US Airways 2011 Grand Slam Promotion - Grand Slam 2011 FAQ is up

http://shopping.usairways.com/en-US/FAQs/grandslamfaqs.html

Here is the text:


Grand Slam 2011 answers
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I had partner activity before I registered, does it count?
No, only activity after registration counts. No exceptions.
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Do my flights with US Airways or another airline (like United) count as a hit?
No, flight activity on US Airways and our airline partners is not included on this promotion.
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Why do you need my email address?
Your email address is required in order to register for this promotion. We’ll automatically subscribe you to e-Statement, Earn More Miles and US Airways Cruises email. You may unsubscribe, but if you unsubscribe, we’ll be unable to send you updates while the promotion is running.
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What is the Eligible Activity Date?
The Eligible Activity Date is the date the partner records their mileage transaction with you. In order to qualify for this promotion, all eligible activity must be completed by November 14, 2011. Partners use different criteria to determine activity date, so it’s important to complete your partner activity with this in mind. When in doubt, please verify with the partner. Activity date is usually defined as a credit card statement closing date, a hotel check-in or check-out, pick-up or return for car rentals, a delivery date for FTD and service completion (loan closing) for service providers or utilities.
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Do I get bonus miles each time I earn a hit? What if I earn a number of hits that aren’t shown on the award chart (for example, 6 or 7 hits)?
Bonus miles are cumulative and based on the total number of hits. For example, if you earn four hits you get a total of 3,000 bonus miles. If you get 8 hits you get another 7,000 bonus miles for a total of 10,000 bonus miles. Bonus miles are only awarded in four hit increments. So, if you earn seven total hits, your total bonus mileage will be 3,000 bonus miles (that you earned after four hits). Earning one more hit (eight hits total) will get you 7,000 more bonus miles, bringing you to the 10,000 bonus mile level.
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How do I earn hits with my credit or debit card?
You earn one hit for one spend with each US Airways credit or debit card partner during the promotional period (date you register through November 14, 2011). The miles can come from first use or your daily spending. Remember that credit and debit card miles post based on your statement closing date, not on the date you sign-up for a new card or use your card.
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I have two US Airways MasterCard credit cards (or two US Airways Visa cards). Can I earn two hits on both cards?
No. You can only earn one hit per card type, regardless of the number of cards you have. There are five card types: US Airways MasterCard, US Airways Business MasterCard, US Airways Visa, US Airways Visa Business Card, and US Airways Visa Debit Card.
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How can I earn hits for hotel transfers?
You can transfer your hotel points into Dividend Miles at the hotel’s program website or visit usairways.com/convertmiles. If you transfer hotel points to Dividend Miles, you can earn one hit (with a maximum of one hit per hotel family). You have to earn a minimum of 850 Dividend Miles from each transfer in order to qualify as a hit. If you transfer 25,000 miles from Starwood you only get one hit, even if you transfer from Starwood again. However, if you transfer 5,000 miles from Starwood and 3,000 miles from Marriott you earn two hits.
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How can I earn hits for hotel stays?
You earn one hit for every mileage-earning hotel stay with a maximum of 6 hits. Earn your hits from the same partner (6 stays with Hilton = 6 hits) or from different hotel partners. For example, if you stay with Hilton on September 15 and again on October 1, you’ll earn two hits. If you stay twice with Hilton and twice with Marriott during the promotion then you’ll earn four hits, two hits from Hilton and two hits from Marriott. You must earn at least 200 Dividend Miles for each stay in order for the stay to qualify as a hit.
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How can I earn hits for car rentals?
You earn one hit for every mileage-earning car rental with a maximum of 6 hits. Your hits can come from the same partner (for example 6 rentals with Avis = 6 hits) or from different partners. For example, if you rent from Avis on September 15 and again on October 1, you’ll earn two hits. If you rent twice from Avis and twice from Hertz during the promotion then you’ll earned four hits, two from Avis and two from Hertz. You must earn Dividend Miles for each car rental in order for the rental to qualify as a hit.
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If I share miles with another Dividend Miles member, will we both get a hit?
Yes. When you share miles, they are moved from one account and into another. However, you can only earn a hit once, regardless of whether you give or receive miles.
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How can I earn a hit for swapping miles?
If you swap out other program points or miles in to Dividend Miles at points.com, you will be credited with one hit. You can only earn one hit for swapping miles.
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How can I earn a hit with the Shopping Mall?
Go to usairways.com/shop and enter your Dividend Miles number. Then choose your merchant, buy something and you’ll earn a maximum of one hit. You won’t earn a hit if you use coupons or gift cards, or if you buy gift cards. SkyMall does not count as a Shopping Mall hit, but it does count as its own hit.
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Can I use the Dividend Miles toolbar to earn hits?
Yes! Once you’ve downloaded the toolbar to your computer, just complete 3 mileage earning searches and you’ll earn a hit. But you can only do it once for it to count as a hit.
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What if I shop with different merchants in the Shopping Mall? Will I earn more hits?
No. You can only earn one hit with the Shopping Mall, no matter the number of merchants you use.
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Am I eligible to participate?
You must be a Dividend Miles member to participate. The Dividend Miles Grand Slam promotion is not a game of chance, lottery or contest. It is open to all Dividend Miles members except where prohibited by local law.
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What are Preferred-qualifying miles?
Preferred-qualifying miles are Dividend Miles that count towards maintaining or reaching Preferred status in our Dividend Miles program.
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Will the Preferred-qualifying miles I earn count towards my 2012 Preferred status?
Yes. Preferred-qualifying miles will post with a 2011activity date and count towards your 2012 Preferred status.
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If I’m not Preferred status can I earn all of the bonus miles in Grand Slam?
No. You must be Preferred status in order to earn the miles in the 40th bonus tier. If you are not currently Preferred you may earn a hit by purchasing Preferred status or Trial Preferred status. Just make sure your Preferred status is active when you make your 40th for hit or you will not qualify for the final bonus.

First thing that stands out is the minimums on hotel transfers and hotel stays.

Awesome news. Now let's get the optimization tips rolling...

First thing that stands out is the minimums on hotel transfers and hotel stays.

850/transfer & 200/stay DM minimums required. Not all that bad.

850/transfer DM minimums required. Not all that bad.

Only cuts out Club Carlson minimum transfer and SPG top tier 1 point transfers. Shame - I thought I had CC in the bank!

So there's a 40th hit (at least) and 7000 miles for the second batch of four. Sounds good so far.

So there's a 40th hit (at least) and 7000 miles for the second batch of four. Sounds good so far.

I like it - only 3,000 for the first four hits, but it seems like they are backloading it more if you earn 7,000 with the next four hits.

I have two US Airways MasterCard credit cards (or two US Airways Visa cards). Can I earn two hits on both cards?
No. You can only earn one hit per card type, regardless of the number of cards you have. There are five card types: US Airways MasterCard, US Airways Business MasterCard, US Airways Visa, US Airways Visa Business Card, and US Airways Visa Debit Card.[/B]

--> nice cheap/free hits for us residents. discriminating for all others. despite having a us ssn, i don't get a us cc, not even a secured one



How can I earn hits for hotel transfers?
You can transfer your hotel points into Dividend Miles at the hotel’s program website or visit usairways.com/convertmiles. If you transfer hotel points to Dividend Miles, you can earn one hit (with a maximum of one hit per hotel family). You have to earn a minimum of 850 Dividend Miles from each transfer in order to qualify as a hit. If you transfer 25,000 miles from Starwood you only get one hit, even if you transfer from Starwood again. However, if you transfer 5,000 miles from Starwood and 3,000 miles from Marriott you earn two hits.[/B]

--> no more SPG hit for 1 mile




How can I earn hits for hotel stays?
You earn one hit for every mileage-earning hotel stay with a maximum of 6 hits. Earn your hits from the same partner (6 stays with Hilton = 6 hits) or from different hotel partners. For example, if you stay with Hilton on September 15 and again on October 1, you’ll earn two hits. If you stay twice with Hilton and twice with Marriott during the promotion then you’ll earn four hits, two hits from Hilton and two hits from Marriott. You must earn at least 200 Dividend Miles for each stay in order for the stay to qualify as a hit.[/B]

--> cheap wynhhamrewards hotels (e.g. super 8 for 30 $) won't count



If I’m not Preferred status can I earn all of the bonus miles in Grand Slam?
No. You must be Preferred status in order to earn the miles in the 40th bonus tier. If you are not currently Preferred you may earn a hit by purchasing Preferred status or Trial Preferred status. Just make sure your Preferred status is active when you make your 40th for hit or you will not qualify for the final bonus.

--> boah, must purchase such a useless status for expensive money!?


ABSOLUTE CRAPPPPPPP this year!!!! I think I won't make all hits this year, seems to be too expensive :td:

I don't remember them posting a FAQ last year in advance of the registration. Does anyone remember if they did this last year and if so how long after that they registration opened? I am traveling this week and could score some hits so I have my fingers crossed that it will open soon.

I don't remember them posting a FAQ last year in advance of the registration. Does anyone remember if they did this last year and if so how long after that they registration opened? I am traveling this week and could score some hits so I have my fingers crossed that it will open soon.

Last year there was no pre-released FAQ. we did have a crafty FT'er find the promo page before it was announced though. I'd imagine this will start around Sept 1, thats the trend from prior years.

--> nice cheap/free hits for us residents. discriminating for all others. despite having a us ssn, i don't get a us cc, not even a secured one

--> no more SPG hit for 1 mile

--> cheap wynhhamrewards hotels (e.g. super 8 for 30 $) won't count

--> boah, must purchase such a useless status for expensive money!?

ABSOLUTE CRAPPPPPPP this year!!!! I think I won't make all hits this year, seems to be too expensive :td:

I think these changes are in direct response to last year's promo, especially the SPG 1 point transfer which was used abundantly by FT'ers and was blogged and tweeted repeatedly. In suggest if/when we find similar loopholes this year, people use a little restraint and bloggers resist the urge to hype them everywhere or else next year they'll be gone too. As for the 40th hit requiring status, some may feel it's a gimmick designed to force you to purchase status; I, however, feel it's a reward for those who actually fly US, and I don't mind one bit that they want to throw their actual customers a bone now and then.

I called Tech support and said "I am reading the FAQ and it says I have to register, but I can not find the link to register". They said:
** The period to earn hits will be Sept. 14th -Nov. 14th 2011
Registration will be at:
usairways.com/grandslam
They don't know when it will go live.
You will be able to call and register but they don't have that capacity on their end yet.

I expected the hotel minimums; in fact we were speculating on it on the main board.

Most noticeable to me are that bonus tiers are different. It looks like if the faq hold it will be 3k and 10k for 4 and 8 hits respectively, as compared to 4k and 8k last year. Also the top tier is 40 hits.

I suggest if/when we find similar loopholes this year, people use a little restraint and bloggers resist the urge to hype them everywhere...

Dear Santa, Please bring me a horse, another brother, and a house filled with candy.

Great ideas, wishful thinking :D


--> nice cheap/free hits for us residents. discriminating for all others. despite having a us ssn, i don't get a us cc, not even a secured one
--> no more SPG hit for 1 mile
--> cheap wynhhamrewards hotels (e.g. super 8 for 30 $) won't count
--> boah, must purchase such a useless status for expensive money!?

ABSOLUTE CRAPPPPPPP this year!!!! I think I won't make all hits this year, seems to be too expensive :td:

Seems they are discriminating against unprofitable activity. Their prerogative, and logical.

--> boah, must purchase such a useless status for expensive money!?


Well, it looks as though status will only allow you to earn hits number 37-40, so I don't know how much of a perq it is. Who knows how many extra miles that will be.

If you don't travel on business extensively, by the time you got to hits 36-40, the hits tended to be pretty expensive last year. I think by the time I was at 36, I was at the point where additional hits would have cost me in the neighborhood of at least $50 because I'd stripped all the low hanging and middle hanging fruit.

So, even if the jump from 36 to 40 hits is another 20k miles, you're really only talking about getting that last 20k for 1 cpm, which is not exactly a huge deal from a US perspective, since they routinely sell them for not much more than that.

http://shopping.usairways.com/en-US/FAQs/grandslamfaqs.html

Here is the text:


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How do I earn hits with my credit or debit card?
You earn one hit for one spend with each US Airways credit or debit card partner during the promotional period (date you register through November 14, 2011). The miles can come from first use or your daily spending. Remember that credit and debit card miles post based on your statement closing date, not on the date you sign-up for a new card or use your card.
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I have two US Airways MasterCard credit cards (or two US Airways Visa cards). Can I earn two hits on both cards?
No. You can only earn one hit per card type, regardless of the number of cards you have. There are five card types: US Airways MasterCard, US Airways Business MasterCard, US Airways Visa, US Airways Visa Business Card, and US Airways Visa Debit Card.
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Where can you find information on the visa credit card. I checked both us airs site and boa and all I could find was the visa debit.

I called Tech support and said "I am reading the FAQ and it says I have to register, but I can not find the link to register". They said:
** The period to earn hits will be Sept. 14th -Nov. 14th 2011
Registration will be at:
usairways.com/grandslam
They don't know when it will go live.
You will be able to call and register but they don't have that capacity on their end yet.

What a tease we have to wait three weeks to start earning.

If buying status earns a hit in itself it may be worth it if the top tier is for an additional 20K miles.

I am not to surprised by the changes, especially the hotel transfers and min 200 miles from hotel stays.

