Now that United is pairing off with Delta, and American is allied with US Airways, the world of frequent-flier miles threatens to become an even more complicated place. Here, gathered from various frequently flying experts, is a collection of old advice that still applies, and new advice to help travelers capitalize as programs overlap.
* Picture two pennies: When you're trying to decide where to travel when using your mileage awards, remember that frequent-flier miles from any airline should be worth about 2 cents apiece, if deployed shrewdly. (When airlines sell frequent-flier miles to businesses, they charge 2 cents per mile.) So if you've traded 50,000 miles for a trans-Atlantic flight that would otherwise have cost $1,000 (for a restricted coach ticket), you've done very well. If you've traded 25,000 miles for a medium-length domestic flight that would have cost $250, you're selling yourself a little short.
* Trust no one: Despite all their relentless number-juggling and efficiency in filling up jets and maximizing revenues, many airline alliances often seem to let frequent-flier credits (which are an expense, not revenue) slip through the cracks. Make it a habit to ask at the gate if your frequent-flier number is attached to your entry in the computer reservation system.
And even after you've done that, be alert for oversights: On a several-stop itinerary in Europe and the Middle East in May via Lufthansa, I checked at the gate before boarding every flight, receiving assurances that my frequent-flier account number was on the computer record and would be forwarded by Lufthansa to its partner, United Airlines. Yet three months later, one 5,786-mile trans-Atlantic segment of the trip is missing from my United mileage account. United's Mileage Plus representatives then conceded that the airlines made similar errors with about 30 percent of the passengers moving frequent-flier miles from Lufthansa to United this summer. A United spokesman, Andy Plews, confirmed the estimate, blaming the widespread shortchanging on data-transfer problems.
* Beware of high demand for Hawaii: The islands are massively popular as a mileage redemption destination, and now more travelers will be vying to go there. Randy Petersen, editor of Inside Flyer magazine, notes that US Airways doesn't go to Hawaii, but now that US Airways is allied with American, there probably will be a flood of US Airways customers trying to use mileage to get onto American flights to the islands. For veteran American mileage collectors, this means getting a flight to Hawaii may get tougher.
* Don't forget about expiration dates: So far, the new spate of frequent-flier alliances has done nothing to change expiration dates on miles, and most major U.S. carriers have them.
* Don't take foreign flights for granted, especially in Asia: The Delta-United alliance so far excludes foreign flights from its mileage-swapping options. And if you're flying with one of those widely admired Asian airlines that has ties to a U.S. carrier's mileage program, there are long-standing pitfalls. Some Asian carriers, including Cathay Pacific (partnered with American) and Singapore Airlines (partnered with American and Delta), give no mileage credits to those who buy coach (economy) seats, only to those buying business and first-class seats. Japan Airlines (partnered with American) gives restricted-fare coach travelers credit for 70 percent of miles flown. Thai Airways International (partnered with United) gives coach travelers credit for 50 percent of miles flown.
* Don't expect seasonal seat crunches to get any easier: Basically, the same number of passengers will be on board the same number of planes; these new alliances will just rearrange them a bit. And if you didn't try to use miles this summer, be warned that the current boom in travel has already made a tricky task trickier.
On June 26, hoping to use my accumulated SkyMiles to travel with my wife to England during August, I called Delta. I knew this was the busiest award travel period of the year and that the carriers a small number of seats set aside for award travel (they'll never say exactly how many). So I told Delta I could leave California from either LAX or San Francisco on Aug. 11, 12 or 13, and I would fly into either London or Dublin. Coming back, I could leave from London or Dublin, and land in San Francisco or LAX on Aug. 18, 19 or 20. Nothing available. Nothing on Delta, and nothing workable through Delta partners Aer Lingus, Sabena and Swissair.
In brief
Budget
The newest edition of "America's Best Meal Deals," the Zagat Survey's guide to great dining values in 35 cities, features 1,411 experiences that, according to Zagat, are "somewhere between fine dining and fast food." The average price of a meal in the book is $10.11. "Surveyors give these top-rate pizzerias, soup kitchens, noodle joints and the like credit for doing one thing supremely well," says Tim Zagat. "They offer a genuine peak dining experience at a bottom-rung price."
Business
The Immigration and Naturalization service is expanding its automated immigration inspection system, which speeds up processing time for certain travelers arriving in the United States from overseas.
The system is currently available at Kennedy Airport in New York, Newark Airport in New Jersey, Miami Airport and Los Angeles Airport, as well as at INS preclearance sites at Pearson fTC International Airport in Toronto and Vancouver International Airport in British Columbia. It will be offered at San Francisco Airport by early October, and at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, Washington's Dulles Airport and Honolulu Airport by early next year.
To use the system - called the INS Passenger Accelerated Service System, or INSPASS - travelers proceed to a kiosk upon arrival at the airport and insert their enrollment card. They then place their hands in a device that reads the geometry of the top of the hand. If their identity is validated, the kiosk prints an inspection receipt and travelers may go on their way. According to the INS, the process takes 15 to 20 seconds.
To enroll in the program, travelers must fill out an INS Form I-823, obtained from the agency or downloaded from its Web site (www.usdoj.gov/ins/forms). The form and supporting documents must be returned in person to an airport with a special kiosk; an INS inspector will then interview the applicant and obtain a photograph, fingerprints and hand-geometry biometric image, a digital picture of the top of the hand.
Citizens of the United States, Canada and Bermuda can participate in INSPASS, as can people who travel to the United States three or more times a year and are citizens of the 26 countries that take part in the Visa Waiver Pilot Program of the INS.
Fast solutions
Super Shuttle, the door-to-door van service that began carrying passengers this summer on shared rides in New York between Manhattan and Kennedy International Airport and La Guardia Airport, now also serves Newark International Airport in New Jersey.
The company's seven-passenger vans pick up and drop off passengers between 23rd and 126th streets in New York City. Average fares are $14 to La Guardia, $15 to Kennedy and $17 to Newark.
The company serves more than a dozen other regions around the United States, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver and Philadelphia. The toll-free reservation number is 800-258-3826.
Super Shuttle says pickup requests need to be made at least three hours in advance. No reservations are taken for airport arrivals; passengers go to the ground transportation desk and catch the next available van.
Kids
Ever get tired of parents who let their children dash around the the airplane aisles or restaurant tables as if they're on a playground? Tell them - politely - about the Manners for the Millennium Etiquette Camp, designed to teach children ages 7 to 16 correct manners at home and in social settings. Rates for the seven-day camp at the Boca Raton Resort & Club start at $1,550, which covers one adult and one child. Each added sibling is $625 more. Included is a welcome reception, lunch daily, etiquette instruction, a graduation dinner, and supervised sports and other activities. Running the program are etiquette experts Audrey Kardon and Rachelle Klein. Information: 888-495-2622.
Pub Date: 9/13/98