US Airways just published a press release promising customers a new tier system for frequent flier purchases, the promise being that travelers will get "more choices and flexibility." Right now there are three kinds of award bookings you can make using your miles: off-peak, mileage saver, and standard awards. After January 6, 2010 there will be four categories: off-peak, low, medium, and high awards.

Essentially they've taken one of their awards tiers and split it into two. Fair enough. But now they get to rearrange what each rewards ticket costs into a 4-category system, and here's where things get interesting; will they use the new system as a cover for making everything more expensive? ]]> Omri 2009-11-11T17:09:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/9/16640/2196

Welcome to day two of what we're going to begin calling TrueBlue2, the second version of Jetblue's frequent flyer program, now based on money spent on airfare rather than miles flown.

Thus far, the transition appears smooth; the new program appeared on Jetblue's website over the weekend, slightly earlier than the Monday launch we expected. We haven't yet heard of any big snafus with it, only that the points will be harder for flyers to keep track of, since now we're talking thousands of points versus the easy-to-do-the-math tens of points of the old system.

Still, the question remains of what to do with your old points—since TrueBlue1 points cannot be carried into the new system and will continue to expire as usual. Well, there are three options for your old TrueBlue points, and you better get on it now if you've got points lingering... ]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-10T13:29:09-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/5/8120/25443

We all have some frequent flyer miles hanging around in various accounts, but it seems like there’s never enough to finally book that award ticket to paradise. Well we’re here to help: we’ve compiled five of the best ways to top off your mileage account and gain some extra miles without even leaving the ground. Everyone wants to be able to make it rain with excess miles, and with a little work and creativity, you’ll be doing just that.

· Get Something To Eat:
Most airlines have programs where linking a credit card to a dining program awards you with airline miles when you hit up your favorite restaurant. Obviously it’s not every restaurant out there, so your favorite Applebee’s might be out of the picture. However, if you find a couple favorite spots you frequent anyway, it will be worth the minimal effort to get the bonus. AAdvantage Dining will give you five miles for every dollar you spend, and you’ll even get 1,500 bonus miles for signing up and spending $25. If you prefer Delta-flavored miles check out SkyMiles Dining. It’s the same deal: five miles per dollar spent and certain establishments will reward you with double miles. ]]> kjb 2009-11-05T09:44:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/4/233328/193

Whose ready for the "newer, truer TrueBlue" program from Jetblue? Well, ready or not, it's coming at the beginning of next week and the arrival of the new structure means no more free flights just by accumulating a few roundtrip coast-to-coasters; nope, now you've got to watch how much you spend versus how much you fly.

If you're keen to check your point balance or do some other fiddling with your TrueBlue account in the next few days, you better do it now. Accounts will be unavailable between Friday and Monday morning during the switchover. For those of you who simply can't wait for the new program to take affect, you can read up on the changes...

The details on the new TrueBlue program, after the jump. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-05T09:14:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/9/688/37069

United Airlines is all about being in the news lately. Earlier in the week they got our attention with their unlimited baggage fee—too bad we’re still not totally sure if it’s worth it. If you are a diehard United fan then you’ve probably accumulated your share of frequent flyer miles with the airline, and with availability getting more and more limited everyday, you probably need a way to burn some. If that award ticket to Tahiti just isn’t happening, you might want to consider using them for a car or hotel.

United’s Mileage Plus members can now use their hard earned miles to book a rental car or a hotel stay. They’ve launched a new booking engine for each service, so you can easily find out how much damage that “free” hotel stay will do to your account. If you’re looking to relax in New York City next weekend you can crash at the Hilton New York on Saturday night for 48,250 miles. Unfortunately, you could get yourself to Hawaii with that many miles, so we say it’s totally not worth it. However, it’s an option, and we do appreciate a choice. ]]> kjb 2009-10-09T08:40:08-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/24/125011/977

There's a bit of a dustup going on at travel blog The Cranky Flier, where a post on United's new "buy Elite Status for a day" program is drawing strong comments from all sides. The debate revolves around whether it's fair—and, more importantly, whether it's smart—for the airline to allow regular passengers to purchase Elite perks like Economy Plus seats, early boarding, Red Carpet Club Access, and so on.

The arguments are clear. On on hand, it's fair as airlines need to diversify their revenue streams otherwise they'll go out of business and we'll all lose. If people are willing to pay then let them pay. On the other hand, letting passengers purchase Elite status now means devaluing the miles that loyal customers banked earlier, since the assumption back then was that status equaled exclusive perks. If nothing else, the gamble risks encouraging United fliers to rack up miles and status elsewhere, secure in the knowledge that they can purchase Elite status on a per-flight basis.]]> Omri 2009-09-24T13:24:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/21/81723/5423

We all know that airline travel has been down due to the economic situation, and when you combine that with the fall travel season things become very slow. That’s why a few airlines have searched through their marketing box and have pulled out the double frequent flyer miles promotion. American Airlines and United have announced that they’ll be providing double elite-qualifying miles through the middle of December. Those are the miles that get you airline status, and fancy upgrades, but won’t help you add to your frequent flier piggy bank for that dream vacation.

Southwest Airlines usually isn’t a follower of such trends as they kind of pride themselves on going their own way, but they too are now offering a fall travel rewards promotion. It's not a true double Rapid Rewards bonus, because their business select passengers won’t get the full bonus. However, we never spring for business anyway, so we’ll be happy enjoying one bonus credit for one-way trips and two bonus credits for round-trip flights. ]]> kjb 2009-09-21T10:33:56-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/