News and notes from around the interweb:

• Taking the LCD toaster to a new level in terms of bad redemption value — Lufthansa’s Miles & More will let you redeem 2 million points for a whirlpool tub. At their inflated retail price offering, that’s still only half a cent per point in value.

• Delta doubles (or triples, quadruples, quintuples) down in Seattle again, with double miles and double elite qualifying miles for Washington State residents flying to and from Seattle through the end of the year.

• Now that they’ve devalued both earning and redemption, Club Carlson will offer you bonus points for staying at some of their hotels.

• The US government is offering $90,000 in prizes for developers who create apps which can help reduce the cost of federal travel. (HT: Carrie C.)

• United is expected to launch a Los Angeles – Melbourne flight starting October 26, operated by a Boeing 787.

• 10% off on Frontier flights with promo code PLAYBALL for bookings by February 26 and travel through June 12.

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