Frequent Flyer Miles - Travel Deals

Which are the best frequent flyer programs & hotel rewards programs?

baggageclaimWhen it comes to getting the best deal on things like airfare and hotels, sometimes it’s about more than scouring sites like this one to get the lowest price you can find. Sometimes it’s also about paying attention to what airline or hotel chain you’re using so that you can earn more points toward free stuff.

In days gone by, you really had to be a traveling salesman to even dream about racking up enough miles on flights to get a free airline ticket before your miles expired. But these days it’s much easier to earn free trips, since airlines and hotel chains have partnerships that let you earn miles and points for things besides flights and overnight stays.

Of course, not every airline is linked to every other airline, so it’s not a good idea to just sign up for every single frequent flyer program and hope that someday you’ll be able to link them all together for a free ticket to Tahiti. The same goes for hotel rewards programs, and if anything it’s even more true with hotels. While competing airlines are connected by “airline alliances,” hotel rewards programs typically only give points for stays within that hotel family.

In either case, whether you’re talking about air travel or hotel stays, if you’re looking into signing up to earn miles or points it’s best to do a little research ahead of time to make sure you’re signing up for the programs that will get you to free travel faster. To get you started, here are a couple of articles on the BootsnAll Business Travel Guide – one on the best frequent flyer programs, and another on the best hotel rewards programs. These provide an overview of the biggest rewards programs, plus links to more information about each one, so you can continue your research from there.

photo by Robert S. Donovan

Use your United Miles for Unique Holiday Gifts

fusion-cockpit.JPGNormally I covet my frequent flyer miles like they are precious gold. There is something so satisfying about saving up enough miles to earn a round trip ticket. I’m a firm believer in trying to accumulate and store up as many miles as possible. That said, if I had 300,000 miles right now I would probably spend them on something other than travel.

United Airlines runs an online auction where you can bid on various prizes and experiences using your frequent flyer miles. The coolest thing currently on the auction block is the chance to visit United’s state-of-the-art flight training facility in Denver and experience firsthand the flight simulator that is used to train pilots. A United flight instructor takes you through a two-hour-long simulator experience and shows you what it is like to pilot a 747. How cool is that?

There are some other great holiday gift experiences for auction like the opportunity to be a fighter pilot for a day or to drive a stock car. If you are looking for a unique holiday gift and are willing to let go of those precious miles, start bidding today.

Buy Cheese, Raise your Cholesterol, Pick Up American Airlines Miles

cheez-wiz.jpgI have some friends who are the ultimate cheese fiends. If you blindfolded them and put them in a basketball gym with cheese at one end and their noses at the other, they still would be able to tell you if the cheese in the room was a high quality chevre or specialty brie.

I love my friends’ love of all things cheese because I was raised in a household where Cheez Whiz was a wonderful break from a steady diet of government-issued cheese and frankly the only choice of cheeses I ever had to make was between orange and white.

If you are a cheese aficionado you might scoff at the notion of buying Swiss Knight cheese. After all, the stuff is designed to last through a nuclear holocaust and it doesn’t require refrigeration. Nevertheless, I don’t think you’ll scoff at the chance of picking up 500 American Airline Miles simply by purchasing the cheese in question.

There isn’t an apparent ending date to this promotion, which is only fitting for a cheese product that can last many lifetimes without going bad. For more details, visit the product site and make sure you take the opportunity to write down a few of those, um, tasty recipes.

Rent a Movie and Earn United Miles

netflix_pic1.jpgHow would you like to earn 2,000 frequent flyer miles on United Airlines for just $10? Yep, I would too. As an added bonus you’ll be able to rent movies without ever leaving your home because Netflix will deliver the movies right to you. Perfect for those of you who are as busy as a beaver or for those who simply are trying to cultivate the hermit lifestyle. The offers ends on Halloween. No word yet on when the world will end. Check back with this blog tomorrow and we might know more.

Labor Day air+3-night packages from $350

United Vacation Packages:vacation destinations including the Caribbean, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico and more.

