In some very interesting news, Continental and US Airways have begun codesharing talks. Although still very much in its infancy, the potential codeshare may eventually lead to other developments. And that is not all Continental is up to; KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Continental are also considering a joint venture. A current code-sharing agreement was extended until June 2003 … By the time you read this we expect you’ll have read about some new US Airways alliances and that news will be covered online with MilesLink, Notiflyer and FlyerTalk (and those rumors of Northwest putting in their own bid…) … The Star Alliance welcomed Asiana, LOT and Spanair to its roster of airlines. Meanwhile in the land down under, United and Virgin Blue have teamed up to try to fill in the gaps left by Ansett. Virgin Blue extended the invite to act as a domestic link for all Star operators serving Australia, however, United is the only airline to have taken up the offer. Will Virgin Blue eventually join Star? One airline that will not be joining Star, and may not be joining oneworld either, is Swiss. On the one hand, the airline is expanding codeshare agreements with American, but on the other it is voicing concerns about British Airways and slots at Heathrow. We are guessing British Airways is not willing to budge on the slots issue. Some things never change … Delta is racking up financial partners; last month it was Lending Tree, this month it is Ameritrade. SkyMiles members can earn 3,000 miles when opening an account with $1,000; 8,000 miles with an account of $5,000 and 25,000 miles with an account of $50,000 … British Airways and MCI have joined forces and are offering Executive Club members the opportunity to earn five miles per dollar spent on MCI services excluding taxes, credits and surcharges. A sign-up bonus of 2,000 miles is also in the offing … Next time you stay at a Best Western make sure you have a MasterCard in your pocket. Best Western will be offering exclusive benefits to MasterCard holders through a series of promotions. It probably won’t be too long before an affinity card emerges … Speaking of charge cards, American Express has added a number of partners to its Membership Rewards program. The new partners include American Express Travelers Cheques, American Golf Corporation, AT&T Prepaid Services, Banana Republic, Blockbuster, Broadway.com, Citarella, Discovery Channel Store, Gloss.com, Hammacher Schlemmer, Harry and David, Hollywood Movie Magic, Loews Cineplex, Morton’s of Chicago, The Steakhouse, the Nike Learning Center, Platinum By Invitation Only Events by American Express, Time Consumer Marketing and USA Today … Points.com has two new partners, Sprint and Six Continents Hotels. If you are a Priority Club Rewards member, you can add Priority Club Rewards to your pointsfolio by clicking on pointsfolio on the homepage. Points.com members can redeem points and miles earned from other sources for Sprint’s wireless products and services at Sprint stores.