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May 2013

IN THIS ISSUE: The Hot Ticket: Four Ways to Get a Free Upgrade This Month (The best North America and International promotions going on now); Fare Sleuth: Still Time to Buy Special First Class Fares to Europe Starting at $3,550—Ends May 16; High & Inside: How to Turbocharge Your Chances of Winning Premium Fare Games by Combining Upgrade Concepts; Rife with Upgrade Opportunities: New Routes, Upgraded Seats, and Aircraft Changes; Mileage Upgrade Pro: Three Ways to Exploit Free Stopovers on Domestic Travel; Strategy Session: Top 13 Routes with A380 Premium-Seat Mileage Availability; Premium Travel Quick Takes; Hedge Strategies: A Great Plan B for International Mileage Award Travel; FCF For Subscribers Who Live Abroad: And for U.S. Residents Who Don’t See Their Departure or Destination City Named in the Examples; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

April 2013

IN THIS ISSUE: The Hot Ticket: A Cool Ploy to Get Domestic and International Premium Class Up to 81% Off (How anyone—even non-mileage program members—can save a bundle by booking through a carrier you may never even fly); Fare Sleuth: Special Short Notice Business Class Fares to Europe on Virgin Atlantic Starting at $2,534; High & Inside: FCF Ranks U.S. Carriers’ Mileage Upgrade Programs for Travel Within the Continental U.S. and to Canada (Most programs are getting worse, while other trends are making it harder to decide when to use miles. Here’s the lay of the land); Premium Travel Quick Takes; Booking Tips: FCF’s Checklist for Finding EasyUp Fares; The FCF Award Finder: Rife with Upgrade Opportunities: New Routes, Upgraded Seats, Aircraft Changes; Non-U.S. Resident Focus For FCF Subscribers Who Live Abroad -- And for U.S. Residents Who Don’t See Their Departure or Destination City Named in the Examples; Shrewd Alternatives: Flying Lesser-Known Airlines or Using One-Off Fare Promos on Major Airlines Can Yield Big Business Class Savings; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

March 2013

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: Amazingly Low, Long-Haul, Premium Published Fares; Fare Sleuth: Special First Class Fares to Hawaii; High & Inside: One Strategy to Boost Upgrade Options 72,900%+ (Time to reprogram yourself and upload the Upgrade Mindset?); FCF Defines Premium Economy: The Annual Survey; FCF Award Finder: Rife with Upgrade Opportunities: New Routes, Upgraded Seats, Aircraft Changes; Premium Travel Quick Takes; Airline Spotlight: Iberia (Why the Spanish Airline is a Smart Choice to Europe and Beyond); Focus: International Residents (And US Residents Who Don’t See Their Departure City or Destination Specifically Named in FCF Concept Examples); Shrewd Alternatives: Flying Lesser-Known Airlines or Using One-Off Fare Promos on Major Airlines Yield Big Business Class Savings; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

February 2013

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: How to Save Up to 76% on First Class Flights by Upgrading EasyUp, Flash Sale, and Other Low Business Class Fares (Knowing the “Upgrade Friendly Airlines” yields First Class at up to 76% off to Asia, Europe, and South America); Fare Sleuth: Special Winter Business Class Fares to Mexico; High & Inside: Dancing the Award Upgrade Two-Step (How the Savvy One Percent Fly); FCF Fare Update: Premium Airfare Volatility At Record High On North Atlantic Flights ... which means a bounty of amazingly low EasyUp Business Class fares, starting at $1,245 round-trip; Premium Travel Quick Takes; Good Deal, Unique Destination: Quintessential Hawaii; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

January 2013

IN THIS ISSUE: High & Inside: Premium Air Travel Predictions for 2013 – The Big Picture; Fare Sleuth: Close to Home: Lowest Warm Weather Premium Fares; Hot Ticket: How to Score the World’s Top Flight Experience—Starting at Just $800 (For a limited time, use FCF’s research to experience what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, getting Singapore’s A380 First Class Suite, through an unconventional, yet simple process—currently with wide-open availability—and available to almost anyone); Domestic Seat Beat: Getting United’s Best Seats on Domestic Routes (A lot has changed since the merger with Continental: Here’s what you need to know); Mileage Booking Basics: Business Class for Less Than Coach: To Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico (Plus, Going to Europe in First for Less Than Business Class); The Easter Basket: Business & First Class Fares Up to 64% Off to Europe; FCF Update: EasyUp Fares: Not Dead Yet; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

December 2012

IN THIS ISSUE: High & Inside: New “EasyUp” Discount Airfare Category Revolutionizes Coach, Business, and First Class Air Travel ... Marks the death of Upgrading as we know it -- but new opportunities abound ... While some loyalty programs and mileage awards face possible extinction; Fare Sleuth: Special Delta Domestic First Class Fares for Holiday Travel; A Rundown of New Routes Rife With Mileage Upgrade Opportunities; A Little-Used Mileage Program Nets First Class for Up to 80% Off; American’s Mileage-Purchase Deal Saves Up to 78% on Domestic First Class Travel; and When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

