Best Current Long Distance Deals/Bonuses for Miles
I just moved and want to get home long distance. What's the best current long distance deals/bonuses. I am a current member in frequent flyer programs of CO, AA, and United.
But my site is about 2 weeks out of date. I was traveling to some place warm. Give me a week or two to catch up.
I did get the 10,000 American miles in 5 months AT&T deal last week for myself. Called as if I were getting the Delta or Continental offer (don't remember which), and kept calling until I found someone who knew how to get the offer for American. Tell the rep to use the "Default Code" for American, if that's the airline you want. If they tell you you can get only 5000, or that you have to sign up for local service too, hang up and call back.
Location: San Antonio, TX; CO Platinum; DL Gold; UA Premier Executive
Posts: 9,298
After consulting pgary's fantastic website, I called Sprint to see what kind of deal I could get for United Airlines Mileage Plus miles. I called 1-800-880-6171, which is technically the Alaska Airlines/Sprint number, but it works fine to sign-up for Sprint service with credit for other airlines' frequent flier programs as well.
The best deal is promo 40088101. It affords 10,000 Mileage Plus miles for six months of service, payable in 5,000 mile increments four to six weeks after the first and sixth months' invoices are paid. The only caveat with Sprint is that any frequent flier mileage benefits are conditioned on signing up for a minimum $3.95 per month plan.
Sprint also tossed in 250 miles for signing up for online account access and 1,000 more miles for accepting a phone card (which comes with a 99 cent per call connection fee; it won't take long to hit the trash bin after it shows up in the mail!).
[This message has been edited by cAAl (edited Jan 07, 2004).]
10,000 with Sprint for 5 cents a minute normal Long Distance only at $ 3.95 a month or $ 7.95 with international. 12 cents a minute to Germany for example.
Miles post 5,000 after month 1 and other 5,000 after month 6.
Programs: Hilton & SPG Gold, & every airline program that I can join
Posts: 1,148
Just be sure to check your Sprint bills carefully. I signed up for the United 10,000 Offer in Sept and so far have been charged .25 per minute on the 1st invoice and a $8.95 per month fee on the 2nd. Also the rep told me I was not getting the miles when my printed confirmation said I was, I can't wait to see this month's invoice. The 1st 5ooo miles posted in Nov, backdated.
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From sunny Fort Myers, FL in the Winter
Chilly East Glacier Park, MT in the Summer!
The best deal by far is a company name local dial. While they offer zero miles, they do have a plan that gives you unlimited local and domestic long distance calls for a flat $15 per month. I have saved hundred of dollars and that gets me a free ticket much faster than what the other phone companies offer.
I'm along the same lines as tango. I use ZoneLD.com and my bill is about $5/month. For the same ammount of usage I was paying sprint about $40/month, and collecting UA miles.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by FFSaver: I signed up for Sprint's 6K USAir promo and got my points. Is there a way to sign up for the 10K promo or is it just for new customers?</font>
Most of these promos are good for new customers only, and they say you can only sign up after being canceled for 6 months. I have however been successful by signing up more frequently then 6 months after canceling.
note that with sprint , in order to earn any FF, you MUST spend at least $1-2 a month on calls. Somewhere in the fine print, it says something like this. Check it all and do spend money. This is not just the fees, so make some calls if only for the sake of it.
MM
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That’s Punny: A guy with miles to burn may well find a gal who wants to play with fire.
Location: San Antonio, TX; CO Platinum; DL Gold; UA Premier Executive
Posts: 9,298
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Marathon Man: note that with sprint , in order to earn any FF, you MUST spend at least $1-2 a month on calls. Somewhere in the fine print, it says something like this. Check it all and do spend money. This is not just the fees, so make some calls if only for the sake of it.
MM</font>
Marathon Man: I looked, but I couldn't find any minimum calling requirement in the terms and conditions of the 10,000 mile Mileage Plus promotion. Here they are verbatim:
"Sprint Long Distance Offer: New Sprint customers and residential, direct-dial calling only. U.S. residents only. In-state rates may be higher. International rates vary and surcharges may apply (including surcharges on residential calls made to foreign mobile phones). Dial-one service not available in Alaska. Additional in-state fees may apply. Carrier Cost Recovery Charge of $0.99 per month will be assessed on any bill with Sprint long-distance charges or usage activity. Carrier Universal Service charges will apply. Operator-assisted calls and toll-free/calling card calls made from payphones in the U.S. will be assessed a surcharge. All rates subject to change. Restrictions apply-see rates, terms and conditions at sprint.com. Customers will receive 10,000 Mileage Plus miles by signing up for Sprint residential long-distance service, awarded in two installments - 5,000 miles each four to six weeks after the first and sixth Sprint invoices. One offer per household."
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Marathon Man: note that with sprint , in order to earn any FF, you MUST spend at least $1-2 a month on calls. Somewhere in the fine print, it says something like this. Check it all and do spend money. This is not just the fees, so make some calls if only for the sake of it.
</font>
I just finished receiving 10K UA miles from
Sprint and never made a call during the period. I was on a $2/mo. plan, so with taxes, fees, etc. my bill was $3.79 every month. I've switched to AT&T for 5K DL miles and they offer a no-fee, no-minimum, 35 cent per call connection fee plan which is perfect (this plan is not on their website; you need to ask for it specifically). Last time I was on this plan I didn't even receive a bill for the entire period. As I've stated before, I've used www.onesuite.com for all my LD calls for about four years now and have been very satisfied with the service. I push one speed dial button and start dialing at 2.5 cent/min. with NO additional fees.
__________________ Hotel deal mentioned in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL...
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by cAAl: Marathon Man: I looked, but I couldn't find any minimum calling requirement in the terms and conditions of the 10,000 mile Mileage Plus promotion. Here they are verbatim:
"Sprint Long Distance Offer: New Sprint customers and residential, direct-dial calling only. U.S. residents only. In-state rates may be higher. International rates vary and surcharges may apply (including surcharges on residential calls made to foreign mobile phones). Dial-one service not available in Alaska. Additional in-state fees may apply. Carrier Cost Recovery Charge of $0.99 per month will be assessed on any bill with Sprint long-distance charges or usage activity. Carrier Universal Service charges will apply. Operator-assisted calls and toll-free/calling card calls made from payphones in the U.S. will be assessed a surcharge. All rates subject to change. Restrictions apply-see rates, terms and conditions at sprint.com. Customers will receive 10,000 Mileage Plus miles by signing up for Sprint residential long-distance service, awarded in two installments - 5,000 miles each four to six weeks after the first and sixth Sprint invoices. One offer per household."
Am I missing something?</font>
Regardless of the fine print, Sprint does require that you generate an invoice of at least $1 before they will give you miles. I had a long email argument with them on this. They wouldn't budge. Somewhat sleazy, I think, but about what I would expect from this company. Makes me feel better about taking miles from them without using their services much.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pgary: Regardless of the fine print, Sprint does require that you generate an invoice of at least $1 before they will give you miles. I had a long email argument with them on this. They wouldn't budge. Somewhat sleazy, I think, but about what I would expect from this company. Makes me feel better about taking miles from them without using their services much.
</font>
As I stated in my previous post, I NEVER made a call on Sprint and received all the miles. Apparently, my monthly fee of $2, was enough to qualify.
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