If you book online and complete a stay for a minimum of three consecutive nights at any Hilton Garden Inn® throughout the United States between October 1 and October 31, 2007 and enter the offer code OHMS you will earn the new Yamaha NX-U10 USB speaker. (Approximate retail value of $150.00.)

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
Click blue line, then scroll down to bottom right and and click on ” click here- how to book”

Enter the “Celebrate the Grape” Sweepstakes
Sponsored by the Center for Wine Origins

Three grand-prize winners will win a getaway for two to Champagne, France, Porto, Portugal, or Jerez, Spain.

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The Pointswizard.com Spin: brought to you by France, Spain and Portugal.

“Mixing cash and frequent flyer miles as payment for a ticket has always been an alluring idea, bordering on the inevitable. Both, after all, are forms of currency, and currencies ought to be combinable. In fact, to a limited extent, they have been. Northwest has allowed members of its mileage program to use cash and miles for tickets for years. Other airlines have flirted with the idea as well.

Now, according to the following news item from USA Today, US Airways will add its name to that list next month: “Beginning October 22, US Airways customers will be able redeem 10,000 miles to reduce the cost of a round-trip ticket by $50, the airline says in an e-mail to its frequent fliers. The offer will be valid on all published US Airways round-trip fares flown in January and February and requires a 14-day advance purchase.”

Having established that you can combine cash and miles for US Airways tickets, the question then becomes: Should you?

In this case, the answer is a resounding “No.”

The math is straightforward. Exchanging 10,000 miles for a $50 discount amounts to realizing a value of one-half cent per mile redeemed. Tellingly, if you were to buy miles from US Airways, they would charge you 3.5 cents per mile. So by US Airways’ own assessment of the value of their miles, you’re either getting way too little by cashing them in for a discount, or grossly overpaying by purchasing them directly from US Airways.

In fact, both indictments are valid. According to my analysis, which puts the average value of a frequent flyer at around 1.2 cents, neither US Airways’ cash-plus-miles promotion nor its ongoing miles-for-sale offer are good deals for consumers.

Getting good value for frequent flyer miles is simple. In the most basic scenario, redeem 25,000 miles for a round-trip coach ticket for travel within the continental U.S. If a comparable paid ticket would have cost $300, you’ll have reaped a per-mile value of 1.2 cents (actually a bit less, when the difficulty of obtaining a capacity-controlled award seat is factored in).

That 1.2 cents figure can be used as a general guideline for the value of miles. If an airline suggests that you receive significantly less value when using your miles, or pay significantly more to buy miles, the proper response is a healthy dose of skepticism—because not all promotions are “deals.” [Via smartertravel.com]

Soon, all Wyndham ByRequest members will be able to earn valuable TripRewards points for stays at participating hotels in addition to personalizing your stays at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts around the world.

You can use points towards a variety of exciting rewards such as free nights, dining and shopping gift certificates, and more. TripRewards is the world’s largest hotel rewards program with over 6,000 hotels throughout the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, China and Germany.*
You’ll also continue to receive the same ByRequest benefits such as:
Free internet access
Free domestic long distance calls (US & Canada)
Access to your hotel receipts online
You’ll enjoy a welcome snack, drink, plus room preferences and extras

You won’t need to do anything to start enjoying these benefits. Just keep an eye out for your new membership kit.

The Pointswizard.com Spin: This is great news. Join now if your not a member. Click blue line above.

The Pointswizard.com Spin: Click blue line above to get started.

“LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Walt Disney World calls its workers, from actors in Goofy outfits to laundry workers, “cast members” to make them feel part of the show. There’s a garbage can every 25 steps, so litter will be tossed not dropped. There’s a polite way to answer one of the park’s most asked questions: “What time is the 3 o’clock parade?”

These nuggets are part of corporate customer service training offered by Disney Institute, a Florida-based unit of the Walt Disney Co. that has coached thousands of executives and front-line workers from other companies and organizations since 1986. Customers have included Delta Air Lines, IBM Corp., General Motors Corp., Chrysler Corp. and even the Internal Revenue Service and cigarette maker Phillip Morris Inc.