** The period to earn hits will be Sept. 14th -Nov. 14th 2011


Last year's Grand Slam started on September 1st. I have a trip planned for Labor Day weekend I was hoping would count for a hotel and rental car hit. :(

Last year's max hits were 36, and it looks like this year will be 40. So, will you need 40 hits for 100,000 bonus? That will make it a lot tougher. Last year, I was only able to reach 32.

Where can you find information on the visa credit card. I checked both us airs site and boa and all I could find was the visa debit.

Looks like BofA discontinued the Visa credit cards. I guess only current cardholders will be able to get these hits. I am in the same boat as you. I was waiting for the Grand Slam before I applied to BofA and now it's gone. (missed out on the 25K signup bonus for the signature card as well) There were just too many better CC offers this year.

Here is the old BofA webpage, link's don't work anymore:
http://www.bankofamerica.com/creditcards/index.cfm?template=cc_usair.cfm%2526headerType=usa ir%2526menu=earningmiles

Last year's Grand Slam started on September 1st. I have a trip planned for Labor Day weekend I was hoping would count for a hotel and rental car hit. :(

Damn, I've got an el cheapo rental car that I return on September 12 :(

200/stay DM minimums required. Not all that bad.:confused:


Sorry to ask a rookie question, but what does that mean to participants? IOW what is the spend required to get 200DMs? Does it vary among brands?

:confused:


Sorry to ask a rookie question, but what does that mean to participants? IOW what is the spend required to get 200DMs? Does it vary among brands?

Take a look at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/2011-grand-slam-promotion/1249967-hotel-stay-master-thread.html

Take a look at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/2011-grand-slam-promotion/1249967-hotel-stay-master-thread.html

Thanks! Didn't realize there was one yet!:)

Last year's max hits were 36, and it looks like this year will be 40. So, will you need 40 hits for 100,000 bonus? That will make it a lot tougher. Last year, I was only able to reach 32.

Not necessarily. We don't know what the maximum mileage bonus is. We still don't have enough info to work on to answer this.

Well there go all the Hampton Inn stays that earned 100 miles. Need 200 miles for a hit so the one night stays under $100 won't work. :td:

I called Tech support and said "I am reading the FAQ and it says I have to register, but I can not find the link to register". They said:
** The period to earn hits will be Sept. 14th -Nov. 14th 2011
Registration will be at:
usairways.com/grandslam
They don't know when it will go live.
You will be able to call and register but they don't have that capacity on their end yet.

another backlash :td:

--> nice cheap/free hits for us residents. discriminating for all others. despite having a us ssn, i don't get a us cc, not even a secured one





--> no more SPG hit for 1 mile





--> cheap wynhhamrewards hotels (e.g. super 8 for 30 $) won't count





--> boah, must purchase such a useless status for expensive money!?


ABSOLUTE CRAPPPPPPP this year!!!! I think I won't make all hits this year, seems to be too expensive :td:

for Hotel stays do (as much as I HATE to say this) Hilton other then Hampton,Homewood, Home Suites, since you earn double dipping 500 miles and checkout www.roomsaver.com and you just might find some $69 coupons or use MVP code 560041604 for DTs , ESs and 0041604 for Hils and HGIs and I find Fri & Sat night nights at <$60 at times and a place you wont mind actually staying at unlike Knights Inn etc

for Hotel stays do (as much as I HATE to say this) Hilton other then Hampton,Homewood, Home Suites, since you earn double dipping 500 miles and checkout www.roomsaver.com and you just might find some $69 coupons or use MVP code 560041604 for DTs , ESs and 0041604 for Hils and HGIs and I find Fri & Sat night nights at <$60 at times and a place you wont mind actually staying at unlike Knights Inn etc

yes, hilton etc will be amonst the best choices. nevertheless, we are talking about


old: wyndham hotels for ~30$ without checking in
new: whatever for ~60$+ with checking in (if you are lucky enough to have such a hotel around you)


~30$ for no-shows was a good deal, whilst 60$+ doesn't pay off (unless you really need some night and would book it anyway).

bear also in mind that you will lose a significant amount of miles if you collect on us airways instead of bmi. that's also to take into your calculation

Well there go all the Hampton Inn stays that earned 100 miles. Need 200 miles for a hit so the one night stays under $100 won't work. :td:



Im signed up for Double Miles that lasts till 9/30! only question is does it appear as 200 miles in 1 entry or 100 & 100? anyone who chose 2x miles (instead of pts) can you please post how US has been posting it, HH handles it as 2 transactions of 100 & 100

AA has it as 2 different entrys just as HH books it, so I think US will handle the same

yes, hilton etc will be amonst the best choices. nevertheless, we are talking about


old: wyndham hotels for ~30$ without checking in
new: whatever for ~60$+ with checking in (if you are lucky enough to have such a hotel around you)


~30$ for no-shows was a good deal, whilst 60$+ doesn't pay off (unless you really need some night and would book it anyway).

bear also in mind that you will lose a significant amount of miles if you collect on us airways instead of bmi. that's also to take into your calculation

well I still need another 3 HHs would have been 4 but did a run a couple of nights before US came out with this and it slipped my mind

I can understand but I usually didnt do phathom stays and can get a DT near me on Sat nights with MVP if nothing is a happenin in the expo center for $50-55. Never coollected BMI miles, but if UA/CO implements anything near what they leaked, I most likely come 2012 will be doing so or A3

I'm excited for the challenge. That's what this is about. I'm going to work on 5-6 accounts this year. I suspect I'll only get 1-2 (mine and my wife's) accounts all the way to 40 hits but I'm sure it will be fruitful and a fun at the same time.

I've been working on all my Hotel point transfers through e-rewards and shopping malls over the last year and the only one of the effected by the new rules is Carlson Club but we'll have a new hotel chain La Quinta :)

another backlash :td:

Hey we get it that you are not thrilled Zurich Flyer. But could you please chill out a little? Some of us are actually excited about this. ;)

Im signed up for Double Miles that lasts till 9/30! only question is does it appear as 200 miles in 1 entry or 100 & 100? anyone who chose 2x miles (instead of pts) can you please post how US has been posting it, HH handles it as 2 transactions of 100 & 100

AA has it as 2 different entrys just as HH books it, so I think US will handle the same

It shows up as two posts. But it still technically meets the requirent of 200 points for a stay, so maybe...

2011 Q3 PICK OFFER - DOUBLE MILES - Hilton Los Angeles San Gabriel 1,000 27-Jul-2011
VIRGIN ATLANTIC DOUBLE DIP - Hilton Los Angeles San Gabriel 1,000 27-Jul-2011

It shows up as two posts. But it still technically meets the requirent of 200 points for a stay, so maybe...

The US Airways MasterCard and US Airways Business MasterCard offers are on my website below in the Credit Cards > Annual Fee Cards page. The best offer I have for these is for the personal card for 40,000 up front miles for first purchase, first year annual fee waived. A few of my readers have reported problems with this after submitting the application, but others say there was no problem with it. I had success with it when it first came out. The standard offer is 30,000 miles last I looked. Many flyertalkers reported on another thread getting a lesser number of miles for a different card when trying for the 40,000. But it was still free for the first year.

The US Airways Visa Debit Card is issued by Bank of America. You may read about it in my Finance > Banks section. 3,000 bonus miles for your first purchase, $30 annual fee.

Another data point stayed at HGI last week for 1 night and received 500 miles posted twice as part of the Q3 promo with US air.

The period to earn hits will be Sept. 14th -Nov. 14th 2011

If the promo starts Sept. 14 and the Buy Miles bonus ends Sept. 15, that leaves a one-day window to take advantage of Buy Miles for a hit and the 100% bonus. Remember to buy miles on the first day of GS if you're planning on the double-up (min. 10,000). Then again I don't see the "deal" in buying 20k miles (10k + 10k bonus) for $295.63, even for a hit.

If the promo starts Sept. 14 and the Buy Miles bonus ends Sept. 15, that leaves a one-day window to take advantage of Buy Miles for a hit and the 100% bonus. Remember to buy miles on the first day of GS if you're planning on the double-up (min. 10,000). Then again I don't see the "deal" in buying 20k miles (10k + 10k bonus) for $295.63, even for a hit.
For 20K, I would tend to agree. If, however, one has a big trip planned, is a Front Cabins kinda fella, and can use 100,000 miles right away, I see a lot of value in purchasing 100K (50k + 50k bonus) for $1478.15.

If the promo starts Sept. 14 and the Buy Miles bonus ends Sept. 15, that leaves a one-day window to take advantage of Buy Miles for a hit and the 100% bonus. Remember to buy miles on the first day of GS if you're planning on the double-up (min. 10,000). Then again I don't see the "deal" in buying 20k miles (10k + 10k bonus) for $295.63, even for a hit.

right, this makes only sense if one wants to purchase miles anyway

Last year's max hits were 36, and it looks like this year will be 40. So, will you need 40 hits for 100,000 bonus? That will make it a lot tougher. Last year, I was only able to reach 32.
I doubt that's the case. US Airways tweeted the following on 16 August 2011:
Get ready to join the big leagues. Dividend Miles Grand Slam is back and bigger than ever! Stay tuned…
I don't believe that 100,000 miles for 40 hits is bigger than last year's 100,000 miles for 36 hits.

--> cheap wynhhamrewards hotels (e.g. super 8 for 30 $) won't count

Yes but there are plenty of Choice Hotels and a few BW's that still qualify. They are still earning 250 miles a stay and there are many under the $40 a night price. For the 6 hits allowed you might have to dish out an extra $60 this year compared to last year. The owner of the hotel in Cleveland TN is not going to have as much fun this year! No shows only count with Wyndham and at 2 miles per dollar you need to spend $100 per hit...ouch!

If I transfer points from someone else's account to my DM account, will those be counted towards hits?

If I transfer points from someone else's account to my DM account, will those be counted towards hits?
Per the currently posted FAQ, yes:
If I share miles with another Dividend Miles member, will we both get a hit?
Yes. When you share miles, they are moved from one account and into another. However, you can only earn a hit once, regardless of whether you give or receive miles.

--> cheap wynhhamrewards hotels (e.g. super 8 for 30 $) won't count

Yes but there are plenty of Choice Hotels and a few BW's that still qualify. They are still earning 250 miles a stay and there are many under the $40 a night price. For the 6 hits allowed you might have to dish out an extra $60 this year compared to last year. The owner of the hotel in Cleveland TN is not going to have as much fun this year! No shows only count with Wyndham and at 2 miles per dollar you need to spend $100 per hit...ouch!

do you really think i would waste 30 $ per night? wrong, wrong, wrong! the deal is 4 nights at a wydnham rewards hotel (i.e. 4 x 30 $) give me 30k Wyndham points = 12k US miles. that strategy still pays off. would have been much better if the four no-show nights would also - on the same time - have given me four hits. another problem with best westerns and other crap: you need to check-in. how can i fly tatl for a check-in?

--> cheap wynhhamrewards hotels (e.g. super 8 for 30 $) won't count

Yes but there are plenty of Choice Hotels and a few BW's that still qualify. They are still earning 250 miles a stay and there are many under the $40 a night price. For the 6 hits allowed you might have to dish out an extra $60 this year compared to last year. The owner of the hotel in Cleveland TN is not going to have as much fun this year! No shows only count with Wyndham and at 2 miles per dollar you need to spend $100 per hit...ouch!

again wrong. take a hawthorn suite and pay ~ 60 $ per night @:-)

This has probably been asked before but it may be relevant this year for new readers like me.

I have a couple of real hotel stays coming up in China before Nov. 14th. I'm happy to try Wyndham for a change (hotels are soooo cheap in China) - if I make 5 consecutive reservations for a 5 night stay (so I'm 'checking in and out' every morning) - will that earn me 5 hits?

Or do I have to be in separate properties for this?

This has probably been asked a before but it may be relevant this year for new readers like me again.

I have a couple of real hotel stays coming up in China before Nov. 14th. I'm happy to try Wyndham for a change (hotels are soo cheap in China) - if I make 5 consecutive reservations for a 5 night stay (so I'm 'checking in and out' every morning) - will that earn me 5 hits?

Or do I have to be in separate properties for this?

Good question. When earning hotel status, this won't count as separate stays in most programs. But when earning miles in an airline partner, I suspect this may vary from hotel program to program and airline to airline.

This has probably been asked before but it may be relevant this year for new readers like me.

I have a couple of real hotel stays coming up in China before Nov. 14th. I'm happy to try Wyndham for a change (hotels are soooo cheap in China) - if I make 5 consecutive reservations for a 5 night stay (so I'm 'checking in and out' every morning) - will that earn me 5 hits?

Or do I have to be in separate properties for this?

You have to be in separate properties AND perhaps you dont get enough points for a hit (min. 200/Stay - e.g. Super8 only honor US$*2 so a minimum of 100US$ spend a night)

Take a look at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/2011-grand-slam-promotion/1249967-hotel-stay-master-thread.html

^ Since I was going to do a blog that would have essentially reinvented the wheel, I'm killing that idea.

As for the extra four hits for US status, I have no problem with that (and I don't have status). I think they should give their most loyal people something extra.

Raised transfer limits are no fun but to be expected. That was too easy a hit last year. Also, I got frequent hits from lunch at Starwood properties last year, which won't happen.

For me, the promo isn't going to be worth what it was worth last year, but it looks like US made some intelligent business decisions.