November 2012

IN THIS ISSUE: Hot Ticket: FCF’s First Class Three-for-One (Our Stopover Loophole Strategy “SLS” Nets First Class Flights for the Price of Coach from Many U.S. Cities); Fare Sleuth: Winter Business Class Fares to Central America Slashed, Starting as Low as $621 R/T; High & Inside: The Big Question: Buy, Hedge, or Wait to Book Premium Class Travel to Europe in 2013? (A look at both simple and advanced strategic approaches for bookings paid in cash, not in miles); Getting The Most From FCF: You Can Use Our Stratagems For Travel Originating Abroad, too; Good Deal, Unique Destination: Spending Christmas Where It Was Invented: At Up to 62% Off in Business Class; FCF Alert Recap: A Quick Overview of Recent Deal “Alerts”; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

October 2012

Hot Ticket: Fall’s First Class Fare Riot … To 12 Top Vacation Destinations in North America, Starting at $525 R/T; Fare Sleuth: SkyTeam and oneworld Airlines Extend Holiday Business Class Fares to Oct. 26; 11 Common Upgrade Misconceptions on Routes to Europe (And How to Avoid Them); Shrewd Alternatives: Flying Lesser-Known Airlines or Using One-off Fare Promos on Major Airlines Yield Big Business Class Savings; How to Save Up to 74% On Domestic First Class Flights (And Where to Find Free “In-Class Seat Upgrades” through American’s Little-Known Service Anomalies); Fare Anomaly: International First Class for Less Than Business Class; Mileage Upgrade Pro: When to Pay Double the Miles for a Free “Anytime” Mileage Award (And Which Airlines Offer the Best Return When You Do); and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

September 2012

Hot Ticket: Business Class for Less Than Coach to Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico Plus, Going to Europe in First for Less than Business Class; Fare Sleuth: Discounted Fall Business Class Fares to Mexico; High & Inside: How to Tighten Your Premium Travel Belt If You Must (And still earn Award and Elite Qualifying Miles); The FCF Report Card: Best Mileage Programs ‘On Paper’ for Business Class Upgrades to Europe; Good Deal, Unique Destination: California Dreamin’: Great First Class Fares to Wine Country; FCF Air Traffic Control: New Emirates Route Yields Free Business Class Award Space; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

August 2012

Hot Ticket: First Class Cabin Bonanza: $1,250 Round-trip To Europe? (plus, where to get Business Class for as low as $1,100, a cheat sheet for getting free “In-Class Upgrades,” and more … welcome to the new holiday fare paradigm); Fare Sleuth: Discounted Summer Business Class Fares to the Caribbean; High & Inside: How to Overcome the Big Challenge In Using Credit Card Points for Premium Travel (with this cheat sheet for knowing which airlines will “hold your seat” during the time it takes for the points to be transferred can make all the difference); Business Class Seat Comparison for Airlines Offering Great Holiday Fares; Strategy Session: How to Score the Best A380 Deals With Cash or Miles (save up to 51% in miles; know where the mileage seats are; or save 68% if paying in cash - with this cheat sheet, take your pick); and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

July 2012

Hot Ticket: Six Ways Almost Anyone Might Fly Premium Class for the Price of Worst Class (How anyone—even non-mileage program members—can cash in on these upgrade promotions); Fare Sleuth: New, Deeply Discounted Summer Business Class Fares to Europe; High & Inside: The End of Domestic First Class As We Know It (The airlines have rethought it. Now you should, too, with fares up to 74% less than they were last month); The FCF Report Card: First Class Mileage Upgrade Programs to Hawaii Compared (How you can reap the rewards—even if you don’t belong to any mileage program or have any miles); Good Seats & Better Routes: FCF’s Advice on Where to Look for Better Seats and Good Mileage Availability; Mileage Upgrade Pro for Domestic Travel: Tips to Radically Improve Mileage Upgrade Availability Odds; Vacation Savvy: Comparing Package Deals to Australia -- How to Save Up to 38% on Business Class Travel; Too-Good-To-Be-True Business Class Award Availability on Lufthansa; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

June 2012

Hot Ticket: Cracking the Mileage Upgrade Fare Code (and How Anyone Can Enjoy the Spoils); Fare Sleuth: Another Chance for Deeply Discounted Summer Business Class Fares to Europe; High & Inside: Domestic First Class Discount Fare Elasticity (How to Use it to Win a Special Fare); The Strategist: The Ins and Outs of Stopover Rules, Part II (How to get a Free Second Destination); FCF Air Traffic Control: Business Class Seat Upgrade on Star Alliance Carrier; Good Deal, Unique Destination: San Jose del Cabo Starting at Less than $650 in Business Class; Vacation Savvy: Package Deals to South America, Part III (How to Save Up to 53% on Business Class Travel); Readers Write: Success Stories & Tips; and The FCF Worldwide Mileage-Seat Locator: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy.

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