Nov 12 Update: Airline Information Mega Event, Delta SkyMiles interim devaluation, BA Double Avios for Qatar Airways flights

First update of this short week which maybe one of only a few as we are going to be at the Airline Information Mega Event conference on Frequent Flyer Programs, Ancilliary Revenue and Co-brand credit cards. In fact, Rewards Canada's Patrick Sojka will speaking in the Co-brand track portion on Thursday. Watch for tweets and instagram shots however during this time from the conference, the Mega Awards (industry awards) and more!

News, Tips & Tricks
Delta SkyMiles keeps digging themselves into a deeper hole. Bulding on the news from United the previous Friday, Delta announced this past Friday that they will have an interim award chart before there majorily devalued new award chart takes affect in June 2014. Here is how Delta put it on FlyerTalk:

This afternoon, you’ll be able to see some updates to our Award Ticket charts on delta.com. To balance continued investments in products and services, we regularly evaluate Award pricing and adjust it periodically. Select redemption levels are changing for Award Tickets booked on or after November 8, 2013, for travel on or after February 1, 2014. You can continue to book Award Tickets for travel before February 1, 2014, at the current Award redemption levels.

Please review delta.com/charts for existing and updated mileage redemption charts by region and additional information.

These changes are effective immediately for travel on or after February 1st. Once again Delta drops a bombshell with the 'no advance notice' on award chart changes. In general most of the changes on this interim award chart are for business class and first class redemptions however economy class from Canada to Hawaii, the Middle East and Southern Asian subcontinent are going up as well.



Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn Bonus MilleMiglia Miles everytime you fly between Milan and New York. More... Until Dec 15, 13
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles everytime you fly between Venice and Tokyo. More... Apr 2 - Jun 20, 14

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at the BEST WESTERN PREMIER Le Swann - Paris or the BEST WESTERN Up Hotel - Lille More...Until Jan 31, 14

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn Double Avios when you fly on any Qatar Airways flight Worldwide. More... Nov 15 - Dec 19 & Jan 6 - 31, 14

China Eastern Eastern Miles
- Earn up to 3,000 Eastern Miles Points for stays at the Langham Place, Guangzhou. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Earn up to Triple Eastern Miles Points for stays at participating Mandarin Oriental Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 13

Delta SkyMiles
- 250 Bonus SkyMiles for every $115 you spend via SkyMiles Online shopping. More... Until Dec 5, 13

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles for stays at Jumeirah Hotels in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, the Maldives, and Shanghai. More... Until Dec 31, 13

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at select IHG hotels in China. More... Until Jan 31, 14

MEA Middle East Airlines Cedar Miles
- 50% Cedar Miles Discount on Cedar Miles award tickets for all MEA operated flights in Europe, Middle East and Africa. More... Until Dec 8, 13
- Double Cedar Miles for stays at the Al Ghurair Rayhaan & Al Ghurair Arjaan by Rotana. More... Until Dec 31, 13

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Earn up to Quadruple Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at participating Marmara Hotels Worldwide. More...Until Mar 31, 14
- Triple Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at participating Wyndham Hotels Worldwide starting with your second stay. More... Until Jan 31, 14

2010 Mega Award Winners

I spent the majority of this past week in Montreal attending the Airline Information 2010 Mega Event and the 1st Annual Mega Awards which I was honored to be a judge for. The conference itself was extremely well attended with nearly double the number of people over last years Mega Event in Huntington Beach. From airline execs to technology vendors the 3 days of networking, workshops, panels and the awards were a resounding success for the boys from Airline Information. One of the highlights of the Mega Event was of course the Mega Awards which were hosted by Freddie Laker Jr. The Mega Awards recognized marketing campaign excellence in 2009 by airlines, vendors and professionals in the areas Loyalty, Social Media and Ancillary revenue. The awards gala was pretty much sold out and Freddie Laker Jr. (with his marketing background and of course airline heritage from his father) made the perfect host for the evening.

The winners of the awards were as follows:

Best Ancilliary Revenue Product: Wessco International

Best in Airline Social Media: Air New Zealand

Most Innovative Loyalty Technology: Loylogic

Airline Loyalty Manager of the Year: Phil Gunter from Virgin Blue (he's totally awesome! A little inside humour here)

Best in Airline Loyalty: Virgin Blue

Best in Airline Social Media (People's Choice): Air Baltic

Best in Airline Loyalty (People's Choice): American Airlines

I look forward to next year's awards as 2010 has been another great year so far for the various marketing campaigns run by airlines, vendors and professionals.

For more details on this years event and on future events from the organizerst please visit AirlineInformation.org