Best Bets – September, 24 2004

Best Bets – September, 24 2004
  1. Mexicana Frecuenta is offering what amounts to a “dos por uno” offer on award travel through Nov. 30. Simply book an award ticket through Frecuenta, and receive a companion pass for free. The offer applies to all travel within Mexico, and for travel between Mexico and Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose and Chicago. Blackout dates apply from Oct. 29-Nov. 2 and from Nov. 25-30.
  2. Hawthorn Suites is making travel more rewarding with its “Stay Here. Stay There. Stay Free.” promotion designed for members of Hyatt’s Gold Passport program. Through Dec. 31, Gold Passport members can earn a free night at Hawthorn Suites with every stay at a different location.

    That means that members need only complete one stay at Hawthorn, and for every stay thereafter at a different location, they will earn a free night during the promotion period.

    The free nights can be redeemed at participating Hawthorn Suites through June 30, 2005. For complete promotional terms and conditions visit http://www.goldpassport.com.

  3. Northwest Airlines WorldPerks has launched an extremely rich telecommunications offer for the fall. With “Mileage Connection,” Northwest will match the bonuses you receive when signing up for various telecommunication partner services, effectively doubling them. When all is said and done, members can earn up to 60,000 miles!

    Members may take advantage of any WorldPerks mileage offer from MCI, Nextel, EarthLink or T-Mobile to qualify for the Mileage Connection promotion.

    Registration is required. Check out http://www.nwa.com for details.

    If you liked Northwest’s Mileage Connection, you’ll really like WorldPerks’ “Mileage Accelerator” promotion, WorldPerks members who earn miles from Alamo, Dollar, National or Thrifty through Nov. 30 will have their miles — all miles, base and bonus — matched by Northwest. To sweeten the deal, Alamo is offering one free upgrade and double miles until Nov. 15; Dollar is offering triple miles until Dec. 15; National is offering double miles and 20 percent off through Dec. 15; and Thrifty is offering triple miles until Nov. 19. Register prior to renting at www.nwa.com and use promotion code 8652.

  4. Do you have 15 hotel stays scheduled before Jan. 31, 2005? If so, you could be 25,000 points richer. Marriott Rewards is offering members 5,000 bonus points for every third stay completed between Sept. 15 and Jan. 31, 2005 at a Marriott hotel when they pay with an American Express Card. Members can earn the bonus up to five times.

    To take advantage of this lucrative offer, register online at http://www.marriottrewards.com or call 1-888-MARRIOTT (1-888-627-7468) during the promotional period.

  5. The Priority Club Double Points or Double Miles promotion may be over, but the promotion wizards at InterContinental aren’t done yet. From Sept. 13 through Dec. 17, members will earn 3,000 bonus points or 1,000 bonus miles for every three nights, up to 30,000 points or 10,000 miles. See http://www.priorityclub.com/30000 for details.
  6. Best Western Gold Crown Club International members will earn double points or miles with every qualified stay at Best Western from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30. No waiting for your second stay, no strings attached — just double points or miles. Registration is required. Check out http://www.goldcrownclub.com for details.
  7. Until Dec. 31, United Mileage Plus Visa cardmembers will earn two miles for every dollar spent (exceeding $1,000) paid directly to schools. This includes tuition for colleges and universities, as well as public and private elementary and secondary schools, school bookstore purchases, season football tickets, school donations and more.

    There are also school supply offers available with OfficeMax.com, L.L. Bean, Bed Bath and Beyond, and IKEA.

    Visit http://www.united.com for details.

  8. United Mileage Plus and Northwest WorldPerks have reintroduced “Fly three, get one free” promotions. United is offering a free domestic economy roundtrip ticket for every three paid qualifying roundtrip flights flown through Jan. 31, 2005, for travel until June 10. Qualifying tickets may be booked in any paid booking class in United First, Business or Economy class with a minimum roundtrip purchase of $250 or more. Economy-class travel (in anything other than Y or B classes) cannot include a Saturday-night stay. A maximum of four free tickets may be earned.

    Northwest is offering essentially the same deal — sans the $250 minimum and Saturday-night stay requirements. Northwest, however, is also offering a free international ticket (up to a maximum of two) for every six qualifying roundtrips. Free domestic or trans-Pacific travel must take place between Oct. 15 and June 10, 2005. Free trans-Atlantic travel must be completed between Oct. 15 and May 23, 2005.

    While we suspect that a few other airlines will join in this latest round of bonus offers, especially programs like OnePass and SkyMiles that need to keep up with alliance partner, Northwest WorldPerks, we’re glad to see what has been offered up all ready. But watch out for those economy-class Saturday night rules.

    Registration for both offers is required by Nov. 30.

  9. Southwest is extending its online bonus credit offer until Dec. 31. Rapid Rewards members who book online at http://www.southwest.com will receive one bonus credit for each roundtrip booked and flown by the end of the year (a half-credit bonus will be awarded if a one-way travel segment is booked). This adds up to a total of three credits for a roundtrip flight booked on the site.
  10. The oneworld alliance is offering air travelers an enticing incentive to encourage them to sample more of its international network — a bonus of up to 15,000 miles or points. To earn the miles, just fly on at least three oneworld airlines (only select fares are eligible), including the one with which you have registered as a frequent flyer member, between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30. Full details are available at http://www.oneworld.com