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June 2009

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: Fact or Fiction: Unprecedented Business Class Deals to Europe This Summer?; High & Inside: Fee Outrage: First Class Flyer’s Perspective; Worldwide Redemption Guide: Top Routes for Mileage Award Travel; Vacation Travel: Top Fare Deals to Hot Destinations; Business Travel: Finding the Best Eleventh-hour Fares; The Brass Ring: First Class Travel for Much Less … Up to 50% Off for Travel to Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia; When All Else Fails: Premium Economy … The Best Deals and Seats to Asia; Stockpile Your Summer Mileage Purchases and Get Free Upgrade at the Same Time; How Good is Continental’s Own Companion Program?; Upgrade Options Galore with American’s New Flex Awards; and Mileage Upgrade Pro: How to Get Domestic, Asia, Europe & Most Other Destinations Almost Free.

FCF Alerts
6/12: Biz Class for Coach with Air France/KLM to Europe – Through Amex & Starwood – Exp. 6/21
6/11: First Class to Hawaii Discounted 40% – Exp. 6/12
6/4: 50% Off First Class Fares to Europe – Star Alliance Carrier

May 2009

IN THIS ISSUE: Business Class for Up to 50% Less to Europe & Asia: On the World’s Best Airline; Unbelievable Fare Anomalies; High & Inside: Overlooked Loophole in Delta/Northwest Merger Nets Savings of Up to 71%; Worldwide Redemption Guide: Top Routes for Mileage Award Travel; Top Fare Deals to Hot Destinations; Upgrade Pro: How to Save up to 50% on Domestic Flights; Short Notice Fares: Finding the Best Eleventh-hour Fares; Domestic Seat Beat Upgrade to a New First Class Suite; South American Fares Headed South; Brass Ring: Save up to 87% on First Class to London; Premium Economy Seats to Europe; Worst Mistake to Make When Changing Your Credit Card; SkyTeam Loss, Star Alliance’s Gain; Another deal to Europe: Save 50%; and Last Chance Deals to Keep Your Elite Status.

FCF Alerts
5/19: American Airlines "Revolutionary Mileage Program Changes" a big deal?
5/18: Secret Fare War Just Discovered: $1,398 (If Not $897) Business Class R/T – Exp. 5/29

April 2009

IN THIS ISSUE: Business Class for the Price of Coach to Europe: Just Spot Award Chart Loopholes; Extreme Business & First Class Fare Anomalies; High & Inside: Finding Cheap, Leftover First Class Seats ... at the Airport; Where the Mileage Seats Are: 10 Hot Routes; Top Ten Vacation Deals; Which Airline Charges Half as Much to Fly Around the World; Finding the Best Eleventh-hour Fares; Seat Beat: Upgrade Your Domestic First Class Seat; Which Airline Charges 64% Less When You Book through its Partner; Premium Economy Deals Keep Coming; Elite Status for $1,200 ... Plus a Free Vacation; Free Double Upgrade to Asia; Great Seat from the East Coast to Hawaii; and For Premium Business Travel to London, Just Say Y-Up (old program comes to transatlantic routes).

March 2009

IN THIS ISSUE: Extreme Business & First Class Fare Anomalies; Business Class for LESS THAN the Price of Coach: Tough Times for Airlines Net Bargain Premium Fares on 20 Carriers; Leisure Travel: Top Ten Premium Fare Deals for Spring Vacation; Domestic Deals: Savings up to 69%—and How Anyone Can Get Them (Plus, Three Ways to Get Instant Elite Status); Upgrade Strategies: Up to 82% Off Business and First Class Travel to Asia and Europe; High & Inside: Lucrative Holes for Premium Travelers in Delta-Northwest Merger (Award Chard Discrepancies Uncovered—Up to 46%); Anomalies and Loopholes: Round-the-World Fares for a Lot Less; Where the (Mileage Award) Seats Are; BIPs to Europe: Most Rewarding Small Business Programs; How to Earn Elite Status After Just Two Flights; Changes to British Airways’ Executive Club, Dramatic; 2-for-1 Deal to India; More Mileage Purchase Deals; and Two New Business Class Seats.

February 2009

IN THIS ISSUE: Business Class for LESS THAN the Price of Coach: European Quickie Saves Up to 77% on Business Class; High & Inside: Level-Headed Upgrade Thoughts for 2009; Save $1,200 on Domestic First Class Travel; BIP: An Upgrade Win-Win for You and Your Business; Strategy Session: Beware of Fees When Chasing Lower Fares; Watch the Fares Drop: Business Class to Australia for 71% Less; European Fare Sleuth: $1,800 Business Class to Europe this Summer: Book Right Now; Significant Changes for the American Express International Airline Program for 2009; and Build Your Elite Status by Playing the Alliance Game.

