According to this thread on FlyerTalk, Aegean Airlines--a Star Alliance member--is offering a 2,000 mile signup bonus to new members of their loyalty program, Miles & Bonus. Although this 1,000 mile increase over their previous offer may seem like a paltry sum from a Greek airline you are unlikely to fly frequently, this 2,000 mile bonus actually puts you halfway to Star Alliance Silver status and 1/10th of the way to Star Alliance Gold Status!

Aegean Airlines has one of the lowest mileage requirements for elite Star Alliance status.

Pre-posting update: Wyndham is trying to renege on the deal. A rep posted on FlyerTalk:
Sorry for the confusion everyone. To clarify there were 2 parts to this promotion.
First part were for members who were targeted through email and the dates for that part were August 6, 2012 to October 6, 2012 and completed by October 9, 2012.
Second part is for member's who were targeted through direct mail. Dates for this part are 9/12/12 to 12/31/12 and completed by 1/3/13.
To qualify you need to have been sent the direct mailer and book through the link provided.

Starwood Hotels Offering 20% Discount on Starpoints Purchases

Per this thread on FlyerTalk, Starwood is offering a 20% discount on all Starpoint purchases through November 30th. Purchasing Starpoints normally costs 3.5 cents per point. With this promotion, you can buy Starpoints for 2.8 cents each.

To purchase, simply follow this link and input your Starwood Preferred Guest information along with your payment selection.

I see that Starpoints top your Mile Value Leaderboard.

Delta is selling Alaska Airlines direct flights from San Diego to Maui roundtrip for $297. And American, United, and Delta are all getting in on the sub-$370 party from Los Angeles to Hawaii roundtrip.

There have recently been a ton of great deals to Hawaii. I'm not sure the cause of the sales--tourism to Hawaii is way up this year--but I've taken advantage and been trying to get everyone else to take advantage.

US Airways and American Airlines have merged since the publication of this post so it is no longer valid.

US Airways has some incredible deals on its award chart. I've talked about off peak awards, South America deals, and intra-South Asia before.

The legacy carriers--United, US Airways, Delta, American--all charge a fee if you ticket your award by phone instead of online. Here's your guide to avoiding those phone fees:

United

United charges $25 per passenger if you book by phone. They will not waive this phone fee just because a booking could not be completed online. That's frustrating because many multi-city and free-oneway awards can't be booked online. They generate error messages despite being within the routing rules.

Here's how you avoid the phone fee with United:

First, search for and reserve any United flight.

US Airways miles stink because their routing rules and fees are frustrating.

But US Airways miles are incredible because the award chart is so generous. I've talked about sweet spots here and here.

Overall, the sweet spots on the award chart and US Airways off peak awards more than make up for the routing restrictions, so I value US Airways miles more highly than any other airline mile at 1.95 cents each.

If you use US Airways miles correctly, you can reap incredible value.

US Airways and American Airlines have merged since the publication of this post, so it is no longer valid. Click here for the top current credit card sign up bonuses.

US Airways Double Miles Promotion

According to this milepoint thread and this FlyerTalk thread, there is a recent offer to get double miles on any US Airways or US Airways Express flight purchased with a MasterCard or US Airways Dividend Miles MasterCard. To exploit this offer, you must book by October 31.

You must register for the promotion in advance through this link.

Here are some of the day's hot topics being discussed on the FlyerTalk and milepoint message boards.

Christmas Cutbacks from United and How to Deal With Them

The holidays are bringing some unfortunate consequences for people who book award flights on United around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, as seen in this FlyerTalk thread.

In January, I booked an award

Hey there, you're reading an outdated post! The updated series from April 2015 can be found here.

This is the twenty-third post in a monthlong series. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete.