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Earn Delta Elite Miles and a Bonus for Hilton Stays

2012-10-05T10:25:34-07:00

Hilton's third-quarter HHonors promotion ended on September 30, and so far there's no fourth-quarter offer to take its place.

For those whose focus is airline miles, there is a promotion with Virgin Atlantic in effect. But the offer won't be of interest to most U.S.-based travelers.

More likely to be relevant to our readers is this new two-pronged offer for Delta miles.

Offer Details

Between October 1 and December 15, HHonors members can earn 250 Delta elite-qualifying miles (EQMs) plus double base miles after qualifying stays of two or more nights.

There's no limit to the number of bonus miles that may be earned with the promotion.

To earn the bonuses, HHonors members must select Delta as their preferred airline earning partner.

Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

If you're not a Delta miles collector, this offer is moot.

If Delta miles do factor into your earning activity, neither the bonus EQMs nor the bonus base miles are hugely compelling individually. But taken together, the two bonuses might just be enough to push Hilton to the forefront of your hotel choices.

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AirTran Launches New Travel-Rewards Credit Card

2012-10-04T11:37:57-07:00

Does the world really need another travel-rewards credit card?

AirTran thinks you do. Rather, since AirTran is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest, Southwest thinks you do.

The new card is the AirTran A+ Rewards Visa from Chase.

It's actually a replacement for the old AirTran A+ Rewards credit card from Barclays, which hasn't been offered to new customers in more than a year.

The new card's particulars:

Earning: Two A+ Rewards Dollars per $1 spent on AirTran and Southwest purchases and A+ Rewards and Rapid Rewards Hotel and Rental Car Partner purchases; one A+ Rewards Dollar per $1 spent on all other purchases
Bonuses: Two business-class upgrades after first purchase; 16 A+ Rewards credits after spending $1,000 within three months; two bonus credits on anniversary
Annual fee: $69

In the AirTran program, 1,200 Rewards Dollars convert to one A+ Rewards credit, and a round-trip award flight requires 16 credits. So for most purchases, you'll have to spend $19,200 to earn a free flight.

That compares favorably with the value proposition of comparable rewards credit cards from airlines such as American, Delta, and United, which typically award enough miles for a free domestic award ticket after $25,000 in charges.

And as sign-up bonuses go, the upgrades and bonus credits are certainly worthwhile value-adds for AirTran partisans.

Which raises the question: What's the point of being an AirTran loyalist when the airline's operations and its loyalty program are destined to be merged into Southwest's?

In a pre-launch briefing for the card, I put that question to Jonathan Clarkson, Southwest's Rapid Rewards director. He pointed out that the programs may not be merged until 2015, so A+ Rewards could have another two years before its phase-out. And in the meantime, credit may be transferred back and forth between the two programs.

What I didn't ask, and should have, was why Southwest is taking so long to integrate AirTran into Rapid Rewards.

Having to move A+ credits to a Rapid Rewards account in order to redeem for Southwest awards is cumbersome at best. Clearly the best case for both Southwest and AirTran customers is a single program which allows for earning and redemption on both carriers.

In that context, launching a new credit card, whatever its virtues, seems like a misguided investment of energy and resources.

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Get a 100% Bonus on US Airways Shared Miles

2012-10-03T09:55:15-07:00

US Airways' frequent but irregular bonuses for purchased miles have become a kind of promotional benchmark in the travel-rewards world.

With a 100 percent bonus, the miles may be bought for about 1.9 cents a mile, a compelling deal if they're redeemed for pricey international flights in business or first class.

With this new offer for shared miles, it's possible to buy miles for even less.

Offer Details

Between October 1 and October 31, Dividend Miles members will receive a 100 percent bonus on up to 50,000 miles shared with other members.

The price to share miles is 1 cent apiece, plus a $30 processing fee and a 7.5 percent "tax recovery charge."

So, with the bonus, 100,000 miles may be shared for $567.50. Because the initial 50,000 miles were already in someone's account, the bonus amounts to buying the second 50,000 miles for $567.50, or about 1.1 cent each.

If you're not already a Dividend Miles member, note the following: "Dividend Miles accounts less than 12 days old are not permitted to Buy, Share or Gift miles."

Deal or No Deal

As always with purchased or shared miles, how good a deal this is depends on how the acquired miles are redeemed.

With US Airways' extensive partnership network, including the Star Alliance carriers, there are many opportunities to redeem US Airways miles for pricey overseas flights on some of the world's premier airlines.

Bear in mind that award seats for flights on US Airways' Star Alliance partners (ANA, Lufthansa, United, etc.) do not display in US Airways' own online booking app. But you can check availability on United's website, for example, and then call US Airways to book partner awards.

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Get a Free Radisson Night After One Stay

2012-10-02T10:08:32-07:00

Club Carlson, the loyalty program for Regent, Radisson, Radisson Blu, Radisson Edwardian, Park Plaza, Country Inns & Suites, and Park Inn hotels, has launched some especially noteworthy promotions lately, most recently a 50,000-point bonus for Radisson stays that ended in July.

This new Radisson-focused offer maintains that momentum.

Offer Details

Between October 1 and December 31, Club Carlson members will earn a free night after one paid stay at any Radisson Blu or Radisson hotel in the U.S., Canada, or the Caribbean.

Registration is required, and the qualifying stay must be booked at www.radisson.com or www.clubcarlson.com by October 31.

The free night may be used any time before December 31, 2013, at any Radisson or Radisson Blu hotel in the U.S., Canada, or the Caribbean.

The catch: The offer is limited to the first 50,000 people who register and book an eligible stay.

This offer may be combined with another Club Carlson promotion that awards bonus points for stays at Radisson and other Club Carlson brands.

Deal or No Deal

If the free night is earned for a one-night stay, this is truly a buy-one-get-one-free offer.

And aside from the 50,000-participant limit, the promotion is refreshingly free of onerous terms and conditions.

The worst feature of this offer is that it may only be earned once per member.

If you foresee making a Radisson stay (or a stay that could be at a Radisson) before the end of the year, by all means register and book now, while you still can.

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Win a 7-Day Caribbean Cruise for 2

2012-10-01T11:37:28-07:00

Enter Princess Cruises' "Ballot Box Trivia Challenge" sweepstakes by November 6 for a chance to win the grand prize: a seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise for two on the Royal Princess. The prize does NOT include transportation to Ft. Lauderdale, the departure and arrival port.

To enter, type in the requested contact information and press "Submit."

Time required to enter: under 15 seconds.

The Fine Print

Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the United States including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are at least 21 years old at the time of entry.
Approximate Retail Value ("ARV") of each grand prize: $1,658.
Limit: five entries per person.

Somebody has to win, right? Might as well be you.

Want to get away for free? Check out our picks of the best current travel rewards sweepstakes.

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Earn Up to 6,000 Bonus Points for Carlson Stays

2012-10-01T10:20:00-07:00

Between October 1 and December 31, Club Carlson members will earn bonus points for qualifying stays at Radisson, Country Inns & Suites, Park Inn, and Park Plaza hotels as follows:

2,000 bonus points per night when you stay up to five nights
4,000 bonus points per night when you stay six through nine nights
6,000 bonus points per night when you stay 10 through 20 nights

Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

Club Carlson members normally earn 20 points per $1 spent. So a $100 night would earn 2,000 points. In that scenario, the promotion's 2,000 bonus points would amount to earning double points, 4,000 bonus points would be triple points, and 6,000 bonus points would be quadruple points.

For those staying five or fewer nights, this offer is nothing special compared to other fall hotel promotions. Once you reach six or more nights, however, the bonus is among the best available. More, in other words, is more rewarding.

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Earn Up to 11,000 Bonus Points for Wyndham Stays

2012-09-28T09:40:21-07:00

Wyndham is the latest to add its offering to the list of fall hotel promotions.

Offer Details

Between September 27 and November 26, Wyndham Rewards members can earn 5,500 Rewards points or 1,000 airline miles after two stays, up to a maximum of 11,000 points or 2,000 miles after four stays at Baymont Inn & Suites, Days Inn, Dream, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Microtel Inn & Suites, Ramada, Super 8, Travelodge, Tryp, Wingate, and Wyndham hotels.

Registration is required.

Deal or No Deal

Wyndham Rewards normally awards 10 points for every $1 spent. So if you earned 5,500 bonus points for two $100 one-night stays, that would amount to a 275 percent bonus.

With most airline partners, the payout for Wyndham stays is two miles per $1 spent. So that $200 stay would normally net 400 miles, and the extra 1,000 miles would be a 250 percent bonus.

As a point of comparison, Wyndham's previous promotion featured quadruple points or miles. Depending on the amount paid to earn the bonus, the new offer will in most cases be somewhat less rewarding.

It's still a decent offer, however. And with more than 6,500 participating hotels in the Wyndham network, it's a readily accessible offer as well.

