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February 2012

HOT TICKET: How to Save Up to 86% on Business and First Class Fares to Europe (Plus the Best Upgrade to First Class); FARE SLEUTH: Deeply Discounted Winter Business Class Fares to Africa and the Middle East Found; HIGH & INSIDE: Taking Advantage of Mileage Award Chart Anomalies to Net Free Upgrades (How to Know Which Award Chart to Use Can Change How Comfortable You Are For Many Hours); SHREWD ALTERNATIVES: When Flying Lesser Known Airlines or Using One-off Fare Promos Yield Big Business Class Savings; FCF’s Mileage Award Maximizer: Routes That Offer Great Chances for a Free Mileage Award Seat (When Redeeming U.S. Loyalty Program Miles is Relatively Easy); New Domestic First Class Seats Equal More Upgrade Availability; and How to Save Up to 51% on a New Star Alliance Route to Europe.

January 2012

IN THIS ISSUE: High & Inside: 2012 Premium Travel Forecast; Fare Sleuth: Reduced Spring Business Class Fares to Europe are Here; Mileage Upgrade Pro: The Best Time to Use Miles for Business Class Upgrades; FCF Reevaluates the B-Fare Upgrade: Why the Cheapest Full-Fare Upgrade is Again Looking Good for Many Domestic Routes; Getting to the Route: New Service Equals Upgrade Opportunities; Shrewd Alternatives: Lesser Known Airlines & One-off Fare Promos Yield Big Business Class Savings; Good Deal, Unique Destination: Bologna, Italy’s Most Underappreciated City; When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy and FCF Air Traffic Control (On Our Radar This Month): Air France's Group Dramatically Reduces Business Class, Hidden Delta Fare at 43% Off, (Bad Buy) OpenSkies via American, Are Flight-Distance Redemptions the Wave of the Future and New Deadline for Free Trans-Atlantic Ticket via a Bonus Point Offset.

December 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: How to Get “Free EQM Upgrades”; Fare Sleuth: Last Call for Holiday Business Class Fares to Europe; High & Inside: Say Adios to Avios?; Mileage Upgrade Pro: When It’s Best to Use Miles for International Upgrades (Good Timing Can Save Up to 66%; When a day can make a $1,000 difference); Good Deal, Unique Destination: Tokyo -- Now Is the Time; Domestic Seat Beat: How to Get “Free Seat Quality Upgrades” Domestically; International Aircraft Beat: How to Save Up to 45% on a New SkyTeam; A380 Route to Europe; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

November 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: The Latest Free, Almost Free, and Cheaper-than-Free Upgrade Opportunities; Fare Sleuth: Discounted Winter Business Class Fares to Canada; High & Inside: Seven Reasons to Leave Your Elite Lover (The Rewards of Post-Elite Life); Seat Beat: How to Save Up to 69% on New First and Business Class Seats to Asia with Star Alliance Carriers (And Where to Find Them); The Loophole: One Route Where an Upgrade is Really Free; Card Sharp: One Bank Program Card Worth Getting; Good Deal, Unique Destination: Central America’s Unsung Adventure Spot; One Airline Strategy: Getting American’s Best First and Business Class Seats on Domestic Routes; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

October 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: Four New Free Upgrade Opportunities Discovered (How Business and Leisure Travelers Can Sit Pretty With Very Little Effort); High & Inside: Low-Level Elites, Emancipate Yourself (Why You Probably Should Break Up with Your Loyalty Program if You Fly Fewer than 50,000 Miles); Seat Beat: Where the New and Newer First and Business Class Seats Are (Largely on Your Primary US Carrier’s “Partner”); Good Deal, Unique Destination: Paris at New Year’s: Bon Annèe!; Shrewd Alternatives: Flying Lesser Known Airlines Yields Big Premium Fare Savings (Make a Connection and Save a Bundle); The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When & Where Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy; Fare Sleuth: Save Up to 71% on Discounted Fall Business Class Fares to Munich; and Readers Write: To Jump or Wait? & Doing the “Buy Miles Math.”

