Jaunted

Travel Gear / Frequent Flier Miles / George Clooney / Air Canada / Loyalty Programs / → All Tags

Got 177,000 Miles? Then You've Got George Clooney's Leather Vest.

As competition becomes fierce in the skies, airlines are getting creative with their frequent flier rewards.

IdeaWorks recently released a list of the top 40 "weird, wild and wonderful” rewards. Some give frequent fliers unique experiences, like AirBaltic's dog sled adventure (13,754 airline points) and American Airlines' beer-tasting tour in Brussels (14,700 points).

Others give passengers an opportunity to own items money just can't buy, like Lufthansa's “sockscription," which provides a delivery of three pairs of socks immediately and two more deliveries every four months (21,000 points). And, passengers who collect 650 miles with Icelandair can get a traditional Icelandic oatmeal and rhubarb cake, called a “Happy Marriage Cake.”

But, the most buzzed about item on their list seems to be a leather vest signed by George Clooney which Air Canada is giving away for a mere 177,000 miles. It's a small price to pay for a lifetime of "Up in the Air" roleplay. *wink*

[Photo: TheDailyBeast]

American Airlines / Airlines / Airline News / Twitter / Facebook / Frequent Flier Miles / Frequent Flyer Programs / Social Media / → All Tags

American Airlines Targets Frequent Fliers on Twitter and Facebook

Some airlines use social media outlets a little bit better than others, but at this point pretty much everyone is on Facebook and/or Twitter, with the exception of social media-snobby Ryanair. Now that all the basics are covered it seems like airlines are getting even more specific with their online activity and contacts. American Airlines is one of the first to do so, as they’re launching new accounts on Twitter and Facebook specifically for their AAdvantage frequent flier program.

They’re the first airline in the nifty fifty to dedicate their social media efforts on earning miles, and their new accounts will be designed to help one and all fatten up those mileage accounts. We’re hoping for some promotions or contests, as we are in need of some serious help if we’re going to score a freebie on AA anytime this decade.

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Frequent Flier Miles / Flyertalk / Travel Deals / Frequent Flyer Programs / → All Tags

Revealed: How To Use Your Credit Card To Get Unlimited Miles

Never underestimate the ability of Flyertalk forum members to find every last way to maximize their frequent flier miles. The newest scheme to emerge from the boards goes way beyond "make sure you do your holiday shopping through rewards websites" and involves buying currency from the US Mint with your credit card, pocketing the miles, and then driving to deposit the coins and avoid fees. The Wall Street Journal has more details:

At least several hundred mile-junkies discovered that a free shipping offer on presidential and Native American $1 coins, sold at face value by the U.S. Mint, amounted to printing free frequent-flier miles. Mileage lovers ordered more than $1 million in coins until the Mint started identifying them and cutting them off. Coin buyers charged the purchases, sold in boxes of 250 coins, to a credit card that offers frequent-flier mile awards, then took the shipments straight to the bank. They then used the coins they deposited to pay their credit-card bills. Their only cost: the car trip to make the deposit.

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Airline News / Delta / Delta Connection / LGA / Frequent Flier Miles / → All Tags

Choosing Planes Over Trains? Delta Will Slip You Some Extra Miles

'Tis the summer of transportation competition in the Northeast, as both Megabus and Boltbus step up their game for the peak season. Joining the tug-of-war—the one for passengers who will be making due with domestic weekends and short jaunts instead of big summer blowouts—are the good old airlines.

Since airlines that once had dominance over routes like New York to Washington DC cannot compare with the ultra-cheap bus fares or the security-less train routes, it may be a good time to offer perks for choosing to fly the friendly (and more expensive) skies.

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Jaunted On Location / George Clooney / Frequent Flier Miles / Celeb Travel / → All Tags

George Clooney Goes 'Up In The Air' for Frequent Flier Miles Quest

George Clooney is filming a movie that will surely have the folks at FlyerTalk forking over $11 a pop to see it on opening weekend. "Up In The Air" is about a man trying to accumulate one million frequent flier miles while at the same time, trying to land a job at a mysterious management company called MythTech.

So far, it doesn't look like the movie has any tips about scamming the system for a million miles. Nope, it looks like Clooney's character will actually be flying a million miles as most of the filming has taken place at airports across the U.S.

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