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Earn Up to 15,000 Virgin Atlantic Bonus Miles With Hilton

2012-09-27T11:01:21-07:00

Between September 26 and December 31, Hilton HHonors members can earn up to 15,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club bonus miles, as follows:

1,000 bonus miles for the first Hilton stay
2,000 bonus miles for the second stay
3,000 bonus miles for the third stay
4,000 bonus miles for the fourth stay
5,000 bonus Miles for the fifth stay

The bonus is in addition to the 1,000 miles normally earned for every stay, so the total earnings after five stays would be 20,000 miles.

Deal or No Deal

The way the promotion is structured, the first stay nets double miles, the second nets triple miles, and so on. And because the bonuses reward stays rather than nights, shorter stays are more lucrative, bonus-wise, than longer stays.

So the value of this offer depends on a combination of the length and frequency of your stays. A single long stay is at the ho-hum end of the spectrum. You can probably do better with one of the other fall hotel promotions. At the other extreme would be five single-night stays, for a total of 20,000 miles. That's a compelling deal.

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American Offers Big Bonuses for Europe Flights

2012-09-26T10:43:59-07:00

If Europe is on your travel agenda, this offer from American could make your trip extra-rewarding. But budget travelers need not apply.

Offer Details

Between September 25, 2012, and January 31, 2013, AAdvantage members can earn bonus miles for round-trip flights between the U.S. or Canada and Europe on American, British Airways, or Iberia, as follows:

15,000 bonus miles for the first round-trip
35,000 bonus miles for the second round-trip
50,000 bonus miles for the third and subsequent round-trips

There's no limit to the number of bonus miles that may be earned.

There is, however, one notable restriction, the type of tickets that are bonus-eligible:

Includes First Class and Business Class fares booked in F, A, J, R, D, or I; Economy Class fares booked in Y, B, or H on American Airlines operated flights; First Class or Club World fares booked in F, A, J, R, C, D, or I; World Traveller Plus or full-fare World Traveller booked in W, E, T, Y, B, or H on British Airways operated flights; Business Class fares booked in J, C, D, R, or I; Economy Class fares booked in Y on Iberia operated flights.

Registration is required, using promotion code AAEUR.

Deal or No Deal

The bonuses, especially after the first trip, are hefty.

But paying full coach fares, never mind business or first class, just isn't possible or financially sensible for most travelers.

If you have one or more Europe trips planned during the promotion period, check prices of the tickets you'd normally buy against the fares required to earn the bonuses. If they qualify, great. If not, it might be worthwhile paying a bit more for an eligible fare. But only a bit.

Reader Reality Check

How much more would pay to earn 15,000 bonus miles? How about 50,000 bonus miles?

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Discounted Awards for Citi AAdvantage Cardholders

2012-09-25T10:30:26-07:00

Of the many travel-rewards credit cards, the Citibank-issued cards linked to American's AAdvantage program are among the least discussed. That's because the cards have been slow to load up on perks, and because they typically don't come bundled with eye-popping sign-up bonuses.

In addition to being affiliated with a solid program, the cards have long featured a benefit that can represent real extra value, both to holding an AAdvantage credit card specifically and to program membership generally: discounted award tickets.

Every quarter, holders of the various AAdvantage-affiliated credit cards can book awards to selected U.S. and Canadian destinations at discounted prices.

The discount varies, according to the card type.

For the higher-annual-fee Platinum, World Elite, and Select cards, first-class award prices are reduced from 50,000 miles to 42,500 miles; and coach awards are discounted from 25,000 to 17,500 miles. That's a 15 percent discount for first class and a hefty 30 percent discount for coach.

For Gold cardholders, the first and coach awards are discounted by 10 and 20 percent, to 45,000 and 20,000 miles, respectively.

The list of eligible award destinations for the October - December quarter includes one destination in the Northeast, 38 in the Midwest, 39 in the Southeast, 29 in the Southwest, and four in Canada.

Discounted awards must be booked by phone, so there will be a $20 service charge for non-Executive Platinum elite members.

The discounts range from decent, at 10 percent, to compelling, at 30 percent.

High-demand destinations are notably absent from the list -- no discounts on award flights to San Francisco, New York, or Orlando.

But there are some cities well worth visiting. Among the destinations that caught my eye: Charlotte, Washington, DC, Pensacola, Houston, Albuquerque, Santa Barbara, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Montreal, and Toronto.

If you have a Citi AAdvantage card, have a look at the list of discounted award destinations. You might just find a city on your bucket list.

And if you're thinking of adding a Citi AAdvantage card to your credit card collection, consider these discounts among the reasons for doing so.

Reader Reality Check

Have you taken advantage of these credit card award discounts?

Are there destinations on the list that you'd like to visit?

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