Double Northwest/Delta Flight Miles With Delta AMEX

If you have a Delta SkyMiles American Express Card or are planning on applying for one, consider registering for the double flight miles deal that was just released. Simply sign up for the promo, then book your future travel plans on the card, and you will earn double flight miles for the rest of 2009. Click here for all the details.

Delta Airlines Offers 500 Bonus Miles for Online Reservations

Delta Airlines is offering its frequent flyer members 500 bonus miles when booking a round-trip airline reservation at delta.com between April 28 and May 31, 2009. Delta began offering online booking bonuses in the 1990's as a way to encourage Internet bookings, but ended the incentive in 2007.

Earn 900 Northwest Frequent Flyer Miles In Ten Minutes

Special thanks to Andy for this timely reminder.

In the past we reported on earning 400 easy frequent flyer miles for completing WorldPerks University online quizzes, which consist of answering a few multiple choice questions about the Northwest Airlines frequent flyer program. If you haven't completed the quizzes yet, now is a great time to do so. 

In addition, with the Delta/Northwest merger already in progress, you can earn 500 Delta miles for linking both your Delta and Northwest accounts together - then, turn right around and transfer those miles back to your Northwest account, fee free. The linking bonus runs through April 30. 

These combined activities will net you 900 Northwest Miles. Not too shabby for 10 minutes of work! 

Earn Bonus Miles Linking Your Delta and Northwest Accounts

Here is one result from the merger of Delta and Northwest Airlines announced earlier in 2008.: For a limited time, Delta SkyMiles and Northwest Worldperks members may transfer miles between their own accounts fee free - and earn a bonus 500 SkyMiles for doing so.

For instance, let's say your Delta frequent flyer account has 2,000 miles and your Northwest 23,000. Simply transfer the 2,000 Delta miles over to Northwest (or vice versa).

Click here for more information.

Northwest WorldPerks Program Changes for 2009

In an email to subscribers, Northwest Airlines announced changes to Worldperks, the airlines frequent flyer program. Many of the changes rolling out over the next couple months are as a result of the merger between Northwest and Delta. Here are some of the key changes to the program:

First the good news: Beginning in February, Worldperks members who also have a DeltaSky miles account will be able to transfer base miles between the two accounts. Also, effective immediately, customers flying Delta-operated flights will earn you Northwest elite-qualifying miles.

And the not so good: On January 15, The airline will introduce a third mileage award level and synchronised award mileage requirements with Delta. The added level sits between the PerkSaver and PerkPass. For a standard domestic award redemption, for example, award requirements will be displayed as 12,500, 20,000 and 30,000 for one-way travel, based on a round-trip award ticket purchase. Availability will range from highly limited-capacity controlled up to unlimited availability on all flights - depending on the award tier you choose. In summary, the more points you want to spend, the more flight choices made available to you. Many industry experts feel the addition of the third tier will nearly wipe out award availability at the lowest award tiers.

The simply bad news: Northwest jumps on board with other airlines by instituting a close-in ticketing fee for award travel. Starting January 15th, the airline will charge between $75 and $150 if you decide to book any award travel within 21-days of departure date. Airlines claim award availability tends to open up near the departure date as airlines realize they cannot fill the plane with revenue passengers. Accessing this "last minute" (21-days or less) inventory will now cost you. 

These changes are in addition to previously announced 9-29% hikes in the miles required to fly certain routes that start January 15th. 

Government Approves Delta and Northwest Merger

The U.S Justice Department approved a merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines today, the final regulatory hurdle that creates one of the world's largest airlines.  Although the merger was announced several months ago, airline execs had to convince the government the merger would not cause substantial harm to consumers, such as significantly lessening the competition. And that they did. 

The merged airlines will combine flight schedules and loyalty programs over the next two years. According to a Delta press release, for customers, it will be business as usual during the process - as changes will be "thoughtfully" rolled out.