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December 29, 2008
The Right Way to Travel
New Year's Countdown, Tip #10: Easy ways to get VIP flight status
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Dear Right Way to Travel Reader,

Here are three easy steps for landing more flight upgrades…

** Step 1: Sign up for frequent flyer programs. It won’t cost you anything, and you’ll earn points when you fly and have access to special promotions and challenges.

** Step 2: Look for elite challenges. Challenges are unpublicized promotions that allow you to earn elite status by flying a certain number of flights or miles in a limited amount of time. Because these are unpublicized, you need to call your airline’s frequent flier customer service center to learn about them.

For example, in the past year, if you had flown with American Airlines to Ecuador or Peru in Business Class, you would have yielded enough points to earn instant Gold or Platinum status. This was through their “Gold or Platinum Challenge.”

Not all airlines offer these challenges to all members. To find out if you qualify, call your airline’s frequent flier customer service center.

** Step 3: Accumulate mileage through your credit card. With so many credit cards to choose from, how do you know which one is best for you? Cards like MBNA or Capitol One, which offer their own mileage programs, are tempting. They usually have no blackout dates and are valid on multiple carriers. But they leave out one big detail: The points are usually not valid for Business or First Class travel!

You can read more about choosing a rewards card program here in our archives: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/2008/06/how_to_fly_for_peanuts_chosing.php

-- Lori

Lori Allen
Director, AWAI Travel Division

P.S. Elite status is just one of the many ways to get upgraded to first or business class when you fly. Most people don’t know they can increase the odds of sitting up front in first class with a little seating-plan trick... or that there’s a best time of year for getting a business-class seat for LESS than coach... or that there’s a fun strategy for getting paid to fly first class. You can sit up front with the savvy travelers when you use these and other tips you’ll find in How to Get a First Class Seat -- for Less -- on Most Every Flight You Take. Grab it before midnight, December 31, while it’s 20% off during our Holiday Sale, here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/fcl/website .

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