RLymburner asked this question on the "all time best" thread, but it got lost. I, and I am sure others, would like help in discovering current opportunities we may be missing. On the other thread I nominated:

TD WATERHOUSE. 10,000 AA miles for a $10,000 new deposit of money or securities, or 25,000 AA miles for a $50,000 deposit.

SAVINGS BONDS DIRECT. Using a miles-earning credit card one can get better than Money Market rates.

50,000 Hilton honors points and gold level for 4 stays.

55,555 fly five Star carriers promo (better in LH and AC than UA program due to minimal requirements).

I like this one and even more so from July 15 - Aug 15 if you use an AMEX/DL cc for double points. 20k bonus points cap.

Northwest Fly Free Faster 2.

1 qualifying activity + 5 partner activities = 10,000 bonus points.

My qualifying activity was the Northwest visa for 25,000 bonus miles.

Add in a Starwood transfer, a couple of iDines, a $5 towel from JCPenney.com via the NWA.com mall, and a book I needed to buy for work... bingo, 35,000 bonus miles!

I vote for the NW WP FFF2 promo. I am hitting all of the promo's while qualifying for it:double MEM promo, NWA.com online booking and check in bonuses. I figure I'll net around 25,000 miles for one trip to MCO and a few partner purchases.

SAVINGS BOND DIRECT

Is this the link?
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/ols/olshome.htm

I understand, that I can buy bonds - but how can I sell them?

Take the bonds to a bank to cash them in.

Per the website:

Q:Is this considered a merchandise purchase or a cash advance?
A: Your savings bond purchase is treated as a merchandise purchase. It is not a cash advance.

(Edited with the answer I found)

[This message has been edited by mindgame (edited 07-05-2002).]

Thanks, I opened an E*Trade account long ago, got miles and bought LUCENT shares - which are now almost worthless.

On cashing in Savings Bonds, it appears that you need to hold them 6 months before cashing. Is that correct?

From http://www.savingsbonds.com/cashin3.cfm ...

REQUIREMENTS FOR REDEMPTION Most financial Institutions will cash-in (redeem) your bonds.

* The bond must be at least six months old.

* You must be the owner, co-owner or entitled individual

* If you are the beneficiary, you must show proof that you are entitled to cash the bond and death certificate).

* You can cash in a bond for your child - bring identification such as a birth certificate (see identification info below)

* Your bonds may have to be sent to a Federal Reserve Bank which could delay getting cash.

* You can no longer walk into a Federal Reserve Bank for service. Transactions are done via electronically or by mail.

Active one would have to be the Hilton 50k.

I expect when this is done by staying only four nights to earn enough points to be able to stay free for 12 nights. I plan to do this by redeeming the points when point stretchers are available for the hotel I am interested in. In researching this, I discovered it will not be until October, but I spend three nights a week in a motel every week anyway, so October is no problem.

IMO, the best current promo is US Airways' promo for 20k bonus points that count towards elite status for flying 12 segments between 7/15/02 and 10/31/02.

Another good one, and definitely Top 10 of current promos, is Northwest's Fly Free Faster 2.

Thanks for the info on the TD WATERHOUSE AA promotion. I have not seen anything about that from AA. They must not be pushing it at the moment.

Maybe not technically a bonus program, but idine, 10 miles per dollar, is pretty nice, especially as it is generally for meals that you would buy (and sometimes expense) anyway.