Mike

I doubt that's the case. US Airways tweeted the following on 16 August 2011:
Get ready to join the big leagues. Dividend Miles Grand Slam is back and bigger than ever! Stay tuned…
I don't believe that 100,000 miles for 40 hits is bigger than last year's 100,000 miles for 36 hits.


Well, since they didn't do/haven't done H/S/J this year, wouldn't it be just truly incredible that hits 37-40 counted towards status elevation/retention?

That would make it bigger than ever!

Just a thought...

Well, since they didn't do/haven't done H/S/J this year, wouldn't it be just truly incredible that hits 37-40 counted towards status elevation/retention?




Great. Now you're putting new ideas into my head. :D

But my guess is that getting to the 40th hit will give Preferreds another 20,000-25,000 miles beyond the 100,000 miles already earned for 36 hits.

Great. Now you're putting new ideas into my head. :D

But my guess is that getting to the 40th hit will give Preferreds another 20,000-25,000 miles beyond the 100,000 miles already earned for 36 hits.

It's not out of the stretch of the imagination to think that those miles might be PQM...after 100K, the last thing I need is more bonus miles, but seeing how my current year status is progressing, 10K, 20K or even 25K PQMs would be something else!

To clarify: You aren't saying there are BW properties that DON'T qualify --- just that there are only a few that are super cheap, right?
--> cheap wynhhamrewards hotels (e.g. super 8 for 30 $) won't count

Yes but there are plenty of Choice Hotels and a few BW's that still qualify. They are still earning 250 miles a stay and there are many under the $40 a night price. For the 6 hits allowed you might have to dish out an extra $60 this year compared to last year. The owner of the hotel in Cleveland TN is not going to have as much fun this year! No shows only count with Wyndham and at 2 miles per dollar you need to spend $100 per hit...ouch!

Lots of nice Best Westerns in your part of Europe -- no need to fly TATL -- just book, stay, enjoy!
do you really think i would waste 30 $ per night? wrong, wrong, wrong! the deal is 4 nights at a wydnham rewards hotel (i.e. 4 x 30 $) give me 30k Wyndham points = 12k US miles. that strategy still pays off. would have been much better if the four no-show nights would also - on the same time - have given me four hits. another problem with best westerns and other crap: you need to check-in. how can i fly tatl for a check-in?

do you really think i would waste 30 $ per night? wrong, wrong, wrong! the deal is 4 nights at a wydnham rewards hotel (i.e. 4 x 30 $) give me 30k Wyndham points = 12k US miles. that strategy still pays off. would have been much better if the four no-show nights would also - on the same time - have given me four hits. another problem with best westerns and other crap: you need to check-in. how can i fly tatl for a check-in?

Sure, but that results in a point transfer hit and not hotel hit. If you book a BW or Choice hotel in the US, I'll be happy to check in for you and stay the night if I like the place. ;)

Well, since they didn't do/haven't done H/S/J this year, wouldn't it be just truly incredible that hits 37-40 counted towards status elevation/retention?

That would make it bigger than ever!

Just a thought...

Ohhh I hadn't considered that... that would be dreamy. I'll just barely squeak by to be CP again but my Mr is far short and this would really put a smile on both of our faces as we'd not have to spend one of our very few remaining free weekends flying to wherever and back!

after 100K, the last thing I need is more bonus miles

Blashpemey. You can never be too rich or too thin and you can never have too many RDM. :D

To clarify: You aren't saying there are BW properties that DON'T qualify --- just that there are only a few that are super cheap, right?

Yes, that is what I meant. There aren't too many BW's in the US that are under $40 per night. I did stay at one in LAS in July which was $39.99 prepaid. There is a Rodeway near where I live which costs about $32 per night plus tax. I think I'll be checking in there a few times then sleeping at home and returning the next morning to check out. This of course will be after 9/14/11.

Yeah the hotel stays could get trickier, but at least there's no minimum $ spent on car rentals... And right now I can get a Smart Car at my local hertz rental office for weekend day for $19 ($22 with tax)! :)

Don't know about Hertz, but be very, very careful to check to see if off-airport rentals earn miles (and therefore, hits.) We had 4 Avis rentals not count last year before we figured out that Avis off-airport are non-mileage-earning.
Yeah the hotel stays could get trickier, but at least there's no minimum $ spent on car rentals... And right now I can get a Smart Car at my local hertz rental office for weekend day for $19 ($22 with tax)! :)

Ohhh I hadn't considered that... that would be dreamy. I'll just barely squeak by to be CP again but my Mr is far short and this would really put a smile on both of our faces as we'd not have to spend one of our very few remaining free weekends flying to wherever and back!



Blashpemey. You can never be too rich or too thin and you can never have too many RDM. :D

Very true, you can't have enough RDM, but some with a different color would be just so extra special about November!

I'd be very interested to hear about your 2010 experience with Hertz - I have a local Hertz (basically next door) here as well with $25 daily rate. Can you verify regular (non-airport) rentals are good enough?

I'd be very interested to hear about your 2010 experience with Hertz - I have a local Hertz (basically next door) here as well with $25 daily rate. Can you verify regular (non-airport) rentals are good enough?

I can verify that, last year, some people used a non-airport location and did not get points/miles. Don't know if anyone actually did get miles with those non-airport locations.

Slocouple's advice is worth following.

Mike

Don't know about Hertz, but be very, very careful to check to see if off-airport rentals earn miles (and therefore, hits.) We had 4 Avis rentals not count last year before we figured out that Avis off-airport are non-mileage-earning.

Thanks for the feedback. I live in Charlotte and the local Hertz is literally right across the street from my work and we always rent from them for business trips. Last year rented from them twice during Grand Slam and got 100 miles for each trip.

This was for short business trips - Just checked my old expense reports and both rentals were for 2 days each time...

Ok, you got me confused.

Avis/Budget - most non-airport rentals do not earn GS hits
Hertz - they all do (?)
Dollar/ Thrifty - any inputs?

May have to do with the fact that an Avis rental, I believe you need to make sure you put your dividend miles number in, and you pay the extra surchage for it? Or is it alamo.

I'd be very interested to hear about your 2010 experience with Hertz - I have a local Hertz (basically next door) here as well with $25 daily rate. Can you verify regular (non-airport) rentals are good enough?

I had five Hertz Local Edition rentals last year that all got me 100 miles and a hit. Cost (ai) ranged from $13.15 to $14.68 for each 15 minute rental. These were all done on different days.

I had five Hertz Local Edition rentals last year that all got me 100 miles and a hit. Cost (ai) ranged from $13.15 to $14.68 for each 15 minute rental. These were all done on different days.

This may be a real stupid question but I need to know the answer. Are you saying that you rented a car for only 15 minutes, paid only about $15 and earn miles for the rental???

This may be a real stupid question but I need to know the answer. Are you saying that you rented a car for only 15 minutes, paid only about $15 and earn miles for the rental???

Not a stupid question. Never drove the car. Essentially bought a hit.

This may be a real stupid question but I need to know the answer. Are you saying that you rented a car for only 15 minutes, paid only about $15 and earn miles for the rental???

A lot of us enjoyed that last year. Rent and return in one motion, repeat. In fact many of us who had no use for rentals completed all six at counters with friendly agents willing to do the paperwork without starting an engine, once we explained the promo. Some agents are flexible and even get a laugh out of it.

This may be a real stupid question but I need to know the answer. Are you saying that you rented a car for only 15 minutes, paid only about $15 and earn miles for the rental???

I believe a lot of people checked in right after they checked out with a car, telling car rental place I'm only renting for the miles. Some people did say the car rep looked confused, but after explaining what they were doing, they had not problem with it... Some people even had success renting 6 cars on the same day, then checking right back in as soon as they checked out. I believe those people said it took about 1 hour to process all rentals or so...

Thanks guy. Learned something new!

Thanks guy. Learned something new!

more like 5 minutes a rental... not 15 :)

Not at Dollar Rental its not..

more like 5 minutes a rental... not 15 :)

Nothing in Australia allows renting cars for 5 mins it's a min 24hours . Well it's a min 24 hour rate, you can rent and return in 5 mins but still costs you a day.

Can I use the car rental companies US based online and rent for less than a day ?:confused:

Nothing in Australia allows renting cars for 5 mins it's a min 24hours . Well it's a min 24 hour rate, you can rent and return in 5 mins but still costs you a day.

Can I use the car rental companies US based online and rent for less than a day ?:confused:

You are still paying the daily rate, even for 5 mins. The whole point of this is to get the rental hits, not to actually need to use the car, so why spend more time than you have to?

At most airports, you can find a very cheap daily rate Friday through Sunday, as low as $15 or $20 AI. $100 to $120 and an hour or two of your time, you get 6 hits for the GS, and about 2,000 miles from the rentals.

Not at Dollar Rental its not..

yeah, not everywhere is as nice as CHA on a Saturday late in the morning for doing this. ha!

Not sure if I am late but the details and registration are up: http://shopping.usairways.com/promotion/dividendmiles/registration.aspx?PromoCode=GS11

Not sure if I am late but the details and registration are up: http://shopping.usairways.com/promotion/dividendmiles/registration.aspx?PromoCode=GS11

Thanks Fish. Registered!

Not sure if I am late but the details and registration are up: http://shopping.usairways.com/promotion/dividendmiles/registration.aspx?PromoCode=GS11

Thanks Fish! Partners seem similiar to last year.

Here is my valuation of hits, based on cost to buy miles with the current 100% promo.

First 12 hits (1-12)
12 hits = 15000 miles
1 hit = 1250 miles
1 hit = $18.48

Next 12 hits (13-24)
12 hits = 30000 miles
1 hit = 2500 miles
1 hit = $36.95

Next 4 hits (25-28)
4 hits = 15000 miles
1 hit = 3750 miles
1 hit = $55.43

Next 8 hits (29-36)
8 hits = 40000 miles
1 hit = 5000 miles
1 hit = $73.91

Well, there you have it.

Two observations -- First, it seems US is figuring out the value that people put on PQM. Hits 37-40 will be expensive for most, and they don't get many RDM, but the 5k extra PQM will be valuable to many. Second, seems like they are clearly trying to encourage trial preferred -- it gets a hit and it gets you eligible for hits 37-40.

Glad this finally snuck out. I had been holding off on my club renewal just in case there was a reason that I should renew after the promo started. Looks like as I more or less assumed, the 3500 PQMs for renewals before 8/31 is the better deal.

DM Wireless is gone from the list. Mixed blessing, you could get cheap hit, flip side is maybe you wouldn't! :p

DM Wireless is gone from the list. Mixed blessing, you could get cheap hit, flip side is maybe you wouldn't! :p

I think Dm wirless is gone period. All I can find is a website that says nothing is there.

I think Dm wirless is gone period. All I can find is a website that says nothing is there.

Nope, if you type the full name, not just dm then .com you get to a site that seems active to me. I didn't type it out because I don't want to send them any business! Though actually they worked out ok for me, though my car charger that I bought works most of the time.

So my question is this: As a result of last year's Grand Slam, I (and maybe others) have membership or contracts with some of the partners. I think I know the answer to this... but is it only new activity with that partner... or will continued activity count? I know that continued activity with Vinesse will count, because I happen to be a member of that and points post every time I buy. But what about LifeLock, for example. I'm wondering if I call them and suggest that I am going to cancel.... and would they offer me a few miles to stay a member.

Any thoughts?

Would we be able to get the Netflix bonus since they have changed the terms of their membership from a flat rate to the rate where you pay for DVD and/or streaming.

So my question is this: As a result of last year's Grand Slam, I (and maybe others) have membership or contracts with some of the partners. I think I know the answer to this... but is it only new activity with that partner... or will continued activity count? I know that continued activity with Vinesse will count, because I happen to be a member of that and points post every time I buy. But what about LifeLock, for example. I'm wondering if I call them and suggest that I am going to cancel.... and would they offer me a few miles to stay a member.

Any thoughts?

Would we be able to get the Netflix bonus since they have changed the terms of their membership from a flat rate to the rate where you pay for DVD and/or streaming.
It depends on the vendor and their T&Cs for providing miles. It's the posting of miles to your DM account that allows US to detect a hit. So in your examples, your Vinesse subscription should allow you to get a hit whlie your Netflix would not. Netflix T&Cs say that miles are for new members only. If you can somehow convince Netflix to post more miles to your account, you would get a hit from Netflix.

Hello,

What does it take to get a hit with partners? Will purchasing anything at all suffice? Is there a minimum spend? Or does it vary with each partner?

Hello,

What does it take to get a hit with partners? Will purchasing anything at all suffice? Is there a minimum spend? Or does it vary with each partner?
It varies by partner. Your best bet is to read the following:
1. Register: http://shopping.usairways.com/promotion/dividendmiles/registration.aspx?PromoCode=GS11
2. Rules: http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/grandslamrules.html
3. FAQs: http://www.usairways.com/EN-US/FAQS/GRANDSLAMFAQS.HTML
4. Individual partner T&Cs for earning miles, typically posted on the partner web site.

It depends on the vendor and their T&Cs for providing miles. It's the posting of miles to your DM account that allows US to detect a hit. So in your examples, your Vinesse subscription should allow you to get a hit whlie your Netflix would not. Netflix T&Cs say that miles are for new members only. If you can somehow convince Netflix to post more miles to your account, you would get a hit from Netflix.

