On the one hand, US Airways has been busy gutting their frequent flyer program, emphasizing the need to take away mileage earning opportunities given the current economic environment. (They taketh away other things too.)

Then on the other hand, they rolled out an announcement of a generous bonus miles earning promotion for partner activity… a “Grand Slam” promo for up to 40,000 Dividend Miles and the ability to earn gold elite status for yourself and a friend.

It appeared on WebFlyer’s NotiFlyer on June 9, but then was pulled.

FrugalTravelGuy reproduces the details of what the promotion may entail if it actually gets released.

Here’s your chance to pad your Dividend Miles account. From July 1 through Sept. 30, 2008, Dividend Miles members can earn up to 40,000 bonus miles with the Grand Slam promotion.The more partners you use, the more bonus miles you’ll earn. You’ll earn a “hit” for qualifying transactions with participating Dividend Miles partners, and for every fourth hit you’ll earn bonus miles in addition to the miles you would normally earn with the partner.You’ll earn 4,000 bonus miles for four hits, 8,000 for eight hits, 12,000 for 12, 16,000 for 16 and 20,000 bonus miles for 20 hits.

And for members who earn 24 hits, you’ll get a Grand Slam award for a total of 30,000 bonus miles; and if you really hit it out of the park and earn 28 or more hits, you’ll earn a Hall of Fame award of 40,000 bonus miles.

To heat up the competition, the first 50 Dividend Miles member to earn a Grand Slam (24 hits) will get two upgrades to Gold Preferred Status – one for the registered member and one for a friend. You must register to earn the bonus miles and airline partners are not included in this promotion.

It may be that the information was just released too early, since the promotion start date is noted as July 1. But it could be they decided not to do anything positive for their members, I’d believe that too….