Loews Hotels has started a loyalty program called Loews First. They don't have their own points, but they do award miles in AA, Midwest Express, or Canadian, and more importantly membership is free with some excellent benefits.

At the lowest lever, Loews First Blue, you get:

* Guaranteed reservations with 48 hours advanced notice.
* Welcome Gift - Choices include: Vintage Chardonnay, Vintage red wine, seasonal fruit, bottled water, or cookies and milk.
* Newspaper - The morning newspaper delivered to your door. Choices include: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today or the local paper.
* Upgrade to Business Class room at time of reservation.(if available)
* Free access to the Fitness Center.
* 500 American Airlines® AAdvantage®, Canadian Plus® or Midwest Express® miles.

At the next level, Loews First Gold, which is obtained after 3 stays or 10 nights (it doesn't say if that's per year or not though ...), you get:

* Upgrade to a suite for $35 additional at time of check-in.(if available)
* 1,000 American Airlines® AAdvantage®, Canadian Plus® or Midwest Express® miles.
* ALL THE BENEFITS OF LOEWS FIRST BLUE

At the highest level, Loews First Platinum, which is achieved after 10 stays or 25 nights (again, no per year or not statement ...), you get:

* Guaranteed reservations with 24 hours advance notice. This includes a guaranteed Business Class room if available at the time of reservation.
* Upgrade to a suite for $35 additional at the time of reservation.(if available)
* 1,000 American Airlines® AAdvantage®, Canadian Plus® or Midwest Express® miles for the first night and 500 extra miles for every additional night stayed
* ALL THE BENEFITS OF LOEWS FIRST BLUE

That's a pretty generous program, and it's good to see a chain as small as Loews doing something like this. For a free program, the entry level benefits are very generous!

The webpage about the program can be found at:

www.loewshotels.com/loewsfirst.html

You can sign up by calling 1-800-LOEWS-12. There is an online sign up on the webpage, however, they ask for your credit card number and it is not encrypted, so I would not recommend using that method of sign up.

BTW, although I did not get to go in the hotel, the new Loews Miami Beach hotel looks absolutely magnificent from the outside!

[This message has been edited by Beckles (edited 04-22-99).]