Thanks for the quick answer. I guess it is now going to be an effort to plead for some miles from a couple of partners. :)

It varies by partner. Your best bet is to read the following:
1. Register: http://shopping.usairways.com/promotion/dividendmiles/registration.aspx?PromoCode=GS11
2. Rules: http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/grandslamrules.html
3. FAQs: http://www.usairways.com/EN-US/FAQS/GRANDSLAMFAQS.HTML
4. Individual partner T&Cs for earning miles, typically posted on the partner web site.

Thanks. So as long as a purchase earns miles, it qualifies? Like a $5 USAir Mall purchase?

Thanks. So as long as a purchase earns miles, it qualifies? Like a $5 USAir Mall purchase?
True for most, but not all. For example, the hotel stays and conversions have a minimum mileage requirement.

This has not been addressed. If you are using the award search site already, after registration can you also earn a hit for three searches? Or does this hit gain only apply to those who download after the promo begins?
ralph

It says starting on Sep 14th .So even if i register today we need to hold off until Sep14th to gain miles for this promo or am i mistaken.

It says starting on Sep 14th .So even if i register today we need to hold off until Sep14th to gain miles for this promo or am i mistaken.
Correct, accoding to the promo FAQs.

True for most, but not all. For example, the hotel stays and conversions have a minimum mileage requirement.

I cannot see these limitation stated out in official rules. And my understanding that rules are what forms a legal contract between you (participant) and US Airways. As Rules don't include FAQ and don't refer to FAQ, I don't think that if dispute occurs US Airways can bring FAQ to the legal table as some participants might not be even aware it exists though these participants carefully read the rules.

Am I missing something?

I cannot see these limitation stated out in official rules. And my understanding that rules are what forms a legal contract between you (participant) and US Airways. As Rules don't include FAQ and don't refer to FAQ, I don't think that if dispute occurs US Airways can bring FAQ to the legal table as some participants might not be even aware it exists though these participants carefully read the rules.

Am I missing something?
The FAQs page is linked on the Rules page, and I think it's clear from the combination of the Rules and FAQs what the intention is. Good luck to you if you want to spend time arguing with US Airways or taking them to court.

The FAQs page is linked on the Rules page, and I think it's clear from the combination of the Rules and FAQs what the intention is. Good luck to you if you want to spend time arguing with US Airways or taking them to court.

I will UNlikely participate in this promo to start with - 9/14 thru 11/14 is quite busy in my schedule to spare time to earn some miles in such a way ... So as far as I'm concerned, US Airways will not loose any sleep.

My point was that many USDM members (outside FT - just guys and girls visiting US Airways site for this reason or the other) will read the rules and sign up for the promo. Some of these members will undoubtedly stay in let's say Marriott Courtyards and thus earn less than required 200 miles. And these members will get quite justifiably angry if US Airways will respond to their concerns by saying these was another part of the Rules "hidden" in FAQ.

I've already downloaded the toolbar on my laptop using my DM number. Can I also download it on my work computer after 9/14, again use my DM number, and get the hit?

Or am I disqualified from this hit because I've already download it once (6 months ago)?

I've already downloaded the toolbar on my laptop using my DM number. Can I also download it on my work computer after 9/14, again use my DM number, and get the hit?

Or am I disqualified from this hit because I've already download it once (6 months ago)?

I'm in the same boat but I'm confident we can just disable the current toolbar, reinstall, and search again, scoring the hit, because GS rules don't say the hit is for first-time toolbar downloads. Any other takes?

Does anyone think that transferring Hertz points to US Air miles might get a hit? Currently you can transfer 600 points to 500 miles and I know people last year got extra hits, or hits they didn't account for. So I'm thinking there's a possibility that US Air might recognize it as a hit...

I think I transfer it on 9/15 since I got those bonus points from Hertz due to there 100 bonus miles a day promotion, so I can report back to everyone.

I am also new in the Grand Slam. I don't quite understand some points:

1. Earning 'hits' through e-miles/e-rewards. What is an `eligible' activity? Transfer miles/e-$ to US airways? Does amount of transferred miles/e-$ matter? Am I right that the miles should post on US Airways account from 09/14 - 11/14?

2. Subscription to Netflix. I read that it takes a month for miles to post. Should I enroll this service today or after 09/14?

Thanks!

I am also new in the Grand Slam. I don't quite understand some points:

1. Earning 'hits' through e-miles/e-rewards. What is an `eligible' activity? Transfer miles/e-$ to US airways? Does amount of transferred miles/e-$ matter? Am I right that the miles should post on US Airways account from 09/14 - 11/14?

The amount of e-miles/e-rewards doesn't matter.

2. Subscription to Netflix. I read that it takes a month for miles to post. Should I enroll this service today or after 09/14?

Netflix will report the day you signed up as the activity date. So don't sign up until the promotion starts. They will not post the miles until you credit card is charged, i.e., after an initial trial period is past, but last year the activity date was right.

I am also new in the Grand Slam. I don't quite understand some points:

1. Earning 'hits' through e-miles/e-rewards. What is an `eligible' activity? Transfer miles/e-$ to US airways? Does amount of transferred miles/e-$ matter? Am I right that the miles should post on US Airways account from 09/14 - 11/14?

2. Subscription to Netflix. I read that it takes a month for miles to post. Should I enroll this service today or after 09/14?

Thanks!

Welcome to Grand Slamania.

1. Any e-miles deposit counts as one hit. Any e-Rewards deposit similarly counts as a separate hit, regardless of deposit amount. (E-miles minimum deposits are 500 miles. E-rewards minimum is 500 miles for $25.) Definitely wait until Sept 14 to initiate any transfers.

2. Enroll in Netflix only after promo starts, not before. Enrollment date shows up as the activity date, despite the fact that it'll post weeks later.

and do not be surprised if netflix does not generate a hit if you get one last year

I see that it is possible to earn a `hit' if you download a US Airways toolbar and make 3 searches. Unfortunately, I already downloaded this toolbar few months ago (they ran a promotional for 500/1000 US miles for that). So, does that mean that I cannot earn a `hit' since I already have this toolbar? I don't think if I remove this toolbar and then install it again, I'll get a hit?

I see that it is possible to earn a `hit' if you download a US Airways toolbar and make 3 searches. Unfortunately, I already downloaded this toolbar few months ago (they ran a promotional for 500/1000 US miles for that). So, does that mean that I cannot earn a `hit' since I already have this toolbar? I don't think if I remove this toolbar and then install it again, I'll get a hit?
I don't see any wording suggesting that you can't earn a hit for toolbar searches post registration/promo-start if you've previously downloaded or used the toolbar.

Ok I printed off the GS rules and was reading it, so you get one hit for using the DM Dining, so how I read the rules for this, you get only one hit, doesn't matter how often you dine, correct?

Also u only get 1 hit max at Dm shopping mall, correct?

If this is correct then the only real way of getting hits is buying from US's partner, Hotel,Car and coverting miles, correct?

yep. Cannot be all just dines.

There are 71 hits you can earn, in all, with max being 40.

Cars and hotel stays are capped at 6 hits. Transfering points at 9 or 10 iirc, the rest being partners and cards.

Ok I printed off the GS rules and was reading it, so you get one hit for using the DM Dining, so how I read the rules for this, you get only one hit, doesn't matter how often you dine, correct?

Also u only get 1 hit max at Dm shopping mall, correct?

If this is correct then the only real way of getting hits is buying from US's partner, Hotel,Car and coverting miles, correct?

There are many partners outside the shopping mall that count as separate hits. Several are financial products (insurance, investments); some are specialty retail (flowers, food, wine); and there are a few mainstream retailers.

Last year people put a lot of effort into finding the cheapest hits from the retail partners, but it is more cost-efficient to purchase something that you actually need. For example, I got a hit from Office Max by ordering printer ink, and a full set of cartridges cost enough to get free shipping. Although the total cost was $54, the incremental cost was zero since I have to buy printer ink periodically anyway and usually get it from Staples at the same price.

As far as Sentry, 21st century and Lasik are concerned, and being difficult or not eligible with a NY address, should I use another address to open up these hits?

Is changing the address/states problematic in other ways that I'm not putting together? ;)

2. Enroll in Netflix only after promo starts, not before. Enrollment date shows up as the activity date, despite the fact that it'll post weeks later.

Do you suppose that gifting a Netflix subscription would work? I have a mind to give my mother a 3-month membership for an early Christmas present, if so :)

Thanks!
David
Flyalog (http://www.flyalog.com)

Do hourly rentals count? E.g.:

https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/specialoffers/index.jsp?targetPage=hourly_manhattan_boston.jsp&Category=D

I'd start a "car rentals" thread but I don't want to be updating the first post, and I know next to nothing about car rentals (I've never rented one!).

Do hourly rentals count? E.g.:

https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/specialoffers/index.jsp?targetPage=hourly_manhattan_boston.jsp&Category=D

I'd start a "car rentals" thread but I don't want to be updating the first post, and I know next to nothing about car rentals (I've never rented one!).

I'd love the answer to this too. Also, which rental companies offer that cheap one-way rate for moving cars from one airport to another -- effectively a relocation service we're performing? And which cities?

I'd love the answer to this too. Also, which rental companies offer that cheap one-way rate for moving cars from one airport to another -- effectively a car relocation service we're performing? And which cities?

Hertz also has that. Note that some of the rental companies require airport pickups for a "hit."

Hertz though says an hourly rental will get 180 miles and the Grand Slam T&C say mileage earning rentals count, so it seems this would work. So six hourly rentals would be $72 plus taxes, and 1080 miles. If you're in Manhattan this is a great deal. Even if the location requires you to actually drive the car off the lot, you could just circle around the block and come back. Repeat 6 times. Might take a few hours.

Since people are posting general questions and comments in both this thread and the thread "Grand Slam 2011 registration is officially open," how about merging the two? They operate almost identically, even though they launched for different reasons, and a newly merged single thread could be called "Grand Slam 2011 General Questions/Comments" or something like that. ?

Also a Sharebuilder question. For those of us who opened an account last year, the Sharebuilder Advantage Investing Program could be a hit this year, but even after reading up on it I'm unsure how exactly the Advantage program works and whether it's definitely a GS hit, and how much total it costs. Any experience?

The US Airways MasterCard and US Airways Business MasterCard offers are on my website below in the Credit Cards > Annual Fee Cards page. The best offer I have for these is for the personal card for 40,000 up front miles for first purchase, first year annual fee waived. A few of my readers have reported problems with this after submitting the application, but others say there was no problem with it. I had success with it when it first came out. The standard offer is 30,000 miles last I looked. Many flyertalkers reported on another thread getting a lesser number of miles for a different card when trying for the 40,000. But it was still free for the first year.

The US Airways Visa Debit Card is issued by Bank of America. You may read about it in my Finance > Banks section. 3,000 bonus miles for your first purchase, $30 annual fee.

Any information on how Barclay handles start-up business, without an established business history, when you apply with your SSN?

Hertz also has that. Note that some of the rental companies require airport pickups for a "hit."

Hertz though says an hourly rental will get 180 miles and the Grand Slam T&C say mileage earning rentals count, so it seems this would work. So six hourly rentals would be $72 plus taxes, and 1080 miles. If you're in Manhattan this is a great deal. Even if the location requires you to actually drive the car off the lot, you could just circle around the block and come back. Repeat 6 times. Might take a few hours.

Hertz posts every week, so this would be easy to verify.

Hertz posts every week, so this would be easy to verify.

Worked fine last year. :D

btw, it's not just available in Manhattan. Boston & Stamford also offer hourly rentals.

https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/specialoffers/index.jsp?targetPage=hourly_manhattan_boston.jsp&Category=D

I see that something called "Magazines for Miles" counts as a hit. Does that refer to the following URL? https://www.mybonuscenter.com/10007662/portal.html

I assume if I use miles to order a magazine I'll get a hit.

Am I reading that correctly or is the hit for buying a magazine with cash and earning miles from here? https://www.mybonuscenter.com/10009528/splash.html

I'd appreciate any info. Thanks!

I see that something called "Magazines for Miles" counts as a hit. Does that refer to the following URL? https://www.mybonuscenter.com/10007662/portal.html

I assume if I use miles to order a magazine I'll get a hit.

Am I reading that correctly or is the hit for buying a magazine with cash and earning miles from here? https://www.mybonuscenter.com/10009528/splash.html

I'd appreciate any info. Thanks!

My thoughts were that this was for purchasing a magazine subscription with miles. But i would also like confirmation one way or the other.

Taste buds are ready, but I'm thinking ginger snaps instead of the acclaimed spread. Last year I got "Free Anna's Original Ginger Thins Double Pack" (isn't free) for $9 including shipping. Sadly that's missing from Biscoff's website this time. What's cheapest now? Looks like Anna's Trial Size Assortment With Free Tin at $7.99 + $5 shipping = $12.99. Anything cheaper? I can hear people now ("In Spread We Trust").

What's the lowest-cost item at OfficeMax.com? From a quick search, I see pens at $2 + shipping and handling = $10.83. Some of you are getting things you actually need like ink toner, but for those of us planning on cheapest-item purchases, anything lower than $2 pens?

How I miss the days of OfficeMax.com's 59-cent "wedgy scabbard antimicrobial pen refill," whatever the heck that is. It arrived in the mail last year for a GS hit and went straight into the abyss.

What's the lowest-cost item at OfficeMax.com? From a quick search, I see pens at $2 + shipping and handling = $10.83. Some of you are getting things you actually need like ink toner, but for those of us planning on cheapest-item purchases, anything lower than $2 pens?