Now the Institute has taken another client: Miami International Airport, which many travelers will tell you needs customer service training like an airplane needs wings. Surveys rank its service among the nation’s worst.
The airport’s terminal operations employees are taking classes taught by Institute instructors, learning leadership practices, team building, staff relations and communication skills — many formulated by Walt Disney himself.

“Many organizations think they’re different from Disney, and therefore can’t learn from an entertainment or a parks and resorts business,” said Bruce Jones, programming director for Disney Institute. “But then when they get here and work with us a little bit, they find out … these principles and similarities are transferrable across industries, across cultures, and across different sizes and shapes of organizations.
“Just think of the airport business. The reality is both businesses have millions of people each year waiting in line for a ride.”
Disney World and the airport have more in common, including dealing with ground transportation, parking and retail sales. So, it made sense for the airport to seek out Disney Institute.

“They understand how to minimize the inconvenience and maximize the entertainment value,” airline industry analyst Bob Mann said of Disney. “It’s a reasonably good move” for the airport to hire Disney.
Miami International Airport is a gateway to and from the Caribbean and Latin America. About 32.5 million passengers passed through the airport in 2006, including more than 14 million international passengers. But among 18 U.S. airports with 30 million or more passengers per year, only three airports performed worse in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2007 North America Airport Satisfaction Study.

“The customer service needs to improve,” said Sarah Abate, who oversees commercial services at the airport and took a training class. “Passengers need to understand that Miami is a friendly airport, and we are passenger friendly. Now, people don’t get that, or the perception from the passenger is not the same as what we are trying to convey.”
Disney started the Institute after it realized it was getting questions from other companies about its customer service. After offering some behind-the-scenes educational tours, the Institute developed its first professional development program 21 years ago..” [Via biz.yahoo.com]

The Pointswizard.com Spin: To see the whole article click on blue line above

Click blue line above to find your nearest Bose store.
American Airlines AAdvantage® members: Earn miles just by learning about the innovative Bose® Lifestyle® 48 and 38 DVD home entertainment systems. Earn even more miles by purchasing one of these premium systems.

Change the way you think about movies,
music … even your CD collection. With Bose® Lifestyle® 48 and 38 DVD home entertainment systems, enjoy movies, store hundreds of hours of music and savor every nuance with compact speaker arrays.

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
Miles offers for purchasing Lifestyle® systems are valid from September 20 through October 4, 2007.
All miles must be redeemed by November 15, 2007.

Earn miles for activating your new DHL account. Simply send an express shipment or purchasing ShipReady and earn:

• 1,000 miles when you ship for the first time on your new DHL account or for your first purchase of ShipReady
• 1 mile for every $1 spent on your DHL Express shipments
• 2 miles for every $1 spent on DHL Express ShipReady prepaid overnight envelopes

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
Click blue line above for all the details

We keep hearing complaints about Delta Airlines playing with their schedule.

We recently went to Dallas for a family party and Delta Airlines changed 3 different family members flights from non stop to one stop ( no bad weather and from different cities ). Unfortunately they were traveling with small children.

Delta Airlines claimed in one case they called a phone number to inform my cousin but it wasn’t the number he had given Delta. Another cousin got the call at 4:30 AM for a 7:00 AM flight that they were no longer on a non stop.

We have a Delta Airlines November flight that has gone from 9:15AM to 6:30 AM to 7:45AM. Currently set to leave at 9:00 AM. Hope it stays a non stop.

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
9 Airline’s Email Addresses for your complaints.
click blue line above or go to
http://www.elliott.org/category/help

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
You must use special reservation number at bottom of screen – just click blue line above

“Tie the knot in one of the Caribbean destinations served by Air Jamaica and you can get a free Business Class airline ticket.

To qualify for the airline’s new Executive Business Class, the bride and groom must book a minimum of 22 seats (including themselves) through Air Jamaica’s group sales office at (800) 523-6805, or groupsales@airjamaica.com.