Take the work out of planning your Labor Day weekend escape. Just kick back and check out these sample packages with extra savings from participating hotels. Let UnitedEscapes help create a package that’s right for you.

Book your next getaway through UnitedEscapes and you’ll get the lowest price guaranteed and earn 1,000 Mileage Plus bonus miles.

Deals include:
San Francisco from $350
Los Angeles from $367
Las Vegas from $400
New York from $496
Chicago from $504

United Vacation Packages:vacation destinations including the Caribbean, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico and more.

50,000 miles to Fiji

We had a great time, but, honestly, it was a little expensive to fly all the way out there. However, we never have 75,000 miles in our account either to get back to Fiji for ‘free’.

However, Air Pacific, in conjunction with the AAdvantage program’s 25th Anniversary, is offering a reduced mileage redemption for your travel round trip from North America to Fiji.

For economy class, until 14Dec06 you just need 50,000 miles, as opposed to the normal 75,000!

For more information, check out Air Pacific.com.

Earn 600 Bonus Miles and Save Up To 15% with Alamo

Rent a midsize car or larger for 4 or more days at any participating Alamo location in the United States or Canada and earn 600 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles and save up to 15% off your car rental.

For reservations, simply book online at www.alamo.com or call 1-800-468-5866 and use/request Contract ID: 7013319. Offer valid now through December 31, 2006. Be sure to provide your AAdvantage number at the time of rental.

To make your hassle free rental experience even better try our Online Check-In! Answer a few questions. Print your rental agreement. Skip the line & go directly to your car. With Alamo it is that easy!

Go to AA for more details

United Airlines – New nonstop service connects the U.S. to Kuwait.

UA is pleased to announce the continued expansion of our global network to the Middle East, with three new weekly flights between Washington Dulles and Kuwait City beginning this October.

Pending government approval, United will be the only U.S. airline to offer nonstop service between the U.S. and Kuwait. Service will be aboard a Boeing 777 with 10 United First Suite seats, 45 United Business seats and 198 United Economy seats, including 84 Economy Plus seats.

Compare rates and flights with Booking Buddy

Triple Miles from United Cruises and Royal Caribbean

When you step onboard a Royal Caribbean International ship, you’re stepping into a world of excitement and adventure, complete with all the latest innovations and incomparable service.

And now, you will earn triple miles from United Cruises when you cruise Royal Caribbean to the Caribbean, the Baja Peninsula or the Mexican Riviera on any of these sensational sailings. Rates vary depending on sailing dates. Or ask about other ships and sailing dates at comparable rates. Act quickly as availability is limited.

Eastern Caribbean
7-night Voyage Aboard the Mariner of the Seas
Round Trip from Port Canaveral
Date: September 17, 2006
Rates: From $499 Inside Stateroom
From $659 Oceanview
From $997 Balcony

Baja Mexico
4-night Voyage Aboard the Monarch of the Seas
Round Trip from Los Angeles
Date: November 13 and December 4, 2006
Rates: From $219 Inside Stateroom
From $249 Oceanview

Mexican Riviera
7-night Voyage Aboard the Vision of the Seas
Round Trip from Los Angeles
Date: December 3, 2006
Rates: From $469 Inside Stateroom
From $599 Oceanview

Western Caribbean
7-night Voyage Aboard the Grandeur of the Seas
Round Trip from New Orleans
Date: December 9, 2006
Rates: From $459 Inside Stateroom
From $549 Oceanview
From $899 Balcony

To book your Royal Caribbean vacation, visit online at www.united.com/cruises and mention offer code O&A080406.

Sell Out Your Friends for Miles

Well, no, not really.

But United Airlines does want you to open up your address book and sing the praises of the Mileage Plus program,

Refer four of your friends to the United Airlines’ program at mpfriends.com and you’ll snag up to 5,000 miles if they join up with Mileage Plus (250 miles) and take a ‘qualifying round trip flight’ (1,000 miles).

Your friends will get a sweet little 3,000 mile incentive to start loading up the frequent flyer bank.