How I miss the days of OfficeMax.com's 59-cent "wedgy scabbard antimicrobial pen refill," whatever the heck that is. It arrived in the mail last year for a GS hit and went straight into the abyss.

It would be nice if there was a way to order and pick up thereby saving the shipping fees (which are more than the item!).

It would be nice if there was a way to order and pick up thereby saving the shipping fees (which are more than the item!).

I like that thought, but I remember trying unsuccessfully last year to do just that -- asking to arrange in-store pickup after buying online to get around shipping fees. Phone reps wouldn't go for it. They were generally really nice but couldn't do it.

I like that thought, but I remember trying unsuccessfully last year to do just that -- asking to arrange in-store pickup after buying online to get around shipping fees. Phone reps wouldn't go for it. They were generally really nice but couldn't do it.

Having worked at and with all the office stores, the online ordering system is completely different from the store network/inventories. Online orders go direct to warehouse/fulfillment center. With back to school, there are always cheap items. Look for pencils, but I just dont see the reason to buy something useless and waste $10 on shipping, when you can buy stuff you would anyway, Spend $40 on $50 worth of items, and save the shipping.

Instead of trying to cheap out, don't you really need ink or paper? just wait till you do and order it. Genuine ink is going to cost almost the same everywhere, so just order the $50 min and actually use the items. Subscribe or google and you can always find coupons for $10 off $50, etc.

You can probably buy some gift cards or other items that you would need.

Instead of trying to cheap out, don't you really need ink or paper? just wait till you do and order it. Genuine ink is going to cost almost the same everywhere, so just order the $50 min and actually use the items. Subscribe or google and you can always find coupons for $10 off $50, etc.

You can probably buy some gift cards or other items that you would need.

I think per the T&C of this year's GS offer, coupons and promo codes void the hit. I also think GCs are not eligible unless specifically allowed through DM mall purchase for miles.

I see that something called "Magazines for Miles" counts as a hit. Does that refer to the following URL? https://www.mybonuscenter.com/10007662/portal.html

I assume if I use miles to order a magazine I'll get a hit.



That's the way it was last year: redeem miles to obtain a magazine subscription.

This is one to put in motion well before the final days of the promotion. The magazines requiring the fewest miles will likely sell out (some of the more expensive ones are better values if you want to read them). Even worse, when you think you are ordering a subscription from this operation, you are really only requesting one if it's available. You have to keep checking back to make sure that the request was accepted.

Hertz also has that. Note that some of the rental companies require airport pickups for a "hit."

Hertz though says an hourly rental will get 180 miles and the Grand Slam T&C say mileage earning rentals count, so it seems this would work. So six hourly rentals would be $72 plus taxes, and 1080 miles. If you're in Manhattan this is a great deal. Even if the location requires you to actually drive the car off the lot, you could just circle around the block and come back. Repeat 6 times. Might take a few hours.


Hmmm, you can return the rental at other locations. So you could go into the City, start at Battery Park and work your way uptown with 6 rentals! A great way to see NYC, one Hertz office at a time...:D

Be warned that if you drive it off the lot, a lot of locations will impose a fuel charge even if it's still on F unless you show a gas receipt. (Usually for rentals under 50 or 75 miles.)

Be warned that if you drive it off the lot, a lot of locations will impose a fuel charge even if it's still on F unless you show a gas receipt. (Usually for rentals under 50 or 75 miles.)

True.

But in the particular deal there is "No extra charge for Hertz to refuel the car (already included in the hourly rate)"

Hmmm, you can return the rental at other locations. So you could go into the City, start at Battery Park and work your way uptown with 6 rentals! A great way to see NYC, one Hertz office at a time...:D

Yes this is a great idea. It seems taxes/fees for each rental are $16 though. :(

Hmmm, you can return the rental at other locations. So you could go into the City, start at Battery Park and work your way uptown with 6 rentals! A great way to see NYC, one Hertz office at a time...:D

Even if it's only a few blocks away, many rental locations will charge a fee if you drop off to a location other than the rental location.

Also if you're not planning to keep the car more than a few minutes, make sure your reservation return time isn't more than 24 hours after your pickup time as some companies charge $10-15 penalty for returning too early.

Even if it's only a few blocks away, many rental locations will charge a fee if you drop off to a location other than the rental location.

Also if you're not planning to keep the car more than a few minutes, make sure your reservation return time isn't more than 24 hours after your pickup time as some companies charge $10-15 penalty for returning too early.

Unless the T&Cs have recently changed, for NYC hourly rentals can be dropped off at any Manhattan location.

btw, you really can't go all that far as the rental time is actually closer to 45 mins since the clock starts when the contract is processed but it often takes @15 mins for the car to be brought around. Usually, all there was time for was to drive a few blocks , park it & read a section or 2 of the paper before having to get it back.

I think per the T&C of this year's GS offer, coupons and promo codes void the hit. I also think GCs are not eligible unless specifically allowed through DM mall purchase for miles.

What if you buy a $50 iTunes GC and a small ite, earning FS. Anyone know if we'd get points for the small item?

Wow, did anyone else notice this? http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/grandslam-tcs.html

How do they know if a subscription has been cancelled? Netflix is one that would have caught most of us out as we usually cancel after the points post. It's still unclear about Vinesse, last year I got a hit from buying some wine guide, not a subscription.

New service cancellation policy

ALL bonus miles earned from the Grand Slam promotion will be forfeited and removed from a member’s account if new service acquired during the Grand Slam promotion is cancelled within 6 months from the end of the promotion. This date is May 14, 2012. For example, if you subscribe for a new USA Today newspaper subscription in order to earn a hit during Grand Slam and cancel it on or prior to May 14, 2012 ALL bonus miles you earned from the Grand Slam promotion will be forfeited and removed from your account, no matter how you earned them.

Subscription partners include:

US Airways Club
Dish Network
Energy Plus
getAbstract
Share Builder
Life Lock
Netflix
TD AMERITRADE
Trackitback.com
USA Today
Vinesse
Wine Insiders

Non-qualifying partner activity

The following activities do not count as qualifying partner activity or hits:

Miles earned flying US Airways, US Airways Express or any US Airways partner airline
Miles earned from any company other than those listed below as qualifying partners
Any activity that does not earn Dividend Miles including but limited to hotel stays and car rentals that do not earn Dividend Miles
Hotels stays that do not earn at least 200 Dividend Miles
Multiple hotel stays on the same day, whether at the same hotel or not
Hotel point to Dividend Miles transfers that do not earn at least 850 Dividend Miles
Multiple car rentals that occur on the same day
Recurring partner bonuses including but limited to the ShareBuilder – 500 mile quarterly bonus and the USA Today – 100 mile monthly bonus
Miles earned for requesting a free quote for a service Does this include insurance quotes?

For me this will only really affect the multiple car rentals. I know last year a lot of people walked in and did transactions and got all 6 hits in less than an hour. Looks like the 21st Century and Sentry Insurance won't be getting us any hits this year. US Air keeps making it harder to hit the 100k mark. Should still be able to do it though. Especially now that La Quinta is on the hit lists and we can do the Expedia BRG.

Is there going to be a Main Grand Slam Wiki like last year with lowest cost on all the hits? That was really helpful. Sticky?

The confusing part is that they specify the Lasik must be a surgical procedure only but they don't specify anything for the 21st Century or Sentry.

21st Century Auto Insurance

(max 1 hit)
800 Flowers

(max 1 hit)
AAA Carolinas Auto Club

(max 1 hit)
Audience Rewards

(max 1 hit)
Biscoff

(max 1 hit)
Dish Network

(max 1 hit)
Dividend Miles Dining

(max 1 hit)
e-Miles

(max 1 hit)
Energy Plus

(max 1 hit)
e-Rewards

(max 1 hit)
FTD.com or Florist.com (counts as 1 partner)

(max 1 hit)
Hilton Grand Vacations® (ownership)

(max 1 hit)
ING Direct – ShareBuilder

(max 1 hit)
LasikPlus – surgical procedure only

(max 1 hit)
LifeLock – annual membership only

(max 1 hit)

Confusing about Trackitback too - isn't that just a sticker that you buy? I didn't think there was an ongoing fee for any service with it.

I suppose this clears up some up-thread questions on Share Builder - looks like only a new account will work. And I guess the wine guides won't work this year.

And I guess the wine guides won't work this year.
Not necessarily.

As for as I know, the T&C doesn't require the Wine Insiders or Vinesse hits to be subscriptions. If you can get either company to post points for a single item, I don't see why that won't qualify.

Not necessarily.

As for as I know, the T&C doesn't require the Wine Insiders or Vinesse hits to be subscriptions. If you can get either company to post points for a single item, I don't see why that won't qualify.

Yeah, I suppose you are right. They are listed as "subscription partners", but that doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility of getting a hit through a non-subscription purchase. We'll have to see, eh?

Not necessarily.

As for as I know, the T&C doesn't require the Wine Insiders or Vinesse hits to be subscriptions. If you can get either company to post points for a single item, I don't see why that won't qualify.

Don't you have to buy that pre-packaged wine deal from Wine Insiders to get the hit? I wasn't aware you could just buy a single bottle or something although for Vinesse this was possible.

I don't get the Trackitback either, it's just a sticker although from the company's point of view the sticker entitles you to a tracking service if the item is lost.

What if you buy a $50 iTunes GC and a small ite, earning FS. Anyone know if we'd get points for the small item?

why would one buy a gift card for 50 $? the smallest possible item is good enough @:-)

Wow, did anyone else notice this? http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/grandslam-tcs.html

...

Non-qualifying partner activity

The following activities do not count as qualifying partner activity or hits:

Miles earned flying US Airways, US Airways Express or any US Airways partner airline
Miles earned from any company other than those listed below as qualifying partners
Any activity that does not earn Dividend Miles including but limited to hotel stays and car rentals that do not earn Dividend Miles
Hotels stays that do not earn at least 200 Dividend Miles
Multiple hotel stays on the same day, whether at the same hotel or not
Hotel point to Dividend Miles transfers that do not earn at least 850 Dividend Miles
Multiple car rentals that occur on the same day
Recurring partner bonuses including but limited to the ShareBuilder – 500 mile quarterly bonus and the USA Today – 100 mile monthly bonus
Miles earned for requesting a free quote for a service Does this include insurance quotes?
Let's all continue to share optimal plans for the Grand Slam promo in these threads now, so that US Airways can continue to add restrictions to address them in the promo rules before the promo starts.

Let's all continue to share optimal plans for the Grand Slam promo in these threads now, so that US Airways can continue to add restrictions to address them in the promo rules before the promo starts.

It's questionable of US Airways to start changing rules and moving these goalposts after already publishing the original terms and registration page. I'm not fussing about the new changes but the case could be made that terms shouldn't be changed after registration, regardless of promo start date. If marketing really needed to edit GS rules, it should've withheld publishing them early, or at least noted that terms are subject to change until Sept. 14. Maybe it did state that? Eh. So be it. Venting over.

It's questionable of US Airways to start changing rules and moving these goalposts after already publishing the original terms and registration page. I'm not fussing about the new changes but the case could be made that terms shouldn't be changed after registration, regardless of promo start date. If marketing really needed to edit GS rules, it could've and should've withheld publishing them early, or at least noted that terms are subject to change until Sept. 14. Maybe it did state that? Eh. So be it. Venting over.

Registration doesn't open until September 1 according to the terms and conditions, and even the rules and FAQs posted earlier mentioned that registration would be through usairways.com/gs11 which did not at the time work (although it does now - but now the T&Cs state reg opens Sep 1 ;)), even though someone extrapolated what the promo code would be and managed to pull up a preview of the registration page and rules.

Don't you have to buy that pre-packaged wine deal from Wine Insiders to get the hit? I wasn't aware you could just buy a single bottle or something although for Vinesse this was possible.

I don't get the Trackitback either, it's just a sticker although from the company's point of view the sticker entitles you to a tracking service if the item is lost.

I ended up buying the wine sampler from Wine Insiders last year so I got the hit I can't say for sure but the wording on the US Air site for both of these partners implies that any spend yields miles/$. We'll just have to experiment.


Vinesse Wine Clubs
Vinesse.com | 800-823-5527

Join a Vinesse Wine Club and get 2,000 bonus miles, plus 5 miles for every $1 you spend.

ˆBack to top

Wine Insiders
wineinsiders.com | 800-600-2424

Free shipping on $6.99 wines + 1,000 miles
Earn 4 miles for every $1 you spend with Wine Insiders

ˆBack to top

Unless the T&Cs have recently changed, for NYC hourly rentals can be dropped off at any Manhattan location.

btw, you really can't go all that far as the rental time is actually closer to 45 mins since the clock starts when the contract is processed but it often takes @15 mins for the car to be brought around. Usually, all there was time for was to drive a few blocks , park it & read a section or 2 of the paper before having to get it back.

Are the Hertz hourly rentals only available in NYC? I just looked at DCA and found $19.70 all in for pre-paid 1 hour rentals. Should I book several of them?

I tried doing 6 rentals with Alamo at Union Station last year and it didn't work. They said I could only do 1.

At the risk of tipping our hand to any potential US Airways lurkers, here's a safely phrased(!), legitimate question about ShareBuilder. Since ShareBuilder's Advantage program does not count as a hit, the only hit hope for existing ShareBuilder members is to open a new account, but terms limit one account per unique customer. So for those with an account from last time, can we close it now and open a new one for GS hit? Is that permitted? Terms don't restrict the hit to first-time customers, just "unique" customers. Are those the same?

