=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2004/02= /01/TRGG24JNKP1.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, February 1, 2004 (SF Chronicle) Can we talk? Getting the goods on frequent-flier deals Michael Shapiro David Phillips, a Davis engineer, didn't really need the miles, but when he heard -- in an online forum called FlyerTalk -- that he could earn a million mileage points by flying 10 different Latin American airlines, he jumped at the opportunity. He planned an itinerary over three days that would take him to Guatemala City, San Salvador, Caracas, Quito and Lima, among other stops. "I'd always dreamed of visiting Machu Picchu, but when I got to Cuzco, I turned around and got right back on the same plane," Phillips said. Phillips, you may recall, is known as the Pudding Guy, because he parlay= ed the coupons from $2,000 worth of chocolate pudding cups into 1.2 million frequent-flier miles. He's just one of thousands of frequent fliers who are making the most of loyalty programs by sharing information online. FlyerTalk (www.flyertalk.com), the offspring of the definitive WebFlyer. com, and FrequentFlier.com are the top destinations for frequent travelers seeking to earn or cash in their miles. WebFlyer provides especially detailed program guides, compiled by frequent-flier guru Randy Petersen, who famously has collected millions of mileage points but still flies coach. Of course, the airlines' own sites, such as United.com and Delta.com, are also useful for checking frequent-flier balances, and in some cases redeeming awards -- even letting you check specific flights to see if seats are available. However, finding seats can often get complicated, and that's when savvy travelers turn to advice sites like WebFlyer. One of the most popular features on WebFlyer, which gets 19,000 unique visitors daily, is Ask Randy. Petersen says he keeps getting the same questions from readers, so rather than try to answer thousands of e-mail messages, he posts answers online. The site also posts special deals (click Bonus Promotions) such as the recent offer by 1-800-FLOWERS that awarded a mile for every penny spent. Frequent-flier junkies know a mile is worth about 1.5 cents, so when word got out, lots of mobile professionals' sweethearts found themselves receiving beautiful bouquets. (The offer is no longer in effect.) If you want to see how many miles you should be earning for a trip, click on WebFlyer's Mileage Calculator and enter your origin and destination. Another nifty tool on WebFlyer's site is called Head2Head, where you can pick two airline programs -- for example United's and Continental's -- and see how they compare. Most of these evaluations are written by knowledgeable members of these programs. I learned that if you typically book award travel that doesn't involve a Saturday night stay, United would be a better choice, because Continental requires more miles for these trips. On the other hand, if you use miles primarily for upgrading, for example from coach to business class, Continental is a good choice. When choosing a loyalty program, as Petersen notes, travelers often do best by selecting carriers that dominate nearby airports. That's the main reason I chose United, because it has so many daily flights from San Francisco International and Oakland. Perhaps the most valuable component of WebFlyer, as the Pudding Guy's story illustrates, is its generous community of knowledgeable travelers who post at FlyerTalk. More than 30,000 people visit this forum daily, discussing everything from how to switch programs while maintaining status to where to eat in airports. One frequent traveler who said she relies on FlyerTalk is writer Sheri Bjornson of Alamo. "I've learned about myriad promotions that got me more miles, how to best use my upgrades, and how to get top status for the lowest cost." She's even used the site to discern when it's worth making "a mileage run," a trip typically taken toward the end of the year to gain mileage points for elite status. Tom Griffin, a police and fire communications supervisor from Benicia, said he learned through FlyerTalk that frequent travelers can sometimes get instant elite status in an airline program by showing they ring up lots of miles with another airline. The new airline may start you off with elite status as an incentive for you to stick with them. Griffin said he'd never heard of "status comping" until a couple of years ago when he joined FlyerTalk. "I wrote AA (American Airlines) two years ago when it looked like the UA (United) mechanics were going out on strike, and I was seriously concerned a six-week vacation could turn into a six-week disaster," he wrote in a FlyerTalk post. "Although I was top tier on UA, from what I saw posted on FlyerTalk, AA would comp me (to mid-level elite status). I've been very happy with them as my top-tier carrier, and flew 148,000 miles on them last year." Frequentflier.com, another popular site, is the brainchild of Tim Winshi= p, who writes a free weekly newsletter called the Frequent Flier Crier, distributed to 166,000 subscribers. The site started out in 1997 as a tool to give consumers to mileage program information, he said, but today it focuses on advocacy. "What the Web has done for loyalty programs is bring them one step closer to true transparency," Winship said. "Consumers can quickly compare program features and benefits. And perhaps more importantly, they can interact with other members of the programs to determine which airlines are actually delivering on their promises." Winship, who's also a columnist for Smarter Living (www.smarterliving.com), often addresses topical issues, such as what airline bankruptcy (United is just one carrier in bankruptcy) means for mileage programs. Another popular topic is whether to save or spend miles. Like many others, Winship advises readers to use their miles when they can, as long as they don't spend them recklessly: "While there's no imminent danger of the programs disappearing outright, it's worth considering the undeniable dilution in their value." Phillips agrees. Unlike some mileage junkies, the Pudding Guy travels often with his family (typically in coach) and recently treated his father to a trip to Sydney with stops in Cairns, Brisbane and Auckland. How did he know how that he could include three stopovers on one award? He heard about it at FlyerTalk. TravelTech runs the first Sunday of each month. Michael Shapiro is the author of "Internet Travel Planner" and creator of www.nettravel.com. Contact him at michaelshapiro@xxxxxxxxxx=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 SF Chronicle