First, and most importantly, it was great to attend Frequent Traveler University hear all of the positive feedback about the blog. Scott has really created excitement over his creative oneway awards and expert routing knowlege. It's a lot of fun to part of something special like this. I just hope to contribute a small fraction to MileValue now and in the future.

As I posted early Saturday morning, I didn't really know what to expect in attending Frequent Traveler University.

I have to say, the journey to Frequent Traveler University has been a long strange one. I first “discovered” this hobby about five years ago. A small finance blog (now long defunct) casually mentioned the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card as a great addition to anyone’s wallet, and the ball rolled from there. I then accidentally tripped over FlyerTalk and was initially overwhelmed by the sheer amount of knowledge and expertise it contained.

After perusing FlyerTalk, I started following one travel blog (incidentally, the Frugal Travel Guy).

Update from Scott: I'm finding $382 all in roundtrip now too:

According to this thread in the ever popular Mileage Run forum on FlyerTalk, Hawaiian Airlines is running a fare sale from New York  to Honolulu. Hawaiian Airlines operates a direct flight from JFK to Honolulu, and we are seeing fares for as low as $435 for this direct flight.

There appears to be only one stretch of days in early December and great availability in January and February.

What's the best way to hunt for eligible dates?

I always use the ITA Software Matrix.

Virgin Atlantic-35% Bonus on Membership Rewards Transfers

According to the American Express Membership Rewards website here, Virgin Atlantic is offering a 35% bonus when transferring Membership Rewards into Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles.

This offer is available through December 29th. Transfers must be made in increments of 1,000 Membership Rewards. The minimum transfer will yield 1,350 Flying Club miles.

 Is this a good deal?
Unfortunately not. Virgin Atlantic features an incredible onboard product and great club lounges.

According to this blog post and this thread on FlyerTalk, Hilton has just announced their "Any Weekend, Anywhere Sale" where you receive between 15-40% off the best available room rate for weekend stays booked between now and January 31, 2013. Hotels in the Asia-Pacific region have an extended booking deadline of February 14, 2013.

Stays must be completed by December 31, 2013. Eligible weekend stays will also earn double stay credit towards Hilton elite status. With this promotion, you will be able to earn Hilton Silver status with only two weekend stays (a total of four weekend nights).

Maximizing Your Holiday Shopping Spend on Amazon.com

As the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals descend upon us, many will be eager to log onto Amazon and knock out all of their holiday shopping at once. Before you buy anything on Amazon, make sure you are maximizing your mileage earning potential.

Hawaiian Airlines' shopping portal is the only one that earns frequent flyer miles on Amazon purchases.

According to this thread on FlyerTalk, American Airlines is holding a holiday special on all purchased miles. Bonus miles are awarded depending on the amount of miles purchased. In similar fashion to previous American Airlines miles specials, there is a tiered bonus structure. The more miles you purchase, the more bonus miles you receive.

To purchase points and see the terms and conditions, go to American's Buy Miles page here.

What is the maximum number of miles I can purchase with this promotion?

You can purchase up to 60,000 miles.

Delta offers 1,500 MQM for one year Sky Club membership

According to this thread on FlyerTalk, Delta is offering elite qualifying miles for buying a Sky Club lounge membership. To take advantage, you must purchase a one or three year membership by December 31st.

You can choose between two additional free months on a one-year membership or 1,500 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs). MQMs are what Delta uses to calculate elite status.

Chicago to Tel Aviv for under $650

According to this thread in the Mileage Run Forum of FlyerTalk, Delta Airlines is offering fares under $650 for roundtrip flights from Chicago to Tel Aviv, connecting at New York-JFK.

It's important to note that these low fares require a connection in JFK. Trying to book only the JFK <-> Tel Aviv roundtrip would be about $280 more expensive!

I'm seeing good availability in January and February.

This deal is dead. But wouldn't you rather save 90% on your American Airlines flights? See here.

Via the Flight Deal, American Airlines is offering 5% off all flights using promotional code 9612DD. The coupon code is meant for City County (Fort Lauderdale/Broward County) Credit Union members, but it appears that anyone can use the code to knock 5% off their American Airlines airfare!

Details of the promotion are below. Note that travel must be booked by December 31st.