If asking this is risky because it reveals strategy too early, tell me and I'll delete the post.

why would one buy a gift card for 50 $? the smallest possible item is good enough @:-)

To get free shipping ($50 minimum). Then use the $50 GC or sell it for $48+.

Let's say I go to home depot once a month to buy needed items. I would rather buy the gift card and the hit is free. I was going to spend the money there anyways. So now my $50 gift card was cheaper than your $3 stupid item.

Let's say I go to home depot once a month to buy needed items. I would rather buy the gift card and the hit is free. I was going to spend the money there anyways. So now my $50 gift card was cheaper than your $3 stupid item.


You're obviously better off buying something you need/are looking to get rather than just the cheapest item which holds no value for you. Seems common sense to me.

The other thing to bear in mind is the value of the hit vs just buying miles with the current 100% bonus. At the higher increments where each block of 4 hits gets you 20,000 miles plus whatever the value of the hit is (roughly 250 miles for hotels or cars) it's not worth the hassle if the cost of the hit is more than around $75. You also are gambling that you will successfully complete a block of 4 and none will be foul balls because 3 hits is useless.

Math: $295 for 20k miles including tax = $73.75 per 5000 miles (hit value). So don't go crazy booking unwanted hotels or cars or buying unwanted products that cost more than this.

For me, I'd put the cut-off closer to $60 expenditure max per hit and that would be only if that's the last one to complete a block of 4.

Hopefully US has more clarification on the subscription hits. Trackitback is a merchant I used last year, just a sticker no offer/requirement to pay an ongoing fee. Have a Sharebuilder account and like and use it, was planning on opening the IRA version this year. If there are requirements to join a wine club or switch insurers to get a hit I drop a full level and if that happens the valuation on my hotel transfers gets harder to justify. US may be seeing a drop in partner revenue and award booking fees if the most restrictive reading of the T&Cs is correct.

It's questionable of US Airways to start changing rules and moving these goalposts after already publishing the original terms and registration page. I'm not fussing about the new changes but the case could be made that terms shouldn't be changed after registration, regardless of promo start date. If marketing really needed to edit GS rules, it should've withheld publishing them early, or at least noted that terms are subject to change until Sept. 14. Maybe it did state that? Eh. So be it. Venting over.

Has anyone actually seen rule changes since the pages first appeared? The terms and conditions page may have always had these restictions.

Hertz also has that. Note that some of the rental companies require airport pickups for a "hit."

Hertz though says an hourly rental will get 180 miles and the Grand Slam T&C say mileage earning rentals count, so it seems this would work. So six hourly rentals would be $72 plus taxes, and 1080 miles. If you're in Manhattan this is a great deal. Even if the location requires you to actually drive the car off the lot, you could just circle around the block and come back. Repeat 6 times. Might take a few hours.

This is outstanding to hear. I was always under the impression that you could only get hits for cars rented at the airport and will happily admit my mistake if you can get miles for the hourlys. It definitely puts me back in the game.

Mike

This is outstanding to hear. I was always under the impression that you could only get hits for cars rented at the airport and will happily admit my mistake if you can get miles for the hourlys. It definitely puts me back in the game.

Just remember the big catch: no more than one rental per day. Last year was easier (and fun), renting all on the same day in the time it takes to finish a drink and pour another. I'd hate to hit foul balls with multiple needless car rentals. Six different day trips to car counter, so be it.

Just remember the big catch: no more than one rental per day. Last year was easier (and fun), renting all on the same day in the time it takes to finish a drink and pour another. I'd hate to hit foul balls with multiple needless car rentals. Six different day trips to car counter, so be it.

Hey, no sweat. For once, my geography benefits me, since I work a hop, skip and a jump from the Boston Park Plaza.

Mike

Hertz also has that. Note that some of the rental companies require airport pickups for a "hit."

Hertz though says an hourly rental will get 180 miles and the Grand Slam T&C say mileage earning rentals count, so it seems this would work. So six hourly rentals would be $72 plus taxes, and 1080 miles. If you're in Manhattan this is a great deal. Even if the location requires you to actually drive the car off the lot, you could just circle around the block and come back. Repeat 6 times. Might take a few hours.

Here is the actual quote from the page:

• Rentals originating in Manhattan may be returned to any Manhattan location

• No extra charge for Hertz to refuel the car (already included in the hourly rate)
• No application fee

• No cancellation fee
• No fee for reservation changes

• 180 miles per Hourly Rental with $0.39 per extra mile

It looks to me like they are saying you can drive a total of 180 miles and will get charged $.39 for each additional mile, not that you get 180 miles for an hourly rental.

A phone agent told me that there are no points for the hourly rentals. She didn't sound entirely sure about it, though, and there is an earlier post in this thread referencing receiving miles from a Local Edition rental.

Mike

Searched but found nothing about children.

Can I open three new US Airways Dividend Miles accounts for my three children (Canadians), register them for the Grand Slam, and work on their accounts in addition to mine? My goal would be 12 hits in each of the three kids accounts.

Are there any rules prohibiting children (say, 5 years old) from participating in either Dividend Miles, or in Grand Slam?

Regarding Vinesse, US Airways is offering 2,000 miles for joining a wine club, plus 5 miles per dollar spent.

Last year, I got my hit by buying the little "wine wheel" that matched up foods and wines. Does anyone remember if they had the same commentary last year about joining a wine club, or is that new this year? In other words, was last year just a certain number of hits per dollar spent, or do you get five miles per dollar on whatever you spend, even if you don't join the club?

Mike

It looks to me like they are saying you can drive a total of 180 miles and will get charged $.39 for each additional mile, not that you get 180 miles for an hourly rental.


Mike, thank you! You are absolutely correct! I hadn't read that carefully and was just skimming and saw "180 miles" and didn't think of the other meaning. Reading that carefully it seems you are right as those 180 miles refer to free distance driven, not airline miles.

Now that doesn't 100% answer the question about whether or not these earn miles. You're right that there was a reference before of someone doing this last year. I guess I'll call. To be honest with $16 in taxes you're looking at $28 for one hour. That's only a good deal if you live in Manhattan and it's convenient for you. I don't live there, but visit often. Instead I think I'll look for local options of cheap daily rentals. Last year there were some people who stacked coupons and got down to $10/day or so.

At the risk of tipping our hand to any potential US Airways lurkers, here's a safely phrased(!), legitimate question about ShareBuilder. Since ShareBuilder's Advantage program does not count as a hit, the only hit hope for existing ShareBuilder members is to open a new account, but terms limit one account per unique customer. So for those with an account from last time, can we close it now and open a new one for GS hit? Is that permitted? Terms don't restrict the hit to first-time customers, just "unique" customers. Are those the same?

If asking this is risky because it reveals strategy too early, tell me and I'll delete the post.

Where does it not count? Last I looked somewhere, i thought it did.

Where does it not count? Last I looked somewhere, i thought it did.

According to GS terms and conditions this year:

Non-qualifying partner activity

The following activities do not count as qualifying partner activity or hits:
...
* Recurring partner bonuses including but limited to the ShareBuilder – 500 mile quarterly bonus and the USA Today – 100 mile monthly bonus."

What I think that refers to is ShareBuilder's Advantage program available for existing investment accounts. I had hoped the recurring bonus (Advantage) thing would work this year, but since not, I'm thinking about closing my current account and opening a new one.

Searched but found nothing about children.

Can I open three new US Airways Dividend Miles accounts for my three children (Canadians), register them for the Grand Slam, and work on their accounts in addition to mine? My goal would be 12 hits in each of the three kids accounts.

Are there any rules prohibiting children (say, 5 years old) from participating in either Dividend Miles, or in Grand Slam?

If they are eligible to join Dividend Miles, they are eligible to participate in the Grand Slam. Other than obvious restrictions of certain partners due to age, they can participate in the balance, from doing toolbar searches to purchases to buying and sharing miles.

I have done it for my kids for the last couple of years, as well as this year.

Regarding Vinesse, US Airways is offering 2,000 miles for joining a wine club, plus 5 miles per dollar spent.

Last year, I got my hit by buying the little "wine wheel" that matched up foods and wines. Does anyone remember if they had the same commentary last year about joining a wine club, or is that new this year? In other words, was last year just a certain number of hits per dollar spent, or do you get five miles per dollar on whatever you spend, even if you don't join the club?

Mike

Last year there was a major brouhaha about Vinesse, because they refused to post miles for anything other than joining a wine club, but the language of the Vinesse landing page seemed to say that all purchases earned miles. I had bought a wine cookbook; when I called them about posting miles, they said that only joining the wine club counted. I was about to return the cookbook, but other GS participants appealed to US about it and suddenly miles were posted. I like the cookbook.

Mike, thank you! You are absolutely correct! I hadn't read that carefully and was just skimming and saw "180 miles" and didn't think of the other meaning. Reading that carefully it seems you are right as those 180 miles refer to free distance driven, not airline miles.

Now that doesn't 100% answer the question about whether or not these earn miles. You're right that there was a reference before of someone doing this last year. I guess I'll call. To be honest with $16 in taxes you're looking at $28 for one hour. That's only a good deal if you live in Manhattan and it's convenient for you. I don't live there, but visit often. Instead I think I'll look for local options of cheap daily rentals. Last year there were some people who stacked coupons and got down to $10/day or so.

Again, history has proven for me and others that miles & hits have been awarded for Hertz "special" (hourly or cheap 1 way airport ) rentals.

If everyone keeps calling, odds are TPTB may end it.

If you are still skeptical, as with all deals, try it once & see for yourself. Worse that could happen is you're out @$17.00 but wiser.

btw, the quoted tax rate is based upon the daily charge. The price & applicable taxes are adjusted when the car is returned within the hour.

Again, history has proved for me and others that miles & hits have been awarded for Hertz "special" (hourly or cheap 1 way airport ) rentals.

If everyone keeps calling, odds are TPTB may end it.

If you are still skeptical, as with all deals, try it once & see for yourself. Worse that could happen is you're out @$17.00 but wiser.

btw, the quoted tax rate is based upon the daily charge. The price & applicable taxes are adjusted when the car is returned within the hour.

Okay. I'm gonna be in manhattan Sept. 19/20 so I will try this once and see what the results are. No calls, let's experiment!

Here is the actual quote from the page:

• 180 miles per Hourly Rental with $0.39 per extra mile

Interesting, 180 mile in 1 hour allowance in NYC. That they even bother to mention the cost for going over the allotment is hilarious.


Mike

Again, history has proved for me and others that miles & hits have been awarded for Hertz "special" (hourly or cheap 1 way airport ) rentals.

If everyone keeps calling, odds are TPTB may end it.

If you are still skeptical, as with all deals, try it once & see for yourself. Worse that could happen is you're out @$17.00 but wiser.

btw, the quoted tax rate is based upon the daily charge. The price & applicable taxes are adjusted when the car is returned within the hour.

Are the taxes pared down for the 1 way to airport also? This would make the rentals much more worthwhile.

Are the taxes pared down for the 1 way to airport also? This would make the rentals much more worthwhile.

Someone want to start a cars thread in GS sub-forum and keep an updated first post with rental companies' hit-eligible details? Have a feeling we'll all (or most) get car-crazed soon enough while digging for anecdotes, reminders, reports and so on.

Are the taxes pared down for the 1 way to airport also? This would make the rentals much more worthwhile.

I've only done the 1 ways to EWR and iirc, the total cost was @$29-30ish a/i.

Consequently, from that I presume the taxes were @$2-3.

For those familiar with National Car hits.

What date rules...pick-up or return?

I may need a 1 day car rental at MSY picking up on Sep 13 but returning on Sep 14th.

The GS FAQ isn't definitive:

"What is the Eligible Activity Date?

The Eligible Activity Date is the date the partner records their mileage transaction with you. In order to qualify for this promotion, all eligible activity must be completed by November 14, 2011. Partners use different criteria to determine activity date, so it’s important to complete your partner activity with this in mind. When in doubt, please verify with the partner. Activity date is usually defined as a credit card statement closing date, a hotel check-in or check-out, pick-up or return for car rentals, a delivery date for FTD and service completion (loan closing) for service providers or utilities."
.

Last year there was a major brouhaha about Vinesse, because they refused to post miles for anything other than joining a wine club, but the language of the Vinesse landing page seemed to say that all purchases earned miles. I had bought a wine cookbook; when I called them about posting miles, they said that only joining the wine club counted. I was about to return the cookbook, but other GS participants appealed to US about it and suddenly miles were posted. I like the cookbook.

Interesting. I did get credited for that little wine card last year.

Again, history has proven for me and others that miles & hits have been awarded for Hertz "special" (hourly or cheap 1 way airport ) rentals.

If everyone keeps calling, odds are TPTB may end it.

If you are still skeptical, as with all deals, try it once & see for yourself. Worse that could happen is you're out @$17.00 but wiser.

btw, the quoted tax rate is based upon the daily charge. The price & applicable taxes are adjusted when the car is returned within the hour.

Usually, those "don't call" programs apply to mistake fares/rates. I can't imagine we'd do enough damage to make TPTB follow up. Having said that, I will abide by the traditional FT logic and not follow up locally. That does mean, however, that we're going to have to rely on a sacrificial lamb for this one, which Drbob has been kind enough to volunteer for. The added bonus is that he is doing it early in the promo and Hertz posts weekly, so we'll get a quick read.