The Business Class airline tickets are processed once the entire group is ticketed. Air Jamaica provides 300 non-stops weekly, from Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York (JFK), Orlando, and Philadelphia in the United States.

Also Toronto in Canada; and from London in the United Kingdom to Montego Bay and Kingston.

Air Jamaica also offers daily non-stop service between New York/JFK and Barbados, and direct service between JFK to both St. Lucia and Grenada.

It offers intra-regional service with flights between Jamaica and the Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Cuba, Curaçao, Grand Cayman and St. Lucia.” (via flightbliss.com)

“Autumn is one of the best times of the year to use miles. Airline load factors drop after Labor Day, and less crowded planes mean more available award seats. If you’ve been frustrated in your attempts to use your miles for winter or summer travel, you may have better luck with a fall getaway.

Fall travelers can also make their miles go farther if they book award travel in the American AAdvantage or US Airways Dividend Miles programs. Both airlines offer special off-peak awards at discounted prices. You can save between 5,000 and 20,000 miles off the regular award rates.

During the month of September only, US Airways offers award tickets between the U.S. or Canada and the Caribbean for 25,000 miles in coach and 50,000 miles in business or first class. Regular peak-season prices are 30,000 and 60,000 miles, respectively.

American has a more robust off-peak award program. Here’s how much you’ll pay for flights from the U.S. and Canada:

25,000 miles to the Caribbean and Mexico between September 7 and November 14 (regularly 30,000 miles)
30,000 miles to Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela between September 7 and November 14 (regularly 35,000 miles)
40,000 miles to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay between August 16 and November 30 (regularly 60,000 miles)
40,000 miles to Europe between October 15 and May 15 (regularly 60,000 miles)
50,000 miles to Japan between October 1 and April 30 (regularly 65,000 miles)
Other destinations may be off-peak at other times of year, so don’t forget to check the American AAdvantage site again. With the miles you save on your fall off-peak travel, you may be able to afford a second trip courtesy of American or US Airways. That is, if you can find an available award seat during the rest of the year.” ( via smartertravel.com )

The Pointswizard.com Spin: Check award availability today for best selection.

Here’s your chance to WIN a 3 night/4 day trip to experience some
of the most beautiful natural scenery and best golf in the whole of
the Asia Pacific with a stay at the Hilton Namhae Golf & Spa Resort.

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
Your days on the enchanting Island of Namhae, off the coast of South Korea, are spent amongst some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the whole of the Asia Pacific. Surrounded by mountains, forests and waterfalls, the island has been preserved as a National Park.

The architecture of the resort is stunning; from the cliff side villas with breathtaking views to the innovative clubhouse that unfolds like a prism. Tee off on the pristine seafront 18-hole championship golf course, with year round playability.
The private marina offers a wealth of water and boating activities, whilst the resort’s world-class spa provides a full range of treatments to nurture the body and soul.
After a day full of activity, your villa is the perfect oasis to unwind in, with panoramic views over the Straits of Korea, and contemporary design. This truly is paradise.

Mileage Plus Wireless would like to extend this exclusive, limited-time offer to members:

BlackBerry Pearl, FREE *after instant discount and rebate,
with a new account from AT&T and other major carriers like t-Mobile

Plus
5,000 bonus miles for every new rate plan activated

The super-slim, ultra-light BlackBerry Pearl keeps you productive and entertained with features like its powerful email client, 1.3 Megapixel camera, MP3 music player and Bluetooth capabilities.

BlackBerry Pearl includes:

* Powerful on-the-go email solution
* HTML browsing for full internet experience
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* Built-in voice-activated dialing
* PC synchronization

Plus, you’ll earn 5,000 bonus miles for every new rate plan activated!

Sign up today to get the BlackBerry Pearl and 5,000 bonus miles.

