Alliance and Skyteam.

My wife asked me after the Denver flight, “How long will it take to re-earn frequent flier elite status?” For a poverty jet setter, the cost is more of a consideration. Air travel is expensive and I have to make it in economy until I earn elite status and a chance at upgrades.

First, the Loyalty Traveler must see the possibilities, and then seize the possibilities.

AAdvantage Platinum Challenge

I just signed up for the AAdvantage Platinum Challenge this morning. Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum status will not take long, as it turns out. The primary benefit of AAdvantage Platinum elite status is earning a 100% miles bonus on flights. And the cost is highly affordable.

Sample Airfares:
Economy class airfare is relatively low to many international destinations at the moment with Tokyo at a reasonable under $800 fare, and Frankfurt, Munich the recipient of fare wars and near the historically low fares in low season at just over $450 to $550, even over Easter break.

Airfare to Europe for between $400 and $500, with all taxes, is generally the low fares to Europe which surface periodically throughout the year. $400 to $500 all-in fares have generally been available from the major California airports for brief purchase periods each year over the past decade. The travel economy has some good value for consumers.

This past weekend, the last weekend of February, airfare searches revealed interesting features for March 2008 spring break travel. The holiday season timing of low international airfares are available from many regional airports like Monterey. Generally holiday season fares have 14-day or longer advance purchase requirements. Many of the March 2008 international fares only require a 7-day advance purchase. The easing of advance purchase ticketing is alluring to the spur of the moment vacation getaway.

Low airfares, a low American Airlines airfare tied in with a London overnight, and drastic rate cuts in Hilton Hotels in London indicate a travel slowdown on the European front. The travel battles are escalating and all-out travel discount war may be around for the 2008 seasons.

This past week Asiana had a $500 all-in fare between Los Angeles and Hong Kong via Korea. The ticket was available Saturday and gone on Sunday.

Tokyo is available from several locations for $600 to $700 on American Airlines. Hong Kong available now for March travel for under $700 from California. These are low fares compared to the average lows of the last two years for Asia flights.

An interesting feature of the American Airlines tickets was Monterey to Tokyo for $750 was in “W” booking class. Monterey-Frankfurt, with a night in London, for $550was in “L” booking class. These discount economy class tickets can be used to qualify for the AAdvantage Platinum elite status challenge. A single airline ticket will qualify and meet the Platinum elite qualifying points 90-day challenge.
http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/AAdvantage/programDetails/eliteStatus/qualificationRequirements.jsp

A distance of 5,124 miles between San Francisco and Tokyo means AAdvantage Gold elite status is earned through the AAdvantage Challenge on the flight to Tokyo. The return flight confers Platinum 50,000 mile status. All remaining flights taken with American Airlines in 2008 will earn a 100% frequent flier elite status miles bonus. The goal is to requalify for 50,000 mile Platinum status with additional international flights in 2008.

There is a thread on FlyerTalk about the Platinum challenge.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=702660

The number given in FlyerTalk redirected me to 800-882-8880. I tried the AAdvantage Services option unsuccessfully. I ended up going to a reservations agent and asked to be transferred since I could not find a non-automated phone message through Customer Services.

American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Challenge:

10,000 Elite Qualifying Points must be earned in 3 months to receive AAdvantage Platinum membership.

An elite qualifying point is a factor of the flight miles.

For some discount economy class tickets the booking code earns 1.0 elite qualifying points per flight mile.

Assume San Francisco to Denver is 988 miles. The airline ticket booking codes of H, K, M, L, W, or V will earn 988 elite points.

If the booking code is deep discount economy designated by letters G, Q, O, N, S, then only 0.5 elite points are earned per mile and an SFO-DEN one-way flight would earn 494 elite points.

A paid First Class fare of A, F, P or even a full economy fare of B or Y will earn 1.5 elite points or 1,482 elite points for the one-way SFO-DEN flight.

Discount economy booking codes earn 1.0 elite point credit: H, K, M, L, W, V
Deep Discount booking codes earning 0.5 point credit: G, Q, O, N, S .
Full Fare economy/Business/First earn 1.5 point credit: A, F, P, D, I, J, B, Y

Coming This Week:

The Loyalty Traveler is going to journey the world this week as an armchair travel planner seeing the possibilities for earning and burning in a March Madness Triple Pointer travel extravaganza:

• AA Platinum
• Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum
• Free Nights with Starwood Hotels Le Meridien brand.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock ‘n rollers

-david bowie

My post on Monday, Feb 11 with advice to a friend on getting an award ticket with US Airways is already outdated.

US Airways has announced a couple of changes to the Dividend Miles program.
1. Flight Segments will no longer earn 500 miles minimum, but actual miles.
2. Award travel booked online within 14 days of flight departure will have a $50 expedite fee. (The no fee for an award ticket booked online up to 6 hours before flight departure was a major competitive benefit for the Dividend Miles program that is now being eliminated.)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=790437

The flight segment change may not seem like a big deal, however, the 500-mile minimum for miles earned per flight segment has been standard across the major US airline frequent flier programs. Now we wait and see if other airline loyalty programs follow suit.