Mike

For those familiar with National Car hits.

What date rules...pick-up or return?

I may need a 1 day car rental at MSY picking up on Sep 13 but returning on Sep 14th.

The GS FAQ isn't definitive:

"What is the Eligible Activity Date?



Looking over last year's activity National posts with pickup date so you would not pickup a hit there. Can you do a 2 day and get some hotel points for a later transfer?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/1232494-q3-2011-car-rental-bonus-promos.html

I've only done the 1 ways to EWR and iirc, the total cost was @$29-30ish a/i.

Consequently, from that I presume the taxes were @$2-3.

And the 1 hour rentals in Manhattan were on the order of $20 a/i? I think we have a winner! :D

Just saw on AR's website that only ticket purchases, not trivia points, count for partner transfers: "Points earned through PointsPlay [trivia game] may not be transferred to partners." Means we do indeed have to buy tickets for GS hit.

If they are eligible to join Dividend Miles, they are eligible to participate in the Grand Slam. Other than obvious restrictions of certain partners due to age, they can participate in the balance, from doing toolbar searches to purchases to buying and sharing miles.

I have done it for my kids for the last couple of years, as well as this year.

i want to do this as well-but for buying something that needs a credit card , my kids dont have credit cards-but can they still get hits if i order something in their name??

i want to do this as well-but for buying something that needs a credit card , my kids dont have credit cards-but can they still get hits if i order something in their name??

Yes, I bought things for several people last year to earn them hits. The payment method is not a factor.

Yes, I bought things for several people last year to earn them hits. The payment method is not a factor.

I did not understand how this works out. If person A uses his credit card for a random online transaction for person B, where is person B's FF number noted. The credit card miles will be credits to person A's FF account at end of billing cycle. The only way i can see this working out is person B buys something at DM shopping mall and uses person A's card for payment. That way person B will get miles for shopping and somehow the system tracks that type of credit card used. The FAQ is surely not helpful.

I am motivated to figure this out i am not eligible to apply for US air CC's due to residency restrictions. So its a loss of 5 easy hits every year!!

I did not understand how this works out. If person A uses his credit card for a random online transaction for person B, where is person B's FF number noted. The credit card miles will be credits to person A's FF account at end of billing cycle. The only way i can see this working out is person B buys something at DM shopping mall and uses person A's card for payment. That way person B will get miles for shopping and somehow the system tracks that type of credit card used. The FAQ is surely not helpful.

I am motivated to figure this out i am not eligible to apply for US air CC's due to residency restrictions. So its a loss of 5 easy hits every year!!

If you buy something from the DM shopping mall with a credit card, you normally earn miles in 2 ways. First, you earn whatever points, cashback, or miles your credit card pays. That is the same as if you were paying for car repairs or buying stamps at the post office. That reward is tied to the account holder.

Second, you earn additional miles from the DM shopping mall portal. When you go to the portal and click on a retailer like Amazon, it asks for a DM number. That number is stored in your browser for some time so you can complete your purchase. The retailer is informed by your browser and the number is noted in their database. You wait a month or so to get those miles awarded by the shopping mall.

For the second case, the DM number can be anyone's number. It is not tied to your payment method. You must go through the portal though. You cannot go directly to the merchant website and expect this second set of bonus miles.

Besides the DM shopping mall, there are other partners that will pay miles in a similar way, or sometimes they directly ask for your number.

@rrgg
AFAIK there is no way for me to get one of credit card spend hits as i do not have any Barclays or BOA cards. Correct me if i am wrong. After reading your post i interpreted that i can get a hit if i use my friends Barclays CC for the payment.

@rrgg
AFAIK there is no way for me to get one of credit card spend hits as i do not have any Barclays or BOA cards. Correct me if i am wrong. After reading your post i interpreted that i can get a hit if i use my friends Barclays CC for the payment.

You cannot get a credit card hit without one of the US Airways credit cards.

You can get other kinds of hits regardless of the payment method. I was responding to bryanwallace's comment which is about earning other hits for other family members where a credit card is necessary to complete the transaction. I think you just misread posts 179 and 180.

@rrgg
AFAIK there is no way for me to get one of credit card spend hits as i do not have any Barclays or BOA cards. Correct me if i am wrong. After reading your post i interpreted that i can get a hit if i use my friends Barclays CC for the payment.
You cannot get a credit card hit if you use your friend's Barclays CC. You have to be specific about the type of transaction(s)/hit(s) you're asking about. Many hits that require payment are tied to a Dividend Miles account # independent of the form of payment, but a few are tied to the Dividend Miles account # associated with the payment. The latter include the credit/debit cards. Also, some hotels claim they will only provide credit if the form of payment is from the registered guest.

Ok. Thanks for the clarification. No CC hits for me!! :td:

Just saw on AR's website that only ticket purchases, not trivia points, count for partner transfers: "Points earned through PointsPlay [trivia game] may not be transferred to partners." Means we do indeed have to buy tickets for GS hit.


yes but i think you can use the pts thru survey and facebook introductions

scratch that ,-looks like you cant do that either...

does it also mean you cant transfer them thrupoints.com??

i ckd and you cant

though what you can do is accumulate starwood points

So on the 14th sept I buy 10k + 10k for a hit. Now I have 20k and I share 10k to another account recieve another 10k bonus for hit number 2. And so on is that what everyone who is buying miles waiting to do?

So on the 14th sept I buy 10k + 10k for a hit. Now I have 20k and I share 10k to another account recieve another 10k bonus for hit number 2. And so on is that what everyone who is buying miles waiting to do?

1.48 cent per mile is above my threshold for buying miles. I will wait and see if US manages to come up with a better promotion for buying or sharing miles.

So on the 14th sept I buy 10k + 10k for a hit. Now I have 20k and I share 10k to another account recieve another 10k bonus for hit number 2. And so on is that what everyone who is buying miles waiting to do?

No, you are not getting another 10k bonus for sharing miles.

100% bonus is only for buying or gifting miles, not for sharing.

Buying miles gets you a 100% bonus and a hit
Gifting miles gets the recipient a 100% bonus, but NO hit
Sharing miles get you a hit, and a recipient also gets a hit

That's how I understand it.

So, I'm I 100% correct here: one cannot get 6 hits from the same car rental company on the same day????

Last year I found a $6.11 daily rate from Hertz local. This year will I have to do that on 6 separate days?

So, I'm I 100% correct here: one cannot get 6 hits from the same car rental company on the same day????

Last year I found a $6.11 daily rate from Hertz local. This year will I have to do that on 6 separate days?
This is covered in the published promotion T&Cs. Since the promo hasn't started yet, that's probably the best source of information.

Last year I found a $6.11 daily rate from Hertz local.

Great find. Mind sharing which region/state you found such a deal? Thanks in advance if so.

Last year I found a $6.11 daily rate from Hertz local. This year will I have to do that on 6 separate days?

That's great. Is anyone aware of websites that allow one to simultaneously look for cars at multiple locations and for multiple dates? This might save a lot of time looking for good deals on rental cars.

xlax

Great find. Mind sharing which region/state you found such a deal? Thanks in advance if so.
You could have used the search feature to find out for yourself.

link: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/us-airways-dividend-miles/1118995-grand-slam-2010-a-post15135297.html#post15135297

You could have used the search feature to find out for yourself.

link: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/us-airways-dividend-miles/1118995-grand-slam-2010-a-post15135297.html#post15135297

Some questions deserve your response; others don't. Know the difference and be easy. We're all on the same team, and it's not straightforwardly obvious that a search would bring it up. It did bring it up in this case yes, and thank you sincerely -- really -- for pointing me to it, but tone counts too. The question, I thought, was obscure enough to ask. I do search for obvious questions.

Some questions deserve your response; others don't. Know the difference and be easy. We're all on the same team, and it's not straightforwardly obvious that a search would bring it up. It did bring it up in this case yes, and thank you sincerely -- really -- for pointing me to it, but tone counts too. The question, I thought, was obscure enough to ask. I do search for obvious questions.
Sorry if the tone offended. I'm starting to see too many posts where it seems people don't even bother to read the published promo rules, and just want to be spoon fed answers to every little question without doing any real work on their own. I don't mind helping with answers, but I also want to help people help themselves, thus the reference to the search feature.

Sorry if the tone offended. I'm starting to see too many posts where it seems people don't even bother to read the published promo rules, and just want to be spoon fed answers to every little question without doing any real work on their own. I don't mind helping with answers, but I also want to help people help themselves, thus the reference to the search feature.

Agreed, cool. Well put too.

Sorry if the tone offended. I'm starting to see too many posts where it seems people don't even bother to read the published promo rules, and just want to be spoon fed answers to every little question without doing any real work on their own. I don't mind helping with answers, but I also want to help people help themselves, thus the reference to the search feature.

While I agree with the sentiment let me just say that this was hardly a "I want to be spoon feed" request and the answer spanned several pages of the 2010 GS thread starting at page 451 or so. Then the actual details are not made clear till page 453 the gigantic GS10 thread. Come on people, it's too early in this promo to get cranky.

For those of you with out a whole half hour to dig through the above mentioned thread here is the answer to how from CHSDOC:

Sorry:

The CDP code is the USAir code--I forget exactly, but it is listing in the very very first message in this thread. Just go to message #1 and copy the CDP and PC numbers and use them.

When I did it on-line it gave me a rate of $18. Ok. But when I went to "rent" the cars, it shows as a $15 off any rental coupon. And andrew was able to give me another 10% off for $6.11/rental. I tipped him a $10 for the 20 minutes of work. Don't know how or why the CDP/PC codes came up with $15 off, but I'm not complaining. I think you can also go to the Hertz Local on South Blvd and get the same rate. Anywhere but the rotten airport.....

If anyone finds a similar coupon this year please post. I keep hoping that someone will start a car rentals master thread...

That's great. Is anyone aware of websites that allow one to simultaneously look for cars at multiple locations and for multiple dates? This might save a lot of time looking for good deals on rental cars.

xlax

:eek: An ITA equivalent for rental cars? :D

I had a quick question, I went to the local Days Inn and he said that the only points / miles I can get for a stay there will be Wyndham rewards... am wondering if there is any way I can make it qualify for a hit for the Grand Slam or not?

Also not sure if this is the local hotel's rule or is it a universal rule for all Days Inns... anyways I will be exploring all possible options.
Let me know if you have any ideas about this one.

I had a quick question, I went to the local Days Inn and he said that the only points / miles I can get for a stay there will be Wyndham rewards... am wondering if there is any way I can make it qualify for a hit for the Grand Slam or not?

Also not sure if this is the local hotel's rule or is it a universal rule for all Days Inns... anyways I will be exploring all possible options.
Let me know if you have any ideas about this one.
You can find out how to earn airline miles for a Days Inn stay at: www.wyndhamrewards.com

If you're still unclear you'll probably get better help if you post in the "Hotel Stays [GS 2011 master thread]" thread instead.

Can we sticky this and the "[master thread]" topics? This subforum is already becoming cluttered and if it's not controlled soon, it will become as useless as leaving everything in a single main forum thread.

Can we sticky this and the "[master thread]" topics? This subforum is already becoming cluttered and if it's not controlled soon, it will become as useless as leaving everything in a single main forum thread.+1.67 x 10E423

when/how do we register??

when/how do we register??There's an entire thread whose name suggests that useful information might be found therein:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/2011-grand-slam-promotion/1250942-grand-slam-2011-registration-officially-open.html

I already bought 50K miles earlier this year for the bonus 50K miles. Can I buy more miles for the bonus during this promo? It's a separate promo so I would assume I can and get the hit. I've searched this thread and can't find the answer.

The T&C on the US page says:
The maximum number of Buy Bonus miles that can be received by one member for this offer is 50,000 bonus miles. All miles purchased beyond this limit will not be eligible for a bonus.

Key words being "for this offer" I hope...

I already bought 50K miles earlier this year for the bonus 50K miles. Can I buy more miles for the bonus during this promo? It's a separate promo so I would assume I can and get the hit. I've searched this thread and can't find the answer.

The T&C on the US page says:
The maximum number of Buy Bonus miles that can be received by one member for this offer is 50,000 bonus miles. All miles purchased beyond this limit will not be eligible for a bonus.

Key words being "for this offer" I hope...

100% no problem.

It seems taxes/fees for each rental are $16 though. :(

As mentioned upthread, Hertz has great $12 base rates for hourly rentals in Manhattan, Stamford and Boston, but where do you see taxes+fees totaling $16 extra? Or do you mean $16 including taxes+fees? I ran a sample but Hertz.com doesn't reflect hourly rates -- just daily -- with the explanation: "Please note that a daily rate will be displayed and will apply if you do not return the vehicle within 7 hours of pickup." The $12 rate is applied at the counter, but where online do you see taxes+fees are $16? Or did you call?

EDIT: Just talked to Hertz reservations, and their system/website isn't set up to display hourly rates, but they confirm it's just $12 using code HOURLY or HRLYD, and taxes in Manhattan are 19.87%. In that case, $12 + $2.38 taxes + $0.75 Frequent Flyer Surcharge = $15.13 total. Good enough for a hit. Unless there's a hidden fee. I'll try Sept. 14 in Manhattan and report back the total for an hour.