September 2011

Hot Ticket: Fare War…How to Get Up to 87 % Off on International First & Business Class; Fare Sleuth: Deeply Discounted Business Class Fares to South America; High & Inside: The Express Lane to Elite Status (How to Get it With One-Fifth the Miles Usually Required); Merger Update: The Honeymoon is Over (Continental & United Members are About to Lose a Major Mileage Source, Here’s How to Cope); Good Deal, Unique Destination: Central America’s Great Mayan Ruin; Your Call: Delta’s New Lock-In Rules Downgrade SkyMiles; Mileage Upgrade Pro: Favorite Mileage Promotions are Back Which Can Save You Up to 87% On First Class Travel; and When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

August 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: Best Routes For Summer Business Class Travel Under $800 R/T; Fare Sleuth: Business Class Fare Sale to Asia Over 50% Off Lowest Fares; High & Inside: How Smart Locked-In Elites Extend Upgrade Opportunities; Mileage Upgrade Pro: Getting Up to 50% Off on a Business Class Mileage Upgrade to Europe; Shrewd Alternatives: Flying Lesser Known Airlines Yields Big Business Class Savings (Make a Connection and Save a Bundle); Good Deal, Unique Destination: The Big Island, Hawaii’s Primal Paradise; The FCF Report Card: Business Class Upgrades to Europe … Carriers to Book, Carriers to Avoid; The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy; and International Seat Beat: Make Connections Based on the Best Seat, Not Just the Best Time.

July 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: Domestic First Class Fare Fight Heats Up … Causing Deeper Thinking about the Various Ways of Upgrading within North America; Fare Sleuth: Another Chance for Deeply Discounted Summer Business Class Fares to Europe; High & Inside: How Best to Take Advantage of Credit Card Programs for Premium Air Travel (By Matching the Best Mileage-transfer Booking Strategies to the Best Credit Card, for Your Situation); Unique Destination, Best Deals: The Maldives, Indian Ocean Paradise; Deal or No Deal: Why Delta’s Elite Promotion Is a Bad Deal—Except in One Instance; Card Sharp: The Pros and Cons of a Tempting New American Express-BA Promo; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Easy.

June 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: Worldwide First and Business Class Fares Up to 85% Off (On Twelve Different Carriers, Through Four Simple Steps); High & Inside: Three Ways to Avoid Surcharges on Business and First Class Award Tickets to Europe; Fare Sleuth: Deeply Discounted Summer Business Class Fares Have Been Extended to June 29; Report Card: The Best “Full-Fare Upgrade” Programs to Asia Save Up to 76% And Why They Beat Discount Upgrades; Good Deal, Unique Destination: St. Petersburg, Russia’s Window on the West, Business Class; The Strategist: How to Save Up to 42% on Round-the-World Business Class Fares; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Easy.

May 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: Three Great Ways to Get Business Class for the Price of Coach; Fare Sleuth: Last Call for Great Eastern Europe Business Class Fares; High & Inside: Managing the Drought in International Business Class Award Tickets; International Seat Beat: Continental’s Merger Dowry: How to Find the Best and Worst Seats that Continental Brings to the Star Alliance; Good Deal, Unique Destination: Chillin’ on Anguilla: Take Advantage of Great Business Class Fares and Off-Season Hotel Rates; FCF Report Card: Grading the First Class Round-the-World Awards; Elite Maneuver: Is Your Elite Personality Suited to Your Mileage Program? (A look at why related, international alliance partners might be better); The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles is Easy; and Flying Lesser Known Airlines to Save Big.

April 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: First Class Insider: The Get-Into-First-Class-Free Card; Hot Ticket: Merger Dividends Discrepancies and Low Cost Upgrades; Fare Sleuth: Last Minute Discounted Spring Business Class Fares to Europe Up to 65% Off; High & Inside: The Deeply Discounted Domestic First Class Fare Bind; Shrewd Alternatives: Flying Lesser-Known Airlines Yields Big Business Class Savings; Good Deal, Unique Destination: Buenos Aires: Sizzling City, Great Fares, No Jet Lag … What Else Do You Want?; FCF Report Card: Save Up to 155,000 Miles on Round-the-World Business Class Awards; Deals and Steals: Save Up to 47% on Business Class Fares to Asia; The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles is Easy; and Upgrading 101: Code-Share Cha-Cha.

March 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: Fare Sleuth: Winter Business Class Fares to Central America and Mexico for little more than Coach; Hot Ticket: Business Class for the Price of Coach (Two Great Promotions, Plus 50% Off Premium Economy); Special Report: Class Distinction (When it comes to “Premium Economy”, it varies wildly. Why and when to fly PE); Roman Holiday: Special Business Class Deals to Italy’s Capital; Shrewd Alternatives: Flying Lesser-Known Airlines Yields Big Business Class Savings; First Class Insider: Here They Come: Summer’s First Class Deals to Europe; and the FCF Mileage-Seat Locator: Best Chances of Redeeming Miles for a Premium Seat!

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