Awhile back, I posted on how American Airlines was offering double elite qualifying miles on travel during January, typically a somewhat slow period for travel. These are not miles that you use toward an award, but miles that count toward qualifying for elite status. I don’t personally book “mileage runs”, or flights taken for the sake of qualifying for higher elite status, but I still think it’s worth it to register for these promotions if you already have travel plans anyway. As always, if they’re giving it away for free, don’t leave it on the table!
A few other airlines have also jumped on the bandwagon, so I wanted to pass on the information to you.
United
United is offering double award miles on most round-trip flights operated by United and Continental. Flights must be booked and flown after registration but before January 31 (previously booked travel is ineligible). Unfortunately, you have to be targeted for this promotion with United in order to take advantage of this. You can find out if you were targeted by logging into your MileagePlus page and clicking on the My Promotions tab. From there, you will be able to read more details and register through your own account. (Hat Tip to Just Another Points Traveler)
Southwest
Everyone is eligible to participate in Southwest’s promo for double tier-qualifying points. Registration is required in advance, and flights must be booked and flown after registration but January 31. (Hat Tip to The Points Guy) Furthermore, you can get double points if you are flying into or out of Boston, Manchester, Providence, Orlando, Newark, or LaGuardia. Registration is required by December 30. Flights musts must be booked after registration but before December 30, though travel can be completed through February 15. These bonus points don’t qualify for status, but do qualify for reward travel, so it’s worth registering for both promotions. (Hat Tip to Online Travel Review)