As mentioned upthread, Hertz has great $12 base rates for hourly rentals in Manhattan, Stamford and Boston, but where do you see taxes+fees totaling $16 extra? Or do you mean $16 including taxes+fees? I ran a sample but Hertz.com doesn't reflect hourly rates -- just daily -- with the explanation: "Please note that a daily rate will be displayed and will apply if you do not return the vehicle within 7 hours of pickup." The $12 rate is applied at the counter, but where online do you see taxes+fees are $16? Or did you call?

EDIT: Just talked to Hertz reservations, and their system/website isn't set up to display hourly rates, but they confirm it's just $12 using code HOURLY or HRLYD, and taxes in Manhattan are 19.87%. In that case, $12 + $2.38 taxes + $0.75 Frequent Flyer Surcharge = $15.13 total. Good enough for a hit. Unless there's a hidden fee. I'll try Sept. 14 in Manhattan and report back the total for an hour.

That's really interesting. A phone representative told me that there are no miles for the hourly rates. Can't wait to find out.

Mike

So its the 14th here September at 12.40am in Sydney does that mean I can purchase the miles now to get a hit?

So its the 14th here September at 12.40am in Sydney does that mean I can purchase the miles now to get a hit?

Don't do it. Wait until it is 9/14 in Arizona to be safe!

Don't do it. Wait until it is 9/14 in Arizona to be safe!

I'm neurotic and actually wait until 9/15. Ya never know...

Mike

I'm neurotic and actually wait until 9/15. Ya never know...

Mike

I was also leaning that way. Glad I'm not alone. :D

I love it! Just finished off my last jar of Biscoff Spread the other day!

Viva la GS!!!!!

I'm going to purchase 100k in one account. 100k in second account . 100k in third account and my account 80k.
In the end I'm hoping for 110k in each account and 140k in my account. I figure I can pretty easily get 8 hits per account and with mine I have a few stays car rentals some points transfers so hopefully can make it.

Now to get 2 hits per account instead of just flat out buying them I want to buy and share. But I'm confused how to do it.

Could someone give some advice while we all just waiting around.

do united and continental partner flights count as separate hits? can i book a RT ticket, one way on United and one way on Continental and get separate hits?

do united and continental partner flights count as separate hits? can i book a RT ticket, one way on United and one way on Continental and get separate hits?

Flights aren't hits for the Grand Slam.

do united and continental partner flights count as separate hits? can i book a RT ticket, one way on United and one way on Continental and get separate hits?

You obviously have no idea nor read any of the rules, regs, nor T&C's.

Do everyone, including yourself, a favor and read up first.

You obviously have no idea nor read any of the rules, regs, nor T&C's.

Do everyone, including yourself, a favor and read up first.

Actually, I have read the T&C and it says:
"Earn 1 hit with each of our other Dividend Miles partners, such as Sentry Insurance, SkyMall, FTD.com and LifeLock. "

Both United and Continental are DM partners, you can earn DM by flying on either of these partners.
Here is the list of DM partners:
http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/earnmiles/default.html

Actually, I have read the T&C and it says:
"Earn 1 hit with each of our other Dividend Miles partners, such as Sentry Insurance, SkyMall, FTD.com and LifeLock. "

Both United and Continental are DM partners, you can earn DM by flying on either of these partners.
Here is the list of DM partners:
http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/earnmiles/default.html

Believe it or not people are trying to help you whether you want to listen or not. You do not receive a hit directly for flying Continental or United. If you still think you can earn a hit then I would book a round trip one way on United and one way on Continental that way your fight with US Air Customer Service will seem more worth while, fighting for 2 made up hits instead of 1.

Actually, I have read the T&C and it says:
"Earn 1 hit with each of our other Dividend Miles partners, such as Sentry Insurance, SkyMall, FTD.com and LifeLock. "

Both United and Continental are DM partners, you can earn DM by flying on either of these partners.
Here is the list of DM partners:
http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/earnmiles/default.html

And where did you see any mention of UA or CO? :rolleyes:

And where did you see any mention of UA or CO? :rolleyes:
click on "airlines" :rolleyes::rolleyes:

click on "airlines" :rolleyes::rolleyes:

The second question of the FAQ (http://www.usairways.com/EN-US/FAQS/GRANDSLAMFAQS.HTML#2) and the "Non-qualifying partner activity" section of the Terms and Conditions (http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/grandslam-tcs.html) both provide a direct answer to your question. You'll save yourself a lot of heartburn if you read both documents fully to understand what you need to do to earn hits, when bonus miles will post, and how to avoid losing all of your earned miles. Not every partner counts and not every partner activity counts.

I just cant find my HIT statement anywhere on their website!

They don't list it on the website. Last year they sent periodic (monthly?) emails that told you how many hits you had, but that was of questionable value since it could be difficult to determine timing differences from when they counted.

It is somewhat annoying that US doesn't have this on their web site; however, since they can scarcely handle just normal stuff like booking a ticket, I am not surprised. I just hope my accounting method works.

Not having a HIT Balance works to their advantage and their retail partners.

Without one, you may learn about "foul balls" too late and thus saves them giving you more miles and/or you will go over your hits required as a "fudge factor" just in case you worry about a foul.

Can some one point me to a thread on how to transfer Continental or AA miles to US Air? I looked at points.com and there fees seem excessive. >

Can some one point me to a thread on how to transfer Continental or AA miles to US Air? I looked at points.com and there fees seem excessive. >

Points.com is free (but the transfer ratios are not really in your favor). Make sure all of your accounts are linked, then click on exchange... choose the mileage plan you want to transfer in or out of and the number of miles you want to exchange. Once the page reloads, scroll to the bottom to see your exchange options for your linked accounts.

The ones listed with fees are other members wanting to exchange miles with you.... which is totally not worth it.

Thanks skitch, I obviously misunderstood how it worked but was looking for a way to do it direct from one airline to another. like AM EX reward point to an airline. Read some posts that said 3 AA for one DM. I'll check out point.com further

No problem :) For my hit I did 4AA -> 1DM, and for my mom's hit I did 10DM -> 4 AsiaMiles -> 1DM. Still waiting on all of them to post tho.

I just cant find my HIT statement anywhere on their website!

They normally post hits every two weeks, so it will probably be a week before any show up. You can track the activity as it posts, then after you have multiples of 4 look for the hit after the next sweep.

And if you are looking for your activity make sure you are logged in, then click on your name near the top right, then about halfway down the page on the right will be a link called your miles.

Different Share Miles question:

In all previous Grand Slams with sharing as an option, both the sender and the recipient received a hit for a share - so a bi-directional share was not required and effectively cut the cost of the hit in half. The $40.75 minimum for sharing 1000 miles covered two hits, albeit in separate accounts.

Obviously no Grand Slam sweeps have occurred yet but I was curious if anyone has directly asked US about this? If not, I will.

Different Share Miles question:

In all previous Grand Slams with sharing as an option, both the sender and the recipient received a hit for a share - so a bi-directional share was not required and effectively cut the cost of the hit in half. The $40.75 minimum for sharing 1000 miles covered two hits, albeit in separate accounts.

Obviously no Grand Slam sweeps have occurred yet but I was curious if anyone has directly asked US about this? If not, I will.


If I share miles with another Dividend Miles member, will we both get a hit?

Yes. When you share miles, they are moved from one account and into another. However, you can only earn a hit once, regardless of whether you give or receive miles.

http://www.usairways.com/EN-US/FAQS/GRANDSLAMFAQS.HTML#11

Different Share Miles question:

In all previous Grand Slams with sharing as an option, both the sender and the recipient received a hit for a share - so a bi-directional share was not required and effectively cut the cost of the hit in half. The $40.75 minimum for sharing 1000 miles covered two hits, albeit in separate accounts.

Obviously no Grand Slam sweeps have occurred yet but I was curious if anyone has directly asked US about this? If not, I will.

FAQ covers this. It's the same as last year -- a single share is a hit for each member (recipient and sender), as you describe.

If I share miles with another Dividend Miles member, will we both get a hit?

Yes. When you share miles, they are moved from one account and into another. However, you can only earn a hit once, regardless of whether you give or receive miles.

http://www.usairways.com/EN-US/FAQS/GRANDSLAMFAQS.HTML#11

FAQ covers this. It's the same as last year -- a single share is a hit for each member (recipient and sender), as you describe.

Thank you. I read those but somehow glossed over that.

Different Share Miles question:

In all previous Grand Slams with sharing as an option, both the sender and the recipient received a hit for a share - so a bi-directional share was not required and effectively cut the cost of the hit in half. The $40.75 minimum for sharing 1000 miles covered two hits, albeit in separate accounts.

Obviously no Grand Slam sweeps have occurred yet but I was curious if anyone has directly asked US about this? If not, I will.

I replied to the same question from you in another thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/2011-grand-slam-promotion/1255608-any-other-easy-hits-3.html#post17122456.

If you don't believe me, read the FAQ for yourself:
http://www.usairways.com/EN-US/FAQS/GRANDSLAMFAQS.HTML#11

If I give someone in the states my name address us airways DM number for to give me a hand for a few hits what's stopping them from calling US airways and using my current miles and booking trips for themselves?

Is that possible , i am assisting with the velocity status match and gave them a australian address in return for a few hits but I'm concerned if I give out my info they can book flights.

Not that they will but it is possible you never know who's out there.

Thank you. I read those but somehow glossed over that.

I don't have anyone in my immediate family or area who uses US Air and is participating in the Grand Slam to share miles with. Is there a charity or some worthy organization I can use; or anyone who hasn't done this------is there a way we can do it and share the cost?

I don't have anyone in my immediate family or area who uses US Air and is participating in the Grand Slam to share miles with. Is there a charity or some worthy organization I can use; or anyone who hasn't done this------is there a way we can do it and share the cost?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/2011-grand-slam-promotion/1261559-how-share-miles-no-trading-here.html

"General terms
All Dividend Miles terms and conditions apply. You must be subscribed to US Airways e-Statement, Earn More Miles, and US Airways Cruises (provided by World Travel Holdings) emails in order to register for this promotion. If you are not currently subscribed, we will automatically subscribe you using the email address you provide when registering. You may opt out of these emails at any time."
I am a little worried, since I am not enrolled in all these email subscriptions, and I WASNT automatically added now after enroling a few weeks ago. Whats the deal?

"General terms
All Dividend Miles terms and conditions apply. You must be subscribed to US Airways e-Statement, Earn More Miles, and US Airways Cruises (provided by World Travel Holdings) emails in order to register for this promotion. If you are not currently subscribed, we will automatically subscribe you using the email address you provide when registering. You may opt out of these emails at any time."
I am a little worried, since I am not enrolled in all these email subscriptions, and I WASNT automatically added now after enroling a few weeks ago. Whats the deal?Still realy worried. Anyone?

The confusing part is that they specify the Lasik must be a surgical procedure only but they don't specify anything for the 21st Century or Sentry.

[B]21st Century Auto Insurance
...


Actually if you look at
http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/grandslam-tcs.html
you will find the following near the top under the heading:


Non-qualifying partner activity
The following activities do not count as qualifying partner activity or hits:
Miles earned flying US Airways, US Airways Express or any US Airways partner airline
Miles earned from any company other than those listed below as qualifying partners
Any activity that does not earn Dividend Miles including but limited to hotel stays and car rentals that do not earn Dividend Miles
Hotels stays that do not earn at least 200 Dividend Miles
Multiple hotel stays on the same day, whether at the same hotel or not
Hotel point to Dividend Miles transfers that do not earn at least 850 Dividend Miles
Multiple car rentals that occur on the same day
Recurring partner bonuses including but limited to the ShareBuilder – 500 mile quarterly bonus and the USA Today – 100 mile monthly bonus
Miles earned for requesting a free quote for a service

That last one is what tells you that you need to actually buy the insurance to get the hit. Which means I will not get these hits since I would have to pay MORE than my current rate for less coverage on my car... I keep getting the feeling US Air doesnt want anyone to actually get the 40 hits...

-BadatThis

My questions isn't directly at the GS but was wondering now the other bonus promo has ended and everyone is concerned about their GS hits doesn't the us airways run promotions thru the GS as well.

I didn't play last year but. Was reading people are waiting for more promotions to make the most of things. I read they had a promo bonus 250% maybe last year.

When last year promo was running whats there any new promotions introduced and if so what was it?

I recall reading somewhere that an official tally of hits will appear in our Dividend Miles accounts at periodic intervals during the GS promotion but I can't seem to find it now. Is that correct? Or is it a guessing game as to what posted activity will count as hits?

Edit: oops, never mind, found it in the T&C. Looks like bonus miles will start posting on Sep 28 and every week thereafter, so basically accurate to within 3 hits.

Anyone get bonus points posted yesterday?

Anyone get bonus points posted yesterday?

I guess not. Nothing this morning. I guess they forgot to run their script. Or perhaps they are not done implementing all the little changes.

I'm an idiot.

I racked up the first 9 hits for my wife's account today before remembering I hadn't registered her yet. Doh!

The only thing to post to her account before I registered was her "Buy Miles" purchase.

Do you think:

a) nothing I did before registration time will count (about $89 worth)
b) nothing that posted before the registration time will count (the miles purchase)
c) it's all good

Do you think:

a) nothing I did before registration time will count (about $89 worth)
b) nothing that posted before the registration time will count (the miles purchase)
c) it's all good
I'd go with (a). That said, you may want to wait & see what bonuses (if any) post this week & then in the next sweep in 2 weeks. US's IT dep't is so behind he curve that you might catch a break, although I doubt it.