Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for January 2006.

Continental Increases Pricing for Unrestricted Awards

by Gary Leff on January 16, 2006

Jan 16 2006

Continental posted several changes to their frequent flyer program today: You can now receive your BusinessFirst upgrade rewards until 24 hours prior to your scheduled departure. Previously, 72 hours were required. Effective February 1, 2006, you may redeem reward travel within the 48 contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada on round-trip flights of 1,500 miles or less for only 20,000 miles. Effective April 1, 2006, some Easy Pass BusinessFirst reward mileage requirements will change: Routes between: Miles requiredbefore 4/1/06 Miles required4/1/06 and after N. America and Asia 240,000 250,000 N. America and Europe 200,000 250,000 N.Amer & India/Africa/Mideast 240,000 250,000 N. America and Tel Aviv 200,000 250,000 Hawaii and Europe 220,000 270,000 Hawaii and Tel Aviv 220,000 270,000 Asia or Europe & S. Amer. 240,000 280,000 The introduction of 20,000 miles for flights under 1500…

Double United Miles for Tax Payments

by Gary Leff on January 16, 2006

Jan 16 2006

On Thursday I mentioned that the Starwood American Express is offering double points for tax payments. According to Free Frequent Flyer Miles the United Visa is offering double points on tax payments as well.

Marriott’s MegaBonus Returns in February

by Gary Leff on January 15, 2006

Jan 15 2006

Marriott’s ‘MegaBonus’ returns from February 15 through May 15. You must register to find out which bonus you’re targeted for. The possibilities: MGS61 – Earn 2,500 points/stay, beginning with 2nd stay, up to 10,000 MGS62 – Earn 5,000 points every 3rd stay, up to 25,000 pts MGS63 – Earn 10,000 points every 3rd stay, up to 30,000 pts MGS64 – Earn 25,000 points for staying 15 nights or more MGS65 – Earn 35,000 points for staying 20 nights or more (Hat tip to Flyertalk.) Since I’m not a Marriott regular I’ve been assigned 2500 bonus points per stay beginning with the second stay.

Earn Points for Donating Blood

by Gary Leff on January 15, 2006

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a blood bank with a loyalty program, but this is always one of the best stories because it seems like such a caricature. The Stewart Regional Blood Center in Tyler, Texas is launching a loyalty program to encourage frequent repeat visits by donors. Club Red allows donors to earn points for each donation that can be redeemed for rewards such as sweatshirts, briefcases, duffel bags, captain’s chairs, desks and radios. Members must promise to make at least three donations per year. The first two donations are worth 50 points each, donations 3 through 7 are worth 100 points each up to 250 points. Throughout the year, Stewart will have promotions offering double or triple points for donating. Donors who donate on Apheresis machines or ALYX will be…

Virgin Increases Award Pricing

by Gary Leff on January 14, 2006

Jan 14 2006

Virgin Atlantic is ‘refreshing’ its program earning and redemption. The upshot is that some awards are getting more expensive, for example Upper Class awards from the U.K. to the U.S. are currently 80,000 points and will be going up to 90,000 points (Boston/New York/Washington DC) or 100,000 points (Miami/Orlando/Vegas/Los Angeles/San Francisco). The old award chart is here.