United Transcontinental Bonus Miles Through March 31

United has a great offer for mileage lovers:
Experience United's transcontinental p.s. flights between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles or San Francisco. Here's how your miles can add up:

Fly roundtrip in	Earn bonus award miles
United BusinessFirst®	15,000
Full-fare United Economy®	10,000
Select discounted United Economy	5,000

To qualify, register and book your travel today, then fly between January 7 and March 31, 2014.
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps/mileageplus/promotions/registrationDetails.aspx?promoCode=TB9M62&utm_source=TPG+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=decaa08efa-TPG+Daily+Newsletter+MC&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2b0b8ee2b7-decaa08efa-44188789

The Frequent Flyer Trap

Back in the day, earning and redeeming frequent flyer points was a straight forward thing.  No games, no gimmicks and an easy to understand set of goals.  Fast forward to 2013 and next year and a monster has been created.  Airlines, hotels, car rentals, credit card companies and even florists have jumped in on the mileage lure.  Almost anyone that carries plastic is suddenly eligible for mileage awards.  Status became the next big thing as airlines created the tiers that separated the masses.  Hundreds of billions of miles are being accumulated and hoarded.

Now that the masses are in, airlines quietly move the goal posts every year.  2014 promises to be one that miles are significantly devalued.  With reduced capacity and more limited seats, mileage redemptions keep getting more difficult with many far more restrictions and multitude of fees.  It takes more miles to fly anywhere.  To achieve status, airlines will be measuring the dollars you spend doing so rather than the miles you fly.  While some of these changes are necessary, airlines might be killing the goose that lays the golden egg.  More consumers are realizing that loyalty comes with cost and that the reward may not be worth the price.  We might be reaching a tipping point if the airlines continue to demand more and offer less. www.premieretravel.com

Predictable: USAirways Leaving Star Alliance

 

After sealing the merger between USAirways and American Airlines on Monday, USAirways announced that it will be leaving the Star Alliance effective March 31, 2014.  For travelers, this means that they will no longer be able to book USAirways flights as United code share or vice versa.  Flight schedules will no longer show availability and passengers can continue to accumulate and  redeem their mileage through that date.

It is only the beginning for the new American Airlines which will have to integrate two different cultures and philosophies.  www.premieretravel.com

Airlines Hike Frequent Flyer Award Levels-Again

Starting early 2014, many airlines are hiking the miles needed to redeem flight awards.  The biggest jumps will be redemptions made on "partner" airlines to international destinations.  Business class redemptions will experience the most significant increase.  Savvy travelers are well advised to plan ahead and redeem now before the hikes take effect.

With so many ways to earn miles mostly through credit card purchases, there will be more competition to score seats on flights.  Airlines continue to prune capacity and restrict the number of seats available for frequent flyer redemptions. www.premieretravel.com

Affordable Air Act = Obama Air?

Should the government be more involved in air travel? The feeble attempt by the department of Justice to block the merger of USAirways and American ended with a whimper with the DOJ caving to 99.7% of what the airlines set out to do.  After saying repeatedly that this merger would harm competition, increase prices and limit choices, the airlines finally threw a bone at the DOJ resulting in settlement.  Many believe that the airlines are having their way with the traveler, increasing fares, adding fees, limiting services and changing rules to suit them.  Airlines have collected tens of billions in fees, and are logging profits in billions.  All airline stocks are doing extremely well.  So with less competition, who is looking out for the best interest of the traveler? Now we know that the DOJ and DOT are not, fasten your seat belts.  By the way, if you do like your airline program, you can keep it.  Period! www.premieretravel.com

DOJ Caves In for Merger

USAirways and American Airlines received the "all clear" from the DOJ to proceed with their merger that was blocked and pending trial later this month.  The settlement resulted in minimal concessions in what is considered to be a complete victory for the carriers.  As a result, few airport slots primarily at Reagan National and LaGuardia will be surrendered by the combined carrier.  However, as the airlines have threatened, service to/from some smaller airports will be reduced or discontinued and the carriers will get to keep all their profitable routes.  After the DOJ moved to block the proposed merger, the carriers mounted a furious campaign suing the Department of Justice and implemented a full court press lobbying offensive that resulted in an outcome that surprised most observers who expected the DOJ to extract far more concessions.  "Low cost carriers" will be in line for the vacated slots.  Southwest and Jetblue will be eager to pick up the slack.  Fare differences between "low cost" and legacy carriers have been shrinking over the past 3 years and in some cases the low costs have been matching legacy carriers with comparable fares.  It is unlikely that passengers will benefit, and fares once again are likely to rise with reduced competition. 

Congress Eyeing More "User Fees" on Airlines and Passengers

As the holiday season approaches, Congress is about to be looking for your wallet again.  Without raising taxes, increasing "user fees" on non-constituents has become a favorite sport.   Already facing high assortment of taxes and fees, more is being rolled out that the airlines will reluctantly pass through to the travelers.  Those are purportedly called "airline security fees".  Yes, to support your friendly TSA, more revenue will be required.  The percentage of taxes and fees of the total fare is about to reach a new high.  www.premieretravel.com