I have been trying to search for the discounted "award tickets" WP615 which comes with the NW visa card. Without exception, for every flight I've searched, over a period of weeks, I get error "message 183" -- that the discount code is no good because one or more legs of the flight are routed on non-NW metal. After some checking, I have discovered that on every search I've done with this code the calendar or even single day search has routed me through Houston, forcing me to fly on Continental Airlines for at least one leg.

Folks, I'm ex-MSY. This just doesn't happen naturally when searching nwa.com. I am virtually never routed through IAH, rather through MEM or DTW (sometimes even MSP). I have to conclude that when a mistake is made to the benefit of the person making the mistake, it ain't an accident. In other words, I feel like I've been offered a "benefit" that they have no intention of honoring. Torture by devious software!

The coupon is supposedly good for NW flights in the lower 48 (I've had absolutely no luck finding any) or Mexico and the Caribbean (haven't even wasted my time searching for those, as I know in advance that they'll be routed on CO). Does NW even fly its own metal to Mexico?

Thanks to anyone who can offer a clue to the clueless. If I hadn't been tearing my hair for weeks, I wouldn't have mentioned it. I am not asking for a costly trip but rather a simple trip to Maine (any airport, any dates in June). It just shouldn't be this hard. But if that's impossible, I would be interested to know if any vacation destination whatsoever is possible ex-MSY with this coupon.

I do have a lot of flexibility here and am very open to suggestions.