Let me explain why this is a big impact.

I live in Monterey, California and flights originating at our local Monterey regional airport are predominantly feeder flights to the major hubs of San Francisco and Los Angeles airports.

In practice this is how the change affects a regional flyer like me. Let’s assume I take 10 trips a year to international locations and cross country domestic. Assume all my flights go from Monterey through San Francisco. (In reality, I try and fly through Los Angeles because the flight out of Monterey to LAX is much more reliable. MRY-LAX=266 actual flight miles. I use Great Circle Mapper for quick mileage checks that are usually within 1 or 2 miles of frequent flier program distance calculations in my experience.)

MRY-SFO is 92 flight miles. Under the old US Airways rules, my United flight segment for MRY-SFO would earn 500 minimum base miles. The new rules for tickets purchased on or after March 1, 2008 for flights on or after May 1, 2008 will earn only 92 miles for this flight.

Upper tier elite status earns a 100% flight miles bonus.

Current miles earned for a flight including MRY-SFO segments on outbound and inbound:
MRY-SFO 500 miles x 100% elite bonus = 1,000 miles
SFO-MRY 500 miles x 100% elite bonus = 1,000 miles
______
2,000 miles earned for these two flight segments of a ticket.

As of May 1, 2008
MRY-SFO 92 miles x 100% elite bonus = 184 miles
SFO-MRY 92 miles x 100% elite bonus = 184 miles
______
368 miles earned for these two flight segments of a ticket.

The frequent flier miles earned has been reduced by over 80% on these flight segments.

A frequent flier, with 10 international and domestic tickets that have these Monterey to San Francisco flight segments, will see miles earned over the course of a year reduced from
20,000 miles down to 3,680 miles with the rule change to actual flight miles per segment.

Even if considering miles have a simple value as low as 1 penny each, this means a loss of about $175 in earned mileage per year.

20,000 miles is a good portion of the way to a free ticket.
3,680 miles is a free magazine subscription.

This is a big frequent flier program change.

Airline Miles Transfer Tutorial or Know When To Hold Them

The other night a discussion evolved in my home around transferring airline miles. The issue of transferring frequent flier miles from one account to another is generally a poor value transaction in my opinion and I shared this comment with my friend.

The argument for the transfer of 20,000 US Airways miles was the special offer currently available for transfers at the rate of $10/1,000 miles.

The woman discussing the transfer said her friend had moved out of the country and his miles would expire soon. When she said she planned to use the miles for a 25,000 mile domestic airfare, I commented that transferring miles was usually a waste of money. In her mind, spending $225 to get her friend’s miles, combined with her own US Airways Dividend miles would be a bargain ticket for Albuquerque, New Mexico compared to the $400+ she spent for travel last Christmas season.

I told her I would show her a better way to use her friend’s miles to get the ticket for less or at least get more value for her money.

My research question – At what point is it better to transfer miles compared to buying miles or earning miles from other partner activity?

(The scope of this analysis is only considering domestic awards at 25,000 mile level. These are the majority of all frequent flier award redemptions in the US. My analysis would be quite different and very likely favor a miles transfer if the redemption were for an international ticket or upgraded cabin award.)

At one extreme a person could just buy miles for a 25,000 mile award ticket.

US Airways special offer to purchase miles from January 1 – March 31, 2008 is $25/1,000 miles.
http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/dividendmiles/programdetails/purchasemiles/default.aspx
The cost to buy 25,000 miles is $625 + $25 service fee for a domestic award ticket. $650 is higher than most domestic fares. Some last minute fares may actually cost more than $650 and in this case the best value strategy may be to buy miles — if there is award availability.

A US Airways itinerary can be ticketed using miles up to 6 hours before flight time.

Online redemption of miles, valid for US Airways and America West flights, is a strategy to avoid a service fee.

There will be a $15 service fee for ticketing using the US Airways Reservations Desk phone number. Partner airline awards require Reservations Desk booking. An airline award within 14 days of flight time will also have a $75 service fee if booked through Reservations Desk.

Cost for a domestic 25,000 mile ticket using only purchased miles will range from $650 for US Airways online redemption to $740 for a domestic partner award within 14 days of flight made through the Reservations Desk.

Buying all the miles for a domestic ticket is generally not a good cost/benefit move unless you are looking at a sky-high ticket cost in the $650 to $750 range.

I agree that transferring miles is often a more economical way to get an airline ticket, rather than paying market fares, but only if conditions favor this choice. An alternative usually is to earn miles through flight activity or special offers to earn sufficient miles for an airline award. My primary mileage earning strategy is flying for miles, but when flying is not feasible, I look for other activities earning airline miles.

Today, February 11, I can earn Dividend Miles with several options:

• a purchase at FTD florists. Valentine’s Day is Thursday. A $100 purchase will earn 20 miles per $1.00 = 2,000 Dividend Miles.