The Pointswizard.com Spin: Already a customer and want to upgrade?
Fill in info on the first screen and then go to” already a customer” section on the second screen

“These days it may feel like a miracle if your flight arrives on time, but the truth is flights have always been subject to delays—whether they’re caused by stormy weather, mechanical problems, or something else entirely. When one airport experiences delays, it can cause a ripple effect across the entire country within minutes. You’ve experienced the ripple effect if you’ve been told that weather delays in Orlando are holding up your flight from Las Vegas, where the skies are sunny.
But it’s not your imagination if you suspect the delays have gotten worse in recent years. Doug Church, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, attributes “overscheduling [at the] busiest airports” to increased delays. Church explains that “at New York (JFK), the airlines have scheduled more than 50 flights to depart in one hour’s time on weekday mornings. Yet the airport can only safely depart 45 aircraft when the weather’s good. The resulting overflow of delayed aircraft spills into the next hour, and the next, and so on.”

Throw in pilots reaching their maximum work-hour limits, and other crew and employee shortage problems … and you have the summer of 2007. There is no flexibility left in the system, either the airlines’ operations, or the busy airports.”

Lisa Wright, a captain for Delta Connection carrier Big Sky Airline, says “from my perspective, weather is primarily the cause for delays. The next most frequent cause would be [equipment breaking], and the next would be crew availability and scheduling issues.”

What are your rights if your flight is delayed?

The Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Transportation (DOT) explains that because airlines don’t guarantee their schedules, passengers don’t have many—if any—rights when delayed. The federal government does not require airlines to compensate passengers affected by a delayed flight. If your flight is cancelled, however, most airlines will re-route you on another flight.

Instead of simply praying for an on-time arrival or departure, practice the following defensive measures before you travel to help ensure you aren’t negatively affected by air-travel delays:

1. Avoid delay-prone flights: Airlines publish on-time averages for their flights. Before you book, make sure you’re on a flight that has a decent chance of arriving on time.

2. Know your airline: Certain airlines (ahem, Northwest) are known for labor disruptions and major incidents of flight cancellations and delays. Save yourself the hassle and fly another carrier whenever possible. The DOT publishes a monthly Air Travel Consumer Report http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/ with statistics of delayed and cancelled flights. Try to avoid the worst offenders.

3. Book a non-stop: If your flight goes directly from City A to City B, you won’t get stuck in a connecting city along the way. Remember that a direct flight is not non-stop.

4. Fly mornings: Whenever possible, book the first flight of the day. Delays tend to worsen throughout the day, so if you’re first in the air, you’ll be able to avoid many delays. Additionally, since the busiest times to travel are Mondays through Fridays from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., traveling on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays may improve your odds.

5. Leave enough time for connections: When booking, assume that your departing flight will leave late and plan your connection time accordingly. Schedule at least one hour for a connection—particularly important if your itinerary calls for stops in Atlanta, Chicago (O’Hare), Los Angeles, or any of the New York area airports. Give yourself even more time if you have to change airlines or go through security again.

6. Use small airports: Avoid airline hubs whenever possible. “Secondary” airports are usually less congested and less prone to delays.

7. Know the rules: Familiarize yourself with your airline’s rules for identification, baggage limitations, and check-in and gate times. If you’re late checking in or showing up at the departure gate, you may miss your flight. Late passengers are also the first to be involuntarily bumped. Having to gate-check your too-large carry-on can cause delays as well.

8. Be early: Arrive at the airport with plenty of time to park, check in, and pass through security. You can find average TSA wait times for every airport in the country before you leave for the airpor” [Via USATODAY.COM

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
Go to the website below and print out and take with you a copy of Rule 240 for the airline you are traveling on.
http://www.mytravelrights.com/travellaw.cfm?ai=3

From the brilliant hues of the buildings to the laissez-faire allure of the locals, the Caribbean’s charms go beyond its beaches. Make your next vacation more magical with Marriott. Just reserve these select resorts in the Caribbean, and you could get a free night and $100 food and beverage credit. You’ll be able to play on the playa a little longer and toast the sunset every night for free.