January 2009

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: 2009 Predictions (Domestic Flights, Elite Status, Asia, Europe, and S. Pacific Travel); High & Inside: 2009 Elite Status Strategies; Low, No-Advance International Business Class Fares; New Service and Mileage Awards to Sydney and São Paolo; Virgin America: The Beat Goes On; A Look at Delta and Northwest Starting to Align Loyalty Programs; Best Mileage Bonuses; American and United First Class Award Availability to Europe; Elite Earning Chart for Domestic Airlines; and Upgrade Without Paying for an Upgrade.

December 2008

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: The Best Year-End Business Class Promotions and Mileage Run Opportunities; High & Inside: Evaluating Domestic Mileage Programs for Upgrades to Hawaii (ratings see subtle shift, but big changes lie ahead); Stockpile Miles and Save; AirTran Expands Upgrade Possibilities; United’s Mileage Plus to Collect Cash for Upgrades (prepare to pay more for award seats, too); US Airways Reinstates Elite Perks; Book United’s Lie-flat Seats on New Route; US Airways Mileage Run Offer; Delta Continues to Dilute SkyMiles; Continental’s Mileage Bonus Program; Low-cost Miles (buy as you fly); and Business Class Award Seat Availability to South America (a quick guide to finding free seats on Delta and Continental).

November 2008

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: First Class Transatlantic Fares Slashed; High & Inside: Circular Logic (how little-used fares can yield significant savings for Business and First Class travelers heading to the Pacific); United Airlines First Class Award Seat Availability to Hawaii; How to Save Miles on a First Class Award Seat to Hawaii; Virgin America EleVAtes Mileage Program, Slightly; Delta’s Different BusinessElite Seats to Europe Breed Confusion; Free Upgrade: Through WorldPerks Visa deal; Elite Priority-Access Programs Compared; Lufthansa Mileage Promotion; Air France Abandons Los Angeles, Picks Up New Route; Delta’s Double MQM Promotion; Free Upgrade: With US Airways’ Premier World MasterCard; American Airlines’ Secret Code Shared “Inventory Code” Expands First Class Upgrade Opportunities; Free Upgrade: With Special SAS 2-for-1 Deal; and Fare Sleuth: How to Get Up to 72% Off Business Class to South America.

October 2008

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: Unpublished Airfares to Hawaii (up to 51% off); Evaluating Domestic Mileage Programs for Upgrading to Europe; Where the Mileage Award Seats Are: Mileage Redemption Made Easy; Starwood Spinoff Falls Short; Burn, Buy, or Both; Line Yourself Up for the Ultimate Last-Minute Business Class Upgrade; How Best to Cash in on BA’s Free Companion Ticket Promotion; Business Class Seats for Less on Aer Lingus; Free Domestic Upgrade: Just for Knowing Your Fares; Continental Trims Elite Perks; American Increases Gift Limit; Nice Delta Transfer Bonus; Another Roll-out of New Business Class Seats Completed; and Fall and Winter Savings to Europe.

September 2008

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: First Class to the Caribbean (When fares are this low, paying cash is the way to go); High & Inside: Eight Ways to Protect Yourself from Mileage Program Pitfalls; What’s Behind United’s Award Accelerator?; Pie in the Sky? (Sorting the details of three major carriers’ expanded code-sharing plan); How to Get United’s New Lie-Flat Sleeper Seat to Hong Kong for Less; Flight Test: OpenSkies’ Business Class & Prem+; Strategy Session: An Advanced Course in Advance Booking; American Imposes More Fees; Delta’s New Three-Layer Cake; More Domestic Premium Seats for Sale; and British Airways All-Business Class Service, New York to London.

August 2008

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: When the Dollar Goes South, You Should, Too (Great destinations for under $1,000 r/t); How Anyone Can Save 30%+ On Mileage Award Tickets; High & Inside: Surviving the Mileage Award Famine: 13 Ways to Maximize Your Chances of Getting a Seat; The Truth About Continental’s New Business Class Seats; Airline Review: Virgin America’s Mileage Program, Fares, and More; Best Values in Unrestricted Business Class Mileage Awards; Fare Survey: Free Companion Tickets to Europe; Dark Skies Ahead on Qantas (and Others?); Free Upgrades: How to Score With Virgin Atlantic; Cathay Pacific’s New Seats; and Northwest Sticks it to You.

July 2008

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: The Rise of Premium Economy; Tracking Business Class Fares to Europe (Summer, Holidays, Etc.); Free Upgrade: With the Right Mileage Chart and Credit Card; High & Inside: Discovering Buried Treasure in Award Chart Fine Print; Fare Sleuth: Business Class Slashed to Asia; Time to Bail Out of US Airways; Free Upgrade: With Just One Flight On British Airways (But Through BA’s Other Mileage Program); American Raises Award Levels Slightly; BA Sticks It to Premium Travelers; Free Upgrade: With Diners Club and BA; and Air One Takes Off.

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2-Time Academy
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Kansas City Royals
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