• $75 to register an internet domain name for three years with Network Solutions. Earn 2,000 miles for each new domain name registered.

• Miles purchase during February promotional sale are discounted. 5,000 miles will cost $25/1,000 miles or $125 for 5,000 miles. Plus a $25 service fee = $150/5,000 miles. The normal rate for miles is $35/1,000 miles and a $25 fee or $200 for 5,000 miles.

Here is my analysis for travelers who may be considering transferring or purchasing miles. Assume our US Airways account holder has 20,000 miles.

#1 – The account holder can keep the Dividend miles active by a variety of mileage-earning activities. Dividend Miles was one of the airline frequent flier programs to change its rules for miles expiration in 2007. All account miles are forfeited upon 18 months with no earning or redeeming miles activity in a Dividend Miles account. Some activities allow Dividend Miles to be earned for free like Points.com registration through the Dividend Miles website.

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/dividendmiles/earnmiles/other.aspx#tcnetwork

Objective is 25,000 mile domestic award

Option A: Cost = $225
Transfer 20,000 miles for $200 (+ $25 transfer fee) from the business traveler’s account to the leisure traveler’s account = $225 for 25,000 mile ticket redeemed from Leisure traveler account. (This is a good option if you are not planning an upcoming trip and want the miles for future use. The leisure traveler may have 5,000 miles already in account or can work at getting more miles over time.)

or

Option B: Cost = $150
Business Traveler buys 5,000 miles for $125 (+ $25 transfer fee) = $150.

Business traveler redeems 25,000 mile domestic ticket for leisure traveler friend. This is the best option if the leisure traveler wants to get a ticket soon and costs less than a transfer.

or

Option C: Cost = $200 to $250 for goods and services that earn miles.

Business traveler and leisure traveler can work out agreement to spend $250 with FTD florist and earn 5,000 miles in business traveler’s account with purchase. This is $100 more than simply buying miles, but the purchased gifts have added value, in excess of $100.

The cost of earning 5,000 Dividend Miles can be reduced to $200 with two internet domain name registrations for a 3-year period ($150 earns 4,000 miles) and a $50 FTD purchase (earns 1,000 miles).

Business traveler redeems 25,000 mile award for leisure traveler after the miles post.
This is a good option if you are not in a hurry to redeem miles. $250 for purchasing items to earn 5,000 miles and an award ticket is a better value than paying $225 to simply transfer miles for an award ticket.

Network Solutions Domain Registration offer: http://www.networksolutionsretail.com/flyaway/usair.htm

There are many options for maintaining active mileage accounts during periods of no flight activity. I have miles in frequent flier accounts over ten years old with no flight activity.

Transferring and buying miles are two options for building frequent flier account balances to ticket redemption levels. Keep in mind that non-flight purchase activity with loyalty program business partners is often a way to grow your miles while getting added value from purchased items. Partner activity to grow mileage accounts is often a good alternative to buying or transferring miles.

[this post was originally published Feb 11, 2008 on www.loyaltytraveler.net/wordpress]

What a racket the airlines operate! The airline ticketing process is an opaque world when all we desire as consumers is transparency. Give us a rational pricing structure and a system of fairness in consumer rights.

Yesterday, I made a purchase on United.com for two tickets San Jose, California-Denver, Colorado at the price of $236.99 each, in “L” booking class. Today, I look and the exact same economy class flights are $183.00 per roundtrip ticket, also in “L” booking class. This is a no frills ticket, but I’d like some money back. Please.

For Denver, airfare this low is an incredible bargain during the President’s week holiday. In years past these tickets were typically in the $400 range. The irony in present times is the high fuel prices we see impacting our car driving cost is not apparent in the pricing structure of airfares. The low airfares to Denver gets me back to wondering about the impact the economy is having on vacation travelers. February is usually the ski holidays in the Rockies when Denver ticket prices peak.

The point of this discussion is that United has a policy of allowing cancellations of nonrefundable tickets purchased online for 24 hours. I was 2 hours too late today, and at 26 hours after pressing the purchase button on United.com, yesterday’s ticket can not be canceled or changed without a $100 fee per ticket. So now, I have to settle for two credit vouchers for $53.99 each to be used on future United flight reservations. I would certainly prefer to just have the money back in my checking account.

I am not saying it could not have been worse. I made a Northwest purchase in summer 2005 and within minutes of making the online purchase realized I could have booked a better itinerary. I called NWA immediately and was told that I could cancel the ticket for a $200 fee and rebook the itinerary I wanted.

My past experience with the United vouchers is one of being nickel and dimed. There will likely be an airport customer service charge of $10 or $15 to actually use the credit vouchers when I ticket reservations.

And I bet you thought this post was going to discuss the $25 bag surcharge issue! You can read about the bag surcharges for travelers without elite status here -

http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,52481,00.html

On a positive note – Hyatt Summerfield Suites at $62/night on weekends in Denver is a loyalty dream night. The upscale Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency downtown Denver are only $125.