News, Tips & Tricks
Of course the huge news in the industry is the announcement of the merger of American Airlines and US Airways last night. Although it is subject to government approval, if the merger goes through it would create the world's largest airline. The airline will be call American Airlines and we are guessing that much like the United-Continental and Delta-NWA mergers of the past that it will take18-24 months for full integration into one.. However for the time being the airlines are being run separately and so are the frequent flyer programs. But based on the past mergers of other airlines, members should see the AAdvantage and Dividend Miles program slowly tie into each other, once that happens you can expect to see benefits right like being able to transfer miles between accounts held in the same name in both airlines and elite status recognition from both airlines. For more information you can visit each airline's dedicated page to the merger American | US Airways
What does this mean for Canadians? Once the merger is complete, Star Alliance will lose US Airways which means Aeroplan, the biggest frequent flyer program in Canada will lose them and this will mean less seat availability on certain routes when trying to book Star Alliance award tickets. On the otherhand, Canadians who are oneworld alliance flyers like British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles could see more availability on flights out of Canada depending on what routes the new airline will keep. I assume routes like YYZ-PHL will be kept but some like YYC-PHX may go the way of the dodo bird. Ultimately only time will tell what happens but I don't think it is a huge loss to Aeroplan members, especially for those of us out West here where US Airways doesn't have a big presence. What could be a much bigger loss is the disappearance of the US Airways 100% bonus on buying Dividend Miles which I have talked about numerous times here on RC. It is (was) always a good way to get business class flights to Asia or Europe on Star Alliance for a relatively low cost (~$1800). American AAdvantage has been running lots of buy miles promos lately and those will most likely continue but they aren't as lucrative as the Dividend Miles promo.
Air Canada has expanded their current systemwide flight bonus for higher fare class tickets to include an additional bonus of 500 Aeroplan miles when you fly to or from select U.S. cities. See the link in the bonus offers below for more details.
In case you missed my post last night, American Express and Air Miles introduced a new premium credit card call the American Express Air Miles Reserve Credit Card.
Travel Deals
Air France KLM have released their latest 50% off Flying Blue Promo Awards. This time around Toronto is being discounted in business class which means you can get flights between Toronto and Europe 1/2/3 for only 50,000 Flying Blue Miles. This offer is good for flights between March1 and April 30. More info can be found here
Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles&Bonus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Miles&Bonus Miles for stays at Yes! Hotels in Greece. More... Book by Feb 28 for stays until Dec 31, 13
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on Air Canada flights that are booked with a Flex, Latitude, or Executive Class fare to or from Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kansas City, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Richmond or Syracuse. More... Until Mar 24, 13
Emirates Skywards
- 1,000 Bonus Skywards Miles for stays at the at the Renaissance Tlemcen Hotel. More... Mar 1 - May 18, 13
- Quadruple Skywards Miles on rentals of 3 or more days of a Group C or higher car at Avis locations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. More... Until Mar 31, 13
- Triple Skywards Miles on all Sixt rentals worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 13
Frontier EarlyReturns (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double EarlyReturns Miles on weekend rentals of 2 or more days, or rentals of 5 or more days, at a participating Hertz airport or off airport location in the U.S., Puerto Rico or Canada. More... Until Jul 31, 13
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double HawaiianMiles on weekend rentals of 2 or more days, or rentals of 5 or more days, at a participating Hertz airport or off airport location in the U.S., Puerto Rico or Canada. More... Until Jul 31, 13
Jumeirah Sirius
- Double Sirius Points for stays at the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel Shanghai. More... Until Feb 28, 13
- Double Sirius Points for stays of 4 or more nights at the Jumeirah Port Soller Resort & Spa. More... Mar 7 - Apr 30, 13
- Double Sirius Points for stays at Mina A’ Salam, Al Qasr or Dar Al Masyaf Madinat. More... Mar 1 - 15, 13
- 2,000 Bonus Sirius Points when you book the “Live the Suite Life” package online for stays at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower or Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London. More... Until Dec 31, 13
Marriott Rewards
- Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Points when you stay on Thursday-Sunday nights (Friday or Saturday required) at St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel. More... Until Apr 21, 13
- 2,500 Bonus Points when you stay two consecutive nights Sunday-Thursday at the Courtyard Riverside Downtown/UCR Area. More... Until Apr 29, 13
- 2,500 Bonus Points per stay at the Courtyard Washington, DC/Foggy Bottom. More... Until Apr 29, 13
- 1,000 Bonus Points per stay at the Fairfield Inn Lafayette. More... Until Apr 14, 13
United Mileage Plus
- Earn up to 100% Mileage Plus Miles when you fly nonstop between San Francisco and Paris. More... Apr 11 - May 31, 13
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