Today, AirTran, which also flies nonstop from Detroit to Orlando, released their flights for our travel dates. Delta, as I expected, modified their fares. The Delta flights initially cost more, but once you factored in the baggage fees ($20/bag each way on AirTran), the prices were almost identical. Which means Delta, which is where all my frequent flyer miles are, had the edge.

But there’s a problem. We’re all flying down together, but we’re not all flying back together. DW and I are coming home after a week, but son and family are staying a few extra days. So I called Delta to find out how to handle this.

The reservation agent told me there was nothing she could do. It had to be booked as two separate reservations, and the free bag perk only applies to the party that includes the cardholder. So only two out of six of us get to check our bags for free. Suddenly, the pricing is no longer competitive.

I booked our flights with AirTran. Not only was it cheaper, the flight times were better. (Our flight down leaves Detroit at 12:10, while the cheapest Delta flight doesn’t take off until 5:43.) Funny thing is, I still paid for the tickets with the Delta AmEx. I got it under a sign-up offer where I get 20K FF miles for my first purchase, and another 10K if I spend over $1000 in the first three months. So buying AirTran tickets is getting me 30K SkyMiles. Sheesh. ” (via tugbbs.com) by markbernstein

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the comments readers had about - Delta lost a sale but the customer got 30,000 miles.

Driving Every Loyal Traveller Away – the new Delta ( by Carolinian )

Pros: A bereavement, compassion, or emergency fare is a heavily discounted fare–typically 50% off the highest unrestricted fare. These fares offer travelers lots of flexibility from being fully refundable to allowing date and schedule changes at no additional cost–but the rules vary by airline. If you’re not sure when you want to arrive or return, this might be the best choice for you.

Cons: 50% off an unrestricted fare sounds pretty good–until you do the math. In today’s competitive travel marketplace, virtually no one buys full-price fares and even half off an unrestricted fare can be hundreds more than the lowest online fare. You’ll probably be able to find a much cheaper flight through a quick Internet search and don’t forget to check Flight + Hotel prices too. Vacation packages tend to be your best value at the last minute and everybody can’t stay at Aunt Judy’s house!

Policies by Airline: Here are the bereavement fare policies for some major North American airlines( please click link below). Please note US Airways, AirTran, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and Virgin America do not offer bereavement, compassion, or emergency fares. ” (via windowseatblog.com ) by Alison Presley

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read all of – Airlines bereavement fares

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here for American Airlines Discounts from STA

Click here for United Airlines Discounts from STA

STA Travel is a one-stop shop for every student’s travel needs. (these offers are for USA residents only)

• Student airfare: STA’s Student Exclusive Ticket provides students with competitive airfare pricing and unmatched flexibility and ease when booking their travel. It’s what sets us apart from the rest!
• Adventures:  We distribute more than 1,500 products for accommodation, tours, work, study and volunteer programs, making it clear and simple for students to plan their trip. It’s easy to organize your ideas and put them into motion.
• Discount cards: The International Student (ISIC), Teacher (ITIC) and Youth Travel (IYTC) ID Cards provide access to over 35,000 international and domestic discounts including airfare, accommodations, tours, shopping, dining and entertainment with partners such as Target.com, Apple Store, Virgin Megastore and The Body Shop.
• Travel insurance: Insurance coverage is offered for trip, baggage, medical and accident protection as well as providing 24-hour worldwide emergency assistance.
• Global cell phones: Provide students an easy and cost effective way of keeping in touch with friends and family while touring the world.
• Online visa application:

You can also use these vouchers to buy seat assignments for flights that have already been booked.

Discount Rules and Restrictions: These special discounts must be booked on airtran.com by Saturday, October 31, 2009, and are valid for travel on AirTran Airways flights to or from Florida destinations only through December 18, 2009.

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here for link to AirTran $25 Voucher for Florida travel until Dec. 18th – Book by Oct. 31st!

Not all airline programs are the same, however, so here are 10 tips to make frequent flier programs take off for you.

Look for value.

If you have 25,000 miles and want to fly Delta Air Lines, consider how much the ticket is before you use the miles. Sales abound right now due to the weak economy. So consider saving your miles for a free transcontinental flight instead of a short flight that costs under $200.

Book early

Make sure you get that free ticket for only 25,000 miles. Don’t pay 50,000 miles that took you two years to accumulate for that cramped coach seat unless you absolutely have to.

The best way to maximize your miles is to book your reward ticket at least several months before you want to fly. That’s because the number of reward seats available at the lowest redemption level on many airlines are limited, particularly at peak hours of the day or peak days of the year.

“If someone tries to get an award on a high demand specific flight at a specific time of day and they’re not flexible, they may be disappointed,” American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said.

If you must travel at a specific time on a specific day and your plans don’t come together until close to the day you want to leave, you still can get a free ticket, but it may cost you more miles. For 60,000 miles, Delta guarantees a free seat on a domestic flight, excluding travel to Hawaii, as long as a coach seat is available.

Diversify

Sign up for several reward programs — it’s free. Rewards on AirTran Airways add up fast. You can get a free domestic coach ticket for 16 flight credits, which take just eight round-trip paid flights, regardless of distance, to accumulate.

But if you tend to take a lot of transcontinental flights, it may get you a faster free round-trip coach ticket on United Airlines or US Airways, which, like Delta, give reward miles based on the distance you travel. AirTran only flies in North America. But for 100 flight credits, AirTran will buy you a ticket anywhere in the world on another carrier.

Get the credit card

Some airline branded credit cards will give you 2 miles or points for every dollar spent on the partner airline and 1 mile or point for every dollar spent everywhere else. Some of those cards carry annual fees of up to $85 or more. AirTran and Delta, however, have partner credit cards that offer no-annual-fee options, but that comes with 1 point or mile for every dollar spent on the partner airline and one-half of 1 point or mile for every dollar spent everywhere else.

“For those people who charge very high dollar amounts annually to those cards but yet don’t carry a revolving balance, the mileage you generate is worthwhile. The annual fee is worthwhile,” said David Robertson, an expert on frequent flier credit card promotions and publisher of the Nilson Report, a credit card industry newsletter.

Watch for promotions

Some airlines offer frequent flier members the ability to get extra miles, points or credits if they rent a car with a partner company, fly to certain locations or buy a Netflix membership. For travel between now and May 14, United has lowered the miles required for travel to Europe from 55,000 to 40,000, spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said. Look for deals on airline Web sites and sign up with the airlines for e-mail alerts about promotions.” (via seattletimes.nwsource.com ) by HARRY R. WEBER

Pointswizard.com Spin: Read more about How to make the most of frequent-flier miles

Save with us. Fly on us.
To get your free* ticket, simply make your deposit by March 9, 2007. Next, sign up for AirTran Airways A+ Rewards. Once you’re an A+ Rewards member, visit our Redemption Site, submit the requested information, and we’ll take care of the rest.
To qualify, you must deposit funds from a financial institution other than SunTrust.

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
make your deposit by March 9, 2007